4D | Project 3 III

Hi guys,

As mentioned in my previous post, my film was based on the journey to see the stars, as it was inspired from how we are so affected by light pollution that we are unable to see the true beauty of our universe.

However, after much consideration, I felt that the “journey to see the stars” was lacking a kind of depth? Therefore I went back to look at my previous projects again and I realised that from the series of photos I took, be it Before Dawn or The Night Watch, there’s this sense of quietness and stillness captured in the photos. As both series was taken during the night, I felt this certain type of “quiet” that can be found only during the night as there are lesser people and vehicles around. Only during the night, urbanisation has slowed down a little, it’s still happening but it’s not as much as during the day.

Thats when I realised, the quiet I was looking for, was the “natural quiet” of our nature. We’re so surrounded by so many things in our world that we rarely SEE or HEAR the real quiet. Urbanisation is causing us to lose the natural silence of our universe. I’m not saying that urbanisation is bad, and that it should be stop. We can’t stop urbanisation as it has benefitted us a lot, and it has evolved so much to the point that I don’t think it can be stopped. What I’m trying to say is, humans and nature should coexist together in a good and healthy way. Yes, urbanisation can still happen, but we should still preserve the natural quiet of our universe at certain parts on Earth, to leave it untouched by any human or human activities. So that we, can truly enjoy the real nature and fall back in love with our land.

I did some research on my work and I found a book that is quite relatable to what my voice is trying to say – “A search for natural silence in a noisy world.” I will just post some sentences that I found that are relatable!

Book 1: One Square Inch of Silence

It is our birthright to listen, quietly and undisturbed, to the natural environment and take whatever meanings we may. Long before the noises of mankind, there were only the sounds of the natural world. Our ears evolved perfectly tuned to hear these sounds – sounds that far exceed the range of human speech or even our most ambitious musical performances: a passing breeze that indicates a weather change, the first birdsongs of spring heralding a regreening of the land and a return to growth and prosperity, an approaching storm promising relief from a drought, and the shifting tide reminding us of the celestial ballet. All of these experiences connect us back to the land and to our evolutionary past.

Preserving natural silence is as necessary and essential as species preservation, habitat restoration, toxic waste cleanup, and carbon dioxide reduction.

Silence is not the absence of something, but the presence of everything. It is the presence of time, undisturbed. It can be felt within the chest. Silence nurtures our nature, our human nature and let us know who we are.

Today, silence has become an endangered species. Our cities, our suburbs, our farm communities, even our most expansive and remote national parks are not free from human intrusions.


All in all, my new film topic is going to talk about how urbanisation has affected the natural quiet of our nature, that the silence is starting to become an endangered species. Throughout all the chaos that we go through everyday, be it sound or light, we are slowly losing the silence of our universe.

But I guess, I will be focusing more on sounds in my film itself. Initially I thought I would have to film mostly in the night, but after consulting with Robert, he mentioned that I can also film in the day as the “message” I want to get through is quiet similar to my previous project. Therefore, I will most likely focus on the noise pollution that Urbanisation has caused, as that has started the process of losing our silence. 

My new film title will be – “Sounds of Silence”. I have yet to come up with my 50 words narrative but overall the message I hope to get through is to create awareness that we are slowly starting to lose the silence in our world. As this is an environmental issue that is not well-known and is often ignored. 

“The day will come when man will have to fight noise as inexorably as cholera and the plague.” – Nobel Prize-winning Bacteriologist Robhert Koch (1905)

4D | Project 3 I

Singapore is one of the countries with the most light pollution. 

Our country is never dark as street lamps fills up the entire city. We’re surrounded by lights that we do not see the real beauty of the night and will probably never get to experience the Milky Way, thanks to a little-known environmental disturbance – light pollution. Our naked eye may not capture the stars sprinkled in our endless sky, or witness the night of our universe, but there’s a charm to be found in our illuminated dark as beauty, can be found within.

Here is my 50 words narrative:

Titled: Lost in Light

Our homeland is never dark as street lamps litter the city, giving an orange glow to the night. The stars may have disappeared in the lights, yet charm remains in the illuminated dark. Speckles of light filled the entire city and that, is the beauty of our night.


My initial idea was to focus on finding beauty in the lights of Singapore, as even though we can’t see the stars, we can still find beauty in our illuminated dark. However, after much contemplation, I realised that my inspiration for this project was basically the fact that even though we can’t see the stars, we know it’s there. Therefore, my film will be focusing on – the journey to see the stars. Well my title will still be “Lost in Light”.

Here’s some shots I took to show the “journey”. Just a test try…

Stay tune!!

4D | Project 2 II

After consulting Robert on Project 2, he mentioned that the concept of atmospheric photos is too generalised and wide, and that I should scope down to a certain area. He suggested since I wanted to focus on night lights, I should try to further expand the professions in my “Before Dawn” series. Hence, I decided to focus on the profession – the security guards in Singapore.

Here are the first series of photos taken and showed on the first consultation with Robert.

Robert commented that this photo does not really work as most of my photos are quiet, still and taken as a far shot, and there is hardly any human presence in it. Whereas for this it’s nearer and the guard is quite evident in the picture which distracts the quietness of the photo.

I really liked this photo as there’s a series of lighting colours, however Robert mentioned that the focus of this photo is ambiguous. Is it the guards, or the car?

As most of my photo does not really have a human presence, or they are hidden, this picture might not work as well as the guard is quite prominent in the scene.

Do check back for more photos on the next post!

4D | Project 2 I

Lights of the Night, a continuation of “Before Dawn”

While I was doing my “Before Dawn” project, I realise that there’s this certain stillness to the night, everything takes on a mystical charm which is so colourful, but also dark, and all seems magical and suspended as if time was frozen. It isn’t noisy at night, be it sound or sight, as there’s lesser people and cars, I guess that’s what makes the night so beautiful and calm.

I realise that what is prominent in my “Before Dawn” series are the lightings. The subtle light in the photographs makes up the atmosphere, even if there is nothing happening in the picture. It is quite strange that even though the scene is suppose dead, stagnant and colourless, a subtle light that creeps in brings a certain life to the stillness.

For this series, I wanted to focus on Atmospheric photos. I find it fascinating at how lights can bring an empty scene to life and different colours portray certain characteristics. The quietness and the mystery of city nights, each corner of the street that seems abandoned, tells a story. Shooting late at night is like being between a dream state and wakefulness. I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate reality.