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