Matilda House

Matilda House

© 2006 Martin Liew

Matilda House

Located at Punggol End, Matilda House was built in 1902 for Mr Joseph Cashin whose family history in Singapore can be traced back to the early 1840s. The building is a fine example of an early style tropical bungalow. The tropical style of the building is accentuated through its architectural features such as open verandahs, raised floors and the use of timber framed lattice and louvres to permit cross breezes. As the only remaining historical bungalow in Punggol, the conservation of Matilda House will serve as a significant landmark for the future Punggol new town and as a reminder of "old Punggol".

There are many stories about this house especially of haunting & spiritual stuff. I was thrilled about making nocturne pictures of such old house and did not bother much about it. As mentioned in my early blog, nocturne photography, to me, is a experimental and creative way of expressing on how I see this world in another dimension. Well I think the nocturnal effect I did here does add up the spookiness and makes it look more eerie. But ultimately that wasn't my main objective.

For the above photo, I was using a wide angle lens, setting my camera at a very low angle point in such to frame the whole house. I exposed it for a full 10-minute during which I used 2 colored gels to light-paint. Same exposure timing for the photo below which is the back area of the house.

Matilda House

© 2006 Martin Liew