150,000 and still counting

Since April 2008, when we bought Nikon D3, we decided that it will be good for TILT to keep track of the shutter count so that we can be prepared when the camera may fail. In a short period of 2 years and 3 months, we realised that we have already taken 150,000 photos to date.

150,000 definitely sounds like a big number. Considering that we do not go for photoshoots every day, this certainly is quite a huge number. As such, we decided that we can do some quick mathematics. To our surprise, that is an average of about 180 photos taken in a day, a pretty digestable number.

Having said that, during our peak periods, the number of photoshoots can be pretty overwhelming. Recently, in the month of June, we did a reality check and realised that we were out on photoshoots for 21 days out of 28 days (and that is inclusive of Saturdays and Sundays). On certain days, we can be rushing for places to places for photoshoots. In fact, just in early June, there was 5 photoshoots happening in 1 single day. Our photographer was shooting from 8am – 10pm. Well, there are breaks in between where it is used for travelling and meals, but nonetheless, it definitely can be very tiring.

So, what exactly is shutter count? Why does it matter? How do you keep track of it?

The shutter count is the number of pictures that a camera has already taken. Shutter count is actually the laymen’s way of saying it. The actual term is known as actuations. The shutter blades are delicate mechanical parts, and are subjected to wear & tear. They are generally the first thing to fail on a digital SLR.

For entry level cameras (Canon Rebel, Nikon D80, etc.) the shutter is rated for 50,000 shots.
With mid-range cameras (Canon 40D, Nikon D200) it’s 100,000 shots.
With professional cameras it’s over 200,000 shots.

Note than any given camera can fail sooner or last much, much longer. These numbers are just guidelines. At any rate, the lower the shutter count, the better.

For those who are interested in finding out your camera’s shutter count, you can download the free Opanda IExif where you can then use it to check on your camera’s shutter count.

For the record, this is the photograph taken which was our registered 150,000 shot. This was taken at Jalan Besar Stadium on 16 July 2010 for a S-league match between SAF FC and Home United FC. The photo shows the contrast between Home United’s celebration and SAF FC’s disappointment after Home United had scored a goal. For the record, Home United won 5 – 2 at the end of 90 minutes.

We are still counting and we definitely will be looking to getting a new DSLR soon.

Inspiring Sporting Singapore Photography exhibition and Interview

The Inspiring Sporting Singapore Photography exhibition is now on at most National Libraries. TILT is honoured to have been selected by Singapore Sports Council to contribute photographs for this exhibition which is being held from 2 May 2010 – 26 August 2010.

With a theme of Excellence, Friendship and Respect, our chief photographer was also honoured to have been selected by Singapore Sports Council to be interviewed by CNA, which was conducted on 25 June 2010.

“There is not a single genre of photography which will be able to provide you with a full spectrum of emotions within 10s (for 100m dash) to 90 minutes (for soccer). It is only in Sports Photography that you will be able to capture the joy, the sorrow, the anger and the agony all within such a short period of time.” revealed TILT’s Chief Photographer, Tay Ling.

“Behind each and every photograph is an actual story. This story serves to inspire everyone to pick up sports. And the beauty of this is that all of us have a part to play in it! Not everyone can be good in sports. But all of us can do our part to aid Singapore in becoming the Sporting Hub. We can do our bit in playing a supporting role, whether in sports photography, sports marketing, sports event management or sports journalism and more!” as he shares on his passion in sports photography.

With the recent conclusion of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Tay Ling also shared that his dream is to be able to take photographs at the Fifa World Cup before he stops clicking on the shutter.

Below is the news article which was published.

Below is the video clip of the segment which was shown on Channel 8.

I Came to Party

TILT was at City Alive! 2010 as the Official Photographer and we were treated to an exciting show at the tracks in front of the Pit Building. With Space Cowboy (United Kingdom) making his debut appearance in Singapore at the City Alive! 2010, along with other international acts like DJ Sarasa (Japan) and All Area Crew (Japan), it was a real treat for the party-revellers as they partied the night away. Joining these world-class acts are Singapore’s very own DJ Andrew T, DJ Inquisitive and Singapore top B-boys, Radikal Forze to bring the party anthem to the heart of the city.

Organised by the People’s Association (PA) and People’s Association Youth Movement (PAYM), City Alive! took place for the third time. With a turnout of about 8,000, what we felt was the feature of the night on 20 February 2010 was the flash mob dance performed by PAYM. With synchronised movement, grooving to the beat of “I Came to Party” by Cinema Bizarre (feat DJ Space Cowboy), it was truly a sight worth waiting for.

View the video below to see the happening party sight!

The collective dance at the Singapore Pit Building (beside Singapore Flyer) kicked off this year’s City Alive! Singapore’s BIGGEST street dance party. In fact, this is probably the largest flash mob dance ever in Singapore!

View the video below to see the media preview flash mob.

To view the photographs taken, click here.

Asia’s Grandest Street & Floats Parade

Into its 38th year, Chingay Parade Singapore, the Asia Grandest Street and Floats Parade proved to be even grander and more impactful in 2010. As a fully sold-out event this year, the Parade Organisers, ie the People’s Association ( a Singapore government community agency) and Singapore Tourism Board relocated the parade to a stretch of 1 km road in front of the Pit Building (Beside the Singapore Flyer where the F1 was held) and the Singapore Flyer to accommodate more local audience and tourists.

Since its inception in 1973, Chingay Parade Singapore has evolved into one of the most exciting international events in the region. Reaching out to huge crowds and highly rated by local and foreign audiences, this colourful and spectacular parade made a name for itself in Singapore as well as in the region and beyond. With traditional dragon and lion dancer seizing the parade by storm, the participants also witnessed fire-crackers (A sight not seen in many years)! Other dazzling performance includes legendary well-loved tales (Butterfly Lover, Puteri Gunung Ledang and Indralogam), the story of Yellow River, Samba Singapore! Gyrate.

TILT, as Official Photographer, was on site to witness truly one of the most significant tourist events in Singapore during the Chinese New Year Period.

To view the photographs taken, click here.

Revamping with a roar

This Chinese New Year season witnessed how the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) gave tradition a huge revamp. Lion dance has long been a common sight along the streets during the festive period. With an increasing number of people able to appreciate hip hop dancing, the traditional lion dance was put through a huge revamp.

The large crowd that gathers around the performance is proof enough that this is a roaring success! From the typical “No, I am in a rush” to the “Ohhh” and “Ahhh”, the change in the mindset of the busy Singaporeans were definitely refreshing to witness. Their handphones came out quickly and many were seen videoing the session.

DJ Space Cowboy (United Kingdom) and DJ Sarasa (Japan) came down specially to Ion Orchard on 19 Feb to catch the performance as well. The celebrity DJs certainly were intrigued by the performance and when everything ended, they rushed forward to take pictures with the performers.

TILT was definitely fortunate to be present at Merlion Park, Clarke Quey, Changi Terminal 2 and Ion Orchard to witness this roaring success. We applaud STB for making Singapore even more unique!

Catch the lion dance below:

To view the photographs taken, click here.

Your Spirit, Our Inspiration

For the 3rd year running, TILT has been covering the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) as the Official Photographers. With our largest team to date (comprising of 8 photographers and 4 photographer assistants), we had a combined 73 hours of photography coverage on 6 December 2009.

After taking a total of 25.6GB of photographs which amounts to 9379 photos, we sat back and reflected on why we had always enjoyed taking SCSM. The tagline of “Your Spirit, Our Inspiration” definitely is definitely apt in explaining the reason.

In all 3 years of coverage, we witnessed the grit of tens of thousands of people enduring a punishing 42.195km route running their own race. There are the elite runners who come in at a breath-taking 2hr 10mins timing and there are the everyday people who push their way through and come in at also a breath-taking 9hrs. Their spirit and endurance is what we should applaud.

Your spirit was shown through friendships formed on the road.
You cheered each other on!
You helped each other as you struggled on!
You continued on the even though you were in a cast!
Your hands raised in unison as you crossed the finishing gantry!
Spiderman, the Witch, a Bride, Santa Claus, Super Woman! These were how some of you had assisted in making the marquee event of the year a more colourful event!

This year, we witnessed how one man raced to the finishing line armed with a bouquet of flowers, a ring and a banner professing his love to his girlfriend.

Your spirit is our source of inspiration. Your marathon makes our race for you worthwhile. We thank the 50,000 people who took part in this year’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon for being a part of TILT’s memories.

We look forward to SCSM 2010 and may your spirit be our inspiration again!

To view some of the photographs taken, you may visit our Facebook page.

Follow the Rhythm, Be Part of the Action!

In less than 48 hours, there will be 50,000 runners lining up at the Padang for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) 2009. For the very first time, SCSM has released a viral video. Aptly titled, “Follow the Rhythm, Be Part of the Action!”, it comprises of a catchy tune (music is produced by Koko & Syaheed from Bedsty Music) with vocals from Kevin Lester (Sixx) and very simple moves by Bill Calhoun, the entire video was produced by m:idea from Ngee Ann Polytechnic!

SCSM 2009 is attempting to do this at the starting line. Will you join in? We certainly hope you do. With our largest team to date (comprising of 5 photography assistants and 8 photographers), we certainly will be present to follow the rhythm and capture YOU being part of the action!

Remember, if you see us that day, wave to us! Pose for us! We will not disappoint! See you there on 6 December 2009 in Singapore’s largest scale running event and we hope you enjoy the run!

In the thick of it all

The Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009 (SPNS 2009) Leg 3 ended with a bang at West Coast Park on 18 October 2009. The action from the 12 teams of 5 pax each was fast and close. TILT, as the official photographers, was in the thick of all the action with 2 photographers.

In this final leg, TILT had also deployed a third pseudo photographer. A camera, triggered by remote, was placed at strategic locations under the bunkers so that we can be in the thick of it all. In addition, we were constantly in the line of fire so as to paint that perfect picture. Our 12 bruises all over our bodies, together with the huge amount of paint splatter all over our 3 cameras in the 8 hours of coverage said it all.

In fact, the marshalls were worried for us and even suggested that in the future, we should be wearing paintball padded clothes so that we can be a little bit more protected. This is our commitment when it comes to sports photography as we believe strongly that for good photographs to come, besides good technical skills together with the ability to anticipate, one of the key criterias will be to stick in the mud together with the athletes and weather the storm.

This wraps up the local action in the paintball community for this year and come 2010, we guarantee that we will be in the thick of it all again. We look forward to SPNS 2010 and hope that this local community will continue to grow!

For more photographs, please visit our TILT facebook fan page.

The WOW Journey

Be wowed this coming November as the National Heritage Board presents War on Wheels (WOW). The media was treated to a special media preview as they came together to trace the footsteps of the Japanese invasion during World War II.

During our coverage of the media preview, we were greated by an entertaining tour guide on the chartered bus and a spectacular view. In addition, you will be exposed to a rich wealth of knowledge by visiting the sites such as the Japanese landing site in Kranji, to the War Memorial and Memories at the Old Ford Factory.

Interesting things which you can learn includes how the Japanese soldiers actually carried their bicycles as they swam across the sea from Malaysia to Singapore. What is more interesting was how the Japanese actually fooled everyone as their bicycles actually had no rubber tyres and the metal sounds creating by them when cycling actually made the soldiers believe that the Japanese came in tanks.

This definitely is an interesting way to learn about history and our heritage. Join in War on Wheels and we are certain you will be wowed!

Give them one macho clap!

In this year’s National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign, the Health Promotion Board together with its partners kick-started the 3-month long campaign with the “Lose to Win” Challenge for workplaces. The challenge aims to inspire & motivate groups of employees to lose weight the healthy way through the provision of an effective structured programme.

After just a mere 2 weeks, the intensity had increased and the participants are doing less talk and more action. In fact, TILT witnessed the intensity in their eyes where they do want to work hard and smart to achieve your fitness goals.

Throughout the session where they were treated to a series of stations treats such as modified Captain’s Ball, kick-boxing, sprinting and other stationary exercises, the participants were totally covered with perspiration. But most importantly, TILT, as the Official Photographer and Videographer for National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign 2009, were greeted constantly with their smiles and laughter.

It is a clear sight for us to see that the particpants are clearly happy to lose! We were also treated constantly to cheers such as
“Give us one Macho Clap! Ooosshhh!”
“Are you alright? OK!!!”
“Are you ok? Alright!!!”

We found out through the session about some of the results and we are very happy to share them here as well.

“Lost 2.2kg since… hope to continue and be disciplined with the exercises.”
Alice

“Able to walk up my staircase til level 6!!! non stop!!! yaaahoooo!!!!!! Thank you fitness guru for yor patience in training us…..”
Rita

With results like these, don’t you think they deserve at least one MACHO clap?

Over at TILT, we salute their efforts!

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