India 22 Nov

Shots in the City: Dempsey Area

Images, like poems, complement each other; one brings out meaning in the other with the help of context. I hope it's the same for the photographs I have taken. The following images are shots from my own little exploration around certain places, and in this case it's the region around my church. Somehow it didn't feel like I was in Singapore. It was surreal, quiet, and completely out of character for a country that promotes itself as a lively city state.


This particular trip began at St George's Church Tanglin, an unassuming brick building located along Minden Road, where I attend church. Outside, the Singapore flag flies high. The date is August 9th, National Day, and it's about 4 in the afternoon.


Not far off, a place to sit and contemplate, part of a development project establishing Tanglin Village.


A few minutes walk brings me and a friend to an unused chapel. A board by the door states that the place is under camera surveillance, but we walked around anyway. This is the facade of the chapel from the road.


This is the interior of the chapel itself, empty save for dust and leaves, and whatever else is blown in by the wind. It's intriguing to think that this place once held pews and people, used for worship and bible study.


A little stone platform with a broken setting. I think it must have been a font once, in memory of a boy called John Bath, if you take a look at the inscription.


The silhouette of an old fashioned streetlamp, a little worse for the wear, but still in working order.


This area was left pretty much abandoned, with a few of the old buildings still left, while the rest (which were probably the old army barracks used by the Brits in colonial times) were turned into restaurants and cafes and even a gallery. This particular hut probably housed the telephone switchboards, and you can see a whole mass of wires and stuff inside.



A couple of fallen palm leaves in the rather interesting shape of a cross.


A large spider, which is probably spans the width of your palm.


Finally to close this post, a picture of something that wasn't taken on location, but in school on a rainy day. I'm not really sure why I posted it myself, but it was an attempt at capturing motion.


Clarence T, this is for you! You asked for photos, you get photos. I hope they live up to your expectations. ;) Enjoy.

Celefest 14 July

For once I am uploading images on time and not too late after the event! And another first is the fact that there are so many pictures of people. Which I am not too inclined to, but it was good practice with the new camera. Again, I used mainly P mode (and Auto when I got lazy), and I also tried out the multiburst function. I know that some of the images weren't composed very well or slightly blur, but I am breaking the camera in and getting used to holding a new weight.

So, to kick it all off, pictures of Mr Chew prior to Celefest (school funfair) ...with (yes that IS a cow! It was used to dispense beer but this time it was used to dispense milk to make milkshakes) his new room mate. It has a HUGE red cow bell that makes a resounding clang. You have to grow a pair in order to ring it in the middle of the school office.

And here's Mr Chew riding the cow, as instigated by Aunty Ivy. She brought him a little blue stool and got him to climb up. It looks rather painful. Hmm. Yes. Well I bet he could fit inside that cow!


Getting acquainted with his new best friend. Heigh Ho Patches!


Hooray for Combat Skirmish! My class was sponsored by a rather wealthy person. So we could afford to employ the company to come in and organize the game, which is basically outdoor laser tag for those of you who don't know what it is. Eh heh. We have big guns. Heh heh.


Here are a bunch of 6Y people posing for a shot...their stall offered a photography service, whereby costumed figures ran about the school to take photos with people. Free cookies! You can guess what costumes were rented...


And outside the office, Ms Ros and Aunty Liza selling books of coupons. There are so many. It's crazy.

Presenting...Superman (Aqeel) and Supergirl (Ria)! Heh.


Aaaand Venom (Mark) with his good pal Darth Vader (Jackson). Join the dark side...


...we have COOKIES! Yeah. Kams is looking very, very pleased indeed. But who could blame her? She's got aaaalll the cookies!


Kevin and LH aka Spidey acting as tough guys while messing with the Combat Skirmish guns.


Ria giving a supersmile! (Pardon the bad superjoke.)


Bryan is attempting to be scary. Uh, right.


Ms Loh due for dunking! Yes, revenge, at last...


There she goes! Arms in the air as a gesture of surrender...

Teachers are real good sports when they want to be. So besides agreeing to be dunked, they also played Combat Skirmish and attempted a second childhood. I do believe many succeeded. Here is Mr West, looking every bit the part of a soldier...complete with neon sunglasses and battle stance.

Mr Chew, the best sport of them all (especially for riding the cow!) with his winning, wrinkly smile. Not to mention those kickass glasses!

Yes, he's out to make a killing today (with colleague Mr Lim in the background), and he's not talking about money! We got a teacher's team to play against a student team, and the teachers won. Go figure.

Off he goes for a respawn...looking as cool as ever, and clearly having a very good time.


Well, you didn't think Combat Skirmish was for all the youngsters did you? Bring on Dad's Army!

Mr Teo, trying to look like Rambo.

But he is very good at this! There's Mr Chew in the background, battle-ready...

Good ol' Dr Barrett. Awfully good sport, what. (He was dunked too! There's pictorial evidence.)

Apparently he spent the 15 minute game staking out the alcove by the biology labs on this floor. Still, I'm sure he had a pretty good time. He looks just like a schoolboy! Give the old boy some credit, eh?

Here's the best of them all! Dear old Mr Chen aka CCC. The general of Dad's Army, reliving his childhood. He really does look the part!



Yessir, aim for the goal...this is by far my favourite image.

That hand in question belongs to Mr R. Lim, who finally admitted defeat to a couple of schoolkids...

They'll have a job finding Nemo when he's hiding like this...

There goes Mr Teh dashing up the stairs sharpish, with opponent team in hot pursuit!

Good ol' Mr Ramesh, with his unmistakeable red shorts. Gotta love the shorts.

Here's Mr Lim again, staking out the toilets, with one unfortunate Hian Lee camping out inside.

Brothers in arms: (almost) All in red from 6X: Kev, Munjen aka Kenneth and Jums aka Ameer.

Kevin. Showing off. "Boom! Headshot!"

The Year 6 boys team...

Kevin and Mr Clarence, looking very pro and Counterstrikish indeed.

And finally, Dr Barrett being dunked! Cheers all round, Ladies and Gentlemen, for Uncle Steven has dunked the great P!

Whew.That's it for Celefest! The rest of it wasn't all that interesting to photograph since I was taking them for personal use, so for once I could omit any other informative images that I would have had to take otherwise. That took such a job uploading, now my eyes hurt. Hope you enjoyed them. More photos to come, stay tuned!

BREAKING NEWS!

I have a new camera! *cheers* Bought it a few weeks ago just before the GST hike, so thanks to the government I now have a new camera. Excellent.

It's a Canon 400D, and I'm quite happy with it. Though I need to practice more... -.- I hope to put up the first set of pictures that I took with it...or rather, the first set of photos which I took proper, not just playing around. I used mostly P mode (and I'm still not familiar with Av and Tv modes) and sometimes I cheated and used Auto (heh, wasting my mother's money) to take photos for my school's Celefest (it's a funfair, for those who don't know) and they turned out okay. I tried the multiburst function too, which is very new for me considering I've been using PnS cameras all along.

And yes I know I haven't been around lately, things have been going crazy as usual in life, and as this isn't some sort of well-known blog (YET!) or anything too spectacular, it doesn't matter I guess since few people come here anyway.

Oh well. One can dream.

New Zealand Photos 2

Yes, slowly does it...Archiving all these photos has been a crazy task, since:

1) There are so many
2) I've got little time to do so.

Still, I will finish this task and get all the images out here eventually...Meanwhile...well, enjoy.

15th June

On the 15th, the group went to a national park in Rotorua to learn about the Maori culture and to see mud pools and geysers and hot springs emanating sulphur dioxide.

Can you smell Rotorua? Well, I dare say so.

This first image is of a tall post attached to a traditional Maori building. It is adorned with carvings and paua shells, perhaps to tell the story of the ancestor who once lived there.


Here is a carver hard at work, creating beautiful carvings that he has to spend years of apprenticeship learning how to make.


An example of traditional carving, richly detailed with scrolls and loops. Truly amazing.

Another place in the park, which made me think of...a glade from Peter Pan's Never Never Land. You half expect the Lost Boys to come out of the bushes brandishing wooden swords and beating off pirates. That boat-like shape is a bird trap, filled with fruit and other treats in order to catch unwary featherbrains. It reminds me of a pirate ship.

Hot mud pools, bubbling and glopping. God's cooking pots!

And finally, the sulphurous hot springs! There in the background you can see a geyser shooting in the air. The sulphur-tinged rocks give the place a surreal air, as if one was on another planet. As a downside, this place really smells quite strongly of rotten eggs (yes, sulphur dioxide...urgh). I'm surprised people could get used to it long enough to settle here.

Dawn and Po Ni, sitting on steps carved out of rocks which are warmed by the hot currents beneath. Butt warming! Mmmm...

Jonathan enjoying being in a hot seat.

More images of the hot springs...right out of a sci-fi movie.

After we had our fill of Nature's wonders, we head back to where we started at the traditional Maori building to receive a traditional Maori welcome: A hakka. Here Mr Ramesh was chosen as our "chief", as he had been elected by the entire group of students, even as we were surrounded by several tourist groups. Here he is receiving his instructions about how he was expected to act as our "chief".

I don't have good pictures of the hakka as they were very blur due to poor lighting and constant movement. However I can tell you that it was very interesting to behold, as the performers danced with pois (not poise, mind you, POIS. A poi is a round white ball that they used as part of the dance) and told the audience Maori stories. Mr Ramesh (as chief) had to rub noses (as is the Maori way) with some of the performers, as a form of greeting and possibly a gesture of peace.

After that, we headed to a park where we would conduct some experiments on the water from the hot pools. Yes, more sulphurous pools! But first...a wonderful treat in the form of fish and chips! Excellent meal.

The steam from the pools caught the light filtering through the foliage overhead, and I got a few beautiful views of this, which is rarely seen in tropical zones such as the area in which I live.

A bolt of yellow in the striking blue sky.

I don't know why, but I love this tree.

A very large pond of warm springwater, cooled somewhat by the wintery air. The little black spot you see there is a tiny bird flitting over the water's surface, perhaps attempting to warm himself up.

Whoever Shawn was, his name will be here forever, carved crudely into a weathered picnic bench, one name among many names.

And a break, before leaving at last, reliving our childhoods...

This was taken after a brief shopping trip, and is a fitting final image for the day, I think.

Venice, Italy: Dec 13-16

13-16 Dec

These photos are way overdue, but I have been lazy/ busy/ etc./ take your pick. BUT here they are! Enjoy, enjoy...pictures from my dream destination.

A nearly deserted campo...Just me, 3 pigeons, and an ever-running fountain...There are so many side roads to get lost in!

A church against the beautiful blue sky...There are so many beautiful churches here, each one full of history.


A look into the grey-green waters of a canal reveals soft, feathery seaweed fronds, while the sun reflects off the stark white stone.


Now...is the orange on the wall, or on the floor? Perspective, perspective...


I love shadows, and I think the lighting here is really nice. It looks like a compass point, telling me where to go.


A laughing fool...and several other masks on display from the myriads of mask shops in Venice.



Another pale church I came across on the 14th...you can see many of these with beautiful sculptures and stonework.


The sun peeking through a narrow waterway, illuminating the simple transport used by Venetians.

A little old lady out running her errands.

Rainbow flag of celebration against a cerulean sky, with a plane cloud trail high above.


Gondolas, gondolas, gondolas!

My hotel at night. This hotel, by the way, is great. Considering the quality of European hotels that is. Morning breakfast is a wonderful spread. Rooms are decently sized and comfortable, with TVs. If I could afford it I'd stay there again.


Piles and piles of colourful Italian-made sweets.


Rialto bridge and some colourful posts. If it weren't for that annoying rail in the bottom right corner, this shot would be great.

Two shadows and two pigeons. I don't know, somehow this appeals to me.


Those flying rats are everywhere. Some people say their poo brings good luck if it lands on you. Um, yeah...whatever you say. Some tourists really get kicks from letting the birds land on them. GERMFARMS, that's what I say.


They look like twin sisters out for a walk. Maybe that's me and my sis when we get old. Lovely picture, but I just wish it wasn't so dark so I could get a better shot.


Ah and it is the last day in Venice already! During the boat ride out, I couldn't resist snapping this shiny ballon-like sculpture. I am going to miss this place...I would love to come back again and explore or people watch!


Next up in my Italian journey: the grand city of Rome!

Venice, Italy: Dec 10-12

My first sight of Venice was a touristy one - little did I know that I would see so many more mask shops touting variations of the very same goods! In the end, I did not buy a commercially made one, nor even an expensive handmade one, but a few blank paper ones to bring home and paint.


A random view of a building and a colourful post, one of the quirks of Venice that I am particularly fond of.


"Bloody tourist."


This is one of my favourite pictures, because it's a step in my endeavours to become a decent street photographer. I didn't even need to speak; a wave of the camera, a raised eyebrow, a nod, and voila, a picture of what could be Santa's workshop.


An abstract shot of the supports used for the walkways that are set up when Venice floods. I love the steely colour scheme and shadows. Though, I think it would be nicer cropped a bit.

Damn pigeons. But a lovely lamp post all the same.


The winged lion, a symbol of St Mark, up on a pedestal in St Mark's Square.


The store window of a Mandarina Duck outlet. Venice is full of colourful shop windows that I just could not resist capturing. Even if you don't intend to buy anything, it's still worth a look-see.


More shop windows: Christmas-themed music boxes and a costume shop featuring the Beauty and the Beast costumes.


These costume stores sell so many beautiful and elaborate costumes and accessories. Masked balls and all that seem to be a big thing here, this shop is clearly not just for tourists.


A sign to Rialto Bridge.


St. Mark's Chapel in the Square.


Glass paint oozes out of smoothly carved wood in art pieces created by an Italian artist (whose name I forget but has a very distinct style).


Rusty chains around wood pillars on a floating platform, where we waited for the vaporetti, Venice's public transport system.


A vaporetti in front of a lighthouse in Murano, where the glass-blowing industry is located. We visited several glass-blowing workshops to watch the artists at work, creating simple glass horses that were perfectly balanced or even intricate chandeliers. In one place, it took an artist more than 20 minutes just to create a glass flower to adorn the chandelier he and a partner were working on.

A reflection of the lighthouse. It's amazing what takes your fancy when you're bored while waiting for the boat.

More boredom-inspired pictures:



A view from the vaporetti: These posts in the water mark out the routes, and they even have speed limit signs on them! A very interesting traffic culture from the norm that most people are used to.


Finally we arrived at Burano, another island off Venice which is well-known mainly for its lace and colourful houses. It's a quiet neighbourhood, full of amazing photo ops if you know where to look and avoid the tourist spots. However, it's a sparsely populated place and those few tourist spots are mainly near the vaporetti station.

A rainbow street, where the boats on a canal replace cars on a street. An old man is being taken for a walk in the nice peace and quiet.


Now this is the kind of shot that I came to Burano to take! I love the simplicity and unpretentiousness of the place, and on top of that, the pride that people take to paint their homes so that they stand out, unlike in Singapore where the houses are not typically colourful.

A little cat grooming himself in the shade. Strangely enough, there are many, many cats on Burano and few dogs. I wonder why...

More home decor. Very pretty, quaint styles.


A quiet park bench for contemplation...


Time to head back home after a long day of walking (yes, Venice is all about walking), under a lovely Venetian sunset.

The Murano lighthouse in the distance...we're almost back!


This is one of the last images I captured upon return to the main island. Somehow the orange and blue goes wonderfully with each other. I just love this one.

Hope you enjoyed them, and there will be more to come as I slowly archive and annotate them.