Saturday, February 18, 2012

Life through a lens: snapshots of Singapore

As I walk through the streets of Singapore, I feel that I usually see things as if I were looking through a camera. Despite the fact that normally I'm whizzing around in some kind of frenzy, the tiniest details often catch my eye, interesting characters, scenes, moments, faces and places that evoke feelings, and tell stories that I might never know.

Yet I know that if I tried to capture these, my photographs would never do the moment justice, or I would be too shy to capture it all.

Thankfully Callan Tham, a professional and portrait photographer but street photographer at heart has captured exactly what I can not in his experimental B&W 100 Project, where he set out to take no less than 100 black and white pictures in a year that would be a collection of both luminance and contrast.

When I saw his pictures, I was so enthralled by how he had managed to capture exactly those moments almost precisely how I see them in my head. And so I'm delighted to some of those with you here and now.

What a character on Haji Lane...he looks like he would be more at home in Vietnam with a massive sack of rice strapped to his vehicle...

I love walking through the the Sungei Road Thieves Market en route to the Action for AIDS offices, looking at the wares on display for sale, stealing a peek at people trying to make a buck in the boiling heat...

This lonely figure was caught on camera whilst sat on the streets near the Sultan Mosque, Kampong Glam...there are so many times I see old characters like this, their faces drawing me in, and I always wonder what their stories are...

It took me a long time to get used to the helper culture in Singapore and I'm not sure that I'm 100% there anyway. While on many an occasion I've seen scenes not as positive as this, it's nice to see when there seems to be a true bond between helper and child...

They say that dogs always tend to look like their owners, or visa versa. Being a dog owner I know this is not always the case and I love how this picture of this man and his dog in MacPherson is a true affirmation of that fact...

I often marvel at the balancing skills of the ladies who I see pulling this off. I'm sure if it was me I'd fall right off...

They say the eyes are the window to our souls and that every line has a story to tell. For me this picture of this elderly gentleman in Waterloo Street could not portray that notion any better and I wonder what he is thinking about the fast pace of change in Singapore....

When you're a smoker, which I have been at various stages in my life, you know that in most cases neither time nor place gets in the way of a nicotine fix. This man pays testament to that as he lights up by a temple...

I'm a sucker for time capsules, and will never get tired of mooching around odds and ends from times gone by. Being on Telok Ayer Street, I'm pretty sure this must be Odds 'n' Collectibles. In a country obsessed with the new, these are perfect places to play tribute to the old....

Coming from London, when I first go to Singapore, I thought it was so wonderful (and still do) that people could fall asleep practically anywhere without having to worry for their safety or freezing to death. Just like this guy who is catching some zzzzs at Speakers' Corner.... 

There is a saying that one man's trash is another man's treasure and this man on North Bridge Road who perhaps is turning that trash into his meal for the day reminds us that there are people operating and surviving on far more basic levels that us...and making the very most of it....

I love to see how people interact with the spaces and exhibits at art galleries, and these three show that some are totally immersed while others tune out...

Back on the theme of sleep, I've never managed to be tired enough to pass out on the bus but with the hot hot sun it seems that round every corner someone is trying to grab a bit of shut eye, and where better place to do it than on the long journey home...


Photos by Callan Tham, a professional commercial and portrait photographer at CaKe Images LLP but a street photographer at heart. For more information see:

CaKe Images: http://mycake.sg/

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