Spiraling Away

Spiraling Away
Spiral staircases have always held photographers in fascination. I indulged in my own share of this fascination when I came across the spiral staircase in the 7-storey pagoda at the Chinese Gardens in Singapore. When we arrived at pagoda, the sun well on its way to setting. This provided a fantastic warm glow to the scene. Lighting was however dim to such an extent that I had to crank up the ISO setting to 800 for steady handholding of the camera. Thankfully, my camera was up to the task in capturing the scene with minimal noise.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! Otherwise known as Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival, Lantern Festival or 中秋节 (pinyin: zhōngqiÅ«jié), Chinese family members and friends will traditionally gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Children join in the festivities by carrying brightly-lit lanterns — I remember the traditional candle-lit ones that Grandma used to buy us, which in my opinion, was much more fun to play with (especially if they caught fire! :P) compared to the battery-lit ones of today. As part of the celebrations, the Chinese Gardens in Singapore has put up impressive display of large lanterns to lure in the crowd. I was there over the weekend with Mum and CY to soak in the festivities (as well as to take some pictures).

Having A Yummy Time

Having A Yummy Time
This was taken in Osaka’s Universal Studios right before I took this other shot. Sometimes, pictures of parade spectators can be as interesting (if not more) as those of the participants. Selective background desaturation done here to bring out the main subjects of the shot.

Update – CY has suggested that this shot be called “Freeze” instead — because the action has been frozen, as well as the fact that ice-cream is being enjoyed. What do you think of this alternate title?