Raph

A Yale-NUS undergrad who takes photos for fun and drinks coffee seriously.

19/04/2022

I recently visited Joo Chiat for an urban studies field trip. Most people know the main Joo Chiat Road and its eclectic mix of heritage and gentrified shops. However, off the beaten path is Joo Chiat Place, a relatively quieter and lesser known street. I have fond memories of Joo Chiat Place, having worked in a photography studio there during my post-army and pre-uni days. So this is Joo Chiat Place at twilight, right before day turns to night. Enjoy the photos 😊

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11/03/2022

Mama shops are traditional provision stores that are often located at the void decks of HDB blocks. Due to modernisation, these old school businesses are slowly being replaced by shiny cookie-cutter chain convenience stores like 7-Eleven. For my final year undergrad thesis, I’ve been studying the role of the mama shop in the HDB neighbourhood and have been conducting fieldwork at Hoh West Mama Shop in Bedok North.

Mr Lim has been nothing but kind, allowing me to capture the rhythms of his mama shop from 5.30am in the morning to 6pm in the evening. I hope these photos capture the magic of the mama shop, and remind you of nostalgic, simpler, and happier childhood times.

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03/10/2021

Every recess week, I have this ritual where I head to Marina Barrage for a picnic with my uni friends. It’s one of my favourite places in Singapore to chill and watch the sunset. The colours of the paddle pop sky can change every minute and it never fails to make my day. The very last shot in this photoset was taken during twilight, just as day turned to night. It has become one of my favourite images that I’ve ever taken of the Singapore skyline. Enjoy the photos and have a great week ahead everyone :)

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24/09/2021

4 weeks on since that fateful day, and I’m still emotionally tired. But the grief has mostly evolved into part acceptance, and part growing anger. Quoting a friend: “NUS has some idea of what they are creating, but no idea of what they just closed down.” You don’t just kill a community and expect to build an entirely new one to take its physical place.

27th August 2021. Never forget.

19/09/2021

Took these images two months ago, but college life hit hard so I only got to editing and posting them now. Marine Parade is an often visited place for my family, as my cousins live in this neighbourhood and my mom grew up in nearby Katong. I essentially grew up visiting Marine Parade at least once every other week! Managed to get a good balance of both urban and nature/seaside shots in this photoset. Hope you enjoy the photos!

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29/08/2021

Two days ago (27th August 2021), NUS announced the closure of my college. The whole community entered a period of collective grieving and anguish. I didn’t know how to put my thoughts and feelings into words. I was on-duty the day of the announcement and didn’t have time to sit down and process it properly for myself. Yesterday night, I walked around campus until 5am this morning using the only medium I knew to express how I feel. Crying out loud while sitting alone in the middle of Elm and Cendana courtyards at 4am was painful, pensive, yet strangely therapeutic.

I hope everyone is doing fine. Please take care. And remember, we still have a voice.

09/08/2021

Asgard's not a place, it's a people.
Happy birthday Singapore, thank you for always being home 🇸🇬

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25/07/2021

Today (25th July) marks my one year mark of joining the Cassia Resettlement Team (CRT) after GE2020 and doing weekly home visits to rental flats in the Dakota neighbourhood. This neighbourhood is hence quite familiar to me! And is also a place that personally means a lot because of the work that CRT does. Due to the demolition of Dakota Crescent and the rapid construction of new BTO flats, I’ve often found Dakota to be a beautifully quiet estate that is stuck in transition between the old and the new. Hope you enjoy the photos 😊

P.S. If you are interested, I did another photo project called “Stateland” on the rental flats at Cassia Crescent. You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/100000099090095/posts/3942534742426457/?d=n

IG: http://instagram.com/raphaelhugh
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25/06/2021

I headed northeast with my friend Jun Da last Friday to capture Sengkang! Jun Da has been a resident in Sengkang for nearly 20 years and he knows the neighbourhood like the back of his hand. Some photos in this slightly-longer-than-usual collaborative photoset are taken by him. Younger than most HDB estates in Singapore, Sengkang was a joy to walk around and the place definitely delivered some amazing shots. Hope you all enjoy the photos! 😊

IG: http://instagram.com/raphaelhugh
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21/06/2021

It’s Simei (again)! I couldn’t cover the whole of Simei in my previous photoset so here’s another tribute to the place I call home! This time round, I included some scenes from the landed housing section of the neighbourhood. Hope you enjoy some familiar sights and explore new ones 😊

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13/06/2021

Took a break from Eastern Singapore and covered a neighbourhood that is somewhere more central - Jalan Besar! It’s one of my go-to places when I feel like treating myself to a solid iced latte. This neighbourhood is mostly well-known for its cafes that are housed inside restored shophouses, but the history of these shophouses and its surrounding HDB flats often go under-the-radar and unexplored. Tried to uncover some of their origins via my images. Enjoy! 😊

Instagram: (currently still travelling through Japan on IG hehe)

Address

Jalan Besar, Singapore
Singapore
208511

Website

https://raphhugh.carrd.co/

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