Domestic Helper

Domestic helpers, often termed as maids in Singapore, is pretty common is families of Singapore. I always sympathesize with them or even pity them. The kindof hardship they went through is far more extreme than many of the fortunate singaporeans could have imagined.

NS guys (including me) often complained that we only get to return home every weekends when we were serving our nation. Maids are so much worse off. They only get to return home after serving their 2 years contract, those that decided to stay in Singapore might not even get to see their family for the next 5, 6 years? Having to leave their family to search for better prospects in a foreigh land is certainly never a smooth sail. They are faced with so much uncertainties, uncertainties like not knowing how their future employers is like, uncertainties like not not knowing if they'll be short-changed by their agencies. Having to call someone who is not your mom 'mom' does require you to bury ya pride. Other than culture and cuisine differences, i think language barrier is the biggest problem among all. Very often, these maids (esp those from indonesia) are poorly educated and they could only speak their native language. Learning a whole new langage is never an overnight thing. Communication breakdowns will inevitably lead to frustration between them and the employers.

With the minimal wages they earned, not many could afford overseas calls. Some don't even have phones in their home.If they can call back, it's a form of luxury. No doubt it is the slowest, letter writing is probably the only mode of sending greetings back home to assure their parents they are doing ok, even if they are not. Just being born in the wrong country has translated many the things we took for granted into their luxuries, luxuries they can never lay their hands on, luxuries which they can only quietly wish for.

About a month ago, the maid that has served us for 4 years has decided to head home. Though sad, i believe it's a good thing for her. She has earned enough, it's time to reunite with her parents.

On the morning of departure, she was full of tears. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She missed my niece the most. I can't bear such sights. The only form of consolation i can offer is to give her some of our family photos and photos i had taken of her. Choosing to shoot at ubin that morning over sending her off at airport with my parents is probably a wise choice.

She should be adjusting her life well in Indonesia now. With the money earned, let's hope she can lead a better life and never have to go through the same kind of hardship again.

Her eyes swollen from crying on the day of departure. Camera is often used as a tool to record joy in life. Here i'm using it to record sorrows in life.

One of those nights which she sat quietly by the bed side, writing letters back home.

Justin

He is Justin. Simple. Helpful. Natural. Real. Funny.Messy-Haired. He is Justin.

An Evening With Sporty Spice

"Mel C will be walking through this path at 9.15pm", Big ben told me. I responded:" Huh?" and looked at my watch, it's already 9.25pm. He added:" She'll be here any moment." I stammered:" Hmmz, ok.." Big Ben is a burly but friendly marshall in DXO. I was told to report at DXO at 9.30pm. I saw in the papers that Mel C will be performing at 10.30pm and being an international star, i was expecting her to be late by another 1.5hrs hence i was caught by surprise that she's coming any moment.

Big Ben: "You wanna go up to her VIP room later?"

Me: "Hmmz, sure, but how?"

Big Ben led me to a secret door and pointed up.

Big Ben:" Up the stairs, straight ahead, turn to your left and that's her VIP room"

With a word of thanks, i advanced through the secret passage to the VIP room.I was kindof nervous and excited. After 20 minutes, Mel C really went through the door which i came from and walked to her room. I took a couple of shots along the way but it didn't turn out good. Standing outside her room, another marshall that i've met before asked me if i wanted to go in and take a few more shots. I can't believe it, of course i want! After few rounds of negotiations with her agents(Chad & Angel), i was told i will only be permitted in after she had done her rehearsal and make-up. I obliged obediently to the masters of the territory.

Another 30mins went past, Chad signalled me to Mel's room. I was nervous, don't know if she'll be a difficult person to handle. She's a nice girl, in fact she apologised for having me to wait outside. Despite her friendliness, the aura from an international celebrity still kept me back and made me a little uneasy. In retrospect, there are few things that i regret from this shoot:

1) I didn't take enough pictures of her when i was in her room
2) I didn't pose her though it's highly likely that she'll pose for me.

As a photographer, what i should have done the moment i stepped into the room is to make my presence felt yet made her comfortable in front of the camera. In the kind of scenario that was presented to me, i could have all the control i want for the next two minutes or so. I could have brighten the light, which i didn't, i could have posed her, which i failed to do as well.

Instead, after our initial greetings, i merely told her to be natural and i'll take a few individual shots of her unposed and a few with her guitarists. All in all, i took around 10 shots and they arent good shots at all. Some were over-exposed, some were underposed, blah blah blah..I totally forgot how to tilt my flash head so that i can bounce the light off the ceiling to create more ambience light. What a waste!

What makes me feel even worse at the of the day is, i was the only photographer that was allowed into her room that evening, even the media photographers could only wait for her downstairs. I failed to make full use of such an opportunity. The reason that attributed to such faults was, i didn't know i'll be facing her at such close proximity. I've learnt my lesson from this episode though.

Next time should i be put in the same situation, i'll be prepared to handle it much better. Slowly but surely, i'm learning the ropes of professional photography.

After her performance, i ran into Mel C again as she was heading back to the hotel. She cheerfully waved goodbye to me which i responded with a wide grin and rapid waving of my hand in the air. So long Melanie, next time you come back to Singapore, let's go for coffee together ok? ...In my dreams..

The followings are the pics i had taken during her performance.

A Trip to Pulau Ubin Series VII : End Of The Adventures...

#28 - The Captain That Sailed Us Back: Sea is where he makes a living, sea is where he lives,though an old hand in the sea, he better put his right hand on the steering and see the sea properly.

#29 - Martin Showing Us The Door: End of journey, took a lift from the basement to the ground level. Never did we expect a thunder storm that followed a few minutes later.

My only regret in Ubin is i didn't try their seafood. I'm not sure if it taste any better but i'm sure with shore in sight playing sound of waves by the ear, it would definitely provide an excellent dining experience.

So long Ubin, take care till we meet again.

A Trip to Pulau Ubin Series VII : The Two Wheelers

#27 - The Hike: Some serious family hiking on moutain bikes.

The Pulau Ubin series is finally coming to an end. The last series is titled: The End Of The Adventures. Will be posting soon! =)

A Trip To Pulau Ubin Series VI: Boats That Don't Row

#24 - All By It's Own

#25 - Safe By The Bridge

Upcoming series: The Two Wheelers

A Trip to Pulau Ubin Series V : Things That You See. Scenes That You See.

#18 - The Silent Water Body: Took a left turn to a road that leads me to this water body when my gang was advancing forward.This place seemed peaceful yet silently dangerous. I was only accompanied by dried coconuts when i took this shot.

#19- Those Rambutan Models: This road is littered with red rambutans, fell from the tree in the vincinity. Took a shot of him while he took many shots of the red hairy fruits.

#20- That Rambutan Couple: A close up on the rambutans.

#21- The Most Photographed Spider: All photographers with macro lens were crowding around this spider to take a good shot. I have no macro lens, so i shot this using my 50mm prime.

#22- Ubin's 3 piece leaf: I always think of canada when i see leaf like this.

#23 - The Missing Coconut Man: Another abandoned house near a camping site. Found lots of coconuts on a table with a plastic seat on it's side. I wonder who collected these coconuts and where is he?

Upcoming series: Boats that don't row..

A Trip to Pulau Ubin Series IV : Things that don't move.

#13 - The Flamboyant Canoe : Painted in bright yellow, parked at a place where it is not meant to be. This canoe caught my eyes, it stood out distinctively from the dark shed that it was parked in.

#14 - Those Wooden Logs: Old boring logs sunbathing in the open.

#15 - The House That Looks Like A House: I had to deviate from the normal paved road to find this house. There's no proper road that leads to the house. When we were young, whenever we were tasked to draw a house, we would draw something identical to the one shown in the picture. Not anymore, houses like this can't be found in Singapore anymore.

#16 - Forty Two's Wall: God knows what those numbers mean..

#17 - The Disassembled Riding Machine: This is an interesting pool of trash found in front of a deserted house. Must be the work of an aspiring Mechanical Engineer.

Upcoming Series: Things that you see. Scenes that you see =)

A Trip To Pulau Ubin Series III: Life In Ubin...

#8 - The Old One: He seems old, lonely, and forgotten by the society, sitting in one quiet corner, well hidden from the passing crowd, focusing on his nail clipping.

#9 - Those Cycling Tourists: Just like me, they seemed happy, excited and can't wait to see what the island has to offer them. Rented a bike, paid the dollars and off they went.

#10 - Morning Greetings: Inhabitants of Ubin seem to be a close knitted bunch of people, just like the way it was when our grandfolks reside in kampungs. This is a picture of an ah-pek, cycling past a shop, exchanging morning greetings with the shopkeeper.

#11 - The Missing Cyclist: This is a front view of the opera house.They have wayang shows on the 19th & 20th August, i missed them. An unchained bicycle is parked in front of the stage, i wonder where has the cyclist gone.

#12 - Stealing A Glance: He looked sleepy and a little grouchy, probably woken up from his sleep by the excited trippers. He took a glance at me before lifting his head high, walking away proudly. He must have known i'm not local to his island.

Watch this space for the next series of Ubin photos titled: Things that don't move.

Stay tuned! =)

A Trip to Pulau Ubin Series II : We Have Reached The Shore !

#4 - Turn turn turn

#5 Overview Of The Huts : These are the wooden houses that i mentioned earlier when first saw them from the harbour.

#6 Close Up With The Hut: A closer look.

#7 - Swampy Paradise : This is where i nearly slipped and fell on a huge rock. Worth the danger though.

Coming up is Series III: Life in Ubin. Stay tuned to find out what you see in the everyday Ubin!

A Trip to Pulau Ubin Series I : Welcome Aboard !

Last Saturday i went to a exotic shoot at Ubin with my SPN gang. This is my first trip to Ubin, needless to day, i'm filled with excitement and joy. Changi Point Ferry Terminal is rather new and well-furnished, in contrast with the old bumboat that is going to ferry us to the island. Our international gang of 10 left the terminal around 9am. The ferry service cost only $2 Ubin currency. Knowing the boat is only going to take a mere 5-8 minutes, i took every oppourtinity to shoot whatever i can see. From the captain of the boat, to the lizard hitching a free-ride,i caught them all.

Upon reaching the shore of Ubin, i was greeted with old tatooed uncles who were sitting at the harbour, chatting, relaxing and watching trippers like us walking past. Looking across the sheltered harbour, i see wooden houses which we rarely get to see in Singapore. Boats were lying lazily on the shore, with no signs of activites. I spent quite a great deal of time shooting wooden houses, old motorcycle with cracked instrumental panel lying motionlessly on the bridge, and a few other abstract shots.

When i set my foot on the mainland of Ubin, it felt like i've been transported couple of decades back in time. It felt retro, yet very nice, something very different from the urban Singapore. The first coffee shop that i've met was filled with wooden chairs and tables. It was rather dim, lit up with only rays of sunshine. It was a far cry if you are to compare with the popular S-11 coffeeshops with brightly lit neon signboards. I didn't check out what food they served, i only saw colourful canned drinks laying out neatly in two rows across the counter. Just beside the coffeeshop, there lies the sand, swamp and lazy boat which i've witnessed moments ago when i was at the harbour. Somehow, the boat with the sea in the background seems promising enough for me to capture a few shots. Though i advanced with careful steps, i almost slipped and fell on a huge rock enveloped with slippery slimy algae. "Click Click" went my camera as i took a few shots of the boat. On my left, i saw an old man sitting by the wooden house, quietly trimming his fingernails. As i took out my long lens, he lifted his head and looked at me for a brief moment before continuing his nail-clipping. I took three shots of him and left.

My SPN members were already far ahead of me, i quickened my pace and caught up with them. Along the way, i passed by at least 3 bicycle rental shops. Cycling is the main mode of transport in Ubin. Most of the trippers would rent bicycles to explore the beauty of the island.

Throughout the shoot, my legs is my only mode of transport for three reasons. Firstly, it's more convenient to shoot while walking,secondly, i can't cycle . Last but not least,noone volunteered to piggy-back me.

Walking through the paved paths of Ubin with vegetation by my side makes me feel that i'm serving my third ICT in Lim Chu Kang. Army can never escape from my mind whenever greenery and vegetation is in sight. I'm just a typical male Singaporean.

In conclusion, the trip has been mosquitoes-infested but extremely fun. More experienced ubin tripper like Martin brought along insect-repellent spray which proved extremely useful in times of ambush by the mosquito battalion.

I took a lot of pictures from this trip and i'm going to divide them into 8 series. I'm probably going to post one or two series every couple of days. Just check my blog every few days and you'll see new pictures of Ubin greeting you. Hope you like them.

For more information about Ubin, please call their Information Kiosk at 65424180 between 8.30am - 5.00pm.

More information can also be found at http://www.nparks.gov.sg/nparks_cms/display_park.asp?parkid=6

#1 - Welcome Aboard : On the boat, there lies a float that doesnt float, but tells the time of the day.

#2 - Stuck Onto You : Mr Lizzie gets a free ride on the boat by pretending to be dead on the window.

#3 Black & White : My first coloured 'black & white' photo. =)