Finally Went to (near) Orchard

Okay, I finally did it!!  Well, Tanglin is still within Orchard......  I still can't get myself to go to Orchard road to get the shots of the Christmas lights.  But on Christmas eve I brought the kids to Tanglin Mall for their annual snow avalanche.  More like soap really.....  But they do have the best "snow" show in Singapore.   

Anticipating a big crowd, I went with no tripod, my D750 and Tokina 16-28mm F2.8 and Nikkor 20mm F1.8.  The Tokina 16-28mm F2.8 was usable in the beginning when the "snow" started spawning.  But as I can't attach a filter onto the lens, I had to change to the Nikkor 20mm F/1.8.  At first I thought of bringing a tripod along to lose some of the crowd in the photos but I decided not to, and it proved quite a right decision.

We arrived early at about one and a half hour before the snow show starts.  I spent some time taking test photos while waiting for the blue hour to arrive.  So we went around the mall, had dinner and the kids played around in kiddy rides.  It was a nostalgic visit for me.  The first time I came to Singapore when I was 12, I stayed in Traders Hotel (now it's Jen Hotel Tanglin) which was right next to the mall.  Even when I attended English courses at the British Council I sometimes went to the mall for meals.

Before the show started the area was already packed with crowds waiting in anticipation.  I managed to went around and snapped some photos of the decorations, the mall and the crowd.  

The main decoration right outside the mall - D750 + Tokina 16-28mm F2.8

Christmas Carnival at Gardens by The Bay

Well don't be so surprised, I did say I'm going to do this right?  I think by now you'd think I'm on their payroll (which I swear I'm not!!).

Anyway, my next entry will be on Orchard Road's Christmas decorations.  I've been trying to schedule a visit but the weather hasn't been permitting as of late.  And with the strings of crazy incidents in Orchard road (from burning trees, decorations, falling trees and man in a shopping mall and roofs in Hilton) I think I'd really pay attention to the weather.

And oh yeah, I pestered my wife to create a signature for me so I can put them on my photos.  After deliberations we finally decided on "Tri Suka Moto" = Tri likes to take photos.  Sounds Japanese, but really, its Indonesian.  ;)  

Okay, so Gardens by The Bay is in FULL Christmas mood.  I didn't have time to go to the entrance because when we reached the meadow area the bazaar caught the kids' attention and we ended up spending almost 3 hours there.  But the area was really fun and beautifully decorated.

When we arrived the kids were immediately drawn to the large carousel.  While it's not the first time they rode one, it certainly is bigger than the last one they rode and they simply had to go on it.  The cost for each child and accompanying adult was 3 tokens.  And so very quickly we parted with a good $12 there.

The Carousel - first attraction we tried in the carnival

Actual Day Wedding Photographer

I hadn't written for quite some time as I was quite busy.  Just last Sunday on 18th Oct I was the actual day photographer for a good friend's wedding reception.  We have known each other from back then in NTU and he's from Surabaya too just like me.  That means we have known each other for a good 15 years now.

I was really somewhat honored that he trusted me to be the photographer for his wedding.  I'm usually a landscape photographer, not much for events.  There was also another university mate covering the wedding so in total there were two photographers and one videographer.  I used my D750 + Tokina 16-28mm and the X-T1 + 55-200mm.

VIP Table

A Little Trip to Botanical Gardens

Singapore is well known as a garden city and one of the most famous garden is the Singapore Botanical Gardens which was recently granted a Unesco World Heritage site.  But me, Lincoln and my wife visited sometime before the garden got the award.  It was a very nostalgic visit for me and my wife as we had our pre-wedding photographs taken there back in 2008. 

Display at Visitors' Center

Nikon D5100

Okay, after a short affair with the NEX-5 which ended in a disappointment, I had it sold.  I still needed an APS-C sensor sized DSLR, because due to the crop factor of 1.5x I get better reach with telephoto lenses.  And APS-C sensor telephoto lenses are much cheaper than their Full Frame counterparts.  Soooooo.......  I welcomed a Nikon D5100 into my inventory.

My D5100 with the kit lens 18-55 on photo taken by Canon 5D Mark III + EF 16-35mm F2.8L II

The Batam Life - Part 4

Part 4 will be about the famous Barelang bridge in Batam.  Barelang bridge is actually a series of bridges that connect Batam to the small neighbouring islands of Galang and Rempang.  The name "Barelang" is a short form of "Batam", "Galang" and "Rempang".  In total there are 5 bridges (If I remember correctly) with the first one being the grandest and main tourism icon of Batam.

Full view of the bridge, taken from outside a nearby seafood restaurant

The Batam Life - Part 3

Another exciting part of moving to Batam was to see Lincoln started going to child care.  He was just 1 1/2 years old then.  We decided to start him on half day so that he can get accustomed to school life later on. 

First day of school for Lincoln - 7 February 2012

Little Nyonya Batik

Today was a busy day, we were helping a good friend with her Peranakan store's grand opening.  So I and my wife were out since morning 10 am till about 8 pm.  I myself was particularly busy being the photographer of the event and for her catalagoue.  I'll say that this must be the most colourful and gorgeous entry in my blog ever. 

Peranakan Umbrella

My D90 Diaries

The Nikon D90 was my first DSLR.  As mentioned in my previous post, I had it for less than a year.  But that doesn't mean I didn't take lots of photos with it.  In fact by the time I sold it I suppose I must have taken at least 4500 photos with it.

As it was my first DSLR, I could say it was my first teacher in photography.  Most of the time I would take photos from the balcony of my parents' condo in Tiong Bahru.  I love the view of the pool from their condo.

The view from my parents' condo on the left and the Merlion on the right