I was in the pool of photographers under the Singapore Press Holdings-Youth Olympic Games Committee, which works as the Host News Agency (HNA), feeding images to newspapers and media all over the world.

We’ve been so accustomed to getting through channels of security and equipment scans, it feels empty being able to walk the streets without getting checked.

On the last day, last match, last 10 mins of the men’s finals match between Egypt and Korea, I was left with a souvenir that would last till now. A handball came flying straight into my lens from a blind corner. The impact, which was a very loud “Pock!” split my lens-hood into two, ripped the lens grip, and luckily only smeared the protective filter, not the lens. I started bleeding profusely from the forehead and the world started churning. I could only think of looking down to check if my camera was still working, or I’d be really pissed.

The volunteer from the emergency medical post ran over but didn’t know what to do with me. Fellow photog Edwin offered a piece of tissue while others gathered and some took pictures. Didn’t know if I should laugh or cry Alan asked if I got the shot. “Of what?”I replied. “Of the ball flying towards you.”

In the end, a doctor glued the cut up and I’m walking around with a plaster stuck to my brow at least for the next week. He calls me Harry Potter.

That aside, I’m wondering when the time will come again to be among a large pool of photographers shooting for a major sports event. Hearing our cameras click in synchronisation of ‘the right moment’, and gawking at the pictures afterwards creates extreme job satisfaction. On top of that, it’s the only time we all get to wear these ugly but utilitarian photographers’ vests with large pockets without feeling too embarrassed or geeky.

It’s also great to see my pictures appearing randomly on the Chicago Times and on The Boston Globe’s Big Picture site.

Here are some of my pictures to share.

Those who didn’t feel excited about the YOG really should have gotten themselves tickets to catch the athletes in action. It was allll worth its while.

Besides an earlier photography talk in front of a whole cohort of primary school students from Elias Park Primary, this is my second public speaking experience yet. Turned out to be much fun and I enjoyed the questions from the crowd, most of whom are fellow photographers and members of the creative industry, who make conversation of the like-minded so invigorating!

These pictures, other than the selected few on my website have never been shown to such detail since the project concluded in 2008. This was a commission from a research firm who would use my pictures to represent their findings to mark trends in the Youth handphone market, with Seoul, Mumbai and Shanghai identified as the fastest growing markets end 2008.

Here are the slides that were shown last night.
The Little Red Ants Creative Studio also made a video recording. Will post links once they are ready.

The trailer of the show here:
Asia Exposed Trailer – Mindy Tan

Children in a neighbourhood in Manila.

Malar, the lensman who was shooting me shooting others. A very odd feeling it was.

Blind war veteran Mr Rommel and his wife.

The crew: Director Raja, Producer Azira, Soundguy Arnold, and Cameraman Malar- you guys are wonderful!

Director Raja, giving me a brief before camera starts rolling

Little blooms I could observe from the window were such a simple delight that put on a smile in my heart. Trees were sprouting new leaves in magnificent shades of greens.

When the sun turns golden, I leave my computer for a walk, or a jog, or just to wander among the trees with my camera. You can spot all kinds of dogs walking with their owners. Furry ones, skinny ones, mixed breeds, Dalmatians, poodles, russells, spaniels to name a few. I also sneaked in some yoga poses among the leaves when no one was watching. If you find a pool of light among the trees, stand under its glow and look up into the light, it’s as if your whispers will be heard by a greater unknown.

Here are some pictures to share, of my time in the forest. Sometimes shivering. There were so many more Kodak moments (of beautiful dogs!) that I missed because I was jogging and not holding a camera. There’s only so much of life one can capture!

By the way, as some of my Singapore clients already know, Berlin is one of the destinations I’m offering under this year’s overseas wedding photography packages. It is also the most attractive in terms of value, starting from SGD $4,500.

If you are keen on a pre-wedding shoot or an engagement shoot in Berlin, please write to me mindyshoots@gmail.com for detailed pricing. I also did a winter shoot here, check out the pictures.

Will post more of my time in Berlin soon!

The first buds

Some Easter eggs I painted, using crayons

Love the details on Maddy’s clothing against the sun 

I plan to have a picnic right in the middle of this field one day

Isn’t this church just gorgeous? If only someone was sitting on that chair.

Wonder where this path leads to…

Walking where the trains end

Then, just when I was at my most content, even better things happened.
I was randomly searching for some design news and chanced upon Steve Job’s commencement speech for Stanford University graduating cohort. Remember watching this before, but as the days passed his message slipped. And its so wonderful to watch it again.

So to all my grumpy friends for whom I’m constantly seeing your office snag-posts on Facebook, watch this!
It only takes 15.06 mins and marks up as good food for the soul.

I am so happy, heading out for a job now!

The Clignancourt flea market in Paris was such an amazing experience of furniture. Old airplane parts converted into a bar. Baroque mirrors, Bauhaus, Modernist and Art Noveaus galore, unique pieces and upholstery to be found.
And then there was a stall of Louis Vuitton luggages and cases, in sizes so surreal you see them only in Annie Lebovitz pictures.
Wish I could cart some of those armchairs home, and add them to my already bursting “future apartment” collection.

Wouldn’t it be so lovely to have a studio of high ceilings and timber flooring, that smells of linseed oil and oil paint and glue, with a separate section for a studio and lights hanging from the ceiling, with a cherry-picker so you could shoot from above?
On a Sunday where the streets are empty and shopping is almost non-existent, enter the Eugene Delacriox private collection exhibit and it was packed! Storming! with people.
Staring at his brushstrokes, I suddenly remembered that Cezanne came after him. And then a flood of memories of the movements that came after.

I walked out, feeling mentally refreshed and creative.
More than making photos, I wanted to get my hands dirty and start drawing again.
Start creating. in any medium. in crazy ways that push boundaries.
I am feeling new blood rush through my soul.

A line from a Eugene Delacriox exhibition held in the premises of his former studio and in the room he died.
“My lodgings are indeed charming. The view from my small garden and the cheerfulness of my studio always gives me pleasure.”

I am writing this seated by the aisle in the last row of Qatar flight to Singapore. A long queue of passengers waiting for the toilets forms up beside me, their butts sticking up my face from time to time – Not the most ideal situation to be writing a reflection, but long-haul flights do have the effect of throwing me into solace and recluse, and thus I shall endeavour to complete this post before the word spree in my head dries up.

I’d wanted to pen a memo at the close of 2008. But then, having left my job as a reporter and exploring a freelancer’s life for only six months, it felt pre-mature to look at a short journey that had yet to reveal its paths.

Going with the flow was my approach. It still is now, I want to live where life takes me, not strangle it.

I freed myself from the routine of the newsroom. No more answering the hungry demands of tomorrow’s stories, no more fire-fighting to fill pages on a day-to-day basis. The world became my oyster once again. It was also where the next chapter of my life began.

Some noteworthies and highlights in the last year or so:

-Having full access to the backstage at the Beijing Paralympics to watch athletes compete up-close.

-Fighting for a place on the pool photographer’s lorry to shoot the wheelchair marathon, and finally getting on it, armed with turbo lenses.

-Enduring 12 full-day street reportage assignments to:

Seoul- getting chased out of an arcade by an owner who wanted me arrested,
Mumbai -talking to Rohan and Art, shamelessly inviting myself to their homes
Shanghai – setting up stall with teenage girls, dressed up as a student to get into their school, and shooting in a lesbian bar.
-Living in a small German town with Marc and Bianca’s family for a week before their wedding, and feasting everyday on Siggy’s marvelous home-cooked food.

-Capsizing in a chilly rocky river in Laos after a strong swirl pushed me against some deadly weeds. My kayak, camping equipment, and camera all gushed downstream while I managed to get out of the skirting and surface for air without hitting any rocks. The most painful moment, was to pull the camera out of its water-filled drybag, to see water gushing out from the lens and card-slot and instantly feel my heart shatter.

-The relief of seeing Huey return in one-piece to campsite in the cold and pitch-darkness, in his raptured and sinking kayak.

-Entering a big dark and mysterious cave during the expedition.

-Shooting many weddings, and hearing couple’s speeches. Meeting again, many friends and schoolmates through wedding shoots =)

-Knowing KC from Greymatter, who unselfishly gave advice.

-Travelling a lot (yay!) – Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai x2, Beijing x2, Guangzhou, Hefei, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur x many, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Laos, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Siem Reap, Bangkok, Adelaide, Berlin, Frankfurt, Sulz.

-Yoga Retreat at Ashram in Rocklyn, Australia, with fantastic organic meals from the garden

-Winning mentions at the IPA, and awards with WPJA.

-Reporting a Singapore International Foundation cancer story in Vietnam, and was surprised readers came forward to donate generously.

-Meeting president Obama, PM Lee, and MM Lee.

-Adjusting PM Lee’s tie during a shoot!

-And the horrors of getting an NKF interview for Al Jazeera.

It’s been lots of fun, lots of hardwork and sometimes sleepless nights.

If I’d stayed with the press, I would’ve probably scored more scoops, ring in more page ones and tally up with more bylines. There was the luxury of travel and time-off, with 21 days of annual leave plus off-days for working overtime and staking out on stories. Double that love with the occasional luxury-packed junkets, which are like holidays on assignments. I’d also be on my way to a promotion, a juicy bonus, more capital for investment, a nice car and perhaps an apartment – steps of a ladder of social constructs that make us feel normal and secure, such a Singaporean way of life.

I loved that job, it was almost perfect. But I needed to sooth that voice inside for contentment.

In 2004, ‘05 and ‘06 three friends took their lives. With each, I was jolted – to make my time count more than material accumulation.

When work sent me to cover the freak deaths of 5 dragonboat rowers who drowned after a race in Cambodia, I felt pretty shaken after the reports. Two team coaches whom I respect dearly from my days in the dragonboat fraternity, were sort of, implicated. I had to interview them, approach former teammates and attend the rowers’ funerals. It was a very difficult time and position to be in.
Then, while serving my last month’s notice at work, life slapped me again when a family of four Singaporeans died in a car crash on Malaysia’s North-south highway. All except their two-month baby girl survived. I was sent up to Muar to cover the story and will never forget witnessing their loved ones claim their bodies, one by one, from an open morgue.

It’s stark.

There’s only one life to live, why spend the youthful years wondering what if?
Here I am, trying everyday using what I know I can grasp, letting the adventure take off, most importantly, enjoying the ride.

My coach, Mr Yong, used to lend us this quote, the Olympic creed: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

Scrapes of images of my trip to share, some of them are experimentations with a very old, but just serviced Nikon 35mm F2.8

It belongs to my father and I dug it out of his drybox (he’s long forgotten it’s there), he’s also forgotten he owns TWO of the same lens, leading me to question why he spent money buying two of the same thing but he could not remember, he probably bought it when I was born, since the lens was produced around 1975 according to wikipedia checks.

I absolutely love it the vignette it produces. Modern day digital lenses somehow score points for being able to capture an image without a vignette. But why? It’s unnatural and goes against how cameras, like the pin-hole originally works.

There’s quite a mix of socialist architecture and some Baroque leftovers in Berlin. I can’t quite describe what it is – sometimes ugly, raw, confusing, but also beautiful.

Days ago I spotted intricate graffiti (perplexing right) mural of a roman pillar, painted on the walls of a rather bland apartment block. Such a brilliant idea for a dingy corner of the neighbourhood. If this were ever “commited” in Singapore, the government and our dear Town Council would have had the walls white-washed  in three working days.

Anyways, here are some images:

Man window-shopping along Kurfurstendamm: Shops close really early in Berlin, just like the sun. I’ve been so spoilt by late night shopping along Orchard Road that this sorta emptiness had a rather haunting effect on me. But I like how people here aren’t overly consumed by mass culture and products. Even shops on ‘Stark reduction’ here are empty. So the sale is all mine = p

Right: View from my apartment window at 4pm. The colors you see on the road are due to melting snow.