{"id":69189,"date":"2024-12-16T10:36:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T18:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=69189"},"modified":"2024-12-16T10:36:07","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T18:36:07","slug":"more-than-meets-the-eye-whats-behind-apecs-most-popular-photo-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=69189","title":{"rendered":"More than Meets the Eye: What’s Behind APEC’s Most Popular Photo of 2024?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Do Ba Hung shares the technique and inspirations that led to his photo becoming the most liked on Instagram in this year\u2019s APEC Photo Contest.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cDo something different and unexpected.\u201d This philosophy has been guiding Do Ba Hung, the Vietnamese photography enthusiast that earned him both this year\u2019s coveted Popular Choice Award and the Influencer Award\u2014titles that APEC grants to the photo contest finalist that garnered the most likes on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Hung\u2019s winning shot features an ascending airplane reflected on the delicate, curved surface of an onlooker\u2019s eye, with light blue tones mirroring the sky above. \u201cI wanted to play with multiple contrasts: still versus moving, small against large,\u201d he explained. \u201cThis gives it depth and character for a stronger impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hung\u2019s photo is more than just interesting. It also serves as a gentle reminder of how vast the sky is. Its calming blue color invites people to reflect on a visual story about seeing something bigger than ourselves. In many ways, it mirrors Hung\u2019s own photography journey.<\/p>\n

An ongoing exploration<\/strong>
\nStarting five years ago, Hung first set his eyes on his lens when he captured photos of his children. \u201cTaking photos was how I immortalized key moments in time as they grew up,\u201d he shared. \u201cPhotography became a bonding opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balancing photography and family with his main work in logistics, however, has been a constant challenge. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy,\u201d he said. His already limited time was further cut by travelling to different places. Once at a location, he often has fewer opportunities to wait for the perfect moment, unlike professional photographers who can camp out and stay for as long as they need.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were moments when I felt frustrated trying to perfect my composition with such limited time, but each challenge became a lesson that pushed me forward,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n

Learning photography techniques was equally time consuming, but Hung persevered by watching video tutorials and reading through articles and tips that he could find through internet search. He also practiced by taking photos during his break time at work, something that occasionally led to an award as he actively joined contests. \u201cDoing something unexpected from a non-creative space also helps to broaden my perspective,\u201d he reflected. \u201cEven now, I continue to explore and figure out my style.\u201d<\/p>\n

A simple trick<\/strong>
\nHung\u2019s winning shot is a product of his ongoing explorations of different photography techniques like landscapes, portraits and streetlight. How his photo came to be, however, was rather surprising.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not photoshopped or AI-made,\u201d he clarified, adding that professional competitions normally verify this by checking the raw files. \u201cIt took me countless shots for more than two hours just to get the right composition I was satisfied with,\u201d he added further.<\/p>\n

What Hung did was to employ a technique called macrophotography, which allows photographers to capture detailed close-ups of very small subjects to make them appear larger. \u201cSince it\u2019s difficult to time an ascending plane, what I did instead was to employ a simple trick. I used a video of an airplane and showed it on television, which was then reflected on the eye \u2013 my wife\u2019s eye,\u201d he enthusiastically narrated.<\/p>\n

Unexpected<\/strong>
\n\u201cI was truly surprised,\u201d Hung said when asked about what he felt upon hearing that he won this year\u2019s Popular Award and Influencer Choice Award. As a private person, he normally keeps his photo collections only on his private social media account which can only be accessed by his family, relatives and friends.<\/p>\n

He, however, saw this unexpected blessing as an opportunity and inspirational push to further broaden and develop his photography skills. \u201cI\u2019m looking into capturing daily life or maybe even policy and politics, challenging myself to capture these subjects creatively,\u201d he said. His approach, whether through his technical experimentation or exploration of new subjects, reflects his ongoing journey of growth in photography.<\/p>\n

Hung\u2019s story of balancing the many struggles that hobbyists and enthusiasts face is a reminder that creativity and perseverance can lead to unexpected rewards, no matter where you start. Hung\u2019s message to his peers is clear and simple: \u201cStay long to capture the best moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do Ba Hung shares the technique...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69190,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69189\/revisions\/69190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}