1. Art + Architecture + Culture Culture and Civilization Foundation in Natural and Built Environment April 2013 IntakeTAN SHING YEOU 0 3 1 4 850

2. CONCEPT - MONOCHROME When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls! Ted Grant Color is an element of every photo. Just like framing, composition, subject matter, lighting, exposure, etc. But color is one of those elements that can essentially be turned off. 3. Street scenes can be very busy with lots of distracting elements as is, and color will often add a level of complexity that leads to sensory overload in an image. Background elements can be a major distraction, the bright green car, the guy in the red shirt, the neon sign and so on. Black and white photos are simple and elegant. The lack of color forces the eye to concentrate on the core of the photo - composition, textures, patterns, and subjects. The utter simplicity of black on white or white on black has no match. Black and white photos allow for greater artistic flexibility. The great thing about a grayscale image versus a color image is that the reality of the photo can be stretched much further. Black, white and gray are the "colorless"shades shades that are cool, smart, and endlessly adaptable. They work best in street photography, as the concentration on the photo will be just composition, contrast, light and shadow and etc.THEME - THE PILLARS OF GEORGE TOWN The theme for my graphical book is "THE PILLARS OF GEORGE TOWN", which the pillar here means, the support of the city or how the old cultural site complete the city form. George town, natural beauty & cultural splendour with its people & their cross culture, its fascinating architectural & engineering marvels. All of these elements & features are like pillars at every corner of the city, form the only one, 4. Penang. In this photo book, it captures the old street in Lebuh Pinang, traditional shops at Lebuh Armenian and local activities at Lebyh Ahceh.RESEARCH - PENANG Over the last decade, Penang has experienced an urban renaissance through a gradual but consistent transformation of streets, shops, lanes, and other spaces into public places that are culturally engaging and diverse, and that respond to the George Town's intrinsic physical character 5. Much of this change is attributable to the derivation of different cultures and various flourishing decades from the early Hindu civilization in Northern Malaya, to that of the Portuguess, the Dutch and later the British, who came to this part of the world in search of spices and stayed to participate in the lucrative trade. More than two centuries of unique history and heritage makes George Town a worthy recipient as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site on 7th July 2009. George Town have large collection of shophouses and townhouses within its Core and Buffer Zones numbering more than 1700 buildings in different styles and types. All of these buildings normally have similar plan configuration as well as materials used. What makes them look different is their faade. 6. These shophouses extend to the street without any forecourt. From the outside one can see only the concrete walls with long rectangular windows for the upper level and the roof which was made of tiles. The upper floor projects out to cover the verandah in front of the main entrance. The faade is often designed in a symmetrical organization in which the entrance is located in the middle with windows on both sides. There are several different architectural styles of shophoouses on the street. Some have stylistic trends of the different periods on the front faade. Architecturally, the shophouses and townhouses in the Historic City of George Town can be grouped into seven categories, depending on their faade designs. The seven groups are:Early Shophouse Style 1800 1850sEarly Transitional Style 1840 1900sEarly Straits Eclectic Style 1890 1920sLate Straits Eclectic Style 1920 1940sNeo-Classical Style 19th early 20th centuryArt Deco Style 1930 1950sEarly Modern Style - Post war- Early Shophouses (1800-1850's) 7. The early form of two storey type of shophouses is built to the street edge with recessed ground floor forming a pedestrian walkway, generally simple in detail and relatively low in scale. With masonry dividing wall, they are normally built in rows with simple pitched roof. The faade is a means of filling the space between the two end walls. The upper floor faade supported by squat pillars project over the pedestrian walkway, and consists mostly of timber construction with continuous row of paneled or louvered shutters. The spandrel is of either timber (for the earlier type) or masonry while the upper beam is generally placed directly above the window opening, leaving no room for frieze and with exposed roof rafters forming an overhang and simple fascia board. The upper floor faade is bordered by plain masonry pilasters at each side and the ground floor has full width opening. Structurally, buildings of this style incorporate masonry dividing walls with timber upper floor and tiled roof.- Early Transitional Style (1840 1900s)The two storey structures are built to the street edge and incorporate a five foot pedestrian walkway which is subsequently known as five footway and is well entrenched in the style by the middle of the nineteenth century. Expressive gable ends to rows. Ornamentation is minimal with the upper consoles often enlarged and decorated with floral motifs, simple decoration to the spandrel 9eg. Green glazed ceramic vents) and plain pilasters. The usual orders adopted are the Tuscan and Doric. Upper floor openings, with a row of continuous timber shutters are common. Cornices or horizontal mouldings along the beam make the strycture appear heavy. 8. Structurally, buildings of this style incorporate the use of masonry dividing walls with timber upper floor, tiled roof and timber beam.- Early Straits Eclectic Style ( 1890 - 1920's) The transitional style is characterized by buildings with relatively restrained use of ornaments on its faade. Doors and windows remain predominantly timber framed and shuttered although the use of glass in small plates on the shutters later became common. Transoms are flat arched or semicircular infilled with glass. Vents are employed with an elegance of economy, architectural composition as squares or diamond between windows. Ground floor masonry walls have symmetrical double doors, a pair of window and bat shape vents above. The style incorporates many of the features of the grand classical style, reinterpreted and adopted to suit the shophouses vernacular may include pediments, pilasters, keystones and arches. From 1910s the use of reinforced concrete allowed wide roof overhangs and more elaborate cantilevered concrete decoration (consoles). This style exhibits almost exclusively a bipartite elevation order, i.e elevation with two windows. Structurally, buildings of this style incorporate extensive use of masonry with the introduction of reinforced concrete lintels and beams, timber upper floor and tiled roofs. 9. - Late Straits Eclectic Style (1920 - 1940's) This the most spectacular style particularly in the use of ornamentation. The tripartite arrangement of three windows on the faade reduces the actual wall space to the minimum and provides maximum ventilation. In later examples, the wall surface is replaced by columns or pilasters framing the windows. The constrained indigenous faade designs borrowed freely from the various ethnic traditions. Chinese panel frescoes are often combined with Malay timber fretworks that fringe the cape of the roof. Brightly coloured ceramic tiles and plaster delicately moulded into bouquets, festoons, plagues and other elaborate ornamentation bear testimony to the artistry of the shophouse builders. The development of reinforced concrete in the 1910s enabled large spans to be achieved and more elaborate cantilevered details to be incorporated into facades. Structurally, buildings of this style incorporate extensive use of masonry with first floor timber fenestration and tiled roof. 10. - Neo-Classical Style ( early 20th century ) The Last phase of European Classicism of the late 18th and early 19th century characterised by monumentality, a sparing used of ornament and strict used of the Orders Of Architecture. Studiously proportioned which sometimes incorporate portico, colonnade and cupola(s) in the design. Evidently, the style which was carried through into the early 20th century was influenced by Anglo-Indian Architecture through colonial British with East Indian Company which brought influences practical to their tropical experience, which are typified by high ceilings, large porches and painted in pastel or white finishing on exterior and interior walls that can be seen in the colonial government buildings and bungalows for European masters in all major cities such as buildings along Weld Quay. Most non-tropical forms used is the Palladian system of neo-greek column, pediments and fenestration, neo-Roman arches and domes, and Renaissance parapets, turrets, cupalos, quoins, espadanas, surrounds, staircases and balconies. 11. - Art-Deco Style ( 1930 - 1950's ) Art Deco is a decorative style widely used between the 1930s and 1950s. The style is characterised by the use of straight lines (typically three parallel) arranged either vertically or horizontally in conjunction with other geometric elements, creating a strong vertical or horizontal emphasis to the structure. A granulated render adapted from and regionally known as Shanghai Plaster was introduced at this time and was commonly utilised. The exuberant classical decoration of earlier style became much more restrained and in many cases was stripped completely. Windows are arranged in groups rather than the typical three bays commonly observed in the earlier shophouses style (casement shutters). Highlighting the date of construction on the facade of the building as well as the use of metal frame windows is typical of this period of architecture. Structurally, buildings of this style are or reinforced concrete masonry rendered or Shanghai plastered. Development or reinforced concrete resulted in cantilevered sunshades and high pediment or parapet wall. 12. - Early Modern Style ( Post War ) Following the development in western art and architecture from the end of the 19th century to its pinnacles in the 1920s and 1930s. It actually embraces a wide variety of movements, theories, and attitudes whose modernity resides in a common tendency to repudiate past architecture. Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies Van de Rohe were the important figures in the general trend towards a radically ornamented, simplified approach to architectural style. Built with reason, form by character and the aesthetic quality of which came from the simplicity of their form and the abstract relationship of solid surfaces and large, clean cut openings rather than from applied ornament or decoration. The trend soon caught up in the country after the war. Although in moving design away from the quaint and craftsmanship, local influences were not disregarded but were adapted to form a unique modern style. Structurally, the buildings of this style use reinforced concrete. 13. These architectures scatter along the many streets of George Town, bearing witness to the evolution of this rustic port city. The Historic City of George Town covers an area of 109.39 hectares bounded by the Straits of Melaka on the north-eastern cape of Penang Island, Lorong Love to the north west and Gat Lebuh Melayu and Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong to the south-west corner. There are more than 1700 historic buildings within this Core Zone align on four main streets of Penagkalan Weld, Lebuh Pantai, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and Lorong Love and several perpendicular streets of Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, Lebuh Light, Lebuh Bishop, Lebuh Gereja, Lebuh China, Lebuh Pasar, Lebuh Chulia, Lebuh Armenian and Lebuh Acheh.MAPPING OF FINDINGS In the end, I decided to focus on the certain area that i can take photos to match my theme and concept of this photo book. The Historic City of George Town has the Core Zone and after I research on the streets around the Core Zone, I found that the first street in Penang is build by Francis Light and it is the Lebuh Pinang. 14. Therefore, I start to select and filter the other main street in the Core Zone and finalize as three streets which is, Lebuh Pinang, Lebuh Armenian and Lebuh Acheh. The reason why I choose Lebuh Pinang is because it has full of different huge historical buildings and to show the outer part of the old street. The Lebuh Armenian is the best place to reveal the inner part of the old street which it has a lot of old shops surrounded and traditional business running there. Lebuh Acheh is unique with it's night market and human activities along the street. In a nut shell, the following arrangement are,Lebuh Pinang - Outer part of streetLebuh Armenian - Inner part of streetLebuh Acheh - Human activitiesPREPARATION FOR PHOTO SHOOTING 1. Choose the right lens Either wide angle lens, prime lens, or telephoto lens. It is the preparation work to bring the lens you need not the all the lenses you have. Street photography don't let you the time to change your lenses and pose for you to set the correct setting.2. Bring your tripod With the tripod on hand, it provide you to take wider range of photography which flexible your 15. work. You can play around with slow shutter, increase stability, enhance sharpness or even lift your camera higher or lower than you can do.3. Carry light It is suffer to carry all your heavy stuff around the streets, make sure you bring what you need and keep all the unnessasary stuff home.4. Check the weather Make sure you have the weather that you prefer. If you want to shoot soft light, then choose a not so sunny day, if you want to shoot raining street, then wait for the sky to cry.5. Water The only thing that you will need other than your camera system.6. Clean your camera and lenses Make sure you clean them in proper way with a lens pen and blower. Make sure that you do that after the shooting too, and check all the lens cap attached.7. Check your memory card It will be the best if you transfer all your file to PC once you reach home after photoshooting. If you don't, you have to check everytime before you are out for shooting.