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.

“Tell-tale Lines” is a series of black-and-white photos that shines light on the wrinkled faces and hands of Singapore’s pioneers. The style is stark, personal, honest – allowing the subjects to tell their stories in the simplest of ways.

“Tell-tale Lines” is organized by School of Photography Singapore and Eleven Photography.

Visual Asia Expo 2015 was a very exciting event in Singapore, lots of interesting exhibitors showcasing their products and services, such as the latest 3D printers, photographic lightings, boring printings and so on. Beside those, School of Photography Singapore was honored to be invited to showcase the quality of both our instructor and students’ work. The work was carefully chosen and we decided to pick photography which were shot on location, in both control(conceptual portrait) and non-control(street photography) genres. 15 images from photographer mentor, Alan Lim and SOP alumni, Agnieszka Ragazzini were chosen to represent SOP so that the visitors could associate best.

On the first day of the opening, Alan also gave a talk on the topic of Effective Composition With Any Camera. This topic was chosen by him because he felt a lot of us fell in the trap that an expensive high megapixle and state-of-the-art digital camera loaded with all sort of features will make us take better picture, but of cause, it does not. So in his talk he addressed the some of the problems and gave invaluable tips on what professional photographers do before they press the shutter button. The talk was well received and it helped those who were wanted to learn to take better pictures, and those who had never attended any photography courses before but yet wish to improve in their photography skills.

A new Design District Mobile App was recently created by the Red Dot Design Museum Singapore. This self-guided walking trail features design hotels, independent shops, neighbourhood cafes and galleries that are within 3km of the museum in Maxwell Road. For instance, you can sip a cuppa at My Awesome Cafe in Telok Ayer Street – its facade is covered in Chinese characters – or browse vinyls at Curated Records in Tiong Bahru Road.

The museum also worked with Singapore award-winning photographer Alan Lim to publish a Design District Photo Book. The street photography book has 70 pictures shot around the Design District. A selection of pictures from the book will be exhibited on lightboxes along the facade of the Red Dot Traffic Building, where the museum is housed, from 7th to 20th Nov.

The Design District App is free for download on the App Store and Google Play. Go to www.museum.red-dot.sg for details

As the Official Partner of Co-op Hotshots Photography Competition organised by Singapore National Co-operative Federation, School of Photography Singapore wants you to let your talents shine and showcase your photography skill, because you might be the one to  walk away with over $5,000 with of prizes!