Here is Angie* waxing lyrical over a photo. The following is originally in Chinese and was first published on johyunjaeChina on 2009.4.8.
I have some free time today, so I pore over his photos again, and I discover one could be very greedy looking at photos. From his very early photos when he's looking green, to his lovely photos of daily life, to all kinds of clips from his dramas, to photos of him on stage, to photos he poses for magazines, to photos of fans visiting him on set, to...............I seem totally addicted; I want to go on forever. How can this man look so gorgeous from every angle?! On the way home from work, my head is still filled with his images. But the strange thing is -- of all the images in my mind, one keeps popping to the surface. When I look at that photo again on my home computer, I discover its electric voltage is Nth time more powerful than I imagine. God! It's only a photo, but I just can't take my eyes off it. I feel I have fallen hopelessly in love with this photo.
Perhaps it's because I am in the advertising business, I've always been very critical of magazine photos, whether of people or still objects. I've seen a lot of models at work, but more often than not their poses are forced. Except for a few super models who are truly talented, most do not inspire any delight or excitement. Hyun-Jae is not a professional model, and when he is not shooting a drama or movie, he is very shy and subdued. Maybe it is precisely because of this that this magazine photo of his so mesmerizes me.
He's just standing there, with his head slightly lowered, in the most casual way, with one hand at his hip, the other arm raised behind the back of his head, again very casually. No exposure, no provocative act, and yet there's something unspeakably sexy about this pose. Yes, even those creases in his clothes caused by his pose are very sexy to me, not to mention the little bit of midriff exposed due to the uplifting of the garment -- enough to cause a crime!
And yet the subtle thing about this photo is not in its casualness (which is just the appearance), and it's not just casual sexy. The way I see it, the difference between photos of people and photos of still objects lies not in people can move and pose but in the look in people's eyes which cannot be reproduced. What is "killer looks"? The look in his eyes here is the best definition. He fully understands his own attractiveness; he is absolutely confident but chooses a rather subdued pose. But as he lowers his head, he looks at you steadily and casually exudes strength and a certain wildness out of the stillness. This kind of low-key self-confidence emits a sudden devastating glamour in a split second, so that there is no escape for us.
Let me also comment on the colour and the clothes. The clothes are clean and eternal black, white, and grey, the colours for whom he is the best spokesman. Love his jacket -- simple style but with exquisite details, and the material looks very high-grade too. Under the crisp jacket he chooses to wear a knitted cardigan. This displays not just a layered look, but being the same grey colour but of different texture, the ying/yang contrast produces a delicate effect. As for that background, it happens to be this year's hot colour burgundy which gives a matured and mysterious flavour, perfectly in tune with his "feel" in this instant. To sum up, I like every detail about this photo, almost flawless, at least in my eyes.
Okay! I'm poisoned anyway. Keep looking at me like that and seducing me.............
* See Angie's earlier posting on 2/26/09 "A tribute to Jo Hyun-Jae".
(Photo courtesy of EVERjohyunjaeKorea)
I have some free time today, so I pore over his photos again, and I discover one could be very greedy looking at photos. From his very early photos when he's looking green, to his lovely photos of daily life, to all kinds of clips from his dramas, to photos of him on stage, to photos he poses for magazines, to photos of fans visiting him on set, to...............I seem totally addicted; I want to go on forever. How can this man look so gorgeous from every angle?! On the way home from work, my head is still filled with his images. But the strange thing is -- of all the images in my mind, one keeps popping to the surface. When I look at that photo again on my home computer, I discover its electric voltage is Nth time more powerful than I imagine. God! It's only a photo, but I just can't take my eyes off it. I feel I have fallen hopelessly in love with this photo.
Perhaps it's because I am in the advertising business, I've always been very critical of magazine photos, whether of people or still objects. I've seen a lot of models at work, but more often than not their poses are forced. Except for a few super models who are truly talented, most do not inspire any delight or excitement. Hyun-Jae is not a professional model, and when he is not shooting a drama or movie, he is very shy and subdued. Maybe it is precisely because of this that this magazine photo of his so mesmerizes me.
He's just standing there, with his head slightly lowered, in the most casual way, with one hand at his hip, the other arm raised behind the back of his head, again very casually. No exposure, no provocative act, and yet there's something unspeakably sexy about this pose. Yes, even those creases in his clothes caused by his pose are very sexy to me, not to mention the little bit of midriff exposed due to the uplifting of the garment -- enough to cause a crime!
And yet the subtle thing about this photo is not in its casualness (which is just the appearance), and it's not just casual sexy. The way I see it, the difference between photos of people and photos of still objects lies not in people can move and pose but in the look in people's eyes which cannot be reproduced. What is "killer looks"? The look in his eyes here is the best definition. He fully understands his own attractiveness; he is absolutely confident but chooses a rather subdued pose. But as he lowers his head, he looks at you steadily and casually exudes strength and a certain wildness out of the stillness. This kind of low-key self-confidence emits a sudden devastating glamour in a split second, so that there is no escape for us.
Let me also comment on the colour and the clothes. The clothes are clean and eternal black, white, and grey, the colours for whom he is the best spokesman. Love his jacket -- simple style but with exquisite details, and the material looks very high-grade too. Under the crisp jacket he chooses to wear a knitted cardigan. This displays not just a layered look, but being the same grey colour but of different texture, the ying/yang contrast produces a delicate effect. As for that background, it happens to be this year's hot colour burgundy which gives a matured and mysterious flavour, perfectly in tune with his "feel" in this instant. To sum up, I like every detail about this photo, almost flawless, at least in my eyes.
Okay! I'm poisoned anyway. Keep looking at me like that and seducing me.............
* See Angie's earlier posting on 2/26/09 "A tribute to Jo Hyun-Jae".
(Photo courtesy of EVERjohyunjaeKorea)
That dramatic pose is very attractive. His eyes speak for himself – deep and subtle.
ReplyDeleteKiller looks? Yep, he sure has that!
ReplyDeleteYou can see so much from a photo? You are indeed a poet, Angie!
ReplyDelete