Xmas light up - Singapore

Last week, the streets of Singapore were lighted up for Xmas. It seems thought that some savings were made as I thought that the decorations were less impressive that the previous years. It might be because Marina Bay was lighted up for the first time and budget had to be streched a little.

Scarecrow at Kranji farm- a quick snap

After a morning at Sungei Buloh, we stopped at the farm opposite to get some fresh salad. I saw this scarecrow and took a snap at it.

Milky Stork - Sungei Buloh

A group of milky storks at Sungei Buloh Nature Park, Singapore.

The rest of the puppeteer

Interestingly, the puppets representing ladies are played by ladies and male puppets are played by men. So during a long interaction between ladies, the man puppeteer takes a rest.

Chinese string puppets - Looking behind the curtain

Feeling like a kid, I peeped under the curtain to have a look at the puppeteers. I was the only interested spectator as the play was for the souls or ghosts, so it felt like no one was being disturbed apart from, maybe, the artists.

View from the tree top bridge

The view over the forest canopy from the tree top bridge in the McRitchie Reservoir Park is quite impressive. However, even late afternoon (the bridge is locked after 5pm), the contrast between the shadows and the still bright sky is too wide to be captured properly by the sensor of a camera.

All conditions were then met to experiment with HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. For the resulting image above, 5 pictures were taken of the same scene at different shutter speeds (correct exposure, -1 stop, -2 stops, +1 stop and +2 stops). They were then merged in Photoshop using the HDR function, which mixes the exposures to achieve a more neutral tonality across the image.

When the exposures are taken, best is to have the camera on a tripod with trigger by cable release. For this particular image, the camera was hand held and the hanging bridge shaking slightly... By far not the most favourable conditions. Then focus should be manual, camera on aperture priority (to avoid change in depth of field between the shots), white balance fixed (not on auto) and, preferably, ISO should be kept low (as HDR photography tends to create background noise). For Nikon camera, when auto bracketing is used with release on continuous, the number of shots selected in the auto bracketing series will be taken automatically. It is then not necessary to change the shutter setting between each shots.

Taoist ceremony

The most impressive part of the ceremony was the burning of the large statue of a soldier on a horse both made out entirely of paper.

Taoist ceremony

At the end of the ceremony, paper idols and fake money are burned on a pyre.

Taoist ceremony

When visiting one of the temples, I was invited to return to witness a ceremony that takes place once a year at the site. The purpose of the event is to call back the souls of the ancestors for a day, offer them food, entertainment and transfer some wealth. They should then return satisfied and assist in ensuring good health and fortune to the participants and their families.

Red light

Lamps of local temples are often imported from China, like the ones pictured above.

Taoist Temple

The care taker explained that the temple was over 150 years old and built to house and safeguard a statue originating from a small village in China. It is the immigrants from this village that came to Singapore that funded the construction. Their descendants have ensured the protection of the statue and venerate their ancestors in this sanctuary.

Dragon on the roof

Another temple, another roof, another dragon.

Dragons on the temple roof

Tucked into an industrial zone in the Yishun district of Singapore lie a few temples that were relocated into this area when the lands they originally had been build on were taken back by the government. Going to an excellent Thai restaurant well hidden in the neighborhood, I used to pass by these buildings and, one day, decided to visit them with the camera.

Alcoves at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Two opposite walls of the temple are covered with alcoves each featuring a statue of Buddha.

Luodai Ancient Town - revisited

Scouting through old files, I choose this image of a street in the Ancient Town of Luodai to experiment with the usage of background textures. I had seen this method been used in very pleasing and effective ways by Trey Ratcliff on his blog "www.stuckincustoms.com" and decided to try my humble hand at it.

The giant smiling faces of Angkor - Revisited

This is a new version of an earlier post, with the image reworked in photoshop. Bayon is one of my favourite temple in the region of Angkor. To be fully appreciated, it needs to be visited early in the morning for two main reasons: the place turns into a zoo when the large operators bring their hord of tourists by bus loads (from 9AM onwards)... and the light just after sunrise is just amazing creating moving shadows between the smiling giants.

Mountain goat at the Creux-du-Van - Switzerland

Young male bouquetin at the cliff edge.

Mountain goat at the Creux-du-Van - Switzerland

The Creux-du-Van is a large semi-circular cliff up to 200m high situated in the Jura mountains of Switzerland. Mountain goats, locally named "bouquetin" populate the area and can be seen on top of the cliff in the early and late parts of the day.

Lights & Colours - Mid-Automn Festival

A play on depth of field.

Mid-Automn Festival @ Clarke Quay

Decorated bridge for the Mid-Automn Festival (Mooncake festival) at Clarke Quay. With some delay!

Contrast

No comment.

Candid Portrait in Kota Kinabalu

Candid portrait of a lady manning a vegetable stall at the market in Kota Kinabalu.

Selingan Island - Borneo

A parting shot at Selingan Island, the morning after the visit of the green turtles.

Sipadan Turtle Cave

The squeleton of a green turtle in the Turtle Cave at Sipadan.

Green turtle in the water of Borneo

This images of a green turtle was actually taken a few years ago in the waters of Sipadan. It is the same green turtles that are visiting Selingan Island.

Some technical details: The capture was originally made on a slide film using a Nikonos V, a Sea&Sea 15mm lens and a Subatec flash light. The slide was converted to digital using a D700, 60mm micro lens and the ES1 slide copying adapter attached and a SB900 for the back lighting.

Selingan Island at dusk

Selingan Island is one of the three islands that make up the Turtle Island Marine Park. Located 40km from Sandakan and close to the border with the Philippines, the marine park is an active turtle nesting site where hatcheries were established to assist in the conservation of two species that visit these islands, the green turtle and the hawksbill turtle.

Conservation work can be observed, which includes the viewing of the landing of one turtle per night as well as the release of newly hatched babies into the sea. No flash photography is allowed and walk abouts on the beach are prohibited after dusk... The above image was taken just before running back to the main building.

Sunset over Kota Kinabalu

Sunset while flying back from Lahad Datu to Kota Kinabalu. The image was taken from the plane window.

Proboscis monkey - Another portrait

Young male proboscis monkey.

Proboscis monkey - A portrait

Being thoughtful...

Silver leaf monkey - A portrait

Proboscis monkey - A portrait

Proboscis monkey - Borneo

Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary was established by a private plantation owner to offer alternative food sources to proboscis monkeys that could no longer find sufficient subsistence with their shrinking habitat due to the expansion of agriculture. It is now the best location to observe this animal at close range with great pictures opportunities.

Proboscis monkey - Borneo

Male proboscis monkey at the Labuk Bay proboscis monkey sanctuary, reached from Sandakan.

Silver Leaf Monkey - Borneo

The fur of the infants silver leaf monkeys remains orange for three to five months after birth and then turns black as the adults'.

Orangutang - Borneo

Orangutang means "person of the forest" in Malay language. They are not monkeys but apes, sharing over 96% of their DNA with humans. Above is a young male, recognisable by its beard and beginning of a mustache.

Danum Valley - Borneo

Forest & Light.

Danum Valley - Borneo

A beam of light.

Danum Valley - Borneo

Morning fog.

Danum Valley - Borneo

The fog is slowly lifting as the sun warms up the forest.

Danum Valley - 5:30AM

Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley Conservation Area, view from the balcony of our chalet at 5:30 AM while getting ready for our morning walk.

Sambar Deer - Danum Valley - Borneo

Sambar deers are nocturnal animals. While males usually live alone, females are found in herds with their youngs.

Western Tarsier - Danum Valley - Borneo

Immediately upon arrival, we were allocated a guide and advised to wear our leech socks for a first walk as an orangutan had been spotted in the vicinity. While we were able to observe the animal, it was too high in the tree and the light was not appropriate for a picture.

Back to the lodge for an excellent buffet dinner, we were told that one of the naturalists had found a rare Western tarsier. Should we want to see it before or after the night drive into the forest? As it was, we climbed on the back of the truck for our night drive and stopped close to the location where the tarsier was. We jumped out to see the animal, took a few shots using a torch light as sole light and continued our first night tour. Later in the night, we came back and I was allowed one picture with the flash. I could not mess this one up as I knew that the previous shoots with the torch light were not great. I set the camera on manual, 1/60, f/5.6, ISO400, spot metering on the eyes, 180mm with the 70-180 micro and flash mounted on camera on TTL -0.7EV. With more time, I might have done something better but the naturalist that had been keeping watch by the animal for most part of the evening was looking forward to his dinner.

The locals name the tarsier "ghost monkey". They recount stories to explain that the animal is part bat (ear & nose), part rat (the tail) and part frog (the legs). It can be found at night with the reflection of the torch light on the eyes. To protect themselves during full moon, the tarsiers can move a thin skin over their eyes to reduce the reflection of the light. The animal must then be spotted on the first pass of the light as they will hide their eyes immediately afterwards.

Danum Valley - Borneo

After a 90 km drive from Lahad Datu on a bumpy gravel road / old log road, we reached the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, a resort located in the secluded Danum Valley.

Gomantong Caves - Sabah - Malaysia

The ceiling of the limestone cave reaches 90m high with natural chimneys through which the bats exit in a large swirling group at sunset.

Gomantong Caves - Sabah - Malaysia

The floor of the cave is covered by a thick layer of bat guano, living ground to millions of insects some crawling up onto the slippery pathways and hand rails...

Gomantong Caves - Sabah - Malaysia

The Gomantong Caves are the largest cave system in Sabah. They are located approx. 110km from Sandakan and are home to over millions of swiftlets and bats. The swiftlets' nests are harvested and sold as bird nests internationally.

Stork-Billed Kingfisher - Kinabatangan River - Borneo

Another species of kingfisher presents in the region.

Common Kingfisher - Kinabatangan River - Borneo

A common kingfisher woken up by our lights.

Buffy fish-owl - Kinabatangan River - Borneo

Another predator of the night, awaiting for a prey on a low branch above the river.

Crocodile at night - Kinabatangan River - Borneo

After dinner, time for another boat trip to meet the creatures of the night.

All the images taken at night while in Borneo were captured with a D700, 70-180mm macro and SB900. Camera was most often set at 1/60 f/6.3 -0.3EV manual, the flash on TTL.