Kong Chong Yew graduated from Singapore Polytechnic in 2006, and is currently pursuing his passion in photography at the NTU School of Arts, Design and Media. “I picked up photography accidentally when I wanted a change of co-curriculum activity,” Chongyew explains. “In my second year, I joined the school’s photography club and fell in love with black and white photography.”

Chongyew’s pictures have won him several accolades at national level, notably in 2005 when he came in first in the NUS montage student category.

“As a documentary photographer, I am interested in the relationship between my subjects and their surroundings,” Chongyew says about his work. “In the Small Things series -pictured above- my subjects are seen making a conscious decision -or they are the result of a conscious decision- which suggests that they are in control of their will. Yet is this true? Pitted against the environment, my subjects are placed in an uncomfortable and awkward position, questioning their control over what they thought they have over themselves.”

Renz Hu is a Photography and Digital Imaging undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University, School of Art, Design and Media. Greatly influenced by cinematographic directions and his training as an architectural assistant, Renz’s work experiments with light and shadows, paying special attention to the interaction between lines, surfaces, form and details.

About his work: “Inspired by the diminishing sale of exotic traditional Chinese medicine, this series is a sub-collection of works that stems from a larger series. Removed from their glass coffins, the subjects are given new life. I am deeply attracted by their extraordinary surface texture, and the force that exudes from their amazing forms.”

This month’s banner comes from the shutter of Ernest Lim. “I shoot images for fun, and take inspiration from nature. I hope to capture moments with many interpretations and meanings.”

Click images for more works in the series.

21-year-old artist and fine art photographer, Cheryl Teo, is currently working on her BFA in Photography at the Nanyang Technological University, School of Art, Design and Media. “I am very much interested in conceptual art, and I enjoy expressing my thoughts and describing personal meaning through analogies.”

Through her imagination, Cheryl seeks to open up new worlds and explore the unexplored. “Diving into new dimensions fascinate me and intrigue my senses,” she adds. “Infinite Abyss -pictured above- is the magical act of objects falling through space and time, where there is no start and no end. The boundless way in which it transcends, brings about a sense of timelessness and surrealism. Metaphorically, this series of work refers to the abyss of time and the unknown vastness of life.”

Stanley Yap is the designer and photographer behind Life’s A Stage, a book by author Evelyn Teng. The work is a behind-the-scenes look at the art and lives of the opera performers of Ong Si Mui’s Troupe, one of the last Hokkien opera troupes in Singapore. It also reveals glimpses of a vanishing art and captures a part of Singapore’s cultural history.

The book cover is inspired by the script synopsis which hangs near the stage entrance of every street opera troupe, and comes with a safety pin bookmark.

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Sazeli Jalal majored in Interior Design from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Self-taught, he accidentally found his photographic career when he worked for the Germany-based artists’ network Artyfakt.

Sazeli’s influence in art, architecture and photography has pushed his boundaries into other areas as well such as installation art and even collaborations with film directors. He even made several short films.

His works have been featured and reviewed by specialist magazines. Sazeli has since photographed for major publications, and has shot campaigns for fashion and accessory brands.

About his work: “The idea that a fashion photograph is just a record of a dress is no longer true. I have always believed that ideas/concepts are what define artists, not their techniques. I am a storyteller, I like to create a narrative which has a dialogue that speaks for itself. My direction is mostly very stylized right down to every single detail, from making the set design to getting the right props that fit the “dialogue”. Creating something surreal, sometimes creates an element of surprise in my works but I always like to add on a bit of reality, which is essential because I believe that it is something we could relate to rather than just a dream. In a sense its an “amplified reality”.”

22-year-old Timothy Sim is currently doing his national service. At the same time, he is also serving as a photojournalist for Singapore’s Military publication, Pioneer Magazine.

Tim graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Mass Communication with a Journalism Major. Picking up a film camera for the first time in the last year of his school term, he fell in love with the brilliance of capturing the essence expressions and emotions of people.

To Tim, passion is the purest form of emotion that keeps him going, transforming hobby into profession. ”The subjects I shoot are more often than not people, because of life in the human soul which simply cannot be found in inanimate objects,” Tim adds. “I personally feel that passion is incredibly important. It drives people forward and fuels even more interest in a particular subject.”

I only just discovered the work of Fadli Rahman, an 18-year-old photographer who is currently taking Fashion Communication at Lasalle College Of The Arts.  Fadli started doing fashion photography eight months ago, and already contributed to numerous editorials for Mens Folio Singapore, Swank Glossy Indonesia and the Toni & Guy London Book 2010. His favorite quote: If you want be on top, welcome to the bottom. “That’s how things started for me,” he adds, “but I’m still far away from the top.”

Fadli’s  style is a combination of soft colors and provoking wardrobes. “I am constantly searching for new creative solutions for every shoot, be it the wardrobe, the location, even the accessories. All these elements play an important role in portraying the feeling and mood I want to set for each photo. Also, I don’t just create a nice photo, to me there is no such thing. Creating a story behind every shoot is far more important.”