got owned at photomarathon!!

Photomarathon was fun! Although it'd be many many times more fun with friends.

I reached Suntec City at 7.30, and on the MRT ride there I saw a couple of photographers and reckoned they were also taking part in the marathon (I was right). At Hall 401, I was relieved to see that the queue for the pre-registrants was shorter than the 'waiting list' queue. After getting and changing into my Photomarathon shirt, I took my seat and waited for the start of the competition.

While waiting, I began checking my stuff and was pleased to discover that my DIY Ricola box flash diffuser was in my camera bag (I thought I'd lost it). Then I took it out and put it on my camera.

I heard laughter coming from the group of guys beside me. I caught one of them saying 'DIY' and believed they were referring to me. Then one of them reached into his bag and took out... a Speedlite 580EXII. I was well aware of how ridiculous my Ricola box (yellow, no less) looked beside the Speedlite and could barely suppress a grin. I kept it soon after.

That wasn't the first time I got owned yesterday...

So the first theme was 'Clarity'. "Okay, cool," I said to myself, as a picture of my spectacles and the Singapore Flyer flashed in my head. I took bus 97 (it was the most violent bus ride of my life - and it lasted 2 stops) there and spent a couple of minutes on my photo.

Was quite pleased with the results and I hurried back to Suntec to submit it and - more importantly - to have breakfast.

It turned out that the spectacles concept was pretty popular and it made up none of the shortlisted entries... damn!

Theme 2: Faith

The first thought I had was religion, and I was right in believing that it was what most people were thinking too. Nonetheless, I headed down to the temples in Bras Basah, and the place was swarming with Photomarathoners.

I purposely stayed away from the temple, where everyone was shooting the joss sticks and people praying and whatnot. I had some ideas in mind, like a blind man crossing the road, or an old person relying on his caregiver to get around, or a toddler learning to walk, or a kid running to his mother's arms... But where the hell to get those shots? I also thought of shooting an Arsenal fan praying to his team at Arsenal Singapore's hangout at the Liz, but... Where to get my subject? So I thought, to hell with this, and shot a random old auntie hanging on to her husband as they navigated the crowds...

Not exactly top-notch, competition-winning material, but what the hell.

Was pretty exhausted when I returned to submit my photo, but still found the energy to walk around the hall, looking at camera equipment and Apple products.

Played with a 5D2 at the Cathay Photo booth. The closest I'll ever get to holding one...

Cool rig but I prefer the 5D2 on the rig.

Photographers jostling to photograph the 'booth babe'...

I also had the chance to use a 100-400 on my camera, and all the shots I took had camera shake because in my excitement I forgot to adjust the shutter speed and ended up shooting at 1/30s at full zoom, haha!

The third theme came at 3.05pm, and it was 'Charge'. Some photographers rushed outside the hall to grab a shot of people 'charging' through the doors. I thought of phoning my dad to borrow his iPhone and his charger, or perhaps photograph his car at the petrol station, but decided that it would be too much of a hassle. I thought of photographing plugs and batteries but thought that it would be a common subject of many photos. I was going to submit the above iPod photo (because I was too lazy to walk around) but discovered that the submission period for Theme 3 hadn't started yet.

Then I saw a kid holding a balloon, and I thought, why not get a shot of a balloon attracting my hair? It wouldn't win me anything but it was easy to execute and I was already very tired. So I snooped around for balloons and managed to get one.

I was pleased to find an empty toilet and proceeded to... well, cam-whore.

My job done, I sank into a seat and enjoyed the aircon while waiting for the competition to end.

I didn't win anything, as expected, but I did enjoy myself. I might take part again next year, if I can find a willing friend to take part with me.