We were actually tired and hungry but the thought of looking for an abandoned temple like Indiana Jones gave us the energy to continue. Besides, we asked and we can’t possibly back out now.

Raymond and gang managed to mobilise a few cars (the speed at which this happens is simply amazing) and we drove a short distance along Kheam Hock Road to an area under the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), climbed up a slope and walked alongside the PIE on a grass patch before continuing our trek inside the woods. The drivers along the PIE must be wondering what the hell is this group of crazy people doing there.

Trekking alongside the PIE.

The temple was actually located in another section of Bukit Brown known as the Lao Sua (Hokkien for “Old Hill”) and after a short trek, we are there.

Raymond posing outisde the temple.

The temple looks like it’s been abandoned for a long time. The roof had collapsed and nature has already begun to reclaim it.

Abandoned temple of Lao Sua.

Incense Burner

Collapsed roof and a dragon carving

The altar

Old temple sign.

Light streams in onto an old brick wall of the temple.

Lizard eggs on the temple wall.

Unknown ancestral tablet

An old joss paper burner at the temple compounds. It's designed so that the smoke from the burning joss papers emit from the lion statue's mouth.

On the way down, we took a different path and almost got lost, but we managed to find our way via the barking of some dogs and also Raymond’s memory of the place. We also found time to take a group shot.

Groupshot of us.

Near the end of the road is a “tomb house” where the tomb keeper apparently stays in. It’s a shed built on top of an existing tombstone and looks quite well equipped.

The well equipped interior of the "tomb house" where the tombkeeper stays.

Front view of the tomb house along Jalan Halwa. From this angle, it looks like any other kampong hut with no signs of being on top of a tombstone.

A short walk later, we arrive at the junction of Jalan Halwa and Kheam Hock Road, near where we started. We parted ways there and headed for the much needed lunch and a nice cold drink. It has been a rather exciting and fruitful day.

However, when Gilbert invited Boon Hwee and I for a walk to Bukit Brown, I decided to put all my  apprehension aside. The Bukit Brown Cemetery was in the news lately as the government has decided to go ahead with building an 8-lane expressway across it, thereby eradicating a great many graves, many of which hold significance in Singapore’s history and heritage.

The cemetery was named after the first owner, George Henry Brown, a ship owner who arrived in Singapore from Calcutta in 1840s. The site was made into a municipal cemetery in 1922 let by committee leaders Tan Kheam Hock  and See Tiong Wah.

Interestingly, cemetery was also known as Kopi Sua (Coffee Hill) by the Chinese. This was apparently referring to the coffee-coloured soil of the hill it’s on, and not so much about coffee being planted there.

On arriving at the cemetery, I discovered that it was actually a quiet and peaceful place, filled with lush greenery which reminded me of the KTM Rail Corridor which I have visited last year. It’s also one of the last few places in Singapore which modernisation has not taken over. But this won’t be for long, hence the formation of multiple groups lobbying for its preservation.

The main gate to the Bukit Brown Cemetery. This is no longer functional and no longer close.

The moss-encrusted wrought-iron gate of Bukit Brown Cemetery.

A little beyond the moss-encrusted wrought-iron gates is a large raintree which is affectionally known as “The Ole Rain Tree” by the conservationists from the Bukit Brown Facebook group and their recently-launched blog. The enthusiasts gather under the tree every weekend to spread awareness of the place as well to collect signatures for a petition to save the Bukit Brown Cemetery.

A big rain tree at the cemetery affectionally known as "The Ole Rain Tree".

Beyond this, the lush greenery is evident all around, and being an isolated area, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, there is a sense of peace and quiet. People can be seen strolling, cycling, jogging and even riding a horse in the compound.

A woman walks across a lush green field at Bukit Brown Cemetery.

Triple Tomb of Ho Siak Kuan and his 2 wives

A path surrounded by greenery

A collection of graves among the lush greenery of the Bukit Brown Cemetery.

A small boy rides along a path in Bukit Brown Cemetery on a bicycle.

A rider from the Polo Club takes her hourse on a ride in Bukit Brown Cemetery.

A group of 4 takes a walk in the lush green surroundings of Bukit Brown Cemetery.

A volunteer guide gives a talk to a group of visitors about the tombstones.

Near the entrance is a cluster of tombstones, and one of them actually had a gate. This was probably owned by one of the more well to do families who had the funds to build additional features such as these for their tombstones.

A gate to one of the graves as seen from the "outside".

We had originally intended to locate the more prominent graves using the map provided on the Asia Paranormal Investigators‘ (API) website, but unfortunately some of the markers they have kindly placed have dropped off (or removed) over time and we cannot reliably locate them any more. So we decided to just take a leisurely stroll instead.

Ignoring that fact that this is actually a cemetery, it actually feels like strolling in a big nature park, at least in the day time.

A large tree with ferns growing on the branches.

Another green path.

A creek which runs through Bukit Brown Cemetery.

A curtain formed by the hanging roots of a Banyan Tree.

Before long, we stumbled into an API sign leading us to the tombstone of Ong Sam Leong, the largest in the cemetery.

A makeshift sign directs visitors to the tombstone of Ong Sam Leong, the largest in the Bukit Brown Cemetery.

We decided to check it out and after a short hike, we arrived at the tombstone.

Spanning an area equivalent to ten (!) 3-room HDB flats, it’s the biggest tombstone in the Bukit Brown Cemetery. It was elaborately decorated with floral tiles, bas-relief carvings, stone lions, sikh guards and there was even a moat with fish around it in the early days. The moat has since dried up but the sheer size is still impressive.

Here is a panoramic view of it. Click on the image for a larger version.

Panoramic view of the tombstone of Ong Sam Leong, a prominent businessman in the late 19th century, surrounded by lush greenery of the Bukit Brown Cemetery. This took some time to locate, and we would have missed it if not for the tags placed by API nearby. This is the largest tombstone in the cemetery, spanning an area of ten 3-room HDB flats.

Closer view of Ong Sam Leong's tombstone showing the floor tiles of the courtyard.

Two different design of floor tiles cover the courtyard.

Bas relief carvings on the Ong Sam Leong tombstone.

Sikh guard and stone lion

On the way back to the entrance, we came across this rather interesting tomb and its Sikh guard statues. Unlike the others we’ve seen, this pair was painted in colour.

Unlike the other tombs I've seen in Bukit Brown, this one has 2 painted Sikh Guards, so they are "in colour" compared to the rest which are in "black and white".

Close-up of the painted Sikh guard statues

At this point, we were tired and hungry and wanted to call it a day. However, we ran into Tien who was collecting signatures of a petition under the Ole Rain Tree. Out of curiosity, Gilbert asked about an abandoned temple nearby. We got directed to Mr. Raymond Goh, one of the founders of the API who got very excited and enthusiastic and started an impromptu tour to the temple. This is to be our next adventure, but I’ll leave it for the next blog post.

Meanwhile, please show your support for the preservation of the Bukit Brown Cemetery over at the Facebook Group and blog. You can also share your experiences and photos if you’ve visited the place with the others at the group and blog.

For more photos of my walk, do check out my Flickr set.

Held on 16 and 17th Feb from 6-9pm, the performance is part of the Regenerating Communities project, an initiative for remaking Empress Place featuring cultural art forms to revitalise communities and reaffirm cultural identities. According to the Creative Director, Jeremiah Choy, the time chosen allows the audience to experience the puppet performance as the sun sets, giving a different visual experience as the sky darkens.

The Sin Hoe Ping Puppet Troupe is currently led by 62-year old Mr. Yang Lai Hao who has been learning and practising the art form since he was 7. He bought it over from his master, Mr. Zhu for a token sum of $3,000. It is the only remaining Heng Hwa puppet troupe in Singapore and Mr. Yang mentioned during a Q&A session that he is looking for successor to take over the troupe and keep the traditional art form alive. He has a cousin from Putian, China who is interested but unfortunately due to some red tape he is still unable to come over to Singapore to continue the legacy. Let’s hope this will be resolved soon so that this will not end up like the many other traditional art forms which have disappeared over the years.

The colour stage of the Sin Hoe Ping (新和平) Puppet Troupe before the performance.

The puppet cast of the chinese classic, "Journey to the West". The monkey god Sun Wukong is represented here by 2 puppets, each of a different costume.

Mr. Yang also plays the Suona and Dizi, a wooden chinese flute.

The crowd at the venue, eagerly waiting for the performance to begin.

Jeremiah Choy, creative director for the "Regenerating Communities" project gives a introductory speech at the beginning of the performance.

Scenes from "Journey to the West. The puppets along with the skills of their puppeteers are agile enough to even do a sommersault!

Mr. Yang at the backstage manipulating his puppet.

Mr. Yang is all smiles as he takes questions from the audience.

The team members of the Sin Hoe Ping (新和平) Puppet Troupe, consisting of puppeteers and musicians.

Mr. Yang poses with a puppet of Sun Wukong, one of the characters of "Journey to the West"

Other than traditional puppets, Mr. Yang has also developed a new type of puppet which is meant to be more easily manipulable and appealing to the general person with their cuddly and cute appearance. It features battery-operated motorised legs and is featured in the next performace, “Monkey’s Wedding”.

A scene from "Monkey's Wedding".

By dusk, the stage has taken on a different look, with the warm and colourful lights of the stage set against the evening sky.

The stage of the Sin Hoe Ping Puppet Troupe set aganist the backdrop of CBD buildings at dusk.

The stage of the Sin Hoe Ping Puppet Troupe, now brightly lit in colourful bulbs.

I also took a few shots of the backstage, where the puppeteers are hard at work manipulating their characters while the musicians provide the sound track. The last performance is “Wusong Fights the Tiger”, another Chinese classic.

Musicians and Puppeteers

The puppeteers from the front, shot from a low angle.

To give an idea of what the puppet performance is like, I’ll leave you with a short video which I’ve shot from the “Wusong Fights the Tiger”. This is where Pan Jinlian encounters the tiger at Mount Jingyang.

Once again, many thanks to Belinda for notifying and inviting me to the event. It has been a real eye-opener and a pleasure to shoot. For more photos, please visit my Flickr set for the Sin Hoe Ping Puppet Troupe.

Chinatown at Dusk, 2002

It was one of my favorite shots, but it was “only two megapixels” although it made a nice 8×10″ print which I used to show many people what a measly 2-megapixels is capable of.

I had always wanted to go back there and reshoot the scene using modern day equipment and also get a higher resolution file, but always put it off as I don’t quite enjoy bashing through the crowd.

Recently, Kit, YS, David and I went for a short walkabout in Chinatown one afternoon and we went to the upper floors of Block 353B above the food centre for some aerial shots of the place and I kind of like the view.

Chinatown from the above.

Still wanting to replicate my 2002 shot, I bashed through the crowd one weekday evening after work. Before that, I thought I wanted a evening shot of the above before the sky goes black. So up I went to Block 335B, put my Joby Gorillapod SLR Zoom on the parapet wall, mounted my Panasonic LX-3 on it and took a shot.

Modern skyscrapers of the city forms a contrasting backdrop against the conserved old shophouses of Singapore's Chinatown at dusk.

Happy with the shot, I tried to go back to the location where I took the 2002 shot. Alas, 2 trees have now been planted in front of that viewpoint, so it’s no longer possible to get a proper shot. A white tentage has also been setup along Smith Street (you can see it in the photo above.) Worse, a bright spotlight is also erected which essentially ruins the shot.

I was disappointed I couldn’t replicate my earlier shot anymore, but the consolation is that I now have a new angle of the place, which I also like.

To all the chinese out there, here’s wishing everyone a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year!

David and I arrived at about 6am and noticed that there were some interesting cloud formations. They were rapidly changing and we took many shoots, here’s one. I am still puzzled why the reflections were skewed the way it is.

Interesting cloud formations behind the Singapore Skyline before daybreak.

Soon it’s daybreak and we start to see some blue in the sky.

Singapore Skyline at daybreak

And before long the sun started to rise and some pink hues appeared in the sky just like what I saw in a previous shoot from the Esplanade outdoor theatre. However, they weren’t as pronounced as before, so the shot below has been slightly enhanced.

Pink hues appear in the sky as the day breaks at the Singapore Skyline

I had originally hoped to do a “first sunrise of 2012″ kind of shoot on this trip but it was not to be. Shortly after the shot above was taken, the sky remained cloudy. This time round, we did not manage to get shots of the skyline lit by the golden rays of the sun, it remained drab and gray.

Kit gave a short briefing to the group on some basic architectural photography tips before we adjourned for breakfast. Along the way, we noticed a lot of people standing around the Helix Bridge looking towards the Marina Bay Sands. Looks like there is some event going on. We waited around a bit, and realised that there were some BASE jumpers getting ready to jump off the Marina Bay Sands Skypark. This was an event organised by the Marina Bay Sands where 7 professional BASE jumpers launch off the Skypark, parachuting down on Bayfront bridge.

Gin Pak kindly lent me his 75-300VR lens to shoot them. However, in the excitement I forgot I was still on ISO 100 and didn’t get a fast enough shutter speed to get sharp pics of the jumpers. Here are some of the better shots.

A base jumper parachutes off the Marina Bay Sands Skypark.

A base jumper jumps off a platform at the Marina Bay Sands Skypark

Another base jumper parachuting down the Marina Bay Sands.

That’s all for now. Here’s to a great year ahead!

Western Australia Trip

I went for a short trip to Perth, Western Australia with my friend Clarence where we enjoyed ourselves a lot. It was also fun to catch up with our respective friends and making new ones in the process.

Perth Skyline At Dusk

One of the rocks silhouetted against the sun at the Pinnacles National Park, Western Australia

The sun sets behind the Sugarloaf Rock Formation in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, WA. This is a HDR image of 9 shots, tone-mapped using Photomatix.

Lightkeeper's Cottage, Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

General Elections 2011

2011 is the year which we have 2 elections — the General Elections as well as the Presidential Elections. I had the opportunity to shoot a couple of the election rallies and it was quite an experience to be there. The election rallies of the opposition parties drew large crowds, and this one by the National Solidarity Party is of no exception. Nicole Seah was a hot favourite.

The crowd cheers when Nicole Seah finally gives her speech.

24-year old NSP candidate Nicole Seah giving her speech at the NSP Rally @ Tampines Stadium on 4 May 2011. Her appearance garnered loud cheers from the crowd who had waited patiently for her to show up.

An ardent NSP/Nicole Seah fan proudly holds up a placard with a marriage proposal to her. In her speech, she thanked him for the proposal and said that she's already married... to the NSP.

KTM Railway

2011 sees the return of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway land to Malaysia.  It triggered a lot of public interest in preserving the Rail Corridor left behind when it’s returned to Malaysia, and the final closure of the Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah railway stations. On the night of 30 Jun 2011, the last train finally left Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. Gilbert, David and I covered the last few weeks of operation.

Read more of the KTM railway shoots

Bukit Timah Railway Station - the only station at the time of shooting which still practice the age-old practice of token exchange which gives the holder the authority to travel on the rails.

Station Master Mr. Atan Ahmad operating a signal lever. It takes tremendous strength to operate it.

Station Master Mr. Atan prepares to hand over the token key to the worker of an incoming train at the Bukit Timah Railway Station.

Tanjong Pagar Railway StationTanjong Pagar Railway Station in the evening light.

The last passenger train departs from the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station at 10:30pm as bystanders wave to the passengers. This is not the train which the Sultan of Johore drove back to Malaysia, unfortunately.

Capitol Theatre

In its heyday, Capitol Theatre was the grand dame of the theatres. I happened to stumble across the unlocked amphitheatre while checking out the vicinity and took some shots.

Read more of the Capitol Theatre shoots

Capitol Building

The facade of Capitol Theatre

The left side of the stall seats with the statue of a pair of maidens on winged horses in the background.

The dome roof of the Capitol Theatre featuring the 12 signs of the Zodiac, shot from the circle seats.

Singapore Skyline

Though not much of a morning person, I really like the look of the Singapore Skyline and Marina Bay Sands in the early morning, before and during daybreak. There is sense of peace, calm and quiet not found after daybreak, when things get busier and even the water gets more ripply. Thus this is the only time where you can get a near-perfect reflection of the buildings.

Streaks of pink clouds appear in the sky as the day breaks over the Singapore Skyline.

Marina Bay Sands At Dawn

A stitched panoramic shot of the Marina Bay Skyline at dawn. This was shot from the promenade of the Bay East Gardens, part of the Gardens By the Bay project. The two dome-shaped structures to the left are the Flower Domes of the Bay South Gardens.

That’s all for now. Here’s to a great year ahead!

The idea of getting to this location started with these shots of the skyline which Jed has found on Flickr. We spent quite some time on Google Maps locating the possible vantage points and decided finally to just go for it.

On the day of the shoot, Jed, Gilbert and myself met at City Hall MRT and took a cab down to the location. We do not know the exact location so we told the taxi driver the rough location of where we want to get to. To our pleasant surprise, he knew where we are talking about and promptly took us there.

On arrival, we were glad that it’s not undeveloped land which the outdated Google Map’s satellite view showed us. That’s when we also learnt that the location is named the Bay East Gardens.

We promptly setup our equipment and began our shoot as dawn breaks. There is no time to waste! Unfortunately, just as we got our equipment ready, the lights of the Singapore Flyer turned off right at that moment.

Marina Bay Skyline at Dawn as seen from the Bay East Gardens.

It’s quite a wide scene and I am unable to squeeze it into one frame even though I am using a pretty wide 12-24mm on my Nikon D200 (18-36mm 35mm equivalent.) Time for a panoramic shot. The following is stitched from 8 individual shots. I had to work quickly as the dawn is also breaking quickly. By the time I reached the right side of the scene, it was quite a bit brighter than when I started. The exposures were matched during post processing.

Panoramic shot of the Marina Bay Skyline from the Bay East Gardens. Click on the photo for a bigger version.

Soon enough, the sun rose and cast the wonderful golden glow on the buildings. Not having a ND filter, I used the multiple-exposure technique I learnt last week to smooth out the ripples. Annoyingly, speedboats have also started to race across the bay, disturbing the otherwise quiet waters. We had to wait a bit for the water to calm down before making our shots.

The Marina Bay Skyline bathed in the warm golden rays of the morning sun.

And once again, a panoramic stitch. Each individual shot is actually made up of 10 merged multi-exposures.

Panoramic shot of the Marina Bay Skyline bathed in the warm, golden light from the morning sun.

I’m glad that I battled sleepiness in the god-forsaken hours to make the trip down. It’s sure worth it, and it’s a new viewpoint that we can come back to in future.

On one of the visits we decided to venture backstage, which was accessible via a door from the outside of the building. Nothing much to see here, apart from some scaffolding and supports.

At the back of the stage.

Venturing upstairs, we arrive at the control room. Lots of switches, wheels and stuff which probably control the lights and curtains. Being a very old theatre, a lot of the equipment is manually operated.

The control room of Capitol Theatre.

Close-up of one of the control panels, showing an array of old-school switches. These probably controlled the stage lighting.

Another control panel, with circuit breakers and power sockets. Some of the equipment appears to have been removed.

Taking the stairs all the way up leads us to a corridor facing the back of the stage. From here, we can see the hoisting equipment, cables, and other gear for controlling curtains and other stage gear.

A narrow corridor facing the backstage. The open door leads to an open rooftop area.

View of the backstage from the top.

Old wall facing the backstage.

An old wooden door which leads to the rooftop area outside.

After this trip, we tried to gain access to the theatre again. However, this time there’s a security guard who chased us out and we were unable to continue shooting. There were also another group of photographers doing model shoots inside.

By this time, some of the chairs have been removed as are most all the wall panels. It’s sad to see it in such a state which is worse off than when I first discovered the theatre.

Outside the theatre, we did a stitched shot of the building. The one below is made up of 22 individual shots and stitched in Photoshop.

A 22-shot panorama shot of the side of Capitol Theatre. The wide-angle lens used as well as the proximity to the building has caused some fisheye-like distortion after stitching.

Nearby, demolition works has begun on the Capitol Centre, which once housed private schools and a Gramophone CD shop which I used to frequent. It was also once the home of the Design Centre.

The Capitol Centre next to the Capitol Building/Theatre being demolished to make way for new developments. This was shot "blnd' through an opening in the safety net.

Leaving the location, I hope that whatever work is done to restore it can bring it back to its former glory.

The auditorium is fairly large, and like most theatres, it’s split into 2 levels – stall and circle seats. The stage is flanked by 2 side panels with maidens riding a flying horse.

The left side of the stall seats with the statue of a pair of maidens on winged horses in the background.

Close up of the statue of a pair of maidens on winged horses (Pegasus?)

Partly due to age and partly due to all the works going on in the interior, the bottom of the statue and the wall near it are actually in a bad state.

The wall on the side entrance to the right of the stage is in a state of disrepair.

Despite being disused and dilapidated now, I can imagine that it must have been a very grand place back in its heyday. There’s also a domed roof at the top, with mosaics of the 12 signs of the Zodiac.

Interestingly, although I heard that the theatre was air-conditions, many ceiling and wall fans can be found throughout the theatre.

The dome roof of the Capitol Theatre featuring the 12 signs of the Zodiac.

Dress Circle

The dress circle is upstairs, accessible by a short flight of stairs.  Unfortunately, I did not have a good shot from inside except for the dome shown above. Gilbert however, has a great shot of the view from the circle seats.

Here are some photos taken outside the dress circle.

The stairway leading to the dress circle section of Capitol Theatre.

The stairway leading to the dress circle section of Capitol Theatre.

Entrance to the dress circle section.

Old and stained posters notifying patrons about the legal age to watch R(A) movies.

Stairs leading to the Gents and exit via an external staircase.

Another staircase leading to the exit.

It’s been a very eye-opening peak into the interior of this majestic theatre. I hope that the works which are being done now will be able to restore it to its former glory and once again make it a grand dame.

Continue reading the next post, where we explore the backstage.