My Wavehouse story on Spectrum TV

Together with my project mate Jeremy Oh, I made a TV news clip about the Wavehouse Sentosa in Singapore. It is put to air on the campus TV station, Spectrum TV, for its 6th and last episode of the semester. My story can be found from 7.10 - 10.30 in the episode.

Nanyang Spectrum Season 5 Episode 6 from ntuspectrumtv on Vimeo.

It was an enjoyable experience at the Wavehouse as I got to talk to the manager, the competitors representing Singapore and gain an insight into how the artificial waves are produced. It was my best TV news story for the COM229 Broadcast Journalism class and I'm proud to present it here. 

Live Tonight!

I was part of a team of 9 journalism students who produced this 15-minute newscast, Live Tonight, as part of the final project for COM 229 Broadcast Journalism class at NTU. Our newcast theme explores the growing live entertainment industry in Singapore. Enjoy!

We took about 1.5 months to plan, shoot, edit and upload the final product into Youtube. It was quite a challenge because members of the team had difficult timetables,abilities and priorities in schoolwork. But we succeeded in the end.

NIE director's race

I was sent to this assignment for Nanyang Chronicle just before recess week. It was the NIE Director's Race on the 60th anniversary of the teaching institution. I camped for pretty long at the start point, before taking a quick shot when the horn blew. It was a split second moment because the runners set out so fast. But I guess I got a picture worthy for publication:

Memories of USA

I miss the USA pretty much. The 5 months I spent there was unforgettable, travelling to many cities and meeting many people. It was definitely an eye-opener for someone aspiring to be a foreign correspondent. Here are some previously unpublished photographs I took during the first half of 2010. Enjoy.

A little child looks back at me while on the Chinatown bus. The bus is the cheapest mode of inter-city transport in the USA and I use it extensively while at the east coast.

Missouri was freezing when I arrived there. The land was covered in snow. This is a photograph taken outside Hawthorn Hall. The lights are beautiful because they come from the floodlights at a football field nearby.

Hollywood drama. I took this photograph at the Universal Studios in Los Angeles. They were demonstrating to me how some action shots are taken. 

The bean at Chicago. I like this picture because it reminded me that USA is a kind of parallel universe. Many things are similar, and yet some other stuff are just so different. 

A couple at the benches in MIT. At these Ivy League universities, groundbreaking research is done and changing the world we live in. 

Degree-holding Iraqi refugees start from zero

By Xue Jianyue
May 8, 2010


Iraqi refugee Kamal Mohammedali delivers the Columbia Daily Tribune to them stand in the middle of the night, earning a meagre living in comparison to his days as a civil engineer in Iraq.

Just as most Americans in Missouri are preparing for bed, Mr Kamal Mohammedali, a 51-year-old Iraqi refugee from Baghdad, heads to work at midnight, delivering the Columbia Daily Tribune to the newsstands across Columbia.

Even before the sun rises, Mohammedali starts his second job at 4 a.m., doing maintenance at public schools here.

Both Mohammedali and his wife, 49-year-old Bushra Faris, are overeducated for the jobs they currently hold - Muhammadali holds a degree in civil engineering and had helped the Iraqi government construct dams for many years. Faris holds a doctorate in Obstetrics and Gynaecology but works as a medical interpreter in Columbia.

"Our degree certificates are not recognized in America," he said. "We are expected to start from zero."

Head kick!

I was an official photographer for the Singapore Taekwando Federation during the National Taekwando Championships for the first half of September. The action took place at Yishun Sports Hall and I saw it as an opportunity to practice.

Samuel Lee from NTU receives a kick in the head from his rival at the Taekwando finals. Despite his efforts, he eventually lost 11-22.

Making waves beyond sailing

I was sent as a photographer for a story about national sailor Teo Wee Chin. I originally planned for action shots on the sea, but it rained heavily that day and Wee Chin couldn't go out onto the waters. Since it was a profile picture, I decided to try the environmental portrait style, capturing him with his training boat. It wasn't hard - Wee Chin was a really nice guy who gave me plenty of time to try out different angles.

Chosen shot:



When the Nanyang Chronicle was out on the first day of school, my photos didn't look too bad. :) I guess I had improved from my first environmental shot involving my subject in US, with a clean and clear background, good composition. In fact, even the colours match:



Credit goes to Yan Yu for writing a great story. I really enjoyed reading it. It was a real pity that she lost her slippers that day after she took them off to enter the beach. Either taken by the waves, or spirited away by deft hands. =(

Rhythmic Gym

After my T-30 shoot, I had the opportunity to follow up on the rhythmic gymnastics competition for the the finals, August 25. The fast moving gymnasts were remarkably graceful and nimble.

Victoria Filanovsky from Israel turning around with her hoop. Its the rotation 2 from the Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Final, held at Bishan Sports Hall.

Facing the world stage

I was sent on a singles assignment on last Tuesday. The theme is T-30, a photo to capture the last 30 minutes before the competition. While my original aim was boxing in the evening, I decided to check out rhythmic gymnastics at noontime. Access was restricted, but I overcame the limitations after awhile by trying my luck at at some angles. I managed to capture this:

Keeping the dream alive

I first read up about Malawi table tennis a month ago. Back then, as the Youth Olympics approach, I predicted two types of coverages would happen. Firstly, the media would gun in the big teams - China, Russia, USA. Secondly, the local Singapore media would give extensive coverage to our athletes.

Therefore, I set out for a personal challenge to cover the lesser known side of the Olympics, to explore the bigger world out there beyond my home. I wanted to do what I felt was the most important role of journalism, to give a voice to the voiceless. Of course, I also wanted to produce a fresh piece of work for others to enjoy. 

I was glad to have given Malawi a presence in the Young Olympian Daily, a country which otherwise would not be covered in the mainstream media. They have a great story behind them, a story beyond winning and glamour. It was also my first time dealing with a story ridden with emotion, and I had to be careful about writing it. 

Now as the YOG is ending, I reflect on my mistakes and shortcomings during the Games, and hope improve my reporting in the future, taking it to new heights. 

The one kilo surprise

I watched a weightlifting competition at the Youth Olympics recently and found its quite exciting to watch actually. I wrote a story after that after taking a good picture of the final lift which won the gold.

With a loud yell, Iran's weightlifter Alireza Kazeminejad lifts 196kg towin the Men's 85kg final at Toa Payoh Sports Complex on August 19 morning. He had been trailing behind Armenian Minasyan Gor for most of the final, but eventually caught up to snatch a surprise gold.

My story and photo was eventually published at the Young Olympian Daily. Click the file to read the story up close!

Photolympics

I followed the Journey of the Youth Olympic flame across Singapore on 7th, 11th and 13th August. Despite some flops with the YOG cheer and an overblown budget, the ancient Olympic torch tradition still worked some magic. On the ground, my camera captured Singaporeans, young and old, who were there to cheer the flame. See it for yourselves.

Surrounded by her schoolmates at her school, Aurelia Chan from Nanyang Girls High School receives the torch from Keith Wong of Nanyang Primary. Hundreds of students turned up in the early morning to cheer on torch bearers, which are students nominated by teachers and friends.

Fireworks from the Helix

I followed my sister to the Helix bridge on Marina Bay to capture fireworks from Singapore's National Day Preview. It is my first shot at capturing fireworks so the images are a little shaky. Nonetheless, I find some shots interesting.

Friendship forged in water

It is a rite of passage every freshman must go through, and a rite of passage where new friendships are formed. From 19-23 July, I had the opportunity to capture some moments at RVSP 2010, the freshman orientation camp of Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, where I was attached to the OG Jagerbomb. In particular, I liked photos involving water games, and thus I wish to share it here :)


A freshman enduring a wet game in the opening day of the camp. His OG mates had to collect water from a pail, run across the open area outside the school, and pour into an empty bottle on his head.

Photo Story: a Zen Life

This photoessay covers the life of Zen monk Seido Raymond Ronci, who teaches English Literature at University of Missouri-Columbia (MU). In addition, he teaches Zen mediation to students of the MU Buddhist Association. These pictures are taken between March 17 to April 30, 2010, as part of the final project for the class Fundamentals of Photojournalism, at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Seido rests in his office after a long day of conferences with students from his English classes. He balances his life as a Zen Monk and an associate English professor.

Classmate Project: Angela Hamilton

This photoessay covers the life Angela Hamilton in the town of Columbia, Missouri, from February 28 to March 11, 2010. These photographs were taken as part of a class project called the Classmate Project, an assignment given during the class Fundamentals of Photojournalism, which involves photographing a random classmate selected by a random ballot.

Pictorial: The Last Bus Home