The Introvert

"Ever since I was little, I was the kid hiding behind his mother holding her comforting hand; the kid who ran home breaking in tears just so he can be hidden from the world; the kid who wouldn't participate in class activities or any activities for the matter. Of course, my parents got fed up with my excessive shyness so they signed me up for acting classes, speaking programs, and any other courses that involved me opening my mouth and conversing with others. As years passed, I got better at speaking with the world, I made friends that were of every race, high school felt like a breeze. It felt as if I were invincible to anyone and anything. However, that all came crashing down after high school. I felt distant as I started working in an industry where almost everyone were much older than me. I felt like I had to keep my mouth shut and do whatever the world asked for just because I was the "younger employee".

I felt like a kid again.

Now that I became an adult, I couldn't ask my parents to put me through those speaking programs again. Quite frankly, I didn't want to. My life had a schedule: "Work, come home, eat, read books, eat, sleep. Repeat." I would often just sit by the windowsill of my tiny drafty room and look outside. I would see the world from this little room and instantly, I felt trapped. I had to do something. There's more to life than staying home everyday. So I grabbed my camera which was a Nikon FM back then and I took my uneasy steps out into the world. Honestly speaking, my first roll of film came out appalling. Most of my exposures were blurry, overexposed, and none of them had any story behind them. Feeling upset, I promised myself that I would go out every week and shoot around streets of Vancouver that terrified me.

That was almost a year ago..

Now I am doing much better. I do not fear going outside, meeting new people or just walking down the busiest streets of Vancouver. However, no matter where I go, I never forget to carry my camera (Fujix100s) whether it is hanging out with my close friends or going to work or just walking to the grocery store to buy some milk. I am glad to say that photography has slowly, but surely cured my extreme introverted personality.

This photo was taken by a Fuji X100S in Squamish, Whistler on October 10th, 2013 with my girlfriend who willingly wore the panda onesie and sat by the windowsill. I used the natural light that was streaming in through the window. I had her cover his eyes because I wanted to express that the subject was not comfortable showing her face; that she was, in fact, shy. She's wearing the panda onesie solely because of the well-known fact that pandas are extremely shy. I call this photo, "The Introvert" because I wanted to express how I felt back in the day when I was sitting in my room, gazing out of the window. Back then, when the world outside of my window felt like space, where no one can hear me."- Kevin Choi

EXIF:
Camera Fujifilm X100S
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 23 mm
ISO Speed 800

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