I drifted away from taking pictures for two years because I was simply uninspired. Ever since I started PhD (I am currently in my third year), I couldn’t find the time to make pictures. Or perhaps when the world stopped due to COVID-19, which confined us in our home country (Singapore for me), we became unmotivated to go out and shoot. But perhaps due to my declining mental health, I didn’t have the motivation to do what I liked doing for many years; all I wanted was to stay away from people. Until I started seeking therapy, and a trip to the UK, I decided to pick up a camera and shoot.
I brought to the UK with me my digital DSLR, but I realised I wasn’t being intentional with my frames. I mean, I just have to fire the shutter, and one of the pictures will turn out nice, right? Not really; I wasn’t satisfied with any of my pictures. Perhaps it was the lack of intention, or the thought that “I will have something nice if I just take many pictures”, I stopped composing my pictures properly. It was so different when I used my 35mm cameras. I mean, films are expensive. And let’s face it, bringing a DSLR is like bringing a brick out. So when I returned to Singapore, I sold off my DSLR and decided to fall in love with film all over again by getting a new point-and-shoot (sorry I’m trying to start light, I don’t want another situation with my DSLR). I found Fuji AF600 and was immediately drawn to how compact it is, yet delivers very sharp images. And with a 28mm lens, gosh I love using it when I go out on the streets. I am not posting a review of the camera really, just go and find some on your own if you are interested.
I decided to use a cheaper film stock to test if the camera is working and so I picked up Kodak Gold 200. I feel like I might have used this before (or I might be confusing it with Kodak Colourplus), but I fell in love with it when I received the scans. The colours are pretty well balance, and even on a gloomy day the colours are not too muted or dull. And the images are really pretty crisp for such a tiny camera. And of course, I started taking pictures of things that look like they are not supposed to be there. In this case, some cones.
I can’t leave out some empty chairs, can I? I have found many of them over the last two years, but unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of them cause I hated any pictures that I took. These might slowly draw me back in. Don’t get me wrong though, I think my pictures are pretty subpar, especially when compared to my inspirations in film photography (e.g., Joe Greer, William Verbeeck, Mark Forbes, Josh Wang, Sam Elkins). But these pictures make me happy, so I am just dumping them here.
Empty chairs just give you an odd feeling, don’t they? Like feeling left alone, awkward, and just curious how these chairs ended up there in the first place. I also have another series on abandoned trolleys, perhaps just to show how irresponsible people are for not returning their carts. That’s a story for next time.
I also moved to a new place, and with every new place I move to, I like to explore the neighbourhood. So here are some pictures that I took while exploring. I kind of love the new neighbourhood that I am in (Choa Chu Kang), but honestly, I still love the east of Singapore a little bit more.
I am now very tempted to get a medium format camera, but for now, I will continue to play with my point-and-shoot. I hope I will fall in love with photography again so that I can at least tell people I have a hobby.