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Jay Maisel

Singapore
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Singapore


I had always been impressed with Singapore: tiny with a strong, paternalistic, intrusive government; city-state with a dynamic economy; one of the best airlines in the world; great food, no crime, etc.

I went there twice about fifteen to twenty years apart. The first time, I was on assignment to shoot the OCBC building (Overseas Chinese Banking Corp.) for United Technologies.

In a city of mostly low buildings, the OCBC building towered over everything else. The architect was I.M. Pei, who I think is one of the best, so it was a beautiful thing. It did, however, stick out like a sore thumb.

Fifteen or so years later, I went there again to photograph the Chase Manhattan Bank exterior. I could not find the OCBC building. It was not gone, it was just surrounded by so many newer, taller buildings.

As always, I was trying to shoot for myself when time allowed. The picture of Red Wall and Rope was photographed on the run between two shoots of Chase Manhattan bankers.

On the shoot of the OCBC building, I wanted to do an aerial of it. After much back and forth between me and the Singapore military, I finally got permission to shoot if I allowed a military guy to come up with me in the plane and if I sent them every frame of my shoot so they could take out anything they felt violated their security.

I sent them the shoot–every frame as they requested.

The only things they kept were a few images I had shot of the harbor while walking on the street. I thought to myself, there must be thousands of satellite shots of the harbor.

Oh well.

Red Walls with Signs, Singapore
Red Walls with Signs, Singapore
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Woman on Gangway to Ship, Singapore
Woman on Gangway to Ship, Singapore
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Protected Place, Singapore
Protected Place, Singapore
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Two Kids Sitting, Singapore
Two Kids Sitting, Singapore
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Woman's Face, Singapore
Woman's Face, Singapore
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Older Woman in Chair, Singapore
Older Woman in Chair, Singapore
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Young Man with White Bag, Singapore
Young Man with White Bag, Singapore
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Elder Person in Window, Singapore
Elder Person in Window, Singapore
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Detail of Fountain, Singapore
Detail of Fountain, Singapore
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Red Wall and Rope, Singapore
Red Wall and Rope, Singapore
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Water, Boats Through Trees, Singapore
Water, Boats Through Trees, Singapore
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Smiling Kid in Wagon, Singapore
Smiling Kid in Wagon, Singapore
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Older Man with Cigarette, Singapore
Older Man with Cigarette, Singapore
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Wall with Fence and Objects, Singapore
Wall with Fence and Objects, Singapore
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Man with Bike, Man with Bread, Singapore
Man with Bike, Man with Bread, Singapore
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Woman in Blue, Singapore
Woman in Blue, Singapore
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Two Men, Striped Wall, Singapore
Two Men, Striped Wall, Singapore
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Construction, Workers, Sun, Singapore
Construction, Workers, Sun, Singapore
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Silhouette of Woman, Singapore
Silhouette of Woman, Singapore
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Circle of Boats, Singapore
Circle of Boats, Singapore
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Old Windows, Blue Wall, Singapore
Old Windows, Blue Wall, Singapore
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Two Men Loading Bags, Singapore
Two Men Loading Bags, Singapore
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Men in Boat, Building Against Sky, Singapore
Men in Boat, Building Against Sky, Singapore
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Aerial of OCBC and Houses, Singapore
Aerial of OCBC and Houses, Singapore
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Aerial of Canal, Boat Houses, Singapore
Aerial of Canal, Boat Houses, Singapore
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Boat and Water, Singapore
Boat and Water, Singapore
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Ships in Harbor, Singapore
Ships in Harbor, Singapore
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Harbor and Buildigs, Singapore
Harbor and Buildigs, Singapore
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Overhead of Tail of Jet, Singapore
Overhead of Tail of Jet, Singapore
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Tail of Jet in Scaffolding, Singapore
Tail of Jet in Scaffolding, Singapore
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Worker and Jet, Singapore
Worker and Jet, Singapore
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Houses, Singapore
Houses, Singapore
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Close-up Religious Sculptures, Singapore
Close-up Religious Sculptures, Singapore
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Temple Facade, Singapore
Temple Facade, Singapore
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Man Clipping Nails, Singapore
Man Clipping Nails, Singapore
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Lion with Tongue Out, Singapore
Lion with Tongue Out, Singapore
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