A day in our confined lives…

Most of the world is on stand-by…

It’s called “lockdown”, “confinement”, or here in Singapore “Circuit Breaker”..

Either way, everything/everyone seem to be standing still…

 

… seem to be standing still …

 

But life is still going on inside homes.

Kids are still being kids, and parents, well, they are trying to make the best of it, multitasking teleworking, homeschooling, housekeeping, sanity keeping, …

 

Wandering how it is a an apartment with 4 kids?

 

It is manageable but you have to seriously lower your expectations.

Our home is a school all mornings – my office has been taken over by little girls – the living room is being transformed in a giant doll house every afternoon, and the whole place look as it has been through a tornado daily.

 

Here is a few pics into one day in our confined lives…

There is a lot of teleworking for the kids too.

It’s sometimes difficult to get motivated for schoolwork .

“A day in our confined lives”… documentary family photography.

But we are usually done by lunchtime and then the fun time can begin.

“A day in our confined lives”… documentary family photography.

Then the toys take over the place.

“A day in our confined lives”… documentary family photography.

May the fun begin….

For my little one having his big sisters home all the time is super exciting… and a little bit tiring…

Fights and meltdowns also fill up our days!!

But usually all it takes is a big cuddle, and they are back in business!

So yeah, it’s exhausting for us parents, but at the same time we have a unique opportunity to spend loads of time with our little ones. So let’s try to make the best of it. And to be totally honest, even if I find the days very long right now, I will miss them when schools will reopen...

 

Stay home, stay healthy but keep living!!!

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“Paint it Black”

Here we go, I finally finished a new series of pictures.

I usually spend most of my time editing clients’ pictures, which leaves me little room for my own creative vibes. But Singapore has been hit with the wave of Coronavirus since January and business has been down since then… And I’m obviously very stress about that (and so many other things related to the current situation obviously).

but,

“when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”!!

So I decided to spent some time thinking about what I like to photograph for myself and make a series around it.

I like black and white, I like nature, I like minimalism, ….

I will just put a little sample here.

To see more or in bigger size, click here ;-).

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My Paris (in Black and White)

 

My Paris © Catherine Houston

 

Paris,

Just a name, just a city,

But which has made for a long time such an impression on people, even the ones who just dream about it…

It’s a tourist destination, symbol of romanticism and love.

It’s a concentrated of History, with not only museums but walls, houses, neighbourhoods filled with histories.

It’s a big city hosting millions of people studying, working, living.

For me it was first a big, loud (way too much in the North) city were I spent a summer a long time ago working as a research student in a lab in a well-known hospital. I felt crushed by the city at the time, feeling only the monotonous rythmes “metro-boulot-dodo” (train commute – job – bed time, and repeat).

Then years (a life time??) later I came back and spend a year with my family in the center of the city and I learned to love it. I discovered Paris by foot (I admit sometimes quite painful with a stroller!!).

My Paris, became my paradise for Street Photography.

My Paris © Catherine Houston

 

“Orange” – or the Color of Buddhism

Orange is predominant in Buddhism.

From the saffron colour of the monks’ robes (mainly due to the available dye centuries ago ), to the golden of the statues, the yellow and the red of the decorations…

Between the powerful scents of incense and the bouquet of colours chances are that a visit inside a Buddhist Temple  will not leave your senses indifferent.

Orange and Buddhism Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Orange and Buddhism Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Orange and Buddhism Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Orange and Buddhism Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Orange and Buddhism Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Orange and Buddhism Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Orange and Buddhism Ⓒ Catherine Houston

 

And yes, I can’t help it, even on a blog post focusing on colours I HAVE to put at least one Black and White ;-).

• All the pics were taken in Singapore.

The Lone Fishing Rod…

Let’s be clear…I don’t do fishing….

I love to eat fish, but fishing takes an amount of patience that I am (very) far from having. But I can photograph other people doing it right?

So anyway, a few months back I was walking in the Woodlands Waterfront area (very North end of Singapore, at the border with Malaysia) – and yes that’s Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in the background.

Woodlands Waterfront Ⓒ Catherine Houston

and I saw these quite lonely fishing rods…(and by the way my picture on the cover of this post was published recently in Being Published Matters!!! yeah!!!).

Woodlands Waterfront Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Woodlands Waterfront Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Oh and super bonus… the fresh crabs/chili crabs at the local restaurant were pretty good too!! (and for a price more friendly than their counterparts on the more touristy part of town).

Have a great week-end!!

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day Ⓒ Catherine Houston

When I first decided to write a blog for Valentine’s Day (I know….how original!!) my plan was to found out some great “historical” facts about the origins of Valentine’s Day. I started “googling” and reading about the legends/history starting in the ancient Roman Empire and as I was naively expecting to read one story/legend about love and romance (although true to some extent) I was overwhelmed by the number of stories/mythologies starting with the imprisonment and execution of poor Saint Valentine in the ancient Roman Empire… So to make it very very short: Valentine’s Day became a symbol of love for different reasons in the Middle Ages (celebration of spring, of love, ..). (you can read more about it here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day).

As you most probably all noticed, it’s now a very over-commercialised day. It can represent something different for all of us: the declaration of a new love for some, a competition of romance for others, a dreadful day for the singles, …. (and for me really just the day before my birthday ;-)).

In any case I wanted to share with you pictures of Love.

“Un petit peu de douceur dans un monde de brutes”.

– Mothers’ Love –

Valentine’s Day Ⓒ Catherine Houston

– Siblings’ Love –

Valentine’s Day Ⓒ Catherine Houston

 

– Young Love –

Valentine’s Day Ⓒ Catherine Houston

– and more Love (in Paris…of course) –

Valentine’s Day Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Valentine’s Day Ⓒ Catherine Houston

– and I will finish with one of my favorite quotes from my favorite author:

“Aimer, ce n’est pas se regarder l’un l’autre, c’est regarder ensemble dans la même direction.”(“Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.)

– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry –

Valentine’s Day Ⓒ Catherine Houston

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

(and if you don’t know what to do on Valentine’s Day, read the “Petit Prince”- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, best book ever about Love).