Singapore And My SLR

The lack of good photos from my brother’s wedding made me determined to get back into my photography as soon as possible. Singapore is a vibrant city full of shops but I read that the botanical gardens were worth visiting so I decided to take Zack and my SLR for a day out. The metro was cheap and took me straight to the gardens which turned out to be extensive. Straight away I saw some decent shots and with some trepidation I took out my camera. The day was as humid as before and the lens fogged up but once it cleared I was able to capture the vine arches and even get a shot of Zack to start me off. I was just starting to get into the day when my battery died. This isn’t a problem as I always carry a spare except I couldn’t find it! The whole purpose of the day was to practice my photography with my SPR and all of a sudden it was nothing but dead weight.

I was really annoyed at myself for not checking that the spare was where it usually was. I soon rallied and decided to get some lunch and asses my options. Lunch revitalised me and I decided to walk round the park and find a good spot to read my kindle. After all why waste a beautiful day? I found a lake with benches and sat down to read but before long I spotted a turtle swimming towards me. In Australia turtle spotting was a bit of a hobby so I was delighted to see that he was not alone. Though my SLR was low on power I had my small camera. It was at the bottom of my bag as I hadn’t planned to use it and I thought it was just typical when my everything in my bag practically fell out but before I could get annoyed I noticed my spare battery! The day was back on track.

I spent the next few hours taking hundreds of shots using as many different setting as possible. As well as the multitude of turtles there were swans and other birds as well as of course the beautiful garden scenery. The weather held for most of the day but when the clouds started looking ominous I put away my SLR and headed for Orchard Street to check out the shops beyond my budget knowing that I wouldn’t be tempted.....Or so I thought. Before the expensive shops started I stopped by a more reasonably priced cafe for some cake and iced chocolate as my treat for the day.

As I walked past all the designer shops I realised that shopping could easily be a full time job here but I resisted until I was past the expensive shops. As I headed back into normal people territory I spotted a small camera shop where I thought I might venture in to purchase a tripod as I really wanted to get some decent night shots of the river and surrounding buildings. I found a cheap and compact tripod easily enough but before I could escape the sales lady was showing me a new lens. I am poor and I have no room I told her, but it is half price and small she insisted. Obviously I gave in and left even poorer but excited at having a new toy to play with.

I kept walking until I reached one of the shopping centres near the harbour where I found a cheap department store that had a perfect new rucksack. It had many pockets and would be far more convenient than my trusty one pouch bag that had lasted for more than two years of travelling and days trips. My camera, new tripod and lens fitted perfectly in the main pouch with room to spare for future lens purchases perhaps? The multiple pockets meant that as long as I could remember which pock held what I should be able to find my iPod, phone and purse ore easily on future day trips.

All that spending wore me out so instead of heading back to the harbour I returned to the hostel and editing my photographs from my brothers wedding. With some judicious cropping and an edit here and there I had more good shots than I had previously thought. Feeling rather please with myself I headed to bed looking forward to seeing what the next day would bring.