Photographer

Penny Wong

Finalist in

Upper Primary Category

Written Statement

A tempest is a violent wind storm. It creates a commotion and eventually dies down. 2020 brought turbulence and unrest to the world and changed what it meant to be Chinese for many people. Experts say that the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in Wuhan, China, but we still don’t know the original source of the virus. Tempest explores how Chinese communities and others stood up against intolerance and negativity during the pandemic.

A leaf blower was used to get some powerful gusts of wind on my subject from different angles. She had to shake her hair around to get the right messy effect. I shot the subject front on in my backyard with my mum’s Google Pixel camera phone on auto settings. My sister held a white reflector on the right and my dad held the leaf blower. The photos were cropped to show the subject’s hair being whipped around as the wild winds blew from different directions while she remained upright and unmoved. You can only see the subject’s nose and mouth, which contrasts with what you see when someone is wearing a face mask. By hiding the expression in her eyes, you can’t see how the subject really feels under the brave smile.