swing

🙂

photographing (people looking at) photographs

I tried not to.

I can’t help it. The lines, the shapes, the figures… Gestures.

SIPF. ArtScience Museum. An Ocean of Possibilities.

Past in the Present – a photo journey in Pulau Ubin

Pulau Ubin. One of the last few places in Singapore to set sail into “modern”-hood. No road leads to the island, so by dependable old ferries we travel there.

Organized by Shriro, a distributor of Hasselblad, Zeiss and Geitzo amongst other things (fruits jams!) the photowalk was led by the calm confidence that is Keith Low, founder of Pictorial and current Fujifilm X-Photographer. Phew. That’s quite a fair bit of name dropping.

Yea. That’s him. 🙂

We reached Pulau Ubin early-ish and the locals are just about to set about their day proper.

Coffee stall is still waiting for it’s first customers but to Chek Jawa we have to head to…

…20 photogs with gears cramped into 2 mini buses. 😀

With some leg work to reach the boardwalk.

I’ve personally not been to Chek Jawa myself but I have read about how it is a virtually untouched mangrove, a haven for a wide variety of wildlife. Other than an Otter family frolicking and a few handsome birds, the high tide concealed most of the mangrove creatures that day.

The setting of the place itself is some grand visual display in itself however.

I swear I could just be there the whole day just to capture the ever changing spectacle.

Back in “town”, a much awake version, for us to tuck in and share the day and experiences.

There’s so much more to explore and discover on this little island. The kampung where the locals live, the west side of the island we didn’t visit and Chek Jawa all over again when it’s low tide… plenty of possibilities but I guess that’ll be excuses for me to come here in the future. 🙂

(P.S.: shots taken with XF18mm and XF35mm on X-T1. XF60mm was also brought along but wasn’t used at all; this may be the first time I got a hang of using wide glasses.)

man and guitar

once he starts, i was enthralled.

let him sing. let him weave his spell…

they are pleasant people…

sandwiched between a swanky arts school and 80’s built commercial buildings it’s easy to miss DECK, the SIPF 2014‘s festival village. built by stacking cargo containers to a functional form it’s purpose is to provide space for artistic endeavours, with a focus towards photography. a short hour’s time i was there and already i can feel that the place is (wo)manned by persons with passion about the arts (and the people who come visit). gives a warm fuzzy feeling. 🙂

“Types: After Becher” is the current exhibition to run along the SIPF 2014 at DECK with a multitude of photography works hailing from different parts of the region and a diverse mix of stories; a combination to lose myself spatially and let my senses wonder.

hopefully can convince some groups to organize stuffs here. i just fell in love with this place.

oh. remember this? well it was just a plan is it now? long story short: i love their gestures thereafter. like!

tourists at home – pt. 3

waking up early in the morning at Singapore’s shopping belt is definitely not a ‘normal’ affair for me. tourists probably. maybe landscape photogs catching first light.

but tourist i am for a weekend. so walking the streets i shall to indulge in the surreal calm.

hours before my wife’s up and we join the usual bustling crowd.

[distracted] ’twas grey

…and wet and cold.

Like! 🙂

tourists at home – pt.2

truth be told, I was pretty bored with the colours/scenes/yea of Singapore’s shopping belt. it could be that most of the time I wasn’t taking time to explore the nooks and crannies of this busy bustling stretch.

knowing that Library@Orchard just opened underneath where we were having our staycation some exploring is definitely in the agenda. set a time limit with wifey, and we’re off lost in this mazy artsy library.

see that wall on the right? editions and editions of magazines!

wifey got some thriller/crime novels to wait meals with.

myself? some design/photog magz to maybe light something up there.

tourists at home – pt.1

it is after an exhaustive examination that i decided an all-you-can-eat BBQ buffet will be a good dinner treat. [despite the fact that i’m not a heavy eater. hmmm.]

empty-ish as we came right before “dinner time”; i wonder how that “time” come about.

whew…

the difference: a heart

today’s mass production means life’s wants anywhere, any instance of time; screens for entertainment, cool climate at a press of a button, heck: when i click on the button below this post is readable for anyone who bothers to come read!

that’s probably why hand made items are a premium, a precious commodity. high end precision watches, crafted furniture vs run of the mill casios and forever on sale basement wardrobes. there’s that something that makes people queue up for traditional way of making things. even food.

or maybe i’m just old school.