[sequitur] a photo a day 2012.

[sequitur]

Frailty of life.
KTM railway, Singapore.

26th January – Life is fragile, life is short. Today the class that I took over this year “celebrated” my birthday (in advance) with a song and a board filled with simple birthday wishes. While the entire process was short, it no doubt touched me a little – for the fact that it still meant something on my journey as an educator. Here’s to a good year ahead.

Leica M7 + 50mm summilux + Kodak E100VS

 

[sequitur]

One of the key lookouts on the way to the Tai-O Big Buddha, Lanma Island, Hong Kong.

27th January – Time waits for no man. In the blink of an eye, I’m another year older, with new challenges that await me. The past year has been pretty okay, but I could probably do with a much better lifestyle – staying healthier, keeping procrastination to the minimum, and, as much as I hate to admit it, working more efficiently. Oh, and of course, shooting more photographs!

Leica M9 + 35mm summilux asph

 

[sequitur]

Starbucks Coffee, Parkway, Singapore.

Love lost / love gained.

28th January – The cup lay still as its brief owner packed up and left. For a few many seconds of its life, it held some dear coffee that invigorated its drinker, providing that much needed kick to lull and dull weekend afternoon. Then it lost its love, the one of many ever so brief and fleeting encounters, before it lays there, in wait of another lover to pick it up and enjoy the brew.

M7 + 50mm summilux + Fuji Velvia 100

 

[sequitur]

At the Ladies’ Market, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

29th January – Hong Kong offers beautiful street scenes for street shooting, but unfortunately dealing with the huge crowd almost all the time is a problem for photography. At the Ladies’ Market off Mongkok, I managed to get a few shots of individuals shopping at the many clustered shops along the street. While I was pretty sure of this myself, doubt grew the more I looked at this photo, and it now begs the question – is this individual male or female?

M9 + 35mm summilux

 

[sequitur]

Place Bellecour, Lyon, France.

Lyon - the ideal French city?

30th January - The yearly Fête des Lumières, a festival to express gratitude to Mother Mary on 8th December each year, has indeed transformed Lyon into a city of tourism. In fact, our host at our bed and breakfast told us that this could probably be the biggest event in Europe, with over a few million attendees each year, and the increasing numbers show no sign of slowing down. Yet hidden in each traboule (“secret” passages within the city) lies graffiti (albeit not necessarily the voice of Lyonnaise citizens) that express unmistakable loathing for tourists, as it is the tourists that have unfortunately invaded their once-quiet city and, in a way, overruled their prior way of life.

M9 + 35mm summilux

 

[sequitur]

Project 365 – the scratched negative(s).

31st January – I’m backdating my uploads because… yes I’ve disobeyed the rules of a Project 365 and procrastinated. This is not good.

M7 + 35mm summilux + tri-x

 

[sequitur]

Project 365 – the Rhône river flows.

1st February – The sun sets on the Rhône, engulfing the scene before my eyes in wondrous shades of golden. Yet another reason to travel.

M9 + 35mm summilux

Along River Rhône, Lyon, France

 

[sequitur]

Project 365 - almost a street photographer's paradise.

2nd February - Truth is, there is nothing quite like the crowdedness of the Hong Kong streets that make it a joy to photograph. Yet at the same time, one will spot pockets of emptiness like this that make the experience of simply holding a camera in Hong Kong being quite surreal.

M9 + 35mm summilux

Mongkok Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong

 

[Justintime]

Project 365 – the Rhône river flows.

1st February – The sun sets on the Rhône, engulfing the scene before my eyes in wondrous shades of golden. Yet another reason to travel.

M9 + 35mm summilux

Along River Rhône, Lyon, France

Again not sure why but really like this :thumbsup:

 

[sequitur]

Again not sure why but really like this :thumbsup:

Thanks

Not sure why I like it too.

 

[sequitur]

Lost in thought.

3rd February – Another part of the roll of Kodak Tri-X that got scratched very heavily before and during processing. The story was that my film picker didn’t work, so I had to resort to using a set of pliers in a dark bag to extract the negatives, and somehow the film spool just didn’t load the negatives cleanly, so I had to keep reloading them into the spool, and here we have it – a whole roll of scratched and bent negatives. Nice effect though!

Leica M7 + 35mm summilux + Kodak Tri-X

 

[sequitur]

At the Fourvière Basilica during the Fête des Lumières, Lyon, France.

Project 365 - merci, Marie?

4th February – It’s almost all that I will keep harping on, but the discourse that surrounds the beautiful French city of Lyon during the period of the Fête des Lumières is something that I will always remember. The celebration of Mary has expanded so much that it is now a European, if not worldwide, phenomenon for Lyon. But how are its residents taking it? Just like how some in Singapore may be resistant to the idea of foreigners – be they immigrants or tourists – on our shores, do the Lyonnaise citizens really welcome the tourist influx?

Leica M9 + 35mm summilux

Read more about Lyon here (Wikitravel).
About the Fête des Lumières (Wikipedia).

 

[sequitur]

Project 365 - a journey called life.

Walking along the decommissioned KTM railway, Bukit Timah, Singapore.

5th February - Was clearing up my work while "enjoying" a cup of coffee at McDonald's when I eyed this family bonding over their snacks in front of me. And out of the blue, I started to wonder, and reflect, on the past few years that has passed me by. I grew comfortable - to my existence, to my routines, to what easily happened for me with minimal effort. I grew lazy. And with that revelation, I'm making a promise to myself - be more proactive, skip the procrastinations, set goals, set targets, achieve them. That's what life should be about, that's what this journey should be about.

Leica M7 + 35mm summilux + Kodak Ektar 100

 

[sequitur]

Hainanese curry rice… who would know the difference, anyway?

6th February – Street photography is really a mindset. It’s dangerous to go into it with fear, because the very act of shooting a street photograph is really about an interaction between the photographer and the subject(s). Sneaky shooters honestly don’t work out too well for me, but most of the time I don’t go in too close either. Space is what I’d give my subjects, who in turn demonstrate (unknowingly) their interaction with the space around them, and with me.

M7 + 35mm Summilux + kodak tri-x

 

[sequitur]

View of Nice harbor from the Colline du Chateau, Nice, France.

7th February – The harbor in Nice as viewed from the Colline du Chateau. Interestingly, quite a number of guidebooks do not list the Chateau as a destination, though open source travel guides like Wikitravel do. While not exactly an attraction, the Colline du Chateau nonetheless provides an extremely beautiful bird’s eye view of Nice, both on the harbor side and on the city side. Definitely worth the climb up!

Leica M9 + 35mm summilux

 

[sequitur]

Ties that bind.

8th February – “We last met before I was pregnant!” That was long. And now there she was, fussing over her newborn son, updating me on the joys and trials of motherhood. How time flies, how we all grow old. This was the very first frame from the two rolls of Kodak Tri-X that I shot, and this naturally came out an instant favorite. I just had to share.

Leica MP + 50mm Summilux ASPH + Kodak tri-x

 

[wonglp]

Project 365 – the Rhône river flows.

1st February – The sun sets on the Rhône, engulfing the scene before my eyes in wondrous shades of golden. Yet another reason to travel.

M9 + 35mm summilux

Along River Rhône, Lyon, France

Lovely feel!

 

[sequitur]

Hopping the way back home – Mongkok, Hong Kong.


Project 365 – that little blurry, whirly thing called life.
16th February – Right, that’s a whole week without any daily postings. Yes, I got caught up in work, it overran my life. The week whizzed by, with me running a little, attending the one-month celebration of my friend’s little child, executing a major event at work… and there went my commitment to the photography postings. Note to self – stop procrastinating!

 

[sequitur]

Lonely souls, Changi Airport, Singapore.

17th February – The weekend is finally here, after a busy week no less. After nights of falling asleep shortly after I arrive home, hopefully my body clock and sleep patterns will start adjusting back to their normal routines. Shot was taken at the Changi Airport Terminal 3, which is still my favorite place to go for street photography. Calmness, loneliness, emptiness, busyness, excitedness – it’s amazing how a simple and small place could gather these emotions all at once and put them in a giant melting pot, waiting for someone to come by and capture any of them into memory.

M7 + 35mm Summilux ASPH + Kodak Tri-X 400 in T-MAX developer

 

[sequitur]

Project 365 – the invisible photographer.

Your average salaryman? On board the tram towards Happy Valley, Hong Kong.

18th February – I relish moments like this. Part of the reason being I like the moment captured, part of the reason being the thrill of actually having gotten so close to the subject yet having gone unnoticed and unbothered. Different street photographers will have different “rules of engagement”, along with different approaches to focusing and composition and shooting. For me, I’ve simplified all of these rules and approaches into something easy to adhere – if it tells a story, it’s a great shot. Keeps things simple, I believe!

M9 + 35mm summilux ASPH v1