Thursday, February 14, 2013

Singapore

I can easily sum up my feelings about visiting Singapore in 6 words, "I want to go back soon!"
Terminal 3 - Changi Airport
I am not a world traveler in any sense, and though I have thought about doing some international travel for photography, I'm pretty much at home out in the deserts here in southern California. Then a few months ago I was invited to visit Singapore.
Merlion
 I knew next to nothing about Singapore, so I did some research on the web as well as asked 1,000 questions and the more I learned about Singapore the more excited I became about visiting. In searching I also happened upon the work of Danny Santos, who does a lot of street photography in Singapore and this inspired me.
Hitching A Ride

One thing I learned in doing research is there are a lot of varying opinions out there, which seem to be mainly based on brief experiences, or, opinion. I found that some reviews were quite critical while others offered the opposite view, most however were quite accurate. Singapore is a wonderful place to visit, the airport is outstanding and everyone I met seemed friendly and respectful. The architecture is really amazing, public transportation is efficient and works great and the food, oh my, I was introduced to several selections of the local fare and they were all fantastic! 


We made the most of my short time there, sightseeing, visiting some interesting places and when it was time to eat, we found the most incredible food. From what I saw, great food is practically everywhere.
Hokkien Mee
Here are some photos of favorites, and trust me when I say it was all good, the Hokkien mee was so good that we had it twice while I was there, one of her favorites quickly became one of mine also.
Venison with spring onion
This venison with spring onion is on the menu at a wonderful restaurant called Jumbo, there are several locations around the country and everything I tried there was exceptional.
Char kway teow
I was introduced to char kway teow at one of the many food courts, or 'eating houses', which are basically a collection of food stalls in rows with large common areas for seating. I'll be making this dish at home, as soon as I get all the ingredients together, it was simply excellent.
Zongzi
The zongzi we had was also excellent, these I shot hanging in a shop at Chinatown. This weekend I'll be heading to Chinatown in Los Angeles in hopes of finding more of this dish, as well as some others.
Hands
While in Singapore I got the wonderful opportunity to work with Felicity, whom I had worked with in July in the desert. We managed to get in some shooting during my stay, one rainy afternoon in the hotel we were able to catch some superb natural light.
Savor
I don't know what else to say about working with Felicity, the pictures pretty much speak for themselves, she's a joy to work with. Just as when she was here and we were shooting in the desert, things simply work well when we shoot together, we have such similar aesthetics and appreciation for photographic art.
Guest Room
My heart feels full and I feel incredibly blessed to have found her, and to have the opportunity to experience all this. Felicity and Singapore have been a dream come true and with any luck this is only the beginning.
Heart & Soul
On street photography... "Out here, nothing is prepared. Nothing cooperates with you.. not the weather, not the subjects, not the situation. You have to make do with what’s available. That’s a very big challenge. But on few occasions when all the elements just come together, and you’re at the right place at the right time, the feeling of ‘getting that perfect shot’ just doesn’t compare to anything else." ~Danny Santos II