green sea blue

Akihabara in the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:44:00 +0000

A smoking area by the river

I was feeling rather disappointed when I snapped these photos, because I only had an hour to explore Akihabara, due to a last-minute change of plans, and because of the dreary, rainy weather that day. The streets were mostly empty except for a few maid-cafe waitresses who were standing outside to welcome customers despite the rain and wind.

Looking at them now, I'm glad that I got to see another side of Tokyo - rain makes everything look so different - and these turned out to be some of my favourite shots from the trip.

(Canon AE-1 + Kodak Gold 400)

Ariake, Tokyo

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 16:18:00 +0000

Last month, I visited Japan for the first time, with my family. While we were in Tokyo, we stayed at an apartment in Ariake. Although it wasn't the most convenient location - it's a 40-minute train ride away from Harajuku or Shibuya - it was nice to be able to return to this quiet neighbourhood at the end of each crowd-filled day.

***

After looking through my many folders of unposted photos several times, I gave up on posting them chronologically and decided to just start from my most recent trip. More to follow!

I want to find myself by the sea

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:08:00 +0000

One of the things I liked best about Penang was how much time we spent by the sea, sometimes unintentionally. It wasn't Bali-gorgeous, but still so blue, brilliant and calming.

(Canon AE-1 + Kodak Gold 400)

Penang Chendol

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 17:02:00 +0000

Thinking about a hot December afternoon when we sat at a table along an alleyway in Penang and ate/drank sweet, icy bowls of Penang chendol...

... and a few other delicious things.

(Canon AE-1 + Kodak Gold 400)

Street art

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 15:38:00 +0000

Auckland (top) & Jogjakarta, Indonesia (bottom).

Although these photos were taken in different cities & give off vastly different vibes, they have one thing in common - looking at them makes me want to travel again!

Crochet 02

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 17:51:00 +0000

A few months back, I made a bag with this pattern and then did an impromptu photo-shoot just for fun.

(Canon AE-1 + Kodak Portra 400)

Lunar New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 18:14:00 +0000

Even if you aren't celebrating it, I hope that you'll still have a weekend full of time spent with friends & family and lots of good food, which is how I'll be spending this holiday. Happy Lunar New Year!

(Canon AE-1 + Fuji Provia 400, from last year's celebrations)

***

It's been quiet around here lately, because things at work have been quite hectic, but I plan to start posting more often from this week on. I've got some travel photos and random bits from here and there that I can't wait to share :)

One of my favourite parks

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 15:43:00 +0000

...is the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The trees shut out the traffic noise and make you feel like you're in a peaceful, sprawling garden far, far away from the rush of the city.

(Nikon F-801 + Kodak Gold 400)

New Zealand: Wai-O-Tapu

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 13:43:00 +0000

Apart from a lone hot spring, which continues to stump us with its existence, Singapore doesn't have any geothermal land-forms, so I was ooh-ing and ah-ing like a suaku (i.e. person who has been living under a rock) over every bit of bubbling mud or steaming soil when I visited the Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Park in Rotarua, New Zealand.

This is the Lady Knox Geyser which erupts every day at 10.15am as part of an informative mini show. I was a bit disappointed to find out that the eruption was induced, even though the staff assured us that the geyser would still naturally erupt about once every 24 hours if it were left to its own devices.

There was lots of fog that day, which made everything seem even more mysterious and magical. Some of the photos turned out a bit too foggy though - apparently film captures fog much more than the iPhone does.

Earth-coloured

I wish they'd had more explanations and diagrams showing how the geothermal features had been formed or how they "work", but it was still a really great experience. I loved how unearthly everything looked.

(Canon AE-1 & Kodak Portra 400)

Crochet 01

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:31:00 +0000

Crochet appeals to me because you can make something with just a hook & a ball of yarn. There are loads of complicated and advanced things that can be done with crochet of course, but at my current (newbie) level, I find it nice & simple.

My mom taught me the basics when I was a kid but I never got further than making rectangles and weirdly-shaped dolls' bags. When I decided to pick up crochet again, I didn't know where to start because the easiest beginner patterns all seemed to be for scarves which a) usually require lots of yarn and b) I don't need because we don't have winter here.

Then I found these mini projects which were useful and doable and basically perfect:

Textured Bow Tie pattern by Delia:
While making this for my boyfriend to wear to a friend's wedding, I promptly forgot that it was a kid's pattern and we ended up with a kid-sized bow and regular-sized neck tie. He wore it anyway, which was sweet of him. Moral of the story: you might need to scale up the bow if you're making this for an adult!

Little Treasures Envelope pattern by Shara:
I really like this pattern because it's simple (no sewing required), cute & functional. It's become my go-to handmade gift and I'm pretty sure my friends are going to get tired of receiving this as a present soon, ha.

(Nikon F-801 with Kodak Gold 400 & Nikon D300. I'm need to work on my digital photography & post-processing skills, shooting with digital so much tougher than shooting with film!)

Do you crochet? What's your favourite beginner pattern? :)

New Zealand: Tongariro Alpine Crossing

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 15:02:00 +0000

That's Mt Ngauruhoe on the left, which was used as Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies.
(Yes, I did squee a bit when I saw it.)

The gorgeous Emerald Lakes

Snow-capped Mt Ruapehu peeking out from behind Mt Doom

The rest hut suddenly seems very, very far away when you're in need of the bathroom.

(Canon AE-1 with Kodak Gold 400 & Kodak Portra 400)

I've gotten really behind on blogging (again!) lately, because a lot of my free time has been channeled towards finishing a crochet gift for a friend. But I'm back with more NZ photos, so I hope you aren't tired of them yet!

It's easy to see why some people consider Tongariro Alpine Crossing the best one-day hike in New Zealand. The uphill bits were a challenge for my weak, unexercised limbs, but the gorgeous volcanic landscape made it all worth while (especially those amazing turquoise pools! I was tempted to dive right in more than once).

Looking through these photos makes me feel really thankful. I'm thankful for the friendly shuttle-bus driver who was able to make everyone smile even at 6am in the morning, for the company of new friends who made the journey even better, for the perfect sunny weather. I'm thankful that my legs didn't drop off like they threatened to :P

I'd forgotten to pack a polarising filter for this trip, which, combined with the bright NZ sunshine, meant that most of the photos turned out slightly over-exposed and hyper-saturated. I didn't like the effect at first, but now I think the extreme colours complement the alien-looking landscape perfectly.

Previously: NZ via iPhone, Lake Taupo & Taupo Town

New Zealand: Taupo Town

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 16:19:00 +0000

sheep watching me watching them

Above: Waikato River, hills & farmland, natural hot spring along the Otumuheke Stream

The hot spring was hands down my favourite attraction in Taupo. There's nothing like soaking in a super-heated river, surrounded by rocks & moss, with pebbles between your toes. No need for electricity, or a changing room, just the essentials.

If exploring all these hills & rivers makes you hungry, head to:

Replete for coffee and killer carrot cake. They also have a kitchenware and food section, with exotic teas and Orla Kiely tins that I drooled over but did not buy.

Dixie Browns for good steak & fresh scallops. If you plan to go there for dinner on a weekend, be sure to make a reservation as they're often fully booked on the day itself.

More NZ photos:
iPhone snaps
Lake Taupo

***

Google Reader officially shuts down today, ugh! If you're still looking for a replacement, I recommend checking out Feedly. Switching over is a breeze and its UI is very similar to Google Reader's. I've also heard good things about Bloglovin although I haven't tried using it yet.

New Zealand: Lake Taupo

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 16:55:00 +0000

More New Zealand snaps, taken with the AE-1. These are my favourite photos of the gorgeous Lake Taupo.

My trip was probably much less epic than a typical NZ vacation, because I stayed at the Lake Taupo area the whole time and visited places that were within 2 hours' drive of the town. Even so, there were many things to do and see because New Zealand is awesome like that. Can't wait to rent a camper-van and go explore the rest of NZ one day!

I did a bit of research (read: googling) beforehand and got all excited about visiting Lake Taupo, because I read that it's the same size as Singapore. When I finally got to the lake, my first thought was, Wow, our country's so small, because I could see right across to the other side from where I was. It was very cool and also very humbling.

I'm planning to share more New Zealand photos over the next few weeks, so check back soon!

New Zealand: iPhone snaps

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 28 May 2013 15:55:00 +0000

It's always exciting to collect freshly-developed film, but it's twice as exciting to pick up scans from a trip to New Zealand, like I did today. It'll take a while for me to sort through all those film shots though, so in the mean time, here are a few iPhone photos to kick things off! Isn't New Zealand gorgeous? I'm already dreaming about going back...

Back to school: Map Making class

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:45:00 +0000

Back in February, I signed up for Anne Ditmeyer's online Map Making class on an impulse. That decision turned out to be a very good one because I had lots of fun and the class got me thinking about maps in new, creative ways. And because everyone had a different approach to the map tasks, I got lots of inspiration just from checking out my classmates' projects.

Here's a snippet from my treasure-hunt-food-map final project:

The idea was to create a series of cards with clues & a map on each of them that would lead you to my favourite spots & restaurants around the E-dae area in Seoul, South Korea.

I didn't even manage to finish designing cards for all the locations I had in mind when the class ended, so it was a nice surprise to find out that my little project had been included in Anne's 'Best of Maps!' roundup. Thanks, Anne!

She'll be teaching the class again, starting on 28 May, and I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in travel, design, or maps! This post isn't sponsored, I just really enjoyed taking this class :) I'm sure it'll be a bit different this time around, but if you want to have a rough idea of what it will be like, have a look at my project page.

Happy mapping!

Local Tourist: Chinatown (and a bit of VivoCity)

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:33:00 +0000

Sanna and I have been friends since we were wee kids, but it's been ages since we last met. Back in March, we finally had a chance to hang out and since she loves taking photos and I wanted to finish up some film, we decided to do a mini photo-walk around Chinatown. All these photos were taken with the Olympus XA.

We had guo tie & zha jiang mian at Tian Jin Fong Kee, explored Pagoda Street & Temple Street, ate mediocre shaved ice and hid from a thunderstorm. I didn't expect anything much shopping-wise from kitschy Pagoda Street, so it was a nice surprise to discover a Tintin shop tucked among all the souvenirs.

Later, we headed to VivoCity for some errand-running. It's just a regular shopping centre, but there's a nice boardwalk that runs between the sea and the shops, and we managed to catch some golden light while we were there. I really like the shot of Sanna by the sea - her amazing hair & that blue water make me think of Ariel from The Little Mermaid!

Head over here to see Sanna's photos from our day out. You should definitely check out her blog if you like wonderfully droll and/or thoughtful words about teaching 13 year-olds and other adventures. Her posts never fail to make me smile.

(more Local Tourist posts can be found here)

Laneway 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:41:00 +0000

A couple of favourites from the (long overdue) roll I shot at this year's Laneway Festival:

Tiny & faraway Kings of Convenience

Divine Fits

My Laneway buddy Sherm

Sunset + ∆ (Alt-J)

Real Estate

Alt-J and Of Monsters And Men were hands-down the most enjoyable acts in my opinion, but Gotye, Kings of Convenience, Divine Fits & Yeasayer definitely did not disappoint. Looking at these photos, it's not hard to imagine that I'm back in that jam-packed crowd, being baked in the sun and mesmerised by the music. These Laneway mixtapes help too.

Also, can we please take a minute to appreciate what a good job the Olympus XA did, especially for the low light photos? Not bad for a film camera with a tiny, fixed lens. I snapped those stage shots fully expecting to get blurry blobs of light, so I was really quite amazed when I saw the scans.

*

I'll be adding a few lines in Korean to my posts every now and then, in an effort to practice the language more. Any grammar corrections or writing tips are very welcome :)
제일 좋아하는 Laneway 사진이 몇 장 이에요. 그 날에 날씨가 엄청 나쁘 지만 재미 있었어요!

1920s Charm: Kam Leng Hotel

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:14:00 +0000

The first thing I noticed about Kam Leng Hotel was its logo, not just because it's huge and impossible to ignore, but also because of its modern-yet-traditional feel.

I happened to be passing by one afternoon, so I popped in and took a few iPhone shots of their reception area. Aren't those tiles lovely? I really like how the hotel was deliberately styled with reference to the original Kam Leng Hotel that stood at the very same spot in the 1920s.

Kam Leng Hotel
383 Jalan Besar, Singapore 209001

2013!

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:59:00 +0000

Wow, did the holidays go by quickly or what? Happy 2013, friends! I've been having an extremely warm New Year here in Singapore, both in terms of well-wishes and the weather (think we hit 36°C/96°F yesterday).

2012 was an encouraging year, in more ways than one. Thank you all for your kind words about my photos and for spending a bit of your day in my corner of the internet, despite the fact that I only ever post about things months after they've happened. In 2013, I hope to..

...shoot more portraits, because I tend to shy away from photographing people. Lately I've been inspired by the photography of these talented folks: Jessie Webster, Bonnie Tsang, Alice Gao, Ivan Tan & Brian Ferry.

...brush up on my Mandarin & Korean, as part of my grand quest to become proficient enough to watch K-dramas without subtitles.

...travel to & explore a country I've never been to.

...learn to code. I never thought it would be possible, but Codecademy really does make learning code fun.

What new things are you looking forward to in 2013?

Burgertime

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:58:00 +0000

A couple of photos taken earlier this year on a quiet Sunday, when I had lunch with my parents at our go-to burger place, Relish.

Lovely light, courtesy of the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows.

Canon AE-1 + Fuji Superia 200

The last few weeks have been a bit crazy for me, work-wise, but things are slowly going back to normal and I'll be back soon with some new film photos & a proper post!

Festival Village 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:16:00 +0000

A few photos from a weekend waaay back in June, when I chanced upon the Singapore Arts Fest Festival Village. I was actually at the Esplanade bridge to check out the Public Garden market, but ended up people-watching instead.

Oyaji performers from the Cafe Bridge Project

On-the-spot art

Tangle, an interative area where kids could run around and make an arty mess with colourful elastic string, I love the idea!

Wish I'd had the time to experience the Umbrella For Two tour, it looked intriguing.

(Photos taken with Canon AE-1 & iPhone)

Wimbly Lu

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:15:00 +0000

My friends introduced me to this dessert cafe a few months ago and I couldn't help admiring its cosy, classy decor. Wish I'd snapped more photos! I can't remember exactly which desserts we ordered, just that everything was really chocolaty, so I'll let the photos do the talking:

(taken with a Canon AE-1)

+

Some good stuff I came across recently:
Intricate pencil lead sculptures by Dalton Ghetti (Charlie Bowater)
Top Notch Type 17 - this whole series is worth checking out (Emmadine)
Art collective Kut changes the weather in Latvia (Booooooom)
Type illusions by Stephen Doyle + a behind the scenes video (Jason Santa Maria)
Rachel Chew's delightful blog & Flickr

This is perfect

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:43:00 +0000

I could just sit and stare at these paper pieces by Zim And Zou all day. It's as if someone took a bunch of my favourite things - bright colours, paper, cameras - and put them all together! I really like how the zany colours give the classic analogue shapes a modern twist.

Found via Colossal. All photos by Zim And Zou

Real Summer Days

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Weather-wise, it's almost always summer here, but it only truly feels like summer to me when I can spend a whole day as I like. How has your summer been?

(Yashica Electro 35 GSN test roll, Kodak Gold 400)

These photos are from a relaxing morning some months ago, when we drank tea and made plans for A's wedding.

One Year

noreply@blogger.com (Trixia) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:07:00 +0000

(Olympus XA, Fuji Sensia 200 cross-processed)

Early last year, I started taking photos with some film that I meant to double-expose. In my quest to get images that were as amazing and whimsical as these, I was super picky about what I shot (so silly!) and as a result it took me a year just to finish the roll.

The upside of me being such a slow-poke is that this roll accompanied me on my travels to Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea. It was fun trying to spot the bits that were taken at each location.

My conclusion: double-exposures taken using the method I chose (take photos, wind film back into canister, take more photos) can't be planned, so it's best to just snap away with abandon. I'll probably stick to regular photography for the most part, because I like having some control over the pictures I take, but I'll definitely try this again some time.

P.S. more double-exposure photos can be found here, if you're interested.