Feature Photographer: C.S. Lee

Bridge Underneath

When was the last time this blog site featured a night photographer's work? In fact three photographers' work were showcased 7 and a half years ago in August 2006, and the last one was in April 2010.

Once I mentioned that there are lesser ideal/interesting places and objects to do light-paintings in Singapore, and even more scarce to find like-minded night photographers. Six months ago in a blog posted on Sept 2013, I mentioned about a night photographer from Penang Malaysia and his name is Lee Chin Sheng. Tonight we're featuring his work right here on this blog site.

Stay on to read and understand more about Lee's work after the jump.

The Return of Singapore National Theater

National Theater

This is the former Singapore National Theater, formerly situated at the road junction of River Valley Road and Clemenceau Avenue. It was built in the early 60s and demolished in 1986 due to architectural structure reasons. There's a blog written by our local Singaporean here in which he shares his fond memories of this unique building.

A couple of days ago I was commuting on a public bus travelling along Clemenceau Avenue and I saw a sculptural structure that resembles the distinctive National Theater pointed cantilever roof. So I paid a visit last night and have had a good look.

Despite the sodium-vapor street lamps along the road, the ambience around the structure is quite dark; dark enough to do light-painting. I'm kinda excited about it as it's scarce to find good subjects for light-painting. So here's a shot I took with my mobile phone and post in Snapseed app.

I will definitely go back there to make some good nocturnes this coming weekend. Do come back and tune in for new images post.

New Tool for Light Painting (A New Addition) & The Forgotten One

I was shopping at the local supermart yesterday afternoon when I came across this Mini Maglite flashlight displayed on the shelf rack. The whole package as shown here, comes with 2 AA size battery cells (which I've loaded into the flashlight), a filter lens holder and 3 filter lenses namely Red, Blue and Clear (if only they include a Green filter), a wrist lanyard and a removable pocket clip. It has a durable aluminum alloy case. It also comes with a reasonable price tag.

Somehow I got interested in this product and it got me thinking "What can I do with this light?"

Find out more after the jump.

First Nocturnes in 2014

Wormhole - Bamboo installation by Indonesian artist, Eko Prawoto

Needless to say, the following images including the one shown above are the first nocturnes made in 2014 - the year of Horse. I hereby wish all my Chinese friends and readers a Happy Prosperous Lunar New Year. May the year of Horse brings great Happiness and Prosperity to you and your family. Make that horsey leap for more nocturnes.

Bridge to New Sports Hub

Bridge to Stadium

Recently I paid a visit to the new Sports Hub construction site, where former old National Stadium was situated. Construction started in 2008 and it seems progress is slow. Workers have to work overtime to meet the completion deadline in 2014.

I went back to the exact same location where I made the night photo shown above. In present day, it's a total transformation. Read on to find out more.

Thoughts On My Night Photography

Ghost Town
© 2013 Martin Liew Photography
Nocturnal info: Nikon D300 on Tokina 11-16mm at 30 seconds exposure. Post-processed and cropped in Photoshop. Monochrome conversion in Silver Efex Pro 2.

Well needless to say, it's almost 6 months now since my last blog post in March and once again I'm on hiatus and it's getting longer than the first one. So am I getting lazy or got driven away with daily work life and other activities that I forgot all about it? No not at all. Absolutely no. That doesn't mean I'm going to give up writing blogs here. No excuses for my absence though I was juggling between my day job and doing lots of street photography on most weekends and a few freelance photography assignments along the way. Busy? Yes of course and I'm enjoying it.

Well tonight I want to share some thoughts on my night photography and here's a teaser night photo, shown above. Make the jump to read on.

Abandoned Playground

It seems like I'm on a hiatus again, for 3 months since my last nocturnal activity last November. So I'm back again with a little blog post tonight.

In March 2012, I embarked on a night photography project on old school playgrounds and I took the opportunity to make some night images on film. I recall my last black and white film night photography took place 2 years ago in July at the defunct Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

In fact I got so many back-logged negatives that are developed but not scanned. It's Easter today and so I took the time to tidy up and edit all those negatives. I chose to scan this abandoned playground as shown below.

Abandoned Playground

On that same night after exposing a few frames, I switched to digital and made some interesting light-paintings.

How interesting it is to compare the images with each using different focal length. For monochrome, it's simplicity and the visual induces a mood with mystery and tranquility. For colors, it's vibrant, playful and whimsical. Both medium have its own visual impact which I like very much.

Well, more negatives on night photography are yet to be scanned and in the next couple of months I would spend more time editing and scanning the best work to be featured on my website. Will definitely post some updates here. So stay tuned.

I hope you enjoy viewing the three photographs shown tonight. Good night!