Seletar Camp.

Went to Seletar Camp one evening with Ryan! Haha. It was after school at around 6pm, and we ended up missing the Sunset. Again. But the sky was awesome, and it was still an awesome place to take photos, like Lorong Buangkok but with Colonial buildings instead of Kampongs.

Most of the pictures I took were like nonsense, since it was getting dark really fast and we were both like super tired from the day's events.

I dunno, maybe.

The Perilous Life of a Photographer.

Missed the sunset, but the sky was still =O

50mm 1.4 Bokeh! =D

Numbers.

Serial numbers on a rubbish chute.

My blog's turning into a daily-photo-blog-kind-of thing! And I am sleepier than I was yesterday, thanks largely to a spontaneous decision to go running that in retrospect was a bad idea and therefore I shall retreat to the comforting enclave that I define as my room and lie on the bed and drift off to sleep where all that is required of you is to dream and no longer think about anything. Yay.

Birds.

I am sleepy. SLEEEEPY.

Till There's Nothing Left To Play.

Till there's nothing left to play.

*Walking past this shop in Hougang at 10.30pm in the night*

"Eh look, some CDs and some flower thing!"
"Take picture! Take picture! Hahaha"
"Eh take picture with the guitar la"
"Okay lor, paiseh leh"
"Hahahaha"
"Hahahaha"

*5 minutes later after laughing and getting very weird stares from passerbys and laughing at their reactions anyways*
"Okay lets go"

The Repose Photoshoot.

As part of a school assignment, we had to source for a client of our choice and create a design solution. For my group, we decided to design and create a CD sleeve and band identity for a local band, The Repose. Okay all that sounded like part of the presentation/proposal. Gah. Anyways we went to shoot pictures of the band in a video studio.

Russell trying to be in a commercial.

Shooting in a video studio was kind of different, since the backdrop was all green, the lights were all modelling lights and there weren't any studio flashes at all. And I was half-dead from yesterday cause it was a Friday night, and I think I shot with wrong settings on the camera more than once. =S Thanks to Ryan for his super awesome Sony A850 though. =D

Deon being Deon. =)

Couldn't find a nicer building shot to photoshop in. =(

Converting photos at Ryan's house.

Rest of the pictures on Facebook here.

And this is Russell again. =)

Hungry For Sleep.

Okay this has happened to me like 4 or 5 times and it's really irritating.

It's 3am in the morning, and you're starting to feel sleepy and decide that maybe it's time to hit the sack, when you realise that you're feeling slightly hungry too. And as you get ready to go to sleep, the hunger grows gradually like a sleeping monster that's awakening. So you're stuck in a dilemma where you either choose to eat or choose to sleep on an empty stomach. And choosing the latter means you end up lying in bed feeling your day was unfulfilled and wishing morning (and breakfast) would hurry up and arrive. So you decide to choose the former, and look for some satisfying snack. And whilst consuming said snack, you get guilty thoughts about how all this is unhealthy and fattening. Okay to be honest I don't get such thoughts at all, the only thing I'm thinking about at the time is the name of the snack and adjectives to describe it's taste. =P

Anyways you finish the snack, and you feel full now. But the irritating, annoying, exasperating thing is, you don't feel sleepy anymore. Gah. =(

Someone please invent a snack that contains sleeping pills inside or something.

23 Days.

So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.

It's been 23 days since the start of the year, and it's been the worst start of the year that I could ever wish for. It's like every aspect of my life fell apart so gradually and I didn't realise it until the start of the year. And I guess now I'm stuck here trying to pick up the pieces and make sense of life again. And I wish that I didn't feel this way, but I do and I don't know what to do about it. I've always had a rough idea of what to do in the past, but lately it's been a complete blank and I don't know if that's good or bad. Lately I've been questioning myself about the motivations behind the things I do, and I don't think I know all the answers yet.

The crazy thing is I don't even think I should be blogging this out since anyone reading this would be affected in a sense or start asking me questions about what's wrong or telling me to cheer up and I don't want that. It's so much easier to pretend nothing's wrong and save everyone the trouble, especially if words of encouragement become superficial objects we throw at each other. And it's not that I'm not appreciative of friends, because I am, and I am thankful to you guys for just knowing. Not about anything specific, but just knowing. And all this sounds depressing, but I am okay. Or at least, I will be. I need to fall in love with God again.

Sunsets.

Taken earlier today at 7.06pm un-photoshopped.
Sunsets like these are the reason why everyone should pack their bags and move to Punggol.

An Interview.

During a pretend interview for a job as a photographer.

Lecturer: What do you think makes a good photographer?

I would say commitment. Being a photographer sounds like an easy and fun job at first, but try taking pictures of a camp for 3 days non-stop, and you'll find that on the 3rd day you feel so tired and weary, and chances are, you probably would not take as much photos on the 3rd day than you did on the first. It requires commitment then to be able to keep taking pictures with the same level of energy and enthusiasm as if you had just started out with photography.

Lecturer: So do you think you're very committed?

I don't think it's possible to say that you're committed? I think it's very easy to state that you're committed, but it's not possible to show commitment through words alone. I think commitment can only be shown through your actions. How can you say that you're committed when you've not started?

I think I should listen to myself more.

Don't Be There - Switchfoot.

Don't be there, don't be there,

'Cause I'm on my way,

And I'm already gone over,

And I'm on my way. hey...

I can't recall myself how I went down,

Did I get shot or shoot myself?

I'm down here, I'm down here,

And you're way up there,

That doesn't hurt, badly,

But it stings right here, hey...

I can't recall myself how I went down,

Did I get shot or shoot myself?

And I won't pretend there's nothing there,

You'll be around and I'll be square.

Don't be alarmed if I'm not there,

You'll be around and I'll be square.

If you're a rose then I'm the thorn

that's in your side,

And does it hurt badly?

'Cause it burns right here.

I can't recall myself how I went down,

did I get shot or shoot myself?

I'd like to say hello,

I'd like to say I care,

I'd like to let you know,

That nothing here's the same with me,

Nothing here's the same.

And I can't recall myself how I went down,

Did I get shot or shoot myself?

And I won't pretend there's nothing there,

You'll be around and I'll be square.

Don't be alarmed if I'm not there,

You'll be around and I'll be square.

Don't be around, Don't be there,

Don't be there.

2009 in 9 pictures.

Okay I know this is 2 days late already, but I didn't have the time/energy to do a post reflecting back on the year. =(

Went back to look at last year's post, and I think what I felt last year still applies to what I feel this year too. I think 2009 has probably been the year in which there's been the most number of changes. From going to a new school, learning new things, making new friends. And I think one thing I've learned about myself is that I don't like change, which is probably why I like taking pictures. Because pictures aren't ephemeral, although many things in life are. A picture you took 4 years ago would still be the same picture today. And I think it's a reason why I like music too, because songs don't change over time; a G still sounds like a G no matter when you play it.

But it's not that I hate change, after all, change is the only constant. I've made lots of awesome new friends this year, and I'm really thankful to have close friends I can count on.

I decided to choose 9 images of the things that I did this year, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, this'll be like a nine-thousand-word essay. Haha.

Doing a Triathalon.

Shooting a rainbow. :)

Going to OCH.

Shooting Sunsets/Sunrises. Not to mention sleepwalking around Punggol End.

The stray cat that's super friendly.

Hillsong United Conference/Concert.

Shooting in a studio.

Becoming a soldier.

And just recently,

Getting a Nikon Fm2 with a 50mm f1.4. :D

When I became a soldier I was asked to give a testimony in Church during Easter Sunday, just 2 days before the start of Design Orientation Camp and a week before the triathlon. Just before my life started changing drastically I guess.

And I think I remembered what I said then, that God never changes.

And I think that's the most awesome thing I've learnt in 2009.