Abstract Piece 1: Sparkling

So, *Our home called Kuantan* has turned all abstract for the time being. My interest in this form of art was piqued by Leovi and put into action with my very first diamond light display in my tuition room.

Over the last few days I have been snapping abstract images with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-F2 in my home. I've surprised myself at just how much creativity is possible, even within the walls of my own home. Seemingly bland objects can become works of art.

I hope you enjoy guessing the identity of the abstract images I'll be showing you over the coming days, perhaps weeks!

Here's the first one:

Any ideas?

The answer tomorrow. . .

Abstract Photo Session 2

You know how a child feels with a new toy. Well, that's me with this whole abstract photography thing. Yesterday I posted some abstract photos using my Singapore diamond and a torch light to make amazing light shows. 

Last night I made the diamond the centre of attention once more, but this time turned up the intensity of colour. Here goes:

The diamond leaves a trail of fire...

Reminds me of lava from a volcano...

Which collection do you like best? These colourful ones, or yesterday's dark blue/purple tones?

Abstract Photo Session

So last night I had 3 students around for English Tuition class. After they finished their grammar test I gave them a short while to rest. And they started creating something very intriguing, so much that they pulled me, their teacher, into it as well. One of them was playing with my ten dollar 'diamond' and he borrowed a pen with a torch light affixed to it from another student. And so he was making light reflections from the diamond onto the wall. I was transfixed so I switched off the lights temporarily and grabbed my camera. Here are the wonderful results!

Here's the ten dollar diamond from Little India, Singapore:

And here is the artistry of the four of us:

This has to be my favourite image. I think it looks magical!

The Singapore Merlion is seen here on the wall:

This image reminds me of a mangosteen!

Hope you enjoyed the gallery! I know it's something very different which I haven't done on my blog before, but then again, it's good to discover and embrace new things in life. 

If you'd really like to see some expert abstract photography, head over to Leovi's fascinating blog where you'll try to guess how he created each picture!

Downstairs and Diamond Water

"denude" - make naked or bare, strip the cover from; take all of something away from (a person)

(I found this word in a Winston Churchill speech recently)

This is a continuation of "A difficult start" in which I explained our first few months in Kuantan and the problems we were engulfed with. If you haven't read about our tough early times, you should go and read that post first.

Downstairs

Downstairs below my apartment lies a line of shops and restaurants, the most notable being the Kuantan Curry House. The Kuantan Curry House is owned and run by a lovely Indian family who helped me out a great deal in the tough early days in Kuantan. The robbery had made us feel extremely denuded. Whilst I enjoyed taking the 'roti canai' (fried bread dipped in curry) back upstairs to eat, it was the wife of the owner who began having tuition classes with me. Her name is Puraini. Even though Puraini didn't learn from me for long due to her work commitments with the Curry House, she was my very first student, which besides giving me my first small flow of income, gave me hope of finding more students in the future. Their four children have at various times, also attended my tuition classes. We remain good friends with the Kuantan Curry House to this day.

Diamond Water

Secondly, whilst looking for a job, I came across two men selling Diamond water products. They were quite helpful but couldn't get me an official visa. So I didn't really work for them for too long at all - I didn't sell a single product in the mere two weeks I went around knocking on doors advertising Diamond water filters.

In addition to promoting Diamond, I also passed on my business card and introduced myself as an English tutor searching for students.

It was for this reason that I nevertheless knocked on a door whose owner clearly had a Diamond filter in their front yard. I told her that I was an English teacher looking for students and that very same night she sent her two children, Alston and Regine, for tuition class with me. 

It was a moment of great joy as my difficult times were beginning to dissolve. From Carmen, the mother of these two children, came a flurry of referrals. Many hopeful, desperate prayers of faith were answered as I gradually built up a number of students to teach each week, in addition to a growing reputation in Kuantan.

Which people have had a big influence in your life?