Believer | A Reminder From Myself

"Life never really goes the way we want it to

It's filled with unexpected surprises at every corner

Some good, and some, not so good

But whatever life throws at us, it is definitely in our best interests

We may not see it at first, but eventually, we will

And we'll find that it was in fact a good experience

An experience that taught us lessons and helped us grow

We haven't really gotten it figured out, but Life has

So have faith and trust that there are positives even in the bad things thrown at us"

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I found these words in my planner / journal and I'm not quite sure when I wrote them, but I read it today and found it really inspiring. I almost thought that I had extracted that from somewhere since I had forgotten all about it. With all that has been going on recently, this felt like a reminder that everything will be fine. A reminder from myself. I hope this inspires you as much as it did for me. For now, I'm just going to believe that things will get better, just like what American Authors said in their song, 'Believer'. This song gives me hope every time I listen to it.

Playing with Lego | Stuck at Home Photography Idea

What do you do if it's raining cats and dogs or it's really hazy outdoors, or you're just too lazy to go outside but you still want to take photos? You can either brave the weather (like what we did in the Swaggerpuff's adventure) or get creative indoors with whatever you can find, like your toys!

I was stuck at home for a long period of time because of the haze hitting the unhealthy range and I got really bored. But with boredom, comes creativity. I remembered a video I watched on DigitalRev about stuck at home photography ideas and the Lego set that the government gave to every single youth in Singapore for youth day, so I decided to do a little something with it. With the instructions manual under my knee, and a whole bunch of Lego pieces in front of me, I started building what seemed to be Changi Airport. It took me about 30 - 45 minutes to get the whole thing built because the instructions weren't exactly the clearest. I was so focused with getting the structure built that I forgot to take some photos of the process. Well, lesson learnt. If I'm ever doing this again, I'll make sure to take some photos.

I tried to take portraits of the Lego guy as creatively as I could, by putting him on top of a lens, at the top of my Changi Airport Lego structure and on my window ledge. I don't have a macro lens, so I used my dad's Vivitar 28-70mm f/3.5 - f/4.5 manual focus only lens. At 70mm, it gives a very decent bokeh and is more close up as compared to my usual kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6). I could have used my Tamron 70 - 300mm lens which has a macro function, but the lens was too huge to use handheld (for me at least) and I didn't have enough space in my room to go till 300mm.

I only took a few shots with my Lego set since it was nearing dusk and the sunlight was diminishing fast, especially with the thick haze that was going on.

A failed attempt at trying to make my Lego guy look like he's doing parkour.

For those of you who wish to try doing this the next time you're stuck at home, here's a few tips!

1. Use a lens that can focus at very near distances; if you're trying to make your Lego character look bigger than it actually is, then a lens that can focus at very near distances would be apt. It'd be best if you have a macro/micro lens, but not everybody has that. I wouldn't recommend a telephoto lens since you would need to use a tripod and you'll find yourself running back and forth between your set and your camera since you'll need a certain distance in between.

2. Have a large space to play with; This is important if you're trying to make an entire city out of your Lego set, or you like minimalist photos. I was working with a tight space since I used my bay window to take the photos. Use your dining table for a start, you should have lots of space to play with.

3. Get creative; This is something I only thought of while I was writing this post, hence I didn't get to use it. But if you have a tripod, you can try using all the nooks and crannies in your house for your shots. Maybe the toilet, or even in your kitchen. Even the most unconventional places might work out and make your photos more interesting. Why do you need a tripod? For longer exposures / slower shutter speeds in areas with low light. Using a flash can be unflattering, hence a longer exposure is a better option. Of course, you don't necessarily have to use Lego sets either, you can take any small toy that you have and play around with it!

Here's the video from DigitalRev in case you were wondering! 

Light and Shadows

Light is such a beautiful thing, be it soft or harsh. It has the ability to give photos a totally different feel. It's almost like magic. I guess that's why they're called the magic light.

Singapore was hit with weeks of haze when the annual burning of forests in Indonesia started again inevitably. We were faced with thick fog-like haze with barely any sunlight making it through. There was no magic light or golden hours for the whole time the haze was around. It had its perks too. Taking photos was made easy on the streets without the need of constantly fumbling through the settings. Photos taken during the period of the haze also made it seemed as if we had fog here too in Singapore, which is something we don't get every day.

But things are only appreciated after they're gone. While it was easy to take photos on the street, I missed the sunlight that produced shadows and being able to play with the light and shadows. My photos didn't feel as alive to me as they did with plenty of light in it. It seemed ridiculous to me that I once complained of how hot the weather was when the sun was out. Now, the haze has cleared, thanks to a heavy downpour that washed it all away. And I have come to appreciate the sunlight more than ever, embracing it as they shine down on me. 

Follow me on Instagram if you wanna see more photos! @mundanefilms

Swaggerpuff's Adventure to Istana Woodneuk

After a staggering eight months, the three of us have come together once again for yet another adventure. This time, we stepped out of our comfort zone and made our way to the famed Istana Woodneuk, an abandoned building located in the middle of trees and more trees. Why did we choose to come here? Well, it was Hannah's (our boss and "mother") idea.

We started our adventure from Holland Village, where we had our lunch. You can't go on an adventure with an empty stomach. Soon after we finished our lunch, it started drizzling. According to Jonathan's reliable weather forecast, he said that it was going to rain for the whole day. And even though all of us have an umbrella each, Hannah and I decided to buy ponchos from 7-Eleven, which set us back by $3.55. Jonathan didn't buy because he was too big to fit in one. It proved to be a worthy investment later on, but had I known that it was going to rain, I would have brought ponchos from my house (lesson learnt). Since the rain started pouring, we decided to seek shelter in Holland Road Shopping Center. Well, it really wasn't a shopping center, it felt like a bunch of shops that were set up in here because there were no space outside. It just didn't have the shopping center vibe at all. We left for our destination as soon as the rain stopped.

When we arrived at the bus stop, there were a couple of primary school kids that wanted to go to the Istana Woodneuk as well, but were too afraid to do so. Jonathan, being the best at communicating with youths, talked to those kids while Hannah and I put on our ponchos. It was then decided that those kids would follow us up to the Istana Woodneuk. So with the rain coming down on us, we trudged uphill, following the man-made path made by many who had came before us. The path was easy at first, but we were faced with a steep hill after a few steps. Luckily for us, there was a rope that we could hold onto while we climbed up. Jonathan led the way, and we followed. It wasn't as difficult as I thought and we were at the top before I knew it. The difficult part was going down when we were heading back and one misstep could mean the end of our lives. We followed the guide we found online and made our way to our destination. It was creepy, as if we had walked right into a horror movie set. To make matters worse, it was drizzling. A very typical horror movie scene; three friends go out to do a little exploring, it starts drizzling and they come across an abandoned building. Not that I watch any horror movies, but that's how it is, isn't it?

We stepped inside, as slow and as light we could to avoid making too much noise. But as soon as we stepped in, the primary school boys all disappeared. Right. We were welcomed with a very empty building that had debris lying around everywhere and there was barely any light entering the building. But the light that did enter, was soft and beautiful. I could understand why so many Instagrammers loved to come here for portraits. There were graffiti everywhere, on every wall. Strangely enough, it made me feel less scared. The graffiti made the whole place more humane. Perhaps that was what the artists were thinking of when they decided to spray the place with words and immature drawings. It was a mistake to have come here on a weekday because there was no one else around. It would have been better if we came on a weekend like everyone else or if we had brought 20 other people with us.

There was nothing much to look at on the first floor, so we headed up the stairs towards the second floor. The stairs did not feel like stairs. It was more like a bunch of planks stacked on top of each other. The second floor seemed more familiar, it was where many had their Instagram photos taken at. We walked around and took a few photos and group photos. You must be wondering how we took group photos if there was no one else around. Well, luckily for us, there was a table, albeit wet. We used our ponchos' plastic packaging to put my camera on. I manually adjusted the settings and focus and set the timer for 5 seconds to take our group photos. As you can see, we decided to take our photos with the building as the background, causing our photos to turn out grainy and slightly overexposed due to the uneven lighting. I should have heeded Hannah's idea and used the trees as our background, but there's no room for regrets now because we are never going back there.

As soon as we were done with our group photos, three others came in, with one performing some sort of Taoist ritual. I was freaking out and screaming inside my mind. Jonathan and Hannah were scared too so we made our way out as fast as we could. To make matters worse, the rain started getting heavier. We lost our footing and slipped here and there but we managed to make it out unscathed. We were reunited with the primary school boys at the bus stop which made me think that they were either guardians sent to protect us on our way up or that kids these days don't have to study at all.

Below are some of the photos I took on our mini adventure. No filter or any post production done this time, because I like how the colors came out.

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