<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Hard times are here but he's happier now
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Award-winning photographer and TV commercial director Edward Loh knows about the high life.
He was commanding a daily rate of US$15,000 (S$22,535) or more for his shoots for international brand campaigns, and travelling to Hong Kong, China and India for work.
While here, he zipped around in a Mercedes S class and a Mercedes GL450.
There are supposedly only eight GL450 models in Singapore.
Mr Loh also used to think nothing of spending $600 on a meal in a Japanese restaurant.
These days, however, he thinks twice if he has to fork out $6 at a foodcourt.
'This is the worst I've gone through in my life. I spent Christmas and Chinese New Year totally broke, with three kids, but I'm so happy. I have never enjoyed this kind of happiness without money,' said the 40-year-old who is married to a housewife.
The source of his happiness? Religion.
When he bought an old semi-detached house in Upper East Coast Road two years ago, he tore it down to build a bungalow, which was designed to house his studio and gallery.
But plagued by contractor woes, what was supposed to take a year and $200,000 ballooned to two years and more than $1 million, wiping out his savings.
It did not help that the global financial crisis came along - an events company he owns saw business dip considerably.
Today, Mr Loh says he does not even have money left in his CashCard and has to plan his routes so he does not pass through any Electronic Road Pricing gantry.
He also does not have enough money to pay for airfares to meet overseas clients for potential photography jobs.
He will not sell his bungalow because he plans to use it to host church activities.
And given the prices the two cars can fetch, selling them would mean he has to come up with an additional $100,000 to settle the car loans.
But he said: 'This crisis I'm facing makes me feel I don't need much. By knowing that, I have contentment, I don't have fear, I'm not controlled by money. I'm happy there is this recession. I've found God.'
If not for his religion, Mr Loh said he might not have been able to cope with his current situation.
He became a Christian in 2007, partly with the help of his friend, actor Darren Lim, who is also a Christian.
Mr Loh now attends New Creation Church with his wife, Angeline, 38. They have a nine-year-old daughter and two sons aged four and six.
He asked his friends for help and they recommended that he go to loan sharks. But his church community has extended a helping hand, providing food for the family and financial help. For that, he is even more convinced that he has made the right choice with his religion. Neither does he care how people look at him now. 'I accepted Christ at a time I didn't need help financially. But now I really, really need him,' he said.
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Award-winning photographer and TV commercial director Edward Loh knows about the high life.
He was commanding a daily rate of US$15,000 (S$22,535) or more for his shoots for international brand campaigns, and travelling to Hong Kong, China and India for work.
While here, he zipped around in a Mercedes S class and a Mercedes GL450.
There are supposedly only eight GL450 models in Singapore.
Mr Loh also used to think nothing of spending $600 on a meal in a Japanese restaurant.
These days, however, he thinks twice if he has to fork out $6 at a foodcourt.
'This is the worst I've gone through in my life. I spent Christmas and Chinese New Year totally broke, with three kids, but I'm so happy. I have never enjoyed this kind of happiness without money,' said the 40-year-old who is married to a housewife.
The source of his happiness? Religion.
When he bought an old semi-detached house in Upper East Coast Road two years ago, he tore it down to build a bungalow, which was designed to house his studio and gallery.
But plagued by contractor woes, what was supposed to take a year and $200,000 ballooned to two years and more than $1 million, wiping out his savings.
It did not help that the global financial crisis came along - an events company he owns saw business dip considerably.
Today, Mr Loh says he does not even have money left in his CashCard and has to plan his routes so he does not pass through any Electronic Road Pricing gantry.
He also does not have enough money to pay for airfares to meet overseas clients for potential photography jobs.
He will not sell his bungalow because he plans to use it to host church activities.
And given the prices the two cars can fetch, selling them would mean he has to come up with an additional $100,000 to settle the car loans.
But he said: 'This crisis I'm facing makes me feel I don't need much. By knowing that, I have contentment, I don't have fear, I'm not controlled by money. I'm happy there is this recession. I've found God.'
If not for his religion, Mr Loh said he might not have been able to cope with his current situation.
He became a Christian in 2007, partly with the help of his friend, actor Darren Lim, who is also a Christian.
Mr Loh now attends New Creation Church with his wife, Angeline, 38. They have a nine-year-old daughter and two sons aged four and six.
He asked his friends for help and they recommended that he go to loan sharks. But his church community has extended a helping hand, providing food for the family and financial help. For that, he is even more convinced that he has made the right choice with his religion. Neither does he care how people look at him now. 'I accepted Christ at a time I didn't need help financially. But now I really, really need him,' he said.
