It’s been another many weeks since my last ride. And all the time is spent on body recovery. It’s really very depressing to be in and out of the hospital and clinics so frequently. Especially during this sensitive period where the pandemic is still going on.
After spending so many weeks in recuperation, finally felt almost well enough to do a ride. Since it’s my first ride in a while, I didn’t want to push myself too hard. Just a casual ride down my favourite route to the central business district area.
There seems to be a new addition in the area. And finally it’s my turn to take a shot in this place… (Been seeing my friends posting it on Facebook and just wanted a shot of it myself)
Also, since my main objective is to cycle, the shot was just shot using my mobile phone on a stable support. (I’m really loving my phone’s camera and its features). Shot with Huawei P30 Pro. Light painting mode (silky water).
I would have wanted to go again during sunset/blue hour time with my camera gears. But due to bad evening weather over the weekend, the plan was shelved. Hopefully the weather will be better next weekend…
** Recuperation at home really drove me nuts. There are so many places now that I wanted to bring my camera to….. Will just have to line it up.
Ever since I’ve resumed my cycling activities 2 weeks ago, I have been riding down south (the CBD) only. So I’ve decided to revisit a route to the North-East part of Singapore, Punggol.
I must say that this route is definitely very different from the CBD route where the ending destination is more “nature oriented”. Thou Punggol is a residential estate, quite a large part of it along the PCN route of Punggol are still trees and wetlands.
Sunrise @ Punggol
Looking across the waters along the coastal route, we will be seeing some parts of Malaysia. And since I’ve started early, I was somehow in time for some sunrise action.
Visiting Punggol won’t be complete if you did not go to either location which is the Lorong Halus Bridge or the Bridge @ Waterway Point (Shopping Center). These are probably considered the landmarks in Punggol.
Thou along my bike route, I did pass by the Lorong Halus Bridge, but I did not stay for long due to the monkeys roaming around there. Not that they are aggressive, just that I don’t feel too comfortable around them.
After riding past the bridge, I will be reaching the furthest point in Punggol before making a return to base which I will passby the Bridge at the Waterway Point.
Bridge @ Waterway Point
In Singapore, every area will have it’s landmark building, and in Punggol, this is one of it. And after the photo time, it’s full speed back to base. I’m always trying to make it back to base before the sun gets too hot.
So far, I’ve only rode on this route just once last year at night. And back then, I got lost somehow along the way. Missing the turns and signs (if any) and eventually took a longer route than expected. Also, partly due to the area close to the borders of Singapore, the phone GPS wasn’t working too well as I can occasionally see my location in the waters.
For a 2nd time riding this route, I still got lost in some areas, but not as bad as the first time thou. With a new phone, the GPS is definitely more accurate. But the PCN route on the map can still be quite confusing ( compared to the CBD route ). Probably with more rides on the route, I will get familiar with it.
But considering the bumpiness of the route towards Punggol, I’m not sure when will be my next ride to this area. Hopefully not too long from now as I still quite like the natural environment along the waters.
It’s been another few months since my last posting…. Things got better personally, but many things got worse off globally…. No thanks to the COVID-19.
With the COVID-19 virus spreading, many countries have been implementing lockdown, movement control etc. to limit the spread of the virus. Singapore is not too much different. At the very least, we can still go out of the house for healthcare services, supplies and exercise. Just that we have to adhere to the social distancing measures. Thou exercising is allowed, but not as a group. the exercise activity should be done solo.
After almost always staying indoors for 2 months (large part due to some health issues), finally got well enough to resume my newly picked up hobby(?) of cycling which I kinda picked up in Oct/Nov 19. Kinda love this “sport”.
So, the route which I most wanted to cycle back on is what I feel is the most scenic route in Singapore, Marina Bay Sands and Esplanade.
Sunrise Ride at MBS / Merlion Park
For whatever reason, I really love the scenery in this area. Since it’s a cycling activity, I only brought along my phone to capture the scene ( The Huawei P30 Pro camera is amazing! ).
The distance from the starting point (my house) to the location isn’t overly long…. ~35km. A distance that I can previously do without sweat is causing me so much problems now… Looks like it will take time to retrain my stamina and muscle groups.
Meanwhile, whereas possible, stay home and more importantly stay safe.
Another 4 years have passed since my last posting in WordPress…. Been having a rough time holding my personal life in a piece.
I haven’t been on a photography trip in these 4 years… Thou there are other overseas trips, but more of a family trip where I will not be bringing my tripod / large cameras with filters + remotes etc.
So finally just a short while ago, went with some of my die-hard-photographer-friends for a “relaxation” getaway trip to Bintan. Which is a short ferry ride away from Singapore.
Sand Dunes
The Sand Dunes is one of the first location which we went to for our first stop. And I personally felt that this place is quite calming, and if the heat doesn’t kill, I can probably stare at this scene for hours. Anyway, it won’t be happening, as the rest of us are already dried-out…
Oasis @ Sand Dunes.
A short distance away from the Sand Dunes, there’s a lake which also provided some visual therapy for many of us. Under the scorching sun which also creates the strong blue skies and clear water reflections.
There’s a small sheltered area just behind where I’m shooting where we were there taking break from the shooting.
By this time, most of us were both tired and hungry… So, it’s a go-to-resort for some rest and recovery before the main event of the trip.
500 Luohan Temple
The main event of the trip is actually to capture the milky way with the 500 Luohan. And we considered ourselves relatively lucky to have the short window to capture the milky way behind the temple. As heard from other friends that those who arrived later (~2hrs) was not able to get a clear shot.
Milky Way @ Sand Dunes
After we decided that we had enough of the place, we returned to the morning location… The Sand Dunes. It’s starting to get cloudy, so we just make the best of out of it.
Finding “creative” ideas
After the milky way got covered, we started to find some fun things to do…. and that includes the shot-to-death torchlight pose… If you realized, this “block of sand” is the same as the one shot in the day…. Just from a different angle.
Wrapping this up with some technical notes. For most part of the trip, I was using my 5D Mark III + Samyang 12mm Fisheye. This fisheye was used for all my night shots. Other stuffs brought along was my EF 17-40mm and a selfie camera Fuji X-A3 + 16-50mm.
To be honest, the 12mm Fisheye is very hard to use in a situation where the rest of my friends are using 12/14/16mm non-fisheye…. As I tend to be very near the subject. But all is good with good communication.
Key notes of shooting at night is having good communications, light discipline and surrounding awareness.
Always try to be aware of your surroundings. Know if anyone is shooting infront/behind, so that you won’t trip over or affect their shot.
Always control your torchlight to prevent spillage into other’s frame. Especially if you are doing your focusing adjustments (typically, we do it at the same time, as usually we just focus for infinity) or even checking your shot (some LCD displays are very bright).
The above are less likely to have issues if your communications are in placed. Good communications is required, so that you and your group knows what each other is doing. Especially so, if you are going away solo to a different location. This is for safety! Finding someone in near pitch darkness is no joke.
My Photo Journal 