Wood has been around for millions of years dated from as far back as the era of dinosaurs. For the past hundreds of thousands of years, wood has served us well in many ways. When fire was discovered, wood was used as a form of fuel. Before bricks and stone slabs were used for building construction, fortresses and houses were made of wood. Wood is also used as a material to produce tools that we use daily past and present, which include tools for protection, barricades, furniture, work of art etc, and not to forget that the paper we use everyday also come from wood.

It is never too late for one to get things done in life, regardless of how old one is. As people enter the phase of old age in their life, another chapter began where they shall find themselves in new forms of activities.

We shall explore “Elderly in Action”, be it in work or play.

For much of their life, they have worked hard to raise their families. Entering into a new chapter of old age, this is a time where they either work to sustain themselves or continue to contribute to the family, slow their pace, find a hobby, get mentally active with games, meeting their peers for recreational activities, getting a pet and doing things they like.

That round setting sun in the midst of fiery orange clouds sets the mood for a sunset shoot for the evening. This is the ideal case for any sunset lovers, which also made many avid photographers lined up their tripods for that moment in time.

However, most often than not, photographers are greeted with a big patch of glaring light instead of that perfect round orange sun. Some left with disappointment, some continue to shoot what they see and get terrible results (“hotspot”) on their LCD screen, until someone tried a different angle by shooting a subject against the setting sun and hey presto, what resulted is a stunning silhouette.

A circle can be simply defined as a simple shape, with Euclidean geometry, with a centre point.

This time round, we shall look out for circle(s). There are circles everywhere in our daily life. Be it a walk along the corridor of your house, on your way to work, while sipping coffee at the coffee shop during the office break, waiting for dishes to be served, taking a short rest sitting on the bench in the garden, close your eyes, calm down for a moment, open your eyes, look around you, you can realise that there are so many objects of different shapes that we often take for granted. These subjects of various shapes can make a good picture, spend some moment to look out for things that are circle in shape.

Green is one of the additive primary colours created from a mixture of yellow and blue. In Old English term, green is closely related to the verb “Growen” meaning “to grow”. Green is also associated with nature, love and lust, death, decay, evil, prosperity etc. Everywhere on earth, we can see green, including the ocean water which appears greenish.

This time round, we shall talk about subjects that are green. This may sound easy, but a walk along the streets of Chinatown searching for subjects that are green somewhat appears to be a daunting task. Let’s make this a photography project in which you shall explore your favourite places, your neighbourhood, and search for subjects that are green. It could be a signboard, a plant, a souvenir….but let’s move away from macro close-ups for once. Look for things that are green in colour.

When the sun sets and night falls, begin another period when a new life begins – Life at Night. There are numerous photography opportunities for night photography at night. From the magnificent architecture lit with lights in the city, performance, street scenes, people at work and play, and fireworks in festivals and the list goes on.

Time to take out your camera and out into the streets after a day’s work, explore the various places, the heartland, food courts, clubbing areas, scenic spots, the night market etc. You can also meet up with friends during the night photo shoot excursion. Before you know it, you will simply like to go photo hunting at night, when the air is generally cool.

Flowers have been one of the most effective subject to lift up the mood of individuals and are often portrayed in paintings, as aesthetic decorative item in the vases in the home and office, or in the form of framed photographic prints on the wall. In fact, it is hard not to see flowers or images of flowers in one’s daily normal life.

Handphone camera and DSLRs/Mirrorless cameras are good to use for photographing flower. For handphone cameras, one of the favoured approaches is to use the Macro mode and do close-ups of the flowers. For the DSLRs/Mirrorless camera users, there is a wide range of lenses notably the Macro lenses to photograph flowers. In my opinion, any good lenses can be used to photograph flowers depending on the approach.

Behind the textured screen lies a different view or you can call it an illusion of the world on the other side of the screen. For many decades, photographers have experimented with photographing through translucent materials, be it a glass smeared with grease, translucent cloth, ladies’ stocking etc. The subject can include still life object, landscape, portrait, architecture and the list goes on. If this technique is applied adequately, the main objective to create a fuzzy or “soft” effect can be met.

Many photographers feared photographing during the noon time when the lighting can be harsh, which often results in hot spot. By photographing from behind the textured screen, hot spot can be avoided. In some cases, the hot spot can be part of the creative aspect of the image. Flaws in the intended angle can also be hidden behind the creases or texture.

“Single light source creates highlight and shadow on whatever it hits!” – Steven Yee

This is probably one of the most difficult topic which I am writing here; single light photography. If one searches the internet for “single light photography”, one will usually find many URL links that lead to single light studio photography using a single studio flash strobe. Single light photography creates some of the most stunning images ever. As it creates highlight and shadow on whatever it hits, it evokes a sense of mood as well as mystery in some cases.

As a photography instructor myself, I understand that not every amateur photographer owns a studio flash strobe. However, we do experience single light source in our daily life. I thought: How about single light photography using a concentrated available light source?

“Perspective can be illusions that can fool your eyes, creating a sense of distance and depth!” – Steven Yee

There are occasions when you see certain images with long lines that lead you away to the corner of the image, thus showing a sense of distance and depth. False illusions? This is the play of perspective.

Perspective is one of the Design Elements in Visual Art. The use of perspective to create a sense of distance and depth is used commonly by many photographers. Used adequately, it is good for shooting architecture, landscape, portrait and daily scenes.