Lenspaint - Swyl Saksena Studio, 1 Fullerton Road, Singapore (2026)

16/10/2016

You can never make old friends. You either have them or dont.

07/09/2016

Iracus II

In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the creator of the Labyrinth. He was in love with the sun. One day Icarus attempts to escape from Crete to reach the sun by means of the wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. Icarus' father warns him that he shouldn't fly neither too low nor too high, as flying too low would clog his wings from the sea's dampness and flying too high would melt them from the sun's heat.
Icarus madly in love ignores his father's instructions to not to fly too close to the sun, whereupon the wax in his wings melts and he falls into the sea and dies.

In a parallel universe Icarus predictably ignores his father's instructions not to fly too close to the sun, but midway through the flight, the wings which were made of feathers and wax, instead of melting catch fire. Iracus keeps his flight on and keeps on moving closer towards the sun. The wings, by now, had magically transformed into wings of fire and started assisting his flight contrary to the warning he was afraid of.
He keeps soaring closer to the sun and finally reaches the sun with the fire on the wings and sun creating a spectacular unison.

This lucky shot was taken at the Changi airport while flying to New Delhi. I had my phone handy and luckily clicked the picture just at the right moment with the sun playing as a background to the plane in flight.

31/07/2016

There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are - Ernst Haas

Flickr - https://goo.gl/MtnAMf

25/06/2016

The scene unseen.

My infrared interpretation of Singapore Botanic Gardens.

“Vanity is by far my favorite of all sins, and the camera lens is the ultimate vanity mirror. The camera captures all moods and nuances; immortalizes the soft and silky continuum that is humanity. Those still life moments seem so fluid, so representative of continuity. They are a single moment captured, yet an eternity expressed. All your youth; all your ages, captured and expressed in a single click. " - A.E. Samaan

Why “unseen”? Simply because the human capability of our eyes literally limits us seeing the IR light, as it lies just beyond what is classified as the “visible” spectrum – that which human eyesight can detect.

05/06/2016

The old passer-by was fuming with anger staring at the newly wed couple. "There is no love" He mumbled. "Go away" He shouted.

Standing in-front of this beaming and radiant emotion, his small spirited heart felt even smaller. He continuously kept staring at them and noticed that the couple were not getting disturbed and were completely lost into each other.

But then something happened. The longer he stared, his gaze became progressively milder and kinder. He had unknowingly laid his first foot in their world and that world was different.

That world had a magical sky, the garden was much brighter in color and trees seemed taller. There was a comforting breeze flowing and it smelt of summer with an aroma that was full of positivity. The world looked like a painting and only had the couple inside them as far as the eyes could see. A divine sunshine kept falling on them and made it appear as if the universe was approving of their un-dyingly devoted and deeply beautiful love There was an air full of acceptance, love and warmth all around. He was loving this new world. There was a new sense of "him" that he thought he would never see again. There was a want inside him to stay trapped in this beautiful world as long as the concept of time may hold true.

"Go away" Someone shouted again at the couple and that made him come back to the real world. His gaze hadn't changed though. In-fact in the brief journey he had subconsciously romanticized them. He quietly went up-to the other guy who was there shouting at the couple.

"There is love". he said and walked away.

03/04/2016

When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Uluwatu Temple, or Pura Luhur Uluwatu, one of six key temples believed to be Bali's spiritual pillars, is renowned for its magnificent location, perched on top of a steep cliff approximately 70 metres above sea level.

Pura Luhur Uluwatu is definitely one of the top places on the island to go to for sunset delights, with direct views overlooking the beautiful Indian Ocean and daily Kecak dance performances. Balinese architecture, traditionally-designed gateways, and ancient sculptures add to Uluwatu Temple's appeal

Without a doubt, what makes Uluwatu Temple spectacular is its cliff-top setting at the edge of a plateau 250 feet above the waves of the Indian Ocean. 'Ulu' means the ‘top’ or the ‘tip’ and 'watu' means a ‘stone’ or a ‘rock’ in Balinese. Several archaeological remains found here prove the temple to be of megalithic origin, dating back to around the 10th century. There are two entrances to Uluwatu Temple, from the south and the north.

A small forest lies at the front and hundreds of monkeys dwell here. They are believed to guard the temple from bad influences. The serpentine pathway to the temple is fortified by concrete walls on the cliff side. It takes about an hour to get from one end to another as there are several fenced points along the way to stop. The views from the bottom of the water surging up against rocks and the ocean horizon are remarkable.

The Balinese Hindus believe that the three divine powers of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva become one here. That belief results in making Uluwatu Temple a place of worship of Siva Rudra, the Balinese Hindu deity of all elements and aspects of life in the universe. Pura Uluwatu is also dedicated to protect Bali from evil sea spirits.

Content credit: bali-indonesia.com/attractions/uluwatu-temple.htm #

21/02/2016

Whenever you wander and get lost, you find yourself.

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

There is something about going on a journey. Right from the day of planning to the day of setting our foot to uncharted territories to the day we land our foot back to the home-land, there is a sense of new and the unknown. Regardless of whether it is a good trip or bad one, its always distinctively etched in our minds. When we travel on a journey to seek something new on a foreign land, all we end up discovering is being alive to emotions we love & hate deep within. It cuts the daily clutter of our lives with unusual patterns to process and thus, instantaneous assimilation becomes normal. We start living like a child being completely awake to every instant. Maybe that is what living is - observing yourself and being alive at all levels of consciousness.

Such a contradiction - We are born alive and then we live to reach to what glitters. When we get to that, we try to wander off to be alive.

07/02/2016

Grey is Okay!

When we are young, everything is either defined as right or wrong. Black or White. There is a hero and a villain. Rest doesn't capture the attention of our conscious mind. There is always a Rama and a Ravana in the story. The rest is praja - not equal to Rama or Ravana.

As we grow-up, the world keeps throwing up the shades of grey which seems difficult to adapt at first. We slowly start realising that there is a consciousness of grey within us. The tussle from thereon is to remove the blacks and bring-in/build-on the whites. Result - societal projection of the whites, denial for the blacks.

Colors are amazing. They bring in the mood and the vibrancy.Every emotion has a defined color. In photography, I love colors so much that I find it hard to let go of them. But gradually I am discovering that there is beauty in black and white too. The monochrome judges the elements of the picture with the same lens. It brings uniformity and makes the world sort of congruent.

Being is just about accepting all the shades as part of us and live in harmony with those.

That day, we were witness to a beautiful sunrise at Angkor Wat. The colors were magical and poetic.( http://goo.gl/EMhQbB)
But with one monochromatic shot, the highlights and the lowlights of the scenery were widely distributed. The glorious sun, the majestic temple which were the highlights became one with the lowlights like the path, the clouds and the trees. Just like it was supposed to be.

I don't know if it would be right to say but when there is no hero in the shot, the shot becomes the hero. And for that reason alone.. Grey is Okay!

09/01/2016

For better clarity visit - 500px - https://goo.gl/0Z9StG

The Icon

There are few spectacles in the world which make you comfortable with how small we are and that the world is being taken care of, amidst all the swings of the world we go through.

This was one of those spectacles. The energy in the air was electric, there was uncanny warmth in the bone-chilling cold and a sea of people awaited the sunrise with positivity & enthusiasm.

As the buoyant sun made its glorious presence felt from the east, the skies cheered with the most awe-inspiring colors to welcome the light and bid a farewell to the dark night. The mist, the fog & cloud patterns gyrated to a musical melody in the air. The slow romance between the sun ,the sky and the mighty mountain put up a visual delight and it was one of the most cherished events I have been a witness to.

And then I pen down my memory of that day, I realise this iconic spectacle is an every day affair. Makes me realise that our world is what we wish to see in it. We know it but we forget it.

Reminder self note - "Believe that life is worth living and your belief will create the fact." - William James

Wish you a very happy new year folks! Here's to the best year we have entered.

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15/11/2015

The amazing Singapore skyline with pre-sunrise reflection!

Singapore's skyline provokes awe and envy across the world, and rightly so.

With gleaming skyscrapers, colonial hotels, world's best and iconic bars, the Merlion, the Louis Vuitton island maison, the CBD , the Helix Bridge leading to MBS, Art Science Museum and the futuristic Marina Bay Sands, there’s no mistaking the Singapore skyline for anywhere else in the world.

If you’re hoping to get some panoramic photos of this dazzling city-state, this viewpoint is where you’ll want to be. The water before the sunrise is generally still and doubles up the magical view!

11/11/2015

Diwali, or Deepavali, is the biggest and the most colourful Hindu festival. Diwali means 'rows of lighted lamps'. It is also known as the festival of lights.

During Diwali, Hindus offer prayers to the goddess of wealth Lakshmi, seeking her blessings and a prosperous year ahead. People visit the homes of their friends and relatives, share sweets and burst crackers.

Hindus across the world celebrate Diwali in honor of the return of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana from exile of 14 years. As written in Valmiki's Ramayana, the night Lord Rama returned from exile on the Shukla Paksha day of Navami in the Hindu month of Chaitra month after defeating Ravana, it was Amavasya. To honor the return of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana from Lanka and to illuminate their path, villagers light Diyas to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

Furthermore, Deepavali is linked to the celebration of Lakshmi, who is venerated amongst Hindus as the goddess of wealth and prosperity and is the wife of Lord Vishnu. The 5-day festival of Diwali begins on the day Goddess Lakshmi was born from the churning of cosmic ocean of milk by the gods and the demons; while the night of Diwali is the day Lakshmi chose Vishnu as her husband and they were married. Along with Lakshmi, devotees make offerings to Ganesha, who symbolizes ethical beginnings and fearless remover of obstacles; Saraswati, who embodies music, literature and learning and Kubera, who symbolizes book-keeping, treasury and wealth management. Other Hindus believe that Diwali is the day Vishnu came back to Lakshmi and their abode in the Vaikuntha; so those who worship Lakshmi receive the benefit of her good mood, and therefore are blessed with mental, physical and material well-being during the year ahead.

Here's hoping that the beauty of this festival of lights brings a world of joy, happiness and contentment to you to last the whole year through. Happy Diwali! with lots of love!

Harmony brings health. May joy and happiness surround you today and always! Let there be triumph in every way!

Photocredits: http://www.imagefully.com
Content Credits : http://www.sacred-texts.com

Lenspaint - Swyl Saksena Studio

16/10/2016

07/09/2016

31/07/2016

25/06/2016

05/06/2016

03/04/2016

21/02/2016

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