“Tell-Tale Lines” is back for the third time. A series of black-and-white photos that shines light on the wrinkled faces and hands of Singapore’s pioneers. First, exhibited in Substation in 2016 and next hosted by German Center in the same year.

When photographer Alan Lim was growing up in the 1970s and 80s, one scene entrenched itself firmly in his mind – that of people working hard. Whether it was workers laboriously grinding out tofu with a traditional stone wheel at his grandparent’s shophouse in Waterloo Street, or his father starting his day at 1am lifting and butchering meat in a Toa Payoh wet market, the ordinary person in post-independence Singapore was always hard at work.

This tireless ethic formed the backbone of Singapore’s miraculous ascent to affluence today. While the contributions of politicians and business leaders are well-documented and celebrated, success would not have been possible if not for the legions of everyman workers who toiled behind the scenes. Their stories were never recorded on paper. The only tell-tale signs now are etched on their weathered faces and hands.

Date and Time: 25th Feb to 8th Mar 2019, from 5pm to 8pm daily, and close on weekends.

25th Feb to 8th Mar 2019, from 5pm to 8pm daily, and close on weekends.

Venue: The Hive, 1 Kallang Junction, level 6 Vanguard Campus, Singapore 339263

Hosts: This event is co-hosted by The Hive and School of Photography Singapore.

In 2009, Alan Lim left his senior executive photographer position in The Straits Times after 12 years. He packed and took off for a trip he had been planning for awhile now, it’s a one year ‘around the world’ trip.

He started his quest first from Singapore to Bali, then from Asia to Europe drinking up all the wines in France and Spain. Next, from Europe he traveled to Africa soaking himself in the desert heat of Morocco. And then, from Africa he flew to North America, spent some time in New York and in California where he met up with some friends and made a road trip. Along this journey, somewhere between Africa and North America, Alan made one of the most memorable trips of his life, he landed himself in one of the Caribbean islands, Cuba.

Nearly after 10 years, Alan’s story of Cuba, the first Communist state in the western hemisphere is told in a photo spread features in Keyyes.

Find out what’s life like in Cuba during the years when the U.S. imposed a strict embargo barring two-thirds of American imports from Cuba. www.keyyes.com/capturing-the-carefree-spirit-of-cuban-lives/

Another award added to SOP instructor/mentor Alan Lim. A photo titled ‘The Moth Lady’ created for a burlesque show in New York by Sublime Boudoir Production has been awarded an Honorable Mention by the prestigious Lucie International Photography Awards.

This is the second time Alan is awarded by International Photography Awards.

In early this year, School of Photography Singapore mentor and photographer Alan Lim was appointed by Brilliant Prints Singapore as their Brand Ambassador.

“As a professional photographer, it’s rare for me to recommend brand unless I truly believe in it. It’s my honor to represent a brand which I trust so much”.

“With the digital camera being so accessible these days, photography has become a daily activity. We take a lot of photos and we photograph everything, but exactly how many photos do we take?

According to InfoTrends, it was estimated a total of 1.2 trillion digital photos taken worldwide in 2017 alone, that is about 160 pictures for every one of the roughly 7.5 billion people inhabiting planet earth. So here is my question, with all these photos you have taken, how many of them have you printed out last year? And when was the last time you had a professional print made? These days it’s very common to see students in our photography classes come in with high-end gears packed with ultra high megapixels, but if you haven’t had a good print made from it yet you are underutilizing your investment”.

There are a few places in Singapore where professional prints can be made, one of them is Brilliant Prints Singapore, they are a subsidiary of Brilliant Prints Australia, a company that has created over 100,000 canvas prints for clients all over the world. We have gotten prints made by them for several years now, whether it’s canvas print, fine art paper print or photo framing we are always delighted by the quality they have provided. They also offer the fastest turnaround time and an incredible 75-year guarantee. Check out their website for the full list of products and services they offer.

Finally, we have returned from our first Beijing Street Photography Masterclass lead by photography mentor Alan Lim.

For five days every morning, Alan and the group cycled to meet up at different locations in Beijing. Every day the workshop started with a critique session on the photos taken on the previous day, then a new set of photography skills were introduced and taught to the participants, they were a mixture of vital practical and philosophical techniques in Street Photography. Once the theory had covered, the group hit the street and put everything into practice right away. During the hands-on, Alan demonstrated how the techniques work in real life, and whenever opportunity arrived he would explain his thought process while he was executing his shots. Participants were also being observed by the mentor on how they approached their subject to make sure they were applying the techniques correctly. Very often during the hands-on sessions, the participants would get their photos critiqued and pointers were given on the spot to achieve the optimal learning experience and gained constant improvement.

The entire design and process of this street photography workshop truly make this masterclass a unique and effective one for any photographers who wish to see lightning speed improvement or to raise their bar to the next new height in street photography.

Check out some of the work produced by the participants in this Street Photography Masterclass.

Coming up:  Tokyo 5-day Street Photography Masterclass,  6th – 10th Sept 2018. Currently, we already have four signed up, two openings left, don’t miss it!

 

Looking for a special and meaningful Valentine’s Day gift to your loved one? How about a Photography Course Voucher. Any purchase above $400 within the month of February will enjoy a 15% discount, simply provide us with the discount code SOPVD18 when making the payment. Hurry and contact us now!

This month we are celebrating another alumni of School of Photography Singapore who have taken photography to a whole new height, literally. Meet travel enthusiast Betty Goh, she attended a private one-on-one photography course in 2016 just one year ago and recently her work has been selected and featured in SilverKris Travel Magazine in the Oct issue. We can’t be more proud of Betty’s achievement in such a short time and decided to catch up with her  to find out more. Below is what Betty shared with us about her photography journey.

SOP    : What is your profession?
Betty : Business Consultant in a Banking Software company.

SOP    : When and why did you get into photography?
Betty : I started photography in April 2016. This is because for many years I have been travelling quite a fair bit (for work as well as for vacation) and took many photos. I received feedback from friends and family that I do have some great composition using my small automatic digital camera. So, thought I should improve my skills by getting a DSLR camera. But I didn’t know how to use. As such, thought of learning the camera techniques and hence signed up a training course by School of Photography Singapore.

SOP    : Which genre of photography do you enjoy the most?
Betty : Travel photography. Mainly the atmosphere of the place together with the local people.

SOP    : Can you tell us how did your photos end up in the SilverKris Magazine?
Betty : I was flipping through the airline’s inflight magazine on the plane recently. One of the pages mentioned that we can upload our photos on their website and our images could be selected to appear on the magazine page. So, I just try my luck and uploaded some photos. Soon enough, the magazine editor approached me.

SOP    : How did photography change your life?
Betty : I have a more meaningful mission when travelling. For example, previously I might just snap some photos of the place. Now, I will give myself some target/mission e.g. what else can I do to better capture the mood of this place?

SOP    : What is the biggest changes in your photography before and after the course you have attended in SOP?
Betty : Definitely it will be how to use the camera in manual mode.

SOP    : If there is one advise which you remember the most from your photography trainer what would it be?
Betty : I always remember that Alan Lim made a comment – something like how can I make my photo different from the rest of what people usually capture.

SOP    : What do you think it takes to be a good photographer?
Betty : Passion, observation and some essential camera techniques.

SOP    : Who is your favourite photographer/artist?
Betty : Oops! I have no idea, didn’t find who are the famous photographers.

SOP    : What inspires you?
Betty : Recognition of my photography efforts (especially after all the efforts taken to travel to a place – e.g. could be enduring under a tough weather, long walk to get to a place just to capture a moment, overcome some danger to capture that scene etc.).

All images are photographed by ©Betty Goh.

Most of the Corporate Photography Workshops and Team Building Courses we organized were asked to hold at various locations such as offices and hotels, but the best location is no doubt at SOP studio where everything is designed for a single purpose, to achieve the best comfort and learning experience.

This week we had a rare occasion of holding a Corporate Workshop at SOP. We had our pleasure to host our client from Housing Board development(HDB) for a 1-Day Camera Craft and Composition Photography Workshop. In the eight hours workshop everyone had lots of fun learning and fulfilling their goal, but they also fully filled their stomach with delicious and healthy food during tea breaks, thanks to our official partner Singapore Finger Food.

Our location is very centralized and minutes to MRT station which makes it very easy for anyone to come for the workshop, and it’s also surrounded with many restaurants which is extremely convenient for everyone at lunch break too.

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Alan Lim, photographer mentor of School of Photography Singapore received the Honorable Mention from Monochrome Photography Awards 2015 for his work on Tell-tale Lines.

“The pioneers of Singapore whose perseverance and resilient have inspired me to become who I’m today.”

A personal project created in late 2015, Tell-tale Lines is a tribute to the untold hard work, from stay-home mothers to nurses, from cleaners  to clerks, and especially the pioneers of Singapore whose perseverance and resilient have inspired Alan to become who he is today.

Since the exhibition was first launched at The Substation on 16th March and ended on 28th March 2016, it has since caught the attention of German Centre and the 2nd run of the exhibition will be putting up again this month.

Date: 26th May till late July 2016
Venue: German Centre, 25 International Business Park, 3rd Floor, Singapore 60991

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The street photography exhibition of Design District Singapore by photographer mentor Alan Lim has been roving since November 2015. Started at the Red Dot Traffic Building when it first launched, then showcased at Singaplural 2016, then hosted by Chinatown to showcased at Pagoda Street, now it hosted by URA at Singapore City Gallery(next to Maxwell Food Center), 45 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069118.

The exhibition will be on from now till 29th May 2016. For enquiries regarding the exhibition, please contact ura_gallery@ura.gov.sg

 

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