Managed to sneak in this shot during Janelle and Tayling’s wedding today, isn’t he just adorable??
He needs a cuddle!
Yearly Archives: 2009Shooting very important men at a conference yesterday, I learnt that they were intense. Very into their jobs, truly interested and passionate, and know the value of networking. Here are my favourite shots 
 
 The aboves taken at the Lasalle College of the Arts official opening last night. It was a grand affair with a minute-long light show as its inauguration, even the food was from Hilton hotel! As a former alumni who took a Graphic Design degree there, I can’t say enough how proud I felt to witness the event, to see how far the school has come. A magnificient building, a vibrant student community and commited teachers who have much power to dictate their syllabuses. I say this with confidence, having interacted with students and lecturers on a regular basis last year, as part of my commission to produce photographic spreads for the Lasalle 2008 Review, a first-ever effort, which would mark the new Lasalle College of the Arts, formerly known as Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts. Standing in the midst of that glass building smack beside little India would do little for one to understand how this school had grown. It was only 2003/04 when I received the Singapore Press Holdings Art scholarship to do a course at Lasalle, then located at its Goodman Road campus. It was, may I say, a tattered building, essentially an old primary school converted into a bigger institution. Fine Arts students were housed in containers. Then, there were the people who would bury themselves in their paintings so much, it touched my heart. I had chosen to study there largely for one person, painter Willy Tay, whom I assisted for 8 months while waiting to enter NUS after my A-levels. He has been largely influential -a stoic, purist approach to his work, not caring what the world thinks of it. Then, Willy was doing his Masters in Lasalle, he had part of the container across the grass patch from my block, I loved watching him drip paints down the canvas, waiting for the smell of linseed oil to consume me. As students, we’re always idealistic, art’s always for the sake of art. As adults, we have, to many extents, care what the client wants, even in producing personal work. That’s a natural progression, because art should always communicate to an audience. It can never please everyone, but it should have a purpose. I’ve heard and seen how lecturers craft their syllabuses in the new lasalle, how there is free play. There is more room for improvement. But at the state it is now, this sort of education is a far cry from what aspiring creatives used to receive. After the event, a post party saw one of its buildings transformed into a bar that sold alcohol. Music students took the stage with their tablas, others Dj-ed. Now we are beginning to understand why the school and the Ministry of Education had a fall-out. (I say this at the risk of losing clients. But more importantly, I say to them, way to go!) If substation and the Singapore Arts Fest isn’t going to showcase our own talents, then it’s only right their school is going to do it. Even the school’s president Alastair joined in. Vice-president and provost sat there watching too. How much more new-age can a Singer’s school get. Man, my former lecturers would be so proud. by mtan2 no comments Marc and Bianca’s engagement shoot - excited to be following the couple to Germany for their wedding in July!
  by mtan2 no comments Oftentimes I am against blogging. I want to make this blog work to motivate at all levels, just as those who have inspired me have used their blogs to bolster new ideas for me. It should have a purpose more than act as diary. Pictures say a thousand words, so if words have it their way, then it should say something pictures cannot. This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD. “I’m a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don’t People don’t talk about the soul very much anymore. It’s so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter’s night, or when you’re sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you’ve received your test results and they’re not so good. Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the by mtan2 no comments It’s been a long time since last hitting the water and all of a sudden, there’s an itch to paddle again. It’s one of those times where you are fully alone, fully aware, of your boat, your surroundings, each and every stroke, every glide of the kayak, every measure of effort, every scoop of the paddle. Here are some pictures taken from last November/December’s expedition to Laos. I love how vast it is, how magical the world can once again become. More information on Huey’s http://kayakasia.org
 The night before my eventful capsize and swivel down an icy cold Xe Bang Fai that drowned a brand new D300 beyond repair, and the beautiful 14-24mm AFS FX lens, which was used to take the picture above. I’m just glad to be alive!  by mtan2 no comments |
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