Singapore Art Book Fair 2013

If you managed to tear your eyes away from the very dreamy Ryan Gosling, you might have realised how long ago this set of photographs were taken. Better late than never and at least it's up before the next fair.

Flying Home, Hong Kong 2013

Going home after a holiday is always depressing but I do love being among the cloud canyons and catching that first glimpse of home.

Common Ground, Hong Kong 2013

Common Ground is a cafe that really makes you work for a sip of their coffee. The first time, we tried to visit, we were KO-ed by its remote location at the top of a series of incredibly steep stairs. It's actually located half-way up on a landing and not visible from the bottom. The second time, we got smart and travelled up the slopes by the mid-level escalators and walked down the stairs. Personally, I was ready to give up on it but C insisted that we try and find this. I am glad she made us. Common Ground is a lovely find, especially in the evening when the day cools down and the body has a minute to rest and recover in a quiet place.

[cambodia 2010] angkor wat through the fisheye

01. angkor wat, from across the moat

02. angkor wat, reflection in the lotus pond

03. horsey

04. the lotus pond

05. rama, battle of lanka relief

06. within the central structure, angkor wat

07. the sacred mountain, mount meru

to be honest, this wasn't one of my better rolls. the light was extremely dull due to the heavy cloud cover (see 02. no blue skies whatsoever) and i was still learning how to compose with a fisheye viewfinder. thankfully, as the day wore on, the sun began to blast the clouds away and with more sunlight, the fisheye began to perform better. i can't say this enough, the fisheye is a little light sucker. this was shot with iso400 but most of the shots look underexposed. i will come back to this in one of my future posts.



fisheye 2, kodak ultramax 400 (expired)

grad trippin' in south korea #4

And we are at Roll 06, just about halfway through for all the rolls of film for my graduation trip! Roll 07 continues the adventure in Busan with places like the Jagalchi Fish Market, Beomeosa Temple, Gwangali Beach and us leaving Busan for Gyeongju.

This roll was taken on day 5 of the trip. We started the day with a trip to Jagalchi Fish Market...

And then went on to Beomeosa, constructed in the year 678 and one of the leading temples in South Korea. The temple was getting ready for the celebrations of the birth of the Buddha by covering the temple with thousands of lanterns. It made for really gorgeous images. In fact, all the temples we went to had all these lanterns hanging about. So beautiful!

how the magic is created...

A lady by the roadside, near the temple

After the temple, we went to Gwangali Beach for some nightlife! That is one happening by the beach street. Little pubs and coffee shops line the beachfront, with seaside jazz performances and fireworks setting off all the time. The vibe was amazing! And there's the Gwangali Bridge, which changes colour every few minutes, gorgeous!

Bulb mode, long exposure, all without a tripod!

And then we had to leave Busan for Gyeongju the next day via a train journey.

don't you just love surprisingly awesome multiexposures? :)

And soon, we were in Gyeongju! We stayed at Hanjin Hostel, which is a really old and a Gyeongju institution in its own right. There really isn't much choice for digs in hostel for backpackers unless you want to stay at a motel which is seedier...

More of Gyeongju in the next couple of rolls...

roll 6, holga 135bc, kodak ultramax 400