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.

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!!! 

SnapIt!! (Chinatown 24 Jan 2014)

Chinese New Year is around the corner. Year 2014 is the year of horse. Chinatown Singapore is lighted up with horse lanterns and 1000 of giant ancient coin lantern. The theme for this year's CNY festival is "Galloping to Prosperity". We have been strolling around the Chinatown area and found a few good spots for night photos. Here's the results. Enjoy!!

Galloping to Prosperity

Giant Ancient Coin Lanterns

 Lesson Learnt:
1) Explore the area to find different spot
2) Take time to compose
3) Try different perspective
4) Light trails not necessary a plus point for night scene
5) Take note of horizon during post processing

SnapIt!! (MBS Sunrise - HDR)

I took a lot of bracketing images yesterday morning at MBS for my HDR practice. Here's one of them.

Comparing with the single exposure image, the details of the building is more visible.

SnapIt!! (Merlion Park - 11 Jan 2014)

We made an effort to wake up early today for sunrise shoot at Merlion Park.. It was fun and exciting. I am glad to see there are so many photographers in Singapore who are willing to wake up early in the Saturday morning. In fact, it was earlier than my weekdays time. Anyway, here's some of the results I have picked to post.. Enjoy!!

The Golden Blue

Blue Hour Merlion

Flying

Mission Accomplished

SnapIt!! (Buddha Tooth Relic Temple - 10 Jan 2014)

I planned to take shots of the "flying horses" at China town today. Just realised that it will only be lighted up starting tomorrow night. Decided to move through the crowds to the Buddha Tooth Relic temple. It was not lighted up as well. Feeling disappointed, I decided to go back. While waiting for the bus in front of the temple, I felt the view was quite beautiful. Took my gear out and shot it. Here's the results. Enjoy!!

SnapIt! Kallang Bahru, Marina Bay Sands, Esplanade

Due to my interest in Landscape, Architectural, Cityscape, and Seascape photography, I made decision to get a wide angle lens recently. It was Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM.

To test out this new gear out, I went to few places from day time, sunset, and night. Overall, I am satisfied with the results. Here's the story. Enjoy.


Kallang Bahru (Architectural)

Kallang Bahru is known as one of the spot for Architectural photography. But it was because of River Vista that made me went there. I accidentally viewed the condominium inside a car passing through the bridge across Kallang River. The view was magnificent, I decided to shoot it. Here's the result after post-processing along with other photos I have taken around the area.

River Vista viewed from the bridge

Marina Bay Sands (Sunset & Night)

From Kallang, we moved to area around Marina Bay Sands hotel where there are many skyscrapers. Perfect place to test this lens out. It was cloudy day. Luckily, it did not rain. Here's the results after post-processing.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel view from Garden by the Bay at Sunset

.

Another Marina Bay Sands Hotel view from Garden by the Bay

We stayed a little longer around the Marina Bay area for night photography. Here's the results after post-processing. Results seem to be a little over-exposed. I should have set the exposure 1 or 2 stops lower to prevent over-exposures of the neon lights. One last thing I noted is the sharpness seems to be around f8 - f11. Indeed, night photography is a challenge. I will be back there again.

CBD at night view from Marina Bay

LV at Marina Bay

Last part of the journey, we strolled around the Esplanade area and came across this unique lighting from the carpark. I stopped for awhile, and snapped this photo.

Carpark at Esplanade

SnapIt!! - Hunting for Sunset at Harbour Front/Vivo City (22 Nov 2013)

Arrived late at the location and only able to capture the 2nd sunset..
Luckily, it turned out to be not too bad..

Stayed back a little longer for some night shots..

SnapIt!! - Sentosa Night View (15 Nov 2013)

Strolling along Sentosa walkway this evening and took few long exposure photos.. Turned out to be okay only..

SnapIt!! - Botanic Garden (9 Nov 2013)

Back to Botanic Garden this afternoon to explore the other parts and took some shots..
Here's some of them..

@EvolutionGarden

@EvolutionGarden (/w vintage style)

Frederick Chopin

@BotanicGarden Gate

Tree /w vintage style

Lesser Whistling Duck

@EvolutionGarden

Went back to try shooting birds.. Not too bad with 18-55mm kit lens..

Power of Photoshop

Trying photo editing in Photoshop with Camera Raw.. This is how powerful Photoshop is.. Simply amazed.. Not the best.. Certainly can be improved..

Before

After

SnapIt! - Botanic Garden (27 Oct 2013)

Had an afternoon walk at Botanic Garden Singapore..
Here's some of the shots with 18-55mm kit lens..

1) Some flowers with shallow depth of field..

2) Some shots with long exposure (handheld) for smooth water effect..

3) Some feathers in the lake..

 4) Under exposure palm trees..

5) Other random shots..

6) Trying my luck on flying birds with 18-55mm kit lens.. Forgot to switch to shutter priority mode.. Definitely will be back there for better shots..