“And That’s How The Seagulls Landed On The Beach”

&#34And That&#39s How The Seagulls Landed On The Beach&#34
From Bondi Beach, Australia 🙂

Now a rant… I used to be an avid reader and fan of the UK photo magazine Photography Monthly, subscribing to it even for a while. The magazine had seen better days even though it has gone through a change of 3 editorial teams since 2003. With the latest change, it seems to have taken a turn for the worse. I was extremely disappointed when a forum thread with 72 follow-up posts, many with negative comments (from loyal and concerned readers) on the new issue (from the new team) were deleted by their forum moderators. When I voiced my comment on their (now restricted-to-public-view) feedback forums, I was surprised to get a notification that posts have now to be approved by moderators before they can be posted. I cross-posted the same post to their general forum as well (no approval required). This was the reply I got a few hours later:

Hello engloy,

You are receiving this notification because your topic “What happened to
the feedback posts on the January issue?” at “Photography Monthly Forum”
was disapproved by a moderator or administrator.

The following reason was given for the disapproval:

The post contains links to illegal or pirated software.

—
Best Regards,
The Photography Monthly Team

Hello???????! Has PM hired on its team, people that engineered the “Great Firewall of China”? That magazine has just lost one loyal reader. In any case, I have found my new read and subscription. For those who miss the Photography Monthly of old, check out Digital SLR Photography magazine, which has as its editor, Daniel Lezano, the person who started PM in the first place.

Turning A New Leaf

Turning A New Leaf
These leaves of the dillenia suffruticosa (or Simpoh air) are native to the Malayan Peninsula (with Singapore at its southern most tip). There were lots of them in abundance when we visited the Southern Ridges over the weekend. What we found interesting was the attractive golden green glow of the newly forming leaves, which made a nice, contrasty photographic subject compared to the surrounding green of the larger leaves.

Emeralds Of The Forest

Emeralds Of The Forest
We took a short little hike through the Southern Ridges in Singapore today, starting from the Hort Park. I was expecting to do some macro photography and brought along my macro lens and tripod. Ultimately, I relied more on the longer reach of my 70-200mm lens. As for the tripod, I had to abandon it and use the surrounding railings for support since the metal bridges of the Forest Walk we were on magnified the tremors from the footsteps of every passer-by, making the use of the tripod pointless. I am happy to have gotten some decently sharp pictures in the end!