architecture – Mermozine-Photography Blog

The colours of Singapore – Joo Chiat

Posted on 3 February 2020 by Mermozine

The colours of Singapore – one of my favorite photography subjects.

It’s funny but from Europe I’ve imagined Singapore as a very modern (which comes in my mind with greyish-glassyish buildings), and while it’s partly true, the Red Little Dot is so much more.

I already talked about all the beautiful green places all around the island, but another charming trait of Singapore is all the traditional colourful Peranakan shophouses all around the city. Who can see them in Little India, Emerald Hill, Chinatown, …, and of course Joo Chiat.

Joo Chiat is a small and charming neighbourhood, toward the east coast, well worth a stroll.

I arrived there early in the morning, and was welcome by singing birds on a balcony.

And of course I admire many Peranakan shophouses. All with different facades, all colourful, all full of history and charm. Here is just a few sample.

Joo Chiat © Catherine Houston

I stopped a few minutes near a very small temple, between two condos.

Joo Chiat @ Catherine Houston

And like I always do, I enjoyed walking around the back streets, taking pictures of bikes (another ones of my favorites subjects) and hunting colours in every corner.

Joo Chiat @ Catherine Houston

and hunting colours in every corner.

Joo Chiat @ Catherine Houston

What’s your favourite part of Singapore?

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Singapore – a photowalk at the time: Chinatown

Posted on 19 January 2019 by Mermozine

I started two weeks ago to organise and lead photowalks around Singapore, one per month (well actually two since I do one in French and one in English), each month being in a different part of Singapore.

A photowalk is kind of a photography class but less formal. Mine are 2 hours long, opened to all levels (with any kind of equipment) as we focus more on composition than on technique (although we talk about it too).

In any case the photowalk of January was in Chinatown.

I love this colourful part of the Red Dot. There is great street photography opportunities at every corner with lots of street shops, the market with its fair share of “exotic” food, street art on the walls, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, a mix of tourists and locals.

A street-photographer paradise.

Early in the morning you can photograph the empty streets (yes, even Pagoda Street can be empty!!), the shops opening up as the sun rises high.

Chinatown © Catherine Houston

A closer look at the shops gave us a chance to play with composition and colours, to do some fun still-life and close-up shots.

Chinatown © Catherine Houston

We walked toward the market and stopped at a durian’s shop, because food photography is, for me at least, a huge part of travel photography.

And finally we went to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.

Buddhism-8082 — Chinatown Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Buddhism-8078 — Chinatown 2019 Ⓒ Catherine Houston

To see the next Photowalks scheduled (next one will be held in Gardens by the Bay!!) and book your spot and/or to purchase a print, please check out my website: https://www.mermozinefineart.com/.

Minimalism (… a therapy)

Posted on 17 April 2018 by Mermozine

flower, white, minimalist, photograph, minimalism

For the last few months I have been stroke by an urge for anything minimalistic in my photographs.

Minimum number of subjects, minimum colours, and even more recently a phase of white on white pictures (with just a little bit of textures and shapes). So of course, as a photographer, it could be my current school of thoughts (that sounds so cool and romantic right 😉 )….

and then again as a mom of now 4, living in a perpetual mess (visual, but also the noises, …) that could be an inconscient therapy…. my soul trying to resist the chaos by creating a little bit of cleanliness in my world!!!

In any case, here it is….

art science museum, architecture, Singapore, marina bay sands, — The art science museum of Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore.

frangipani flower, gardens by the bay, Singapore, photography, — A frangipane flower on the floor, in the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore.

singapore, wall, colours, street, window, chinatown, photography — A fake window on a real green wall in Chinatown, Singapore.

mailbox, silver, metal, white, wall, singapore, tiong bahru, minimalism, minimalist — A row of silver mailboxes on a white wall, in Tiong Bahru, Singapore.

birds, wall, art, street photography, minimalist, minimalism, singapore — Birds flying in a sample of street wall art in Singapore.

white, minimalism, minimalist, photography, coffee cups, cups, — A stack of white coffee cups on a white background.

You can see more of my work at www.mermozine.com or by following me on Facebook

You can also contact me by Email if you wish to purchase prints, at Photography@Mermozine.com.

Discovering Singapore: Tiong Bahru

Posted on 3 April 20183 April 2018 by Mermozine

Tiong Bahru, Singapore, street photography

Hello everyone :-).

I’m excited! I’m motivated! I will go out and shoot more !!!

I don’t know about you but when I know that I’m staying for a while somewhere I get a little “lazy” about visiting my new home. I always tell myself “there is plenty of time for that….”. But then, before I realise it, several years go by, and it’s time to move again. So this time, I will go around and visit Singapore, one neighbourhood at the time (and yes I hope I’m here for several more years!).

So last week I decided to go for a stroll in Tiong Bahru.

Tiong Bahru is a hipster neighbourhood of Singapore, in the Central region of the city-state island.

This is such a lovely neighbourhood. First of all, it’s extremely peaceful – you have the impression to have been suddenly “teleported” (yes, I’m a little bit of a nerd…) to a little village in the countryside. There are a lot of pedestrian paths, bikes, greenery…

Then you notice the art deco architecture (far from the modern high rises from the downtown area or the high rise HDBs). The buildings are small, with spiral staircases, rounded balconies and storage areas on the ground levels (holding charming old rice cookers and bikes).

The predominant color is white with some touches of green from the vegetation and some amazing wall paintings (art paintings can be found all around Singapore so I will do a different post just on that subject).

And then, maybe because I’m french, I noticed the amazing smell from the bakeries and coffee shops! :-). All of that makes it your perfect neighbourhood for a morning stroll on the week-end (and there is a nice playground just behind the market, which makes it even more perfect if you’re visiting as a family).

PS: By the way, do you know the meaning of “Tiong Bahru”??? Well, according to Wilkipedia it means “New cemetery”…(thióng 塚 – Hokkien for “cemetery”, bahru – Malay for “new”)…you’re welcome :-).

You can see more of my work at www.mermozine.com or by following me on Facebook

You can also contact me by Email if you wish to purchase prints, at Photography@Mermozine.com.