July 2010 – Visit 4 proved to be very busy! The arches for the Cool Dry conservatory are almost completed and the Cool Moist concrete core has been poured up to level 4 with the formwork for level 3 slab ready for casting. The photos included in this blog are a bit more varied to my previous visits for a number of reasons, the first being that we are currently in the South-West monsoon season in Singapore and my visits were interrupted by torrential downpours! I have also decided to include some candid shots of the workers onsite as their style varies from that of Construction workers in New Zealand. In addition to my standard shots I took a trip up to the ‘Skypark’ of Singapore’s newest building, Marina Bay Sands, Integrated Resort which towers 56 stories above the Gardens By The Bay site and provides fantastic views across the site and beyond.
June 2010 – Visit number 3 proved to be a very long and hot day of shooting. The Cool-Dry Conservatory construction is continuing to move along at a considerable rate and is proving to be a challenge to capture. Critical locations for shooting are either inaccessible or have large machinery parked in the way. The Cool-Moist Conservatory is also now starting to take shape and come out of the ground. The main core is well under way and the concrete shoes for the arches are being cast.
May 2010 – As you will see from the images below the Cool-Dry Conservatory construction is progressing extremely fast. More arches are being erected every week. The gridshell, which is a self supporting structure, can be seen behind the white, unpainted arches. The red structure is called a ‘crash deck’ and is a temporary structure to support the arches and gridshell during erection. This is a major piece of engineering on it’s own.
April 2010 – I have started documenting the construction of two large conservatories designed by UK Architects, Wilkinson Eyre Architects. They form part of the new Gardens By The Bay development in Singapore. Each conservatory has it’s own role to play in the scheme of the entire 54 hectare garden at Marina South. The cool-dry conservatory will explore issues related to plants and people, whilst the cool-moist conservatory will focus on plants and the planet.
The Cool-Dry Conservatory under construction.
November 16, 2011 - 1:36 am
Excellent Craig!
Our close friends Victoria and James Hope welcomed wee Winnie into their little family on 1st September 2011. I was asked to shoot Winnie when she was only 3 weeks old, before James’ fears are realised and she turns into a ‘giant baby’, so that Victoria and James could share their little bundle of joy with all their family and friends across the seas.
We had a little bit of trouble getting some of the shots Victoria and James wanted as Winnie is still so small but I hope you’ll agree that overall we got some memorable shots that capture Winnie in her newborn state and can be treasured and enjoyed by the Hopes and their family and friends for years to come….until they can be unraveled again at her 21st!
October 6, 2011 - 2:12 pm
I love the one of her with the Hungry Caterpillar!! And the colourful pictures really capture the Hopes!
October 6, 2011 - 9:46 pm
Nice photos. I like the black and white one where Hopey is dressed up as a French fashion designer.
The Changi Series 2 consisted of an Individual Time Trial (ITT) early on a hot Sunday morning followed by a mass start Road Race a couple of hours later. Held on the infamous Changi Straight, a piece of road that runs the length of Changi Airport runway, it is about 5-6km of straight, boring tarmac. I turned up just in time to photograph the only two Cannasia-Cannondale riders competing in the ITT as the rest of the team had decided to save their legs for the Road Race. The OCBC cycling team were the dominant force taking the top two places in the Mens Open. Siw Haller of ANZA cycling easily took out the womens race.
The Open Mens road race was fast and furious with riders trying to get away, only to be chased down time and time again. It wasn’t until the 3rd lap a break finally got away and managed to stay there for a couple of laps before being reeled in with one lap to go. After constant attacks during this last lap it came down to a bunch sprint and Ed Ayres (ANZA Mavericks) emerged from the final hairpin turn in front and managed to hold off the charging peleton to win.
The Womens race was dominated by one rider, Christina Liew Gin (Joyriders). She rode most of the race by herself off the front with the remainder of the women chasing. After a gallant effort by the women to bring Christina back to the peleton she got away again and stayed away to take the win.
Pain and suffering seemed to be a theme amongst the riders.
Some riders looked smooth and in control just like Tim Wilkins of Cannasia-Cannondale.
Peter Toth, quite possibly the tallest ITT rider I’ve ever seen.
Megan Kinder looking right at home on her TT machine.
Open Mens Road race.
Cannasia-Cannondale controlling the peleton.
The break went out to about 50 seconds before the peleton brought them back.
The Womens race was dominated by Christina Liew Gin. The remainder of the women were left to duke it out for the minor placings.
After planning this trip more than 3 times Gabi and I finally made it to Sabah, East Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu was our first stop and from there it was over to climb Mt Kinabalu and then onto the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary before returning for a rest at a nice beach resort just north of Kota Kinabalu.
Sunset over Kota Kinabalu from Signal Hill.
We discovered some interesting architecture whilst exploring Kota Kinabalu including the oldest standing structure in Sabah, the Atkinson Clock Tower. It has survived the destruction of Jesselton town, now called Kota Kinabalu, during World War II and is a wooden structure built in 1903 with no nails.
The mighty Mt Kinabalu with it’s summit at 4095.2m above sea level. It took us 4hrs hard slog to reach the over night stop at Laban Rata in the bottom right picture. Laban Rata is the white speck just above the vegetation line in the top image.
An amazing sunset seen from Laban Rata heli pad at 3273m above sea level.
After a chilly trek to the summit, it seemed we were in luck with clear skies for the sunrise. However, the mountain had different ideas and as the sun came up the mist rolled in and visibility was restricted to only a few hundred feet. Once we started descending the low clouds disappeared and some of the peaks became visible. The top and right image are of South Peak (which can also be seen on the Malaysian 1 Ringgit note) and the middle image is Donkey Ears peak. The left hand image is what can only be described as an endless steep rock ramp. It’s difficult to comprehend how steep and vast this area was so I tried to give the image some scale by including the people in the shot.
And finally we got to see some wild, or should I say rehabilitated, Orangutans in their own jungle environment. I also managed to get a couple of close up shots of a cheeky Macaque monkey who decided to play havoc with the tourists. He could see his reflection in my lens, so he looked right down the barrel for me.
Overall, we had an adventurous and educational trip to Sabah. It’s a great place to visit, the people are friendly and helpful and I would highly recommend it.
August 16, 2011 - 1:53 am
Hi Craig
These are really great images of Sabah.
August 24, 2011 - 10:11 pm
amazing pics from an amazing trip – well captured xx
The Singapore Road Cycling Championships were held over the weekend of 25-26 June 2011. Due to illness during the lead up to the race I couldn’t compete. I was a little disappointed but it did mean I could shoot instead. Once again Team Cannasia-Cannondale had entered a well prepared team of various strengths and were looking for the win in the Elite Men’s cat. Gabi was on her own in the Elite Women’s cat and she had her work cut out for her as her main competition consisted of three of the best women cyclists in Singapore.
The Individual Time Trial was held on the Saturday and the Road Race on Sunday. Rob Hensby was the only Cannasia-Cannondale member to race the ITT but he put in a huge effort to come home 4th whilst trying to save his legs for the road race the next day.
Cannasia-Cannondale had a tough job ahead of them in the road race with two or three other teams looking for the win. As usual, the OCBC boys attacked from the gun and kept this up the entire race. Cannasia did a sterling job covering most of these attacks and continually showed a strong presence at the front of the peloton controlling the race. With about two laps remaining Tim Wilkins and a young OCBC rider took advantage of a lull in the pace and attacked. With a surge of speed the two riders quickly gapped the peloton and raced away to the finish. Tim used his road racing experience to out smart the OCBC rider to take the win.
Gabi rode intelligently and saved her legs for the final sprint finish. With Dinah Chan and Serene Lee pulling away from the peloton in the last 500m it was up to Gabi to sprint for 3rd place. She crossed the line with ease a couple of bike lengths ahead of her competitors. Overall a successful day for Cannasia-Cannondale with a 1st and 3rd placings.
You can read the race reports here. http://cannasia.com/news/victory-singapore-national-cycling-championships-2011 and http://cannasia.com/news/singapore-national-cycling-championship-open-women-race-report
Rob giving it his all in the ITT.
Tim making the young OCBC rider earn his National Champions Jersey.
Tim Wilkins takes the win.
Here are some of the other champions: Matthew Kinch (Sport), Anders Jarfors (Masters), and Dinah Chan (Open Women)
Pete ‘Petal’ Bennett finished his race a bit worse for wear. He landed on his head in a flower garden during a pile up on the last corner. But he still finished! Well done Pete.
by shep