Audi Urban Challenge Mountain Biking Photos

The Audi Urban Challenge mountain biking event was held the last two weekends on a course set up in the open field next to the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The area was open to the public making for easy photographic access. 

Birds of Prey at Jurong Bird Park in Singapore

We visited Jurong Bird Park in Singapore this morning for the first time in about 20 years and enjoyed it greatly. For the first hour or so we practically had the place to ourselves. We took seats for the 10 AM Kings of the Skies Show and were impressed with the wide variety of birds of prey that flew for the audience. I think the first image is of a variety of Malay owl, the second is a type of eagle, and the third is a Brahminy Kite. 

Hamadryas Baboons at Singapore Zoo

We made our first visit to the Singapore Zoo yesterday, and were delighted with the number of very interesting animals that we saw in a relatively short visit. The photographic highlights yesterday were at the Hamadryas baboon section in the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia zone, especially when the carrots were provided at feeding time, as in the first two of these images.

Early Morning in the Gardens by the Bay

After a rainy morning yesterday, I was glad to have dry conditions around Marina Bay this morning, and walked through Marina Bay Sands to a view point overlooking the Gardens by the Bay to watch the sunrise. There were some clouds which made for interesting texture in the sky above the Supertrees, the Flower Dome, and the Cloud Forest conservatories. 

Photo Editing Note: Both of these images were processed with HDR Efex Pro 2.

Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay in Morning Light

It rained heavily around 6 AM this morning, delaying my planned pre-dawn walk. By 7 AM the rain had reduced to a few sprinkles and I walked to the Supertree Grove at the Gardens by the Bay South. The first image I took was looking across the Dragonfly pond to the Supertrees, with the still fairly heavy clouds adding texture to the sky. A little later, the clouds dissipated, and I was treated to some warmer light and bluer skies.

Photo Editing Note: The first image is an HDR (blending three different exposures of the same scene); the 2nd photo is a single image, with a little 'detail extractor' filter applied.

Supertrees at Night at Gardens by the Bay

We made our first night time visit to the Gardens by the Bay South here last night. I wanted to make some images of the Supertrees when they were lit up against the dark sky. My next objective is to go up on the elevated walkway connecting the Supertrees.

Photo Editing Note: I used the Canon 8-15mm Fisheye lens for both of these images; I made minimal adjustments in Lightroom 4 and the 'default' level of the 'detail extraction' filter in Color Efex Pro 4 (Nik Software), to bring out a little more detail in the sky.

Gardens by the Bay South Opened Yesterday in Singapore

The Gardens by the Bay South opened yesterday in Singapore, and I was there shortly after 9 AM to visit the Cloud Forest conservatory for the first time. The atmosphere inside really does feel like being up on Mt Kinabalu at around 2000 meters, as it is damp but relatively cool. Here are a few images from inside the conservatory, and one from outside the Flower Dome conservatory next door, that I took on a walk this morning.

Waning Moon Rise Over Marina Bay Sands

I was up early this morning and after breakfast took a quick look out the window to see what the sky was like for possible sunrise photos. To my surprise, I saw that the waning Moon was conveniently positioned above the Marina Bay Sands, together with one of the planets below it (Venus? Jupiter?). I rushed out to the veranda and made an image, and returned to wash up the dishes. I then looked out again a few minutes later, and saw some color had appeared in the sky, and the Moon and accompanying planet were still visible, so made another image.

The Only DeLorean in Singapore

I went back to Orchard Central this morning to take a few more photos of the classic cars on display and this time found a DeLorean with its gull-wing doors--apparently the only one in Singapore.

Black & White Views from Clifford Pier

I was inspired by reading a post emphasizing 'dynamic patience' by Bors Vesterby on Michael Reichmann's Luminous Landscape website this morning. I spent a fair amount of time at each of these two spots on Clifford Pier and especially enjoyed being in a sort of 'flow', where everything else disappears, and all that matters is working on the scene. I think I would have been satisfied even if there were no resulting images to share.

Vintage Cars at Orchard Central

I went to see a display of vintage cars at the Orchard Central shopping mall in Singapore this morning, which gave me an opportunity to experiment with the Canon 50mm f1.4 and the Canon 8-15mm fisheye zoom lens. 

Fisheye Views of Singapore Heritage

I took a walk over to China Town in Singapore this morning, looking for scenes that might be of interest with the Canon 8-15mm fisheye lens. My first stop was the Nagore Dargah Indian Muslim Heritage Centre on the corner of Telok Ayer and Boon Tat streets. The second view of particular interest with this lens was at 43a Amoy Street. 

Iwasaki Oni Ken Bai Dancers in Singapore

I was out for a walk with my wife around Marina Bay in Singapore last Friday night when we came upon this group of dancers from Iwate prefecture in Japan--the Iwasaki Oni Ken Bai, from Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, at the outdoor stage along The Esplanade. I spent a few very enjoyable minutes making photos at the performance. In the background of the first image you can see the lights of the Helix Bridge on the left, and the ArtScience Museum on the right.

Singapore's iLight Marina Bay Festival

The iLight Marina Bay festival in Singapore around Marina Bay is coming to a close today, and I thought I would share two of my favorite photos of the installations. The first one is entitled "Key Frames" by Groupe LAPS (France), and the second one is "5QU1D" by Ryf Zaini (Singapore). 

Chingay 2012 Singapore

This weekend the Chingay 2012 parade was held here in Singapore. This is the first time I attended, thanks to an unknown person who gave my wife and me tickets last night (where else in the world would that happen?). Attached are four images--the first three of the event itself from our seats at the grandstands, and the fourth of the Helix Bridge on the walk back towards Marina Bay Sands. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were very impressed with the scale and sheer joy of the event, plus the high degree of organization preparation evident throughout the evening.