The iLight festival is on in Marina Bay through November 7, with some very interesting installations to see and photograph. Billed as "Asia's first sustainable light art festival", the exhibits feature low-energy utilization, and I noticed power generators with bio-diesel signs prominently displayed.
Oh, and yes, there is an app for that.
The Marina Bay Sands Casino has been all lit up in bold colors in celebration of the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix Night Race this weekend. Here are three images from this evening showing the night lights of the casino and beyond to the area around the race course. Part of the course is visible all three photos, near the Singapore Flyer (giant observation wheel). In the third image, the lights outlining the Helix bridge are visible to the left and right of the lotus-shaped museum under construction.
There are a couple of art installations of interest at Marina Bay in Singapore. I walked along Marina Boulevard early one morning recently, set up my tripod, and made a couple of images to share. The second image is a commemorative of the inaugural Youth Olympics held here in August.
Singapore recently hosted the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, which provided an opportunity to go out along the promenade along Marina Bay to film the bright night lights, including fireworks, and the white lights outlining The Sail @ Marina Bay.
Yesterday was a full practice for the Singapore National Day Parade 2010. At about 7 PM, 5 fighter jets from the Republic of Singapore Air Force flew in formation over the the Marina Bay area. I captured this image from my living room window overlooking the Marina Bay Sands.
The promenade along the bay side of the Marina Bay Sands convention and casino complex is now more open to the public, including a good portion of the boardwalk. I walked over there this morning before dawn and took a few photos of the "Mist Walk", a 133 meter long steel tube structure with mist nozzles and LED lights that change colors from cyan, to green and magenta.
I had the chance to make a return visit to the flooded iris garden inside Meiji Shrine for the first time since 2005 on May 26 (last Saturday). The iris bloom for a couple of weeks in June, making it one of the best reasons I can think of to visit (or stay in) Tokyo during the almost unbearably muggy rainy season. Many of the plants had already passed their peak, and the number of remaining blossoms was rather sparse, but the serene setting and remarkable attention to detail in the landscaping made for a most enjoyable outing with the camera.
The Fullerton Bay Hotel has opened here in Marina Bay, Singapore, adding to the colorful scenes to photograph in the early morning. I went out this morning shortly after 6 AM and made this image, taken from the promenade in front of the Sail apartment complex.
It was a busy day here in Singapore with a full practice for the National Day Parade. There were fighter jet and helicopter flyovers, army hardware rumbling around Marina Bay , fireworks, and colored lights. I looked out in time to see the Marina Bay Sands all light up and was able to capture an image to post of the searchlights and blue lights on the roof.
I walked to the Helix Bridge next to the Marina Bay Sands complex this morning and made a few images of this remarkable structure. I decided that converting the files black & white was a good way to emphasize the spiral shapes. The bridge was officially opened on April 24, but work continues on the massive project.
I am in Tokyo on a business trip and went out for a morning walk through the back streets of Harajuku with a friend today. I enjoy looking for interesting sign boards on my walks, and today found some especially interesting subjects to share. The first image is of a sign in a vacant lot for a specialized photo studio, catering to women who want to be made up temporarily like a maiko girl for portraits; the second is of a sign at the entrance to Togo Shrine, explaining in a rather confusion mixture of German and fractured English just what is not allowed inside; the third is a rather odd juxtaposition, and unintended commentary on attitudes to sex in Japan.
The double helix bridge (now apparently renamed the Helix Bridge) leading to the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort opened last night in Singapore with fireworks, searchlights, and music, and other festivities, attracting a crowd of people. I walked over the the scene and took a few photos. Not having VIP access, I didn't get onto the bridge itself (which was only opened to the general public after 9:30 PM last night).
The Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (aka casino) has its soft opening this evening here in Singapore so I walked over this morning to have a look at the entrance to the double helix bridge (the official name will be released this evening as well, apparently). The double helix pedestrian bridge is visible to the right edge of the first photo.
In the 2nd photo, you can see the science and technology museum (shaped like a lotus) which is still under construction. I could see the workers gathered across the bay in their yellow hard hats for the morning pre-shift meeting. One of the managers was loudly exhorting them by bullhorn to work safely and with proper quality, else "you will pay".We arrived back home about 5 AM from Tokyo and Portland and I took my camera and tripod out for a walk before sunrise. As the sky began to show a little color I noticed the billowing clouds in the sky behind the Marina Bay Sands casino and tried a few frames. Below is the one I selected to post. (Note this image needed to be run through Imagenomic Noiseware Professional to remove a rather intrusive amount of noise, something I don't usually need to do with these low light images).
We spent a few days in Oregon in March and made a day trip to Sweet Creek. Sweet Creek is about 10 miles south OR 126, just before crossing the Siuslaw River at Mapleton. This is a beautifully green and wet spot in the Siuslaw National Forest and very much "off the beaten path". A favorite feature of this small park is the wooden catwalk, built by Lake Price ("Trail Builder & Friend of the National Forests"), set against one bank of the creek.
A wonderful place to spend a quiet afternoon.There are quite a number of neighborhood cats out every morning in the Ann Siang Hill neighborhood of Singapore and this morning they seemed more relaxed about my presence than previous. This one particular cat caught my eye for both his pose and for his location in front of a small shrine. I think he is worthy of the name "The Shrine Cat of Ann Siang Hill".
The Fullerton Heritage has an art installation by Choi Ki-Seog at the Clifford Pier at Marina Bay in Singapore. I made a few images there over the last two weekends that seemed to work best in black & white. I experimented with several compositions and selected three to post.
I have been watching the construction of a new office building next door with considerable interest (and sometimes a fair amount of irritation, as the work continues round the clock). The details of the ornamental top of the building have especially drawn my attention, and to my delight, it has been lit up early in the morning this week.
This morning, I decided to grab a camera and hold the lens right up to the glass of our living room window to see if I could produce a decent image of the scene. Below is the photo I selected.
