2017: an opening

Tesselaar Tulip Festival, Melbourne, Australia, 2016

Just as quick I am to express sorrow in the past years when they have not been good to me in certain life aspects, it's only fair to do the same when life turns out for the good.

There were a handful of shitty events in 2016 (more so on a global scale), but allow me to be as unapologetic as I could be: I had a great year in 2016.

On the other hand, I found myself less drawn to write in general, and share things here in my blog.

My fondness for film stayed the same, but the urge to put it into action did not. I shot a lot less last year. I remember shooting 50+ rolls in 2015. It was cut in half by shooting only 26 rolls in 2016.

Anyway, here are some random 2016 highlights:

• Ran two 10-km races
• Joined two open-call photography submissions (I did not get in for both, but submitting my photos was nerve-racking)
• Got my first TLR camera!
• Traveled to four countries
• First time to experience winter
• Got an Instax Wide
• Traveled out of Asia (something I never would have thought)
• Finally bought a Paperwhite after four years of pining
• Participated in my first Emulsive Secret Santa!
• Watched a lot of K-dramas and consequently grew love for something I thought was too mushy and dramatic for my liking (which is ironic because I'm mushy and dramatic just the same haha)
• Gave some people a second chance, lol
• Gave myself a second chance with this blog (and username)

Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted the other day:

To all on the Gregorian Calendar, Happy New Year! A day that's not astronomically significant...in any way…at all…whatsoever.

True. But don't we all enjoy and benefit from the illusion of a clean slate?

Happy new year, my friend. Let's keep this year tidy :)

singapore botanic gardens

I've been to Singapore a couple of times before, but last May was my first time going to this 156-year old garden honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was still summer. The garden is vast, so walking is a must for one to explore the entire 74 acres.

The heat was almost unbearable, but I enjoyed taking photos of the light coming through the rustling leaves and to the concrete pathway. Even after 3 years of shooting film, I still have to think about my exposure settings and estimate the light of my surroundings before I shoot (the light meters of my cameras are all busted).

Unfortunately, I overestimated the light coming through the trees and thought it was enough to shoot at 1/125-1/250, hence the grain. Fortunately, I will be coming back to Singapore early next year so I may have the chance to shoot with a decent exposure.

Yup, there's been a little change in my blog. Everything else is the same, though. Maybe I'll explain the transition later. For now, welcome to the new blog name :)

daily grind

above

tiny human

Speaking of tiny things: TinyLetter.