Where the Day Begins

Lower Seletar Reservoir became one of my father’s favourite morning grounds with a camera. During his health journey over the last few years and through the quiet months of COVID-19 restrictions, he returned here often to watch the day begin over the still water. In the later years he sometimes left the heavier cameras behind and simply used his iPhone. By then, it was less about equipment and more about recognising the scene — the light, the reflections, the calm before the city fully wakes.

This photograph was taken just this past Sunday morning. I captured the moment with my Canon R5, though I also made an iPhone version at the same time. The R5 image feels a little more natural to me, less shaped by computational processing. But I suspect my father would have reminded me that what matters most is noticing the moment in the first place. A version made with the iPhone can be viewed here.

And on mornings like this, it is easy to understand why he kept coming back.