In a bid to encourage excellence in mobile photography and support budding photographers showcase their creative skills, OPPO Singapore recently collaborated with LASALLE College of the Arts to launch an exclusive photography competition for young Singaporeans.
Themed “Rediscover Fading Traditions”, the competition sought to uncover Singapore’s rich heritage through the perspective of students from LASALLE College of the Arts.
The competition has since concluded on June 23 with multiple student winners announced, including Phoebe Natalie Fong Jing En, who clinched first place. These winning entries can be viewed on OPPO Singapore’s Instagram page.
Her entry, titled “Bird Watching”, was taken at Teck Whye Aquarium and featured an old uncle watching the birds on display at the shop — an activity that was common in the 1980s-1990s but is still a popular recreational activity with the older population today.
However, this recreational activity that once brought the community together has become a fading tradition, especially with animal cruelty prevention becoming more prevalent as many bird shops are getting caught for failing basic welfare conditions, which shed light on the mistreatment of birds.
Speaking with NYLON Singapore, Phoebe shared that she had found out about the competition through her LASALLE lecturer, Tim, who had sent out an email to the Design Communication students.
“I thought that this would be a really good opportunity to expose myself to the photography industry in Singapore while building my portfolio,” said Phoebe.
Once she found out about the theme of the competition, Phoebe started to do a lot of research that looked into Singapore’s heritage where she chanced upon an article that talked about Tiong Bahru’s Singing Bird Corner.
Although the space was no longer active, Phoebe was still able to replicate the feel she wanted for her entry with a bird shop near her home that had a similar set up.
Read on more for our conversation with Phoebe:
Hi Phoebe, congratulations on winning the photography competition! How did you feel when you found out you won?
Phoebe: “My initial reaction was shock and disbelief, as I really had not expected to win at all. I entered the competition with the mindset that I was participating for the experience and to work on my photography skills, and was not aiming to win anything. However, I am very grateful and thankful that I have the honour of winning first place, and am proud to be able to showcase my work on a larger scale.
Winning this competition has also encouraged me to enter more competitions, as well as for me to continue to hone my skills in this industry, and I hope that I will be able to grow as a photographer through all these experiences.”
Were there any worries, expectations or outcomes you had for your participation in the competition?
P: “I went into this competition with an open mind, and was more excited to expand my photography skills and experience regardless of whether I would win anything or not. Of course, winning any accolade would have been a pleasant surprise and an extra reward, but I wasn’t banking on achieving first place in any way. My focus remained on improving my photography skills rather than the end result.”
What were some of your overall thoughts about participating in a competition like this?
P: “I believe that competitions like these are really useful, especially for students, because they serve as incentives for students to proudly display their creative work. Such competitions also provide them with opportunities to receive recognition and feedback from a wider audience, and I am glad that there are now more platforms that allow the creative arts to be showcased.
Through this competition I was able to expand my creative thinking to find a suitable composition that matched the theme, and am grateful to have been given a chance to participate in this competition.”
As you’re also entering the Global imagine IF Photography Awards 2024, what do you hope to achieve from your participation?
P: “I’ll be entering the Global imagine IF competition with an open mind, with the same goal to expand my photography skills. Since this competition is on a global scale, I hope to be able to receive feedback from different views and perspectives, and am also excited to see what other participants come up with! The theme for the global competition is something that excites me as well, and I am excited to see how I can portray the theme according to my own creativity.
Above all, I hope to use this opportunity to have fun experimenting more with photography, and I hope my passion for photography continues to grow.”
Global imagine IF Photography Awards 2024
Aside from the photography competition that OPPO Singapore launched with LASALLE College of the Arts, OPPO has launched the 2024 edition of its yearly competition that celebrates imagination and creativity through photos captured using OPPO smartphones around the world.
One winner will walk away as the OPPO imagine IF Master with a cash prize of USD $24,000 and the opportunity to showcase their entries at an international exhibition like the Paris Photo.
If you’re a budding photographer interested in flexing your creativity, you can submit your entry here. All entries have to be submitted by 28 July and winners will be announced in early September.
For more information on the OPPO Global imagine IF Photography Awards 2024, click HERE.
Conversation with the OPPO imagine IF — APAC Reno Portrait Awards, Reno Master Prize 2024 Winner
Another aspect of the imagine IF Photography Awards 2024 was the OPPO imagine IF — APAC Reno Portrait Awards that has since concluded with Singaporean photographer Glin Gwee coming out on top as the winner of the Reno Master Prize.
Having discovered the competition through a friend who shared the link with her, Glin said that it was the idea of an open-ended brief that “truly piqued” her interest.
“It’s refreshing to encounter a project that encourages interpretation and allows me to exercise my creativity without being confined by rigid constraints,” said Glin.
Expanding on the theme “Stand Out, In Portrait”, Glin decided to photograph her grandmother as her subject, to create “authentic, intimate” portraits of her and to also cherish the time they had together.
Read on for more of our conversation with Glin:
Hi Glin! Could you share what the story is behind your submitted entry?
Glin: “It’s easy for me to revert to my usual methodical and professional approach that frequently emphasises perfection. I had to remind myself to deviate from my habits and tackle this project from a different angle.
One day, as I listened to my mother talk about her frequent visits to my grandmother, who is nearing a century of life, it dawned on me that I had never taken a proper photograph of her, despite my photography career. Given her age and the communication challenges she faces, it reaffirmed my decision to make her the focal point of my work and seize this opportunity to not only create authentic, intimate portraits of her but also to cherish our time together.
I believed that these images would be cherished by my family and loved ones as valuable mementos, regardless of the competition outcome. I wanted to see any victory as a bonus, not the primary focus—just go with the flow, not overthink it, and simply shoot. When I learned that my photographs had won the Reno Master Prize, I was filled with an exceptional sense of achievement and delight!”
What motivated or inspired you to participate in the competition?
G: “It’s the idea of an open-ended brief that truly piqued my interest. It’s refreshing to encounter a project that encourages interpretation and allows me to exercise my creativity without being confined by rigid constraints. I saw that as a chance to reconnect with the essence of what drew me to photography in the first place.”
You represented Singapore in the competition — could you share some of your thoughts about this?
G: “When I initially participated in the competition, I entered without consciously considering my identity as a Singaporean photographer. When I won, the sudden realization that I had also represented my country at an Asia-Pacific scale, felt like a deeply humbling privilege. It’s heartwarming to know that my work has contributed to Singapore’s presence within the international photography community.”
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