Decisive Moments

When we talk about street photography, the first thing that comes to our mind is "the decisive moment", which was made famous by the grand master Henri Cartier-Bresson. It can be waiting for the right subject to enter a particular part of your frame or capturing a candid photo of someone who was in the midst of doing something that you found interesting. 

I used to think that "the decisive moment" was a one shot kind of thing, hence the name. But after I learned more about street photography through videos and by reading up, I realized that that was not the case. More often than not, it's waiting patiently for the right subject to come into frame, and that means taking more than one shot. You can take a dozen of photos of the same spot but with different subjects, and only filter out the "decisive moment" photo afterwards. So far, these are my 3 best "decisive moment" shots. 

The first one (above) was inspired by Vincent Laforet when he was on DigitalRev's "Pro Photographer, Cheap Camera Challenge". 
"Things tend to happen in patterns" and "Sometimes you can just imagine something is gonna happen there, and sometimes, you just have to wait for it." Two quotes I picked up from just that video. Two very simple sentences, but it taught me a lot about photography. And maybe, it could be of help to you as well! 

The bottom two photos were taken because of the great light and shadows. I had quite a bit of difficulty taking the second photo (directly below) because I had to wait for someone to walk past that small pathway where the light was entering and I wanted to make sure there were no cars at the back either. I took quite a number of shots before I finally got this. 

It's not always that easy to get the desired shot, and if there's one thing that I've learned - it's that it takes lots of practice. Only after doing it countless of times, can one start predicting "decisive moments" and knowing exactly what kind of subject and framing one wants on the street. I'm not there yet, but I hope to be half as good as Henri Cartier-Bresson one day. 

Keeping A Bit Of The Past

Does anyone in Singapore still remember these Pokemon erasers from their primary school years? They were a huge part of my primary school life (as you can see from the large amount of erasers I have). I'm not sure if any of you played with these erasers the same way my school did, but we would take one eraser each and flip until one gets on top of the other completely. It sounds like a very simple game, but it was one of the few fun things we got to do in school when lessons got boring. I can still remember the nervousness and excitement that followed with each flip, the tense atmosphere of uncertainty that lasted a split second when the eraser was between staying on top and falling off. It's become a game of the past now, but the joy of this simple game still lingers, while the erasers serve as a time machine for me to reminisce this joy. 

It's been a decade since I got my first Pokemon eraser and I'm planning to keep them for a few more decades, in hopes of keeping a bit of the past with me in the fast, ever growing technological society. 

Black and White Photography Challenge

I know it has been almost 2 months but I've been so busy with work lately that I couldn't find the time to write this post. Shooting in black and white was far more difficult than I imagined it to be (probably because I'm not used to shooting in black and white). I didn't manage to take much black and white photos because a lot of the photos ended up too dark due to the lack of contrast in light and dark colours. So a lot of details were covered in black. But of course, I did managed to take some acceptable black and white photos. 

Being so used to seeing the world in a vivid array of colours, I found it very difficult to imagine my shots in black and white in my head. Nonetheless, I gave it my best shot haha. I tried looking for things that had more texture so the black and white could highlight that and of course, I used the golden hours as much as I could for obvious (shadow) reasons. 
I realized that shooting in black and white requires lots of experience and skills and you need to shoot in black and white for a considerable amount of time before you can get used to imagining your shot in black and white. I'll need loads of practice before I can really start taking good black and white photos. 

Sunday Best

Sometimes, I just wonder to myself, "How do I manage to mess things up every time?"
These past few days have been hell, I felt as if my beautiful world was falling apart. Breakdowns, deep thoughts and feelings of remorse and self-reproach have been my best buddies. After days of depressing thoughts and reflections, I decided to get out of my house to shoot some photos on this quiet Sunday. I really just needed to escape from my feelings and social interactions for a while.

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Most shops are closed in the neighbourhood and almost everyone is in town, leaving behind a very quiet and deserted Tanjong Pagar, which was what I needed. Sunday is a day where you see relaxed expressions on everyone's faces, when kids come out and play without the slightest worry about school work. It's a day when everyone is dressed comfortably, and in my opinion, is everyone's Sunday best.

The serenity allowed me to think more about the photos I wanted to take as well, be it the action, expression or juxtaposition. And I was able to take photos that I'm proud of after having experienced a long period of creative block. 

All photos were processed using VSCO Film 00.

I got my first camera!

I was going to do my blog post on black and white photography after having shot in black and white for a month (well, almost), but I recently got a DSLR and I just wanted to share the joy with you guys. I've been wanting to get a DSLR for the past 1-2 years, but we all know how expensive it is to get one. So after many months of saving and some help from my dad, I bought one together with him. 

I did a lot of research for the past few months before deciding which camera to buy. I watched reviews done by DigitalRevTV and I did some comparing on my own by going to Canon and Nikon's websites. And after much consideration and discussion with my dad, we decided to go for a Nikon D5500, an entry level DSLR. We felt that there was no need to get a semi-pro or even a full frame DSLR because we're not professional photographers (though my dad used to be one). We compared prices at multiple stores in order to get the best deal and we settled for Gain City. Why? Because besides the usual strap, 8GB memory card and camera bag, they gave an extra lens (Tamron 70-300mm), a camera backpack, a tripod, an extra battery, a remote control, a leather strap, a 32GB memory card and a cleaning kit! What a good deal huh!

I don't know if any of you who have cameras felt this way when you got it, but I felt super excited when I held it for the very first time! All I could think about was "this is mine now!" I know I sound like a kid, but that was really how I felt. Let me try and explain that feeling better. You know that feeling you experienced whenever you got a toy that you really wanted as a kid? Now imagine that feeling multiplied by a hundred times. That's how exciting it was for me. 

I didn't want to use the camera on auto mode right from the start because that would take away all the fun and it defeats the purpose of getting a DSLR in the first place since it would be the same as using my phone. So the first thing I did upon getting the camera was to figure out what shutter speed, ISO and aperture meant. It would have been super difficult to understand all that if it wasn't for my dad, because the instructions manual that came with the camera was so vague (Nikon, if you're reading this by any chance, upgrade your instructions manual). Since my dad used to be a professional photographer, he taught me what all those meant and passed me all of his old photography books for me to read. He said he had kept them for over 20 years in the event that his kids might ever pick up photography. And true enough, I've followed his footsteps (though it's quite unlikely I'll ever be a professional like him). 

And boy, is it difficult to learn about these settings. I couldn't grasp the idea of the shutter speed at first, so I kept getting underexposed photos (I was taking photos under warm lighting). It took me 2 days and an explanation from my dad before I learnt that having a slower shutter speed helps to expose the photo more because it allows more light to enter. Three weeks have passed since I gotten the camera, and I'm still in the process of learning what ISO and shutter speed to use under different lighting conditions. It'll probably take me a few more weeks or even months before I can finally have a better understanding of these settings. But that's the fun, isn't it? I keep taking out of focus photos as well. It's like, I look into the viewfinder and it feels like the subject is in focus, but when I take the photo, that's not the case. Any tips or advice? Hopefully, I can master the focusing soon enough so my photos will always be in focus. 

Here are some photos I took with my camera!

My black and white post will probably be up in 2-3 weeks since I've been quite busy with internship and my FYP proposal and all. 

Cheers

Black and White | Photography Challenge

My dad looking like a model

A lot of people think that black and white photos are used mainly for sad expressions, the elderly or even the "thinking-about-life" kind of feel and it is usually paired with being emo. I think that's because a lot of photographers have used it in that way and generalizing occurred. But I won't deny that I'm slightly influenced by that mindset too.

My photojournalism lecturer taught us before that black and white is not just used to express that, it can highlight details that cannot be seen when the photos are in colour (such as wrinkles), and it gives the photo a certain level of depth. Personally, I agree with what she said and I also think that if black and white is used properly, it can give off a whole new feeling to the photos, which I can't put into words. And that's what makes black and white so special to me. 

I'm a huge fan of black and white photos and I'm always inspired to to take good black and white photos when I see one. But sadly, I don't quite have the eye for picturing photos in black and white. Which is why I have decided to give myself a challenge, a black and white photos challenge. For the next one month, I will be taking photos in mainly (if not, all) black and white. And after one month, I will share my photos and my thoughts with all of you. 

So in the main time, here are some of my black and white photos. 

Next Phase of School Life

In about two weeks (11 days to be exact), I will be going for my four months long internship. I'm both scared/nervous and excited for it. I'm being thrown into an environment where I know nobody at all and being a very shy person, I don't know if I would be able to manage that. Sure, I've worked before at a stationery shop, but I had two of my secondary school friends there with me. But this time, I'm on my own. And that's quite scary. I don't know if I would be able to adapt fast enough and make friends with my soon-to-be colleagues. 

I had a meeting with two of the staffs at the company today to discuss about the details of my job scope (which I was late for 10 minutes because there were two centers in the same area and I went to the wrong one) and I felt a little relieved. Everyone there was really friendly and they talked to me with smiles on their faces. And although I will be kept busy with a lot of work (judging from what they told me), I have a feeling that I will enjoy myself during these four months of internship. The best part was when I told them about how much I enjoyed taking photos and they told me about how I can incorporate photography into my final year project for this internship. I'm looking forward to internship a lot more now (though I'm not really looking forward to wearing collared shirts everyday sigh). But still, I hope I have fun and learn new things! 

Swaggerpuff's Adventure to the Lalang Field

Just a few days ago, on 26 February, I went on a short adventure with my two good friends from Poly, Hannah and Jonathan. We started it off by visiting Jonathan at his chalet looking place all the way at Loyang and ended it off with a belated birthday surprise for Hannah. 

When I say chalet looking, I really mean the East Coast Park kind of chalet. Every inch of it just looked like a chalet. We had popiahs at his place and chilled for about two hours before we left. And it was around this time where we started planning for the surprise (a little impromptu, I know). Jonathan brought us to this mini mart located in the middle of the chalet looking apartments and I was in charge of buying the birthday card without letting Hannah know. The mini mart auntie was kind enough to offer me a permanent marker to write the message on the card, but I didn't have the time for it, so I just bought the card and stuffed it into my bag. Jonathan, on the other hand, distracted Hannah by acting all fascinated with the mini mart and bought a root beer (which he kind of did an advertisement with). 

"Root beer, it just doesn't taste as nice when it's not glass bottled"

It really looks like an old school advertisement. 

Hannah inserted a 50 cents coin for Jonathan to ride that horsey and it ended up killing his butt for a good two minutes because of the bump at the back. So, after all that nonsense, we departed for Hannah's place at Hougang. Her mum made us mushroom soup and gave us bread to eat with. Jonathan brought chips from his place (which we couldn't finish) and surprisingly, it tasted really good when dipped into the mushroom soup. You guys should totally try it.

We then left for the Lalang field, which is somewhere at Tebing Lane (nearest LRT: Riviera), and along Punggol Waterway. Although Punggol Waterway is just opposite Hannah's place, we made the smart decision to take the MRT/LRT to Riviera, or we would have to walk for 5 kilometers. But that didn't make things any better. We were using all three of our phones with Google Maps to try and search for the exact location but to no avail. Even the directory had no information about this Lalang field. Therefore, we did the most logical thing - walk in the direction where the gigantic bridge is at. And after an hour of endless walking and attempts to take selfies of ourselves walking, we arrived at the famous Lalang field.

The gigantic bridge

The lalang field

It was... disappointing. I was expecting tall lalangs and lots and lots of it, only to be greeted with a sparse amount of lalangs that were only half our height. We followed the man-made pathway made by dozens who had came before us and were pricked by all the grass. Jonathan and I made the smart decision to wear jeans so we weren't pricked at our legs. Just kidding, we wore jeans because we were visiting Hannah's place and her mum. But it was still fortunate for us. Hannah, on the other hand had to suffer a lot because of the short romper she was wearing. But even with all the bad points of the lalang field, we still took some photos.

We left the lalang field to go to the bridge because we kept getting pricked left and right, and because the bridge looked much cooler. Jonathan went really near the river/reservoir/dam/lake/ocean (ah whatever) and we freaked out because we thought he was going to fall in. We spent quite a lot of time on the bridge taking photos and selfies. Apparently, this place is a cyclist spot. Every few minutes, we would have to stick to the side because there were cyclists coming through and we didn't want to get run over. Jonathan freaked us out for a second time when he put his phone on the selfie stick and lowered it beside the bridge to get a shot of a spiderweb. My legs literally turned to jelly at that foolish moment of his that I dropped to the floor.

Here's me jumping on the bridge

When we finally crossed the bridge, Hannah suggested we do a vlog and Jonathan volunteered to use his phone. So we placed his phone on Hannah's selfie stick and started vlogging as we crossed the bridge and back into the lalang field. Hannah's love for vlogging was showed as she was clearly enjoying herself as she talked to the phone screen, while everyone judged us as we walked by. After 20 minutes of vlogging (mostly by Hannah), we sat down at a bench to wait for the sunset and to check the video. To our amusement, there was no audio at all because we plugged the audio jack of the selfie stick into Jonathan's phone. It was really hilarious.

We learned from our mistake and unplugged the audio jack before vlogging again, because this will all become good memories 10 or 100 years down the road. We managed to catch the sunset, but we could hardly see anything. There were a bunch of buildings in our way which prevented us from seeing much. But we got another 20 minutes worth of video footage before Jonathan's phone ran out of battery. (Watch the video here!)

You're most probably wondering now, what about our impromptu and belated birthday surprise for Hannah? Well, while we were taking the train back from Punggol at around 7.30 PM, Jonathan and I were texting each other even though we were sitting beside each other. We came up with a flawless plan: I would alight with them at Hougang on the pretext that I was accompanying Jonathan for dinner and one of us would go and buy the cake. Hannah went with us to Hougang Mall because she wanted to get a drink, so I got Jonathan to go buy the cake as he got his "dinner" while I accompanied Hannah until he came back. Flawless.

It was flawless until Jonathan came back. Hannah knew immediately that he bought a cake because of the box it came in and Jonathan tried to convince her that it was just a bun. It didn't work, obviously. So we just sang her a happy birthday song in front of Starbucks (really loudly) while Hannah tried to shush us. We ended it off by writing the card in front of her (since we had no time to do so), gave it to her and did an introduction video for our vlog.

The mango cake we bought her (Photo credits: Hannah)

And the card we got her (Photo credits: Hannah)

Well, that sort of sums up our Swaggerpuff adventure. Till our next adventure.

The End.

The Place Where I Live

Tanjong Pagar, nicknamed Little Korea, is a small neighbourhood located around the central/southern area of Singapore. It is made up of both high rise office buildings and HDBs, which is what makes it very different from a lot of other neighbourhoods/places in Singapore. It has more than 15 Korean eateries, mainly K-BBQ, which is how it got the nickname, Little Korea.

I moved here with my family 5 years ago from Tampines when I was 14 and have been living here ever since. Although I've been living here for 5 years, I can't say that I know this place very well yet (mainly because I hardly left my house for the first 3.5 years). But now that I'm into photography and photojournalism, I decided to explore my neighbourhood a little more and show all of you around through my photos.

From the fitness corner to the large steps, you can already tell that it is very different as compared to most other neighbourhoods in Singapore. There are daily exercise lessons in the morning with blasting music. And it is not just one group of people exercising, but a few groups, ranging from normal exercise routines to Tai Chi and other forms of martial arts. There are also Pasar Malams that come every few months, where a few stalls will be set up along the road of Tanjong Pagar Plaza. There will be the standard Pasar Malam food and pottery and even plants being sold. Due to the space constraint, the Pasar Malams are always small scale, whereas places such as Tampines will have Pasar Malams that stretches across streets.

Of course, the most iconic part of Tanjong Pagar is Tanjong Pagar Plaza. It is made up of 8 blocks of flats, where 2 blocks are the market and all the first and sometimes second floors are filled with shops. There isn't a full scale supermarket like the one I'm used to at Tampines, so there are a lot of things that are not available here. The 'Market', which is block 5 and 6, has a hawker center on the second floor and is famous for a lot of types of food. From the Yong Tau Foo to the Nasi Lemak, a lot of the stalls have been on TV before and are worth trying and it is almost impossible to finish trying all the stalls since there are just too many. 

The other part of Tanjong Pagar, like I mentioned above, is the more city like part. It is filled with office workers, high rise buildings and hotels. There isn't any proper shopping malls (the nearest one would be either Chinatown Point or Vivo City), but there are office buildings and hotels with a small shopping center, such as Amara Hotel and International Plaza. It is also probably the only city area where you will see people in their home clothes or even pyjamas, because of how the flats are situated next to these high rise buildings.

There are many other roads and streets that are under Tanjong Pagar, such as Everton, Duxton, Cantonment and Yan Kit Road, a lot of which I have yet to explore, therefore I am unable to cover them here. But overall, Tanjong Pagar can be described as the neighbourhood of juxtaposition, with old and new buildings and a large portion of the population being the elderly. 

All photos were processed using VSCO Cam.