Cycling Through

Introduce yourself!
Hi, I’m Winnie, and my hobbies vary every six months. Currently, the obsession is crocheting, and yoga too for the past two years maybe? I’m also starting to get back into film photography. As for everything else, yeah I can’t remember what my old hobbies were. I think my hobby is collecting hobbies. I’m actually a hobby graveyard (laughs)!

Honestly, relatable! What have you crocheted so far?
Things like bags, keychains, mostly coasters. Bags are very tedious though. I do not recommend… I also don’t have the patience to garments, so no garments too. I also don’t sell any of my stuff because once I monetise my hobby, I’ll hate it.

Let’s talk more about film photography then. When did you first pick it up?
I started in end 2020, early 2021. Then aiya, I keep jumping hobbies every few months, but I did fix up my dad’s old camera to shoot, so I thought I should start using it lah. The camera was from my grandfather’s friend who owned a photography studio, so it was possibly around since the 1950s already. Before I fixed it up it was rusted and covered in fungus (laughs). When I brought it to the camera shop, the uncle was like “You really want to fix it ah? Tell me the story behind it. Give me a reason to fix it.” So I did and he said “You know what, okay, valid, I’ll fix it for you.” It’s quite cute lah.

You’re right it is a cute story! What do you usually shoot?
I love to shoot people. One of my favourite places to shoot is actually Tanjong Pagar, because of the whole juxtaposition of the old and new, you know? You’ll see a bunch of well-dressed people walking by, rushing past to have lunch, then you have all these aunties and uncles over there listening to their music, playing mahjong. Yeah it’s one of the few places where I can feel the older part of Singapore. There’s not really a lot of these places left.

Oh yes, that’s one of our favourite spots to shoot too! Finally, do you have any New Year’s resolutions?
Nope, I don’t care. Different year, same shit (laughs). Or if anything, maybe it’ll be to start using my film camera more. It was so expensive to fix—$1,500 for just the camera! And I haven’t even included the lens yet! And I think I might be going overseas this year, so I’m hoping to practice, get good with it, then use it overseas lah.