25 Jul 2025: Saw this Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) sipping nectar at 3.11pm on the way to Singapore General Hospital. Very hot sunshine. It does not bother this small-sized butterfly. It needs to survive, hence has to put up with "hot hot hot" weather!
Canon R5. Handheld. Tv mode. 105mm. 1/2000 sec, f/4, ISO 320
(Set ISO to AUTO first).
SINGAPORE - 27 JUL 2025: 4.52pm.
Ang Mo Kio Fire Station in Northeastern Singapore is one of 18 fire stations in Singapore that offers open house tours, typically on Saturday mornings.
Canon R5, HANDHELD
37mm, 1/80 sec, f/16, ISO 250
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Photo 2 is a better photo if you want to showcase "ANG MO KIO FIRE STATION" name and logo.
Record:
1. Date and time. 27 Jul 2025, 4.52am.
2. Bright sunshine. Slight breeze.
3. Canon R5
4. AV mode, 37mm, 1/80 sec, f/16, ISO 250
UPDATE:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2025/07/4187-photography-tips-bright-sunshine.html
A prosperous farming village in China is a rural settlement where agriculture is the primary or significant source of livelihood for the majority of its residents.
These villages often feature traditional architecture, agricultural landscapes, and a strong sense of community tied to the cyclical rhythms of
planting and harvesting.
Key Characteristics of Chinese Farming Villages:
Agriculture as a Way of Life:
Farming, whether through individual plots or cooperative efforts, forms the core of the village economy and daily life.
Traditional Architecture:
Many villages retain traditional Chinese architectural styles, including tiled roofs, courtyards, and buildings constructed from local materials.
Community Focus:
Life in these villages often revolves around communal activities related to agriculture, festivals, and social gatherings.
Challenges of Modernization:
Some villages are experiencing a shift away from traditional farming as younger generations seek opportunities in urban areas, leading to potential labor shortages and abandonment of farmland.
Land Transfer and Agricultural Reform:
There is a growing trend of land transfer, where farmers lease their land to agricultural companies or individuals, sometimes leading to increased income and improved livelihoods.
Economic Diversification:
Some villages are exploring new industries like e-commerce and tourism to supplement or replace traditional farming.
Examples of Farming Villages:
Xiaogang Village (Anhui Province):
Known as "China's No. 1 Rural Reform Village," Xiaogang gained prominence for its pioneering role in agricultural reform.
Shanhui Village (Shanxi Province):
This village showcases the traditional way of life, with residents still engaged in farming and tofu production, although younger generations are leaving for cities.
Huaxi Village (Chongqing):
Huaxi has become an award-winning village, demonstrating successful business transformation and increased income for residents.
In essence, Chinese farming villages represent a blend of tradition and change, where agriculture remains a central element of life, but modernization and economic shifts are reshaping the rural landscape.
A prosperous farming village seen from the coach during the Wuhan - Zhangjiajie tour, China, 12 Apr 2025
TO BUY PHOTO: shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets
Update:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2025/07/4186-farming-village-in-china-wuhan.html
A Grabfood rider near Crockford Tower hotel, Sentosa. 20 Jul 2025. 9am
Canon R5, tv mode, 105mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1600
TO BUY PHOTO: shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets
20 July 2025: 9 am. Crockford Tower Hotel (R).
Bright sunshine, blue sky, cool morning. Deserted downhill road near Crockford Tower which is an all-suite luxury hotel in Resorts World Sentosa.
Fresh air, gentle breeze swept my face. Deserted. Peaceful. No bird chirping. No butterflies or dragonflies but full of greenery. A tree with large clusters of pink bougainvillae greeted me "Good Morning". I was waiting to photograph the cyclists. Not your usual ones. The recreational well dressed in branded active wear cyclists.
I saw this motorcyclist. A Grabfood rider. He smiled when he zoomed down the hill slope to deliver the food. No time for hobbies like photography. He has mouths to feed, bills to pay. He saw me, lens pointed at him. He smile radiated to his eyes. He was a happy gig worker. Self-employed. No bosses.
GrabFood delivers to Sentosa
20 July 2025:
I have not stayed in Crockfords Tower Resorts World Sentosa which is a luxury 5-star all-suite hotel. I can't find a location to snap a good photo of this hotel from the ground level as it is sited in a compact area.
However, a decent view of the Crockfords Tower is taken from the balcony of the 11th floor suite of Hotel Michael. I share this photo with viewers who may want a stock photo.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:
Canon R5, tripod, AV mode, 24mm, 1/60 sec, f/16, ISO 100.
Use f/16, focus at 1/3 from lower frame to get an overall sharp image of the background and cable cars. Good morning sunlight helps a lot. A tripod enables sharper image. Remove IS stabilisation to prevent blurring of photo when I pressed the shutter.
I hope viewers who collect photos for their projects like this image attached.
TO BUY STOCK PHOTOS OF HOTELS AND SENTOSA:
www.shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets
CREATIVE NON-FICTION. The power of SETTINGS in your writing from real life - Jenny Alexander
August 2024. WRITING MAGAZINE
Creative non-fiction makes true stories from the raw material of experience, and settings are an important part of the storyteller's craft. Use pathetic fallacy where the outer world reflects the mood of the character or intensifies the action. How many sad girls have gazed out on the world through windows streaming with rain? Pursuits and conflicts played out against roaring , thunderstorms. Lights never work when detectives search through a perfectly ordinary suburban house or flat?
In creative non-fiction, you can’t make up the weather but use it and other elements in the settings to intensify the mood or emotional power of a scene.
For example, your protagonist walks across a city park on an overcast afternoon and not many people are around. If he feels happy (received good news), frame it as how lovely to have the park almost to themselves. He spots early daffodils, not just flowers. That tells the readers it's springtime. Happy protagonists will notice the blackbird's song, the budding branches on the trees, the early daffodils, how lovely to have the park to himself etc. If passers-by wear shell suits, the scene will be culturally and historically different.
If he is anxious, not having many people around intensify his anxiety. If gloomy, he may not remark about the absence of people but notice the low sky, the drift of rubbish under the hedge, the dog’s mess littering the path.
As well as using settings to intensify the emotion of a scene, use them as part of characterisation, letting a character’s environment show what they are like. Someone keeps all their herb jars lined up tidily, labels facing forward, suggests one kind of person: one whose pots and pans come tumbling out when he opens the cupboard door suggests a different one.
Someone who loves to lie int the sun beside a blue pool with a cocktail is not the kind who prefers camping in the muddy fields and going to the pub for a pie and chips.
Settings is an economical way of giving information by the choice of detail. A happy protagonist spots early daffodils, not just flowers. That tells the readers it's springtime. Happy protagonists will notice the blackbird's song, the budding branches on the trees, the early daffodils, how lovely to have the park to himself etc. If passers-by wear shell suits, the scene will be culturally and historically different.
With creative non-fiction, it is important to make sure the factual details are right. If passers-by wear platform shoes two years before they are common, your reader will sense that they are not reading a true story as you are sloppy about details. How they can trust your honesty and accuracy in the story as a whole?
Don’t worry about all details in your first draft, just write the story and the settings how you remember them but check the facts on your redraft. Memories are stories forged from facts in the cauldron of imagination, they can stray from what actually happened.
Creative non-fiction make true stories from the raw material of experience and settings are an important part of the storyteller’s craft. Time, place, weather - they can be much more than just the backdrop against which the action of your story plays out.
TRY THIS:
Really look around you. Take your time. Close your eyes and imagine you are in a joyful mood. Something wonderful just happened. Open your eyes and look around.
What do you see? How would you describe the place you're in. Write for a few
minutes.
Try with other moods - sad, angry, fearful, bewildered. FEEL how you can
describe a setting truthfully, changing none of the facts, but artfully, to express and intensify the emotion of the story.
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Settings can also be an economical way of giving information by the choice of detail.
MY EXAMPLE FROM THE DRAGONFLY STORY AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2025/07/4180-wildlife-in-yishun-pond-and-ktph.html
Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital Botanic Garden. Morning. Blue skies, slight breeze as ripples over Yishun Pond lake are visible. Not many passers-by. One young man exercising in front of me - facing Pond, hands up and stretched out, jumps up and down, repeats. Senior over 80s, tanned, slim, with phone in his left shirt pocket listening to his audio---no need to carry it. Heart affected by phone's EMF? Women wearing head scarves zoom past me on the PMAs. Bright sunshine. A glorious day to be outdoors. Joyful to be alive.
Looking for dragonflies and butterflies to photography. Only one seen hidden. It fluttered to another branch in the shade of the plants and leaves. An overweight female Security guard in her 50s, bespectacled, white blouse black pants sauntered to demand what I was doing. A tripod with Canon R5 pointing at the middle of the Garden.
"I am taking a photo of the dragonfly," I replied. She looked but couldn't see it or maybe could. Far inside. Zoom lens 24-105mm. "It is OK if you take photos of the Botanic Garden," her commanding voice but not other parts of the KTPH.
Security guards get excited about digital camera. More excited at seeing tripods. "You need permission to take photos. Get moving if you don't have proof."
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