it is 2012, playing at the meadow

To some, it is just another ordinary Sunday with a work-free Monday on the following day. No count down, everything is ordinary as it should be.

The meadow in Tiong Bahru, Singapore, is my favourite place to hang out and photo shoot. First found it accidentally during a photo trip with the NTU PVS's darkroom people to Tiong Bahru old residential area, then remember how sweet it was and decided to bring my dear here to share with her.



This is our first memory, of 2012.
We turned an otherwise ordinary photo outing, to an extra-ordinary one, tagging it with January 1st, 2012.



May our dreams come true. Together.

Happy Hiking Seoraksan (하나): Flying Dragon

I think I seriously am lagging behind all the series of events that happened which I think I should blog. The memorable Korea travel with my Seremban buddies, all the reason I should blog about it.

Let's start off the Korea travelogue series with the place that I enjoyed the most in Korea, Seoraksan! And for my love of hiking in the nature!



The colour of the memories of Seoraksan is the emerald green, the colour of Summer, the colour of Zen. The lushness of the green in Seoraksan, is contrasting the meaning of mountain's name, which suggests Snow Mountain.

Prior to the hike:
The day started off with an early morning bus ride from Song-Seoul to Sokcho (속초). We actually passed by the mountain ranges of Seoraksan and the views were already impressive and scenic. Others were asleep and not really aware of surroundings. The stony river on my right and the surrounding temperature is going down as we went up slope. Another short bus ride from Sokcho bus terminal to bring us to Seorak-Dong C Jigu (East Seorak C station) Youth Hostel but it was already noon time. So we rushed our lunch and went up to the National Park that we expected highly of!



Seoraksan Cable Car and Gwongeumseong

For the first day, not many surprises, the cable car to some height and hike to one of the peak. It is the most populated path I believe. Let's not forget the group picture.





And it started to drizzle so we took out the ponchos that we bought at a bargain thanks to our Jeju taxi guide! Oh the yellow Poncho gang!



and Effy was screaming on top of her maximum volume.



And me, with the world beneath me.



Time is running out... We gotta rush rush rush to the next destination!!

Biryong (Flying Dragon) Waterfalls

The hike to the waterfalls is so far the most scenic in my life, and I am loving the Zen-ness of the forest and pathway!! It is like the scene of Kungfu movies in real life.



Marcus in the quest for the ultimate fat slashing grips of terror.



The waterfall itself, is quite disappointing. It was a small dragon...



We took some time to dip into the stream and had fun after some not-too-strenuous hike with MK nagging us behind for choosing the hike.

How we wished, we could just submerge ourselves into the icy cold water, to refresh ourselves in the cool forest.







Oh did I mention, I was on a pair of flip-flop? Wrong decision, slippery, risky... The funny thing is FV who dressed up most properly tripped at the end of the hike and hurt both her knees and knocked her out from action the following day...

Eastern Bohemian

Given the hot weather in Singapore, it was really difficult to schedule a satisfying photography session out  there under the sun!

Well, at least there are one or two nice outfits that made our day!





Only until the 2nd photoshoot I get to know that her name is Jolyn. Haha.

Shooting for a Blogshop, Wearhouse

First time shooting for a blogshop, there are, definitely a few learning points throughout the shoot which I would like to document down for future reference. Every shoot is a practice to better photography.



Instead of going more of the artistic approach in taking the picture, it's more important to present the apparels in their accurate colours. Of course, the unique design of each apparel that potential buyers would like to see, such as the button, the lock, the sewing etc etc...

Before the shoot, the seller paid a lot of attention to match the accessories to different tone of the blouse, and also match with nice skirt or shorts. Even which blouse to go with which scene and background, such details had been taken care by the seller.



It's painful to bring out the accurate colour in every screen. Different viewer with different monitors will view the colours differently... Especially difficult colour like the Teal, which shifts significantly following the shift in colour temperature!



This might look like the actual teal that we want to reproduce on a warmer screen, or it will look bluish on colder monitor. In this monitor, it still look a bit blue instead of teal!

The Summer Resort Collection:











Head down and place your order if you are interested!

The collection is launched today on their website:
www.shopthewearhouse.com

Kuching: the Beaches

Before I forget about the beaches of Kuching and head into another journey to the Far East.

It seems the beauty of places in Malaysia is always associated with beaches. Or is it us from the East Coast of Malaysia, who have to bear with the heavily polluted Straits of Malacca derive so much satisfaction from clean beaches like these.



A house in between the sea and mountain, a dream house of many? If I stay in such houses, how my life would change?



The slow pace of life, just seems so far away and almost impossible for the city folks. Would you give up your internet to go to the countryside and enjoy life?

Happy Hiking Sundays: KTM Railway

It is like the curiousity of children, towards the little little things around the world. This is perhaps the greatest lesson taught by photography, which is to remind me of the beauty of curiousity, that makes me go and explore the world around me, and also treasure every possible opportunity to grasp what would be lost to the flow of time.

The previous hiking to add into my Sunday's hiking series, is to the KTM railways, the last day of the track being opened to public. I thought about going for a short walk at first, hence the flip-flops and camera. However, in the end, we ended up in Bukit Timah, following the track all the way from Bukit Panjang. The weather was perfect for a walk like this.



There are actually quite a number of nostalgic ones among the folks residing in Singapore. This became evident as crowds were seen along the KTM track.



People were taking pictures of the track, which will be removed in 6 months' time. Kinda sad, but this is the cost that comes with development.

Soon, I will miss the colour of the rusty railway track that ran like the spine of the island.





The scenes from the childhood memories: chasing after red dragonflies, yellow butterflies were so vivid along the track...

KTM Slideshow



I don't know how the corridor will look like after the tracks are removed, but aren't we glad that at least this trail of greenery is to be retained? Thanks to the Green Corridor.

古晋中华二小旧校

All that remains here are rubbles, and memories of the old faces of Kuching town central.



The school was deemed too dangerous for primary school students. After taking a short walk around the school compound, we have to agree to the fact. Despite the prime location in the city center, the Chinese school students must had rejoiced over the new school environment to study in.



I wonder how long this school has been in Kuching city? more than 80 years?