Sunday Rant — Photography is not a spectator sport

These days everyone, their mother and their dog seem to have a digital camera of sorts. Mobile phones now sport cameras that will put compact cameras of yesteryears to shame, and you don't need to look far for an example.

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Update!

I haven't been writing as often as I should and I apologise; it has been a busy start to the year, and with the Lunar New Year occurring this early, in January as opposed to the usual February, family obligations take priority.

Some friends have asked what is happening to this blog, and I'll admit that I am torn between keeping the politics side open or swing it to the photography elements. Or I can just keep doing both. Over time I've realised that my photography and my politics are intertwined — they feed off and inspire each other, so I'm inclined to keep writing about both topics, if given enough time to do so, that is. It'll be an eclectic mix, but I think people might already be used to that :)

There are a couple of posts I'm working on, so you can look forward to those for a start. Happy Sunday, people.

Happy birthday, Karen

I'm not very good with sweet nothings, and since I've been told this is part of my charm, I'm keeping it that way. I'll just say this: thank you for being a part of my life, for making our house a home, for being the loving daughter, mom and wife that you are, for putting up with my nonsense, for being my anchor, for keeping me sane, and for making me a better person.

Can't think of a better way to grow old than to grow old with you. Happy birthday, Karen.

PS. And never forget I'm still 22 days younger than you and will remind you every day for the next 21.

You can find photos anywhere

All 6 of you who read my blog (probably an overestimation on my part) will know I went to Japan on vacation with Karen last month. This is the first time we've been to Japan, so it's really more of a recce and sightseeing trip, not a photographic-centric one. But even then, I came back with 7 rolls of colour negatives and slides and 8 rolls of Tri-X exposed, which is quite a fair bit.

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Goodbye, 2011

Gonna spend the weekend with the family and close friends, and away from the studio. This has been an eventful, if not downright tumultuous year.

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Black & White 100 Project - 90 of 100

"Uncle Soh" — Leica M2 and CV Nokton Classic 35/1.4 SC on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

Uncle Soh is one of those characters who make our kopitiams (Hokkien for "coffee shop", which is a very Singaporean term to address a local eatery that obviously offers more than just coffee or tea) more colourful. He isn't particularly mobile, but after a lifelong career as a sailor, and at the age of 92, that is not unexpected.

He uses a small, red shopping cart to put the stuff he's bought from the supermarket — "for his grandchildren", he says — as support. Instead of yelling for the attendant to take his orders, he uses a whistle, and he uses it loudly. He may not seem friendly, but I've always managed to engage him in conversation, even if the chat isn't deeply personal, and always share a cigarette or two with him.

Maybe that's why he didn't say no to me taking a photo of him, in a spot he regularly occupies at the kopitiam. Some at the joint find him a bit of a nuisance, given his penchant for using his whistle like an overzealous football referee, but I'll miss him when he's gone. 

Black & White 100 Project - 89 of 100

"Shopping Cart" — Leica M2 and Canon 50/1.4 LTM on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

Found this shopping cart abandoned at a corner of a graveyard, itself also abandoned, and I had to take a photo. There is something creepily tranquil about finding this at a place where it doesn't belong, sitting amongst dead leaves. I still wonder how it got there and why it was left there.

Black & White 100 Project - 88 of 100

"Tsk Tsk" — Leica M6 and CV Nokton Classic 35/1.4 SC on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

I have a confession to make: I'm bothered by the pervasiveness of mobile phones, and the near ubiquitous obnoxiousness associated with compulsive mobile phone usage. The term "Crackberry" is a perfect description of what seems like an addiction to the devices. I am a big proponent of technology, and mobile phones have made our lives easier, but it seemed to have overtaken us.

Somehow I don't feel they are mere tools anymore, when they shouldn't be any more than that. Like this gentleman here. When at the art gallery, study the art, not your mobile phone. That's the least we should ask for.

Black & White 100 Project - 87 of 100

"Car Park, Esplanade, Singapore" — Leica M2 and CV Nokton Classic 35/1.4 SC on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

This is one photograph I like but I cannot quite explain why I like it. I like the greys and strong blacks, the emptiness on the left side, and even the slight industrial feel of the ceiling. It's steadily growing on me every time I look at it, and that makes it good enough to share with you.

Black & White 100 Project - 86 of 100

"Years of The Great War" — Leica M2 and Canon 50/1.4 LTM on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

I'm not sure how many people even remember the events of World War I, or the massive changes it caused, among them the end of several empires and the beginning of the end of imperialism. More than 9 million combatants were killed in the war, and this monument, standing within sight of Singapore's central area and just across a road to the Esplanade, is a reminder of that.

For a large landmark in a prominent area, it appears that most people don't pay much attention to it. Just like how everyone has short memories and refuse to learn the literally bloody lessons that our forefathers have left us. And we really shouldn't.