ArtScience Museum

National Day rehearsals Marina Bay Sands Arts and Science museum Marina Bay, Singapore

The final installment of my Marina Bay fireworks trilogy :) After one crazy month of firework hunting, my personal "mini" assignment has come to an end. I think I have captured enough fireworks to last me for a sometime. Even though tomorrow is the actual National Day, I will be 3898km away, spending time with family in Perth. For photographers who are still having difficulty finding the right shuttle speed and aperture to get good fireworks shot at the Marina Bay area, I would recommend an aperture of F13 to F16 (varies between lens, I use a Canon EF 24-105mm F4.0/L lens) and a shuttle speed between 4 to 6 seconds (depending on how intense is the fireworks). A sturdy tripod and a remote release cable are essential too if not the fireworks would be squiggly. I personally like to take a exposure of the overall scene during blue hour (capture more details in the buildings, especially the darker portions) then edit the fireworks into my final shot. However, this requires patience during the editing process as it could take hours to incorporate the fireworks into the shot realistically. I am aware that some SOOC Photographers (Purist) would be screaming "Photoshop cheat!" at this point but I feel that I am merely providing a rendition of the scene, something that I envisioned and it may or may not be an accurate account of the event. Even during the days of film, photographers are able to clone elements into the negative in darkroom. Therefore I hope that the viewer would enjoy my humble interpretation of this firework extravaganza!.

View it in all its crisps details: www.flickr.com/photos/jcheaphotography/7737242266/sizes/k...

3 exp pano + 3 exp fireworks, LEE's 0.9 GND (Soft) and edited in Photoshop CS5! Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

Marina Bay Sands Marina Bay, Singapore

It is always difficult to capture a city when facing the direction of the sunset all in one exposure. The exposure difference makes it impossible not to use the neutral density graduated filter and with building jutting out all over the place, placement of the filter becomes a problem too. Hence to make the best out of the situation, I placed my neutral density soft graduated filter at an angle and wiggle it about during the exposure . This beautiful sunset and fairly calm water only lasted for less than one minute. I count myself fortunate to be able to witness and capture the moment.

Best viewed large: www.flickr.com/photos/jcheaphotography/7620508024/sizes/h...

1 exp shot, LEE 0.6 Graduated Neutral Density filter (Soft), B+W circular polarizer filter (used to achieve a longer shutter speed) and edited in Photoshop!

Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated!!