Sorry, Becks. I just had to...
There were a number of celebrities in town on Saturday night. But while the stars of the TVB Awards had their adoring fans, one man suavely snatched the limelight from them.
TNP photojournalist Ariffin Jamar was assigned to one event, only to end up capturing the other. He even had a face-to-face encounter with the football superstar, though it wasn't the most friendly of encounters.
Picture this.
I’m taking a break from my photo assignment covering the TVB Awards at Marina Bay Sands. Then I spot a global celebrity walk by.
Okay, it was a double take moment.
But there he was. Goldenballs himself – David Beckham.
No one else had noticed at the time.
Actually, I didn’t clock that it was him immediately. Which is surprising.
In his sharp, light grey suit, he didn’t blend in. The entourage following him was another clue that this was no ordinary tourist.
It was only when the shouts of “Beckham!” went up that it dawned.
Once his aura – or at least the lights from his film crew – alerted others on the waterfront promenade, his minders swung into action.
As he was just metres away, my friend decided to take a shot with his iPhone.
But before he managed to press the shutter, a minder rushed over.
“No pictures! Delete that!”
We respected his request – initially – and just looked on.
But hey. Celebrity? Public place?
Sorry, Becks. You’re going to get snapped.
Within seconds, the area was strobing with cameraphone flashes, as fans gathered and started calling for Beckham to acknowledge them.
The perfect opportunity to fire off some shots of my own.
However, a pro-camera can be fairly conspicuous.
The man himself noticed me. And he wasn’t pleased.
As he, entourage in tow, walked past me he snidely asked: “You got the pictures you needed?”
He wasn’t that close and I couldn’t hear him properly.
“Eh?”
“Did you get the pictures you needed?”
“Yes, sirree!” I cheerily replied as I gave him a casual salute.
He didn’t like that. Neither did his entourage.
He shook his head in disdain. Oh well. And me a Man Utd fan.
Still, the best reaction of the night had to be the two men fishing off the pier.
When they heard the cries for Beckham, they only briefly looked up, shrugged, then returning to their lines.
Sorry, Dave. Can’t impress ‘em all.
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