Fireworks!

     National Day is fast approaching and for Singapore this is one of the major holidays of the year. Every Saturday for the last few weeks there have been rehearsals for the parade and show and this includes the fireworks display. By 6pm the area around Marina Bay is crowded with photographers and their tripods waiting for the 8pm fireworks display. If you aren't there by 6pm there is a good chance you will not have a front row space and you may have to stand behind people and get the crowd in the foreground. I've seen some shots like this and it is actually really nice. I was hoping to get a better angle so I could get the beautiful architecture of Marina Bay in the background but all the best spots were already taken. No worries though, I did manage to get a few great photos.

There are still a few spots available, not much. I arrived just before 6pm and this photo was taken with my iphone because I couldn't believe how crowded it was already. It was hard enough just standing there for 2 hours, guess I need 3 hours to get a good location. Not sure if I'm that dedicated.

This was a great shot! I was going back and forth with shutter speed, mostly between 3 and 7 seconds, manual mode, 100 ISO. I do very little editing to my photos mostly because I like to keep it as I remember it and as I experienced it. I cropped the photo and brightened it just a bit. That is about the most editing I ever do. I don't have a wide angle lens so I assumed that I would have to shoot in portrait mode but I think I would have been ok without it. 

Love fireworks!

The smoke is starting to build up a bit. All of the photographers were happy because it was a little breezy when we started. A breeze helps clear the smoke out of the frames and makes editing much easier. I really don't mind the smoke so much. Maybe if it were not as breezy it would be an issue but a little bit of smoke like this isn't going to upset me.

So that is it for my first time ever photographing fireworks I'd say it was a great success! Next time I'd like to try getting a better background and maybe renting a wide angle lens for the day. I am very happy with these photos. I met with a new photog group, there were about 7 of us at this place. Very nice group! We all looked at each others photos, just from the screens on our cameras before we left. At first I was pretty concerned because the background is so dark and the screen is so small I really wasn't sure if I had a single photo that would be good. But then I noticed that the photos looked the same on everyones camera so I guessed it would be ok. It's nice to have a group to go with. We all discussed settings before the show started and talked about where to go to get interesting photos around town. Makes it easier and more fun to have other photogs to talk to. 

Next week I'll have more on National Day which is August 9. It is also our 3rd anniversary of living in Singapore :)

Happy Friday!!!

Morning Light

Well, this week I was really hoping to have a beautiful sunrise photo to post. Unfortunately that did not happen. Even though I tried a few times, mother nature was not cooperating. So disappointing. I'll keep trying and maybe in the future you'll see a gorgeous sunrise post. I got the idea to do a sunrise post because on Monday it was just beautiful, so many colors! Of course when you are ready for it, it doesn't happen. Tomorrow I am meeting a group of photographers to shoot the fireworks over Marina Bay. Fingers crossed the photos turn out!

This was taken at Gardens by the Bay around 6:30am, just before sunrise. The super trees have their night lights on. Good reflection. 

That tiny bit of pink over the palm trees was the best two minutes of light this morning. 

This is taken at Marina Bay, no beautiful pinks or oranges whatsoever this morning. At least the clouds are pretty.

This is the lily pond with a reflection of the Art Science Museum in the water.

Happy Friday!!!

Too many good books, too little time :)

This week I have to admit I did not take a single photo for Photo Friday, until just now, and its Friday. Not good! Next week I promise to work harder on getting some interesting shots. 

I'd say its fair to blame the lack of photos on a book, "All The Light We Cannot See", by Anthony Doerr. Excellent book! Impossible to put down! I just ordered two new books, "Bird Box" and "The Things They Carried". Plus I have a stack of other books waiting for me. Nothing better than getting lost in a good book!

See you next week!

Happy Friday!!!

Lunchtime in Singapore

Singapore is a foodies heaven. People here love to eat. Many jokes are told about the favorite national sports: eating, shopping and queueing. (Seems to be a line for everything) I have learned to try new things and some I really love. Here are a few dishes we love and a few I'm not so sure of.

Sliced Fish Soup

This is a favorite of both of ours. A light broth with sliced fish, leafy greens and sliced bitter gourd with a bit of fried shallots and garlic on top. Add in chili sauce and or soy sauce and this is the perfect light soup. Sometimes we go to the hawker center at Amoy St and on the second floor there are two fish soup stalls, both with long lines, both very very good!

Yes, we eat our soup with chopsticks and a spoon that doesn't really fit into your mouth but that is because here you are supposed to slurp your soup. We still aren't big slurpers but it is sort of a fun challenge to try to get through a soup meal without wearing any of it. :) Especially fun when the soup has long noodles in it.

Yong Tau Foo

This is my current favorite soup. You pick your own six items to go into your soup. I always choose a leafy green veggie, a fish ball, a tofu something and a krab ball. That leaves me with two items so I try to always pick something new and then maybe get some noodles. This bowl has curry but you can also get a light broth instead of curry. 

Char Kway Teow

Very popular noodle dish, has egg, cockles, sliced fish cake, noodles and chilies. Not one of my favorites but pretty good. There are so many different varieties of this dish. Every stall makes it their own way with their own choice of ingredients. Some places use meat instead of cockles, some have a different sauce or gravy on it.

Chendol with Mango

I am not a big fan of some of the local desserts. Here is an example of one. This is made up of shaved ice, coconut milk, red beans, rice flour jelly noodles with the green food coloring, puree of mango and sugar. It wasn't bad, it wasn't especially good either. I think I have to say that I am a sugar addict and its only fair that you know this so that you know my opinion may be off a bit. If it isn't a sheet cake or a candy bar I probably wont love it.

Happy Friday!!!

Lau Pa Sat Festival Market

Lau Pa Sat has reopened after 9 months and a $4 million renovation. This is a hawker center directly across the street from our condo in the Central Business District. We are so happy to have this back. I look forward to enoying a few meals here and finding new favorites.

There are about 50 different food vendor stalls and 14 mini restaurants. Not sure yet what a mini restaurant is exactly but I'd guess a limited menu and a small space. Seating for the 50 + food stalls is open, you can grab a seat anywhere. People here "chope" tables, meaning they save their seats by leaving a packet of tissues behind, then go and find their food and drinks and bring it back to their saved table or seat.

Here three seats have been choped. It isn't busy at all so I'd just get my food and then grab a seat but maybe there is a really nice cool breeze right there? 

This is a roasted meat stall. One of my favorites! They usually have chicken, duck and pork all roasted to perfection with noodles or rice and veggies. 

Closer look at the yummy roasted meats. I found this very strange when we first moved here. Now I cannot imagine a hawker center without a roasted meat stall.

I went around 2 so it wouldn't be super crowded. The day before I went at 1:00 and I couldn't find a seat, it was elbow to elbow! During the lunch hour it isn't uncommon to wait up to 30 minutes in line to order. In fact, I like to look for the longest line, they must have the best food if the line is that long.

Making chapati from scratch. This is like bread without yeast and is good to mop up all of the extra sauce in some of your curry dishes.

This is one of my favorite things to eat at a hawker center. Yong Tau Foo. You get a bowl and a pair of tongs and you pick 5 or 6 items that you want, most of it I have no idea what it is. Some are veggies, tofu, fishball, imitation crab meat, some (even after eating it) I have no idea what it is but so far so good! Then you give your bowl to the person and decide if you want soup or curry or dry and what kind of noodles you want. They cook your items you picked up, chop them into smaller bite size pieces and a minute or two later you have a nice bowl of yumminess :)

Fried Kway Teow is a very popular rice-noodle dish. Usually has meat, egg and veggies and a nice brown sauce. Add some chili sauce and you are set.

Most of the stalls are pretty open and you can see all of the prep and cooking.

Typical condiments, again I never really know what is what so I just decide what might look good and give it a try. So far nothing that I didn't like but I have had some pretty spicy sauces.

 Spacious with high ceilings and several new large ceiling fans. It does feel better ventilated than before and it sure looks so much better. The green trim is very nice.

One cup of kopi o kosong for me and I'm good to go! This is the local style coffee and ordering is a bit of a thing..."kopi" means coffee, "o" means no milk and "kosong" means no sugar. I think normally it comes with both milk (usually evaporated milk) and sugar. There is a shop close to home with a chart to show you what means what and how to order your coffee. I am lucky that my hubby likes his coffee the same as I do so when we first moved here he had the lingo down right away :) 

Happy Friday!!!