NUS University Town, Night

Most people take a photo of the Education Resource Centre on the left to represent UTown, so I thought I'd do something different and include the Residence blocks on the right too.

http://utown.nus.edu.sg/

• Nikon D600, 28-300mm f3.5-5.6
• At 28mm, f4, ISO 3200, 1/15 seconds
• Manual exposure, center-weighted metering, auto White Balance
• Picasa: Straighten, crop, auto contrast, glow. 

Time is 7:36pm, rich color in the sky. A few minutes later and the photos I took had a black sky. I was photographing a school debate and finished just at the right time. 

Yishun Aerial View, Night

View from a HDB flat (common corridor) a few hundred meters north of Yishun MRT station. You can see an MRT train at the bottom left. Photo is exposed about two stops brighter (4x) than what you would see with your eyes, which is why night photos look prettier than real life. 

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8
• At 35mm, f2, ISO 1600, 1/8 seconds
• Manual exposure, center-weighted metering, incandescent white balance
• Picasa: Crop, glow

Incandescent white balance to correct for the sodium vapor street lamps. 

You can get a surprisingly wide depth of field at f2 with the 35mm lens, so don't be afraid to use it at f2 for landscape photos. I don't use the 35mm much. I carry the 35mm as a backup lens in case the zoom breaks. It's good to use it once in a while so I don't forget how it handles.  

I wouldn't dare use the 35mm handheld at less than 1/30 seconds (the lens has no image stabilization) but I was supporting my hands on the balcony, so 1/8 seconds worked out okay.

RSS Intrepid, Singapore Navy Frigate

The RSS Intrepid was berthed at VivoCity for three days in March 2013 for a public open house - members of the public could go onboard and tour the ship. It carries a Seahawk (navalized Blackhawk) helicopter in the rear. One of six frigates of the Formidable class, based on the French La Fayette class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formidable-class_frigate

If you look carefully, you can see two Jedi sparring with light sabres underneath the cannon.

• Nikon V1, 10-30mm f3.5-5.6
• At 30mm, f5.6, ISO 3200, 1/5 seconds
• Auto-everything
• Picasa: Straighten, crop, auto contrast.

With a stabilized lens and zero vibration from the electronic shutter, you can take handheld photos with the V1 at 1/4 seconds. 

Escalator to Imbiah Lookout, Sentosa

Near the Merlion at Sentosa, this is the first of a series of about 5 escalators that go to the top of the hill.

You can see from this example, the amount of attention that is paid to even mundane items on Sentosa. The psychedelic colors make me think of a heavy metal album cover, not any album or group in particular, it just feels like one.

• Nikon D600, 24mm f1.4
• At 24mm, f5.6, ISO 6400, 1/30 seconds
• Manual exposure, center-weighted metering, auto White Balance
• Picasa: Straighten, crop. 

The top sign is over-exposed because the contrast range of the scene was too great. I decided to sacrifice it and expose for the escalators.

Could have opened up the aperture and used a lower ISO, but I was testing the high ISO performance of the D600.

Odeon Towers Entrance

Odeon Towers is an office building with a few restaurants, bars and clubs. As far as I can tell, there are no retail outlets. This is the view from the public pavement. It's located opposite Raffles Hotel.

I liked the way the different colored blocks were arranged, giving a clean graphic look, but with enough details to be interesting. I would have preferred it if there weren't any ceiling lights to clutter up the top left, but they aren't too bad.  

• Nikon V1, 10-30mm f3.5-5.6
• At 10mm, f3.5, ISO 400, 1/125 seconds
• Auto-everything
• Picasa: Straighten, crop

Choa Chu Kang Chingay Celebration

Chingay celebration at Choa Chu Kang, during the end of Chinese New Year. Held at an open field near Lot One shopping centre and the Choa Chu Kang MRT station.

There are some floats parked next to the field but the celebration is mainly about the stage show. It was more a concert than a parade. The field was packed full of people. You can security personnel at the bottom left, with red shirts and green reflective stripes, keeping the crowd from spilling onto the road.

• Nikon V1, 10-30mm f3.5-5.6
• At 15mm, f4.2, ISO 1800, 1/30 seconds
• Auto-everything
• Picasa: Crop, fill light

The camera's auto exposure handled the lighting well. I later boosted the fill light one stop when editing the photo, but it isn't strictly necessary.