Foxtrot Photo Shoot

Shoot Location: Fullerton Hotel

Project: Foxtrot Look Book 2011 S/S

Time: 8:00am

These photos chronicle my day's work as stylist for Foxtrot. Fun but tough job. Loved styling the model but hate the sun! Ended up all sweaty and makeup melted after 4 hours.

Here's me and the makeup artist stepping out from Fullerton. We look like the entourage of a superstar. Fullerton graciously lent us their toilet for clothes changes. Actually they didn't have a choice as we nonchalantly stepped in several times to help ourselves to their posh washroom. The concierge politely asked if they could help us the first two times. By the third time, I think they wised up that we were just freeloaders, especially since Erin walked out looking different each time.

Guess who came to work?

Payment terms: minced beef for 3 days.

Gorgeous Erin Gray working the bikini under trench look.

Photographers from Colorful.sg  measure light settings while I hide from the sun in the shadow of "the BIRD". (see 3 photos down)

Me at work as the stylist. Oh yes, trench graciously loaned from Mango while Kookai bikini graciously loaned by me ;).

Famous "The BIRD" sculpture just beside the river.

Me checking out the pics with Tiger in tow. He kept himself busy trotting from place to place with me. That's the nice thing about Tiger...he won't run away from his owner like other dogs. He makes sure he keeps me in sight no matter what.

Sweet Tiger had to be constantly watered. See how hot he's getting wearing his fur coat.

Standing in the sun is no joke. Ouch. I felt the sun's rays piercing into my skin each second. Wish I had my trusty umbrella.

Thankfully Erin loves the sun. She looks good with a tan. I don't. Trust me, I've tried the 'golden' look before. It doesn't work.

At the Cavenagh Bridge. This is probably my favourite historical bridge in Singapore. Has many great angles for photos. Unfortunately, at this moment, it is plastered with YOG (Youth Olympic Games) stickers featuring the childish mascots.

It is so rare for a dog to appear in the business district area that we couldn't pass up the chance to take more pics of Tiger. Tiger looks like a babe here, sitting on the bridge beside me.

Actually, he is very much like a little kid. He is soooo scared along this ridge. Petrified, taking tiny steps and looking around for help. Note his tail is between his legs.

See how he's coming to me, 'asking' to be let down. He tends to lick when he is uncomfortable and here's him trying to lick my face.

Right...time to get some serious work done.

One of my favourite scenes..Tiger in his glam rhinestone leash/collar set. He was really cooperative.

Time to wrap up and call it a day. Went back to have a shower. Arrggh...hate the humidity. 

African Tree

Have to share this ordinary-looking tree from South Africa with ya. From a distance it looks like just a fat stubby tree.

Nearer, it seems this tree has had some mutant growth spurts.

Now for the real close-up...be amazed...

The artistry that went into this is amazing! And just how much time did the artist spend on carving this out detail by detail?!

Spooked

I took Tiger out for a walk at 2am some nights ago. Tiger gets walked twice a day, where he does 'small' business and 'big' business. So I was taking him on his usual route near my place. He stopped at the gate of the adjacent apartments to pee as I waited.

It was all quiet and serene when there was a loud crash of metal. This is the kind of sound you get when you walk on metal gratings that they put over manholes/drains. So I looked towards the source of the sound, just right inside the condo, among the dark bushes, expecting to see a cat because Tiger started getting very excited. His ears and tail were errect and his muscles tense. He pushed the gate open and it gave in to his pressure, but he stopped short of stepping in.

I followed his gaze as I wondered where the 'cat' was, peering into the deep recesses of the shubbery, until I realized there wasn't any. He was staring right into the space ahead of us as though he saw something I couldn't see. Then I remembered it was the "Ghost Month". I don't subscribe to it, but well, I thought okay...time to make a move. Usually he would be reluctant to go home after such a short walk, but this time, he followed my lead readily, and couldn't wait to get past our own condo's gate, making whiney noises until we reached home.

I am spooked.

Marina Barrage on National Day Weekend

We went to the Marina Barrage on National Day. My first time there. Obviously I'm not your typical "kiasu" Singaporean who'll jostle with the crowd for the latest new venue. I haven't been to Universal Studios and Marina Sands either. 

The vintage car clubbers were there, and I snapped a photo of this fabulous MG right before the owner came along and drove it away. Vintage cars are sooo cool! Love the wheels and its spokes.

The fantastic design of the barrage gives many opportunities for great photos. Except I only had my Canon compact. Love the curves. At the top, it provides 360 degrees view of the city skyline and the waters.

Unfortunately, navigating our way around was challenging with the hazards of kites flying haphazardly over my head and nylon strings loose on the ground tripping me up. Not to mention kids and moms stopping me every minute to pet my dog.

Look at this: at least a few hundred kites in the air, no thanks to the kite shop at the barrage doing roaring business. Wasn't a great idea to go there pre-National Day I guess.

There was a wonderful breeze though. Great for Tiger, who is at that moment what you call a "hot dog", panting away.

Just look at that crowd behind on this tiny little piece of land. Unbelievable!

This little tranquil jetty brings back fond memories of Italy's Lake Garda.

Love this pic of my baby and I. He is sooo super cute. And oh, if you're a parent who doesn't mind having your kids soaking wet, there's a fountain at the barrage too. Somehow, ever since Bugis Junction came up with its pond-less fountain, followed by Vivocity's "wading fountain", fountains have never been the same again. It seems all fountains are fair game for kids, doubling up as a playground as long as there are no barricades. Personally, I do think that it is rather dangerous for kids to be near powerful, shooting jets of water. However there is no denying the fun factor. 

So anyway, if I were ever going to visit the Barrage again, any weekend anywhere near a public holiday is an absolutely lousy idea.

Cruel Fur Trade in China

This video makes me sick to the core. In it, Heather Mills joins PETA in showing the cruelties of the fur trade in China. It is bad enough that the animals are kept in small cages, alone and frustrated, in outdoor conditions, no doubt unhygienic. But wait till you see how they kill the animals. Seeing the Chinese people throw minks and foxes to the ground as though they were merely stuffed toys, stepping on them, beating them up with a bat makes me wonder where their sense of decency and compassion went. Just because they want the fur intact, they do not make slits or kill the animals with knives. Isn't there a better way to get what they want? Electrocution, fast-acting poison are all alternatives. But what do they choose? Battering the little fellas. Murderers! The video doesn't show their faces but I can imagine their glee as they beat up these small furry creatures.

One scene shows an animal ALIVE but without its skin, in great pain. Even when we fall down, and get a small abrasion, we can whimper and tear and cry over it. Can you imagine what this creature is going through? It would be wishing it could dead there and then. This is the type of video that makes me so ANGRY and UPSET with the human race. Where is the empathy? Don't they know animals feel pain too? Isn't it bad enough that we are eating animals and using their skins for leather? They are not here to serve the human race. They have every right to their lives on earth.

Furry Pets Cafe

Remember the post on tick fever...here's poor Win Win. Her owner said that she was able to open her eyes in the morning but when I went in the evening, she looked like this:

She was grouchy and didn't want to play with my doggy, like she usually does. And no one could get her to open both her eyes. I hope it is not the result of atrophy. That would be tragic. She could at least look cute and normal even if she couldn't see in one eye.

Anyway, the subject of this post is the opening of FURRY PETS CAFE & PET SHOP at the Badminton Hall (Guillemard Road).  Incidentally, they have prawn fishing there. Part of the hall has been cordoned off and converted for enthusiasts.

Here are the westies having fun. Besides Win Win, the owner Tony has another small female, Breeze. Tiger and her are great friends.

Here's me cuddling a really heavy westie. And Panda, another resident at the shop.

Over at the cafe, Tiger is cuddling his fav Uncle Tony! He lurrves Tony, can't stop licking his ear. That, btw, is how Tiger shows love. I tell him to "kiss kiss" me all the time. The other dogs can't stand him cos he keeps licking their lips whenever they meet! LOL! The concept of 'french kiss' is too human for them to understand!

Love this pic. So sweeeet! Uncle Tony is also the cook for the cafe, which also serves HUMAN food. There's also US Doggie Bakery there, serving canine food. Basically the same as human pastries except that it's lactose-free and contains no sugar. They use honey as substitute. Very healthy even for humans. And it tastes good. I should know....I tasted Tiger's birthday cake last year. Haha, really!

As you can see, it was a crowded day for Furry Pets' opening. 

These 2 pooches were clamoring to have their photo taken, seriously...

...until food came!

Tiger was a bad boy. He went around disturbing the peace among the canine community till they barked him off! 

Ivan Joshua Loh

Just did a photoshoot with my super talented photographer friend, Ivan Joshua Loh. 

This photo was taken with a SGD30,000 camera (gasp!) against a white backdrop. The toy piano didn't even have black and white keys! He is a genius. No wonder he calls his studio Pigs Can Fly Photography.

Here's some photos without Ivan's magic touch...just raw stuff to demonstrate how clever he can be.

This one didn't make the final cut, but I thought it was cute cos I looked like a mannequin in this stiff pose.

This one had my pretty scepter, but we didn't know how to work it into the photo.

So you see, never believe what you see.