SDSC Events : Speed Racer - Chartiy Premiere on 6th May 2008

Folks,

With motor sports being the hot topics in Singapore nowadays, I was showing my Formula Drift posting and photos to my friend Stefanie Ang from Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) and she mentioned to me about an event organised by SDSC known as :

Speed Racer - Charity Film Premiere

Do drop by their events calender link and take a look, let's all help support SDSC and our motor sports scene in Singapore !

Very HOT Action from Formula Drift Singapore 2008 - Synposis

Folks,

Were you part of the Very HOT Action of Formula Drift Singapore 2008 today at the Singapore Changi Exhibition Centre ? Many HOT driving and drifting action and performances by many different drivers from all over the world .... and on top of that, weather was really good and VERY HOT !

Well, I was there in the morning, arrived at about 1000hrs and the action had already started ! This was the qualifying rounds for the afternoon rounds of competition. Besides, drifting action, there were also displays of tyres, cars, accessories and other automobile related displays.

There were many people attending this event and it was a good turnout blessed with HOT weather, almost dehydrated. Photography was challenging around the racing route because the safety distance from the route was a fair bit of distance that even a standard telephoto lense may not be able to capture the views that you liked.

I even went and walked down to the car pit area and met up with my friend Jack Lan and the Vis Works Autolab crew and their highly tuned competition car Nissan S15. Had fun taking photos inside the car pit area and away from the HOT sunlight burning my skin, there were also many people walking around the area too, walking around admiring the various competition sports cars and their engines.

Soon, I went back and continued taking photos of the afternoon rounds of competition whereby it was slightly different, from Formula Drift Singapore Website : "Based on drifting’s traditional “head-to-head battle” format. Drivers attempt to qualify, in single judged runs, to be one of the sixteen drivers that will enter the main competition bracket (similar to NBA playoffs or drag racing). During the bracketed “head-to-head battle” competitions, drivers are paired off in head-to-head competition of skill and nerves. The sixteen drivers will be weeded down to one final winner."

The action got even more exciting along the way and the Formula Drift USA drivers joined in and make the challenge even bigger and higher ! The fans were treated to awesome driving and drifting performances and it was a great time for me.

Motorsports in Singapore is getting more popular with this Formula Drift Singapore and the upcoming Singapore F1 GP...... besides, Singapore would have its own racing track beside Changi Exhibition Centre in the near future.

Do check out my other photos on Flickr !

Had a great time at Formula Drift Singapore 2008 ! Would write more in details over the next few posts !

Counting Down to Formula Drift Singapore

Folks,

This coming Sunday, 27th April 2008, would be Formula Drift Singapore event, looking foward to this hot octane sports car drifting competition event.

I was invited by Jack, to visit Vis Works Autolab, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, a team that would be coming down to Formula Drift Singapore and participating in the competition too ! The last time I was inside a mechanic's garage was during my tertiary days in Australia, getting my 82 Celica GT patched up and serviced on a regular basis.

They were in the process of fine tuning their competition sports car and it was a great eye opener for me, getting hands on helping out and enjoying the processes of modifying a sports car. Didn't take any photos this time, nevertheless, keep a lookout for Formula Drift Singapore on 27th April......

Earth Day - 22nd April 2008

On 22nd April 2008, a worldwide event known as Earth Day, would be going on.

My thoughts on Earth Day were penned down inside my personal blog, please do pop in there !

Being a photographer, photojournalist, traveler, blogger and writer...... I strongly encourage everybody to take action and play a role (small or big) to make our Mother Earth a wonderful place to live in, for ourselves and for our future generations.

While writing this post, I was thinking of the environments in Singapore that may not be there in the future, it's time to start my mini photojournalist project.......

Singapore Flyer Official Opening - 15th April 2008

The Singapore Flyer, a new icon of our Singapore Marina Bay skyline, was officially opened on the 15th April 2008.

First and foremost, I had to thank my friend Louis, who gave me the opportunity to be part of the official opening and joining in the fun and my bird's eye view ride of Singapore CBD and Marina Bay night sceneries.

With many VIPs attending, there were many events in place around the Singapore Flyer premises and the visitors were entertained to nice fireworks too ! Wished I brought my tripod but I knew it would not be allowed on the ride therefore, I had to take fireworks photos using hand held.

Fireworks lighting up the skyline during the Singapore Flyer Official Opening

We could only board the ride at around 2130hrs, designated boarding time but due to the massive numbers of visitors, we only managed to hop on the capsule around 2230hrs. Before that, had a good time chatting with friends Louis, Cindy and Eric at the bistro restaurant O'Learys on the first level of the Singapore Flyer. As there were a bit of a long queue, Eric, Cindy and myself were chatting ourselves away and sharing stories and experiences.

Soon, we were able to board the Singapore Flyer ! It was a great experience for me, the queue was long but it was worth the wait because I was really looking foward to be the top of the Singapore Flyer and have a bird's eye view ! The night views were very beautiful and it was a great opportunity to take night sceneries photography. There was a heavy downpour earlier in the evening and the glass panels on the capsule were a bit wet, thus making photography from the inside challenging !

More photos of the Singapore Flyer Official Opening can be viewed at my flickr site !

Photoblogging for 2 years

On 10th April 2006, I took my maiden step foward into the world of blogging with the help and guidance of my friend Jack Lan.

Moving the time foward till today, my photoblog is 2 years old ............. I had lost track of my photoblog birthday until I was looking at my archives list on the right side bar of my blog and saw April 2006 on the top of my archives listings.

Reflecting back on my photoblog, it had grown significantly, making many new friends from different parts of the world and allowing me to take photos, pen down my thoughts, travels and adventures - Me as a photojournalist that is passionate on photography, travel and writing.

I would like to take this posting to say THANK YOU to all my readers ! Without the support, comments and links exchange, my photoblog would not had grown much at all !

Moving foward and advancing to bring my photojournalist blog to greater heights !

Dragon Scout Group 86th Campfire

Folks,

Gan Eng Seng Dragon Scout Group has a very long and rich history in Singapore and I was proud to be an old boy of DSG since 1990. It was great to be associated with such a wonderful history and I deeply appreciate what scouting in DSG had done for me in my growing years.

On 5th April 2008, in the morning, I witnessed the handing over of the Patrol Leaders Council from the Secondary 4 to their Secondary 3 counterparts. It brought me back many different memories of my time as a scout in DSG, can't deny the fact that time has really fly ! After the secondary 4s handed over, they were moved on to their new adventure, Venture Scouting in DSG. Before the whole group went on to prepare for the night's 86th Anniversary Campfire, we went on to take the various patrol photos for future legacy and memories.

After the initial photo taking sessions, the group went on to prepare for the night's campfire. Everything was under control and going well, I also took the time to help out for a while with their preparations and took photos of them in their preparation. Although I never came back as a full fledged leader, coming back regularly for major DSG activities as an old boy aka Dragon Chapter gave me a lot of satisfaction, pride, old and new friendship and fun !

During the evening, it started raining heavily and we had to prepare for the wet weather program. However, we were blessed when the rain stops in time before the official start time of the campfire and the boys and girls double quick time dry and clean up the campfire arena for the real campfire with burning firewood.

There were lots of fun and the boys and girls enjoyed themselves a lot. Even though campfire may not be totally the same during my era, some things never change, the spirit and friendship of scouting.

I was very happy to see a number of DSG old boys of many different eras coming back, as DSG grows in the future, it is very important for the old boys to be always keep in touch and stay connected via such major DSG event.

Dragon Scout Group Family - Past and Present

Only with the support, participation, networking and connection of the past and present DSG family, would Dragon Scout Group grows even bigger and stronger.

Once a Dragon Scout, Always a Dragon Scout.

Asia WOW @ Raffles City - 29th March 2008

There had been a number of fashion show events held at various major shopping centres and after my earlier photo shoot at Central, I pop by for a chat with my friend Daniel Ong of the The Camera Workshop, before heading down to Raffles City for their fashion show event.

The fashion event was known as Asia WOW : The Catwalk, featuring 4 famous designers with their latest designs

1. Kanchan Panjabi from Hong Kong
   
2. Jun Escario from Philippines
3. Teddy Or from Singapore
4. Kiata Kawanda from Indonesia

The event was held on the 3rd floor of Raffles City and I could only watched from the side railings because I couldn't get inside the show area. It was a real challenge due to the distance and the lighting available for this fashion catwalk event.

Had a fun time taking photos, admiring the beautiful models showcasing beautiful dresses and ladies fashion clothings.

More photos can be viewed here !

Geometrics @ Central - 29th March 2008

Last Saturday on the 29th of March 2008, I went down to Central for another round of fashion catwalk photo shoot.

The theme was Geometrics - "Dominating the scene for office and party outfits are prints, checks, art-deco and monotones" - as listed on the official website showcasing the various fashion events.

I was a little bit late but still enjoyed myself thoroughly with the fashion photo shoot, great chance to improve my fashion/catwalk/portraits photography. Hope you folks enjoy the photos !

More photos can be seen here !