ARPS #1: Emeralds of Spring

The photography talk conducted by my dad at the Ngee Ann Photographic Exhibition last weekend brought back some good memories of the images I took on outings with him. A collection of some of those images eventually ended up in my portfolio for my successful application for ARPS in September 2003. The next few updates will feature images from the portfolio together with my thoughts on them. To start off…

Emeralds of Spring was taken more than two years ago at the Botanical Gardens, Singapore. A brilliant (but hot!) day provided wonderful sunshine by the sundial pond which was filled with brilliantly-lit leaves of the Victoria Amazonica. Because of the strong back-lighting, getting a correct exposure was tricky, made even more difficult by having to use the LCD (of my G3) in bright light to compose the final shot. I like the details of the leaf patterns captured as well as the repetitive pattern of the lily pads, whose monotony is broken nicely by the largest leaf at the top.

Exposure information – Camera: Canon Powershot G3, ISO 50, Shutter: 1/400 sec, Aperture: f/8, 35mm effective FL: 43mm, Metering mode: Spot, Exposure Mode: Manual

On The Busy Street Where He Sleeps

Another image from the archives that will be making its way to Romania for an invitational exhibition…

Written December 27th 2003…

I was about to pack my bags up for the night after an uneventful shoot when I chanced upon this old man lying on his trishaw opposite the Raffles Hotel. It was a wonder that he was able to sleep so peacefully along the busy street with cars whizzing by and pedestrians crossing the road! Taken on a tripod with a 15 second exposure to create the impression of an oasis of quiet and peace amidst a sea of chaos.

Exposure info: Camera Model Name: Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL | Shooting Date/Time: 27/12/03 20:43:38 | Shooting Mode: Manual | Shutter Speed: 15 sec | Aperture f/29 | Metering Mode: Center-weighted averaging | ISO Speed: 400 | Lens: 18.0 – 55.0mm | Focal Length: 28.0mm | Image Quality: RAW | Flash: Off | White Balance: Auto | Drive Mode: Single-frame shooting

Ngee Ann Photographic Exhibition


The inaugral Ngee Ann Photographic Exhibition (NAPE) is currently being held at the Ngee Ann Cultural Centre Exhibition Hall, Teochew Building (located at 97 Tank Road, near UE Square/Liang Court) from 16-24 July 2005. My dad has been named the Photographer of the Year for the event and will be giving a talk this Sunday (17 July) on “My Art of Seeing”. I am honoured to have 5 of my works on display at the exhibition too, namely: Mountains in the Sunshine and Mist, The Chaotic Sea Of Gulls, è·¯ (Journey), City Of Lights and The Sunshine Before The Storm. To see more works by other photographers, you can view the exhibition online here.