"Closed"

18-October-2011 (Sunday):

Was walking around in Kampong Glam and found that a number of shops were closed. Started to wonder, are they taking a break? Or are they "closed" for good? Being in such a touristy place, seeing shops closed was weird... Decided to do a series of shots with the same composition and format... here are some of them, the rest of the shots (and growing) can be found here.

Missing the smaller things in life

15-October-2011 (Saturday):

Sometimes, everyone is so fixated on the superficial and forgets the inner beauty of things. Below is one example-

We were at West Coast Park to join some friends to fly kites.. and while there, Lee Cher was walking around looking for opportunities of shots. Already almost bored with the "kite shots", her eyes wandered and then focused suddenly on some colors in the leaves of the tree that she was standing under. She realized that hidden below the leaves, were showers of bluish-purple and pink. Soon, she was snapping away and managed to capture many beautiful shots of this flowering tree.

This little episode reminds me of something we all know but sometimes forget- the little things in life that we fail to see. In our busy pace of life, we only see the big picture, the surface. But look beneath all that, we may be pleasantly surprised.

(c) Lee Cher

D3100 + D90.. and a Sony

Sunday, 09-Oct-2011:

After an early morning at Courts, and then a studio shoot for my graduation with the family, Lee Cher and I decided to take the new D3100 for a trial. We decided to give Rock a call to see if he was able to join us... (Rock just got his telephoto zoom lens and wanted to try that with a Raynox-250 that I had)

(sidetrack: it was OSOW, I ended up going to Buangkok Field to join layangman.com for an hour's fly.. the field was muddy but nevertheless, a good turnout)

I was excited to go to Sengkang Riverside Park again as I found Blue-Tailed Damselflies and other critters quite easily during the last visit... After a short while on the boardwalk/bridge, we discovered that the everything an arms length away and I could not get close enough to our subjects. It was alright for Lee Cher as she soon had portrait and telephoto lenses...

Cats-Tail (c) Lee Cher

(c) Lee Cher

Soon after, we moved to the pond on the northern side of the park. There, I was a little more comfortable (like my home ground) and moved around more easily right next to the water's edge... Luke and Charles were off their bikes and started spotting things for me. They were also keen to bring me the critters directly..


"Damsel in Distress" in Charle's hands (c) Steven



Pond skater (c) Lee Cher


This in my opinion was a difficult shot as the whole pond was already grey and too much ripples. Lee Cher was quick to catch a "sole" pond skater bringing out the ripples that the pond skater created.


Blue-tailed Damselfly (c) Steven


(c) Steven



Stink-bug (c) Steven

Not so sure where I shot this but it was a shot that I liked during that day. The sun was truly beginning to set and this was one of the last shots without strobes.

Water spider (c) Steven

The water spider was my best catch of the day. I have always wanted to get a picture like this after seeing them online. I was fully engaged in shooting the damselflies when I noticed it quietly right next to me. It was facing away so I had to use my LV (Live-View) LCD to shoot this. After half a dozen shots, I finally got this! So I confirmed.. spider has eight (8) eyes.

(c) Rock

While totally focused on a dragonfly, we did not notice Rock snapping away at us. It was a nice shot, to see the D90 and the new D3100 being put through its paces together. Thanks Rock for this picture!

*****

The short 2 hours before dusk gave us enough opportunities to shoot some interesting subjects before it became to dark. Being able to go out together now with a camera each definitely allowed us to share the experience, and also to cover more grounds.. can't wait for this weekend!

Getting a good deal?

Sunday, 09-Oct-2011: I woke up a excited and at the same time apprehensive this morning. I had a plan.. a plan to do something that I have never done before.

(The day before - 08-Oct-2011): Lee Cher and I was having breakfast in the airport and reading that there is a sale at Courts. The D3100 was selling at $599 (which was a good deal given it is about $1000 normally). We arrived at Courts at almost 11am and lo-behold, it was sold-out.. (Why was I not surprised). We learn't from the sales person that all were gone by opening time, and mostly taken up by business-opportunity folks whom came with friends in droves. He kindly advised us to be there by 8am to Q to get a chance...

(Back to Sunday 09-Oct-2011): I wrote a little post-it note, stuck it on my Macbook (Lee Cher knows to look there usually) saying "I went to Courts". Drove to McDonalds to pick-up a latte. And ended up sitting outside Courts Tampines at 7.45am. I was number 6. The first 5 were foreign workers, seemingly sent there by their boss, to Q for the 5 Samsung LCD TV. I even contemplated, maybe I should go to Giant and get breakfast first, but.. I was "afraid" of loosing my spot, and risk loosing the opportunity to get the D3100 at a good deal.

I got myself comfortable sitting on the floor (should have brought my field chair), with the latte, I actually started cleaning up my photo library... and also reading the news from CNA, WSJ, CNN, ... etc...

Soon, more joined the Q, the gentleman that arrived after me (i.e. position #7) came with his maid. And I realized he didn't even know what he wanted. Originally a soundbar, then seeing I was getting a camera, he almost switched to buying the Panasonic GF2 (I think it should be a GF3 though). Eventually, I convinced him to buy what he needs rather than what has the greatest savings on the newspaper, and he kept to buying 2 soundbars.

Just at about 9am, the two foreign worker in front of me decided to go for breakfast and told me that I should let them come back to their positions after. Not wanting to be in the middle of any tussles, I told them they can do it at their own risk, but if they are denied their positions later, it is their own responsibility and not mine. After that, they decided to just sit down again... hungry (I guess).. just like me, also without breakfast.

I must also confess throughout the morning, after Lee Cher woke up, she tried to convince me she should bring breakfast.. I did "cooly" turn her down. Actually, if she came, maybe we would have gotten that soundbar (or something that we probably will not use).. Luckily she did not come to the Q that morning.

Finally, after sitting in the line for 2.5 hours, cleaning up my photo library and reading CNA + WSJ on my ipad. Plus talking to the others that joined the Q after me... I succeeded to get the #1 coupon for the Nikon DSLR D3100 @$599.

First I thing I did after getting the coupon, was to run to the toilet inside and then upstairs to level 3 to pay and collect the camera, then head home... By the afternoon, the battery was charged, and Lee Cher and I (plus Rock and his kids) had a great time shooting at Sengkang Riverside Park. But that's another post for another time...

Zooming in...

2-Oct-2011 (Sunday): Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserves was much bigger than I anticipated, and more "wild" than I imagined. Being our first time at this reserve, I have to admit we were quite inadequately dressed. Even though we "moisturized" ourselves with insect repellent, it was evident that soon, the mozzies were all over us. Without wanting to be defeated, we decided to take the "short" 500m boardwalk.

As we got near the visitor centre (a short 50m walk from the relatively small car park), I already started to get busy.. A lizard was lying on a little bush giving my first opportunity to take some zoom-ins of it.

This was the first time I had the opportunity to capture such lizards up-close. Its scales and "fins" atop its body came out well and the texture amazing.

.....

After paying our $1 entrance fee, I realized I was not alone in trying to catch some critters macro close-up style as another photographer (he seem to be leaving) was on the floor with a Nikon + Ring Flash + Soft-box Diffuser... I was full of envy. Was about to ask him how was his catch but he turned away and walked off in the opposite direction. Alas an opportunity to make another friend. I should try to be less hesitant.

.....

This little fellow was about 5mm long (body only) and right next to the boardwalk. Not sure if it was responsible for eating up the leaf it was on.. What irony, it needs the leaf to sit on, but its eating away its seat? Laying motionless, it became my only macro close-up of the day.

Having already walked probably 250m of the 500m boardwalk and after taking this shot, I kept all the macro gear and replaced it with my 70-300mm telephoto lens. And then the real fun began..

After a few shots of mud crabs and mud skippers from the boardwalk at top-down views (not my favorite perspective at all), I chanced upon this at a junction. Yelling (softly) for Lee Cher to wait-up and asked her to come see, I got this beautiful long-legged forest spider standing ground right in the middle of a very large web (probably a meter wide). Couple of its younglings were running around her making it a real "Happy Family". Gotta research into find out the species of this.. Its yellow markings on its body should be easy (I hope) to find its id.

This was a difficult shot to take as the bee was literally darting around in mid-air, not even over flowers or something so that I can try to pre-focus. Turning on the camera's AF, I was able to just focus on tracking the fellow, and I must say I'm quite happy with this shot. Looking at it again, it almost look "cartoon" like, especially like the Bee from the "Bee Movie".

As we finished the boardwalk and ventured a little into Route A, there was a crowd gathering on the bridge and a lady was kind enough to tell me they spotted a crocodile. Edging me to go take a picture of it, I walked towards the area she pointed (while staying on the track still of course). But I found no crocodile but instead, a group of tourists speaking way too loudly for the reserve. Walking back towards the bridge and to the main observation hut, I was startled by some motion in the vegetation just next to me. And I found this monitor lizard staring right at me. I can imagine it must have been startled by the noisy group of tourists that walked by just seconds earlier. I thought this was another interesting shot, kinda made me wonder; who's observing who? This place is their home, and we are really just visitors.. Its important that we are polite and well behaved when we visit, after-all we leave at the end of the day, and they stay on.

And the crocodile... din see it.

(a couple more shots below capturing the wild biodiversity of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve)

Getting up close..

After looking at many close-up macros of critters and insects of others. I was very curious how the whole process to go hunt down these little bugs were like... Having always taken macro shots, I did not (ignorantly) know that there is a whole world beyond 1:1. I always thought that I just needed to get nearer to the bug... Lo-behold I was wrong.

As a matter of fact, the world of close-up macro was more technical then anything... and technical stuff just rings a bell with me. What more could I ask but to be technical and taking photographs!

Soon, it was a world of extension tubes and magnifying glasses... reversing lenses and blah blah.

......

After investing in a SB700 flash unit, and a set of Kenko Extension Tubes, and trying them out with coins and pens at home, I set off to the Singapore Botanics Gardens to try out my first outdoor close-up macro shoot. Soon I realize I forgot something.. a towel to wipe my sweat in the tropical heat of Singapore. Yes, I did not know taking photo can be so strenuous.

I now realize why in the past I thought it was weird for a photographer to go around taking photographs with his flash attached under the broad daylight... NOW I KNOW bright daylight may still not be bright enough!

Two hours later... I post the few "can-show-people" results...

This first one is a common moth (I will get the proper ID of all the postings here once I get it figured out). This was my first model of the day, and first model for my close-up macro... not too bad I think but the photo was a little "flat" as the moth was simply "doing nothing".

Then while walking through the Cactus Garden, I came upon three beetles (ID?) feeding on the nectar of some flowers (dunno what name). Immediately I tried to capture them but they were very elusive and had their head in the flower all the time. After a while, finally the one I was working with decided to peek outside to take a breather (?) and this shot was captured.

Still at the nectar feeding area, I found this beetle seemingly wrestling with an ant. Protective over its nectar.

This one is my favorite from today's shots but believe it or not, it was the only shot I took of it (a bee I think) and that's it. Again, spontaneity rules the day. The photo was very much under-exposed and I had to push it up a notch in post-production. But otherwise, I think this shows the lil' fellow in its most natural pose.

I contemplated for a while to post or not to post this image, but finally I decide to post it just to serve as a reminder to myself. Even in close-up macro, it pays to make sure the surrounding is clean. I thought the bee looks "okay" for a newbie like me, but the mess it was in... unacceptable. But I guess this is the natural habitat... (good excuse!)

This last image is not exactly a close-up macro. It was more a telephoto shot (300mm DX). The lil' fellow got ALOT of attention as the crowd were whipping out their cameras and screaming Chipmunk Chipmunk! Someone pointed out that it was a squirrel as it had a large bushy tail.. well, noone would know for sure as that part of its anatomy was out of the camera's field of view (that's a pointer to remember for myself).

......

Today's lil' project took me 2 hours in Singapore Botanics Garden and I am quite proud of myself for being able to come back with something. I was a lil' apprehensive in the beginning, and a lil' shy hogging ant/bug infested flowers... in the end, it was a good day.

Maybe I can go out tonight after dinner at Sengkang river?

spontaneity

What's in an image?







How do you express your thoughts and impressions through an image?







Is it the photographer's feelings? Or is it the feeling of the subject or atmosphere of the environment?

Does it matter?

For me, each preparation to get out to take a photo usually ends up in vain. No, don't get me wrong.. I still go out.. I still take the photos... This morning, I thought that I would have a good breakfast with Lee Cher, then go for a jog around Seng Kang Park and take some photographs while I jogged (kinda like the group in the movie "Yes Man"), and no it did not happen... So I did what a "trying to be optimize time" guy does.. I scouted what I wanted to shoot, then return to shoot it after. More than 100 shots later, the best shot of the day is the first photo above. And it was a shot pointed out by Lee Cher as I was shooting the 90th shot of a bug-eaten leaf. Finally, for today, total number of shots taken 143, published shot ... 1.

It then dawn on me that there were many other days where my photography outing ended up in the same way. A day of kite flying with many kites captured by my camera. But in the end, the one I really liked, was the one where Lee Cher flew a kite with no one else in the picture. Was she really lonely? Not really... but was she enjoying her time of solitude? Yes I am sure.

One more photograph that is very treasured by me was the one that I took at the Singapore GP 2010. I thought I needed fast lenses with fast ISOs, but eventually.. the treasured shot had nothing to do with the mean machines, but the one of a performer from Africa, sharing his African culture... It was "Africa! Africa!"

Sometimes life is like that isn't it? Even this blog was like that.. I was finishing my "playing together" blog and was ready to go chill out in-front of the TV, but something inspired me to write about some of the pictures that I cherish because I knew I captured the moment. But as I started to gather images, I realize that all the pictures have one thing in common.. spontaneity! One can only plan so much.. stick to your plan, but be ready to adapt and be flexible.. Take what you planned and make the best out of it. Sometimes, it is the one who didn't plan, who will get (or help to get) the day's reward..

Enjoy spontaneity spontaneously!