Category: Exakta

Three Workers

Lip Seng

One of my more successful international salon pictures was taken in the ’60s. The Outram prison in Singapore was being demolished then. This was not a set-up image: I just managed to capture the three workers going back to work after their morning tea break. This image illustrates the importance of being at the right place and time to capture a good image. I montaged the original trans with a piece of positive film to create the bias relief effect. This transparency won a plaque at the 16th Worcestershire International Salon, UK in 1968. This is one of the National Gallery, Singapore, Permanent Collections.

A Rough Journey

Lip Seng

This is another image from my FRPS pictorial panel in 1970. It was also the Gold Medal winner of the 6th Como International Salon of Italy in 1969.

I have applied Diazochrome Derivations technique onto this image. This time the original was montaged with a piece of violet diazo film. The location of the picture was at Changi, a site planned for development at that time. The worker (Samsui laborer) was set up to create the picture that I visualized.

Candle Light

Lip Seng

Once a year, on the 8th day of the Chinese New Year, the photographers from Singapore would visit a temple at Devonshire Road to take picture of the long candles. This near mid-night event was very popular among our local photographers. Taken with high speed Ektachrome film, I montaged the original transparency later with a piece of blue-toned positive film to create the saturated blue flames with bias relief effect. This picture is another example of my colour derivations treatment with transparencies. It was considered very creative by many others during that time: I was fortunate to win the coveted Gold Trophy (Best Slide of the Show) of the 23rd Hong Kong International Salon, in 1968 with this picture.