A short film I made for my Directing Short Film final. Big thank you to everyone involved, you guys are the best!
Author: qnguyenian
Film photographer
the last dance – a short film
grandma’s thief – a short film
An assignment I made for my Directing short film class. Special thanks to my team and My Ngoc Jewelry for helping me complete this project.
Artist Deborah Burian
Deborah Burian is a fine art painter based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I had such an inspirational interview with her. Hope you enjoy this video. You can check out her work here: https://www.deborahburian.com/
Protected: a loss story
Abi the dancer
I got to know Abi and document her working on her senior capstone show for the last few weeks. This is Abi’s last show before her graduation in May 2024. It’s my pleasure to work on this project and get to know the freedom of music and dancing. Hope you enjoy this video as I do.
Jude the tattoo artist – artists series
I had the opportunity to document my friend Jude, who is a talented tattoo artist. Originally from China, Jude graduated with a major in sculpture. After discovering the art of tattooing, Jude has been passionately pursuing it ever since. While I continue to work on a more in-depth documentary about Jude, here’s a brief 36-second video to introduce him.
4×5 portraits
I got to learn how to use 4×5 camera this semester at school. And I am in love with 4×5. This is a whole new level of making photos as it brings so much possibilities into the photographs. I am learning how to focus on the subjects and how to use the camera movements to focus on multiple subjects in the frames. Here are some portraits I have made during the last 3 months. I hope somewhat capture the subjects’ characteristics or an essence of their feelings, this is my goal in large format portraits.
death inside – self portraits
This was not intended to be a self portrait series but I did not have a model at this moment so I had to put myself in front of the camera. This was my first ever self portraits and and consequently, they carry a raw vulnerability. I wanted to show a part of me that true to myself but also visually intriguing. I choose flowers to be my props because flowers are delicate and fragile, dead flowers are even more poetic. Reflecting on myself through the metaphor of flowers, I don’t see myself as a blooming blossom or one on the brink of blossoming. Instead, I identify more with a dried, withered flower—still possessing beauty, but in a more rugged and weathered manner. And to feel the beauty or value of a dead dried up flower, you need to have a different mindset than when you appreciate fresh flowers. In portraying myself as a human adorned with dead flowers sprouting from within, I aimed to expose the intricacy of my inner space. Through my poses, I hope to convey the pain, the ease and the peace that accompany a soul weathered by life’s trials.
All photo was taken on 35mm Ilford Delta 100 film. Darkroom printed and scanned digitally by me.
the house
Memories about my first “home” in Oklahoma.
I moved to Oklahoma 6 months ago, all by myself. This is the first time ever in my life I move to a completely new place and know no one before. This new journey in life has been making me face new challenges and encounter new experiences that make me feel more grateful for everything. This house is the very first place in Oklahoma that I can call “home”, my first shelter, my first safe place to return to after a bad day. Although I cannot live in this house for longer time, I have had some fond memories of this place and with the people in it.
However I am moving out in the next few days, to a new house. Therefore this house already becomes nostalgic to me. I want to hold on to that nostalgic feeling and take photos of the house to reserve the memory of this place. I choose black and white photos to unify the photos and add timeless sense to this series.
film sequence 