Night Street Panorama – A City Beneath A Veil of Calm

I got this panorama photo filed in my archival hard disk and almost forgotten about it until now. It was made in early December 2018 with a swing lens panorama film camera. On that same night, I made another photo of the same night scene with my beloved RICOH GR2, also with the same title, which is featured here.

Photo Info:

HORIZON PERFEKT | 28mm | settings not recorded | Kodak Portra 800 Exposed for +2/3 f/stop | Film developed and scanned at Whampoa Colour Center | Further post-processed in Photoshop

Night Street Photo – Night After Sidewalk No. 9

NIKON D70s • Tamron 17-35mm @ f/3.0 1/40 sec. ISO 1600

RAW file post-processed in Photoshop

Night Street Photo – Night After Sidewalk No. 8

Single version – Apple iPhone 6 Plus on Camera+

JPEG post-processed in Photoshop

Double version – NIKON D70s • Tamron 17-35mm

RAW file post-processed in Photoshop

Good evening nightographers! It's Friday night and here are two new night street photos I'm going to share with you. This is a sequel to the last blog post of the same location same night scene but different human subjects and titles. In the last post, silhouettes were captured, for that mysterious and moody effect.

Tonight's street photos featured human subjects walked by in the foreground of the alleyway. I made two versions - one with a Smartphone and the other with a DSLR camera respectively. The light level in this alleyway is pretty low and contrasty and posed a great challenge to capture moving subjects, especially with my 17 years old NIKON D70s. The highest ISO of this old camera is 1600 and I always shoot in Manual mode as I want to have controls on the exposures. Well, it's obvious I have really limited ISO along with a slow Tamron 17-35mm lens, I have to hold my breath and camera really well and steady, at a slow shutter speed between 1/15 to 1/30 second. Exposure Compensation was applied and set to +1 value.

As for the Smartphone camera, Apple iPhone 6 Plus camera back lens has an aperture of f/2.2. I used the Camera+ app in which I'm able to set the White Balance, ISO, and Shutter Speed. WB was set to Auto, ISO at 160, and shutter speed at 1/4 second. Comparing the two photos, they almost have similar results.

Which version do you prefer? Let me know of your preference on the Comment section below. I'd love to hear from you.

Lastly, do subscribe to my blog for new night photos updates and do follow me on my Instagram and NQN Instagram.

Night Street Photo – One Way & No Others No. 3

Version 1 – NIKON D70s • Tamron 17-35mm
RAW file post-processed in Photoshop

Version 2 – Apple iPhone 6 Plus on Camera+

JPEG post-processed in Photoshop

Good evening nightographers! Tonight I'm sharing with you 2 new night street photos I made last Friday night. I was out in the street of Little India and came across this alleyway. So I thought it would be a nice spot to do "fishing". I took a few test shots for exposure and composition while waiting for the right subject to walk into the frame. Though it's not a busy alleyway with heavy human traffic however there are people walking by from time to time. I made as many photos as possible and these two photos stood out pretty strong, which I like it very much.

Which version do you prefer? Let me know of your preference in the Comment section below.

Lastly, do subscribe to my blog for new night photos update and follow me on my Instagram and NQN Instagram.

Not Quite Night series #91

Good evening nightographers! It's another night blog to share my new night street photograph on Not Quite Night series. Tonight I would be taking you to this interesting location where I made NQN #91. So let's jump right into.

Night 38

Street Silence

Zebra Crossing

Rainy Duxton

Night Rain

Unique Bus-stop

Not Quite Night series #90

Good evening nightographers! I hope everyone is safe and sound at home, reading my blog at this point in time. Tonight I'm putting up the latest night street photograph for the Not Quite Night series. 

It's been a long agonizing nine months since the last NQN photo was posted on the first day of the year 2020. I can't wait to show you my new NQN work. So let's jump right into.

Last Glimpse of Sentosa's Merlion

Good evening night dwellers!

5 years ago I made this star trail photo of our Sentosa resort island's Merlion, and posted on this blog site. Why do i share it again? News was out today that works are under way to demolish the tallest Merlion in Singapore. So I thought it would be interesting to share it again.

It was announced in September last year that this 37 meters tall statue is making way for a themed thoroughfare that will link Sentosa's north and south shores. This is a part of the long-term plan to reshape the resort island and the adjacent Pulau Brani into a premier leisure and tourism destination.

The last day of operations for the Sentosa Merlion was 20 October 2019.  It was designed by Australian sculptor James Martin and built in 1995. So for the last glimpse of this Merlion current status, check out The Straits Times photo.

That's all for tonight's blog post. Have a great weekend.

Doorway

Photo info:

iPhone 6+ on Camera mode. Post-processed and black & white conversion in Snapseed. Further enhancement in Adobe Photoshop.

Street Photography in Punggol

Two days ago, I woke up really early just to reach Punggol before the first light. I made it on time and took the first shot (shown above) with my iPhone 6 Plus using Camera+ app. Really love the atmosphere. I continued to stroll along the park connector pavement like I'm having my morning walk or exercise, enjoying the morning fresh air and the surrounding environment.

Then I came to this spot and looked at it for a few moments before I lifted up my phone camera to make another shot. Upon previewing the photo, it looks like a black and white photo, hence I converted it in Snapseed, and this is how it looks like.

I like that 'S' shaped pavement on the right side where our subject just seen running into the scene as I pressed the digital shutter button. I like the tile textures on the sitting structure in the foreground, too and the casted shadows of the railing against the ground, in contrast with the overhead horizontal panels. A wall mural in the far background, somehow makes this photo more interesting.

This is the wall mural. Drawings of robots in different shapes and designs with dialogues, seem quite comedic. As the morning light spread across the Punggol sky, slipping through the overhead panels, leaving the strong street lamp to the far left of the frame, I made the shot.

I wish I could venture and explore more other parts of the area or other location in Punggol for more beautiful first light or twilight photos. But the sun was already rising up, and I think it gave me good reason for more future visits.

I Could See Lights At The Edge of All Things

I Could See Lights At The Edge of All Things

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening nightographers! Hope all of you are safe and healthy. Tonight I'm showing another old photograph from my photo archive. This photograph was made ten years ago on 9th July 2010, Friday.

A few months earlier, the news was reported about the closure of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station aka Keppel Road Railway Station. The station was the southern terminus of the network operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the main railway operator in Malaysia. It was completed on 3rd May 1932 and officially opened by Sir Cecil Clementi. It was around for 79 years before it ceased operations on 1st July 2011 with the relocation of the KTM station to Woodlands Train Checkpoint.

The land on which the station and the KTM railway tracks stood was originally owned by KTM and over which Malaysia had partial sovereignty. This arrangement lasted until 30th June 2011 where the land was reverted to Singapore and to be reserved as the Singapore Railway Museum.

On that night, I visited the railway station and walked all the way to the end of the station platform and beyond, right up to this signal box where it was situated about 400 meters away. As it had since ceased operations and no one was around, I took the stairs up to the second-level balcony area, and I was in awe to see this night scenery before my eyes. Quickly I set up my tripod and mounted my camera prepared to make some exposures. However, there were motorcyclists who rode by from time to time, further into and out of a small village-like community area just around the corner, where I found out later there was a Malay food restaurant. Well, I guess people came by to enjoy the food and gathered with co-workers and friends before all are gone for good.

Initially, I wanted to capture the night scenery without any vehicle light trails, and I did try but they just kept on passing by. So I thought "What the heck!" just went along with it. A strong sodium-vapor spot light hit diagonally across this wooden house with a huge 2-seater sofa in the front and a coconut tree set in the background. The weather was great with fleeting clouds overhead. At that moment I felt everything fell into place and went on to make two exposures, and this is how the night photograph came about.

A Walk In The Garden No. 4

A Walk In The Garden No. 4

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening! Tonight I'm featuring this last night photograph of Toa Payoh Garden. It's probably one of the most favourable spots to make photographs of this stone bridge. I did one similar photograph last year on 29th December for my Not Quite Night project. Same subject different camera position.

Tonight I would not say much about this photograph. I let the photograph speaks for itself. Do subscribe or follow my blog by email for new updates.

Photo Info:

Shanghai TLR | f/16 Bulb mode - 3 mins 30 secs | Ilford HP5 Plus | Film developed in Kodak D76 1:1 dilution 10 mins 24 secs | Scanned on EPSON V700 | Post-processed in Photoshop

A Walk In The Garden No. 3

A Walk In The Garden No. 3

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening and welcome to another showcase of night photograph made in Toa Payoh Garden. This is another vantage spot I found pretty interesting. The juxtaposition between the stone bridge, bent tree trunk and the curvature of concrete railing that bent in the opposite direction from the former two subjects.

It has this visual contrast of three different subjects of different textures that create bending lines on the somewhat orderly symmetrical lines of the wooden boardwalk. Negative space was applied on the foreground to balance the 3 heavily subjects on the upper half of the composition.

The stone bridge and bent tree trunk lead viewer's eyes in clockwise direction, from the upper left frame to the bending concrete railing on the right, all the way down to the bottom, and back again to the former two subjects.

I wouldn't say this is one good abstract photograph or visual pleasing photograph that I consider as fine art, but in terms of composition, light and shadows and textures, I'm totally satisfied and happy with it.

Photo Info:

Shanghai TLR | f/16 Bulb mode - 3 mins 30 secs | Ilford HP5 Plus | Film developed in Kodak D76 1:1 dilution 10 mins 24 secs | Scanned on EPSON V700 | Post-processed in Photoshop

A Walk In The Garden No. 2

A Walk In The Garden No. 2

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

Tonight I want to show you this night garden photograph I made a decade ago. Some of you might recognise right away where this bridge is located. Yes it's located at Toa Payoh Garden. 

From time to time I found myself coming back to this place either for relaxation, or to make some interesting photographs. It's not too far from my place actually. Takes about 15–20 minutes walk. What i like about this garden is its one-of-a-kind hexagonal bridge, three stone bridges and a watching tower. Unfortunately the watch tower is permanently locked and entry is prohibited.

On one calm November night in 2010, I arrived at the garden and wanted to make night photographs of the stone bridges. I picked this bridge because it situated right next to a tree with two trunks, forming a letter 'V'. I don't know what kind of tree it is but it's definitely an old tree, most probably older than me.

At that time, I faced challenges in finding the right vantage spot for the right composition. It took me some time though and finally I decided on this, as shown above. The film I used was Ilford HP5 Plus. All along I've been using Kodak TMAX 400 for most if not all of my black and white night photography. But at that time I was thinking why shouldn't I try on a new film and hence I picked up a roll.

Compared to TMAX 400, I like the stark contrast this film creates and I yielded satisfying results on that night. On that same roll I made another photograph at another part of the garden. Check out that night photograph, A Walk In The Garden No. 1

Alright! I hope you like my work I showed you tonight. Hope my work inspires you to pick up night photography. Do subscribe for new updates. Thank you for your time and support.

Good night!

Photo Info:

Shanghai TLR | f/16 Bulb mode - 3 mins 30 secs | Ilford HP5 Plus | Film developed in Kodak D76 1:1 dilution 10 mins 24 secs | Scanned on EPSON V700 | Post-processed in Photoshop

Volkswagen Beetle

Volkswagen Beetle

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening nightographers! Here's one last night photograph on Tiong Bahru where I came across this nice Volkswagen Beetle car parked along the roadside. Somehow it adds up the nostalgic value to the residential building in the background, I hope.

Photo Info:

Shanghai TLR | f/16 Bulb mode - 3 mins 30 secs | Rollei Retro 400 | Film developed in Kodak D76 1:1 dilution 9 mins 20 secs | Scanned on EPSON V700 | Post-processed in Photoshop

Red Mini-Rover

Red Mini-Rover

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

This is another part of Tiong Bahru estate area where i came across this red Mini-Rover, parked next to a road signboard. Ambient lighting was tricky and challenging, so I tried to expose for the shadows and later on to develop for the highlights. Four minutes of exposure on Rollei Retro 400 and developed in Kodak D76 1:1 dilution for 9 minutes 20 seconds yielded quite a satisfying result. I scanned the negative on EPSON V700 and post-processed the image in Photoshop for better contrast.

Tiong Bahru Estate

Tiong Bahru Estate

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening nightographers! I believe most of our local readers know where this place is. Just so happened I came across this part of the estate building with the curved pine trees and thought it would be worth exposing for a frame.

Photo Info:

Shanghai TLR | f/16 Bulb mode - 3 mins 30 secs | Rollei Retro 400 | Film developed in Kodak D76 1:1 dilution 9 mins 20 secs | Scanned on EPSON V700 | Post-processed in Photoshop

Kitty Cat Sat On The Wall

Kitty Cat Sat On The Wall

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening! Here's another night photograph of Tiong Bahru alleyway, not far away from the last photograph posted here. As the photo title says it all. Did you spot the cat? It's a long exposure of 3 minutes 30 seconds and despite the cat sat quietly and motionlessly on the wall, it turned its head a few times. Hence its head appears out of focus, but still distinguishable at a closer look.

Casted shadows of nearby trees and building structures made this photograph more dramatic, if not interesting. The light that hit across the white wall forming nice gradient shades of grey. These are some of the attributes I always look out for in night streets photography.

Then The Quiet Alley

Then The Quiet Alley

© 2010 Martin Liew Photography

In mid 2010 I visited Tiong Bahru on one weekend with my Shanghai TLR camera loaded with a roll of Rollei Retro 400 black and white film. I was trying to look for some nice ambience and subjects for night photography. Tiong Bahru today has flourished into a historically significant estate, combining its rich heritage and push for modernisation into a truly unique aesthetic.

I came across this quiet alley way and really like the ambience and atmosphere. Hence I set up my tripod and camera, and made the first exposure of the Rollei film for 3 minutes 30 seconds. Film was later developed in Kodak D76 1:1 dilution for 9 minutes 20 seconds. Dried negatives were scanned on EPSON V700 and post-processed in Photoshop for better contrast.

Will share more Tiong Bahru night photos in the coming blog posts. Do subscribe for new updates.

A Chair & A Ladder

A Chair & A Ladder

© 2009 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening! In my last blog I mentioned about posting a couple of night photographs with which I made on the same night on 23rd May 2009, Saturday. So here's one and let me share with you on the making of this night photograph.

Seletar Camp was formerly the site of the largest British Royal Air Force (RAF) base in the Far East. Plans to redevelop the Seletar area for Singapore’s aerospace needs were announced in 2006. Work on the project began in 2007 and is expected to complete by 2018. Helmed by JTC, the proposed Seletar Aerospace Park project was carried out on some 140 hectare of land. When completed, the park will serve as a key centre for aerospace activities such as the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft engines.

Some of the proposed changes to the area include lengthening the existing runway at Seletar Airport and building a new airport control tower. To make way for these changes, some parts of Seletar Camp were demolished or shut down, including the Seletar Base Golf Course, one of the few golf courses open to the public. The members-only Seletar Country Club, on the other hand, remains open. One hundred and seventy-four out of the 378 colonial black-and-white bungalows were demolished to make way for redevelopment.

While the economic downturn in 2009 had affected the Seletar Aerospace Park project, measures taken by the JTC, such as extending expired leases to companies occupying the site, helped to put the project back on track when the economy recovered. It was during this time period, I visited the place. Some buildings were abandoned and left empty which could be preparation for the redevelopment. The doors to the abandoned buildings were left opened and I went in to explore.

It was so pitch dark that I couldn't see my own fingers. I brought along a powerful LED flash light with which I was able to find my way around. I took the stairs to the second floor and there I saw this damaged chair at the end of the corridor, right outside a bunker. Behind the chair, a wooden ladder leaned against the wall. In that instant, I knew this set-up would be good for photography. No shifting or re-arrangement of the chair and ladder was made. I wanted to make photographs as I saw it.

Quickly I set up my tripod and mounted the camera to get the desired composition. Then I paused and thought of ways to make the first exposure. It was pitch dark and leaving the shutter open on Bulb mode is a must. The crucial part is how to light the subjects. If you take a closer look at the above photograph, you can see obviously where the shadows fall and where the light source came from.

Yes I walked into the bunker with the strobe, stood about one and a half meter away from the door frame. There, I pointed at the chair and fired two flashes. Next I walked up to the door frame, still remained out of sight from the camera, I switched on my LED flash light set at a lower lumen power and started to light paint the wooden ladder for about a minute. The shutter was still opened until I closed it at a stop time of 3 minutes 30 seconds.

So that's it. That was how this night photograph was made. In the following month, I came back to this place on every weekend for more night photography. I brought my digital SLR camera and other useful light painting tools. Many successful photographs were made, including this damaged chair.

I hope you enjoy my night photography work. Good night.

Ghost Tree

Ghost Tree

© 2009 Martin Liew Photography

Here's another night photograph I made on that same night with the white guardhouse in our last blog post. It stood strongly within the Seletar Air Base premise along the roadside, about a hundred meters away from the white guardhouse. Not too sure if this dead tree is still around.

It does look creepy and spooky as it stood against the dark night sky and has an open field in the background. Street lights hardly cast upon the dead tree in whole. The lighting effect you see here in the photograph was created using a portable manual strobe. At aperture f/8.0, I opened the shutter for 36 seconds. Within this short time, I fired the strobe twice to the left side of the tree and once to the right side, in full power. As the flashlight fell off shortly and quickly, the light could only reach the foreground and a little further mid-range of the crooked tree branches. Leaving the ones further behind in silhouettes. Hence it has this pop-up three-dimensional effect. Somehow or rather the lighting made this dead tree looks "alive".

There are quite a few soft spots/bokehs in this photograph. You can see that the bottom left corner thick tree trunk or branch has this motion blur effect. The middle part foreground tree branch is out of focus. The only focused area is the main tree trunk covered with ferns. It's all due to the wide-angle lens I fitted on the taking lens of Shanghai TLR camera. The lens is meant for normal camcorder usage and its thread size fits perfectly right on the TLR taking lens. Focussing with this lens is challenging. This night photograph wouldn't be made possible without this wide-angle lens.

I'll be posting and sharing another two night photographs which I made on that same night with this ghost tree. Do come back. If you have not subscribed to my blog, do so for new updates. Thank you for your time. 

Good night.

White House

White House

© 2009 Martin Liew Photography

I was out doing light painting at Seletar Air Base in the wee hours on 23rd May 2009, Saturday. I brought 2 cameras with me on that night – Nikon D300 and Shanghai TLR. In case you're curious and want to find out what are the color night photographs I made, here's the blog in which the photographs are featured.

As I made my way out towards the main gate, there was this guardhouse and I stopped to make one exposure with my Shanghai TLR camera on Kodak TMAX 400. The shutter was opened for 36 seconds. The film was later developed in Kodak D76 (full stock) for 6 minutes. Negatives were scanned on EPSON V700 flatbed scanner and post-processed in Photoshop for better contrast.

I will show more other black and white night photographs I made on that same roll of TMAX 400. Do subscribe to my blog for new updates.

Holding Your Light

Holding Your Light

© 2008 Martin Liew Photography

There's always something about back alleys that attract me to explore the possibilities or opportunities for good night photography. It was one of those moments when I came across this location where I found the clean whitewashed houses along with this stand-alone street lamp, interesting for a black and white photograph.

I want to keep things simple and this night scene has those minimalistic elements. Exposed this frame with Shanghai TLR camera on Kodak TMAX 400 for 5 minutes. Film developed in Kodak D76 full stock for 6 minutes. Negatives scanned on EPSON V700 and post-processed in Photoshop for brightness and contrast.

OUE Tower

OUE Tower

© 2007 Martin Liew Photography

This is one of the prominent landmarks located beside Collyer Quay at Marina Bay within the Downtown Core of the Central Area, Singapore. So much has changed in Collyer Quay since this night photograph was made in late April 2007. OUE Tower is within The Fullerton Heritage precinct which consists of The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Waterboat House, One Fullerton, The Fullerton Pavilion, Clifford Pier, and Customs House. Level 10 of the tower houses the popular Chinese restaurant, Tóng Lè Private Dining (under Tung Lok Group), and at Level 8, the restaurant offers three luxurious-furnished rooms, complete with state-of-the-art karaoke facilities stocked with over 60,000 songs. How's that for a dining and entertainment experience?

This night photograph was made possible with my Shanghai TLR camera on Kodak TMAX 400 black and white film. Negatives are scanned on EPSON V700 and post-processed in Photoshop.

City of Caves

City of Caves

© 2007 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening! Here's an old night photograph from my archive, which I made on 11th March 2007, Sunday. It was twelve minutes past three. I was walking along the walkway outside the National Gallery, formerly the Supreme Court, when I came across this part of the building. I was drawn by the juxtaposition of shapes and lines between the brick wall, stairways, and window panels. The light and shadows were in good place and this is the final composition that was captured with my Shanghai TLR camera on Kodak TMAX 400.

Twin Cupolas

Twin Cupolas

© 2007 Martin Liew Photography

Most local Singaporeans would recognize these twin cupolas or maybe some, I reckon. In the wee hours on 7th January 2007, Saturday, I visited the Fort Canning Cemetery just to make night photographs of these twin cupolas.

A cupola is a light structure on a dome or roof, serving as a belfry, lantern, or belvedere. The twin cupolas were built before 1958, for the tomb of Mr. George Dromgold Coleman at Fort Canning Cemetery. He served as Colonial Architect in Singapore from 1826 to 1841, the first Government Superintendent of Public Works (1833-1841), and became a consultant to Sir Stamford Raffles on the 1822-1823 Town Plan of Singapore.

Upon reaching this location spot, the surrounding ambiance was pretty low. The main light source came from the building, Fort Canning Arts Center, to the right of the twin cupolas. The brightly lit interiors of the cupolas were fired from a portable manual flashlight, while the shutter was opened for 9 minutes. More than enough time for me to go around the other side of the cupolas, and fire two flashlights on each cupola ceiling. This was to create an evenly bounced light for the interiors.

In fact, I made two exposures with which the first one without flashlight and the second one as shown above. I prefer the second exposure for its three-dimensional effect.

Nature Distancing

Nature Distancing

© 2006 Martin Liew Photography

It was a quiet evening in Bukit Gombak Park on 21st October 2006, Saturday. It was my first visit there at night. I noticed this small stand-alone tree and decided to set up my Shanghai TLR camera. A long exposure timing of 9 minutes on the smallest aperture f/22, was made.

I like the night atmosphere in this park. I made another 2 consecutive visits nine years later on 3rd and 10th October 2015, both Saturday night. I posted some black and white as well as color photographs which were all captured on my digital Nikon D300. You can check out the photographs here in this blog post.

Would love to visit the Park again after the COVID-19 lockdown. News was announced that the upgrading had been carried out on 31st March 2019 and scheduled to open in early 2020 with new recreational facilities that include a hill trek, a nature play garden, and a dog run. More details on the National Parks website here.

Until then, I may or may not be posting new night photographs of the Park. Well, it depends after my visit or location recce. Do come back here for more night photographs in the coming nights.

Stairway Connector

Stairway Connector

© 2006 Martin Liew Photography

This stairway connector is located along Kallang Bahru, just beside a bridge across Kallang River and a park connector that runs the southern perimeter of Kallang Distripark. The stairway and park connector have since been upgraded, so it looks different now compared to the above photograph which was made 14 years ago.

I came across it and found the juxtaposition of the hoarding board and barbed wire along the right side of the stairway, made this photograph appear three-dimensional. It is the result of the juxtaposition of contrasting light and shadows.

Two bracket frames were exposed for 9 minutes each, on the smallest aperture of f/22. The first bracket exposure was composed more closer to the stairway, and the second one as shown above. The shadow areas were really dark. In order to show shadow details especially the concrete textures, flashlight was fired twice at the concrete surface on the left side. After some retouching, followed by burning and dodging on the second bracket shot, this is the result.

If you like my night photography work, do subscribe to my blog for more future updates. Thank you for your time and support. Good night.

Trishaw & Signboard

Trishaw & Signboard

© 2006 Martin Liew Photography

It was late September 2006 when I spotted this trishaw parked in a nearby neighborhood void deck against a wall signboard with a ceiling light which is on the far top right just out of the frame. As the above photograph doesn't show night sky and street lights, it can pass on as being made in day time indoor environment. Somehow the trishaw and ambiance grabbed my attention and I was compelled to make this photograph of what once was the essential mode of public transportation in the last century.

The first trishaws were officially registered in Singapore in 1914 although they were advertised in the papers as early as 1886 in the form of the Upton Park tricycle. These early trishaws were essentially modified rickshaws attached to a bicycle and as such was known as ‘pedal rickshaws’ or ‘pedicabs’ when they were first introduced. It was not until the 1920s that trishaws became more widespread on the island when a new wave of Chinese immigrants turned to trishaw peddling as an occupation.

It started to suffer a decline in popularity from the mid-1950s onwards. The rapid modernization of Singapore after independence in 1965 hastened the decline. By the late 1970s, trishaw riders were regarded as a dying breed with most of them primarily involved in the tourism trade. Today trishaws have become part of Singapore’s cultural heritage. As trishaws are no longer a common means of travel for locals, the passengers that trishaw riders now ferry are predominantly tourists who employ their services as a means of experiencing the Singapore of yesteryear. As such, most trishaws are now found operating in tourist areas such as Chinatown and Bugis. Currently, it is mandatory for all trishaw riders to operate with a license.

There goes the brief history of trishaws. The photograph was made with an old Shanghai TLR camera on Kodak TMAX 400, exposed for 3 minutes 40 seconds. The film was sent to a photo lab for development but negatives were scanned at home on EPSON V700. Post-processed in Photoshop for essential retouching on dust and common Burn and Dodge for better contrast result.

Dragon of Whampoa (Monochrome)

Dragon Fountain

© 2006 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening fellow night dwellers. This is the Dragon of Whampoa. It used to be a water fountain with water spouted out of its mouth. I like to call it Water-Dragon. On March 22, 2014, I posted a blog of the same title in which I shared a little story of this defunct water fountain. Click here to read that blog.

In that blog, I shared an old news about the current Moulmein-Kallang Town Council had plans to refurbish the Dragon fountain, but based on the current COVID-19 pandemic situation that caused global economic downslide, I doubt the Council will ever carry out the refurbishing plans.

Anyway, tonight I want to show you this old night photograph which was made way earlier than the color version I showed 6 years ago. It was made on a quiet mid-October night in 2006. As much as I disliked those super strong powerful LED floodlights, somehow its dramatic lighting contrast added this cinematic noir effect. Those crisscrossed tree trunks and its casted shadows on the foreground attributed the atmospheric mood as well.

The scanned image sat silently in my photo archive long enough, and hence I opened it in Photoshop and started editing this late afternoon. I did record all my camera settings, locations, date, and time on a little notebook, for all my black and white film night photography. Upon checking, I found out that I made a super long exposure of 9 minutes of this Dragon fountain. Yes it was over-exposed and after some retouching and editing, I managed to retain highlight details of the Dragon and this is the result.

Photo Info:

Shanghai TLR | 75mm f/3.5 (Taking Lens) | Kodak TMAX 400

'Lurking...' No. 5 《另途之期望》 五

'Lurking...' No. 5 《另途之期望》 五

© 2006 Martin Liew Photography

Greetings fellow night dwellers! Tonight I'm going to share another black and white photograph from my photo archives. It's part of a small project titled Lurking. With a roll of Kodak TMAX 400 loaded in a Shanghai TLR camera, a long exposure of 3 minutes 40 seconds was made of this quiet pavement in Fort Canning Park. Negative was scanned on EPSON V700. Post-processed in Photoshop with Burn tool for better contrast result.

That's it for tonight. Just to keep things short and sweet and to the point. Stay safe and healthy, everyone. Do lookout for the next night photograph. Click here to subscribe for new updates.

A Night In The Park (2020 Edition)

A Night In The Park

© 2005 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening fellow night dwellers! Here's another black and white night photograph I dug from my photo archival. It is dated back to late October 2005. Like the last night photograph I shared here, it's part of my long-term photography project, Dwell In The Night.

It was seven minutes to three in the wee hours while everyone was sleeping. There I was all alone in the park enjoying the night atmosphere and tranquility. I can still "smell" it when I see this photograph. The frame was a second take and exposed for three minutes with an old Shanghai TLR camera on Kodak TMAX 400. Negative scanned on EPSON V700 and further contrast adjustments in Photoshop.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

P.S. A first 2005 edition of this night photograph was posted here. Check if out if you will. Personally, I prefer this latest edition without cropping and better tonality contrast.

Boardwalk

Boardwalk

© 2006 Martin Liew Photography

Good evening fellow night dwellers! The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been far-reaching and hard-hitting, forcing Singapore to adopt harsher social distancing measures, as well as the Stay-At-Home restriction. While being confined in my comfortable home, I tried to keep myself occupied with household chores, watching TV, surfing the internet, and doing some home static exercises. Have to keep fit and stay healthy, you know.

Out of the blue, I went through my photo archive this afternoon and came across many old past night photographs which I made 15 years ago. It is this black and white photo of the Changi Boardwalk (shown above), somewhere near the Changi Sailing Club if I remember correctly. It was made in early April 2006.

I chose this location spot because of the high contrast between the lights and casted shadows. Mood set in as the cool sea breeze brushed across my face. Three bracket exposures were made with a slight shifting of camera position for a different composition. The light trails in the distant night sky were caused by a commercial airplane launching or landing at Changi Airport runway. The horizontal light streaks were perhaps caused by passing ships, I think.

The photo was made with a Shanghai TLR camera on Kodak TMAX 400. Back then I didn't know how to do my own film development. Can't remember which photo lab I sent it to. Anyway, I did my own negatives scanning on EPSON V700. After some retouching to remove dust and scratches followed by Burn and Dodge in some parts, this is the final result.

Yes, it would be better to print the negative in the traditional darkroom on high-quality photo paper. Though I have some basic skills and knowledge in darkroom printing, I'll consider doing it in the future. For now, I just want to share this photograph with you. I'll continue to look up to my photo archive and see what other old night photographs are worth sharing.

Meantime, stay safe and healthy.

NOT QUITE NIGHT (Second Edition) Photo eBook Launch

Good evening fellow night dwellers! Tonight I am proud to announce the official launch of my photo eBook, NOT QUITE NIGHT (Second Edition). It is available to view on my website. Simply click on the book cover above or the highlighted text title.

I hope you enjoy my work in this new book, as much as I enjoy making them. If you like my work, do share the eBook link. Remember to subscribe to my blog for new night photography updates. Thank you for your time and support.

Not Quite Night 2nd Edition eBook Coming Soon...

Good evening fellow night dwellers!

As many of us are confined to our homes and dealing with the current Coronavirus pandemic that greatly affects our daily lives, I sincerely hope everyone is staying safe, healthy and strong. Since my first night photography for 2020 on 1st January, followed by the outbreak of COVID-19 later in the same month, I went into hiatus. It's almost 3 months now and I have not made any night photos.

However during this difficult time period, I started to work on my new eBook for Not Quite Night project. It took me quite a lot of time and effort to compile, edit and design the eBook, with numerous color and layout changes. But I'm pretty excited about it as it is almost ready to be released. I can't wait to share it with you. Anyway here's a glimpse of the eBook cover as shown above.

OK that's all for now. I'll post an announcement blog here soon. I truly appreciate for your time and support. Hope you continue to do so. If you have not subscribe to my blog yet, kindly do so by clicking HERE.

Until then, stay safe and healthy.

Not Quite Night series #89 – A Long Way Into The Clouds