Lui Hock Seng is an amateur photographer. He is 81 years old this year. He likes to explore Singapore with a camera taking photos of different neighbourhoods.

Despite considering himself an amateur, Lui’s works have done well in photo competitions.

He has won awards such as an Associateship with the Amateur Royal Photographic Society (ARPS) of Great Britain (1963) and more recently, a third prize (Colour) at the Kampong Glam Community Club in 2016.

Solo exhibition & book

His works were also showcased in a solo exhibition called Passing Time, from Feb. 10 to March 11, 2018.

Over 30 photos were featured at the exhibition. The showcased an array of nostalgic black-and-white shots capturing life in 1960s to 1970s Singapore. Some of these places include Clarke Quay, the old Tanah Merah Village and Redhill brick factory.

These are some of them:

BBC video feature

His story was picked up by BBC, which did a video feature on him titled "Singapore photographer: 'I've lost the city I used to shoot.'"

The video briefly traced Lui's life as an amateur photographer who has spent the past 50 years capturing snapshots of Singapore.

In the video, Lui wistfully noted that the Singapore landscape has changed vastly. For instance, Ellenborough market has been replaced by Central, a large and shiny mall in Clarke Quay.

"I've lost the places I used to shoot. Now I feel somewhat disappointed.

I never thought that some places would change so fast. At least I managed to preserve some of them in my photos."

It was also revealed that Lui is publishing a book so "younger people can see what Singapore used to be like."

The book is now available for pre-order from Objectifs at S$45, and is expected to be ready by early May 2018.

When published, the book will retail for S$50.

Commended by PM Lee

PM Lee Hsien Loong noticed the BBC feature and took to Facebook to share his thoughts.

In his April 17 Facebook post, PM Lee acknowledged Lui's point that Singapore has changed over the years, but still hopes to keep "a sense of its history:"

"Mr Lui speaks with nostalgia about the places he used to photograph that no longer exist. Singapore has indeed changed a great deal over the years. It will continue to change and grow, while I hope keeping a sense of its history. I am sure Mr Lui will find new scenes to inspire him, and continue chronicling our beautiful living city with his camera."

More importantly, he was full of praise for Lui as a "brilliant example of active ageing."

Given Singapore's ageing population, it is unsurprising that the government consistently supports active ageing.

"Mr Lui has just released his first photobook at the age of 81. Clearly his passion for photography has not diminished but grown stronger with years. A brilliant example of active aging!"

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This is PM Lee's full Facebook post:

You can watch the BBC video here.

Top photo via BBC & Lui Hock Seng.