#9 - 290713 - Moody Mornings

(Click here to find out how I took it)

The hardest part of getting a sunrise? To me, it might as well be the part that I have to wake up at a untimely hour of the night and travelling all the way for that few shots in the twilight. But it is definitely worth it. Fantastic colours, rich purple and blues, followed by beautiful splashes of reds and yellows in the horizon. 

But not all sunrises have to be in colour right? Mornings can be very colourful and full of energy, but for me, it was a tiring morning after a long night's wait for the first rays of light. It was tranquil and calming. Progressive. As if getting ready for a day's hustle and bustle but not quite yet. The lack of glaring lights and activities was really pleasing and peaceful, only possible at this hour of the day.

This is how I would showcase it, hope you enjoy it.

p.s. I feel like printing this photograph, any advise how should I go about getting a good print for display at home?

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#6 - 220413 - Scented Gardens

With Earth Day in mind, I would like to dedicate this series of photographs to everyone who called the Earth their home. Colourful. Vibrant. Diversity. These are adjectives that I would like to describe Mother Nature with. She presents endless possibilities at every corner of our Earth, for our viewing pleasure.

Designed to thrive in their own little ways, these living organisms also share their homes with us. In recent years. They are finding difficulties keeping up with the things we throw at them. Ever so frequently, we hear of pollution of our environment, forest fires, man-made disasters such as Chernobyl Accident and Fukushima Dachii nuclear incidents. Some are freak accidents, while others, a slow steady stream of poison flowing into Mother Nature. Sooner or later, we will face a situation where the diversity has to be artificially created so that our children and children's children (and so on) can continue to see, smell and touch them.

When we end up in that situation, when nature is no longer as natural, I hope our children will not blame us for leaving them in such dire situation. Instead, it will be wise of them to find the will and courage to stand up for their children and preventing the downward spiral that we seem to be headed today.

This series of photographs consists of various flowers and plants that are found in the Flower Dome in Gardens by the Bay. I hope you can get to enjoy the physical flowers and plants in their natural environment as much as possible, but in the mean time, allow me to show you some of the plants from the specially chosen collection, from around the world, right here in Singapore, to remind us of the diversity in the wild.

That physical interaction cannot be replaced by pixels alone, so get up and get out this weekend or on your free day to enjoy what Mother Nature offers. You will be surprised when you find in the right places! 

More updates to come on how I do my macro photography for all interested shutterbugs out there! Till then check out my other profiles and pictures! 


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#5 - 210413 - Basic Lighting

I happened to chance upon a Basic Lighting lesson when checking out one of Singapore's photography forums. Since it is free, I gave it a shot and went for the lesson. The organiser of the lesson is a professional by the name of Francis Wong. Credits to him for delivering a wonderful lesson for the group there yesterday and here are some pointers he gave when we are lighting our subjects.

• Observe the light. Quantity, Quality and Colour. Depending on the type of effect you want to create, these three factors will influence how the resulting photo will look like. As a general rule of thumb, when you cannot see shadows around you, the diffused light (main light) is just right to take your photos.
• You do not need fancy equipment to do many things, learning to improvise and know how to take advantage of what you have is a good way of achieving the shots you want, without having to break your wallet. For example, instead of investing in multiple flashguns for field lighting, consider a cheaper reflector. They can be as versatile and useful in a outdoor photo session if you know how to use one (it comes with practice).
• Understanding the subject is a good way to start to decide what kind of light you want for your photograph. Putting it in context of cosplay, when we have a heroic character, give him a frontal lighting that is high up, like rays coming down from the heavens. When you have a villain, a low angle light to give the character an aura, a green/red tint might help to bring out the evilness. If the character is a mysterious one, you can try lighting the character from the side, giving you the image that the character has two sides to him, provoking thought. There is endless possibilities, types of characters and ways to light him or her up. In the end, you would want to put the character in the "right light" when telling the story.
• Depending on the type of event you are doing, you have to adopt slightly different approach. A corporate photo shoot is normally short and formal while a wedding photo shoot is generally  more relaxed and fun. Knowing when to be more informal during events will help your subjects be more comfortable the presence of your camera. However, having said that, as an photographer, you do not want to be hesitant. You need to be in control of your equipment and assistants (if any) so that the client knows that you are capable and worth spending their $$$.

At the end of the day, there was a little hands-on as Francis demonstrated how the reflector help to light up the subject. In this scenario, we are at a corporate photo shoot, so we wanted to have the subject well lit (not underexposed, looking suspicious). Click on the images to see them in a full screen view.

These were taken with the subject back lit, which cast a shadow on the subject himself, looking a bit underexposed. The next picture we try to balance it by asking the subject to stand at a 45 angle and with a reflector, bounce some light back to his face (secondary light). It looks a bit better, but the side facing the camera is still quite dark.

Now as we swapped positions, the subject is lit from the front, making the exposure much more balanced and we can easily see the subject's features. This is comparatively better then the earlier two photographs as we want our "CEO" to look bright and smart, and not dark and dull. Another composition on the right shows the CEO contemplating on his future plans, and with a reflector, we can bounce the light back to his face to light it up.

I would say it had been very fruitful as I have learn a thing or two during the lesson by Francis Wong. A huge thank you to Mr Francis and our smart looking model guy!


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#4 - 180413 - Cars and Queens

One of the first events I attended as an hobbyist photographer is the Tokyo Auto Salon at Marina Bay Sand Expo Hall held right here in Singapore. Not forgetting performances by various international artists, including the "Number 1" girl-group in Japan, the one and only AKB48. It was an event not to be missed as it was a great chance for hobbyists and professionals to hone their skills at portraiture.

While I was busy taking portraits, it was also time to use a flashgun as the environment discourages the usage of studio lighting. So there was I, using my newly acquired L-bracket and sync cord, I flashed away at the race queens, models and cars. Boy, before i know it, I was changing batteries and taking even more. At the end of the day, I had more then 1100 pictures and no more batteries left. It could not help when I was trying to grab some picture of AKB48 who flown here all the way from Japan.

At the end of the day, after looking through the pictures, I realised several issues and learnt a few things myself. Since it was the first time at these events, I could not help to click away, neglecting the thinking and did not really achieve the shots I wanted. After reviewing the shots I made, the ones that left the best impressions fell into these categories:

• The picture with a clear background. Expose the photographs properly (foreground and background) to achieve this result, increasing the ISO and/or aperture does help. Using the flash to act as a secondary light source to highlight the features of the model or the car that you are taking. It greatly helps if the background is not cluttered and of a lighter tone so that the model's hair does not blend into the background. This way you avoid taking low key lighting, which I felt was too dramatic and was not the best way to showcase the cars and race queens. Instead, a better exposure does helps bring up the features and make up of the models and details in the car, adding more context in the picture.
• This is an Auto Show!! Take pictures of the models and CARS!! Try to imagine the curves of the cars and the models, how they interact to form lines and patterns that  appeals to you. Using lighting to your advantage, highlight interesting points, use a side light to cast certain shadows on your subject etc. 
• Each car is unique in their own way. Find the defining feature and snap a few shots, it does not necessarily have to show the entire car. Take from different perspectives, 3 is a good starting point, high, low and the side views. Then choose the picture that best represents the feature that grabbed your attention at the exhibition or show!

 Some pictures from the Tokyo Auto Show 2013!

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