Hokkaido Autumn - October 2015

2 years ago, just before Jason went for his National Service (NS), we took a holiday to Japan. 

( Refer to my earlier post at http://pcwthoughts.blogspot.sg/search/label/Japan%20Alpine%20Holiday )

Recently, when he completed his NS, we went to Hokkaido for a holiday before he starts his varsity study in November.

For more photos, click on this link to see the album uploaded in Facebook :
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153402112803127.1073741857.740248126&type=1&l=49908860ae

Penang Trip - Sept 2015

We went back to Pg to visit my Mum and Sue after Jason completed his NS.

Trying out the selfie stick for a family photo.

5th Aunt

We stayed a day and a night at the Golden Sands Resort but unfortunately, it was hazy at the beach and it was not as fun as we hope it would be.

Jason NS Appreciation Award

The Singapore Air Force (SAF) squadron that Jason was assigned to after his BMT, presented him an appreciation award for his outstanding service.

We are proud of his contribution to the SAF.

Jason is NSman

Jason completed his 2 years of service as a Full-time National Serviceman (NSF) in Singapore Air Force on 12 August 2015.

He is now an Operational Ready National Serviceman ( NSman ).

Time flies ..... and another major chapter or milestone achieved.

Congratulations and thanks for your contribution in defending our small country.

Happy 50th Birthday, Singapore......!!!

Wishing Singapore a 50th Happy Birthday 

and

 many more good years to come.......!!!

I am proud to be a Singaporean.

Penang - 29 June to 4 July 2015

I went back to Penang to spend some time with my Mum after coming back from my Canadian Rockies and Alaska Cruise.

In fact, I took over the caring duties from my elder sister so that she can have a few days break at the Golden Sands Resort with my younger sister, who was also visiting from Melbourne.

Timing was quite good as I got to eat the Balik Pulau famous durians twice while I was there..... yummy... yummy.....

Durian dinner party with my cousins one evening.... Fantastic durians....!

One more round of durians before I flew back to Spore later that evening..... yummy...!

And of course, we celebrated my elder sister's 60th birthday too with a tiramisu cup cake and some durians .....!!!

Alaska Cruise

After our Canadian Rockies tour, we travelled to Seattle in US to catch our Alaska Cruise, from 31 May to 7June 2015.

Pls go to the link below to see the whole album of the photos.

You must click on each photo to read the description.

Enjoy ....

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153108375813127.1073741856.740248126&type=1&l=a6d5bb6ddd

Canadian Rockies Tour

My wife and I went on a Canadian Rockies tour by coach, from 25 - 31 May 2015.

To see the whole album of photos , pls click on the link below given below.

Click on the 1st photo and forward it to the next one, read the description of each photo.

Enjoy ....


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153102177823127.1073741853.740248126&type=1&l=2968a2af84

Visit to Penang in end April 2015

I flew back to Penang on 20 April to visit my Mum and elder sister but extended my stay as Jason and Lai Meng were flying in for that weekend.

Jason was backpacking in Japan when my Dad passed away so he wanted to go to the temple to pay his respects and say hello to his grandma too.

On Saturday night, we also managed to catch up with our cousins and have a meal at our favourite restaurant, Hainanese Delights.

Remembering My Father, Mr Poh Kum Hoong

My father passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tue 31 March 2015 early morning.

Dad, you have worked very hard as the only son in the family of 6 siblings and looking after your sisters and their families besides your own family. 

Growing up, I remember you were always working late into the night in Shell Butterworth and have to travel all over Malaysia.

When you were posted to Kuching, Sarawak, we would fly over for our December school holidays there. And you would also take your annual leave and flew back to Pg home so we only see each other twice a year, at best.

After your retirement, you would fly to Melbourne to stay with Charles and Wei for a couple of months and then after taking a few months break in Penang, you & Mum would visit us in Singapore and stay a few months. That period could be the best time of your life, able to move around and eat freely without much worries.

Having breakfast with Jason and I in Siglap in Sep 2008.

Enjoying our local prawn noodle and ice kachang too.

During your last visit to Spore, you managed to see the Singapore Grand Prix racing track which was in the heart of our city.

This smiling photo of you was taken in the Esplanade Art Centre ( aka The Durian ).

You made friends with the hawkers in Bedok Central during your morning walks and my neighbours still remember you as a very friendly man till today.

I also visited you in Penang on a quarterly basis and sometimes, my family joined me too. We would go out for a good lunch and sometimes followed by an action movie, which you really enjoyed very much... both the food and movies...!

We were having your favourite pizza .

My family &  I having dinner with you and Mum in one of our many visits.

Last year, we celebrated our birthdays together as ours fall in the same month of October.

Last Sept, we brought our portable mahjong set and we played in the kitchen. You were so excited as you used to play it during your working days. I still remember you were losing initially but eventually, you won a very good game and beat us, much to our surprise.

Subsequently, I introduced you to play mahjong on my iPad and loaned it to you since then. You also learned to watch the action movies I uploaded into the iPad.

Wei also taught you to Facetime and you started to do it with her on a weekly basis.

In fact, you managed to have a chat with Charles on Facetime just a few days before you left us for good.

I am so happy and proud that you managed to enjoy the use of my iPad during the past few months.

I am also happy to know that for the past years, you have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the songs I uploaded into a MP3 player for you. You told me that you would listen to it for 1 hour before you sleep every night.

You enjoyed watching your TV serials daily.

Finally, you would talk  about your work and taught me  to always maintain a 'Credit Balance ' with my future colleagues when I was looking for a job in KL and living with you then. I always remember it and applied it in my whole career which I believe , have helped me gone far in my workplace.

Dad, I believe you have managed to enjoy the fruits of your hard labour and please do not worry as we, the children, will look after Mum and give her the best within our abilities.

So rest in peace in your new home..........

Remembering Mr Lee Kuan Yew

We went to Bedok Central to pen our condolences and pay our last respects to Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Thank you very much for all that you have done for us. 

Rest in Peace.

To see more photos, pls click on this link below :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152897707153127.1073741851.740248126&type=1&l=e1b129d361

Farewell Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Mr Lee Kuan Yew has worked so hard for Singapore and it is time for him to rest in peace.

Thank you, Mr Lee .....!

Chingay in Bedok

Last night, when Jason & I were walking home from our dinner at Bedok Mall, we came across a crowd of residents lining up the roads at the main Bedok road junction. 

We found out from a policeman that the Chingay is coming to Bedok soon. I rushed home to grab my newly purchased Canon G7X camera and was back on the streets again.

Here are some photos taken of the Chingay procession :

 2 lions dancing at the beginning of the procession.

 Then the long and colourful dragon.....

Close-up of the dragon head

These are 2 of the colourful floats

Some interaction between the performers and the residents.

All the photos and videos were taken with my new Canon G7X that I bought for my coming overseas travels as carrying my DSLR camera has proven to be too bulky.

Why Canon G7X then?

Its sensor is bigger than the typical digital compact camera and mobile cameras but still 1/2 the size of a DSLR sensor though. However, good enough.

G7X has proven to be very good for night shots as seen above, taken with handheld night scene feature.

River Hong Bao 2015

River Hong Bao 2015 was held at the Marina Floating Platform and here are some photos taken during our visit there.

For more photos, pls click on the link below to access my album posted under Facebook :

River Hong Bao 2015 album

My Family Studio Potraits

I joined the Photography Society of Singapore in Dec 2013 to explore my interest in photography. 

In 2014, I have attended their 4 basic modules of Photography and one of them is Studio Lighting. I bought a simple studio lighting set, comprising of a main strobe light with a large reflector, backdrop set and the trigger. 

Ideally, I should have bought another 2 set of strobe lights for the background lighting but it would have exceeded my budget and the total cost would have been more than S$1,000.

When Jason was 12 years old, we went to a studio to take a set of glamour photos and the intention was to take a couple of family photos again when Jason turns 21 last year.

I discussed with my family that instead of going to a studio for another photo shoot, let me invest the cost of it into buying a simple studio lighting set and let me take the family photos myself. They were supportive and gave me the green light to proceed.

So this is my home studio setup that I have also used to submit my photos for my class assignment for Studio Lighting module assessment.

Luckily, I have a large enough hall or living room to set up the home studio. 

During Chinese New Year, we always take a family photo on the 1st day since we are dressed in our best outfits to go visiting and for the first time, I use the home studio setup to take a couple of family photos.

Well, I am glad to say that my family is happy with the results as shown above here.

The main difference between using a professional studio and my home studio setup is that we do not have a professional make-up staff to work on our faces and I have not applied much Photoshop or editing ( other than cropping ) to the images; ie we do not look so glamorous but more natural..... !

Unfortunately, Jason just completed his SAF exercise so he was very tanned from daily exposure to the sun.

I am still learning and playing with the studio lights now and then so I hope to show you better photos again soon.

Chinese New Year - 1st Day

We were up until 2am the night before and overslept till 10 am ....!!! Well, the longer one stay up, the parents would live longer so the belief goes.....

Anyway, we made our way in good time to have lunch at my mother-in-law flat and met the in-laws too.

Jason with 2 of his cousins as the rest were camera shy....

My mother-in-law cooked quite a lot of food and also insisted on doing her own washing too.

Garden next to my mother-in-law flat

We went to the Kwan Yin temple and watch a movie, Dragon Blade by Jackie Chan, after lunch.

We have dinner at a French restaurant after the movie and then went home.... a long and enjoyable day to kick start the new year.