A Fishy Bargain

A Fishy Bargain
Dad has been reluctant to give up the comforts of slide film photography especially since he is so accustomed to the high quality he can achieve with his Leica lenses for so many years. Switching to a digital SLR in the past would have entailed having to give up his beloved collection of lenses. He finally took the plunge yesterday though by purchasing a Leica Digital Module R that converts his existing R8 to a digital SLR system. We went out this morning with the intention of testing out the Digital R at Little India in Singapore. Unfortunately, bad weather saw us ending up at Tekka Market instead. Adopting what James has described as my “signature angle”, I came back with a few interesting shots, with the above being one of my most favourite. Do take a look at my dad’s photoblog soon for some of his pictures taken with the Leica Digital R.

Flourishing Flower Trade

Flourishing Flower Trade
A picture from the archives…

The brightly coloured stalls outside the Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) Temple at the Waterloo Street/Bugis Area sell joss-sticks and flowers for prayer offerings by pilgrims. I am impressed with the bustle of activity that takes place around the area. For this shot, I used a 8x neutral density filter and a small aperture of f/22 to slow the shutter settings sufficiently to achieve the movement-trail effect of the passers-by walking past the stalls.

A Window Seat At Duntulm Castle

A Window Seat At Duntulm Castle
This is the view from one of the windows of Duntulm Castle, Trotternish, Isle Of Skye, Scotland. Duntulm apparently means the fort on the green grassy headland. Abandoned around 1730 by the MacDonalds, it now lies in ruins close to the sea. I did not know of the history of the castle proper until I did a Google search a few days ago; the Travels In Scotland website has this to say about the castle:

Duntulm has some pretty horrific history. Hugh MacDonald was imprisoned in the castle dungeon, and purposely starved to death after he tried to seize the lands of his family. He was given only salted beef and no water and died stark raving mad — one horrid story says he tried to eat his own hands before the end.

The castle is rumored to be severely haunted. The ghost of Donald Gorm can be seen brawling with other ghostly miscreants in the courtyard, and a screaming, raving Hugh Macdonald also haunts the castle dungeon. Occasionally, the weeping of Margaret (who was shunned by her husband after she lost an eye in an accident) can be heard. The hysterical screams of a nursemaid who ‘accidentally’ dropped a baby out a window and onto the rocks below can also be heard sometimes.

Supposedly, the Macdonalds abandoned the castle because of the ghosts.