30/09/2017
A new chapter
I recently received messages from many friends who asked about my future. Thank you for your concern.
I’ve had two dreams in life. One was to study in Japan. The other was to be a photojournalist. I joined TODAY in 2000 and its first issue ran on 10 November.
The media industry has encountered many challenges and is now seen as a sunset industry by some. The Singapore media has not been spared.
Some of my more unforgettable moments at work in the last 17 years include the 2001 General Election.
I was on In-Camp Training and wasn’t working on the night of the Singapore Democratic Alliance’s last rally. One to two hours after it had ended, raucous supporters of popular opposition figure Chiam See Tong were still cheering, waving flags and tapping on the windows of passing cars. The police later arrested 16 people suspected of taking part in a "riot". I had stuck around after the rally and earned what the profession likes to call an “exclusive” or “scoop”.
Back in those days, smartphones did not exist and “citizen journalism” was not like it is today, where people fish out their phones to eagerly document events that spontaneously crop up and post the footage immediately on social media.
These days, photographers have to set themselves more difficult or technical assignments to defend the profession.
In 2004, the incident of Nicole Highway MRT construction site. We were lead by SCDF personnel into the deep ruins of the collapsed site to photographed the rescue operations. It was a 24-7 standby to wait for breaking news of any survivals rescued, taking naps along the streets.
Another project to remember was the six weeks spent documenting the KTM railway in the lead-up to the last train’s departure on June 30, 2011.
I would wake up every morning at 6 and set off on my Honda Phantom bike in hot pursuit of the trains travelling between Woodlands and Tanjong Pagar. I studied maps for vantage points and recced spots all along the 21km stretch, much of it surrounded by vegetation.
Scrambling up some blocks of flats, I also discovered some unique viewpoints. As the deadline for the project drew closer, I would head out on some evenings to get shots that I felt were missing and, on one occasion, chanced upon a couple taking wedding photos.
My black-and-white panoramic photographs later earned a five-page spread in the paper.
Now that my TODAY chapter has ended, a new one begins. I’ve called my new venture WEE images for now.
Going forward, this page will be a showcase of some of my work, both past and future, as well as a platform to share my thoughts on photography. My dream of doing work that feeds the soul lives on.