Monday, November 10, 2014

SnapIt!! (8-9 Nov 2014)

Every morning, I got to enjoy a brief sunrise when I wake up. Just happen my room window is facing toward the north east and there is no building across the other side. The early morning light on last Friday morning was amazing. Just manage to snap it with my iPhone.



Another weekend, another shooting time. Going into the last weekend, I was pretty excited. One reason was that sunrise on Friday. The other reason was the sunrise at Chinese Garden. I found this spot recently and my first attempt last week was a failure. So, I got to come back and shoot this weekend. 

However, weather was unpredictable. Forcasted weather for Saturday and Sunday morning was 100% chance of rain. And it really rained. It was very heavy in the early Saturday morning. So my morning trip was cancelled. Instead, I decided to visit Changi Broadwalk for an afternoon long exposure shot. I did not expect much for the sunset during this time of the year. I tried something different with long exposure settings. It also happened that Kelong Walk is under repair.

I already had B&W in mind for the shot I wanted to create. But I decided to add sephia tone to enhance the feel to create sense of mystery. I am satisfied with the overall result. I wished I had done more homework before heading out and shoot. The tide was very low when I reached the location in the afternoon. Toward the sunset, the tie went even lower. So, I only managed to get few decent shots.

Changi Beach

I only go out to shoot during weekend and I make sure my camera is locked in the dry box during weekdays. Having failed sunrise on Saturday morning, I only had Sunday to hope. On Sunday morning, train started a little late. The first train is on 6am. Sunrise in Singapore is 6:50am at this time of the year. So, I will just have very little time for the blue hour before the sun rises above the horizon.

BUT, it was raining on Sunday night. And the rain continued till the next morning. Looking at the weather which was still drizzling at 5am, I was hesitating either to give it up or give it a try. At the end, I decided to give it a try and to hope that the sun would come out after the rain.When I reached the location, it was still drizzling and I have to shoot the entire morning under an umbrella covering my camera only. However, I was very satisfied with the result. At about 30 minutes passed sunrise, the sun was out and with some fast moving cloud.

Light from early sunrise is soft and it creates a ambient of early morning scene with the soft blue sky. If the sun was too high, light is hard and you will lose the soft blue sky. So, my time was limited. To have a soft water and cloud effect, I used my big stopper for long exposure. Each exposures took about 70-120sec. Adding the time for long exposure noise reduction on camera, one shot would easily take me about 5min to complete. And each second the cloud formation and light was changing. It was a very challenging situation to shoot. And This is also the reason why I love shooting sunrise/sunset. Each second is critical and you wont know what you will get. I managed to get a few shots and this is the one I love. The light was soft. And the addition of soften cloud really creates the "serene" effect. Although I decided to title it as "Aftermath".

Aftermath


For high resolution view, please visit my flicker Photostream.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

SnapIt!! (Oct 2014)

Another weekend, good weather, shooting time!!

This weekend, I visited Lower Seletar Reservoir for another sunrise shot. After few failed attempts due to bad weather, I was a little worried. The weather was still hazy on Saturday morning, although sky was clear with no cloud. The blue hour was not that fantastic, but the sunrise was intense. The results was great. Here's little story of how I framed this shot.

"New Day"

This was not the original composition I intended to take. Initially, I was thinking of using the wooden jetty as the leading line towards the centre and with a little sun light on the left. However, when the sun appeared on the left of the frame, it was intense and beautiful. I thought it would be nice to capture the reflection on the water and keeping the wooden jetty on the right (not fully) but still showing the leading lines. So, I adjusted my camera closer to the wooden rail. I initially set my camera on tripod higher and slightly towards the right of the frame. That would be good, but there was not enough drama added to the shot. So, I decided to adjust the camera lower much closer to the wooden rail. I manually focused at the far end of the jetty which resulted part of wooden rail closer to the camera slightly out of focus of due to the depth of field.

With such strong light, I would have to work on shutter speed of 1/200sec. There would be no way for me to create clear reflection on the water especially when the water was not perfectly still. I decided to go for a longer exposure using my Lee Big Stopper and GND0.9 to even out the sky and foreground. Exposure of 30sec was just right for this shot. To be honest, I love the haze in the background which adds the sense of serene and mystery to the shot. Personally, I love it.

After the sun was too high, the light was harsh. So, I decided to stay back for some creative photography. Here's one of it. 

"Hope"

Time really flies. Without realising, I have been in photography for a year since I first started in Oct 13. My photography style and taste have also changed along the way. Hopefully, it changed to the better one. There are many other aspects of photography to explore and learn. Gears in my bag have also been growing. Most importantly is the joy that it brings when composing the photos you want to create. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!! Happy Sunday!!! 

Saturday, February 22, 2014

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)