Burgertime

A couple of photos taken earlier this year on a quiet Sunday, when I had lunch with my parents at our go-to burger place, Relish.



Lovely light, courtesy of the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows.




Canon AE-1 + Fuji Superia 200


The last few weeks have been a bit crazy for me, work-wise, but things are slowly going back to normal and I'll be back soon with some new film photos & a proper post!

Festival Village 2012

A few photos from a weekend waaay back in June, when I chanced upon the Singapore Arts Fest Festival Village. I was actually at the Esplanade bridge to check out the Public Garden market, but ended up people-watching instead.



Oyaji performers from the Cafe Bridge Project


On-the-spot art


Tangle, an interative area where kids could run around and make an arty mess with colourful elastic string, I love the idea!



Wish I'd had the time to experience the Umbrella For Two tour, it looked intriguing.

(Photos taken with Canon AE-1 & iPhone)

Wimbly Lu

My friends introduced me to this dessert cafe a few months ago and I couldn't help admiring its cosy, classy decor. Wish I'd snapped more photos! I can't remember exactly which desserts we ordered, just that everything was really chocolaty, so I'll let the photos do the talking:









(taken with a Canon AE-1)


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Some good stuff I came across recently:
Intricate pencil lead sculptures by Dalton Ghetti (Charlie Bowater)
Top Notch Type 17 - this whole series is worth checking out (Emmadine)
Art collective Kut changes the weather in Latvia (Booooooom)
Type illusions by Stephen Doyle + a behind the scenes video (Jason Santa Maria)
Rachel Chew's delightful blog & Flickr

This is perfect

I could just sit and stare at these paper pieces by Zim And Zou all day. It's as if someone took a bunch of my favourite things - bright colours, paper, cameras - and put them all together! I really like how the zany colours give the classic analogue shapes a modern twist.













Found via Colossal. All photos by Zim And Zou

Real Summer Days

Weather-wise, it's almost always summer here, but it only truly feels like summer to me when I can spend a whole day as I like. How has your summer been?




(Yashica Electro 35 GSN test roll, Kodak Gold 400)

These photos are from a relaxing morning some months ago, when we drank tea and made plans for A's wedding.

One Year

(Olympus XA, Fuji Sensia 200 cross-processed)

Early last year, I started taking photos with some film that I meant to double-expose. In my quest to get images that were as amazing and whimsical as these, I was super picky about what I shot (so silly!) and as a result it took me a year just to finish the roll.

The upside of me being such a slow-poke is that this roll accompanied me on my travels to Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea. It was fun trying to spot the bits that were taken at each location.

My conclusion: double-exposures taken using the method I chose (take photos, wind film back into canister, take more photos) can't be planned, so it's best to just snap away with abandon. I'll probably stick to regular photography for the most part, because I like having some control over the pictures I take, but I'll definitely try this again some time.

P.S. more double-exposure photos can be found here, if you're interested.

Local Tourist: Seah Street

Last Tuesday I met Elly for lunch - you might remember her from the last installment of Local Tourist - and she brought me on an impromptu mini-tour of this area, which is tucked away behind Raffles Hotel.

We had lunch at a coffee-shop on the corner of Seah Street which serves one of the best cups of teh-ci (tea with evaporated milk) I've ever drunk. It was so good that we simply had to go back for a second cup later in the afternoon.

Most of these photos were taken in and around Actually... and Supermama, which are both on Seah Street.



Little whimsical details along the stairs leading up to the two shops





I love how quirky these shops are and how the items they stock feel like they've been thoughtfully chosen and arranged.





Using their store signage for a photo op



It was a blazing hot day so we ended off our tour with some icy Chinese dessert at Liang Seah Street.



A bit of historical trivia: This area (including Beach Road & Middle Road) was where the Hainanese settled when they first arrived from China in the 1850s and the Singapore Hainan Society is still located on Seah Street today.

(photos from my Instagram feed)

City Tour

Surprise May Day post! My apologies for the long radio silence. Real life has been taking up all my time lately, now that I'm Gainfully Employed.

These photos are from my last day in Ho Chi Minh City. The architecture in the city is so diverse that it's possible to see grand, French-style buildings, shiny new skyscrapers and lively shop-houses all on one street. Many of the historical buildings are in District 1, within walking distance of one another, so we managed to visit them all in just half a day.

City Hall / Saigon Opera House / Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica /
a photogenic building / phone-booths














My favourite building: the Central Post Office. I couldn't stop admiring its interior decor!










The Reunification Palace: This place is stuffed FULL of history. Every tile, every curtain, every speck of dust has a story to tell. Okay, maybe not, but there's really so much to see in this building, with its underground war rooms, secret lift and rooftop helipad (and old-school typewriters!).

Why I shoot film

A big THANK YOU to the lovely Astrid for inviting me to be a part of her series that revolves around the question "Why do you shoot film?", which I love. Check out my answer here!

Fun with lino-cut

My first lino-cut attempt! I chose a design that was loosely inspired by peonies and it ended up being a bit too small and plain to stand alone, so I used it to make a repeated pattern.

I wish I could say that the disorderly positioning of the flowers was intentional, but that's just what happens when you try to align multiple prints (with the lino block under the paper) without using any guides. I've got to find out how the pros do it!







These purple prints were made using a tiny ink pad meant for rubber stamps, because I was getting tired of black. I had to stop after three prints though, because the ink was starting to ooze out of the pad. Oops.





I think lino-cut is great way to get started with print-making, because the materials and tools don't cost a lot (I paid less than S$40 for everything), it involves just two steps: carving and printing, and you can find plenty of great lino-cut tutorials online. Give it a go!