Playgrounds are familiar places for us growing up, and Singapore certainly does not lack any! One can expect to find a playground consisting of slides, swings, see-saws, trazpee rings and climbers in any neighbourhood. However, there are some playgrounds in Singapore built in the 1970s that remain iconic and reflect an older generation of non-technology bound kids who run around playing catch, hide and seek and police-and-thief.
We came across one such bird-themed playground at Dakota Crescent, and this week we visited another well-known playground located at Toa Payoh, this time in the theme of the Chinese dragon. During this trip we had the company of our friends Deon and Deborah, both photographers in their own right and we knew we were going to have fun with and learn a lot from two experienced folks!
We used three different cameras for our adventure in Toa Payoh; our trusty Fujifilm X-T10, the timeless Polaroid Spectra ImagePro and a disposable 35mm camera. For this entry, we decided to ‘mix’ up our photos, which will detail our complete journey rather than distinguishing the photos according to type.
Getting There…
There’s just something about snapping a flower up close and personal, focusing on its natural beauty!Silhouettes in the day.35mm: Damian pictured going about to capture the white flower above!
Meeting the Dragon
The dragon’s head, composed of tiny mosaic tiles!The artists hard at work!Caught ya!35mm: Damian ‘chilling’ alongside a young girl who was enthused and running about!35mm: Capturing the ‘body’ of the dragon playground; the vintage-type look and feel of this 35mm film stood out for us.Walking along the dragon’s back!35mm: The view from ‘inside’ the dragon’s body…!Polaroid Spectra: Capturing the perennial metal rings of the dragon.The young girl was very energetic, climbing up and down the dragon structure with nimbleness.35mm: Slides, because that’s what they’re made for.35mm: Deborah and Deon, our two happy photographers!Capturing a photographer at work provides another perspective to what is normally seen as the end-product.Spot Damian…?But of course, who says photographers can’t have fun?! Deon and Deborah unleashing their inner child!Polaroid Spectra: Another view of the dragon playground!
Exploring Ol’ Toa Payoh
35mm: After snapping way too many photos at the Dragon playground, we walked around the 40-plus year old estate. We spotted laundry pole holders, which are not built in modern housing estates.35mmAbandoned.A long way up.
Polaroid Spectra: Damian looking through the photos. The contrast was certainly striking!Our photographer friends chatted with some elderly residents in Hokkien, who were seated comfortably by the walkway.Having climbed up a block of flats, the view below provided a top-down perspective.Polaroid SpectraHigher and higher.Capturing the photographers on a break!
Symmetry.Signs of activity as local residents hustle and bustle around Toa Payoh HDB Hub.Reaching our final destination to get…… waffles & ice cream! No one can resist ice cream at Creamier (yum yum)!Deon and Deborah, our fantastic buddies on this trip!Lastly, a randomly taken selfie of the four photographers (sorry Deon)!
Of course, this entry would not be complete without featuring some of our pals’ photos taken during this trip (warning):
By Deon:
Equipment: Sony a7ii with Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 lens.
By Deborah:
We did warn you that they were really good…! If you would like to check out Deon’s other photos, please click here!
We thoroughly enjoyed this photo-outing with Deborah and Deon! We were blessed with the conversations we have had with them, and learnt a great deal about their photography techniques and equipment. Their insights into photography have inspired us to take better photos and look at street photography through different lenses.
As always, we look forward to more photo-outings with them (and anyone else who is keen)!
Damian with Sandra 
I will visit this place soon. Nice shots taken
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Thanks Ezekiel!
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I just dont know exactly where haha
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28 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310028!
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