Photo finish for Singapore's coastlines

SINGAPORE - A relationship on the rocks gave birth to his collection of photos focused on Singapore's coastline.

Mr Lim Weixiang's book, which contains a total of 15 shots, was launched on Sept 3 as part of a larger photo book series leading up to National Day 2015. Despite not yet being available in major bookstores, it has already sold 90 copies.

The series, made up of 20 books, was initiated by Platform, a group of Singaporean photographers who aim to tell stories through photos.

The 31-year-old junior college teacher says: "It all started at the end of 2011. My ex-girlfriend and I were at the beach to see if we could work things out when I captured a shot of her and her dog."

Things between them did not work out in the end, prompting him to visit the edges of Singapore on weekends in a bid to find answers and some emotional solace.

Mr Lim writes in the 36-page book: "When I made the photos, I was looking for those that had resonated with how I felt.

"It was a bag of feelings, of longing for the past, for simpler times. I was questioning my own decisions and wondering what the future would hold.

Photography became "an outlet for those emotions" for Mr Lim, who first became interested in the art when he was in secondary school.

The project, which will continue for six months, led him to visit places like West Coast Park, Changi Beach and Kranji Dam for about three to four hours each time.

"The photos reflect different aspects of Singapore and the issues that she is facing at this juncture of her journey," he says.

One example is a shot of a boy dressed in his school uniform, looking confused while standing on a stationary skateboard.

"It makes me think of our education system, how we're going through so many changes... but do we really look where we're heading?" he asks.

Another photo is of an elderly woman in a wheelchair parked on a patch of grass, with the sea in the background.

"I hope this one prompts people to think about the ageing population here and the different facets of this issue," he says.

His photos of Singapore's coastline caught the eye of Platform's founders, who asked him to be part of the photo project.

Mr Lim's photos were captured with both a film and a digital camera.

"I started with the film camera, but it became a little too expensive and quite a hassle, especially when it came to developing and scanning each picture," he says.

A recently launched digital camera by Nixon could produce 36-megapixel photos, a quality similar to what the film camera could provide.

"It wasn't difficult to make the switch," he says with a smile.

Mr Lim, who hopes to make photography his full-time career eventually, is working on his next project, capturing Singapore's green spaces.

The book on Singapore's coastlines is available at selected photography schools here and twentyfifteen.sg for $25 each.

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