making the shutter count

Wind Struck: Clothes hung by campers on Pasir Ris beach were beaten with strong winds brought forth by the Northeast Monsoon. Temperatures range from a low of 24 to a high of 29 degrees celsius in this period.

Photographer’s Notes: The campers shied away at the first sight of me, probably thinking I’m some NEA officer waiting to pounce on their misdemeanors. But their pegged up clothes caught my attention, giving a sense of human presence even if the campers continued to be holed up in their pitched dome. The strong winds blew my rigidly waxed hair into a shapeless mess, just like the assortment of clothes flapping non-stop on the string.

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Start of day: An early morning view of the petrochemical industries along Jurong Island, fronted by a sea of bobbing bumboats and ships.

Photographer’s Notes: The first billow of smoke, the first rays of the sun, the first boat out at sea; these elements evoked a sense of a brand new day for me. I enjoyed this moment of peace and calm before things started to get busy later on in the day.

Touching up: A foreign worker puts the finishing touches on Bedok South Secondary School’s new indoor sports hall. Under the Ministry of Education’s Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools (PRIME), all schools are slated to have such a facility for their students. However, Bedok South Secondary School, along with 19 others, will be the first schools in Singapore to have these buildings completed.

Photographer’s Notes: I was walking by, on my way to the train station when I saw cranes being lifted up the air and workers completing the painting on the buildings. I was intrigued by the colors and the possibility of the photo. I then decided to compose it with the fence in between us, to show that I was from the outside looking in and also for aesthetic value. The worker, possibly from Tamil Nadu ( I tried speaking to him), stopped after five minutes and breaked for lunch. He came over and we used sign language to try talking to each other. I think he probably wants a copy of the photo.

A hole in my soul: Mitre Hotel, located just off the busy streets and shopping malls of Orchard Road, this unasumming building hidden along Killiney Road will finally be torn down soon. A 12 year long legal case was put to an end last year when the only living partner of the hotel was forced to finally put the property up for public tender and sell the property.

Photographer’s Notes: The hole in the floorboards near the window somehow reminded me of a reflection of the window unto the ground.  The rooms in this dilapidated building reminded me of prison cells as they were often very small and narrow with either only a sink or a mirror. This run-down hotel was fought over for so long and one could only wonder why this property had so much significance to the owner. The crumbling floorboards made walking on the upper level unstable and often unpredictable, and I also chanced upon other photographers exploiting this old beauty.

Walk the talk: Low Thia Kiang, an opposition MP and Secretary-General for The Workers’ Party of Singapore, talks on his phone minutes before an interview with student journalists. Behind him is a calligraphy piece given by his constituency. It reads: Contribution to Society, For Country and its People.

Photographer’s Notes: I was actually photographing Mr Low for a story commissioned by enquirer.sg. Mr Low is not known for granting interviews to reporters easily and I was apprehensive about how he would react to 2 student journalists. Would he be cold? Would he be too self conscious? Thankfully, he turned out neither. Inviting us into his office, he was concentrating on talking on his phone. It was a very good photo opportunity as people are usually unguarded when talking on the phone, thus revealing their personality. My instinct told me to go aggressive and fire off a few frames. I have not even made a formal introduction at that point. Luckily, he did not mind my presence and actions at all. That was when I knew he would be comfortable with me doing my job. I thought the picture shows a businessman side of him. After the interview, it was revealed that he does possess strong business acumen. But I will leave the details out for now. It is an enquirer.sg story after all!