When I reviewed the pictures I notice that the left ear of the cat was chipped off. It is probably bitten off in a cat-fight. I name this cat chipped-ear. After taking a few shots I went on my way and left the cat to catch up with its sleep.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Chipped Ear
I was walking pass Parliament House one evening and a cat caught my eyes. It was stretching itself and about to lie down to take a nap. I noticed there are some on coming traffic in the background so I though it would make a nice pictures with the cat in the foreground and the out-of-focus vehicles head-lights in the background. I took out my camera, set it to the biggest f-stops (aperture) and triggered of a few shots when the vehicles came to a stop at a traffic light.
When I reviewed the pictures I notice that the left ear of the cat was chipped off. It is probably bitten off in a cat-fight. I name this cat chipped-ear. After taking a few shots I went on my way and left the cat to catch up with its sleep.
When I reviewed the pictures I notice that the left ear of the cat was chipped off. It is probably bitten off in a cat-fight. I name this cat chipped-ear. After taking a few shots I went on my way and left the cat to catch up with its sleep.
NDP 07 Preview
Our once a year National Day celebration is here again. Like every other years I will take my camera to take some pictures. Last year I was very lucky to be able to attend a preview and the actual day parade at the National Stadium. This year my luck is totally out, I get no preview ticket or actual day ticket, sigh!
Hmmm, maybe I’m not that unlucky after all. This year the parade is held on a man made platform on Marina Bay and I’m working in one of the high rise building in Shenton Way. Luckily for me there’s a garden just outside our office on the 22nd floor. Even though I could have a clear view of the performances or the fireworks, I could still view my favourite fly-pass by the Singapore Air Force and some of the performances from high above and away from the maddening crowds.
Here are some pictures that I took last evening from the comfy our office garden.
Hmmm, maybe I’m not that unlucky after all. This year the parade is held on a man made platform on Marina Bay and I’m working in one of the high rise building in Shenton Way. Luckily for me there’s a garden just outside our office on the 22nd floor. Even though I could have a clear view of the performances or the fireworks, I could still view my favourite fly-pass by the Singapore Air Force and some of the performances from high above and away from the maddening crowds.
Here are some pictures that I took last evening from the comfy our office garden.
The Mystical Moon
When I was young I always wonder why there’s a big yellowish ball hanging in the night sky. Sometime it takes the shape of crescent and sometimes it is round and bright. As I grew up I learned that the big yellowish ball is known as the moon.
There are many tales about the moon that still puzzles me till today. In my younger days, the adults always tell me not to point my finger at the moon otherwise it would cut off my ears! Whenever the moon is covered up by passing black clouds, people would say “black dog had eaten the moon”. In the 80s, I watched movies about werewolves that went round hunting for its victims during full moon. Then there’s also a tale about a lady and a rabbit in the moon and she is known as Chang Er.
The truth I know that are related to the moon is Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon on July 1969. The famous word that Armstrong said from space was “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. And there’s a song made popular by Teresa Teng “月亮带表我的心”.
These series of moon was taken on Vesak Day 31st May 2007. Someone told me the moon on this day is the biggest for the whole year. Again, I'm not sure if it is true. I observed that when the moon started rising over the horizon, it is slight colourless.
And as it rises higher into the sky it turns yellowish.
After taking some plain shots of the moon, I thought I try something artistic by adding some leaves from the road side trees to create some foreground interest. Who knows, it turns out more eerie than artistic! This looks like a moon in some haunted movie!
There are many tales about the moon that still puzzles me till today. In my younger days, the adults always tell me not to point my finger at the moon otherwise it would cut off my ears! Whenever the moon is covered up by passing black clouds, people would say “black dog had eaten the moon”. In the 80s, I watched movies about werewolves that went round hunting for its victims during full moon. Then there’s also a tale about a lady and a rabbit in the moon and she is known as Chang Er.
The truth I know that are related to the moon is Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon on July 1969. The famous word that Armstrong said from space was “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. And there’s a song made popular by Teresa Teng “月亮带表我的心”.
These series of moon was taken on Vesak Day 31st May 2007. Someone told me the moon on this day is the biggest for the whole year. Again, I'm not sure if it is true. I observed that when the moon started rising over the horizon, it is slight colourless.
And as it rises higher into the sky it turns yellowish.
After taking some plain shots of the moon, I thought I try something artistic by adding some leaves from the road side trees to create some foreground interest. Who knows, it turns out more eerie than artistic! This looks like a moon in some haunted movie!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
My love for the Sea and Ocean
I love seeing the sea, sometimes it is calm and peaceful and sometimes it is wild and violence! Hence I enjoyed going to East Coast Park for cycling to enjoy the sea breeze and to enjoy the view of the sea.
When I was working in NOL during the 90's I get to visit ocean going vessels to service their computers. Most of the times I only get to ride in bum-boats that bring me to Eastern Anchorage or to Pulau Bukom to attend ship. Finally, on September 1995 I get to make a round trip traveling on Neptune Topaz, a big container ship, to Hong Kong Kowloon Harbour and Taiwan Kao Shiung. It was an experience of my life!
On our way to Hong Kong and Kao Shiung, the weather is fine and the South China Sea is calm most of the time. I get to lean over the hull of the ship to see dolphins racing through the water or watch flying fish gliding on the water surface. It is also a first time I get to see a spectacular sunset over the horizon of South China Sea!
Our journey back to Singapore is a totally different experience! Just as we left Hong Kong Kowloon harbour, the wind started picking up and the water gets choppy! Further out to sea, we were hit by Typhoon Teresa! Our big vessel was rolling side to side and dipping up and down on the roaring sea! Luckily, our experienced skipper, Captain Malcom James, managed to eventually steer our vessel clear of the storm and bring us safely back to Singapore. My ship mates told me, I should be glad that I get to experience the typhoon, otherwise I couldn’t say I have a complete sea faring experience!
Now that I have experience on the sea, I keep thinking how wonderful it will be if one day I could see an Ocean! Finally I get to see the Ocean on 29th November 2006 when I visited the 12 Apostles on Australia’s Great Ocean Road. The ocean view is very breathtaking, the water is very blue and there's white wave crashing the shoreline! The ocean water is icy cold and the wind is very strong on the ocean front and yet some Australians are brave enough to go surfing in the cold wind and icy water. I'm really impressed by their physical endurance!
As for me, I rather stay in my warm clothing, enjoy the cool ocean breeze, eating my turkey sandwich on the beach and watching seagull fly by.
Following is a series of ocean pictures taken on my Great Ocean Road trip.
When I was working in NOL during the 90's I get to visit ocean going vessels to service their computers. Most of the times I only get to ride in bum-boats that bring me to Eastern Anchorage or to Pulau Bukom to attend ship. Finally, on September 1995 I get to make a round trip traveling on Neptune Topaz, a big container ship, to Hong Kong Kowloon Harbour and Taiwan Kao Shiung. It was an experience of my life!
On our way to Hong Kong and Kao Shiung, the weather is fine and the South China Sea is calm most of the time. I get to lean over the hull of the ship to see dolphins racing through the water or watch flying fish gliding on the water surface. It is also a first time I get to see a spectacular sunset over the horizon of South China Sea!
Our journey back to Singapore is a totally different experience! Just as we left Hong Kong Kowloon harbour, the wind started picking up and the water gets choppy! Further out to sea, we were hit by Typhoon Teresa! Our big vessel was rolling side to side and dipping up and down on the roaring sea! Luckily, our experienced skipper, Captain Malcom James, managed to eventually steer our vessel clear of the storm and bring us safely back to Singapore. My ship mates told me, I should be glad that I get to experience the typhoon, otherwise I couldn’t say I have a complete sea faring experience!
Now that I have experience on the sea, I keep thinking how wonderful it will be if one day I could see an Ocean! Finally I get to see the Ocean on 29th November 2006 when I visited the 12 Apostles on Australia’s Great Ocean Road. The ocean view is very breathtaking, the water is very blue and there's white wave crashing the shoreline! The ocean water is icy cold and the wind is very strong on the ocean front and yet some Australians are brave enough to go surfing in the cold wind and icy water. I'm really impressed by their physical endurance!
As for me, I rather stay in my warm clothing, enjoy the cool ocean breeze, eating my turkey sandwich on the beach and watching seagull fly by.
Following is a series of ocean pictures taken on my Great Ocean Road trip.
My Morning Ritual
I usually start my morning by getting out of bed at 6.30am and do 20 to 25 minutes of stretching exercises to get my lethargic body's engine moving. Once my body's engine started I would read my newspaper which was delivered to my doorsteps by the newspaper vendor.
I often hear people proclaim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I my blessed to have a wonderful mother who still prepare breakfast for me every morning!
So what do I get for breakfast?
First I drink a glass of Florida's Natural orange juice (no pulp).
Then I will have a bowl of mixed fruits. Today I'm having an apple, an orange, a mango, and some little tomatoes. Other days I may have a mixture of Kiwi, Dragon fruits, Banana, Pear or Papaya. Usually it will be a mixture of 4 to 5 types of fruits. The fruits are cut into small pieces by my beloved mum so I can concentrate on reading my newspapers while picking up the small pieces of fruits with my little party fork and putting it in my mouth one piece at a time.
Yummy, next comes the main course breakfast. It could be a piece of toast with my favourite Peanut Butter or Raspberry jam. On alternate days I also have a bowl of cornflake or weet-bix or Nestle's cereal mixed in HL milk.
Wait.....I'm still no done yet! Finally, I still have to finish a BIG glass of tea! Sometimes I have Holicks, Milo or Coco too, but it is always serve in my favourites BIG glass.
My oh my, could you image all these amount of food goes into my tummy to get my 1.82m frame 90kg body on most of the morning except when I'm travelling. Well, I'm done with my newspaper reading and breakfast around 7.50am. Its time for me to take my shower and hit the road!
Hmmm, I wonder what you have for breakfast?
I often hear people proclaim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I my blessed to have a wonderful mother who still prepare breakfast for me every morning!
So what do I get for breakfast?
First I drink a glass of Florida's Natural orange juice (no pulp).
Then I will have a bowl of mixed fruits. Today I'm having an apple, an orange, a mango, and some little tomatoes. Other days I may have a mixture of Kiwi, Dragon fruits, Banana, Pear or Papaya. Usually it will be a mixture of 4 to 5 types of fruits. The fruits are cut into small pieces by my beloved mum so I can concentrate on reading my newspapers while picking up the small pieces of fruits with my little party fork and putting it in my mouth one piece at a time.
Yummy, next comes the main course breakfast. It could be a piece of toast with my favourite Peanut Butter or Raspberry jam. On alternate days I also have a bowl of cornflake or weet-bix or Nestle's cereal mixed in HL milk.
Wait.....I'm still no done yet! Finally, I still have to finish a BIG glass of tea! Sometimes I have Holicks, Milo or Coco too, but it is always serve in my favourites BIG glass.
My oh my, could you image all these amount of food goes into my tummy to get my 1.82m frame 90kg body on most of the morning except when I'm travelling. Well, I'm done with my newspaper reading and breakfast around 7.50am. Its time for me to take my shower and hit the road!
Hmmm, I wonder what you have for breakfast?
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Music and my life
Music has always been part of my life. I was born in the 60s when Rock n’ Roll was playing and Elvis Presley is the King of Rock. I started schooling in the 70s when John Travolta is discoing to Saturday Night Fever. When I attended Secondary School in the 80s, break-dance music was heard along Orchard Road, kids were break-dancing at every available corner to the music from their big portable stereo and Sony Walkman was gaining popularity in Singapore. Then there was the new wave music, the techno music and the trance music that accompanied me through the 90s. I love music and I could not imaging a life without music it must be very boring!
My dad played a guitar, my second uncle played a guitar and my 3rd uncle played a guitar and a hand-held organ and a few of my cousins were in their school brass band. So what about me? Well, a lot of people know me as a person who carries a camera wherever I go. Few remembered the days I carried a guitar, form a four piece band known as Automaton with my school buddies or stand in as a guitarist in a Malay wedding because a friend of mine fall sick on that day.
I did not make it big in the musical arena but I still played my guitars and my keyboard every now and then. I picked up bits and pieces of guitar playing from my second uncle when I was in the upper primary school. I loved the instrument, thinking it was cool to be seen holding a guitar. When I was in secondary school, I joined the guitar society and my dad bought me my first guitar. I learned proper musical notes and performed in many school ceremonies and once in the Singapore Conference Hall and once in Victoria Theatre. Even though I was trained in Classical Music and I enjoyed my guitar lessons in school, I always look forward to the jamming sessions with classmates after the guitar music lessons on Saturdays.
There are only five guys in the guitar society among the forty over lady members and we all get along very well. After our music lecturer left the classroom, the five of us would swap our Classical Music Scroll for our Let It Be Me song books and the jamming session begins! Initially some girls stayed on after the lesson to hear us play but eventually our audience grew to include girls from the NPCC and the Girl Guides. I was overwhelmed by the growing audience which spurred me on to improve my guitar skill in order not to disappoint my attentive listeners. I was really surprised when some of the girls brought along their sisters and friends to listen to us and some of them even asked me for my autograph and contact number after our jamming sessions. Well, that was many years ago when I was a very tanned (from my swimming lessons), relatively tall (around 1.79m) and much better looking lad in my teen.
Now, the glory days are gone and I left with my guitars, a keyboard and heap of song books as momentous to remind me of the happy times jamming with my friends.
My dad played a guitar, my second uncle played a guitar and my 3rd uncle played a guitar and a hand-held organ and a few of my cousins were in their school brass band. So what about me? Well, a lot of people know me as a person who carries a camera wherever I go. Few remembered the days I carried a guitar, form a four piece band known as Automaton with my school buddies or stand in as a guitarist in a Malay wedding because a friend of mine fall sick on that day.
I did not make it big in the musical arena but I still played my guitars and my keyboard every now and then. I picked up bits and pieces of guitar playing from my second uncle when I was in the upper primary school. I loved the instrument, thinking it was cool to be seen holding a guitar. When I was in secondary school, I joined the guitar society and my dad bought me my first guitar. I learned proper musical notes and performed in many school ceremonies and once in the Singapore Conference Hall and once in Victoria Theatre. Even though I was trained in Classical Music and I enjoyed my guitar lessons in school, I always look forward to the jamming sessions with classmates after the guitar music lessons on Saturdays.
There are only five guys in the guitar society among the forty over lady members and we all get along very well. After our music lecturer left the classroom, the five of us would swap our Classical Music Scroll for our Let It Be Me song books and the jamming session begins! Initially some girls stayed on after the lesson to hear us play but eventually our audience grew to include girls from the NPCC and the Girl Guides. I was overwhelmed by the growing audience which spurred me on to improve my guitar skill in order not to disappoint my attentive listeners. I was really surprised when some of the girls brought along their sisters and friends to listen to us and some of them even asked me for my autograph and contact number after our jamming sessions. Well, that was many years ago when I was a very tanned (from my swimming lessons), relatively tall (around 1.79m) and much better looking lad in my teen.
Now, the glory days are gone and I left with my guitars, a keyboard and heap of song books as momentous to remind me of the happy times jamming with my friends.
I loved this guitar the most because it is the first guitar my dad bought for me. My dad is always very encouraging in whatever I wished to learn. I spend most of my teen strumming and singing with this guitar.
This is the second guitar my dad bought. I played this guitar with my Automaton band. Don't ask me why we called ourselves the Automaton, I guess I must be day dreaming when my friends come up with this name!
This is an expensive Morris guitar. It was given to me by my uncle 子干. I strum till the strings burst and I have yet to replace the strings.
This is an Aria Folk Guitar, it was given to me by my good friend Raymond Sew.
I loved this keyboard too. It was a present from my mum before she went to England for a tour in 1988. It was closed to my birthday before she went on the tour and she will only be back after my birthday so she bought me this keyboard as my birthday present.
A test of endurance and determination
On 30th May 2007, I decided to followed my Uncle 子干 and his friends to Bright Hill Temple for a religious walk without knowing what it is all about. I though it was just a walk in the park. I was only told not to take any meat during the day and I could only walk with my socks (no shoes allowed). When we arrived at the temple, it was the eve of Vesak Day and thousands of Buddhism devotees had gathered at Bright Hill Temple for their 三步一拜 (3 steps 1 bow) ritual.
We formed a five person row behind a queue of hundreds of people and started the walk at approximately 7.45pm. There are speakers along the way broadcasting a Buddhist Chant in a form of a musical verse. We are supposed to follow the chant, walk three steps and when a chime goes off, we are supposed to stop, knee down where we stop, bow down to the floor then stand up and continue the same procedure all the way.
Initially, it was rather fun seeing thousands of people all performing the same act according to the chanting of the music. There is a cool breeze blowing in my face when we are on an evaluated part of the temple during the start off point. Eventually, as we decent down the slop, the road gets very rough and I could feel the breeze any longer, I was perspiring like crazy!
When I saw my uncle and many of the devotees came in jeans I was thinking to myself, it is going to be very warm for them when they started walking. I felt lucky because I was wearing my tailored pant made of thin material. Now that I started walking and following through the ritual I realised I was the stupid one! As we kneed on the rough road, people in jeans will feel less hurt because of the thick material. We have the option of not kneeling down, just stand still and bow is also good enough for the sick of physically less strong people. Since I wanted to come on my on will, I was determined to complete the whole ritual without stopping.
The whole procession took two hours plus to complete. I was really soak to the skin at the ending point, my knees hurts and my hands and elbows sore from the kneeing and bowing on the road. There are a lot of uphill and occasional downhill but I was very happy to have complete the whole procession without missing a single step or a bow along the way. At the ending point a monk chanted a prayer for us and throws some holy water on us. I felt blessed!
Initially, it was rather fun seeing thousands of people all performing the same act according to the chanting of the music. There is a cool breeze blowing in my face when we are on an evaluated part of the temple during the start off point. Eventually, as we decent down the slop, the road gets very rough and I could feel the breeze any longer, I was perspiring like crazy!
When I saw my uncle and many of the devotees came in jeans I was thinking to myself, it is going to be very warm for them when they started walking. I felt lucky because I was wearing my tailored pant made of thin material. Now that I started walking and following through the ritual I realised I was the stupid one! As we kneed on the rough road, people in jeans will feel less hurt because of the thick material. We have the option of not kneeling down, just stand still and bow is also good enough for the sick of physically less strong people. Since I wanted to come on my on will, I was determined to complete the whole ritual without stopping.
The whole procession took two hours plus to complete. I was really soak to the skin at the ending point, my knees hurts and my hands and elbows sore from the kneeing and bowing on the road. There are a lot of uphill and occasional downhill but I was very happy to have complete the whole procession without missing a single step or a bow along the way. At the ending point a monk chanted a prayer for us and throws some holy water on us. I felt blessed!
Fulfilling a promise
When a colleague of mine introduced me to HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography recently, I did a search for HDR on google and I was really amazed by some of the pictures I saw on the web. The images are very surreal. I thank my colleague for the introduction and I promised him I will take some HDR pictures to show him.
A week has passed and I failed to keep my promise excusing myself by telling him that I was caught up with something else over the weekend. Finally, I managed to try a couple of exposures today when I was down at Kallang Basin taking photos of a wakeboarding competition.
Here are my HDR test shots.
Even though my colleague will not blame me for not keeping my promise, I feel much better now because I have finally fulfilled my promised.
A week has passed and I failed to keep my promise excusing myself by telling him that I was caught up with something else over the weekend. Finally, I managed to try a couple of exposures today when I was down at Kallang Basin taking photos of a wakeboarding competition.
Here are my HDR test shots.
Even though my colleague will not blame me for not keeping my promise, I feel much better now because I have finally fulfilled my promised.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Yesterday's Glory
Tick-tock tick-tock.... the clock is ticking away and soon this clock and the great structure that house it will soon be demolished. Eventually this place, where the "Kallang Wave" started, where many National Day Parades were held and many football matches played, will soon become history!
Its past glory will live on in some people's memory and these pictures will become a mementoes of what it used to be.
I spent many happy hours here with my school mates and my friends celebrating Youth Festivals during my secondary school days and watched many National Day Parades over the years.
The goal post is a place where Singapore's goalkeepers Edmund Wee and David Lee had
once stood, safe gaurding our goal post to prevent our challenger from scoring.
On the spectators stand, some people probably could still recall hearing the Singapore supporters cheering on their favourite players such as Quah Kim Song or Fandi Ahmad when we played against our neighbouring football teams.
Every time a goal is scored by a Singaporean player, the "Kallang Wave" would start and the "Kallang Roar" would filled the stadium!
On this grand stand is where many VIPs, Member of Parliament, Prime Minister, Senior Minister and Minister Mentor have seated during our National Day Parades.
One prominent figure, who was Singapore Prime Minister then, Officially Declared The National Stadium Open on 21st July 1973. He is none other than our current Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Mr Lee was here, seated in this Grand Stand, during last year (2006) National Day Parade. And how did I know? Well, I was sitting directly opposite the grand stand, among thousands of spectators, peeping at him through my 600mm telephoto lens!
This would be my view if I'm seated on the Grand Stand. Sadly, I'm only able to stand here, in the Grand Stand, to take pictures when there's no event on. Sigh!
Well, this view will soon be thing of the past in the very near future. I'm glad I made it down to document this wonder place with my camera and to share these pictures with all of you.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Tranquility
I often hear people complaining that Singapore is so small, there's no place to go where we could escape the hassel and bussel of city life. Question is do we really look hard enough to find THE place where there's tranquility or serenity?
Luckily for me, a place where I could find tranquility, serenity, calmness and peacefulness is only about 10 minutes walk from my house. I usually go for a long jog during holidays or over the weekends and without fail I always end my jog at this little corner of Singapore. Over here, I could enjoy the light evening breeze to cool off after my jogging.
Occasionally, if you are attentive enough, you could hear a popping sound on the calm water surface caused by fishes. A trail of ripple would follows after it. There's also sparrows flying close to the mirror-like lake as if to check out their own reflection on this big body of water.
Although, it is hard to catch a spectacular sunset over the horizon in Singapore because there are too many clouds in our sky, on a relatively clear sunny day, one could enjoy a spectacle orangy dusk sky mirroring on the calm water surface just after the sun set behind the clouds. This fleeting transitory period from brightness to darkness is what I would call "the magical hour" and it is the best time for photography.
Unfortunately, there are now more and more visitors to the park and I could see litters on the ground and empty plastic bottes and soft drink can floating on the water surface. If the menance contiunes, someday the peace and tranquility of this little paradise will perish. At present I could still find enough room to distance myself from the noisy crowd. Hopefully, the park authority could setup measures to prevent those unscrupulous individuals from detroying this park.
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