A series of sketches inspired by Penang and its people. I sketched fervently each day as I discovered the unique places and history in this small little town. I had done more that hundreds of quick sketches and would be sharing it in a little book which I am working on now. I would need all the support that I could get from all the readers and patrons of my work. Thank you.
I love to photograph the street with a wide angle lens because of the sharp perspective. It gives immense dynamism and energy to the image, be it people or buildings. It is superb at absorbing the whole scene at very close distance. It intrudes into the space of the subject and forces one to momentarily interact with the subject. My first wide angle, which I traded with the 600mm Sigma, was miracle; every shot is popping out from the picture plane. The closer I get the faster my heart beats. The image gripped me and pounced on me. I would go low on the ground, place it near to foreground object and watch them diminished into the horizon. It is especially intriguing when there are lines or columns with regular intervals in the composition.
I love the setting sun creating a long shadow on the passersby. The back lighting give a subtle differentiation between the subject and the back ground. The clashing of the two central human figure, metaphorically points to the collision of separate cultures, between the dominant and the subservient, a sort of struggle towards the surface in order to gain respect and equality.
I love to shoot manual and give my photographs a little over-exposure. Focusing is usually manual and pre-focus before I raise the camera to my eye and snap. In this case, he was really fast and warned me against photographing their business transaction. My six sense told me to get out of the way fast and I did. I heard some voices saying, ' You cannot take picture'. By the end of his utterance I was already a few meters a way before he could take further action. One thing I always remind myself is that no one could take away my camera and that would be robbery. There is no rule saying taking photograph is illegal in public area and no one have the right to remove my belonging from me against my will. However, get away fast is the best solution rather than getting entangled with the situation, anyway I already got the photograph.
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He was having such long conversation, ignoring the passersby, staring and insisting a point to the younger man. The younger man was perhaps apologetic with his right hands on his chest. I was glad to have captured his piercing eyes.
I had so much respect for her watching the way she cared for her baby brother. She was proud of him and fondly huddled the boy when he cried. He still look distressed after much huddling. I signaled to her for a photograph and she gladly accepted and posed for me, while an elderly lady excused herself from the photograph. From her I learned that child can help too if we allowed them to contribute.
He was deep in thought. It is a great chance for me to photograph him. I focused, waited for chances. In the background I saw two mans walking on the road towards me. I watched and clicked at the moment when his attention was directed towards the opposite side of the road with his waging finger while the man on the right was still motionless in deep thought.
He was so excited about getting his picture shot with the Little India glitters. He was alone and the only way to do that was requesting the help of other passersby. One kind soul help him and I thought I could help him to take one photograph, with that he would oblige if I take another with my camera. Sure he obliged. That is a way to get willing poser. I spent a little time waiting for an interesting supporting actor to walk into the scene. Voila, I was in luck and this gentleman appeared in my view finder to complete the photograph.
The Lotus Pond is an amazing place to photograph insects.
I had been going to this lotus pond for at least a year. I had not been shooting much at this pond. Recently the lotus was flourishing and it was a great sight. I had been inspired and spend the a few weeksshooting and observing the pond. I learn a lot a bout light and shadow.
This is my attempt to paint with light. Love the reflections and colors.
These works are printed in canvass and can go as large as 2-3 metres. If you interested to purchase them do Contact Me.
All works are copyrighted.
Please email the author if you have intention to collaborate, choomengfoo[a]gmail.com
This is a series on Trees which I started in 2009. It had been featured in Hotels and Residential developments.
ESCALATION
Print on Canvas
1.2 x 0.6 meter
3500 SGD
3/20
Captured in Fort Canning one early morning. The twisting of the branches and the layering of the leaves, at a certain height, leaves of various forms and sizes,
produce this magnificent sight. Looking up, I felt the grandeur of nature, mesmerized, absorbed and danced to its sway. A great day lies ahead.
We are always humbled and awed at the magnificent beauty of nature. Watching nature is a meditative process. We derive peace and a sense of oneness with
the mysterious Cosmo. Through it we see our desire and learn to lose them. Through it we cleanse ourselves of our cluttered thoughts and worries; we become crystal clear. As we look up, we see clearly the escalation and layering. And, eventually, we find peace.
PAINTING WITH LIGHT
Print on Canvas
1.2 x 0.6 meter
2700 SGD
3/20
It is uplifting looking at the Bodhi tree with the sunlight penetrating from behind its leaves. The luminosity and the swaying of the leaves captivates one’s attention. Perhaps it was for the same reason that Siddhartha Gautama sat beneath it and achieved enlightenment.
In Sanskrit, Bodhi means “to awake, become aware, notice, know or understand”, commonly translated as “enlightenment”. In Greek it means “Nous”, a faculty of the mind which helps to understand the world. Perhaps, the intuitive awareness of things around us is as important as our understanding of the world through rationalization. Observation is an immediacy between us and nature. Be mindful.
GRACE
Print on Canvas
1.2 x 0.6 meter
2700 SGD
1/10
It gives me a calming effect and persuade me to sway
with life rather than struggle against it. Often life has
been described as a form of struggle. The Chinese
idiom described life as liken to a boat paddling against
the current, it either moves forward or gets carried away
by the current. Perhaps, being with the flow of things
could be a good thing. Who knows?
Being constrained by a certain urban myth, at times, can
be limiting. Perhaps, drift with nature, be adventurous,
and receive nature’s grace.
Flow. And be at Peace.
STARLESS NIGHT
Print on Canvas
1.2 x 0.6 meter
5000 SGD
2/5
In darkness our
imagination runs wild.
Without the twinkling
stars, nor north stars, we
lose our orientation,
without a companion, lost
overwhelms us. We
should light up within.
Our lights, in us, would
be brighter and brighter as we gain faith and strength.
We persevere and we know tomorrow will be just as
bright as another day, the night is always spent when we
rest, lest we become restless.
The title alludes to ‘Starry, Starry Night’, by Vincent
where the stars illuminate in saturated fury. Don
McLean aptly described the feeling in his song ‘Vincent’.
‘Starless Night’ is about our darkest moment and only
we, with faith, could free ourselves. And lead us out of
the darkness, let there be light within.
Kev Ryan has this to say,
“The more and more I look at this image the more it
connects with the words....more than the words.. but
what lays behind the words emotionally...those dark and
difficult moments of which you speak...those personal,
intimate challenges that take us to the edge of our being
and become long nights of the soul....the deep blue and
the shapes and inter-connectedness of the branches
resonate with me at some level....as if I am re-member-ing
a past experience and maybe where I looked to in order
to resolve the conflicts within.”
FRENZY
Print on Canvas
1.2 x 0.6 meter
3500 SGD
2/5
The intense whiteness contrasting with frenzied dark
strokes, of tree branches, delight and bath us with their
starkness and complexity. One see nakedness. Without
the leaves, one can trace their journey towards the sky
reaching for more sunlight. Searching. Don’t we all
search too. We never cease to search. The search itself
is our destiny. Remove all the disguises and we see
what matters most in our lives. To be true to ourselves,
is not easy.
Bruce Lee said it well,
“ ... but to express oneself honestly not lying to
myself, ... that my friend is very hard to do.”
When we are true to ourselves we will be fulfilled.
SEEING BEYOND
Print on Canvas
1.2 x 0.6 meter
2700 SGD
3/10
When light dazzles us. We are blinded. And yet in that
blindness, we see clearly the shadow. They become
visible. We clarify in darkness. Didn’t we in our darkest
moment, realized, received enlightenment, came to
terms, and knew our priorities. We smile at our own
stupidity and naiveness, which had been frustrating, but
now they all seem that meaningless and trivial.
We laugh in the blinding light and yield from darkness.
We declare, darkness is great, as we had seen beyond
the dazzling light, piercing into the shadow, and distill
the virtues from adversities. Blinding pain heightens our
lives. It completes us.
These are some old Singapore images shot with negative and scanned in Kodak Photo CD format, which is now defunct and not supported by Kodak. We always face the problem of how to archive negative and retain the images for posterity. It needs effort and resources to do so. Photographs are best shared and enjoy by many.
This is a series of photographs taken for Design Link Architects for their office publication. I have the honour to be involved in shooting more than twenty of their projects. It was fantastic working with them and understanding the range of projects they had done in 3 decades. In this gallery is Bishan Garden condominium.
This was held at the Botanical Garden. The children learned to shoot dragonfly, fly, beetles and spiders. They were enthusiastic and eager to learn. I love to teach them. They are so encouraging. They kept showing me photographs which they had taken for my comments. They kept trying. Photographing insects and spiders need patient and discipline.
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