Life is like a drama… …

Like a Chinese saying goes.. 人生如戏，戏如人生. Our life is like a drama, with its ups and downs. What we see on the television, we see it in everyday life and vice versa. Everyone has a story behind them, be it a stranger on the street or family members, each of us has a different story to tell. Although there is a difference in the storyline, we share similar philosophies.

This reminds me of a 1999 Japanese drama that I am very fond of, Over Time (オーバー・タイム). Set in the year 2000, the show was about a young newspaper photographer and a 30-year-old hairdresser. Written by Eriko Kitagawa, directed by Kozo Nagayama and Hideki Takeuchi, starring Takeshi Sorimachi, Makiko Esumi and Yoshino Kimura, this drama was a popular television drama in 1999. Unfortunately this title is not on sale already.

Even though efforts were made to make this a light-hearted drama, I personally feel that the main theme is about life. Yes, to emphasize the main theme, the characters play the well-known boardgame, The Game of Life (known simply as LIFE[1]). Come to think of it, Life is also like a game...Following the characters in the story, one is introduced to the different characters' own philosophy of life which I find very insightful. One of them was portrayed in the first episode as shown here about viewing our problems from a different point of view to search for an answer or solution. The character, Soichirou, also brought to my mind about ethics in our area of work. As a photographer for a newspaper, one is often caught in a dilemma between what one believes in and what their work requires of them.

Every episode, every scene is equally captivating and stimulating. The story is written in a way that allows the viewer to relate to the moral of the story (hmm.. sounds like Moses Lim in Under One Roof), thus beckoning the viewer to continue watching.

Overtime (episode 1) – You tube

Entertaining yet inspirational, I feel that this one of the best drama I have seen. Besides Over Time, there are other Japanese dramas that have similar themes but I still feel that Over Time is unique in its own way. Titles like Long Vacation and Beautiful Life are just some of them. All in all, we have many different ways of telling our stories and ultimately, ultimately they share the same theme – Life and its philosophies

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[1] The Game of Life – Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_of_Life)

Other Works

Although there are many types of photography, there are times I find that some styles are not easily classified specifically into a category.Sometimes inspiration just hit me when I am looking at some things around me. They may just simple objects or people, but through my eyes, they are special and I want to capture these special moments. I meant to take these pictures in a jovial manner, no offense. =p

Seeing is believing?? (digital)

When is the parade going to start?? (digital)

The flower on the left is one of the flowers I noticed while taking photos in Haw Par Villa. The colours of the flowers, in contrast to the green of the leaves in the pond prompted me to take a photo of it.

Close-up of a flower while taking photos in Haw Par Villa (digital)

Still life. Campo dei Flori, Rome, Italy (digital)

Architechture

From historical to contemporary buildings, their architecture always amazes me. I am not familiar with architecture and design but this is how I feel when I see them.

Historical buildings portray the factors of durability, utility and beauty like the picture below of one of the ceilings in an ancient church in Italy. Notice the details that were painted. Another example will be the Pantheon in Rome, Italy.

Paintings on ceiling, Rome, Italy (digital)

Modern or contemporary buildings portray the form and functionality of the architecture. Although simpler in design as compared to historical ones, they are special in their own ways like the Bank of China building in Hong Kong.

Shapes and lines - Bank of China Building, Hong Kong (digital)

Events in Singapore

Singapore is a cosmopolitan island country. Through the years, she has adapted to the ever-changing world and has played host to a number of major events. Being a multi-racial society, Singapore hosts annual events during the festive seasons like the colourful Chingay Parade during the Chinese Lunar New Year.


Cultural Events: Chingay Parade
Started in 1973 after firecrackers were banned in Singapore due to safety reasons, the event has evolved to incorporate various races and international groups.

Balancing the giant flag (digital)

Colours & movement (digital)

Indonesian Dancer (digital)

Sporting Events
She also hosts a growing number of major sporting events like the Formula 1 night race, the Barclays Open (golf) and the Standard Chartered Marathon ... the list goes on. There are also sports events organised for kids and charity. There is something for everyone regardless of age. For a calendar of sports events, please visit Red Sports.

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (digital)

Excited parents and kids at flag-off for Cold Storage Kids Dash 2009 (digital)

Travels

Traveling is one of the many ways to relax. It allows one to learn and interact with people of different cultures and see the world. Food is also unique to the culture and country. Like the goats' milk cheese (乳并) in Dali, Yunnan (China), the cappuccino in Italy and Momo in Nepal.


Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Phnom Penh is a buzling capital city in Cambodia. The name literally means Hill of Penh. The city took its name from the temple within the city, Wat Phnom. It is developing well after the civil war with large supermarkets and foodcourts springing up within the city. One big culture shock I got when I first arrived in Cambodia was the overwhelming population of motorcycles on the road.

One of the streets in Phnom Penh (digital)

Outskirts of Phnom Penh (digital)























New Zealand
Aoteaora..The Land of Long White Clouds - New Zealand. It has unique flora and fauna; the kakapo parrot and the kea parrot. It is also well known for exciting activities like bungee jump, tandem dive and shotover jets. What I like most is the magnificent landscape of both North and South Islands.

Milford Sounds (film)

Lake Taupo (film)

 Kaikora (film)

Italy
Italy is the first European country I visited. Breathtaking seaside towns, cobbled roads and famous artistic masterpieces all around the country. There is a mix of ancient and modern artifacts around the cities. Take Rome for example, one can find ruins of the ancient city in the mist of modern buildings. There are many churches, each is different in architectural design. One of the famous ones is the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome where one can find the famous works of Michelangelo. It is also featured in the film Angels and Demons starring Tom Hanks.

Chapel within St. Peter's Brasillica (digital)



The architecture of the churches are enormous. I was overwhelmed by their designs and decorations when I was there.

Bird's eye view of Rome from Janiculum Hill

Marina Grande, Sorrento, Italy (digital)

Night Photography

Night Photography..
"This refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn." (quote from Wikipedia) The technique(s) used for this is either using artificial light to "paint" or using long exposure.

Night photography is the first genre I experiment with when I first started taking photographs. You may be asking "Why night photography for a beginner?". Well..it uses a set of techniques and skills very different from the ones usually used for photographs taken in the day. At night, the city transforms into a different world. With limited light at night, it inspires one to be creative in using whatever light available to compose photographs. There are some requirements like tripod and shutter release to take such photographs but no hard and fast rule to follow to take great photographs. I believe that some compositions are even unique.

One of the popular places many people like to go to is the Marina Waterfront in Singapore where one can see with full view of the Singapore central business district lighted up.

Singapore Skyline..taken before the development of Marina Sands and the floating platform. (film)

Besides city skyline, I also take pictures along the streets. The streets in Singapore will be specially decorated for major festivals like this Serangoon Road during Deepavali celebrations.

Serangoon Road at night during Deepavali celebrations (film)

By playing with different settings and exposures, the same subject can portray different "feelings" to the viewer.

 Esplanade at night with shorter exposure time (film)

 Esplanade at night with longer exposure time (film)

 I also follow events like the annual National Day Parade celebrations. As I am not lucky enough to get the tickets to attend the parade live, I often stay from a distance, watching the celebrations from afar. In one of the items performed, there was one which used a type of kite that was fitted with coloured lights and flown using remote-controlled motors.

Light patterns from one of the performances.. NDP 2007 (film)

The other style in night photography which much debate has been going on - whether it should be considered night photography or some other classification. In my perspective, I will classify it as night photography as it involves use of similar techniques for night photography. The following was taken during one of the NDP celebrations with multiple exposures. This is one of my favourite works on fireworks.

Fireworks .. NDP 2007 celebrations. (film)

Recently I tried experimenting with light painting with a group of friends. My first attempt was in Botanical Gardens last year (2009).

Light painting on rocks in the Evolution Garden, Singapore Botanical Gardens. (digital)

Another light paining in the Evolution Garden, Singapore Botanical Gardens. (digital)

Lastly I will end this entry with the breath-taking view of Hong Kong from the Peak at night.
Hope you like it. :)

 View of Hong Kong at night from The Peak. (digital)

- Brenda

Introduction

Photography..My Introduction

Photography has become part of my life since the time a relative first introduced me to the Art a few years ago. Now I cannot imagine myself traveling around without a camera with me..be it my dear dSLR or my faithful mobile phone. Trained in the Life Sciences, photography is also a part of my work in the laboratory. I take colourful images of mammalian cells using microscopes.

Photography.. my passion.

I constantly strive to improve on my skill and techniques. On my own, I capture things and people around me according to how I see them. I tried various genres in photography, with more focus on Travel, Street and Interior/Architecture. I am currently experimenting with Documentary, Food, Fashion and Sports. In my next few entries here, I hope to share with you some of my past and present works. I hope through this blog, I will be able to share my works with everyone. Alternatively, you my visit my albums in Webshots to see more of my works.

Please do not hesitate to leave me your valuable comments. Enjoy. :)