zoo – Hong Kong Lucida

Life Follows Function

Posted on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Monochrome

Here’s a mishmash of images of Singapore, significant to myself.

Though the underlying theme here is about how we try to snatch something beautiful out of what is essentially functional.

Form follows function in much of Singapore.

Life, too, follows function: poetry is a luxury we cannot afford.

There is one way only. The rest is barred.

If you live with it long enough, it becomes beautiful.

Draw the curtains.

Poetry delayed is poetry denied.

We are at the zoo.

The helpful tram driver and a passenger.

After the animal show – poetry is found after the event.

Reflections in the MRT.

The tree is obedient, bent in the wind.

Perhaps something is poetry after all…

Thanks for reading.

Camera: Leica M6

Lens: Voigtlander 35mm f 1.4 Nokton SC

Film: Ilford XP2

Singapore Zoo Monochrome

Posted on December 6, 2014December 3, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Monochrome

At the zoo in Singapore with my son.

We did a double photo combo, with my 10-year-old son holding the Canon 600D with a 40mm f 2.8 STM lens and I holding my Leica M6. I’ll post my photographs another day.

All photos here, except for the elephant shot, were by my son.

On the way to the zoo, he found the water droplets at the back of a bus interesting.

He’s developing a good visual sense, I must say.

Nice monkey.

Nice erm … plant thingey.

Looking up to see itself.

Nice fishes.

A very charming gentleman.

Nice big mole.

I waited for a while before everything came together in this shot.

I told my son to wait till all the necks were parallel with one another.

Would have been better if they were between the trees in contrast with the background.

A horse (pony?) sticking its neck out.

Feed the goats!

My son was fascinated by the polar bear show.

It’s a powerful looking bear. We were told polar bears weigh only about 350 grams at birth.

This is grace.

Power.

Determination.

When I grow up I want to be a polar bear.

Singapore Monochrome Zoo

Posted on August 31, 2014August 31, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Monochrome

Singapore has a fantastic zoo.

We visit once a year each time we’re back.

I had a simple set-up that day – it’s a 40mm prime lens.

The challenge here is not so much to become the next National Geographic photographer, but simply to impart a bit of character onto the subjects.

That’s my favourite animal, totally at home in its tropical paradise – I was born in the year of the tiger.

A turtle flying through the water.

A dreamy iguana.

An enigmatic bicycle … (the kids had to pry their weird daddy and his camera away from this animal.)

We’re that sea lion, trained to perform.

See how hard it spins for its food.

The chimpanzees are high above, lording over us…

Check out that animal of a camera!

It’s a full frame Sony RX1r.

It’s a f/2 Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens!

It’s a full frame digital camera with a fixed lens, a challenge to a Leica fixed with a 35mm lens.

I could be Garry Winogrand with that camera! (I should say Winogrand’s book The Animals was on my mind that day.)

With that camera, I could become the next Daido Moriyama… look at that lens hood!

Okay … back to the main plot.

Once upon a time, Singapore was a small fishing village.

Then the elephants came.

We’re all looking out for our next orange squash.

Capitalism is fun!

All lined up and waiting to be splashed on by the sea lion … what fun!

Would you like to meet a capitalist snake, anyone?

That’s a white capitalist peacock giving us a rear view…

A charging polar bear!

Up close and personal with a polar bear.

There’re lines we cannot cross.

No worries – no one is going to eat us.

My daughter was impressed by this bird and followed it for a bit.

My son got real close and took the above shot.

“What’s that, daddy?”

“It’s a nice furry raccoon-like monkey animal creature.”

Children love the horse-carriage ride.

Nice pony!

A pony is not a baby horse.

It’s a small horse.

My son decided this particular otter was cute and took 16 identical pictures.

(That’s partly why I don’t let him use my film cameras.)

Bye bye! See you again next year!

For collectors: check out the prints!

Singapore Zoo

Posted on January 9, 2014March 10, 2014 by eddietay in About Singapore, Monochrome

Yet another set of street photographs taken at in-between moments during a family outing at the Singapore Zoo a few months ago.

That’s our friendly and helpful tram driver.

My son loves the pony ride.

I am a very talented photographer – through telepathy, I’ve managed to convince the person in the background to bend a little bit so as to be confluent to the pony handler’s face and shoulder outline.

Here’s the horse carriage driver.

Here’s the horse.

It’s interesting how high contrast monochrome changes things. The photographs look somewhat hard-edged and menacing at times …

Go to the zoo if you’re ever in Singapore. It’s really not so menacing …

The crowd at an animal performance show.

We go to the zoo every time we’re back in Singapore.

So, I’ve seen the performance many times.

Now, instead of looking at the performance, I look at the crowd and think about how to photograph the human exhibits.

I am a very talented photographer – using telepathy, I’ve managed to convince a stranger to stand up so as to create a contrasting element to the crowd.

That’s err… a bird animal creature with two legs and feathers…

I suppose that’s my nod to Gary Winogrand‘s The Animals.

Thanks for reading!

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