The Christmas Project by Mai Phuong Duong
Captured during the New Year countdown at Marina Bay, Singapore, this image immortalizes the ethereal glow of the Wishing Spheres floating upon the water. These illuminated orbs served as a collective vessel for the hopes and dreams of thousands, marking a poignant transition into a new year. The photographer expertly balanced the high-ISO requirements of the night environment with a precise aperture to capture the shimmering reflections and the festive atmosphere. This photograph is award-worthy for its ability to transform a public celebration into a deeply personal, meditative moment of unity and anticipation.
Mai Phuong Duong
Based in Singapore, Mai Phuong Duong is a dedicated photographer who balances her creative pursuits alongside her professional career. Alongside her husband and creative partner, Minh Nghia Le, she has cultivated a long-standing passion for documenting the world through a unique lens. Her work reflects a sincere desire to share personal perspectives and visual stories with an international audience, inviting viewers to experience the beauty and emotion she discovers in everyday life.
Resonance Score Breakdown
Transparency Note: The resonance score (13.4/20) is calculated based on social engagement metrics collected before the award announcement.
Expert Photography Reviews · 5
Vessels of the Unspoken
We are all architects of small, buoyant things, casting our secret intentions into the dark. There is a quiet bravery in the act of letting go—placing a wish upon the surface of the deep, trusting the current to carry what we are too afraid to say aloud.
Read the reflection →Vessels of the Unspoken
We cast our wishes into the water as if the depth could hold what we are too afraid to say aloud. It is a strange habit, this need to externalize the internal, to watch a small light drift away from the shore until it becomes indistinguishable from the stars.
Read the reflection →Reviews & Comments
Share your thoughts about this award-winning photograph. Your reviews contribute to the community engagement score.
The air at Marina Bay must have been heavy with humidity and collective longing that night. She stood there, waiting for the spheres to find their rhythm on the dark water. It’s not just a celebration; it’s a quiet prayer held in light. I’ve felt that same stillness when the world finally stops rushing. Looking at these glowing orbs, I find myself holding my breath, hoping those thousands of silent wishes actually found their way home.
The chromatic vibration here recalls the muted, dusty ochres of a Morandi still life, yet it’s pierced by the electric, synthetic cyan of Marina Bay’s nocturnal tide. I’m genuinely moved by how these glowing orbs bleed into the black water, creating a bruised, velvet indigo that feels almost tactile. It’s a melancholic, shimmering alchemy of light; one finds oneself lost in the way the warmth of the spheres quarrels with the cold, indifferent Singaporean night.
The frame doesn’t hold. The scattered orbs lack a coherent anchor, drifting into a chaotic sprawl that undermines the picture plane. While the shimmering reflections offer a fleeting tonality, the spatial tension is absent. It’s a visual drift, not a structure. I’ve grown weary of such aimless luminescence. Without a fulcrum to ground the composition, the eye is refused a destination. It’s technically competent, yet it fails to command the necessary formal discipline.
Marina Bay at midnight is a chaotic, humid endurance test. Most would have snapped a quick frame and retreated to the nearest air-conditioned bar. Instead, Duong lingered, balancing that ISO 3200 grain against the bobbing spheres. It’s a quiet, disciplined bit of work. I’ve spent enough nights shivering in the dark to appreciate the stillness she’s wrestled from such a frantic crowd. She didn’t just find this moment; she clearly earned it. A decent effort.
Most night photography at Marina Bay is just neon noise, but here, the deliberate choice to let the ISO 3200 grain soften the edges of those floating spheres transforms a chaotic countdown into a quiet, singular prayer. It’s the restraint that wins me over. I’ve seen thousands of these celebrations, yet this one feels intimate, like a secret kept between the water and the sky. It’s a rare, honest pause in a world that’s usually screaming.