Home For Christmas

Two days before Christmas, I am too excited to hop on that plane and spend ten glorious days at home. I have not missed Dumaguete this much, not even last year when I hadn't been able to visit.

I've kept myself busy with visiting craft shops and noting on supplies I would need to bring home come March. I also wanted to do some nice gift-wrapping for the little presents I'm giving out to family and friends. I planned out the color palette I'm going to be using ahead so I didn't have to spend so much time looking for things in the craft stores (yeah right).

When it comes to gifts, I never give anything that looks ugly enough to throw in the trash even before it is opened. I think first impressions on your gift matters. Effort is gift itself.

I've always loved using brown paper and jute twine so those are a given and are also present in most craft projects I do. Also using black wrapping paper and acquired some white and metallic ink pads to use as color accents as well as black and white Baker's twine. Baker's twine comes a bit pricey but there's no cheaper alternative to achieve that nice clean look.

I did polka dots for female recipients and just plain one for the guys. I did some quick stamping to get those cute little dots on the paper. It might have looked like I did too much work here but it was pretty quick and easy. And besides, I'm never lazy to do anything when it comes to my craft projects. So here, a sneak peak at what I did.

Tried my best to align the dots properly, otherwise they might look weird and the whole piece of paper would go to waste.

 

I dropped by ION Orchard to see what Christmas decorations they had this year. It was a nice candy cane theme kind of thing. Pictures of course.

 

Heading home, I passed by Tang's Plaza and saw some wonderful lights, aimed my camera phone and took this by accident. It was quite a good surprise to get a bokeh shot using a camera phone. This happened because the auto focus wasn't fast enough when I clicked the shutter button.

I'm all set. Almost! Believe it or not, we still have work tomorrow. But I will be flying tomorrow night, Christmas Eve. When everyone back home will be enjoying Noche Buena, I will still be in a plane ride and won't be able to greet you all a very Merry Christmas at midnight. Will be sending greetings when I arrive, so until then, enjoy all the food and merriment!

Cheers and sending you all my warm Christmas greetings from Singapore!

Geometry in Frames 2

This thing could get quite addicting. When you get interested snapping these kinds of structures, it feels a lot like it's everything you see or look for when you go places. It probably makes me look a lot like a tourist most of the time (oh but yes, in most places here I'm still a tourist).

Some friends came over to participate in the annual Standard Chartered Marathon so I got to take pictures again, not of the marathon but of the city. I'll share some photos of them and us when they toured the place, maybe in another post. For now, just these.

I was very disappointed not to have gone at the foot of this building. I had a shot that I wanted but it wasn't possible from this angle.

Singapore skyline as seen from The Plaza

Geometry in Frames

If there's anything that should not be difficult to frame, it's geometry. Lines, curves, patterns, symmetry, asymmetry, perspective are found everywhere. Most of the time, it's easier to spot them, stop and take pictures but I guess if there's any challenge here, it's the way you frame them. I don't remember a lot of the rules when I'm composing, I just frame subjects based on what looks and feels right to me. If you're lucky or patient enough to wait for the right moment, you'll capture a human element that breaks the repetition of the lines and shapes.

Some snaps from the weekend.

I'm adding in a few old photos taken from the previous months.

   

Walk Along Chinatown and Pagoda Street

Pagoda Street was more of something I had to pass by on my way to the temples I intended to visit in Singapore's Chinatown district. It's a well-known place to tourists where cheap souvenirs are sold (aside from Bugis Street). I went on a Sunday so it wasn't a surprise to see a lot of people. I guess even if it wasn't a weekend, it would still be overflowing with people, especially tourists.

There's not much to say except seeing a lot of interesting items sold. But I liked looking particularly at the colorful buildings, much like seeing traditional "bahay na bato" houses in the Philippines. The colorful buildings actually remind me a lot of doll houses. But the multitude of Chinese lanterns hanging everywhere are nice little reminders of being in Chinatown. And the "squeaky clean" streets will remind you that you are in Singapore.

Most stalls have a sign that says "No Photography" but I like photographing random things so I had to just quickly point, shoot and move along.

Pagoda Street is just outside Chinatown MRT

colorful windows!

only the second sex-related shop I've accidentally found in Singapore

seen at an herbs and spices shop

because those brushes are huuuge