Shooting with an eye for detail

For more than an hour, he walked around in a daze, wondering how to get the perfect shot that best described vision.

"I had already pictured in my mind to have the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands and Central Business District in one photo," he said.

VISION: Mr Mark Anthony P Lim won the 'Best of Show' open category for Canon PhotoMarathon XIV 2016. His interpretation of the theme 'Vision' was a picture of the the Singapore Flyer inset in an eye (above), a photo that took hundreds of shots to frame. PHOTO: MARK ANTHONY P LIM

"But I couldn't find any spot to capture that kind of photo. After much consideration and walking about, I decided to try to take a photo related to the eye."

VISION: Mr Mark Anthony P Lim (above) won the 'Best of Show' open category for Canon PhotoMarathon XIV 2016. His interpretation of the theme 'Vision' was a picture of the the Singapore Flyer inset in an eye, a photo that took hundreds of shots to frame. PHOTO: JEREMY LONG

The photographer, Mr Mark Anthony P Lim, a 27-year-old nurse, then tried to take pictures of his own eye.

When that failed, he turned to strangers - approaching some joggers who were standing in front of the Singapore Flyer, who gamely posed for him.

But there was still a snag. He did not have a macro lens, so he had to improvise.

 EXPERIMENTAL: Student Nicholas Tan, the winner of the 'Best of Show' student category for Canon PhotoMarathon XIV 2016, took this experimental shot (above) for the theme '#NoFilter + #NewPerspective + #SPACE'. PHOTO: NICHOLAS TAN

After 300 shots an hour later, Mr Lim headed back to the event venue without actually reviewing his photos. The sun was too bright, making it impossible to see the images on the screen. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he had achieved the shot he wanted, with the help of a ring inverter.

IN LINE: For the theme 'Kyosei', which in Japanese means to live and work together for the common good, student Nicholas Tan took this shot at the Sports Hub (above) of people queueing for tickets to an event. PHOTO: NICHOLAS TAN

"It was very difficult at first because it was very dark in the viewfinder. It also takes a lot of time and work to adjust the camera settings," he said.

His efforts paid off and that picture, along with two more of his photos, won the Best of Show open category at the Canon PhotoMarathon XIV 2016, which was held on Nov 19 at Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre.

SEEING DOUBLE: Student Nicholas Tan took this shot for the theme 'Vision', creating a double exposure shot (above) by combining two photos. PHOTO: NICHOLAS TAN

In the photo marathon, participants had three hours to shoot photos that went with the themes of the contest.

Mr Lim and Mr Nicholas Tan, 20, who bagged the Best of Show award in the student category, won an all-expenses paid photo clinic trip to Japan, among other prizes.

Mr Tan, who took part with a friend, also had his fair share of struggles.

ALMOST GAVE UP

He said that the hardest picture was on the theme "Kyosei", which is Japanese for "living and working together for the common good".

"We walked aimlessly around the Sports Hub for a very long time, not knowing what to shoot and nearly wanting to give up. That's when we came across an ongoing event where we saw a bunch of people giving out tickets and decided to give it a shot," he said.

WINNER: Nicholas Tan bagged the Best of Show award in the student category. PHOTO: NICHOLAS TAN

On what made the two winners stand out, one of the three judges, Mr Lee Tiah Khee, a photographer of 28 years, said: "Participants usually dash straight out to shoot... It was evident to the three of us that both Mark and Nicholas took the time to think about the given theme, and how they intended to capture their shot."

Mr Edwin Teoh, head of marketing of Canon Singapore, said: "For the past 70 years, Canon has been practicing Kyosei in the countries it operates in. It is an ongoing mission for us to contribute to the wellbeing of humankind, be it in the impact of our activities on the society, the environment or the people."