SnapIt!! (23 Feb 2014 - Orchard Central)

We went to Orchard for quick dinner and I remembered that the view of the city from the top of Orchard Central is pretty good for me to try out panorama stitching. So, we went up 3 long escalators to get to storey 11. Pretty scary though. Anyway, I took few images from different locations. Here's one of the result. It's stitches from 8 vertical format photos in Photoshop. It may not be the best one, but pretty decent for starter. Enjoy!

Orchard Central (click photo to view full size image)

SnapIt!! (Long Term Project - Best Sunset/Sunrise of 2014)

Starting of year of 2014, I set my self a goal "Taking Sunset photos every weekend".

Initially, I thought of creating a stream of sunset photos wherever I go in 2014. The stream would be grouped monthly and I would choose one which is the best for each month of the year. Hence, by end of 2014 I would have 12 sunset photos. So, this would be my long term project for 2014.

However, along the way, I thought maybe it will be better to include sunrise shots as well. That would add a challenge for me. The most difficult part is to wake up at 4:50am on Saturday morning. So, I told myself why not?!

Here's the sunset and sunrise photos I have taken so far. Which one do you like?

January 2014

#01 - First Sunset HDR

(1 Jan 2014 - Sunset @ Lower Peirce Reservoir)

#02 - When Rain Clouds Gather

(3 Jan 2014 - Sunset @ West Coast Park)

#03 - Flying HDR

(11 Jan 2014 - Sunrise @ Merlion Park)

February 2014

#04 - Hometown

(1 Feb 2014 - Sunrise @ Kuala Tungkal)

#05 - Coastal Sunrise

(4 Feb 2014 - Sunrise @ Kuala Tungkal)

#06 - Morning Breeze

(15 Feb 2014 - Sunrise @ Singapore Flyer)

#07 - Icons

(15 Feb 2014 - Sunrise @ Singapore Flyer)

#08 - Sunview Way HDR

(22 Feb 2014 - Sunset @ Kelong Walk)

March 2014

#09 - My Dream

(29 March 2014 - Sunrise @ Merlion Park)

April 2014

#10 - Twin Star

(6 April 2014 - Sunset @ Chinese Garden)

#11 - Two Sides

(19 April 2014 - Sunrise @ Marina Bay)

#12 - Coastal Sunset

(20 April 2014 - Sunset @ East Coast Park)

#13 - Fullerton Bay Sunrise

(26 April 2014 - Sunrise @ Fullerton Bay)

May 2014

#14 - Morning Light

(3 May 2014 - Sunrise @ Tanjung Rhu Riverside)

#15 - Glow

(4 May 2014 - Sunrise @ Marina Bay)

#16 - Uplifting

(10 May 2014 - Sunrise @ Tanjung Rhu Riverside)

#17 - Changi Beach Sunrise

(18 May 2014 - Sunrise @ Changi Beach)

#18 - Entei

(24 May 2014 - Sunset @ Kelong Walk, Changi Broadwalk)

#19 - Sunset Walk

(24 May 2014 - Sunset @ Sunset Walk, Changi Broadwalk)

#20 - Kagero

(31 May 2014 - Sunset @ Ang Mo Kio Singapore)

June 2014

#21 - Majestic

(24 June 2014 - Sunset @ Chinese Garden Singapore)

#22 - Glare

(24 June 2014 - Sunset @ Chinese Garden Singapore)

July 2014

#23 - Serene

(19 Jul 2014 - Sunrise @ Lower Seletar Reservoir Singapore)

August 2014

#24 - First Light

(31 Aug 2014 - Sunrise @ Jurong East Interchange Singapore)

September 2014

#25 - Marina Bay Sunrise

(27 Sep 2014 - Sunrise @ Marina Bay Singapore)

October 2014

#26 - New Day

(25 Oct 2014 - Sunrise @ Lower Seletar Reservoir Singapore)

November 2014

#27 - Aftermath

(9 Nov 2014 - Sunrise @ Chinese Garden Singapore)

#28 - The Aura

(15 Nov 2014 - Sunrise @ Chinese Garden Singapore)

#29 - Sun Stream

(22 Nov 2014 - Sunrise @ Pandan Reservoir Singapore)

#30 - Serene

(22 Nov 2014 - Sunrise @ Pandan Reservoir Singapore)

#31 - The Dock

(29 Nov 2014 - Sunrise @ Pandan Reservoir Singapore)

#32 - Changi Beach Sunrise

(30 Nov 2014 - Sunrise @ Changi Beach Singapore)

December 2014

#33 - Intense

(21 Dec 2014 - Sunrise @ Toa Payoh PIE)

#34 - Daybreak

(25 Dec 2014 - Sunrise @ Lower Seletar Reservoir)

SnapIt!! (22 Feb 2014)

Yet another weekend. And yet another time for exploration. This weekend, Changi Point Coastal Walk in the east of the island is in the list. The journey takes about 2 hours from our place, and yet it does not stop us. The drive is beautiful sunset shot and some blue hour shot. With a map and route to get there, we headed to our destination.

Leaving at noon time, we did not rush to get there. On the way, we stopped by some places to shoot. There are some unique shots I will probably post in the near future. For the time being, let's focus on Changi Point Coastal Walk.

We reached the location at about 4pm in the afternoon. Sky was clear and blue. Perfect day for outdoor shooting. We started from the Changi Ferry terminal next to Changi Village hawker centre. There is not much going on there except boats arriving and leaving the port. We moved to a little island by the terminal. There are plenty of coconut trees and the view of the vast sea is magnificent. We spent quite a lot of time there taking photos at different location, and trying different type of photography by adding people to the shot. We have few interesting shots together with funny stories. I decided to keep it for the future post.

Finishing our exploration there, we left that tiny island about 5pm. We moved to the coastal walk. We passed through the Civil Service Club, Changi Golf Club, Chalets, and Changi Sailing Club. We took many shots along the way. I will probably share some which are unique in the future posts. Stay tune.

We reached the Kelong Walk around 6:30pm. Sun was still very high. Shooting without filters, the dynamic range is too far. It will not be possible for us to take decent photos. So, we looked for different position for the composition. We found few positions, these two are the one we thought good. Shots are after post processing in Photoshop. Enjoy!

Coastal Sunset

I would say that the Coastal Sunset composition is not yet perfect. In my opinion, it could be better if I were to move few steps back to include both building on the left and right. I was shooting at 10mm, the wides focal length. One thing I did not realise at the location is blur in the image. The wind was very strong and I could see the camera was shaking a little. Shooting at 1/40s shutter speed on tripod without IS, this should not occur. The worst, this is the only shot with the right exposure level. 

Sunview Way

Personally, I love the composition in both Coastal Sunset and Sunview Way shot. However, comparing them side by side, I prefer Sunview Way shot. The leading lines of the wooden jetty direct the viewer toward the bright sun. The whole scene is filled up and there is balance in the composition. Anyway, enjoy the shots and stay tuned for more to come.

SnapIt!! (Marina Bay Sunrise - 15 Feb 2014)

I was going through the photos I took yesterday morning and found I have one unique composition which features Garden by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Finish the post processing in Photoshop. Here's the result.

Icons

SnapIt!! (Marina Bay Blue Hour - 15 Feb 2014)

As promised in previous post, I would post the blue hour shot near the Marina Bay Shopping area. Here's the shot. Enjoy!!

Distance

Right after arriving at the destination, I started looking at different locations for the shot. I photographed the Central Business District (CBD) before. But I was looking for different composition and location. I thought maybe it will look very different if I were to move further from it. We decided to walk towards the Helix Bridge. I keep looking back to check if I had found the right location. When we passed through this place, I saw the the Art Museum on the left and the Marina Bay Shopping on the right. Then I got the sudden idea of viewing the CBD from the gap between the Art Museum and Marina Bay Shopping. I stopped for awhile and looked back. My position is a bit out to get the CBD in between the two. I need to move towards the Art Museum a little bit more. But I saw the "No Entry" sign. I entered anyway. And when I recomposed the scene again, I said "Yes, this is it. Perfect!".

I gave the title of the shot "Distance". I learned that photographing an object need not to be close. Sometimes when we are too close to something, we are not able to appreciate its beauty. Similar to life, we may not be able to appreciate things which are close to us until one day they no longer near us. Enjoy the weekend and appreciate all things near us!! 

SnapIt!! (Singapore Flyer - 15 Feb 2014)

Yay! It's weekend again. As usual, photography time.

This morning, it was blue hour and sunrise shoot. We spent an hour or two last night to plan the route for this morning shoot.

The location we picked is Marina Bay Sands shopping area for blue hour shots and area around Singapore Flyer and Garden by the Bay for some sunrise shots.

We woke up at 4:50am to catch the first train as we need about 1 hour to travel. We reached Bayfront at around 6:30am. Perfect for some blue hour shots at Marina Bay Sand shopping area. I took some shots at different locations from my previous night shoot there. I am keeping the blue hour shots for later posts.

Around this time of the year, sunrise in Singapore should be at 7:15am. However, at around 7:10am, we did not see the orange light in the sky. The weather is kind of cloudy on one side and the wind is quite strong, and I thought this is it. It could be another unlucky day to catch the sun.

Moving from the shopping area, we were thinking to move to Garden by the Bay or the Singapore Flyer side to try our luck. For sunrise, we wont have the time to cover both area as it was a quite distance apart. We picked Flyer side and I am glad I did that. When we reached the location at about 7:30am, the sun just came out and it was showing full shape with little cloud in the sky.

Morning breeze is refreshing and I wanted to add that feel to the shot. I saw few coconut trees on the side. The wind blowing, the leaves are moving and I thought "this is perfect to add to the shot to represent breeze". And we settled at this location not too far from the trees. From this position, Flower Dome on the opposite side is fully visible. I zoomed all the way to 11mm to include it in the shot. We spent about 20 minutes there before the sun was too high and too difficult to shoot without filters.

From experience I had when shooting sunrise at hometown, this time I observed closely the histogram. I was adjusting the shutter speed and observing the histogram at the same time. Great experience and I think it is a great shot.

As I wanted to keep the feel of sunrise and morning breeze in the shot, I did not add much effects during the post processing in Photoshop. Here's the result. Enjoy!!

NB: Observe the new watermark.. ^&^

SnapIt!! (The Float @Marina Bay - 8 Feb 2014)

This time we visited The Float @Marina Bay for the last day of Chinese New Year Festival. The feeling of CNY celebration is indeed very different from hometown. Overall experience is great. Here's some of the photos taken. Enjoy!!

SnapIt!! (Memorable Trip Back to Hometown 29 Jan - 6 Feb 2014)

Memorable Trip Back to Hometown

Journey back to hometown is always pleasing. It always brings us joy to be able to gather with parents, brothers and loved ones. But this time round, I have another mission which to show the world the beautiful sides of my hometown.

On an aeroplane back, I got a great window seat where the aircraft's wing is fully visible. Not too long after the take off, I noticed a very dramatic cloud in the sky. I quickly took out my gear to capture that moment. Here's for the start of this post. Enjoy!!

 The Sky Above

Located at the center of Sumatra island, Kuala Tungkal is a small town by the river called Pengabuan. The river leads to the South China Sea, east of the island.

Being brought up next to the seaside, we are so used to the cooling breeze of morning. As usual everytime I go back, I would pick a day to have a morning walk around the town. And ended the walk with a cup of coffee at the "kopitiam". With sunrise photography in mind, I would observe the position of the sun rise. My brothers and I left at 6:00am local time that morning.

We went to the new bridge by the sea in search for the sun. But the sun was not in the view blocked by the buildings. Here's some photos of the bridge I took from the other day.

 Sunrise by The Seashore

Blue Sky Over the Bridge

We decided to move to the other location by the seaside near the old ferry dock. We found a perfect location with a clear view of the sun with wooden jetty in the view. The sun was behind the thin cloud that gave a warm orange colour. At the instance my brother saw that beautiful sun, he turned at me with gestures saying "What are you gonna do?". Knowing my characters, he expected me to rush back to pick up my gears. And I am glad I did that. Because that was the best sunrise I watched during my short stay. Here's the photo. Enjoy!

Hometown Sunrise

Being a sunrise/sunset addict, I went back to the same location for the next few days. And of course with my gears ready. However, it turned out to be cloudy mornings. Althought there are still strays of sun light illuminating on the beautiful clouds. In those situation, I put myself and brothers in the scenes. The photos turned out to be pretty good. Althought it turned out to look like sunset than sunrise. Maybe because it has not been raining in a week time and the sky is always cloudy. Anyway, here's the photos. Enjoy!!

 Togetherness

Brotherhood

Family

Going away from home and living in the foreign land was never easy. The only thing we are looking forward to return home during CNY is because of "Togetherness". Togetherness with our family. This is the feeling I would like to bring out from these photos.

After I have gotten my first hometown sunrise, I was looking for sunset location. And I heard there is a long jetty leading to the middle of the sea about 20min ride from my place by motorbike. The place called TPI, Tempat Penampungan Ikan in Bahasa Indonesia. The place was originally planned as fish collection point where fishing boats will dock. However, somehow the project was terminated leaving it unfinished. 

At this time of the year, there is always high tide causing sea water to fill the roads. Roads which are still red soil are  covered by sea water which make it very slippery. Holes are everywhere which make it more dangerous as they are not visible.

With those in mind, my brother and I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be much worse than what we imagined. The sea water covered the road up to our knee level. We were so afraid that the motorbike machine would stop and we would be trouble.

After about almost 25min ride, we finally arrive at the location. The sky was cloudy and the sun was hardly visible. We moved around the jetty looking for different location and took a few shots. Still after half an hour of waiting, the sun still not visible. I decided to wait a little longer. But there was no luck. And we left before the sky went dark because of the safety reason. Here's some of the shots I picked. Enjoy!!

The Unfinished

The "Stormy" TPI Jetty (3 Exposures HDR)

In conclusion, the trip was enjoyable. I managed to spend more time with my family. And in fact, I got their supports for this photography hobby. This is a hobby which I wish to improve and hope someday it will become something I can do everyday.

Journey to Explore

The road ahead is still far. What we would see at the end of the bridge is not as important as what we would see when crossing it. Enjoying the journey itself is far more important.

As my habit, I would keep going back to the same location to shoot. Because there is always something that makes me wanted to go back there. 

There are many shots I could not get this time. As I was leaving the town, I have already come out with many ideas. I will use it for the next visits. See you Kuala Tungkal. It has been a memorable journey.

I hope my "Explore to Inspire" journey has gone to a higher level this time.