Bellyn is an extraordinarily imaginative photographer who takes experimental photography to the next level. Keep reading to taste the depth of her otherworldly moments she has captured in her self-created projects and beyond.
In a Nutshell:
- Name: Bellyn Ooi
- Hometown: Penang, Malaysia
- Year: 2019
- School and Major: CAS for Economics and English
HC NYU: Hi Bellyn, it’s so nice to meet you. Can you tell us about who you are and what you do?
Bellyn: I consider myself a writer first above all else, and photography is another medium in which I can express myself. I’ve been writing my whole life, ever since I could read and write. And ever since I’ve had a computer, I’ve been constantly blogging too. It just felt natural to transition from blogging to photography. I wanted to supplement what I was saying in my writing with images, and also wanted to evoke the same atmosphere as when I write. So, I used both mediums to achieve a surreal and dreamy aura. I used to focus more on conceptual photography, but ever since I first got my DSLR, I’ve been delving into fashion and editorial photography, but I plan to get back into more surreal and experimental photography.
HC NYU: When and how did you start taking pictures?
Bellyn: I started with a Nikon Coolpix, making the amateur mistake of shooting with flash on in broad daylight. I just found it so satisfying to see my own pictures on my blog. Soon though, I transitioned to a Canon Powershot which was much better, and I started to learn the basic principles of photography. I also started to take casual pictures of my friends, trying to evoke the all too familiar teenage gal mood. Then a year later, when I was 17, I finally got my DSLR, and started to become more observant of other people’s photographs, and invested in a special portrait lens which really changed the way I took photographs.
HC NYU: Are you a self taught photographer?
Bellyn: Yes. I’ve never taken a class or pursued a photography internship. I try to look at and analyze pictures I find in various magazines and design blogs. I like playing around with Photoshop too, and spend about 50 percent of my efforts post-processing.
HC NYU: What do you consider your most interesting photography project and why?
Bellyn: Freshman year of college, I didn’t know too many people, rather I only vaguely recognized a few faces- faces that I saw in the elevators or in between classes. So I built up the courage to ask a few of these faces if they would let me take pictures of them in their respective dorms. I ended up asking about 25 people. What I did was I set a time limit of 30 minutes and said, “I’m going to try to get to know you as I take pictures of you”. So in a way, it was almost like Humans of New York in that it was more about the person than the photo itself. Frankly, the photo was just an excuse to get to know these people, and find that special, intimate connection that goes on during a photoshoot that you can not replicate elsewhere.
(Paul; my neighbor whom I spotted attending Welcome Week Drag Bingo)
(Deborah; Ananditha’s room in the morning shaving one single armpit)
(Anisha; Literature of Capitalism classmate; kept bumping into each other in dining halls)
HC NYU: What do you think is the most difficult aspect of photography?
Bellyn: Getting the inspiration, getting a photo in my head that I desperately want to make real. Because once I have that photo, everything else follows naturally. The way I used to go about photography was that I saw an image in my head and I would try to chase that image and do anything to make that image tangible. In high school back in Malaysia, life was pretty boring so my friends and I had to create our own adventures. We would travel out to remote areas, go shopping together for photoshoot outfits, make mood boards; it was all a very engaging process. And finally, on the day of the photoshoot, we’d just shoot for four to five hours non-stop. We would really get into the story we tried to create together.
HC NYU: Can you tell me more about how you conducted your photoshoots in Malaysia?
Bellyn: My high school was located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. The program I was undergoing was very academic, and there wasn’t much room for creativity. We were in our own bubble, and hung out with the same people everyday. Life felt like a mundane routine. However, what I did appreciate about my high school was that we were very engaged in each other’s lives, so my friends would always eagerly participate in my photo projects. Inspirations occurred as a whim. We would see a picture or movie and say, “Oh my gosh! I want this kind of aesthetic!”. We built up the excitement together until the photoshoot; everyone was just so into it. There was no pressure, and we did it purely for the fun of it because we were interested in each others lives.
Photoshoots were always super low budget. The model would do her own makeup and we would borrow props and usually a friend’s car. Regardless, whatever we did, we would always make it happen. I always felt as if we had the world under our control when we were doing photoshoots.
HC NYU: What were some of the adventures and narratives you created?
Bellyn: One of my favorite fantasies I created was with my good friend and classmate, Michelle. Michelle had these pair of shiny teal mermaid leggings, and she would always wear them to school. She would easily stick out as the most fashionable chick in school where everyone usually just wore plain T-Shirts and jeans. Somehow, we were talking about her leggings, and this conversation evolved into a photoshoot.
The photoshoot took place at her house in Kedah, where there is not much aside from paddy fields and fishing villages. The flight was supposed to take about one and a half hours, and it was just me and her due to our low budget. However, the day of the scheduled photoshoot, our flight got delayed, and by the time we had arrived the sun had already set with violent storms blowings in the a pretty awful atmosphere. We weren’t even sure if we could even take pictures, but we pulled through and ended up using the storm to help shape a new narrative. We had originally wanted Michelle to be a graceful mermaid, but instead she became a sea witch. We went with what felt right, using nature itself as a prop. So for that day, Michelle was an angry sea witch who was accidentally caught by a fisherman, and now was summoning a storm.
Creating a fantasy world alone is almost a bit sad, and people may even look at you as if you’ve lost your mind. However, when other people become involved with you, all of the sudden you start to feel the mood of the image and the tale you are trying to create. It is an indescribable feeling of pure connectedness with each other that I will never forget.
HC NYU: With so many emerging photographers, what do you think makes you stand apart?
Bellyn: I’m not actively trying to stand apart. What’s most important for me is to just capture moments from my personal life. That was actually the original reason I got into photography. I wanted to preserve a certain moment through the atmosphere that has evolved in the picture. It’s also why I’m actually going to buy a smaller camera, in a way ‘degrading’ insteading of upgrading. Using a smaller camera will make it less intimidating to take pictures. This way, I don’t have to focus so much on the manual settings, but can just shoot the picture. I don’t want to always have to think “I am doing photography”, but rather just living my life, day by day, creating a means to look back and reflect upon.
HC NYU: What are three words to describe your photography aesthetic?
Bellyn: Real. It may sound ironic because I edit my pictures so much, but the camera only captures what it sees, but not how I feel at the moment. I use the editing process to translate my perspective of the moment into the final image.
Documentary. At the end of the day, I want a photograph that is aesthetically pleasing to look at, while being entirely personal. I’m currently trying to push the boundaries of what I consider beautiful and consciously subvert traditional photography rules when I’m taking a photo. When a moment feels right, I’ll shoot. I feel like I look at life through a dreamy perspective, especially since I’ve moved to New York. The world has a cinematic quality to it — I’m fuelled by an urgency to capture the moments of my friendships because there’s no way my memory is adequately equipped to remember.
Experimental. This is more an aspiration than my current photography aesthetic. I feel like I’ve been locked down by a certain editorial aesthetic since I started finding the perfect formula for taking stylish portraits of people. I’m trying to move out of that and go back to making mistakes and hopefully create something new.
Short Answers just for fun…
- Favorite Photoshoot Spot in the City: Someone’s room, I don’t care where, but it’s always the best.
- Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt: Ice Cream
- Indoor or Outdoor Photography: Outdoor
- If you could travel anywhere in the world to take pictures you would go to: Iceland
Follow Bellyn on Social Media:
Website: bcllyn.com
Interested in being interviewed and featured on our website? Contact Grace Moon at gracemoonnyu@gmail.com