A Moment of Devotion

A Moment of Devotion
The last time I photographed this area was with Dad twenty years ago. Back then, I turned my lens towards the flourishing flower trade outside the temple. One of Dad’s photographs from that outing was later selected by SingPost to appear on a postage stamp in 2008.

Returning this time, during the same session that produced Faith and Fortune, I concentrated on the activity at the temple itself. Again, I used a slow shutter speed to let the movement of worshippers blur around a still point. With the frame set, I waited for the right moment. It came when a man in bright red stepped into the centre to offer incense, his shirt echoing the red drapery above.

In processing, I selectively enhanced some colours and desaturated others to draw attention to him. Amid the bustle, a moment of devotion holds still.

A Sunrise with Dad

A Sunrise with Dad
I took this photograph in December 2024, aboard Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas, on what would be my last holiday with Dad. After the cruise, he told me how peaceful he had felt watching the sea each morning and enjoying the morning air. Those mornings brought back memories of his childhood in my grandfather’s seaside bungalow at Pasir Panjang.

The following January, a health scare led to a hospital admission. Although he recovered briefly, his health declined again in late March and early April.

At the “Tan Lip Seng – A Life in Colour” exhibition at Objectifs, a collage brings together sunrises Dad photographed over the last five years of his life. Through COVID, major surgery, recovery, remission and recurrence, he kept photographing the morning light. My brother, who lived with Dad, shared many of those moments with him.

I am grateful that I, too, got to share one of those sunrises with Dad, alongside his elder grandson, of whom he was so proud. We were three generations watching the morning light together, just a few months before his passing.

Looking at this photograph now, I remember who was beside me, and the peace Dad found in those mornings by the sea.

Laundry Day

Laundry Day
The morning after watching the NDP rehearsal fireworks from the rooftop of Andaz Singapore, I went for a walk around the hotel and looked back at Duo Towers. Among all those repeating windows and balconies, a brightly lit row of laundry caught my eye. I muted the colours in the rest of the photograph to let the clothes stand out, a cheerful little glimpse of everyday life against the vast facade.