I've had just enough time to... shoot the Creeping Forest before its destruction
Shots of the Creeping Forest in the "Beautiful Island"
That day was a Sunday. It was also
the first day of the 2013 Chinese New Year and the start of the Year of the
Water Snake. I woke up early and drove towards the factory where I worked on
the island named “Beautiful Island”. I do not what they call it before they
call it “Beautiful Island” for there is nothing very beautiful about it unless
you love mud flats and mangrove swamps. But every day as I drove to and from work,
I will look out to a stretch of land which I called the Creeping Forest.
Use your imaginations
It is one of the last few patches of
wild land left on the island that is undergoing rapid expansion and I know its
days are numbered when they began to widen the road near it. It may only be
weeks or months before part or all of this stretch will be bulldozed over and I
will only be left with the memories that amused me every day to work. I will
not make the same mistake as when I procrastinated too long before taking shots
of another idyllic part of the island. Now, it is just an ugly vacant lot for
sales that has been left idle for the last two years.
To see the fantastical creatures
The traffic was very light on this
very busy highway exactly as I planned. I will feel self-conscious if I were to
stop my car on a normal day to take photos as many people who travel this road
may recognize me. But on this day, if they are not celebrating the new year,
they will be enjoying the holidays which last until Wednesday and all factories
will be shut down during this period. There is no one to ask me questions that
I do not want to answer.
That dwell in this forest (I saw a Keelin here every time except today, sigh...)
About a few minutes before reaching the
factory, I pulled over to the laterite shoulder of the highway, alighted from
my car and took my shot. Unfortunately, the light this morning was too bright
and not slanted enough for the shadows to bring out the best of the fantastical
creatures. For the real beauty of the Creeping Forest is what you extract from
it through your imaginations. And the weather (cloudy or bright), intensity of light,
time of the day (especially in early morning or late evening), windy conditions
all play a part but none as important as the imagination of the viewer. What
each of us sees may be quite different from the other and on a special day of
moving clouds, the transformation happened right before our very eyes.
Visible only to those with the "sights".
As I inched forward in my car to
take shots from slightly different angles, a strange bird with a black band
across its eyes like a robber flew to settle on a branch in the open not more
than 10 yards away from me. I shot quickly afraid that it will fly away immediately
but I should not have worried. It perched there comfortably and watched me for
the whole duration. That is kind of a strange behavior for a bird so I chalked
it as one getting unusual rewards for doing unusual things.
Unsual rewards for doing unusual things or maybe this bird understands me
The creeping forest may just be wild
trees with overgrown creepers to some but to me, it was something more, something
much more. I know I am going to miss it when it is gone. So I made this post to
remember it by. As I drove back to the house to begin the celebration of the
New Year, I can’t help but wonder – am I the only driver who notices it and who
feels this way?
I will miss it when it is gone...
