Some more Chinatown…
Singapore’s Chinatown is very … organized.
It’s for tourists, of course.
With lots of souvenirs to buy.
There’s lots of waiting to do. (Durians!)
And pockets of intense concentration.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
Author: eddietay
I am a poet and an educator. I have come to realise in recent years that the act of writing poetry has trained my mind to be always on the prowl for everyday moments that might be suitable material for my writing.
Hence, I turn to photography in order to record some of these moments. I soon discover that the photographs I am taking, using film rangefinder cameras which are more discreet and hence suitable to the task at hand, are in the tradition of street photography.
In search of poetry, I have become a street photographer.
What can Hong Kong teach me about street photography, and what can street photography teach me about Hong Kong?
This blog seeks to address that question.
Singapore’s Chinatown in Colour
Chinatown!
Having lunch.
Looks yummy.
This is also a space of commodity.
Though people do live and make a living here.
Tiong Bahru Pao!
Colourful drinks stall.
Yummy hawker food!
Touristy stalls.
Waiting for Tintin.
Ice cream with biscuit!
Another tourist souvenir stall.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Singapore’s Little India in Colour
My previous post on Little India was in b/w.
These are in colour.
Friends in conversation.
A street fruit stall.
A framed place.
A vegetable stall.
I can’t resist another shot at the sign, as if to assure myself that everything has its place in Singapore.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Singapore’s Little India in B/W
These are b/w street photographs of Little India.
Think of these as a nod towards Aik Beng Chia’s work on Little India.
Check out his excellent work Tonight the Streets Are Ours here and here.
There’s definitely a strong sense of community here.
People are always in touch with one another.
Scenes of friendship.
Street scenes.
Joy of the streets.
The streets are institutionalized and framed.
That doesn’t mean we should stop searching and looking.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Singapore Street Photography
These are various snapshots in Singapore, with no particular order or theme in mind.
Though I must confess a significant number of images have to do with food…
He’s eating.
He’s texting.
He’s working really hard.
He’s buying.
I’m buying.
I’m buying some more.
These, I suppose, make up part of what Singapore is.
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
Raffles Place Lunchtime
That’s the courtyard between the 2 main exits of Raffles Place MRT station.
Lunchtime – that funny, in-between time that is part-leisure, part-work, part-consumption.
People relaxing.
Waiting.
Posing.
Catching up.
Having a smoke break.
All caught up and immersed in the ever-present, not too far away from a reminder from history, of how times have changed and will change again.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
Building Singapore
Lots of street shots to do with construction workers.
Quite literally, these are the people who built Singapore.
I grew up in Singapore, and even to me, the heat is too much at times.
So yes, this is hard work.
These were taken at various places.
The scenes are ubiquitous.
Singapore depends a lot on foreign labour.
Working behind the scenes.
So we have these.
Camera: Olympus XA 2
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Penang’s Gurney Drive
I was in Penang recently with my family and many of the street pictures were taken with my Olympus XA 2, in-between vacation shots taken with my Canon 600D.
The above was taken while riding a trishaw.
Another shot, taken from a trishaw.
The Gurney Drive street food market was where we found ourselves on most days.
Fried oyster!
Yummy!
Lok lok!
Laksa!
That’s the “Chinese rojak” stall.
That’s the Indian rojak stall.
Sotong kangkong!
So yes, street food was on the top of our list at Penang.
Camera: Olympus XA 2
Film: Agfa Vista 400
Olympus XA2 at Brick Lane
That’s part of a performance: it’s the London edition of Singapore: Inside Out.
The street composes itself.
Young artists.
Rectangular grids are easy to do.
The street is its own art.
The people and the streets are one.
Respect the street.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2 400
Street Photography and Tourism
I’ve set a challenge for myself – to do tourism slightly differently.
It’s a way of not spending money.
Go to touristy sites and look at tourists.
Turn that obligatory landmark photo into a street photograph.
And then suddenly, everyday life becomes intriguing.
Quiet moments are especially beautiful.
You could still be a tourist in the Tube.
Thanks for reading!
Camera: Olympus XA2
Film: Ilford XP2
Hong Kong Lucida 