Night Photography Blog by Martin Liew

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Ethereal Days by Chris Conrad

In August 2007 issue of Black & White Photography magazine (UK), I read an article on Chris Conrad's portfolio, Ethereal Days, in which the magazine featured some of his most amazing and stunning night photographs taken on the area around Moab, USA.

Chris started a portfolio on the fleeting pools of water that exist in the redrock canyons after rainstorms, he began the Oases series.

"I was searching for a different take on the area around Moab, looking for a way to capture the fleeting ephermeral views that appear and pass so quickly. The Oases series then led me into the night photos, and the Ethereal Days series began."

The technical difficulties involved in night reflections are myriad, and Chris' technique requires him to find the subject and set up the camera early, anticipating the path of the moon and stars. Pre-exposing the scenes to build some shadow detail, he uses a combination of polarizer and red filters - also adding split neutral density filters - to hold density down in the sky portion of the negative during this first exposure. After darkness falls, he opens the shutter again to catch the stars and moon trails, often leaving it open for up to eight hours.

Chris' Equipment:

A Techihara 5x4in is Chris' main camera, with his favorite lens being a Nikkor 75mm.
A Rodenstock 135mm is his back-up lens, for those times when the Nikkor is too wide.
A Pentax Digital spotmeter allows him to figure out the difficult exposures involved in night work.
His film is Ilford FP4 Plus, abd occasionally HP5 Plus, for the extra speed.
His developer of course is Kodal HC-110.
Another camera often used is his Pentax 67II with 45mm lens, loaded with either Kodak TMAX or Ilford FP4 Plus.
For pure digital work, he use Canon EOS 20D with 16-35mm lens.
For printing, his paper of choice is Moab Entrada Ntural, using either a Septone or a QuadtoneRIP program. The paper is run through either an Epson 2300 or an Epson 7600 printer.

To view Chris Conrad's photographs, please click here.
Here's the 5-minutes video on "Ethereal Days".

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Closing Ceremony of National Stadium

30 June 2007 Saturday was the day Singaporean witnessed the closing ceremony of our National Stadium. I was supposed to go back there for some re-make of photographs I did in early June. Well I guess it's too late for me now. That evening, I received a call from a friend, who happened to have an extra complmentary ticket to the closing ceremony event. It was a last-minute call but I gladly accepted the offer.

I arrived late at around 8:45pm at the West Entrance area. Traffic was kinda heavy in that area and there were many poeple around. Most came for the friendly soccer match between Singapore and Australia soccer team. it was half-time break. During this time, I took a few pictures. Honestly all are boring photographs and i didn't bother to use my flashlight. Eventually my pictures turned out with big bokeh and camera-shaky effects, like this one below.

Frankly speaking, never before did I go for our country's national day celebration at the National Stadium. It was my very first time attending to the event at the stadium. As the soccer match getting more higher climax, soccer fans or supporters shouted and screamed and cheered for their home team. Of course there was the Kallang Wave.

After the match, there was a short stadium history and our past soccer glory stories, hosted by Brian Richmond and Glenn Ong. Yes it was telecasted live on Channel 5. Next the short fireworks display which wasn't nice at all, visually.

The party starts, with our native rock band, Kruger, took on the stage. The band kick-started with the first song, Vertigo (original song by U2) with John Molina as the lead vocalist. I wanted to take the band pictures but I was told that I have to pay $10 to enter the soccer field area where the party was held. I decided not to and bid farewell to my friend. As I walked out of the stadium by the west entrance I purposely walked along the perimeter of the stadium towards the east entrance area. Many people were leaving too. I was mingling around just to look out for any photographic opportunities.

There were ice-cream men selling ice-cream and drinks. So I took a couple of shots and though this isn't the best shot, it's merely a snapshot (above) which I think has this strong sense/sight of activities outside the stadium. Thereafter I left for home.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Night @ The National Stadium

Talking about making pictures of our National Stadium, it all started with news of the stadium demolition for a brand new design. The stadium will be officially closed own on 30 June 2007, Saturday. A closing ceremony will be held there to mark this historical event.

News broke out since last September. I went there with a fellow night photographer, Selina. We did make a few pictures but we didn't stay long. It was like our first trial and when I got back my negatives, they turn out great. I told myself I have to go back there to make many more photos of the stadium. And I did. But today I'm not able to upload those photos here as I didn't get them scanned. I will and upload them as soon as it's ready.

It was after about 6 months later, I went back with 2 other photographers who are keen in night photography. (I'll try to feature their work here soon.) I took a roll of Fuiji color negative film, Superia 400 on a Nikon FM10. Yes I did mention before that taking night pictures with color negatives isn't as good as taking it with slide film, be it in 135 or 120 format. But I was willingly to try it out, even without filter lens. Anyway I have in mind of converting all color pictures into black & white.

So here they are.

Bridge to Stadium

Ticket Booth

Stairs to West Entrance

The West Entrance

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

I'm Back Again

Well, what can I say? It's been a long long time since I last wrote a blog or update this blog of mine. Almost 7 months. Where was I? You would ask. There are changes to Blogger.com as I have had to re-register by creating a new account in Google's Gmail. Well, I had thought of signing up before, but no action was taken. Procrastination.

Anyway, I'm back again and during all those times, I was still doing night photography. Mainly focusing on my Night Projekts aka Dwell In The Night, as I mentioned before, this is my long-term personal photographic project. It meant a lot to me. I'm in the midst of getting a brand new PC (or Mac if I'm able to pay by instalment), so for the time being, I'm using my office's computer.

A few weeks ago I did some night photography at our National Stadium. News were out that our great old National Stadium will be giving way to a brand new one in 2010 (I think, or later year). It will be officially close down on 30 June 2007 and there'll be a closing ceremony to mark this historical event. Starting from mid-April til end of June, Singapore Sports Council (SSC) is organising tours on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday form 10am - 2pm. SSC, collaborating with the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS) in organising a photographic contest.

For more information, you can log on here.

I'll post some of those photos I made soon. Do come back and keep a lookout.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Night Street Photography - "It's Over!"

"It's Over!"

"It's Over!"

What you see here is a sequence of photos I took on the same night in Chinatown where families and friends came to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival and taking memorable pictures with their loved ones.

As I was taking photographs of the empty cans collector, I noticed the giant lantern lights on the road divider were turned off. I sensed something is coming up soon, so I rushed down to find out. To my knowledge, the traffic police have arrived to clear the crowd and open the road. Time was 9pm. I saw 2 policemen were asking people to leave and stay by the road side where the buldings and bus-stops are. A few moments later, the lantern lights was on again and now the policemen had a hard time getting people back as most of them were confused and not knowing of the road opening. Some went back to take a few more photos.

As the 2 policemen are Malays, it took them more than 15 mins to get everyone to the safety side, with the hand gestures to symbolize the "show" is over. During this 15 mins, I took the role of a photojournalist and kept shooting this so-called incident.

I stayed in the area for a few more minutes before I headed towards Little India for more night street life photography. The haze was getting denser. I saw this old granny sitting by the stairs with her hand on her forehead. I was quite worried by the sight and felt like going up to her. She appeared to be fine, taking a rest. Perhaps due to the heavy crowd around her which could have caused giddiness in her. I took this photo without looking through the viewfinder becuz I was standing right in front of her, about 1.5 m apart. With estimation, I took the shot in hope of getting a proper exposure and for once, I was lucky.

After the road has opened, the night life in Chinatown goes on. This is the last photo I took, in which 2 cleaners were resting and chatting while people walking by a man on the mobile phone.

In the next series, I'll write on the night life in Little India.

Nikon FM10 • 50mm f/1.8 • Fujifilm Superia 1600

Have a Rest
© 2006 Martin Liew

Night Life
© 2006 Martin Liew

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Night Street Photography - Empty Cans Collector

Empty Cans Collector

Empty Cans Collector

6th October, Friday (Lunar Month 15th August) was the Mid-Autumn Festival. As usual every year Chinatown would be beautified with colorful giant lanterns. This called for celebration where families come down to take memorable photographs with their loved ones.

Well due to the recent hazy air pollution caused by the forest fire in Indonesia, the South wind brought us the haze with PSI value up to 130. During the early evening on Friday, it wasn't that bad until the late night which lasted for the whole Saturday. Well anyway nothing would spoilt everyone's mood in celebrating this Festival.

I wasn't really out to take such celebrative pictures in which kids are carrying lanterns nor any of the road-show performances. I was more keen in looking out for something special or any "happening" for the night. I wanted to take pictures that say alot about the people in Chinatown and the people coming to Chinatown. Night life/people in the street, that's what I was looking out for.

After walking through the busy bazaar, I came across this old lady on an overhead bridge where she was stepping on disposed canned drinks. It's quite a common sight where many old folks are searching for empty disposed canned drinks so they can sell them for money. What a good way of recycling these cans, but it's a tough job for them. They have to search through every waste bin they can find and they dun earn much from selling them to the junk yard owners.

While everyone is having fun taking pictures, she is still working hard and I could see she has had collected a huge sack of cans. Perhaps from a hard day's work. I stood there for a few moment, observing her every movement. Suddenly she caught me looking at her and she smiled at me. I smiled back. It occurred to me she really enjoys what she is doing. No resentment, no regrets.

I decided to pick up my camera and take her photos. Then a kid came by and was kind enough to pass her a few cans. She's more happy to accept them. Well I could have taken a few more shots but to the very low light condition in that area, I'm lucky to have these 2 shots properly exposed, though they are alot grainy as I used Fujifilm Superia 1600 rated at 800. It might perhaps due to the photo-lab scanning and editing.

Nikon FM10 • 50mm f/1.8 • Fujifilm Superia 1600

Empty Cans Collector

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Michael Busselle remembered

Michael Busselle remembered

Photographer and writer Michael Busselle has died at the age of 70. Having begun work as a photographic assistant he established his own studio in London working on commercial shoots for the advertising and publishing industries. His first book, Master Photography: Take and Make Better Pictures set him along a path in which his name became synonymous with photographic writing. Alongside articles in the photo press, Busselle wrote over 50 books including several volumes on travel and wine.

Despite failing health Michael continued to work into 2006 with his last completed project, A Better Digital Photography Guide to Landscapes: Seas and Skies, published by Argentum earlier this year.

Michael is survived by his wife Patricia and son Julien. To see examples of his work, visit Michael Busselle's website here.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

TWO ORCHIDS

Two Orchids #1

Two Orchids

Who says we can only shoot floral photographs in the daytime? Well of course we are making full use of the natural sunlight to make the best floral pictures be it close-up or macro format. What I did here was to make floral photography more creative in a way that I make the pictures in the nighttime, in a dark area of the garden away from stray light sources, particularly from those lamp posts. The pictures featured here were taken on Kodak slide film with my favorite manual SLR, Nikon FM10, handheld.

Well, you might ask how did I do it handheld when the surrounding area was so dark? It definitely requires a longer exposure timing and a sturdy tripod is a must here, you might say. Yes, you are correct on that point. Didn't I mention it was a night of light painting or should I put it more appropriately, color-splashing?

For the setup, I used 2 flash units each mounted on a normal tripod. I placed each on the left and right side of the Orchids. The left side flash head was fitted with a DIY blue-colored gel and the other with a DIY magenta-colored gel. With the help of a wireless flash transmitter and 2 receivers, I was able to take such pictures handheld. Though this shot was quite under-exposed, I still like the blending of the color effect. I could have set the flashes on full power or used a wider aperture, say f/5.6 or f/4 with a shutter speed of 1/125sec.

The picture below was taken with a different color gel i.e. replacing the blue with red but the results aren't that good.

Two Orchids #2

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Matilda House

Matilda House

Located at Punggol End, Matilda House was built in 1902 for Mr Joseph Cashin whose family history in Singapore can be traced back to the early 1840s. The building is a fine example of an early style tropical bungalow. The tropical style of the building is accentuated through its architectural features such as open verandahs, raised floors and the use of timber framed lattice and louvres to permit cross breezes. As the only remaining historical bungalow in Punggol, the conservation of Matilda House will serve as a significant landmark for the future Punggol new town and as a reminder of "old Punggol".

There are many stories about this house especially of haunting & spiritual stuff. I was thrilled about making nocturne pictures of such old house and did not bother much about it. As mentioned in my early blog, nocturne photography, to me, is a experimental and creative way of expressing on how I see this world in another dimension. Well I think the nocturnal effect I did here does add up the spookiness and makes it look more eerie. But ultimately that wasn't my main objective.

For the above photo, I was using a wide angle lens, setting my camera at a very low angle point in such to frame the whole house. I exposed it for a full 10-minute during which I used 2 colored gels to light-paint. Same exposure timing for the photo below which is the back area of the house.

Matilda House

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Club Moss Trees

Clubmoss Trees

Club Moss Trees

Lepidodendron is the name given to a giant Lycopod or scale tree which formed an important part of the coal swamps of the late Carboniferous which grew to heights in excess of 40 meters. The extinct genus of primitive, vascular plants were related to the Lycopsids (club mosses) and are sometimes called giant club mosses. They thrived during the Carboniferous period.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

My Nocturne Photographs

Orchids Spectrum

Orchids Spectrum

I first came across this art form of photography at The Nocturnes (www.thenocturnes.com) and I was really impressed by the works of many famous night photographers in US. I particularly like the works by Andy Frazer, Tim Baskerville, Troy Paiva, Larrie Thomson, Michael Frye, William Lesch and many more.

I was so inspired and motivated that I got myself all the essential tools for nocturne photography, such as colored gels, strong flashlights (torchlights in Asia term), external flash units (cheap ones from Yin Yan, China made which I bought online recently). I use a fully manual 35mm film SLR, Nikon FM10 with 2 lenses i.e. 17-35mm & 35-70mm. Well most of the time I use the former lens for a wider coverage and perspective on architectural structures and landscapes. The film I used is Kodak Ektachrome E100VS. For "Orchids Spectrum" I used an expired Kodak E100GX therefore there are color shifts but I still love the color it produced. I use E100VS becuz I like the color sdaturation it produces.

I never intend to record any "true colors" of the night or make pictures of the "real" world in the night. Nocturne photography, to me, is experimental and a creative way of expressing on how I see this world in another dimension. To create an unworldly pictures with bright colors. Making nocturne pictures isn't as easy as it seems especially here in Singapore, where stray light sources from street lamps, house lightings, traffic lights, etc etc. So it's hard to come by any area or spot that is in near darkness. Well I do enjoy the whole process of making nocturne pictures and it does make me see and feel things differently in my surroundings. Of cuz it challenges me on the technical as well as artistic aspect of photography.

Here's one of the many photographs I made early this year and I will post each picture from time to time. Do come back and check them out.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

What is Nocturne Photography?

As defined in the dictionary, nocturne has two meanings:

(i) a painting of a night scene;

(ii) an instrumental composition of a pensive, dreamy mood, especially one for the piano.

The word photography comes from two ancient Greek words: photo, for "light," and graph, for "drawing." "Drawing with light" is a way of describing photography. When a photograph is made, light or some other form of radiant energy, such as X-rays, is used to record a picture of an object or scene on a light-sensitive surface.

Therefore Nocturne Photography is all about light-painting/drawing of a night scene.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

I'm Back

Well after taking a 2-week break from blogging, I'm back. It was a hectic 2 weeks for me, busy working and rushing for deadlines. Of cuz I never stop photographying. I've joined 2 outings so far over 2 weekends i.e. last Sunday and today, basically just on street photography. Didn't really get any good subjects to shoot but managed to finish up a roll today.

I used a toy camera, Holga, with flash guns i.e. Yin Yan 30STZ and Nikon SB-800 on Fujifilm 400NPH and Kodak TMAX100 respectively. I've sent the color negative for d/o & 3S print which cost 50cents per print at Ruby Photo Store. Can't wait to see the results. Will send the B&W roll film for d/o asap. I've stopped using Holga for more than a year now and impulsively I pick it up again, playing with 2 different flash guns to find out the "right" techniques for correct exposures.

Well I won't be featuring those works in this blog but I do have ideas of setting up another blog entirely on Black & white Photography with my favorite topics on nature/landscape, still life, fine art, portraitures and street. Until then I'd focus on my night photography.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Stan Kay

Moonlight Huts

Stan Kay

Last week I came across Stan's night photos at a local forum and quite impressed by his digital works. I'm still pretty new in digital night photography as I shoot in film all the time. Though I've never met Stan in person, I decided to correspond with him, seeking his permission to feature his work at my blog site. He agreed.

Stan Kay started out with film camera, He used it for his travelling trips but only knew about the 'Program' mode. He was introduced to digital photography about 3 years ago through a basic photography course. Learning the basic was just the beginning till he went travelling overseas and started to face with countless photographic challenges that make him want to keep learning and shooting for better results.

"Basically, I am a travel photographer who likes travelling and shoot whatever comes by. Back in Singapore, we don’t really have varieties so the only way to keep me going on with photography is to keep thinking of new ways to make my photography more interesting. It is more for my self satisfaction followed by showcasing and sharing with other keen photographers or people who have the same interest. Creatively my mind's eyes help me to overcome my lack of camera techniques and knowledge in my photography journey." stated Stan Kay.

The two night photos featured here are part of Stan Kay's Late Night series. To view the rest of his work, please click here.

CALM
© 2006 Stan Kay

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Loo Gu Tai

Man In The Park

Loo Gu Tai

Loo is a fellow member of PSS, whom I first met through Selina last year during one of the Photo Clinic sessions which is held every Friday night. She owns a Nikon F80 and she insists on using films and not interested in digital camera at all. After seeing some of my B&W night photographs, Loo got interested in night photography and since then she, Selina and I went for night shooting on most Saturday nights early this year.

On April's Fool night, Vincent Hau joined us at Fort Canning Park. FYI, the above featured shot was done by Loo and the man in that picture is none other than Vincent Hau himself, who volunteered to pose as a model for her. Loo used Kodak color negative film with aperture setting at f/8 exposed for 8 sec.

The shot below was taken on a separate night at Changi Boardwalk. Loo was drawn by the harsh shadows of the wooden railing casted on the wooden boardwalk by the only light from the lamp post. The light also brings out the wooden textures of the boardwalk which has this jagged line patterns that makes the whole picture more interesting. Things to watch out for are a.) the 'No Swimming' signboard right next to the lamp head, which was cropped into half off the edge of the frame. It was a slight composition error there. Always watch out for details. b.) On the background, anchored boats and yachts are blur not becuz of camera shake but due to 2 factors; 1. there were other ships sailed by in the distant causing some sea-water waves that spread towards the anchored boats and shook them causing motion blur and 2. the long exposure timing. Camera and exposure settings are not recorded.

Boardwalk by the Sea
© 2006 Loo Gu Tai

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Selina Ng

Sentosa Park

Selina Ng

Selina takes on any kind of photography except portraitures. She's drawn to subjects that catch her attention i.e. found-objects in the street, old buildings, sceneries, etc. Her approach in photography is quite comtemporary. Selina prefers to shoot in B&W more than in color. She takes infra-red photography as well and do all her own film developing and printing at home where she converts the bathroom into a traditional wet darkroom. She does digital photography occasionally with a Canon 350D.

Here are two featured photographs by Selina. They were taken separately during two of our weekend night photography outings. These two pictures were strongly inspired by renowned night photographer, Andrew Sanderson's works. All pictures were taken on B&W ISO100 film, exposure settings not recorded. Film is scanned with minor adjustment in Photoshop for brightness and contrast.

Changi Boardwalk

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Fireworks Festival 2006

NDP2005 Fireworks by French Team

SINGAPORE NDP 2006 - Fireworks Festival

It's that time of the year where we celebrate for our 41st Independence Day this year. Fireworks Festival 2006 is held in conjunction with our National Day Parade. Organised and managed by UnUsUal Productions Pte Ltd. This year's festival consists of 4 fireworks shows lead by 4 teams. It will be held at Marina Bay at 9pm.

Here are the dates:
• 5th Aug 2006, Sat - Team Italy lead by Mr. Francesco Ambrico of Magic Events
• 8th Aug 2006, Tue - Team Singapore lead by Mr. Henry Ng of SpectaWorks Pte Ltd
• 11th Aug 2006, Fri - Team New Caledonia lead by Mr. Charles Germain of Inter-dis SARL
• 12th Aug 2006, Sat - A complimentary musically choreographed fireworks display by the French team of Signapore Fireworks Festival 2004.

For more information and details, please log on to this site.

NDP2005 Fireworks by Vincent Hau, LPSS

NDP2005 Fireworks

NDP2005 Fireworks by Vincent Hau, LPSS

Vincent Hau is a digital photographer and a fellow member of Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS) where he attained his Licentiateship distinction title (LPSS) in 2005. I first met Vincent at a night photography course we took at PSS mid last year. Later on we took up Studio Lighting course at PSS. Though Vincent is not particular into night photography, he has constantly attended various photography courses to upgrade his skills and working hard for his next higher titles i.e. Associateship (APSS) and Fellowship (FPSS).

During last year's pre-National Day period, there was a series of fireworks activities held at the Singapore River which attracted thousands of people crowded in the vicinity, catching the magnificient colorful fireworks. Vincent suggested that it's a good opportunity and a challenge to take fireworks pictures, be it digitally or on film. So we gathered another fellow course mate and went for it.

Honestly speaking, Vincent took better fireworks pictures than I did. The above shot was taken by him. If you like to find out more about Vincent's work, here's his website.

Monday, August 07, 2006

A Shed In The Park

A Shed In The Park

A Shed In The Park was taken in the late evening during the last 15 minutes before the sky was completely dark. It wasn't my first attempt at making this picture and finally I found this one more satisfying.

This is what I like about night photography. Going back to the same locations and you'll bound to see things differently with some lurking surprises awaiting for you to discover. I'll go there again on the next few full moon nights and try to make a few more exposures with the full moon, if possible.

From there I have to find out and predict what will be the best time to take when the moon is set hgh or low and in which direction, so that I can capture every element in the frame. I'm sure that will make the whole picture more dramatic and attractive, or rather in a poetic and romantic sense.

Shanghai TLR • KODAK TMAX400 • 3min 40secs

Sunday, August 06, 2006

A Night In The Park

This photograph was made after a couple of early attempts and I wasn't satisfied with the results. Like landscape photography, night photography requires not only one-time exposure at a given time at one fixed vantage point of a selected location. Initially, it requires the photographer to find the right vantage points and make a couple of bracket shots. It also requires the photographer to come back to the same location on different days and timing for more different feel and mood to get the perfect image from the mind's eye, if the early results aren't good.

So on this particular night, I was walking in this residential park in the North area, hoping to make some good night pictures. I came back to this bridge where it's right across a huge canal towards a big field. After walking around to find the right vantage point I wanted, I set up my tripod, mounted the camera, and made the shot.

I really enjoyed this part of the area where the lighting caused this wonderful ambiance to the surrounding, as much as I enjoyed the process of making this picture. It makes me feel like I'm being there every time I see it. What a night in the park!

Shanghai TLR • KODAK TMAX400 • 3min 40secs