Shot of HDB block makes Singaporean a winner at global iPhone contest
Shot of HDB block impresses judges
A photograph of a Housing Board block in Potong Pasir will be seen on billboards in various cities.
Mr Darren Soh, a local photographer, snapped the shot at the right moment to become one of 10 winners of Apple's Shot on iPhone challenge. He is the only winner from Asia.
The winning photographs will be featured in Apple retail stores and online. The photographers will also receive a licensing fee for their work.
Mr Soh, 42, was walking around in Potong Pasir on Jan 16, taking photos with his camera and his iPhone.
When he was at the community centre (CC), he noticed the basketball court was wet because it was being washed. That provided him with a unique photo opportunity.
Mr Soh told The New Paper yesterday: "When they were washing the CC, the sun was very bright and was shining on all the blocks; that's why the reflections look so bright."
He took many shots of the reflective surface, and when he looked back at them, realised there was a bird in one of them.
Mr Soh said: "There was an element of chance because of the bird; the timing was just right when it came into the frame - a split second earlier or later it would not be there.
"I guess it was one of those pictures where after you took it, you realised there were several elements that came together."
Mr Soh was surprised by his win.
The international panel of judges included Mr Pete Souza, former US president Barack Obama's chief official White House photographer and Mr Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president of worldwide marketing.
Said Mr Schiller of Mr Soh's photograph: "A reflection that looks like a painting, two worlds have collided... the bird flying in the corner provides the single sign of life in an otherwise surreal composition."
Mr Soh said: "HDB estates are what we are. Most Singaporeans live in HDB flats. I'm happy that public housing in Singapore is being seen by a lot of people."
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