Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

This week I couldn't decide where I should go to get photos for my blog. My top two locations were the Singapore National Orchid Garden or Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. I haven't been to either one yet and both sounded pretty interesting. I promise to do the Orchid Garden another time, here are my shots from Bukit Timah. I am a park type of person, love trees, love flowers, however I do NOT love monkeys, snakes and lizards. The whole time I was at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve  - all alone - I was scared out of my mind! Needless to say I am in no hurry to return!

I had a minute at the very beginning of peaceful flower time. Then I looked up at the trail and there was a monkey running down the hill. No one else seemed to mind the monkey much so maybe I am just a scaredy cat? YES, YES I AM!

One side was the Hindhede Nature Park and the other side is the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, both sides look exactly the same but the Hindhede side has better views of the quarry. I walked about 5km total, not bad, good workout! Lots of stairs on the trails which was surprising to me.

This is a shot of the Hindhede Quarry and lake. Too bad the cell towers are so ugly.

Cute little turtle swimming in the lake.

I heard a loud something in the trees here and just about screamed! I didn't see anything...

Started whistling so that I could alert the animals that I was coming and not sneak up on them. Maybe that will help?

Some of these leaves are bigger than me!

Cool tree with tiny round thingys on the trunk. Checked at the visitors center, its a Common Yellow Stem Fig tree. 

Stairways that go on forever. It really was a great workout and the cover from the trees kept it nice and cool. Most amazing is that I didn't get even one mosquito bite ;) If it weren't for the fear of a monkey/snake/monitor lizard attack I would go more often. Instead I think I really want to work on my street photography. I'd like more shots of people around town but I hate taking photos of people I don't know. Recently I read a great blog posting about this exact problem, link in case you are interested http://digital-photography-school.com/terrified-street-photography-heres This is a great blog that has been super helpful in learning photography.

Happy Friday!

Back Lighting and Shadows

The effect of back lighting is so pretty and soft. I have always liked how the sunlight filters through the leaves in the late afternoon but never realized it was a popular photography perspective. I shot these in Program mode, ISO 100-400.

The light filtering through the leaves makes beautiful shades of green.

This fern was growing on the side of a palm tree and the sun was shining so brightly it really glowed from behind. Its a super zoom shot to keep the background clean which helps the fern pop.

Its so hot in Singapore this will definitely be a favorite perspective to shoot, shade is a must!

This is usually a much darker leaf... maybe I just learned something about composition. In this photo you cannot immediately see that it is a back lit subject. I guess to show the effect of back lighting it is good to have a larger view to see the change the light makes with the subject. What a smarty pants I am, I just figured that out on my own!

Sun shining through the palm trees.

Love how the sun has totally blown out the left side of the photo here, its even shining through a bit of the butterfly's wings. 

Shadows are another fun subject. When the sun is too bright to photograph the trees and get something other than a washed out picture, try the shadows. 

This was a perfect palm tree shadow. 

This shadow was on a building just before twilight. The building is normally a grey concrete color but with the sun going down the glow was a bit orange and the shadow was excellent. 

Group photo of my photography class in Chinatown. Sometimes I get so focused on the photo I am trying to shoot I don't see outside of the frame. In this case, everyone was  really into the photo and after shooting we realized there was a car patiently waiting for us to get out of the street. Ooops, good thing he wasn't in a hurry!

Use of shadow to create a frame for the main subject. 

Shadow of the roof line of a building across the alley, interesting lines.

Happy Friday!

Motion Blur - Panning

I started another photography class called The Art of Seeing. This weekend we have three photo shoots planned at Botanic Gardens, Chinatown and the downtown area. By the beginning of October I have to turn in 300 photos for critique and I am in a panic mode! Our instructor has said not to panic because we are sure to get more than enough photos during our scheduled shoots but you never know..... so I am trying to get a jump on the project. I don't have many photos that show motion and now I know why, it is not easy!! Here are a few I did this week. To get these shots I used the S mode on my camera to control shutter speed and set it at 1/15 for most, used the live view screen, continuous shot mode, put the strap around my neck and held the camera out tight for tension to try to keep camera shake to a minimum. Next, focus on a car, motorcycle or bike coming toward you from down the street (the faster the better), level out the camera and lock your arms to just swing side to side and shoot moving the camera so you are following the subject. This should keep the subject in focus and the background will blur to show motion. Hold down the shutter release to get as many pictures as you can with the subject still in the view finder. Good to find a place away from the bus stops, trees and posts or signs so they don't block your view. Also it is important to find a place where cars are going fast enough and the background is "busy" to get a good motion blur shot. By busy I mean that a plain background will not show motion the same as a background that has a lot going on, different colors or signs or objects to blur. This type of motion blur photography is called panning and it is only one way to shoot motion blur. It has become fun for me now. I am dying to get a good panning shot of a motorcycle or bike zooming past.

Taxis are the fastest cars on the road in Singapore.

This shot was ok. I liked the background, still have to work on getting the camera to follow the subject smoother, my subject in this shot was the motorcycle. Cannot use a tripod for this so I'll just have to keep practising. Also if the subject you are focusing on changes lanes or unexpectedly speeds up or slows down that will change the outcome of your shots. 

The cars aren't going super fast but panning will make it look like they are.

Only the subject you focus on will be in focus, all other objects will be blurred.

Mail delivery! That is a SingPost scooter.

Motorcycles like to weave their way through traffic to pull out first from a red light. I don't appreciate that as a driver but today it was ok. :)

I am a shy person so the worst part about photography is when I am out taking pictures and people are watching me. For panning it is particularly hard because you can't just snap a quick pic, you have to be ready for it by getting into a good position and holding out the camera then moving with the object. Its probably no big deal to most people but I hate to draw attention to myself! It seems like there are so many photographers out there. I always tell myself most of them know exactly what I am doing and are just wishing they could roam around town and play with their camera too.

This is what the picture would look like if you held the camera still and let the cars go by. The background would be in focus and the cars would have the blur. Another way to show motion blur but not as exciting as panning!

Happy Friday!

Update! Using the live view screen may slow down your camera. My suggestion is to first try this method with the live view on. If this is giving you troubles, use live view to correctly position the camera, then switch back to the optical viewfinder without leaving your position. It is more difficult this way but your camera will speed up.