What Is The Price Of Love

[Anything essential is seen only with the heart.]

Songs by 放大同 are on my current easy-listening playlist. Just bought new wine glasses today and am most pleased with them.

Just Gin And Bear It

[Reminds me a bit of the HC cups we used to use at NCC before H1N1. They're all shots of goodness, just depends on whether they're everlasting or not. You choose.]

Love Is Not Rude

[Was walking around on a mini photo fieldtrip whilst in Singapore and was sharing with a friend how I started noticing more details in life after I started taking photos. That's when I took this shot. Even seemingly ugly details or mundane visuals can be transformed into something beautiful.]

现在我最讨厌的感觉，是舍不得的那种。

I’m back in London again and it’s always the absence of that makes one more appreciative. Just like how at GenRev it was shared that familiarity depreciates a person, having familiarity taken away from me makes me appreciate everything more.

Tugs At The Heartstrings

[Grandma and laksa.]

[Grandpa after finishing his putu mayam. When grandma asked him what he had ordered, he grinned and pointed at the Indian stall and said 斋米粉. We didn't even realise that he was pulling our legs until the dish arrived.]

This is what I come back to Singapore for. Breakfast with my grandparents the size of lunch and dinner combined. Even though on my own I usually don’t really eat much but just grab a coffee for breakfast, the satisfaction from such big breakfasts fills the stomach…and the heart. I’m heading back to London tonight and I hope I won’t be sad to leave because I hate being sad. I thank God for my precious family. When God blesses people, he definitely blesses through people and relationships.

A Kiss Can Be A Comma, A Question Mark Or An Exclamation Point

[Daphne and Trent.]

Shot Daphne and Trent’s wedding last Friday. Daphne is Singaporean and Trent is Australian but they’re both working in the UK now. So they had one celebration in London, one in Melbourne and their last stop was Singapore. Literally a round-the-world wedding with the destinations back-to-back. They were very relaxed in spite of their hectic traveling, which is amazing.

There’s More To Living Than Being Alive

[Shooting an interesting reflection of myself in a strange coloured glass I chanced upon while recce-ing Fort Canning Park.]

Oriental Scoot

[Saw this on a scooter parked in Haji Lane today.]

Had an activity day today, going to Haji Lane, Casual Poet cafe and then Marina Barrage. Ended with a quick dinner of curry chicken at Killiney Kopitiam. Today’s also the day of bumping into people. Met 4 different people unplanned at different places. Singapore seems smaller today.

Update: Popped by KPO after dinner and met another friend there. What a strangely pleasant day.

My Second Exhibition

ι Jes (one of the café designers) and I in front of the exhibits

Before I left for London, I had the opportunity to have some of my travel photos exhibited at a new café in Bali Lane. My photos are on the very first column, ie: first from the left. There are four other photographers who have their photos displayed as part of this exhibition. The café had its opening on 20 September and I was glad to join in the festivities with my good friends Aletheia and Liana. This series of travel photos were taken on my New York trip. They are slightly abstract but they are meaningful to me. If you have the chance, do go and check it out. It is quite convenient as it is just next to Haji Lane.

The Coffee Nations

17 Bali Lane, Singapore 189853

Living Colors

Γ The new light beside the old lamp at my bedhead

Flat But Not Wrecked

ι When shapes lose colour and clarity sets in

[Looking up into sky at the Singapore Botanic Gardens as I was waiting for the subjects to change into their next outfit.]

Rock The Gardens

ι And what is this foundation we daily tread upon

[The rocky pavements at the entrance of the Singapore Botanic Gardens outside the souvenir shop.]

Today is one busy day. The afternoon was pretty interesting doing a mini fashion shoot for an upcoming mini magazine. The venue was Botanic Gardens, which holds many fond memories for me because I used to go there very often when I was a kid with my grandparents for morning exercises and breakfasts.

Benches And Talks

ι One of many late-night talks + Frolick yoghurt sessions

[An empty shop window that reflected the benches where we usually sit along Jalan Merah Saga. If you look closely, you can see both of us in the window reflections.]

The Starting Tree

ι 冷了以后看见自己够傻

[The palm tree at the start of the bridge at Hort Park. The night is really something else in photography, thanks to long exposures.]

Hort Park Night Walk

ι To tread upon a diamond

ι Cause you never know where the next step takes you

ι Space or boundary

[The suspended bridges at Hort Park where I took a night walk with a friend on Sunday.]

Just caught the movie 12Lotus. It’s a local production directed by Royston Tan. I thought the singing was quite good but it’s generally a sad show. I am such a happy-ending person that I get slightly unsettled by sad shows. Hence, I decided to post some of the more emotionally-heavy photos I took on a night walk just three days ago.

Happy Photography Workshop

Last Monday, I had a great time teaching my first official basic photography workshop to Jonny and Shermeen. We had a theoretical lesson, a practical hands-on session around Haji Lane/Arab Street, and finished the afternoon up with critique and feedback, plus all other questions. Jonny and Shermeen are such a talented couple and I had such a delightful time spending the afternoon with them. Jonny is a very experienced emcee and Sherms is a fantastic designer. Do check out Sherms’ blog if you can. It has some pretty fascinating posts.

It was indeed a different way to approach my passion for photography. Instead of being behind the camera, I got to be in front of the camera mostly. Also, instead of just fiddling with the camera on my own, I had to put all my usual actions and conceptualization into words such that it was easy for my students to grasp the concepts. All in all, I had fun and I would definitely do it again. Activities are just so awesome when they entail something you truly love and enjoy.

ι The fabulous learners

ι Jonny’s shot of me

ι Sherms’ shot of me

NDP Red Smokin’ Parachutes

ι Tipsy-turvy

[Parachuters/skydivers on their descent during the National Day Parade Preview on 02 August. This is the view from our awesome central seats in the orange sector.]

Featured In Lime Magazine, August 2008

ι click on the image to read the article

I was pretty stoked to find out that one of the photos I took during a shoot for Leon (and Daphne) was used for the August 2008 edition of Lime Magazine. I took the main photo on the page of this article. Leon is DJ Inquisitive and you have to check out his myspace page to listen to some of his beats. He’s an awesome DJ who has won the Singapore DMC Championships twice in 2006 and 2007. He also achieved a top 4 placing in the DMC World DJ Championships.

Side-Portrait

ι Shell – Image 2

I must admit, I was slightly frightened after the hair cut. I initially wanted to go for a little trim, just so that I would look neat at my upcoming graduation ceremony. Then I decided to go with my feelings and get that hair cut. The second my hairstylist snipped off the hair from above my ear, I had a little panic attack in my inside system. Of course, on the outside I seemed cool. It was totally uncool to appear uncool and shaken. I kept trying to make up my mind as she cut my hair whether I had made a correct choice or not. I could not decide.

As I walked away from the hair salon, staring at my reflection in the mirrors of the overhead escalators, it got me thinking a bit. About confidence. And how in this modern day, people bank so much of their confidence on their outward appearance (coincidentally a topic of conversation I had earlier on with my beautician). I suddenly had to deal with the uncertainty of not feeling confident in a ’safe’ hairstyle. Felt slightly stripped bare and had to readjust what I had confidence in. Now, as I look at this photo, the irony of it is pushed that bit further with the image of a long-haired girl I have on my top. And if you look closer, you see the crack of the paint on the wall behind me. Read between the lines?

Self-Portrait

ι Shell – Image 1

Today I went for a facial, a hair cut, and almost went for manicure/pedicure. Major grooming day. I haven’t had hair that short in awhile and although I’ve had many short haircuts, I’ve not had one quite like this one before. I always forget when was the last time I cut my hair. Hence, I’ve decided to take a self-portrait on the day I cut my hair from now onwards. I like my hair now but I’m still getting used to it; the last time I cut my hair this short, I got used to it immediately. I’m wondering if I’m getting a little less risk-embracing with age.

I’m off to Sydney from tomorrow till 11 July. Then it’s graduation ceremony or Commencement on 12 July. Exciting changes and big moves.

28 Jun 08: Joe & Kammui’s Solemnization

ι Love can never be distanced

Yesterday’s solemnization was one of those that had a very good flow. I felt so happy after it and it was a simple, beautiful affair. I think the fact that they were both so relaxed really makes a huge difference. The amount of natural light that streamed into the Glass Pavilion made gorgeous lighting. I also love weddings/events that have good live jazz singing. Kammui’s dress yesterday is one of my favorites by far. She got it from Margaret Brides.

Chasing The Speed Of Light

ι View from the Singapore Flyer

I just love city lights at night. The view of this highway reminds me of the view I had from the serviced apartment I stayed in Shanghai whilst working there for a month this time about 3 years ago. Just that the highways there and then were Shanghainese.

Anyway last night was such an awesome night with free flyer tickets, free pies, one-for-one Starbucks lattes, a spontaneous picnic by the waters and a green friend (who is as random as me).

Can You Guess Where This Is

ι My whole world turns misty blue

When Will You Have The Time

ι Sit and chat to regret – don’t wait till it’s too late

Intrigue Like Lines

ι The heart of the Singapore Flyer

Caving In or Falling Out

ι The ‘ceiling’ art feature at Millenia Walk

I have a penchant for lines in my line of sight.

And We’ll All Float On Okay

ι The sky is a canvas

This Is How I’ve Been Feeling

ι Sentosa with the relaxing sky, clouds, sea and sand

P.S.: It was so hot that the sand was burning and we had to wear our slippers to play in the beach touch competition. Always a first time.

The Mysterious Moon

ι A subtle mystery the moon is that makes her so elusive

The White Rose

ι White on white

Last Wednesday, my two dearest friends, Lauren and Lenise, surprised me with a pretty white rose in the middle of my studying at Starbucks. They actually had a debate over which color they each thought I’d like more. The rose is still sitting pretty on my table and deserves a long-life award for lasting till today.

Photo + Haiku Exhibition

Thanks to everyone who came down to visit my exhibition which was ongoing from 31 March to 04 April. It was really awesome considering this is the first time I ran an exhibition proper and also the first time I’ve paired photos with haikus. Thanks Nabilah for the wonderful haikus you wrote. Quite frankly, before we actually put up the exhibition at Frujch, before we had a tangible result to look at, I had no idea how it would turn out or if it would even look good at all. Thank God it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

After much discussion, Nabilah and I agreed on the unifying theme of time. This is because we’re both graduating students (I just had my final paper yesterday) and we’re at this stage in life where time means so much and we don’t know where time will bring us all. The first segment of the exhibition is time standing still and the second segment of the exhibition is time moving. Pretty much self-explanatory why we chose those two categories of time.

Orange Through the Wall

ι Light is brighter in the dark

This is how the patch of orange on the floor appeared out of nowhere in the car park. It shone from the sun through the hole in the wall, then through the front screen of the car at the upper deck, and bounced off the top of the car at the lower deck in an almost straight angle spanning across the car park. It’s amazing how light travels. It’s even more awesome that the theory of light shining ever more beautifully and brightly in darkness holds so much truth in this situation. Are you a light in the world around you today?

Orange On the Floor

ι Splotch of orange in the darkness

I just got home not too long ago and I saw this patch of orange out of nowhere in the almost totally dark car park. I was really curious how it found it’s way there. You wanna know too? Come back again tomorrow to see how the orange light was birthed.

The End’s Not Near, It’s Here

ι Act 2 from Giselle In The Park

It’s been a flurry of fulfilling events as I had my last week of lessons in school last week. From the Seniors Flash Mob to Starry Night to Frujch closing to doing a test at Starbucks. I’ve got lots of photos to update so stay tuned for them. Slowly but surely! For now, it’s studying for the last exam of my undergraduate life next Tuesday – Science, Exploration and Society. Cheers to Starbucks and study buddies.

I took the photo above two Fridays ago when I took a break amidst the madness of school by going for a ballet at Fort Canning with picnic baskets of wine and cheese and pasta and lots more. Right now I’m feeling like the mood of the picture. Chilly and pensive yet enjoying the mystery of the lateness of the night. All calm and peaceful yet heavy with expectations.

31 Mar 08: Collaborative Art Exhibition Launch

ι Nabilah and I in front of Exhibition Part I

Today, Nabilah and I launched the first part of our exhibition at Frujch, the student-run bar at SMU. She contributed the haikus and I contributed the photos. We got to know each other better and discovered each other’s passions from our blogs. As we are both graduating from SMU soon, we decided to make our last week of school memorable by coming together to put up this exhibition.

The underlying theme of this exhibition is “time”. The first part of our exhibition is entitled “moving”. The second part, which will be set-up on Wednesday, is entitled “still”. Do check it out!

update: Just to make things clearer, the exhibition is on until Friday!

Sport and Form

ι Elevation

Photo Comics

Yesterday I had a fun session with my dearest girlfriends. One of the highlights was the “photo booth” application that comes with the new Macbooks and Macbook Pros. We had a fun time taking spontaneous photos. Then we used the “comic life” application to turn it into a comic strip, complete with the “POWWW”. The concept of a photo booth is just so timeless and alluring. I’m quite excited about the possible photo booth we might be setting for one day. Hopefully it comes to pass.

22 Mar 08: Touch Carnival Marketing Photo Shoot

ι Almost like pirates

Yesterday, I went to Sentosa to help some of my touch juniors do a photo shoot for the upcoming beach touch carnival they’re hosting. It was a pretty last minute thing amidst the week 11/12 madness of the school term but I thought hey, why not, it’s my last term at school anyway. The weather was pretty dramatic yesterday, with the just-about-to-rain howling breeze. It was pretty relaxing to just walk along the beach for whatever short period I was there and I realized how much I miss going to the beach. I also realized how much I miss playing touch since I last injured my elbow.

Last Night I Didn’t Have An Answer

ι Looking at the night sky, watching the clouds hurry away

Wondering if you’d hurry away too. Or maybe I’d hurry away.

Running Into Absence

ι  Window panes control the absence of light

02 Mar 08: Wai Kong & Sharon’s Wedding

ι From the backseat of a Mini on a rainy day

Shot Wai Kong and Sharon’s wedding on Sunday. They’re both dog lovers so it was pretty fun playing with their dogs a little. Sharon has a cross-breed small dog (can’t remember what mix it was) that’s called Snow White. Snow White is a little nosy parker who’s very friendly with the guests. I was very amused with Snow White as it kept poking around trying to get attention as Sharon was getting her make-up done. Wai Kong has a very handsome white and brown husky who has one grey eye and one green eye. Wai Kong also has three cats that look just like Garfield! I’ve never seen such Garfield-lookalikes in real life before.

I guess one of the perks of the day was riding in the back of their Mini. I think it’s cool when wedding cars are Minis and the groom drives his own manual Mini. A unique step away from the usual grand luxury cars. I think we got quite a bit of stares cruising down the roads as passers-by seemed much more curious to see which couple was riding a Mini wedding car.

01 Mar 08: Dance Photography Course

ι The reach

I went for a dance photography course today by Tan Ngiap Heng. It was really eye-opening and gave me an entirely new perspective. It’s just so beautiful to see the human body as an art form, as a sculpture. Indeed, God is amazing with the way he created us.

What Is Old Is New

ι The conserved ceiling inside the New Majestic Hotel

Off to Bangkok tomorrow for a short break. Looking forward to sharing my photos when I get back. All excited about the getaway because it takes me away from things for awhile and offers some time for introspection. I think this is the first time I booked a trip from Singapore with only a 3 days lead time. The thrill of being spontaneous definitely adds value to the holiday.

Anyhow, I shot the photo above at a family dinner on the 15th day of Chinese New Year, which was last week. It intrigued me how the entire hotel was all new, slightly avant-gardish, and modernly styled, yet they kept the entire ceiling of the restaurant in the old manner. Grandma was most appalled by it whilst we kept trying to convince her it was of artistic value. Obviously, we failed.

The ceiling led me to think: to what extent is it good to keep something old, familiar, and constant in your life. When should the old be cast away and when should the old be kept? Perhaps relationships, perhaps points of view. When can the old cease to exist in parallel with the new?

Event Highlights: SMU Super Tri-challenge

ι A sturdy, muscular physique as an art form

ι Subconscious, peculiar habits that show in times of true test

ι A theatrical display and the tenacious grip

ι Yeah!

ι Falling into nothingness

ι Caught between two states – of liquid and gas

ι Power through elevation

ι My strength comes from my teeth
(just joking)

The Beauty of Diffraction

ι Light waves bend when they meet obstacles

All Patterns and Sizes

ι Three of a kind

Wedding Highlights: Kevin & Myrna

ι Waiting for the emcee to announce the march-in

ι The couple’s first posed shot of the day

ι Sometimes it’s not just the kiss that counts but the elation after the kiss

ι The couple’s wedding speech against a backdrop of the magnificent sky

ι Greeting the little guest

ι Details in the dress

ι The bride resisting a naughty kiss from the groom

Everyday Objects Have Shadows

ι Cup and saucer reduced to circles and a line

Looking at a Lifetime of Love

ι My grandparents

Last night, we had a reunion dinner at Mezza9, Grand Hyatt. Told my grandparents to pose for a shot on the other side of the dinner table. Grandpa enthusiastically moved over to Grandma and if you look closely, you can sort of see Grandma’s hand on his shoulder. They look so happy in this photo. But what goes behind a photo?

Grandpa has always been a very serious man and a deep thinker. He never really smiled that much in many photos. Grandma has always been that hip but you know they’re not the sort to hold hands. Last time, they used to take photos just sitting side by side. Recently, Grandpa had a major operation for his knee and his movement was restricted for quite a few weeks. As a person, he changed. He told me that he realised that being so uptight and ensuring that the family was well looked after with material things did not matter if he wasn’t even healthy enough to enjoy it. Since then, he has become such a joyous person, cracking jokes everyday and taking everything very easily.

The way my grandparents are able to make fun of each other in a funny, loving way is such a refreshing perspective of love in old age.

Wedding Highlights: Franco & Diah

ι The bride’s mum having some quiet time to herself as her daughter gets ready

ι The bride strapping her heels on

ι The groom slipping his handkerchief into his pocket

ι A backward glance

ι The groom and the guests gather to watch the beautiful bride walk down the garden

ι A happy moment

ι The groom cheekily pretends to cry as tears of joy stream down his bride’s face

ι The groom once again makes a cheeky comment at his shy bride

26 Jan 08: Derrick & Huifang’s pre-wedding

Rushed down after my Italian class to join my boss, Jon Keng, in a pre-wedding shoot. When I arrived, they were midway through the studio shoots. Then we headed to NUS, Arab St., and City Hall area. The couple was so comfortable with each other and with us, they kept making funny faces and joking with each other. A good thing about that is the couple will be more natural in the photos and in expressing themselves. This is definitely a great contributing factor as more truth will be spoken through the pictures. But we had to occasionally remind them to get “in the mood” a bit so that there’s not too much clowning around and ‘unglamness’ (or so I’d like to phrase it).

Never noticed it before, but because of Chinese New Year approaching, suddenly the peaceful Padang area had been lit up with so many red lanterns. Does this usually happen every year?

19 Jan 08: Shalini’s mum’s birthday dinner

Shalini, one of my friends from SMU who co-owns the student-run bar Frujch, held a surprise birthday dinner for her mum together with her family. It’s one of the sweetest things I’ve seen because they put in so much effort to invite 10 tables of guests and they managed to make everyone keep mum about it. They blindfolded her mum to the venue and when they finally took off blindfolds, the mixture of emotions so visible on her mum’s face was ever so touching. It was like genuine surprise, happiness, excitement, and being touched to tears all combined. I must say kudos to Shal and her family for pulling it off so well – think this is the first perfect surprise large-scale event I’ve seen. Usually, all the surprises my friends and I try to pull off usually comes off as almost perfect but never 100%.

I think it’s really sweet that after so many years of marriage, such tender love still exists. So to all you cynics out there, love after marriage is not a distant concept.

19 Jan 08: Arrow service photography

My first service serving for photography was pretty significant for me. I believe every time I serve in God’s house, my photography gifts supernaturally multiply as God’s blessings are poured out. Anyway, the theme for this service was “Just Play” and they had many different games stations for pre-service activities. One of the stations even included a Wii set. Never played with one before and would like to one day. Can’t remember the last time I played with a play-station or Nintendo or something.

19 Jan 08: Kevin & Myrna’s wedding

The weather was once again perfect for a poolside ceremony and lunch at Goodwood Park Hotel. Thank God for that. Blue skies and nice sun. Myrna’s pink dress was a pretty shade of colour and Kevin had matching neckwear in the same pink. I felt the colour matched their bubbly personality very well. Today I had an assistant with me, Rachel – think it’s pretty cool to have two female photographers at a wedding. It’s about time the world changed their stereotypical mindsets about photographers being only male and being uncool.

The most amusing thing I saw at the wedding was the lifesaving rings by the poolside were also adorned with leaves as part of the decoration. It seemed like an unintended pun – marriage being lifesaving?

18 Jan 08: Franco & Diah’s wedding

This is one of the rare weddings I see a groom take charge of so many wedding preparations, it’s pretty awesome. Franco is an artist so he put a lot of thought into the details of everything, right from designing each individual invitation card to the lighting and flower set-up on the actual day. They had their ceremony and dinner at the sea-facing garden of one of the Aloha Resorts bungalows. Thank God the evening weather was perfect even though it had been raining every evening for the past few days. The most unique part of the evening was when Diah couldn’t find a suitable electrical socket in her room for the electrical hair curler and had to go outside and curl her hair on the balcony. It was a pretty difficult task with sea breeze and all blowing her hair everywhere. Eventually, Franco found one in the room so she could finally move in to do it.