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.

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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

Not Quite Night series #88 – Slowly You Dissolve