Light Festival at Marina Bay

Light sculptures have been displayed at Marina Bay starting from Depavali and hopefully till the end of the year. "Hopefully" as during my first visit, as soon as the lights went on the rain started pouring down. Additionally, best night pictures are actually not taken at night but just when the sky darken, so the window of opportunity is narrow... So I hope to have a second shot at it. But first, an exciting trip to Siem Reap is planned and images of Angkor are on the way!

Singapore Nightscape

D700 14-24mm @ 16 ISO200 f/7.1 1sec tripod

Wide view of downtown Singapore, covering from left to right: Boat Quay, the Supreme Court, the Padang field, the Esplanade and much more... A larger version would be nicer but this is the maximum size I can post on the blog I think...

Singapore National Day - The Flag Flies by The Sands

D700 70-300mm @ 100 ISO400 f/5 1/250

The land behind the towers where the gardens are being completed was spoiling the balance of colors with some yellow and reddish brown. So I converted the image to black and white while keeping the flag as well as the helicopters lights and signs in their original colors. The result isn't that bad!

Singapore National Day at the Padang

D700 70-300mm @ 70 ISO800 f/5.6 1/30

The National Day Parade is back on the Padang field to celebrate Singapore's 45th year anniversary.

Singapore Celebrates Its 45th Anniversary

D700 70-300mm @ 300 ISO400 f/5.6 1/60

Audience of students during a rehearsal of the National Day Parade. The show is on-going and can be viewed on the giant screen above the grandstand set for the spectators seating opposite.

Singapore Celebrates Its 45th Anniversary

D700 14-20mm @ 20 ISO200 f/22 15s tripod

While posted today, these images were taken during one of the rehearsal night.

Singapore Celebrates Its 45th Anniversary

D700 14-24mm @ 20 ISO200 f/22 15s tripod

Great view over the National Day fireworks from 63rd floor of the OUB Tower, 282m above ground. The terrace will soon be part of 1-Altitude, a bar restaurant located on 61st and 62nd floors. I recommend a visit upon official opening.

Marina Bay Barrage (5)

D700 70-300mm @ 100 ISO200 f/11 6 sec. tripod

And to close this Marina Bay Barrage series, a picture taken in the late twilight hour.

Well, considering the title of the series, one might have expected a shot of the barrage itself... Maybe another time!

Marina Bay Barrage (4)

D700 70-300mm @ 180 ISO200 f/11 0.8 sec tripod

The construction on the roof of the Sands building is just amazing. I liked the passing cloud that had a shape similar to the capping structure of the Sands. The key here was timing. First, the natural light had to be nicely balanced with the building lights, especially with the underbelly lighting of the roof structure. Second, the cloud still had to be in the frame when the light was right...

Marina Bay Barrage (3)

D700 70-300mm @ 180 ISO400 f/11 1 sec tripod

A sunset view from the Marina Bay Barrage area of downtown with a focus on the Singapore Flyer at sunset.

Marina Bay Barrage (2)

D700 14-24mm @ 24 ISO400 f/11 1/320

Marina Bay has always been a great place to fly kites. Now that the barrage building has been completed, the roof of the pump area has become most popular for this activity. Here at sunset with some back light on the kite and the Singapore flyer in the background.

Marina Bay Barrage (1)

D700 70-300mm @ 75 ISO400 f/4.4 1/30

The little Singapore water museum at the barrage is pretty interesting. I found my rewards in ceiling reflections...

The Flyer - Marina Bay (4)

D700 24mmPCE ISO400 f/13 1/320

And a last shot of the Flyer for now...

The Helix Bridge - Marina Bay

D700 24mmPCE ISO400 f/4.5 1/60

A snap at the Helix Bridge while in Marina Bay. There again, it might be best to come back when the construction of the resort is completed.

The Flyer - Marina Bay (3)

D700 24mmPCE ISO400 f/6.3 1/60

The views from the wheel are much better than I had first expected considering the fact that constructions are still on-going in the bay area. The window of the cabin can be a little dirty at the end of the day. So to avoid this to be seen on the picture, the trick is to place the lens close to the glass looking through a clean spot.

The Flyer - Marina Bay (2)

D700 24mmPCE ISO400 f/9 1/100

The cabin arrives at the boarding gate. The sun is low so the contrasts in lights are acceptable. Additionally, a polarizing filter was added to darken the sky (yet maintain the reflection in the building windows).

The Flyer - Marina Bay (1)

D700 24mmPCE ISO400 f/7.1 1/30 tripod

Another of Singapore's landmarks was the target of a Saturday night trip: the Flyer. In fact, it was more impressive than I expected and it was indeed a great experience. The best time for the ride was of course close to sunset, to take advantage of the golden light... The above picture was taken later on when the sun had just disappeared over the horizon. While the original capture was quite nice, a graduated blue/magenta filter was added post processing to get this post card look...