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.