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10 Year Anniversary & How I Missed It

10 Years of Blogging

Whoa!

I was looking at my stats and I just realised that I started my blog, which later became part of my website, 10 years ago. The actual date that I wrote my first entry was in January 2009 and I completely forgot to commemorate this HUGE milestone.

I will blame it on the pressures of being a postgrad student.

In 2009, I had written 30 posts that amounted to 2,862 words and had 48 comments. Not bad for my first year in my new digs, huh?!

I have to admit over the years, I have really struggled with updating it as much as I would have liked, especially now with my attention being diverted to my social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. And to top it off, I have to be a wife, mother and photographer.

That being said, I am now trying to hold myself accountable that I will keep updating this platform more. After all, it is part of my portfolio as a photographer.

Here is to another 10 years and hopefully a larger audience. CHEERS!

#LittleTriumphs

 

 

Snapping London: Hybrid Elephant

 

_MG_2483Hybrid Elephant (2013)

Back in 2013, a friend convinced me that we should venture the streets of London first thing Sunday morning.

Sunday mornings are for sleeping in, but not on this day.

We traipsed the streets of Shoreditch on our mini photo walk taking pictures of the tranquil streets before the Sunday crowds came out to shop, eat and chill.

I managed to photograph the graffiti Shoreditch is known for and this one by Puerto Rican artist Alexis Diaz was easily one of my favourites.

There are more, but I will share them in future blog posts.

Anyway, let’s just say after that day, I haven’t done another early morning photo walk and honestly, I wouldn’t mind doing it again. It was fun.

If in London, would you prefer an early morning photo walk or a night crawl?

#SnappingLondon

Press: Virgin Money London Marathon 2019

   

Event: London Marathon 2019
Venue: City of London
Date: 24th & 25th April (Press Days), 28th April (Race Day) & 29th April (Winners Day)

Photo highlights from this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon. I would normally do one or two days during the week aka Press Days, then cover the actual Race Day which is on Sundays and then the Winners Press Day is on Monday.

Press Days – Elite Men, Women and British

Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Press Day. London, UK.

Race Day

On Race Day this year, I started off at Embankment with the Coca Cola London Eye as my backdrop for some of my shots. I then moved on to the finish line where I could capture some of the runners as they finished their race.

Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.

This year a friend was running the marathon and I managed to capture her as she crossed the finish line. It was not an easy task seeing how many people were finishing at the same time, but the London Marathon App really helped as I was tracking her race.

Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Race Day. London, UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winners Press Day

Virgin Money London Marathon Winners Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Winners Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Winners Press Day. London, UK.Virgin Money London Marathon Winners Press Day. London, UK.

I am always in awe of all the runners and inspired by them just taking part, be it as an elite runner, for charity or just themselves, that I actually entered myself for the London Marathon 2020 ballot.

Eeeekkk!

I don’t know if I am successful or not until October 2019. Wish me luck!

Have you run a marathon? If so, care to share training/running tips.

#VMLM2019

Travel: Dublin Ferry

  

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In 2015, I took the ferry to Dublin using SailRail from London. It is one of the cheapest ways to travel to Ireland. This was my first time crossing the Irish Sea and my first time travelling to Dublin. For most of the journey, I was inside the ferry as there isn’t much to see and it can get really windy on the deck. So I waited until we were about to dock and that is when I ventured to the viewing deck of the ferry and took these photographs before we arrived at Dublin Port.

It was still very windy, but at least it was sunny. I am not a fan of windy, cold, rainy weather, but Ireland gets an exception from me. I have to say, the little I saw of the country, I vowed I would be back as I had fallen in love with it. I enjoyed my stay even though it was a short one.

#DublinFerry

 

Revisit: Why Photography? Part II

 

It is interesting that when we think of photography, we only think about the visual until you are studying the medium and are thrown into a theoretical world of books that have been written on photography. Not until your lecturer points out that no one really writes anything about ‘the photograph’ or photography itself when it is kind of directed to the general public to make them understand photography in layman terms. It actually gets you thinking.

During one of my postgrad modules, Writing Photography, my lecturer set out writing tasks every week. In week one, the challenge was to write about ‘the most photographed barn in America’ or ‘origins of a photographer’. I chose the latter and decided to focus on myself. So going through my blog, I found this post I had written in 2009 and decided to ‘update’ it for my writing exercise. So, here goes…

Origins of Myself as a Photographer

I had a very interesting conversation with my mum just the other day about my passion for taking pictures.

Apparently, it started when she had a camera and I was a bit young. I would just take it and snap away. She used to scold me, but I guess I never listened. Otherwise, we (I) wouldn’t be here today.

I love being behind the lens rather than in front of it. What started as a hobby is turning out to be something I would like to do full time.

I have used film in 35mm and APS (Advance Photo System) formats, compact digital and now DSLR (digital single-lens reflex).

I just love being in this digital age of photography……no time to wait around for your pictures. Although, I somewhat miss the intensity of waiting for your films to be processed. Waiting to see if you nailed the shot or not.

Anyway, I just love the whole process of capturing life on a single frame and making it a personal journey of your life as a photographer.

I just love the beauty of storing pieces of ‘forgotten’ memories which can me shared years from when the picture was taken.

I just love the whole process and the lessons learnt from the whole experience. Be it fashion, sports, travel, nature, etc.

To me, photography is my way of showing the world how I see it, through my eyes and lens.

A passion I hope to nurture and let in grow within me.

I wrote the above piece on my blog on 11th February 2009, three or so years before I even considered studying photography. I knew deep down that I would have to get some sort of education or training in the world of photography. A foundation into how I can understand photography in depth, read it and use it as a tool to investigate and navigate through the world.

Have my sentiments over the years since I wrote that piece changed? Probably not, but what I am discovering now is that I am learning to be in the moment with photography. Pace myself even if the scene around me keeps changing. Wait for that moment and be patience with projects especially the ones with the potential to go on for years. Yet at the same time, I am unlearning bad habits that I have picked up along the way, like just photographing something because it looks good or pleasing to the eye. I need to stop thinking about how it makes me feel and just photograph it anyway. It may not look pleasing to the eye or make sense at the time, but eventually, it just clicks (no pun intended).

Coming from a background where photography is used as a tool to record mostly life events like birthdays, weddings, family gatherings etc., I am grateful and proud of myself for trusting the process of learning both the theory and practicalities of the medium beyond just taking family snapshots.

And there you have it. My updated version / revisiting and rewriting about my journey are a photographer. This also prompted me to start a series of vlogs where I talk about one particular picture. I am thinking of making this a regular feature on my YouTube channel. In a sense, it is my way of writing photography through spoken word and it is a working progress.

Click here for the playlist and tell me what you think.

If given the task, how would you write about photography? Or a particular photograph?

#WritingPhotography