The Christian Faith – an ongoing documentation

An ongoing documentation detailing healing services within the Christian community in Singapore. This audio slideshow chronicles a multitude of “broken people” turning towards the Christian faith as means to cope with despair and tragedy in their personal lives.

The adage “Ask and you shall be given, seek and you shall fine” rings true for some, as certain results can be miraculously instantaneous. Others cling onto their faith, in hope that eventually, God would come through for them.

Healing services, once considered “charismatic” and “new age” are now becoming more widely accepted as conservative Singaporeans evolve with the times.

Shooting as a Duo

 

I’ve always enjoyed shooting with Mike. We’ve known each other for 8 years now. Like every relationship, we’ve had our share of ups & downs. (there was a brief period where we weren’t on speaking terms because of a botched assignment both of us were working on) During then, he went to assist a well known commercial photographer while i went off shooting reportage. Since then i’ve went through various changes career wise & Mike…. Mike? He’s still Mike. With him, things are always going to be the same, and why not? 

Out-takes: 

“Two heads are better than one”. So while you’re busy engaging your subject, you have another dialing in the numbers on the strobes, moving props around, liaising with the art director. its tough to do this all on your own. Sadly, there are still instances when you just have to make do. But that’s a story for another day.

Batam

Over the weekend, i visited the neighboring island of Batam, Indonesia. Tagged along with my aunt who happens to also be a lecturer at a tertiary institution in Singapore. Together with some 60-odd students in tow, we made the 45-min boat ride out of Singapore. It was madness having to look out for such a huge bunch i tell you. We met an ex-student of hers who now runs the entire gamut of businesses from solid fuel manufacturing to pubs, restaurants and private apartments.

It was supposed to be an educational trip for the students and i was there to help. So, it wasn’t exactly an assignment per se. But i decided to lug along gear just to maintain that discipline of being always intentional and purposeful. By being always ready, i am not worried about being caught out without gear when my next subject shows up.

Considering how little time i have to myself at the end of the day (not to mention how exhausted i was), i have no time to wander the streets on my own. Wandering around a foreign land gives me a sense of purpose. (read about my China trip) You just don’t know what to expect. Just engaging people by communicating to them boggles my mind at how diverse and different one human being is from the other. When words and languages fail, even the simplest hand gestures could convey universal understanding.

Below, some kids from the local squatter settlement. 

“So full of despair, but yet so full of life.”

Nobody said that life was fair. 

 

Shooting with your heart

As news people, we are all invariably tied to the bottomline. Nevermind if you’re a writer, editor, multimedia producer or photographer. The crux of how successful your career will turn out is linked to how your publisher runs the business. It will not matter how good you are at your job. In the end, the nuts and bolts of it will be whether the business model is profit – sustainable.

(read: i got laid off and I need a job)

But lets just put aside all that for a second, put away the business aspect of publishing a newspaper, put away the issues of revenue and overheads and 30% profit margins just for a moment. And lets talk about your craft and how that defines you as a person.

The Digital Journalist has always been a fantastic resource for forward thinking news people. They talk about putting feelings and emotions back into a business that has most recently, become nothing short of bleak. 

(caution) This a photographic-centric post.

” Empathy is our ability to understand the emotions that others feel in response to circumstances and situations. The capacity to empathize allows the photojournalist to grasp the meaning that the story has for the story’s key players, for the viewers and for the members of the larger society.

The photojournalist must try to recognize and understand a subject’s emotion or lack of it. Emotional cues are often quite subtle.

The photojournalist must be able to capture those emotional cues. Technical expertise, including the knowledge of lighting, framing and shutter speed, enables the photojournalist to capture “the moment,” but without the ability to recognize the cues, there will be no perceptible “moment” for the photographer.” And without the ability to read, to understand and to capture emotion, a photojournalist might create pictures that are technically good. But the visual communication will never rise to the level of excellence.

To accomplish that, the aspiring photojournalist must “Shoot with your heart.”

Read > Photojournalist: know thyself

Wedding Outtakes

Been a tiring weekend for me. Haven’t done a back to back 12 hour shoot for a while. On Labor Day this Thursday, Aaron & Pam finally tied the knot. I was just happy to be play a part.

View the out-takes on PDF here.

More from the Navy

Days in the Navy

While sifting through my archives in preparation for submission to The Eddie Adams Workshop, i’ve chanced upon the pictures taken during the course of my 2 and a half years with the Navy. Looking back, it was a significant period of my life no matter how often i bemoan the days. I didn’t know it yet, but that was my introduction to photojournalism.

I was acutely aware that having a camera in hand, brings me places, shows me things i wouldn’t normally have seen. From live firing in the South China Sea, to roaming the majestic Kittyhawk (and other Nimitz class carriers) when they docked. On hindsight, i should have appreciated the access given to me more.

I guess that’s why they keep saying that “Life has to be lived forward, just so you can understand it backwards.”

Landing ship tank returns from Iraq.

Returning from their tour-of-duty in Iraq, sailors from the Republic of Singapore Navy come home to a boisterous reception by family and loved ones.

Sea Expedition at the crack of dawn.

Grenade!

Base Defense. Troopers patrol the naval base 24/7.

Decontamination Point.

I won some awards with these pictures. Nothing major, just small time community awards. But then again, nobody got into photojournalism to get rich. Never happened, never will.

We never got to say goodbye

Pension State is Gordon, Marcus, Dex, Adrain and Ted, a 5-piece local outfit who started playing punk rock during its hey days in the 1990s. After playing their 1st gig back in 1997 at the YMCA, their self-titled EP was sold out. After faithfully plying the local indie scene through the years, many numerous indefinite hiatus not with-standing, the band played their last show at Home Club in January 2008. “Musically we’re a nightmare, all of us were headed separate directions, we listen to different kinds of stuff since when we 1st started. It’s time for us to move on”

We never got to say goodbye

Praying for the nation

One voice. One spirit. Hundreds of Christians gather every last Friday of the month to pray for the affairs of the nation at a local Church in Singapore.

In the 2 hour session, believers worship, paint, dance, pray and soak in the presence of God.

Being raised in a conservative Christian home, this is part of an on-going articulation & exploration of the religious psyche that is a part of me. Or like they always say – the evidence of my existence.

For related postings, have a look at the archives on Inner Healing

Baybeats

Since its inception in 2001, Baybeats has established itself as Singapore’s premier annual indie music festival. Now into its 7th year, this massive festival still continues to pack in the crowd and best of all, still remain free to the festival goer. This year saw a record number of more than 50,000 throng the bayside of the Esplanade in search of a rolling good time. Baybeats has been a breath of fresh air for a nation increasingly weaned on popular mainstream music such as the likes of American Idol.

The festival conceived on the island of Singapore has been likened to the prestigious South by Southwest indie music festival famous in Austin, Texas.

Full Picture Set here