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.

Bishan HDB Apartments, Night

I passed these blocks of flats on my way to photograph a wedding. I was particularly impressed by the grassy slope and the two high blocks on the left with the slanting roofs (most HDB blocks have flat roofs).

But it was raining then. I told myself that I'd pass by again after the wedding, and if the rain had stopped by then, I might get an even better photo because it would be night.

Night photos are interesting because they can look very different from what you see "live." By over-exposing the photo, you can get strange but beautiful photos like this one. I got lucky with the clouds - enough to nicely pattern the sky, but not too thick to block it completely. 

The photo works because there are three bands of interest - the sky, the buildings, and the grass. With only two bands, the photo would be too simple.

• Nikon D600, 28-300mm f3.5-5.6
• At 28mm, f4, ISO 12800, 1/8 seconds
• Manual exposure, center-weighted metering, 2500 K White Balance
• Picasa: Fill light

White balance was set to 2500 K to counteract the orange light from the nearby sodium vapor street lights.

Without a tripod, night photos are an exercise in seeing which camera setting you are willing to sacrifice first. I had already opened up the lens aperture wide, went down to 1/15 seconds shutter speed and ISO 64000. Still too dark.

I decided to risk ISO 128000. Still too dark. I didn't want to go to ISO 25600, too much noise so I sacrificed shutter speed instead, 1/8 seconds. Luckily there was minimal camera shake because the lens vibration reduction really works. Photo looked okay on the LCD playback but back home on the PC it was still too dark, so I boosted fill light by one stop.

Bukit Panjang, Aerial View

Oval building on the left is part of the Senja-Cashew Community Centre, also called Community Club ( http://www.pa.gov.sg/locate-our-centres/details/senja-cashew-community-centre-18.html ). It stretches all the way to the right. The bright white over-exposed patch on the right is its public swimming pool. 

The pond in front doesn't seem to have a name. The drains and canals in the area, feed into it. It's used by the PUB as a source of tap water. The high-rise buildings in the background are all HDB public housing. You can just make out the LRT train track on the left.

Road on the left is the Bukit Panjang Ring Road. Including it in the photo helps to balance out the photo, which would look more plain without it.

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8
• At 35mm, f2, ISO 400, 1/30 seconds
• Manual exposure, center-weighted metering, auto white balance
• Picasa: Auto contrast

Jelapang Road Sunset, Aerial View

Nothing much to say. A lot of photography is being at the right place at the right time.

It's 7:15pm. Long, low building in the center is a car park. The buildings are HDB public housing. Track is for the LRT, station is Jelapang. 

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8
• At f2.0, ISO 400, 1/30 seconds
• Manual exposure, center-weighted metering, auto white balance
• Picasa: Auto contrast

City Plaza

This is near Paya Lebar MRT station. The photo was actually taken from the station platform, which removes a lot of the street clutter that would make the photo look messy.

What you're seeing are the apartments (which look like government HDB) above the shopping centre, which is hidden by the trees. I'm a sucker for colorful buildings. Their website is http://www.cityplaza.com.sg/  

• Nikon D7000, 18-200mm f3.5-5.6.
• At 70mm, f8, 1/1000 seconds, ISO 100.
• Program exposure, center weighted metering, incandescent white balance.
• Picasa: Straighten, crop, auto contrast.

Laundry Hanging Outside HDB Apartment Flats

HDB flats come with pipes buried in the rear wall, for inserting poles full of laundry. Solar power! Unfortunately, people have died hanging out the laundry, falling out the window:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/indonesia/spore-finds-indonesian-maid-died-putting-out-laundry/432948

Residents are asked to not dry floor mops in the same location, because the dirty water will drip down onto other people's laundry, and also passers by. It's a good idea to not walk underneath areas like this. Sometimes clothes get blown off by the wind, and people will pick them up and place them in the lift (elevator), for the owner to see and retrieve.

Note the number of outdoor aircon units. The older flats weren't dimensioned to provide enough electrical power to so many units, but the new ones are. The apartments are not air-conditioned by default. It's up to individual owners to get their own unit. Also note the sun shade built into the top of the windows. 

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8.
• At 35mm, f8, 1/250 seconds, ISO 100.
• Program mode, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Auto contrast, crop.

HDB Flats, Rochor

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8
• At 35mm, f8, 1/250 seconds, ISO 100.
• Program exposure, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Crop, auto contrast, graduated tint fake blue sky.

These flats are probably 30 to 40 years old. A bit of bright paint makes a lot of difference. I don't know why they don't paint more HDB apartments this way.  

Rochor is the old, semi-preserved part of town. Close to Sim Lim Square (Singapore's Akihabara), Kampong Glam, Arab Street, Sultan Mosque and other touristy delights. Nearest MRT is Bugis.

Aerial View, Petir Road

A normal road, in a normal housing estate. All the buildings that you see here are HDB public housing. There's a lot of variation in design, but the old ones all have the same dreary look that is easy to spot.

Private condominiums look a lot better from the outside, but they can be much smaller indoors. A lot of the condos that I've visited have been like that, so don't be fooled by appearances. 

Road looks impressive from this high up, from a HDB flat. But down there the tree-lined boulevard looks pretty normal, at least to me. I once asked a visiting Japanese lady, about her impression of Singapore. She said that she was surprised to see so much greenery, trees everywhere. And she wasn't standing at the top of a HDB flat.

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8.
• At 35mm, f4, 1/180 seconds, ISO 100. 
• Aperture priority, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Auto contrast, graduated tint fake purple sky. Trust me, you don't want to see it with the original gray sky.