S'pore feted in special edition of Nat Geo
Otters, Gardens By The Bay win prizes for photographers
A foreigner helped paint him a new picture of his home.
Three years ago, then budding photographer Leslie Heng went on a day shoot with his friend Nuno Assis, a Portuguese photographer based in Macau with a large Instagram following.
Mr Heng had intended to show his friend, who was on a short visit to Singapore, the best of what the country had to offer, but he was in for a surprise.
"It was the other way round. He showed me a lot of different angles (and places) we could take pictures, and that changed my perspective entirely," said Mr Heng, 42, who works in plastic manufacturing.
He was speaking to The Straits Times at the #WhatMakesSG media launch and photo exhibition yesterday at Suntec City, where he was named the People's Choice Award winner of the photography competition for his shot of the futuristic architectural style of Gardens by the Bay.
"When I went to different places, even if it was the same old Housing Board block that I had always been going to, I started to look up. I started to look left. And then I started to see interesting angles," he said.
The month-long competition held in April is part of the #WhatMakesSG collaboration between National Geographic and the Ministry of Communications and Information in celebration of National Day. Over 7,000 entries were submitted.
Ms Kang Yen Thiing won the grand prize for her photo of a group of otters in waters off Gardens by the Bay East.
A special edition of National Geographic magazine, titled Singapore - City Of Tomorrow, will be out next Wednesday. Some 250,000 complimentary copies will be available at community centres and libraries.
A documentary - City Of The Future: Singapore - will be aired from Aug 18 on the National Geographic channel, available on StarHub and Singtel.
Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, as well as Culture, Community and Youth, said: "As we celebrate each National Day, we think of different ways to celebrate Singapore's history, and of telling the Singapore story.
"Using photography as a theme... allows for quite a lot of participation... This enlivens the history and diversity of (Singapore's culture) that we want to share."
JOLENE ANG