PHOTOfrenz Blog

by Wong Casandra

I haven’t been to Orchard in quite awhile (or rather, haven’t gotten down to exploring it recently; I have been making quick trips to Orchard for my weekly Japanese classes, but nothing else), so one day last week, I decided to make an appointment with a friend in Takashimaya. While walking towards my destination, I was pretty much shocked by the extravagant lighting and decoration – perhaps because I haven’t really quite recovered from seeing the plight of houses in Phnom Penh. So I decided the next time I dropped by Orchard for my evening classes, I will bring my camera along for some casual shooting… and to immortalise this year’s celebration in Orchard.

1. Merry Christmas! The traffic lights, car lights and the Christmas lights – they all brighten up the roads and make them look pretty!	2. Towering Lights & Buildings I like how the lights contrasted with this tall building behind CK Tangs. Which is grander: the tall, towering building or the shimmering lights?
3. Santa Helpers I first spotted a couple of people wearing really tiny little red caps on their heads, and then I was wondering where did they get them. Later, along the stretch of road towards Takashimaya, I spotted a lady selling them. I wanted to get one, but decided against it since I would most likely misplace or drop it somewhere.	4. Kids Posing with Kids From far, I spotted a group of kids (and adults) crowding around something; when I got nearer, I realized it was a Bob the Builder lookalike!
5. Christmas Buskers I like seeing buskers perform. When I spotted a group of people crowding around some, I decided to stick around and listen myself.	6. Jesters! Spotted jesters gamely posing for some photos in the middle of nowhere.
7. Berry X’mas in Takashimaya What a lovely way to decorate. I wonder how many bears were used in the making of this “tree”?

In all honesty, I don’t really like the over-gratuitous lighting decorations – it really made Orchard look like a huge getai stage –, however, I do appreciate the fact that they add a certain celebratory excitement for many tourists, families and couples alike; in fact, while getting irritated by strangers who blocked my view by constantly standing around inspecting some ornate decorations, I spotted several groups of people enthusiastically posing for photos!

I haven’t had the time to check out the decorations at the neighborhood malls… but will soon, so do look out for the next post. Do get out there and snap some photos with your favourite Christmas decorations!

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by Wong Casandra

Late last month, I had the good fortune to travel to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh for a media assignment. Having been to Vietnam earlier this year, and Bangkok two years back, I was… expecting a similar environment with similar infrastructure and culture. My deduction wasn’t entirely wrong; however, Phnom Penh’s infectious never-say-die spirit and resilience tugged at my heartstrings, and appealed to me greatly, even more so than the two fore-mentioned cities.

And I certainly wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Along the trip, I have met several people who had fallen in love with this exotic city and had not only made it home, but in their own magnanimous ways, also contributed greatly to helping the Cambodians. I haven’t been this inspired ever since reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (he had a great sense of black humour, but I digress.). And I will definitely make a trip down again (this time, personal!) early next year.

Therefore, I decided to dedicate this entry to the beautiful and precious children of Phnom Penh, all of whom deserve much more than what life has dealt out for them.

1. Boy with a Pram I shot this while on a van, traveling through the city. I can’t see what the little boy is looking at in the pram, but I can definitely see how unhappy he looks. Looking at this picture makes me sad; what’s a little boy doing alone, along a polluted street, with a pram carrying very possibly his baby sibling?	2. Playtime by the Pond These three kids seemed to be having fun catching small fishes while waiting for school to start. Nothing beats playing with water while under a hot sun!
3. Peering out of Home I spotted this shy girl with her body half in, half out of her house, and peering straight at me. Finally, she cracked a smile and I promptly took her picture.	4. Curious Brother While in the midst of us interviewing his sister, he returned home midway from play, and joined in the commotion.
5. Sitting by the Door A young teenager was sitting by the door of his house, and gave me a shy smile. I wanted to stop, say hi and chat a little, but I was in a rush, so I waved to him instead.	6. Gathering for a Photo A group of Cambodian children gathered around us because we stuck out like sore thumbs – we were carrying DSLRS, PnS cameras and camcorders. Look at how radiant their smiles are!
7. Resting Under the Shade of a Truck I can’t, for the life of me, figure out what this pretty little girl is doing. Is she playing hide and seek with her friends or is she just resting under the truck? I shall stick with the latter.

With that said, Singaporean children should count themselves lucky to have a proper roof over their heads; most of the Cambodian children that I have caught on my camera were living in poor and unsavory sanitary conditions. Still, they manage to keep a smile on their faces and live on.

About PHOTOfrenz:
PHOTOfrenz offers easy online photo sharing, photo printing and photo gift ordering with fast upload and free online storage

by Wong Casandra

I was watching Channel News Asia last Saturday, and I spotted a familiar face in a programme called Warring Frontiers – Mr. Wayne Umehara, a photographer who taught Photojournalism in my school.

This was the man who taught us how to shoot on B&W (he was also the man who inspired me to take the plunge and venture into photography), how to develop film and print them. He is also a spectacular photographer with years of experience in both commercial photography and photojournalism.

Aside the man himself, what was also memorable about the module was the experience attained during the many shootings for my final project. We were given the liberty to do a photo essay on any subject, and I chose to do one on the subject of orphans. However, because of the tight legal issues surrounding orphans in Singapore, I had to make do with friends and friends’ siblings or cousins (who of course, weren’t orphans).

What happened was that for a couple of weeks, we had to report to Wayne with what we shot, and he would look at them during scheduled one-to-one sessions. These sessions were interesting and informative chats on how to improve your angle, how to make your shot more interesting by changing the background, etc. I would have say that I learnt a lot while shooting for this project.

1. Cracked This (and the 2nd and 3rd photo) was taken in a small-forested area in Yishun. It was really hot and humid when we went there, and everything was drying up (hence, the cracked ground).	2. Eyes Half Shut Impromptu shot! This was taken while standing on a plastic chair dumped at the aforementioned place.
3. Painted Love I got my friend’s brother (a very patient, sweet and cooperative boy mature beyond his age) to paint a heart on the ground. I deliberately left his face out of the composition.	4. Lines & Shadows Photographed my friend’s cousin at a staircase in Marsiling. The sunlight made it looked as if he is confined to a jail cell.
5. Peering He did a great job in looking forlorn and hopeful at the same time. He was peering out of one of those unnecessary ornamental structures found at the void deck of a HDB flat.	6. Stare I managed to rope in two friends to help me out. While unintentional, this shot had a more aggressive mood compared to the first five.

Though the shots were done when I wasn’t so sure about how to use a camera, I was far from disappointed by the results!

About PHOTOfrenz:
PHOTOfrenz offers easy online photo sharing, photo printing and photo gift ordering with fast upload and free online storage