This is my Homage to the Wondrous Wood that we are blessed with on this Earth.
I believe being with Wood calms our Soul and be at one with Mother Nature.
Below are serene images I have taken that brought calm, delight and amazement along my photographic journey.
Although an urban guy, I try to go for walks in parks and smell the flora.
“Wooden It Be Loverly” if we all did that more often, My Fair Lady?
And if the scene in front of me was captivating enough, it immediately goes into my iPhone camera. Chop chop. no time to be lazy.
Laziness was never my strength.
The best camera is the handy one in your pocket at that moment.
Photography is never about the camera, but the eye behind the camera.
When a photographer has to explain to you why his/her image is good, he/she hasn’t got anything.
A great picture will speak directly to you (your heart).
Please enjoy your visual stroll through my Tranquil Wood Images below.
“Warp Speed” (above image). Shot this along the busy streets of Hong Kong.
“Galactic SUPERTREES Portrait” (above image). Shot at the world-famous Gardens By The Bay. Photographing this took seconds. However, the coordination of the Star Wars 501st Singapore Garrison and galactic friends (numbering 44!), was much longer and harder. The elevators could only take so little passengers at any one time, the coordination was done by mobile phones from the ground staff to the minders on the Supertrees, shoutings were essential to be heard above the surrounding din, frantic directional arm signals and nudgings as the cosplayers couldn’t exactly see and hear properly in their masks, Underneath the heavy costumes, it made the photo session enduringly hot and sweaty etc.
Thanks for noticing the painstaking coordination of the costume colour symmetry!
We also had to promptly make way for the patient tourists on ground level, waiting for their turn to enjoy the Supertrees. But the glorious result was worth it. Thanks, my patient and always-game Galactic Gang! A special thanks to Hansen K for the official invite to shoot the ambitious portrait.
“Strange Tails From The Green Woods” (above image). This fully blooming banyan tree was photographed in Oahu, Hawaii. This beloved image graces the back of my book, “Monochrome Manifestos: Rock Stars, Hawaii and other Heavenly Enounters”.
“Blondie In Woodstock Wilderness” image enjoying a prominent double-spread print in Rolling Stone (Indonesia) magazine (above image). I love the irony of posing an iconic New York punk band in the midst of a rustic hippie setting. Note the natural “concert stage” formed by the stream.
Framed print of “Blondie In Woodstock Wilderness” (above image). Always proud to have my large framed prints proudly enjoying prominence in my collectors’ happy new homes.
Blondie in a Farm – graphically stylised “Mother” single cover and actual b/w mage (above image).
“Bark” album by Jefferson Airplane (above image). A very obscure album by a San Francisco psychedelic band that appreciates “vapourised herbal concoctions”.
“I Wooden Have It Any Other Way” (above image). Broad Strokes of Blue Skies and Green Calm, only in New Zealand. I love the little white cloud hovering right above me. There is divine symmetry in this image.
“Zen Nourishment” (above image). Scene of enlightenment from my buddy Joni O’s gorgeous dining table lights made of beige dried plants and fruits, Shot upwards from table.
“The Eye Of The Needle” (above image). Grand Ole Dame photographed at a park in New Zealand.
“Love Lines” (above image). A serene and fully lived life. Photographed at a park in New Zealand.
Wrinkles are merely depositories of where smiles and good times once were.
Wrinkles are hard-earned medals of Humor and Honour. Show it off proudly, don’t hide it.
“V for Victree” (above image).
“Longevity” (above image). Photographed at a park near my home.
“The Soul Of The Heart” (above image). Photographed at a park near my home.
“Secured Souvenirs Of A Supertramp” (above image).
“Signing My Giant Red Hot Chili Peppers Print” (above image). I love to see my rock images manifested onto large sprawling prints. My collectors love it too.
“Signing My Giant Lady Gaga Print” (above image). I love to see my rock images manifested onto large sprawling prints. My collectors love it too.
“Pussy Willows” (above image). Photographed in Chinatown amidst Chinese New Years festivities.
Tree Temple (above image).
“Skywards” (above image). Photographed at a park near my home.
“Gimme Serene Shelter” (above image). Photographed at a park near my home.
“Easter Sonrise Service” (above image). Photographed at an Easter morning sunrise church service.
“Gardener George Harrison And His Garden” (above image). My “All Things Must Pass” album promotion framed poster.
“Blue Jay Way” (above image). Me amidst the bushes along the Beatles’ song, “Blue Jay Way”, composed by George Harrison about his home in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California. I was looking out for the street sign when I saw the sign sprayed onto the street kerb, probably because tourists kept stealing the actual street signs.
“Hula Dancer” (above image). This tree was photographed in Oahu, Hawaii.
“The Majestic Silversword” (above image). This lone Silversword plant was photographed, above the clouds, atop Haleakala volcano, Maui, Hawaii. This plant only grows in the Hawaiian islands.
“Elvis And Christmas Tree” (above image). Jega at home.
“Topographical Map of an Imaginary Island in the West Indies” (above image). Yes, indeed.
“Vintage Wooden ES Typeset Blocks” (above image). Commissioned in Melbourne, Australia. The woodcraft artisan was complaining that I was using up her valuable “E” typeset blocks which she could be using for other typeset wooden art. I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. I also asked her to kindly sprinkle some “S”s onto the beautiful wooden masterpiece.
“Hangers” (above image). Shot at Robinsons department store’s sad closing. It opened for business in Singapore, from way back in 1858. Guess it couldn’t hang on any longer.
“Wooden Wall Of Fame” (above image). Whenever renown artists and toy designers dropped by Mike Ozzo’s legendary toy shop, they ‘wood’ draw on small boards for him.
Busy Weathered Restaurant’s Clothes Pegs Denoted Customers’ Orders (above image).
BEFORE (1) – “We Were Born With A Face Not Of Our Choosing But We Die With A Face We Deserve” – E.S. (above image).
AFTER (2) – “Keep Being Number 1” (above image). I love the great precise positioning of the grains on this gorgeous pine wood sculpture by Flabslab.
Keith Moon of the Who appears amused by this observation.
Of course, I’m kidding about the above Before and After images, but you wooden have known it.
“Rock And Roll Served On A Platter” (above image). Wooden guitar food platter bought in Hong Kong.
“My Wooden Writing Instruments” (above image). Collected and used from my daze in the management consulting arena – A.G. Spalding Bros mechanical pencil (second from left), Faber Castell ballpoint and pencil (third and fourth from left), Hallmark (second from right). There’s something calming about holding a wooden pen and pencil. I resort to using pencils for more creative ideas and purposes.
“Jump To It!” (above image). I photographed this eagerly awaiting mob of vintage skipping ropes, still unused after all these decades, as a nudge to myself to exercise more to keep fit. The clock is a subtle reminder that Time waits for no one.
