The Dummies And The Blonde


My first visit to Perth, Western Australia was just over one year ago in 2003. I was there first for a work-related conference. Staying back after the conference for a vacation, I was joined by my dad. While exploring the streets of Perth, we chanced upon this candid moment of a sales assistant enjoying the sun outside her shop, right across the street. We were struck by the wonderful lighting as well as the wry humour of the situation. Making a quick grab of my camera, I was fortunate enough to capture this shot right before the girl realised that a candid photo of her was being taken.

Master Of The Bird Cage


Taken at the same “bird-song” park in my previous post, I caught this brightly dressed man getting his bird cage ready to be hung up for display. The lighting was brilliant and I was lucky to get a clean, dark background on which this image was composed. The “blobs” you see on the poles closer to the front are the cloth covers which are used to cover the bird cages while they are being transported (to prevent the birds from being frightened during their journey). I have applied a gradient mask to darken (and desaturate at the same time) the left side of the picture so that the viewer’s main focus remains on the man.

In Captivity


An unusually bright day in the recent spate of bad weather in Singapore saw both my dad and I heading to the “bird-song” park at Ang Mo Kio, Singapore to take pictures. Groups of men come here every weekend with their cages of prized song birds and would proceed to hang them high up on poles so as to engage them in unofficial singing competitions. Capturing pictures in the area is never easy though, as the background is cluttered by the neighbourhood as well as the numerous pedestrians walking through the area. I was lucky to catch this lone bird cage amongst the many poles erected around. Using a wide aperture and a long focal length, I was able to isolate it in focus while keeping the rest of the scene a nice blur.