Fishing captures homey feel

SINGAPORE - Growing up, Mr Ong Beng Teck used to fish in the longkangs (drains) near his home. He was reminded of the good old days when he spotted two children doing the same at the river along Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park last November.

"I like to go to parks and nature spaces to take photos, and when I saw the children I was reminded of where I used to live so I took this photo," said the 60-year-old retiree in Mandarin.

He had visited the park with his wife around 5pm on a Sunday.

Mr Ong, who picked up photography as a hobby 20 years ago, sent in the photo when he learnt about last week's Big Picture contest theme, "Our Home", which asked for images of places in Singapore where people spent with their families and loved ones.

The photo impressed two of last week's three judges to win the weekly $500 prize for this yearlong contest organised by The New Paper and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) to encourage Singaporeans to document everyday life in the city.

One of the judges who picked it was Mr Edmund Low.

He said: "It is a very natural and well-composed picture with an exceptional view that combines both people and place."

Alan Lim was the other judge who was impressed by the photo's exposure and composition.

He said: "The iconic buildings in the background and reflection in the foreground is the home of many Singaporeans, and it's framed by two kids having fun."

While this week's third judge, Mr Richard Koh, was also touched by Mr Ong's photo, he picked it as his runner-up. His winning photo was by Mr Francis Ng of a man in a home with a room full of photos from his travels.

"This photo certainly made me think of home without even looking at the caption or the theme.

It immediately stands out and the message is clear," said Mr Koh. "The warm light of home contrasts with the cooler light of the photos on the wall.

"Indeed, that's home sweet home."

THE JUDGES

Richard Koh, 41, considers photography a mystical art where "one harvests light which comes from Above". In 2003, despite have an engineering master's degree, he switched from research and development engineering to professional photography, neglecting three invention patents (which were featured on TV). His photographs have won several awards at IPA and PX3 among others. He now runs Amaranthine Photos (www.amaranthinephotos.com).

Edmund Low, 39, is a professional photographer. His commercial portfolio includes creating images for corporate clients and international film production stills. Private clients have engaged him to conceptualise and craft images of their personal fantasies for private indulgence. Edmund enjoys imparting knowledge and he conducts photographic courses and workshops. He can be contacted through his website www.eddiction.tv.

Alan Lim, 39, is an award-winning photographer who founded Eleven.sg and founder the School of Photography Singapore. As a former senior executive photographer of The Straits Times, Alan produced countless arresting and powerful photos during his 12 years in the paper. His work has won him many local and international awards, including Lucie Awards-International Photographer of the Year, Nikon Photojournalism, and from WAN-IFRA. 

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