Tributaries

From a secret garden. Abstracting the art.

Here and there

Let me be thy light, when all the others snuff out.

You

No question about it.

Mountain road

Take me home to where I belong.

Very long

Reincarnation

Finally get to understand and realise what this means in a personified state. The cause and the effect. There is no life, there is no death, there is no truth, there is no false. Each is a entity within another. All is but ephemeral.

About roof

Whenever I go travelling, I create a series of doors and windows images. For Shangri-la, a mini series comprised of roofs just popped into my head. In particular, this scene left a huge imprint, so much so that I can still recreate it while writing. And what was that? Notice the underside of the roof is brightly lit? The orange glow is reflected off a metallic subject below on this bright sunny day. The sky was painted a blue hue thanks to the strong UV radiation.

Near miss

You know the thing about a man and a corpse whom he took as his wifey. Strange but stranger still when I encountered a lady who has eyes but could not see. Nearly had a heart attack when she was adament enough to squeeze through a tiny space and nearly tripping my setup along with her stupidity.

Now I know. I will flee next time I see another. If it were a man, then just count his blessings cause the tripod will go to his head for a hard call!

Brownie

When u see not one but a pair of these visitors, you know you are in for a treat.

Asian Brown Flycatcher.

Merry go round

Super C-60

In the middle of a sparten hall.

P.S. If u cannot control it, do not attempt to unleash it.

Mountainscape

In the middle of nowhere land, a little white house and a sedan. Perhaps it's the park warden...

For my eyes, through my eyes. Somewhere in Shangri-la...like a page from a fairy tale...

I held my breath

Was dog tired after a day's tour but something prevented my aching body from resting. In the distance, a deluge created an invisible band of rainbow and some strong diffraction in the air under the evening sun. A memory is formed.

This is in stark contrast to the sunny morning we had at first break. A distant shelter riding on the ridge of the mountain. A poetry took shape but never materialise. However, another moment is frozen in time.

Two opposing emotions manifested in a single good day. For Jeff, all's worth it.

Until next time

Saying goodbye to my trinity 300mm. It has found a new worthy owner.

Thankfully it's all a false alarm. My sunbirds will survive afterall

P.S. Greed knows no boundary. I hit upon one walking invet. day before.It's a very stark pig. While there is nothing wrong, tis been transformed into an animal in my tiny zoo. Weclome to Jeff'Topia.

Transient

There is no eternity & diamonds are not forever. There's only this moment and nothing else. Leave tomorrow to another day.

Two ladies in the same town with different lives has a commonility. They are but part of a larger organism that breeds in colonies.

Perhaps she's aware when she crosses the bridge she is getting to the other side of civilisation. There, she finds activities that define her day and night.

Another stares into my lens and arrested a moment, captured in frame and passes on. In both scenes, nothing lasts...

Damage meter

Was doing window shopping in town when my bobbing index finger reminded me that I had an infection and required immediate medical attention. Down I sailed to the nearest Raffles Hospital outpatient clinic and settled for a day-surgery to have the puss removed.

Not the most pleasant experience when the Doc had to puncture ur skin to inject the tranquilizer into the finger and made an incision into the site to force the foreign bodies out.

Total damage was 128 with more to come. Seems like this Shangri-la trip is commanding a very high price, indeed.

Now just what r u looking at. See that invertebrate with a big fat index finger? I think it's good for lunch. Yam yam...

My back

to u

P.S. Just got a critique from my idol, Artie! Yippeeeeeeeeeee...

It's all coming back

To me now. The passing, the motion, the memory, I recall.

Granny by roadside. One wonders what's she doing. A soot darkened pot on one hand, with her gazed locked onto an imaginery subject beside her. And the items on the wooden table infront. Can u link them all?

On another side of the town, a grandpa poured himself some water using yet another soot darkened kettle.

If u peel away the cloak, u will see the truth. That's through my eyes... But what did u see?

A resonance in time, all seems so familiar, yet so strange. What appears to be incongruent initially, falls into place. The picture becomes complete- a piece here, another missing clue there and all is clear.

Jeff does not live to capture this moment. He is only trying to live beyond time. He sees no boundary, he sees no color. All is but transient passing...He has seen this day coming... tis only a matter of time to tell all that is worthy.

For now, only wait...

Cleavage

It's about rocks and contours. Those swelt curves and dark shadows. Just my kind of day- brilliant.

A shadow of its past


I cannot recall when or where, only a faint memory tugged in a forgotton realm of my mind. The feeling must be priceless, my head was at peace. I looked into a lake and saw a mirror reflection of my past, present and future. I know...

When the tiger leaped over the gouge, it left a huge imprint in the rocks located in the path of the torrents. The force with which it made the leap left a gapping hole in the mountain, through which I peered into the sky. Another Viewfinder to my eyes...

Light

Finding my light.

Tis lov- bink

For jeff, that instant rides on a tintilating crest of the incoming waves. So what does it translate into? Moments to share, moments to cherish, moments to recollect.

It quite out of my expectation, that to find my "bink" on a foreign land, especially one infested with homosapiens. Perhaps it's just a continuous self discovery journey learnt through daily living. The things u touch, the people u interact with and the things u see combined with the 5 senses concocted into a strong feeling which we call lov.

I have fallen in lov with photography, or rather, with myself. While I do not adore myself, tis the excitement that entails the discovery of boundless strengths lying dormant, waiting to be revealed, that kept me enthrilled. Beyond words...

Like a metal to magnet, that feeling smacks me right in the face.

Feed me!

Photography is a good medium through which one expresses his feelings and even passion. Theare always subjects to represent and personify this, be it animate or inanimate. For now, my tummy is grumbling and my mood is grumpy from the infection in my index finger. U have seen how I mistreated my toes. Yes, now my finger bears the brunt of my neglect. The fruit of this is a mountain of anti-biotic to swallow. I wonder if I could even survive after this bout of medication. If u consider Jeff who hasn't been sick for a long time, bacterial infection is a serious matter cause his body is not tuned to that environment. Just imagine the anti-bodies has been laying dormant for a long period until some alien U-ryotes invaded that rack sack of flesh.

[P.S. To those who ask if I were an editor, my answer is "perhaps so".]

Beneath this facade of self repudiation lies a key to my heart. Tis true I seldom open up to any one if at all but through my images, I confided my deepest secrets that are incognizant to my conscious mind. The beauty of an instant proves to be far more attractive than any other matter. Tis this instant "bing" that brings Jeff tis far, and will ferry him to another stage of his life. The more he travels, the more he sees himself and understands the meaning of life. If all these tribulations are a must to understand the true meaning and beyond of living and let live, then all is worthwhile.

But I still dun understand myself... perhaps that day will come when he least expected it.

Wifey

Of a plain throated, of course. As the saying goes,

"Like husband, like wifey".

When the day is good and bright, u better cherish it before all's gone. Jeff was told and he heeded this advice. Actually, the originaly goes like this,

"When u saw something interesting, keep going after it cause u do not know what u will find"-Rod (a friend from Uni).

I was doing my Hons then and was working "under" him performing some AFM. Wonder where u go, Rod.

Breaking for a plain-throated

This handsome plain-throated welcomed Jeff in the morn after several days of bad haze. Now, tis the King of the garden. Once learnt, certain skills cannot be forgotten. This is one of them.

This moment

He peered into my lens with wonder.

Shell town

It's supposed to be a Heritage site, yet, the old town of Ljiang looks nothing like it's shadows. With every turn, we see either construction of new hostels or shophouses to satisfy the endless tide of eager tourists and hungry folks. The locals have little space to move, lest dragged in the undercurrent of human entouage from all over.

Ancient town no more, but at certain corners of the town, there exists glimpse of the unspoilt past.

A few hundred yrs this house stands. Therein lives an elderly lady with her pet dog guarding the doorway. With the approach of a stranger, the canine will give off a string of incessant barking, as if sounding off the alarm for camera-armed tourists to keep their distance. The lady is but emotionally detached from her surroundings. Their pace seem to be a dimension in exile of this township.

Frost bite

All's hard, all's cold. Where has thy feeling gone? Thy heart feels so cold, yet thy body so warm. In the sun thy frost shalt melt. Tis not a single drop o liquid in the air. All's dry, all's cold.

Heart o passion, heart of gold. Let me shower u some lov, some warmth. Thy heart shall pulse, thy body shall blaze. In my light I shall cuddle thee. With water. Heart of fervour, heart of gold.

Light or shadow

The human brain is an amazing device. It can process billions of neuron signal in a second and transform these pulses into specific reactions in the human body. Sometimes, we would like to see what we perceive is true, like a falcon perched on the roof. But is it real? I say nay.

When he thinks he knows all, he knows nothing. Is it the roof that one has reached, or the beginning of another new platform? Perhaps he's rooted to the ground? Or perhaps he is enshrined in the shadows of his past? Myriad possibilities...


The entire journey is akeen to walking down a dark and narrow corridor. When he sees the bell, does he turn them? In which direction? Perhaps the sun tells it all. The circle of cause and effect locked in time perpetual. How does he seek to end this?

Little Red Riding hood

Pinched from a story book in an enchanted forest. A suitable subject in its place & magic takes over.

Perhaps should pitch a tent and stay over for a night or two. Lest the devil's headache, everything was just perfect.

In the distant, a shadow simmered. Jeff's frog eye strained and tried to focus through his thick glasses. For another moment presented itself.

Just a replica?

An email has prompted me to write again. When u peer through the viewfinder, what do u see? R u creating an image, or merely replicating an impression, or reproducing an instance? What is this originality and personality in photography? Why do we see yet so many replicas that would be forgotton in time to pass? Tis because e general pax lacks vision, u tis has no wish to think, to feel to hear, to understand? Tis has no eyes in thy heart?

Take a moment, deliberate and delinguish. Take in everythiing and expel all that u know. U will see better light. If ye does it right, ye shall progress, lest stagnation tis danger proclaims.

Lily leaves on calm lake

Content breeds inactivity. Inactivity breeds stagnation.

Lily Flower in late afternoon light

When all despair, look into the mirror lake. What do u see?

We r living in a world of make shifts and replica. Why allow urself to be contrained by the chains of living when one can choose to break this contraint and see beyond these mediocrities?

Tis ur life, tis ur choice.

Her trail

On and off, Jeff fell into a stupor, intoxicated by the onslaught of her artworks. At which point in time, he could tell no reality from dreamscape. There was a tunnel, a tunnel of light, and Jeff drifted in the warmth of her light, seeing for himself the secrets she held so dear for the very first time.

She whispered into my ears

"when u rouse, come by my place again, the path through the forests. the morniing light should be thy guide."


With a snap of the finger, reality reined and all the mayhem set free. The headache returned with a vengeance. All was dark. Like an ominous thunderhead looming all yonder, everything turn B&W. What was lost, what was gained? In a world with only right or wrong, tis black and white.

Another vision flickered for those briefest moments. I thought I saw it somewhere. Perhaps in my dreams...