Labrador Park II

Picture Taken on 6 Sep 2008

A wider view of the Labrador Park shore. The shore is packed with boulders and rocks which provides good composition subjects. I walked out to the sea and set my tripod in the waters and took a picture of this scene. I like how the waves come in and out of the shot.

This is a place that I will revisit again.

Ann Siang Hill Road

Picture Taken on 18 May 2008

I was walking around Chinatown when I took this picture. Good thing the traffic wasn't heavy and I could take my time to compose this picture which comprises of the arrow marking on the road as the foreground, the Capitol Tower as the backdrop and the road leading towards the building. Added Urban Acid action using Photoshop thus you will notice a blue tint on the image.

Click here to see effect of U.A
Photoshop Action Script for U.A

Interesting isn't it? :)

Labrador Park

Picture Taken on 6 Sep 2008

I had been thinking of shooting water for quite sometime. Finally decided to visit Labrador Park. It was my first visit! When I reach the jetty, I was greeted by a foul smell! Withstanding the smell, I lug my gear and went down to the waters.

To take this picture, I had to use a tripod and dip myself in water up to my waist. I was kind of scared that water might go into my camera or lens. That was the last thing I want.

With the waves keep on crashing on shore, it was hard to stabilize myself. Thank God my tripod was still rather stable. Patiently, I waited for waves after waves to crash against the rock. Good thing I brought my shutter release and it really helped a lot as I could shoot without touching my camera.

Although the picture looks simple, it sure does remind me of the effort I put in when capturing it. This picture will always spur me on to do better and to push myself further!

Dancing Dragons (Thian Hock Keng Temple)

Picture Taken on 15 Oct 2008

I took a walk from my office towards Tanjong Pagar MRT Station after I knocked off from work. I planned my route so that I would pass by the Thian Hock Keng Temple. To my amazement, I chanced upon a very beautiful scene. The lighting of the temple was turned on and the sky was blue because of the sun set. A second look at the picture, you will spot that the silhouette of the dragons on the roof.

The subtle lighting, the dragons and the darkness and light composition worked quite well. This was something more unusual from the norm as most pictures of this temple was taken during the day.

Kallang National Stadium

Picture Taken on 3 Sep 2008

During my childhood days, the Kallang National Stadium was often packed with soccer fans. During those days, Singapore was still participating in the Malaysia League. The Kallang National Stadium was our home ground. When packed with fans, the atmosphere was intimidating to the opponents. It was like a twelve player in the team. It was also where the Kallang Roar came about.

This sight was seldom spotted once Singapore was out of the Malaysia League. In addition, the Kallang National Stadium will be demolished soon to make way for development plans. Not wanting this landmark to be erased from our memories, I went down and prayed for the best, hoping it was still opened to the public. Thank God, I was able to go in through on of the gate.

Railway Track (orton effect)

Picture taken on 27 Oct 2008

It was Deepavali and Uncle Tiong Chin invited me to join him for a nature walk cum photo shoot session. We started from the drain/river opposite Ngee Ann Poly. Interestingly, you will spot foreign workers hauling up fishing nets from the river. They seem to be resident fisherman and look very familiar with the surroundings. Not to forget, if you ever need waterplants for your fish tanks, there are tonnes of them in the river!

As we continue our walk, we crossed a railway track. What is so different about this scene is that the railway track leads to some private houses and by the sides of the track are abandoned wooden planks which might be left there after track maintenance.

Although armed with a 100-400 telezoom lens, I took a picture of the scene. I knew immediately that this has to be converted to a muted image. With some recommendation from a forum friend, I decided to try the Orton effect. It is an effect invented by Michael Orton. It gives the image a dreamy effect. You can read up more about him in this link.

The Lonely Tree

Picture Taken on 4 Sep 2008

I was on block leave during September and decided to take a trip to Ponggol. It was the first time that I took the NEL all the way to Ponggol. Well, the weather wasn't really what I hoped for. I had hoped for a sunny clear sky but it was dark and gloomy that day.

As I head towards the Serangoon River, I saw this tree. This was definitely a moment that is hard to come by. There are 3 elements in the picture, the gloomy weather, the barren tree and the reflection. I thought by combining all 3 elements it would be quite a breath taking picture. Indeed it turned out to be quite a pleasing one. Not to forget, this picture would not be possible without HDR. dSLR would not be able to capture the wide dynamic range. Either you get a correct exposure for the sky or you get a correct one for the foreground. So I had to take multiple exposure of this scene to be able to do a good HDR. Of course, when taking multiple exposure, a tripod is required to ensure that all pictures of the scene is the same and they will not be huge mis-alignment.