June

There's this photo exhibition coming up from 13 to 30 June.

And there's The Great Lomography Shoot-out on 21 June.

Will definitely pop by the former for a look. Am quite tempted to take part in the latter.

Two really cool projects

I still remember when I first heard of Friendster. It was new then, and barely known in Singapore. But I was really curious about the six degrees of separation and wanted to find out just how small this world is. So I forwarded the email to my friends and encouraged them to sign up just so I could find out how things would go. But of course, that was then. These days, being haunted by even kindergarten classmates on Facebook is something that we have to deal with.

In any case, human chains and social networks fascinate me.


Frankie (I know I reference them way too much, but they just unearth so much wonder. Just, let me indulge.) wrote about Tweenbots, tiny lo-tech robots that require human helping hands to get to their destination. They literally need a push in the right direction. I love this bit here:

Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, "You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”

Then there is the disposable memory project. Over 100 cameras have been sent out and are being passed around the world. The idea is for the cameras to return to source at the end, so the organisers can develop the photos and let them tell the story of the journey.

It's an awesome idea but my one grouse from looking at some of the sets is that people are taking way too many photos. Very often, a camera has only been handled by two or three people, which I find a little disappointing.

Well, it's still an interesting idea. I saw it on Lomotion and the commenters were discussing how it would never work here because Singaporeans would just keep the camera for themselves. I don't know. What do you think?

伍佰。故事

(image from here)

伍佰的第二本攝影集上架了
是那天在 Kino 碰巧看到的
興奮的拿起來 在懷裡緊抱了一下 又把它放下
的確有點神經 希望沒被人看見

當然要買
但為了省錢 要等書局八折的時候買

之前的伍佰。風景讓我映象深刻
我喜歡伍佰所看見的世界。

Wubai has a new photography book.

I loved his last one. He has a great eye and he writes beautifully. But of course I already knew that from his music.

What he once said about Singapore makes me think about the ongoing headline-hogging AWARE saga.

I have not really been reading the papers but someone on my Facebook is very active in providing the latest updates and linking to commentaries that individuals have posted. So, like it or not, I pretty much know what's going on.

You can read about the latest happenings here.

And if you are intending to go for the Extraordinary General Meeting to cast your vote of no confidence against the new EXCO, you might want to look here and here as well.

29 April edit: Last two links have been updated in view of the change in venue for the EGM.

i LOVE this set

I was super taken by Y.S.K.31's Bento set on Flickr.

They're so lovingly prepared and lovingly photographed.

From one of comments, it appears that the wife made these for him.

I love bentos. Homemade bentos are extra special. Plus these look super delicious.

My eyes are tired

This is crazy. I am so tired my eyeballs ache.When I close my eyes those orbs are practically screaming in relief and I can feel sleep wash over me.

And yet, I snuggle into bed and immediately feel awake. I try to burrow deeper into the mattress and into the recesses of my mind. I start to be restless, the tossing and turning makes me feel uncomfortably warm because there are no cool spots left.

Urgh.

More abandoned places then.

Clothing factory this time.

From here and here.

I really like the photos he takes. He takes tonnes, sometimes over multiple visits, and there are lots and lots of details, not just big-picture shots. After you've seen them all, the place is pieced together in your head and it's clearer and more interesting than if you see an orderly big picture that tells you where everything goes. Nothing beats what remains in your head after imagination and evocative images are combined.

Chernobyl

You know Chernobyl. But do you know you can book a day tour there if you so wish? I didn't, until I came upon a set of photos of the nuclear plant and the town nearby, googled on, and realised quite a fair number of people have gone and returned with tonnes of photos.

In this case, abandonment is not merely sad but also incredibly bone-chilling.

Check out this set and his account of the trip here.





A second set from another visitor here.



There is also a tonne of videos on youtube, two of which left tremendous impressions on me. But I decided not to post any, because it's really too tragic and terrifying to watch.

Would you go for the tour?

more abandoned goodness

I'm a little obsessed with this, I know. But there are some really amazing photos out there.

Take this set. I like these the most.

eep

This set made me rethink what is actually creepier - abandonment that has been ravaged by time or the newly forsaken that has taken on a Stephen King everyone-just-vanished-without-a-trace-and-the-world-is-still-and-silent-but-for-your-breathing-which-is-growing-more-rapid-due-to-panic quality.

That said, the colours really are great.

Thing is, it says "abandoned infectious hospital" on the post. My immediate reaction was: Erm. Should you be in there?

As you can see, I am not made for exploring abandoned spaces. In fact, a whole night of going through the archives has strengthened my resolve to not step into places in which I will basically scare myself to death.

To appease my overactive imagination, I have been listening to one of my favourite ah lian Jolin Tsai songs (墓仔埔也敢去) while looking at pictures. In searching for the video, I found the most awkward, cringe-worthy stage performance by Jolin and Wubai.



Much better off with this version.



There. Not so creeped out anymore.

More abandoned places

This set of an abandoned school is rather pretty.

Although the loo is pretty scary. I didn't even realise it was a loo at first.




And this. My scalp is still crawling.



According to the link,

The reason for it to have such a strange look is because it was used later by Russian army to test the influence of Russian alternative to napalm inside of the brick houses.

Due to very high temperature of napalm the bricks started melting just like ice melts in the spring forming the icicles, but those icicles are of red brick.



The walls and ceilings look like they are screaming in terrifying pain.

All from here. I seriously do not know why I always only feel the urge to look through the stuff late at night when everything is extra creepy. I suppose it's the same reason why horror movies have an audience.

Time to hit the steps again

Taking place over the coming weekend (21 & 22 Feb) from 1pm – 9pm, at 2902 Gallery, Old School. Check out details on renting space and programme lineups on this Lomotion thread.

How much can we capture before it all goes away?

An anonymous tipoff. A while back I mentioned needing to hunt down old playgrounds and in response, this link to a Flickr pool was dropped in my lap.

You get excited about progress. Then resigned. Then numb. Sometimes you see pictures and you remember things and places that were pieces of you as you were growing up. I suppose you never thought they would become haunting reminders that you have grown up, and grown old enough to reminisce about stuff that's no longer around or almost gone.

Since then I've found three old playgrounds. But there are quite a few spots I want to visit and revisit after going through the pool.

Singapore, we grew up here...

here & here

here & here

here & here

here & here

The last two are of Dynasty Hotel in 1982, the year I was born. We know it as Marriott now. I stand at that junction almost on a weekly basis.

My school was within walking distance to Far East Plaza. My friends and I hung out in Orchard so much, weekdays and weekends, that even after we left school and even now, we still go town a lot.

People always comment they don't understand how we can stand the crowds during weekends. But like we always kid, town is our backyard and you'd never stop going to your own backyard.

home

sometimes the best way to refresh your love for your home is to see it through a visitor's eyes. and this visitor has great eyes.
check out the whole set here.

Oh and don't forget to read the comments. My fave is this one by the photographer herself:

The guidebooks I read beforehand gave me a rather peculiar impression, and happily, the reality of Singapore was far richer that those descriptions. I *so* enjoyed my explorations. It's clear that I only just scratched the surface of what this tiny, jam-packed country has to offer. It really is quite an amazing place.

Peculiar impression. Lol.
I can only imagine.
Sometimes I check out our local guides and wonder what other people are thinking when they read them.

I think I found the camera I said I love. I was reading Monocle magazine (issue 20, Feb 09) when it leapt off the page at me.

It should be the Sigma DP1, a compact camera that functions like a DSLR. A casual read of reviews makes it sound rather problematic, not to mention it's hugely expensive. Still, he totally makes it look like a damn good-looking and highly covetable toy.

Completely Blown Away

Chanced upon this mind-blowingly amazing set of pictures of an abandoned island in complete ruin.

There are times when you see some things so wildly beyond your imagination that you feel your brain go numb and your scalp tingles and your heart skips as if you had just taken a wild stumble and you just righted yourself with a heavy thump of a foot forward.

That's how I felt when I scrolled through the entire set, partly also because the uploader remarked that he or she didn't know who the photographer was.

The answer is revealed in the comments at the end of the post. This is Gunkanjima.

Excerpts from Wiki here:

Hashima Island (端島; meaning "Border Island"), commonly called Gunkanjima (軍艦島; meaning "Battleship Island") is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. The island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility. The island's most notable features are the abandoned concrete buildings and the sea wall surrounding it.

The island's nickname came from its apparent resemblance to a battleship, or gunkan (jima is a mutation of shima) due to its high sea-walls.

As petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, coal mines began shutting down all over the country. ... closing of the mine in 1974, and today it is empty and bare, which is why it's [also] called the Ghost Island. Travel to Hashima is currently prohibited.

At the end of the Wiki entry are more links worth exploring if you want to find out more. What I found most interesting is this, which leads to the Japanese photographer who took the above pictures, and this which leads to the pictures of Gunkanjima taken by American photographer Ross McDermott. There is also this, which leads to photographer Saiga Yuji's picture gallery. You should definitely check out the 1974 Gunkanjima link which leads to images of the island with its inhabitants, before it became desolated and isolated.

Isn't it amazing where the www takes you? I actually came upon Gunkanjima on this blog which documents abandoned places all over the world. But I find the Asian locations most fascinating, probably cos they are closer to home and thus more relatable.

Abandoned places fascinate and scare me. I have watched and been freaked out by way too many horror movies, plus my imagination is rather hyper active. I love the idea of them. It is very tempting, the thought of all the amazing pictures you can take away from them. But I don't have the guts to go into them. I grew up on a steady diet of True Singapore Ghost Stories and other scary Asian horror titles. That sort of upbringing ensures that even if I were to muster up the courage to step into these abandoned spots, I certainly would not dare to take pictures. I'm most happy to experience them vicariously through photos taken by other people.

Which brings me back to the Abandoned Places blog.

I also liked this set of an abandoned amusement park in Japan.



And this of an incomplete, abandoned pod village in Taiwan.




Okay. Enough. I'm going to look at some pretty stuff now to soothe my frayed nerves. Too creepy for 3am.