Kairospix Photoblog
Life – Blocks Over The Water I
Posted by kairospix (Singapore, Singapore) on 7 September 2007 in Cityscape & Urban and Portfolio.
These blocks over the water of the small lake of the Punggol Park are what we in Singaporeans call HDB housing blocks of flats. Yes we tend to call them flats rather than apartments although that’s what they are. HDB stands for “Housing Development Board” which has been tasked to build affordable housing for the population in Singapore and they’ve done a pretty good job at it.
Like most Singaporeans I live in a HDB flat too and mine is on what we call a point-block like the one shown on the right where you have only four flats on each floor or storey. The one on the left is commonly called a common-corridor block where many flats on a floor (storey) share a common corridor.
As Singapore is land scarce it’s insanely expensive to own a single-storey house or an apartment in a private condominium (funny how when it’s private it’s more commonly called an “apartment” rather than a “flat” when it’s a more affordable public housing…hmm...i guess it’s a social status thingy…).
But these public HDB housing blocks aren’t like many public housings in other countries where the blocks are run-down and have high crime rates. In Singapore they are generally very safe and the blocks are well maintained and serviced regularly.
I happen to be living on a high floor and I bet those people living on the top floors of the flats have a great view of the Punngol Park! How I wish I’m staying there! Soon Punggol will continue its stalled development with the new Punggol-21 Plus makeover plan for that whole area! You can see how it will look like here.
Anyway, coming back to the idea of viewing from a higher vantage point – it does give one a broader view of things doesn’t it? I guess in life too we need to sometimes step back and perhaps step higher to get a bird’s eye view of things, to see the forest so as not to get bogged down by the detailed view of the tree such that we miss out on the bigger picture.
While it’s important to look at the details but that can rob you of the beauty of the larger view.
So every now and then, look up and look out! You'll be amazed by the beautiful view! Don’t believe me? Stay tune for my next last two shots of the Punggol Park and you’ll appreciate the power of the wider view. :)
Cheers for the coming weekend!
Camera - Canon Powershot G6
Lens - Canon 7.2 - 28.8mm (approx. 35 - 140mm)
Capture date - 12 Aug 2007
Aperture - f 8.0
Shutter speed - 1/250 sec
Shooting mode - aperture priority
Exposure bias - 0EV
Metering mode - Pattern
ISO - 50
Focal length - 28.8mm (approx. 140mm)
Stabilization - Hand-held
Lighting? - Outdoor Natural Light
Flash - Not fired
Post-processing? - PS LRoom processed
Cropped? - No
