A 21-year-old photographer-turned-filmmaker has carved out a niche for herself, capturing music festivals and concerts for independent artists.
Yang Tzu-ching (楊子靚) became enamored with photography in her second year of high school. Today, despite being a full-time university student in Tainan, Yang has gained a name for herself, having filmed more than 30 music events.
Yang, a third-year student in the Motion Pictures and Video program in the Department of Media Arts at Kun Shan University, said she was heavily influenced by her father, who introduced her to photography when she was in kindergarten.
Photo: Wan Yu-chen, Taipei Times
Yang said her father asked her to help photograph her kindergarten’s graduation ceremony, which piqued her interest enough for her to start playing around with point-and-shoot cameras.
However, it was not until high school that she delved into professional photography, Yang said.
Being a huge fan of rock music, it was natural that she would combine that interest with photography, Yang said, adding that she has always taken her camera with her to concerts.
After pictures she took of one concert caught the attention of director Lee Yen-hsun (李彥勳), Yang was hired to film Kaohsiung’s Megaport Music Festival — an annual festival that has been held every year since 2006, with the exception of 2014.
This was also the start of her interest in producing music videos, Yang said.
Making the transition from still photography to filming video presented many challenges in the beginning, particularly learning to manually focus the camera, she said.
She was often unsure whether the image was in focus or not, Yang said.
Getting the focus right is about getting the timing down, which takes practice, she said.
Initially her father, who had fallen ill, hoped she would not pursue film and photography as a career, but after seeing her success, he has supported her decision, Yang said.
She said she wants to continue working with independent bands and aims to continuously improve her film and photography skills, Yang said.
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