Come to think of it, I haven’t shot “travel photography” ever since I’ve turned pro. The last time I actually went traveling “without any baggage” was 1995, a self-catered trip to the northern part of Silk Road in China, together with 3 other university friends. We spent 3 weeks there roughing it out, immersing ourselves in the geography, the people and its culture. Fear was not in my dictionary, and luxury was an unknown concept.
I wasn’t very proficient with the camera then, but I shot what I saw/felt/loved. Till now, I still cherished those pictures and was still pretty amazed by what I shot as an amateur. I think it was because I shot with my heart.
Travel Photography, to me, is not as simple as bringing my dSLR and click the shutter whenever something nice pops in front of me. It’s not shooting on the fly when I am on a family holiday…nor is it just a mere record of an interesting architecture or eye-catching natural landscape. Imagine a tourist coming to Singapore, who spent some time photographing the Merlion, the flyer, along Orchard Rd, the colourful spices and garlands in Little India, or the brightly coloured walls of Chinatown. No doubt those pictures might make fantastic postcards, but they are superficial.
I wish Travel Photography can be more than that. I wish I knew how…but I know it must be more than just scratching the surface of a particular city or place one visits. Time is always a constraint, so a good travel photographer has to quickly suss out what makes the place/people ticks and efficiently captures it with his/her camera. To relegate travel photography to just merely postcard-pictures will be as insulting to the travel photographer as it is to the wedding photographer when wedding photos are just about couples kissing and/or exchange of rings.
I just came back from Hanoi. It was a short family holiday, and I made an effort to shoot when my hands are free. These are travel snapshots, as we merely touched the exterior layer of the Hanoi facade. Come May…..I will try my hand in travel photography again, when I am in France.
You can find us on Facebook, our website Tinydot Photography, or our blog! There will be fabulous prizes to give away in conjunction with this “marriage of the year”! Find out more on our facebook page.
Sorry for the sudden disappearance for the past few weeks. Things are crazy with year-end rush, followed by the Lunar New Year rush, and now, after the dust has settled, there will be a major and ground-breaking development at Greymatter Photography. Stay tuned……
Trevor is an award-winning photojournalist with the TODAY newspaper. As some of you know, I was a photojournalist from Today, and Trevor was the one who replaced me after I left. And why I started this entry by announcing his credentials is because during the four years I was there, I won nothing. A year or two after after he joined the photo desk, Trevor managed to bag the S-League Picture of the Year! 
Well, it was with great honour then that he and his lovely wife Shaoying wanted me to document their wedding day. True to their profession (Shaoying used to be a journalist too), the thoughtful couple produced an 8-page flyer, complete with coloured pictures, that chronicled their growing-up days and courtship anecdotes and also included a list of acknowledgement and people to thank. What touched me most was my name was in there as well. It felt differently when one sees the “thank you” note in print.
The creative duo also held a special and meaningful ceremony: the Unity ceremony. Unlike couples who light unity candles in church, theirs involved coffee and tea. You see, Trevor loves tea while Shaoying loves coffee. By uniting the two different beverages to form a new concoction (in Hongkong, it’s called yuen yong, or yuan yang in Chinese). It symbolises the union of two people. There is no more just coffee or tea, but coffee, tea and we!
At this moment, the couple is in Tokyo braving the 8 degree celcius cold. I hope the pictures can warm their and your hearts.
More can be seen on facebook.
Kelly (the groom) travelled thousands of miles from Los Angeles to Singapore, alone, to fetch his bride. He was told beforehand how arduous a task it’d be….and that if he could take all the abuse the bridesmaids had to dish out, he could take marriage in his stride.
Luckily, he hired a band of brothers to help him out. Why “hire”? That was because the “brothers” are all friends of the bride. At first, I was a little worried for Kelly, doubting the commitment of “brothers for hire”. I was proven dead wrong because they were very “professional” and into character. Singing from the ground floor of the flat? Chek. Sampling the four different tastes? Check. Gyrating with boxer shots on? Check. I thought they did more than most other “real brothers” whom I have come across.
At the same time I was impressed by them, I was even more curious about the size of their pay…..I mean red packets.
Jokes aside, Kelly and Ilane really looked good together and they were very sporting and enthusiastic about the photo-shoot. They would have gladly cross-dressed for the camera had I asked them to.
Having held their wedding in L.A., the Singapore event was more of party with family members and friends. Although it was a short, to me, it was very intensive. I hope they had as much fun exploring the under-belly of Singapore as I did.
Can’t help it, sometimes. The truth is such that I am left with a limited vocabulary and adjectives to describe Alvin’s & Kiara’s wedding that I have to resort to cliches. Fantastic couple, sporting groomsmen, gracious and vivascious bridesmaids and a very, very close-knit family…..all contributed to a fun, heartwarming wedding that I was priviledged to cover.
Wedding aside, I was also sincerely touched by the kind, loving, gentle and unassuming demeanour of Kiara’s father, who is a stalwart of the Worker’s Party. Being an ex-photojournalist, I have had my fair share of contact with various members of the opposition parties….Mr Chiam, the late JBJ, Chee Soon Juan etc. Contrary to reports carried by mainstream media, which constantly paints a negative picture of the opposition, some of the members are normal blokes like you and me…..a husband, a father, a servant who wants to contribute to the society. I could sense the deep love and respect the bride had for her father, especially from her thank-you speech.
I think that’s one good thing about our job as a photojournalist or wedding photographer: it allows us to go beyond the surface and see things from within.
by kcwong
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