= Stefan's Weekly Singapore City/Landscapes II =

[SomeFormOFhuman]

#334

Land Of The Free

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5 Image HDR/DRI, 2 Image Vertorama using GND 0.6 soft + Haida 6 stop filter for smoothed water effects. Punggol, Singapore.

Finally, time off from busy schedule to pursue my favourite hobby. A shot that represents something I always yearn for: to be free.

Spoiler Alert, until I find a way to perfect it, I may upload hyperlapse footages sometime in the future.

090515 UPDATE:
- Reduced overall shadows a little
- Increased overall image sharpness
- Reduced signature opacity

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

#335

Dead Man's Boat

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3 Image HDR/DRI, 3x2 6 image panorama to relief spatial proportion, using GND 0.9 soft + Haida 6 stop ND filter for smoothed cloud and water effects. Kranji Beach, Singapore.

Atlas, after so many years I've finally get to see this thing in person. I was standing really close to the hull of the broken boat, so I had to do a multi-row pano because of this mud-ridden position I was standing... No actually, it wasn't as muddy as I thought.

190515 UPDATE:
- Changed hue a little
- increased foreground highlights
- Tweaked left sky colour a little bit
- Removed several (rather faint) dust spots

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

#336

The Path Of Living Fantasy

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3 Image HDR/DRI, 2 Image Vertorama using GND 0.6 soft + Haida 6 stop filter for smoothed cloud and water effects. Yishun, Singapore.

The tide, the land and cloud formations were right, as I envisioned it to be.

 

[alf626]

Hey Stefan, your pics never fail to amaze me whenever I look at it. It's always very natural.

 

[Mythmaker]

Over 200,000 views. Congrats stefan!

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

Hey Stefan, your pics never fail to amaze me whenever I look at it. It's always very natural.

Over 200,000 views. Congrats stefan!

Thanks. :thumbsup: Milestone achieved.

#337

The Path Of The Living Storm

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3 Image HDR/DRI, 2x2 Multi-row panorama using GND 0.6 soft + Haida 6 stop filter for smoothed cloud and water effects. Yishun, Singapore.

Final one from the series. Clouds came and covered the lighted sky, the tide rose ever quicker and higher and unfortunately, didn't get much of an impactful shot I was hoping for, thus was pretty hesitant to upload this... But anyway will return again (When the tide is right).

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

#338

A Commerative Beginning

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2 Image HDR/DRI, 5 image stacking of fireworks + MBS Light show with the Sony A7 II + 24-70mm f4 Zeiss. Geylang, Singapore.

When it comes to fireworks, boy do I hate crowds. and I hate shooting the city. I'm no fireworks shooter, unless I don't need to squeeze in a crowd of people like in this case.

Moreover, I was asked to try Sony's A7 II and I gotta say, it really is awesome to use. For starters, that superior dynamic range which is something I'm still griping with my EOS 7D (C'mon Canon, I'd be honest - you better do something with your DR) and this A7 II nails it completely from not only DR but sharpness and clarity.

Other than the image stacking of the fireworks and light show, I didn't do anything else but tone down the highlights a little with another underexposed shot just to get out some detail in the highlights. Didn't have to do that but just to make sure - Just one of my typical post-processing workflows. Not trying to advertise, but the quality of the RAW output is, phenomenal.

I personally do not think this is an epic fireworks shot (looks rather typical and boring to me) but that's not the point; I shot this because while this day on June 16th marks the end of the SEA Games, someone here marks this day to a significant start of using the A7 II. What shots might come out of it, I can only wonder.

While the A7 II takes over, it's time for my ageing, dilapidating 6 year old EOS 7D to take a long, well deserved vacation in the dry cabinet for now.

 

[nitewalk]

Looking forward to seeing more phenomenal shots from you!

 

[tecnica]

The A7 series is truly outstanding. Glad to see you on the bandwagon.

 

[worldbefree]

Great camera. Anticipating what can this able owner with this "better" gear produce in the days to come!

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

Looking forward to seeing more phenomenal shots from you!

The A7 series is truly outstanding. Glad to see you on the bandwagon.

Great camera. Anticipating what can this able owner with this "better" gear produce in the days to come!

But better gear doesn't mean better shots though, hahaha. Anyway thanks you guys. Actually I have to clarify that the A7 isn't mine - It's Sony's. According to Simon Goh I can use for up to 6 months. Will probably also request for more lenses to try like the 35mm f1.8.

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

Upward Folds

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Single Image RAW. Peninsula Plaza, Singapore.

Handheld shot with the Sony A7 II + 16-35 f4 Zeiss. Just testing its RAW capabilities. It's great so far, almost no post-processing required. Simple shot though, enjoy.

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

#339

Sword On The Ground

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Single Image RAW using GND 0.6 soft. Yishun, Singapore.

PS, should've gone a little closer to create a better visual impact of my foreground and do a 2 image vertorama to avoid that 50/50 composition but... Stupid photographers like me still make stupid mistakes, like going there totally unprepared. I was like, "how do I set custom W/B, how do I access Bulb mode?" and other stupid stuff. Because of my -severe- incompetence the tide got higher and higher. Never mind.

Back here again but with the A7 II. Usually I would take multiple exposures with my 7D for a scene like this but once again trying my luck and pushing the limits of the dynamic range the A7 II RAW can provide. Loving it so far. This totally changes the way I post-process images what was once technically impossible.

Still trying to figure out the controls and settings of the camera, its capabilities and getting used to them.

270615 UPDATE:
- Fixed colour tint

 

[tcydennis]

#339

Sword On The Ground



Single Image RAW using GND 0.6 soft. Yishun, Singapore.

PS, should've gone a little closer to create a better visual impact of my foreground and do a 2 image vertorama to avoid that 50/50 composition but... Stupid photographers like me still make stupid mistakes, like going there totally unprepared. I was like, "how do I set custom W/B, how do I access Bulb mode?" and other stupid stuff. Because of my -severe- incompetence the tide got higher and higher. Never mind.

Back here again but with the A7 II. Usually I would take multiple exposures with my 7D for a scene like this but once again trying my luck and pushing the limits of the dynamic range the A7 II RAW can provide. Loving it so far. This totally changes the way I post-process images what was once technically impossible.

Still trying to figure out the controls and settings of the camera, its capabilities and getting used to them.

Go get the ebook on A7 by Gary Friedman. Save it on your smartphone and you will have it with you wherever you go. When unsure, u can quickly pull it out with a ebook reader and check where to change the settings for various stuff while on a shoot.

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

Go get the ebook on A7 by Gary Friedman. Save it on your smartphone and you will have it with you wherever you go. When unsure, u can quickly pull it out with a ebook reader and check where to change the settings for various stuff while on a shoot.

Thanks man, will have a look. Seems great. :thumbsup: This is usually how do stuff all the time; just trial and error, playing around the menus and see where it takes me. The same is said for my post-processing workflow through the years.

#340

Alfred, The Explorer

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Single Image RAW, with GND 0.6 soft. Yishun, Singapore.

It was getting incredibly dark, I took chances and pumped the ISO on the A7 II, and it still seems pretty clean.

This shot reflects what I see in Alfred Ng's gallery, aka alf626: Simple, but great. There he is standing no matter what tide it may be, always there and everywhere to get the shot he wants.

A great shooter to hang out and get to know with, always exploring new places, new horizons, always re-inventing himself. And always driving me around.

Thanks Alfred.

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

#341

Rocks From The Sun

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2 Image HDR/DRI, using GND 0.6 hard + Haida 6 stop filter for smoothed cloud and water effects. Shot with Sony A7 II + 16-35mm Zeiss. Punggol Beach, Singapore.

Been a long time since I got here. The tide was unusually low and the land didn't appear what I had originally planned in mind (Also I came a little late that morning). Did some searching around and found some cool rocks puddled with water to play with.

 

[kitaro9202]

nice photo

care to share kranji beach is near where?

isit near Kranji Reservoir Park?

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

nice photo

care to share kranji beach is near where?

isit near Kranji Reservoir Park?

Yep, it is. Google Maps should get you there.

 

[SomeFormOFhuman]

#342

Wood Logs

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2 Image HDR/DRI, 2x2 multi-row panorama to include more foreground using GND 0.6 hard + Haida 6 stop filter for smoothed water effects, shot with the Sony A7 II + 16-35mm f4 Zeiss. Kranji Beach, Singapore.

Simple one. Half a year has gone and looking though my gallery somehow, just not satisfied with them. It's not about the quality of the photos but my expectations of the overall composition, and the perhaps the lack of a visual narrative in the shots I've planned and/or devised. However I refute from blaming a mundane location for lack of a great subject to photograph - that's just a bad excuse for any landscape photographer. But that doesn't explain why am I churning out bad photographs lately... At least in my opinion.

Back home, every time when I review the subjects I've shot, the one question always pop up: Oh, you shot the sunrise - what about it? What's your story here? Just what are you trying to show? If I cannot answer these questions in mind, then it's not a photograph, it's a waste of time. And that's exactly how I feel most of my photos. So just what the f*** you're shooting then? Time to stop churning out random shots, go to take up a notch and try innovate something.

And that's one of the many reasons why most of my photos are in perpetual stage of development hell in the digital darkroom; revisions after revisions, delays after delays, most of the time end up scrapping the photo entirely. Fun fact: at least 70% of them are in total limbo and may not see the light of day in flickr.

And that's one of the many reasons I enjoy photography.

 

[alf626]

Thanks for sharing Stefan. That's why your pics are always perfect.