People at the Park
This weekend I went to Punggol Park. This being a park, there were lots of people around. Runners, kids, you name it. In general, these don’t make interesting subjects to me. Sweaty people aren’t fun to photography, and I wasn’t gonna try to nail the focus on kids- not with my manual focus lens, at least. But I did run across a couple taking their wedding pictures. These are always interesting to me. They’re recreating a beautiful photographic record that is basically entirely fake. This is kinda the magic of photography, I guess.
Above: Here the couple head up the hill for a shot of them framed against the beautiful blue sky. This picture really sums up what I feel about wedding photography. It’s like a beautiful couple taking pictures in very ‘bleah’ surroundings. I mean, look at the apartments in the background- this is a shot the official photography certainly won’t be excited about. But, after the magic of photography is applied, nobody’d know that these photographs were produced in such commonplace settings.
Above: I guess this is closer to what the wedding photographer had in mind. You see them doing their poses- again, more artificiality. I don’t mean that in a bad way- it’s just all so surreal to me. Anyway, the results are often fantastic, and I can definitely see why people do it.
Above: My dad was very excited to be at the park, and he wanted me to take a bunch of pictures of him. He made sure that I included the background so, as he puts it, he can ‘use it on Facebook’. Hooray for technology! On a sidenote, I’ve discovered how to make the yellow-green sickly colour of grass more palatable. Apply the same vintage-look to everything, and it actually looks okay! To my eyes at least.
Above: I’ve noticed this for a while already. There are a LOT of fellow photographers in Singapore, and you see them at all the usual places- museums, events, parks… Photography is really taking off as a hobby in Singapore. I guess it’s because there are only so many places to visit, and ironically, the best way to revisit a place is to look at it again through a camera lens. PS, the only part of this photo I really find interesting is the strong lines of the pavilion the photographer is standing on. Ha. I guess at heart, I’m really not a people photographer.
Abstracts of a Bridge at Punggol Park
I got to the newly built Punggol Park this last weekend and really enjoyed taking pictures that day. Among all the fantastic shots I got, one particular bridge- on the flyover above the park- really captivated me.
Above: This is the first picture of the bridge that I took as I got to Punggol Park. I love the strong curvature in the structure, and the single lamp-post balances out the emptiness of the landscape. I was lucky- the drama in the clouds made the background look exciting. In fact, the clouds at the bottom of the picture make the whole structure look like it’s at a very high altitude- which it’s not. And leading the viewer down exciting, ‘impossible’ paths is something I always enjoy.
Above: One thing I always try to do is to get different angles of a subject. This involves more legwork, but there are times when the subject is just worth it. In this case, the bridge had a vertical arc extending upwards, but also a horizontal one where people could stand and look out at the park. You can see the shadow of a rail on the left hand side of the picture- this adds a bit of drama to the monotony of the shot, so I left it in. This rail is part of the flyover above the park.
Above: This is a view of the horizontal arc where you can see what it was meant for- sight-seeing. It was a beautiful day out, and there were lots of people walking about enjoying the view. Ironically, I spent so much time walking around and taking photos of the bridge that I never actually went on it. But that’s what you gotta do when you only have a short window of time to take pictures with (I got there late afternoon, and the light was starting to fade).
Above: One good thing of getting there in the late afternoon is that if you’re lucky, you get to take a picture of the sunset. I took several pictures of the bridge at this time- some with people, and some without. Ultimately, I chose this one. I think the Punggol Park is a place of community, for families and friends to gather, and having people in the shot emphasises this more. I was lucky with this shot: a boy on the right can be distinctly seen pointing towards the sun. This adds dynamism and motion to the picture, and also (together with the two lamp-posts in the centre-right) provides a leading visual line into the center of the frame.
