7th/8th First Time

[Pants to Poverty held Pants Amnesty in the cold London rain in front of the Royal Exchange in a bid to to raise awareness about the highly toxic insecticide used in cotton in many developing countries.]

7th July: After reading my new friend Chris‘ blog post on the Londonist, I headed to the Royal Exchange to check out the scene. It was quite cool seeing this big group of people in underwear and it was my first time too. It’d be cool if something like that happened in Singapore. Yesterday was also my first time being stuck in Selfridges because it suddenly rained/hailed/sleeted in London?!?! I never knew the ceiling of Selfridges leaked so badly until yesterday.

8th July: Today is the first time I worked out at gym in London. Decided to sign up for and print out the free one-day gym trial membership for the Fitness First just 2 minutes away from my place. Did rowing, stepping and cycling for 60 minutes and felt much better after that. I hope it cures my insomnia because for the past 2 days I’ve been sleeping at 5/6am? I have no idea why. And today was also the first time I was asked this question at a job interview, “What is your favourite drink?” I was very amused by that.

5th/6th First Time

[The kind of sunset you get after you've been walking in the medium rain for the whole afternoon.]

5th July: Went to Brighton for the first time. Very relaxing day just lying on the beach, reading, talking and eating super fresh and cheap seafood. It was my first time seeing people do stand up paddle surfing as well. It looked really tiring.

6th July: My first time in the Getty Images Gallery, just off Oxford street. They had a lot of nice, classic black and white photos all in black frames. It was also the first time buying Above magazine from my favourite magazine shop RD Franks. Above magazine does the whole preserving nature thing in a very unnoticeable manner. I like that. I also like the tactile feeling of the magazine – probably because of the way the solid/thick/textured pages feel as you flip them.

Forth First Time

[My view upwards whilst lying on a beach in Cannes just one week ago. The wonders of transportation.]

4th of July’s first time included buying a blue half-straw hat and going to Trafalgar Square to take photos at the London Pride Parade, themed ‘Come Out and Play’. The hat is half-straw because it is half-linen as well; it’s hard to describe but it’s sort of like a blue straw visor with floppy linen to cover up the top exposed part of the visor. Buying the hat was somehow more exciting to me than the parade and I think I will miss my favourite japanese hat shop, where I get all my hats from, once I leave London.

Third First Time

[What tragic copy in Liverpool which already felt like a ghost town to me.]

3rd of July’s first time included going to Richmond and having coffee made by an excellent barista friend (whom I haven’t met for a year since I last was at uni in Singapore) and then spontaneously going for a dinner at the friend’s friend’s house. Basically it was dinner with one friend plus 5 strangers (but not strangers any more). I had super yummy Italian food.

Second First Time

[Waiting for the sun to set at a beach in San Sebastian. It was the widest beach we've ever seen.]

Today’s first time included enjoying a rooftop BBQ dinner with friends and learning variations of Poker from Miss Colombia and Miss Italy. It was also my first time attending a talk by Chris Anderson (the author of The Long Tail). I first read his book when studying a Social Media course back at SMU. Today he talked about the concept of ‘freemium’.

First Time July

[Children climbing up the railing that overlooks the main river in Bordeaux. Children always want to climb over.]

My holidays have officially started with the little innovation event we organised being completed yesterday. My presentation was about designing your own funeral. I wonder if there are any funeral photographers around.

So today I decided to make July a ‘First Time July’, which means I do something for the first time for every day that occurs in July.  It’s sort of like being a kid again, always wanting to cross the line and do something for the first time; it’s about rebellion but more about  innocent curiosity. Today’s first time was eating cheese sorbet (on top of carrot cake) and that was not nice at all. I saw a bright blue grand piano and upright piano for the first time too when I walked past the Chelsea Pianos store. I also went to the cinema alone for the first time today (to catch Ice Age 3). I’m pretty much okay with doing some things alone but only when I was in Cannes recently talking to my friend who mentioned watching movies alone that I realised it’s something I’ve never done before. Looking forward to more ways of surprising myself everyday this July.

Today on the tube, this happened ( – every day of your life can be a story):

The cheeky little boy was swinging round the holding pole in the train as though he was at a playground.
His American mum just stood there, letting her son be, when she caught sight of the surfer dude in the opposite corner.
“Do you want him? I can see you looking at him thinking he looks like fun.”
The surfer dude smiled and continued smiling for quite a while longer.

As Cool As Clouds

[Clouds at the hill opposite the hill where my friend's uncle's countryside house is in Palermo.]

This picture is how I feel right now with Japanese electronic music playing in the background and some green tea on the table after tiger prawns for a late dinner. Spent the whole day ironing, tidying, clearing, arranging and putting everything into order. Now I feel like I am ready to take on many things in this calm, collected state of mind. I believe environment/location/space/non-places do make a huge difference.

Burst

[Reflection of the red fluorescent lights on the painted cement floor. But really, it could be anything you want it to be.]

Cannes was good. Just three days of getting to know someone better and sharing life stories and ideas (plus relaxing in front of the azure blue sea and sky  and walking in the rain like we were kids again). I haven’t walked in the rain in a long time so it was strangely calming to do it again; and my spontaneous trip ended with grand plans for the future. Only God can put me at the right time at the right place and that’s the cool thing about knowing God in a relationship instead of as a religion. The first year of my MA course has just ended and one more year left. One year to do placements, test my hypothesis, write my thesis, organise a conference and present at it. And of course all the other exciting plans in between and all the other little projects I want to work on. I know the year will speed by again just like this past year has and because you never know where the future brings you, I’m gonna treasure it as though it’s my last year in London.

Not Knots

[A boat at Albert dock in Liverpool beside the table where we had lunch.]

Do you look at the complexity in front of you or the clear blue sky beyond that? I got a surprise message and so I just booked tickets today for Cannes on Sunday. Looking forward to more inspiration there.

Beauty Up And Down

[Looking at the same lamp post in Paris from an upward view and a downward view.]

When you have a wholesome view in life, it’s easy to see beauty from all angles, be it the real thing or the shadows. Hurt people hurt people but those who know they are loved much, will also love much. Those who know much grace has been given to them, will also be gracious towards others.

Busy And Btween

I’ve not had the chance to update my blog in awhile because I’ve had wonderful relatives visiting me in London, so yes I’ve been eating a lot. In the past 2 weeks, quite a bit has happened. I went to Bath for the first time, Paris for the forth time and am now in Liverpool for the first time. The street photography experiences in all three are very different. I think revisiting a place and shooting it always opens up a new way of looking at things. It is the whole concept of learning, unlearning and relearning.

On a side note, I am in Liverpool attending an Interactive Digital Media Forum organised by btween09 and I’ve got so much to absorb.

Glimpses

[The shadow tells the story better.]

I’m back in London again. Just got in from Bordeaux this morning. The evening took an unexpected turn after the studio portraiture sessions ended. Went for a spontaneous drink with a friend and then went round taking some night shots. I think London at night really has quite a character of its own.

Taking Off Again And Again

[My bright blue jeans matched the barbie-pink backdrop pretty sweetly.]

Had an awesome time in the studio tonight. Off again tomorrow to two new cities I’ve never been to before and I can’t wait to update with more pictures when I’m back. I’ve got some new iso1600 film and I’m excited to try them out on my travels.

On a side note, today is the first day I started running again. I hope to be serious this time, considering running is my least favourite activity out of all sports. Mind over body, mind over body, mind over body.

Last Week I Ate Curry

[Curry chicken and potatoes. Yum]

5degreeshift Is Officially Launched

Sex Sells, Especially In A Recession

[These photos were taken in London and NYC, the two main cities targeted at being responsible for the current global financial upheavals. And in a recession, we are all reduced to level playing grounds again, looking for the next best thing.]

A Million Light-years Away

[The night sky really looks like that just that we can't see it with our eyes.]

I need to remind myself to look beyond what I cannot see, what I cannot do, what I cannot get.

Shadows Of The Present

[Live a little, learn a little. Look at what just happened, learn from it, move on.]

Singapore Day And Monocle ‘Takeaway’

[At Hampton Court Palace, where Singapore Day was held this year in London. The trees leading the way in made us feel like Alice in Wonderland.]

On a side note, the editor-in-chief of my favourite magazine, Monocle, came into class as a visiting speaker yesterday. One thing he said that we could take away from his talk was to travel a lot, because travel is education and experience. And I love traveling so of course what he said made me very pleased.

Smooth Sailing

[Watching the boats from Foro Italico. Very, very different feel from London.]

School just started again today. It’s the last term of my first year, which will be over in just 10 weeks. How time has flown. It is going to be more intense than ever and I’m all charged up from the Spring break. Bring it on! It’s going to be exciting to see how much provision there is going to be this term.

Why I Love Traveling

[Easter Sunday lunch at Patrizia's aunt's home at the countryside area of Palermo. The white hair at the bottom of the photograph belongs to Patty's grandfather who is 95 years old and still tends to his own garden of almond trees, peach trees and many other wonderful plants. Spot me somewhere in the middle of the photo.]

The Easter weekend was spent with my wonderful friend Patrizia, whom I had befriended on exchange in Milan in 2006. When we parted ways then, we didn’t know when we would meet again, or where for that matter. But she invited me to spend the Easter weekend with her family in Palermo and soak in the local festive spirit. The Easter celebrations felt a bit like how we celebrate Chinese New Year back in Singapore. We spent the entire day eating and everyone stayed on after just to just talk and catch up with each other. We had so much to eat, I was super full after that.

The Living Is Easy

[Everyone enjoying the views of the Vltava river in Prague, soaking in the sunshine and just relaxing. But mostly, doing nothing.]

The Heart Core

[Walking along the river towards Charles Bridge in Prague, this caught my eye. Reminds me of the Singaporean slang "You're damn hard core leh!" Except in this case, it's heart core.]

For now, my heart says keep traveling and keep sucking in everything. Everyday, my view of the world changes.

To Curb On The Curb

[In NYC, sometimes owners are asked to curb their dogs. This little sign caught my eye and amused me.]

Yay, the days are getting longer and sunset is now about 8pm. Daylight makes such a big difference to me because I really like long bright days. My sleeping cycle is finally back to normal again, sleeping earlier and waking up earlier. I guess it helped that Prague was an hour faster than London.

Looked Like A Movie Set

[We went to Bake Shop in Prague just a little too late on the first day.]

Cappuccino Cat

[Fat cat in the café window. Really fat cat.]

Spring In My Skip

[Shot this on my way home from school yesterday. Yes London isn't such a grey city.]

Easter holidays have begun. That’s 4 weeks of rest. Looking forward to it very much. Plus my upcoming Prague and Palermo trips.

Fancy A Snog

[When I looked up, I saw a ceiling full of glass LED lights that changed colour continually. Snog is a frozen yogurt shop and this was shot in their Soho branch, right in the middle of all the sex shops.]

Those who know me, know that I love coloured lights. Just check out Snog. With lights like that, how I can not be happy? I always daydream what it would be like to live in a world with coloured lights everywhere.

The Northern Lights

[Braved the cold waiting in darkness just for this. I didn't do anything to the colours for this photo; just so you know, it was really like that. Most people stayed on the bus to wait because it was too windy. I had my tripod all propped up and I kept jumping on the spot to keep warm.]

Slowly but surely, I’ll get all my photos properly archived and in order so you get to see more of them. I promise.

分久必合，合久必分

[The ice had cracked along one of the trails which we were walking on in the middle of nowhere in Iceland. It was truly in the middle of nowhere because there was only us and the 3 other people from the jeep; then the 360 degrees of flat ground all around us had no one else.]

Just finished watching the Chinese movie Red Cliff 2 on Chinese war strategy. It confirms one of the things I aim to work on so it was quite a good thing to watch that movie.

Fish Is Brain Food

[Half a kilogram worth of a whole sea bass that I steamed Chinese-style for dinner. I don't have a steamer or a steaming stand, so I usually use a huge dim-sum basket instead. I had to cut the fish into half in order to fit the basket.]

They say fish is brain food. I hope it’s true because that’s a whole lot of fish I had for dinner! Also, I realised that all my recent photos are food photos. Have I really been eating that much?

Bankrupt Iceland With Priceless Scenery

[The views we sponged in at Pingvellir National Park. This was one of the stops for the  one-day jeep tour we took. We walked through beauty as such, and alongside a volcanic rift valley as well. And yes the waters in Iceland are the bluest I've ever seen in my life. They're blue even when the sun doesn't shine. That's how mineral-rich it is.]

Got three upcoming trips planned, and a lot more exciting things to look forward to this Easter break. Now back to the reading.

Chilling Icelandic Moon

[On the first night of reaching Reykjavik, capital of Iceland, we took a bus from the airport to our hotel.]

Yes I am back from Iceland, and yes it was beautiful. And even more so, in response to all your excited questions, yes I do have many beautiful pictures. But for now, I have to first sort my time out yet once again.

I’ve got a self-positioning proposition and plan due in 1 week. It’s a 2,000 word essay on where I hope to see myself go forth with the knowledge I have acquired during the course of my MA Innovation Management. Then I just embarked on another short course at Central Saint Martins today. This time it’s silk-screen printing for beginners and I thoroughly enjoyed myself today. Doing something so manual is a nice break away from the highly digitised world I live in. Also, I’m finally more than halfway done with the photography website I’m building proper. You will get a chance to see a lot more of my travel photos there.

Oh and of course, there’s Easter holiday planning and more merry eating and drinking.

Off To Iceland

[Somewhere over the clouds.]

Going over the clouds again. Be back soon with hopefully some unexpected shots. Have a good week!

Snow On Skeletons

[Shot this series while my friends were mucking around in the snow. It was 1am in the morning with the first mega snowfall of the year and we had climbed into a locked park. Everything felt so strangely surreal.]

旧的不去，新的不来。

Chinese Haircuts And Hanging Chickens

ι Me watching two Chinese watching another Chinese walk by

[On the 7th day of Chinese New Year in London's Chinatown. There's just something about Chinatown - this could have been any Chinatown in the world.]

Hope everyone’s been enjoying CNY and eating lots!

Love, Sex And Rock&Roll

ι The awesome silkscreen printing of an illustration that Merry did

I love tshirts and I love personalised, special tshirts from friends even more.

What Is Not My Point Of View?

ι On the other side of the same thing

[In one of the Paris underground Metros, waiting for the train to arrive.]

Got an essay to write that’s due next Monday. It’s a literature review so I’m not supposed to give my point of view at all. I am going to be writing about disruptive innovation. It feels slightly strange to not be able to give my view/opinions after doing that for various academic pieces in the last few years. But yes, doing things differently or doing something “new” is always interesting and changes perspectives. I think not giving my point of view is going to change my point of view.

Purple Heathrow In The Night

ι Sheltered trees illuminated

My mum just left today. I think her kind of airport situations are the best in this case – departing from family only to arrive to family.

Pretty Sunset From A Plane

ι Somewhere in between

The last time I saw a pretty sunset like that, which you can only get on planes, was probably in 2000 on my way to or from USA, from or to Singapore. I’m still up working on a presentation that starts (and ends) tomorrow. Thankfully, I finish soon. But it’s silent times in the night like this, at strange hours when I’m caught in a float between sleep and wake, that I feel like I’m in a space just like the photo above.

Even Instant Noodles Get Upgraded

ι Instant noodles with braised mushroom, minced pork, spring onions, sesame oil, garlic oil

You know my mum is here when my quick fix of instant noodles during late-night study sessions gets upgraded to something this awesome. And it’s just instant noodles.

With Arms Wide Open

ι A part of me

[In Paris in the last week of December 2008, whilst taking a lazy morning stroll by the River Seine with my mum.]

Stepping Into Acceptable 2009

ι Hello favours, here we come

The End of 2008

2008 is ending which means my birthday is here. Leaving Paris in a bit and heading back to London. This is one of the few years I spend my birthday in 2 big cities. Think the last time I did that it was Shanghai and Singapore or something like that.  Got some nice photos here in Paris so I’m pretty excited to share them soon. Moving to a new place in London (good friends are welcome to visit any time) then heading over to Austria for skiing. Will be back to update my blog when I’m back in 2009! Happy New Year everyone! And happy eating (:

Merry Christmas

ι Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me

The Crime Scene

[We were supposed to do a series of photos again, but this time it was a "colour series": 1 for every colour of the rainbow plus 1 each for grey, black and white.  In the end, these were the photos that somehow had the strongest narrative. Woke at 5 to go shooting this morning because we were tasked to capture the markets in London as well. Hence, all the photos in my "colour series" were taken as I walked from one market to another, ie: in transit. It really felt a little scary/shady at some parts of the morning when it was still dark and quiet. The sun only rose at 8 am.]

Chasing London

[The second of my series of 7 photos from the photography assignment yesterday. Funny how my second series turned out better than my first intended series. Can you get a taste of my London? Can you get my taste of London?]

Celebrate Life

ι I heart London

[Taken just a few hours ago at Piccadily Circus during the night photography brief of the day for my course.]

Been so busy as last week was the last week of the school term, and we had our final group presentations. My group had to put up a presentation supporting a convincing argument that was anti-morality, and we approached it from a pro-immorality point of view. Pretty tough one I must say. Ten weeks of my very first school term in London just flew by. Then it was busy enjoying the few days of the Christmas holidays. Plus an awesome-packed weekend with lots of food and exploring London by walking.

I’ve just started another short course at Central Saint Martins this week and it’s travel photography. We’re right smack in the middle of the course today as it ends this Friday. It’s been really working my eyes, brain, heart and soul in a different way from academia. The wonderful thing about London is all these opportunities I have to learn new things, eat new things, see new things.

Perspective On Life

ι Broken glass or shining stars

Walk in Brick Lane Market

ι Full and wasted, fully wasted

Explored Brick Lane Market with Marie and Zixi last Sunday. We came across much of such examples of waste.

Folded Swan

ι Nobody can see us

Gentle Lights

ι Quietly with you and me

[This was taken in Lausanne as we decided to take a half-hour walk down the hill in the cold from Xin's house to Sally's house. The moon and the street lamps made that same reassuring glow. The cold was the refreshing sort and I felt so free and calm.]

The Sky is Sexy

ι Tinges of red from my eyes to my heart

[Taken from the bus-stop outside Sally's place in Lausanne, while we were waiting to take the bus up to school for Fete Uni.]

I’m back from Lausanne, Switzerland and I had an awesome time there. The scenery and surroundings are just so peaceful. Xin’s birthday party at her house on Friday and the party at their school, Fete Uni, on Saturday. I had fun helping out in the huge kitchen in their school, EHL. It was nice to do something different for a change. For Fete Uni, all the countries had to put up a food and drinks stand and a performance. The Singapore stand had chicken rice and satay. Surprisingly, the Singapore stand won Best Cocktail for the Singapore Sling. Good to see familiar faces Sally and Xinxin – friends from when we were young schoolgirls just 14 or 15. Sally was the sweetest host and we had so much to talk about. We made cheese fondue, chocolate eclairs and peach tarts when we were at home, or more like I was the helpful assistant and she was the master chef. Quality friendships, I like.

5 – The Number of Grace

ι Peekaboo Pink

[Walking around the Central Saint Martins Charing Cross building, being interviewed by Miranda whilst helping her take photos for her journalism project. The building by the way, is really "decrepit", quoting Miranda.]

Today, being the 5th of November, means that I can hear fireworks going off constantly from my room. They’re celebrating Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Day. Or maybe Obama’s win. Tomorrow I’m off to Switzerland. Good time to straighten my thoughts and realign them again. Refresh my brain and take some photos.

All The Fun of the Fair

ι Spinning round and round

[The lights from the rides of the fun-fair at Victoria Park. We went there to watch almost half-an-hour worth of fireworks.]

I’m so happy with all the colourful lights for the night from the fun fair and from the fireworks. On a side-note, Happy Birthday Xin Xin!

Red Velvet Cupcake

ι Red velvet cupcake remnants that won’t leave me oh-so-svelte

Today, we went to Portobello Market again and I got the opportunity to sit at Hummingbird Bakery and people-watch. Was trying to capture shots for our project. At the same time, I really wanted to try the lovely cupcakes there. Bought the Red Velvet cupcake and it was delicious. Too delicious that I couldn’t even take a photo of it before eating. Then, when I met up with my group again to discuss our findings, 3 of them had bought cupcakes for 3 of the rest of us. Sweet actions with such sweet cupcakes. Don’t think I’ve eaten 2x awesome RICH cupcakes in a span of 3 hours before.

(p.s. Faye, i just continued with 2x meals again today haha, when is your turn?)

You Know You’ve Got Cool Classmates When…

ι The unplanned ‘undertable’ Converse cult

Exhibitions of Andy Warhol & Robin Rhode

ι Exhibition posters outside Southbank Centre, London

Today, I went to the Southbank Centre for two exhibitions. They are both being held in the Hayward Gallery. One is of the famous Andy Warhol, and the other is by Robin Rhode who offers a very fresh perspective by approaching art in simplicity.

I liked what they portrayed about Andy Warhol because it shows a man who has so many talents. He was an illustrator, painter, avant-garde filmmaker, record producer, author and public figure. I think it is interesting that back then, he was already a “multi-occupationist”. At the start of this year, I went for a talk that predicted the career trend for my generation was that we would not hold one fixed job each but have many jobs at the same time and many interests as well. I love how that breaks society’s stereotype that one person can only be good at one thing, and that one thing is usually that person’s profession. Do you really have to specialise in only one thing to be good and trustworthy in performing that task? Why can’t we be excellent specialists in many things? Why do we limit the human brain or a human’s capacity as such?

As a main player in the pop art scene, it also shows that Andy Warhol puts much thought into his artistic work by reflecting and triggering off reflections about the popular culture of United States at that time. I think that’s great because it is not just art for art’s sake but it goes much deeper. I can connect with that because meaningfulness is important to me.

Robin Rhode works predominantly with everyday material like charcoal, chalk and paint. He started out creating performances that are based on his own drawings of objects that he interacts with, and then he creates photography sequences and digital animations of them.Check out a short clip on his work here. (Couldn’t find much of his work on the internet though – hope more will spring up soon.)

Blind

ι A past so deep that even you could not bury if you tried

Children and Parents

ι Looking at you looking at it but who cares whether the parents are looking

Grey Stains

ι Blurly distinct

Ever since I’ve arrived in London, my mind has been brimming with questions. Seems like there is a question a day. All the things that we take them as they are. Why is death taboo? Why is love cliched? Why is old worthless? Used to ask myself all these random and seemingly unimportant why questions when I was younger. Then I stopped for awhile. And now it’s back to more exploratory brain aerobics.

Graffiti on Bricks

ι Watching, keeping watch and being watched

Cartoons & Halloween Are Pretty Similar

ι Cartoons almost real-life

There is so much make-believe. You have to differentiate the almost-real make-believe and the totally-untrue make believe. Confusing?