Singapore!

And my 'nifty fifty' lens

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

I did promise something completely different today after last week’s monster of a post, so I decided to share some images from a recent trip to Singapore. But I did want to say a huge thank you for the feedback on last week’s post - it turns out that a ramble is not always necessarily a bad thing!

Also, a huge welcome to the new readers of The Best of Intentions. It’s great to have you here.

And I’d love to know what you have been up to, so please let me know in the comments!

Take care,

Sarah

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Marina Bay Sands at sunrise with its distinctive ‘boat’ atop the hotel and shops.

At the end of last month, I accompanied my husband to Singapore who was going there for a work. It was not my first time to the city-state but my last visit was in 2017, which felt like a lifetime ago, and so when my husband suggested that I accompany him, I didn’t need to think too hard.

There were several highlights, including eating delicious food at the hawker stalls, exploring some of the museums and galleries, and being able to catch up with friends (some of whom I haven’t seen since before the pandemic).

The trip also provided me with a great excuse to get out on the streets and test out my recent purchase of a 50mm lens for my DSLR, something that has been on my camera wish-list for a while.

A beautifully preserved shophouse in Keong Saik

More shophouses in Keong Saik

Not quite as sharp as I would have liked, but this is a Peacock Flower (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) in Fort Canning Park

Again lacking sharpness, but slowly getting to grips with a different lens and trying to focus on the composition. The clouds were aligned in my view! Gardens by the Bay

The Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam

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And the ‘nifty fifty’

When I bought my Nikon D5500 nearly ten years, I upgraded (or got upsold depending on your perspective) to a 18-140mm. While this is a fantastic lens and it can do pretty much anything, it is bulky. More recently I started wondering if a smaller lens might encourage me to take my camera out more and so I investigated purchasing a 50mm. This type of prime lens has the nickname of the nifty fifty as it is compact and light. Plus, it can provide a little more discretion, and given that most of my photography is out on the street and when I am travelling, I stick out like a sore thumb when I have a larger lens attached.

I am looking forward to playing with it more! Plus, a 50mm is also good for portraits, something that I have rarely focused on up to now.

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Coming up next week:

It’s a bumper edition with two posts as it’s the beginning of September (it’s September, already?!)

• Monday 2nd September - my monthly digest for the Novel in a Year exercises from Louise Doughty’s book of the same name. These are accountability-type posts and if you couldn’t care less about following me with these (I won’t be offended in the slightest), there is always…

• Wednesday 4th September - August Moments. A monthly round-up of things that have caught my eye from both Substack and beyond. Here is a link to last month’s post if you are interested in finding out more.

July Moments

Finally, if you like what you see at the The Best of Intentions, it helps tremendously when you give the heart a squeeze, share the piece with one of your mates, or leave a comment (I read and reply to all - a great joy!). Thank you 😉