I had three dreams when I was a teenager, i.e. to earn my own money to travel, to get a driving license to travel and to have a good camera to travel. It might seem to be easy to achieve for many, but for me whom came from a below average family background, that requires a lot of determination and self-discipline.

It was my passion in travelling that uncovers another love in my life, which is photography.   I spent about a slightly over a thousand bucks in Singapore dollar to get my first ever proper camera, a Canon T3i Rebel. Read up many reviews on the internet before I headed into a shop, even though I had no idea at all what I was reading. The Canon salesperson at the shop gave me his recommendations and wanted me to start off with the most popular yet the cheapest of all lenses. I stick to Canon 50 mm F1.8 prime lens for two years and I still love it now!

I did not join any interest group nor would I go anywhere merely for the purpose of taking photographs.  My lack of training undoubtedly is clearly shown on the imperfect composition in most of my photos. I am always dissatisfied with my own photos and sometimes even disappointed. My improvement progress is slow.

Motivation

Compliments from my friends gave me the thought of venturing further into photography. It was something like “oh, maybe I am really quite good at angles”.  As I travel more and more and I was exposed more into this field, I know I love what I am doing not because of any compliments from anyone.  Touching the heartlands of a rural village, capture the precious moment of places or people, the glimpse into the untouchable expressions, or even an innocent smile from an infant or an old man will make my trip worthwhile.

I won the photography competition organized by my current company in 2011. My ex-head of office in Singapore, who is a British, sent me a private message which I would never forget in my life. He used the word “beautiful and imaginative” to describe the winning photo.  That was a photo of a hotel lobby with a very colorful and creative interior design cum a photo exhibition held during that period. I discovered when I was walking alone in Zhuhai, China during a family trip.

The most memorable event was actually an old man who was playing Harmonica near a tourist area. He had of course a box to collect the money placed in front of him, an umbrella in a bad condition, and some of his personal belongings surrounded him. He looked chirpy and smiling ever so brightly while playing music for whoever who passed by.  It was hard not to notice him. Decided that I must take a picture of this cheerful old man, I put down one Renminbi and gestured to him to look at my camera. He did it with a “Yay”, then he packed and he said he was happy and he wanted to go for the day. He is the boss of his own life and the happiest beggar I have ever seen I my life!

The ultimate destination

I have a deep passionate for the people with their own stories, especially from a third world country or undeveloped place.  I dreamt about myself being a reporter at a battlefield, showing the world the fear and the hopelessness in the eyes of commoners that we stop any war.  This competition organized by WorldNomad is a path for me to experience and have to foretaste as a professional photographer!