Fireworks at Marina Bay Singapore

Saturday nights leading up to National Day in Singapore are practice sessions for the full event on August 9. This evening I went out on the Esplanade Bridge for about two hours to secure a good spot to capture some fireworks images. Attached are three favorites from the evening.

Dali Bronze after Sunrise at Marina Bay ArtScience Museum

I thought it would be interesting to see what Dali's "dance of time II" looked like in the early morning sun today, after photographing it yesterday before dawn in front of the Marina Bay ArtScience Museum here in Singapore. Below are some examples of what I found.

Dali's "dance of time II" at Marina Bay ArtScience Museum

There were two very pleasant surprises yesterday morning during my pre-dawn walk around the Marina Bay ArtScience Museum in Singapore. First, I discovered some new flood lights on the museum that enabled some interesting views of the structure. I quickly became engrossed in making photos of the museum, and slowly worked my way around towards the entrance. As I glanced over and spotted a vaguely familiar silhouette, you can imagine my surprise and delight when I realized it was a Dali bronze set there to commemorate the upcoming exhibition of his work.

Below are a few images showing the photographic results of both delightful surprises.

Around Marina Bay Before Dawn

I reversed the direction of my usual pre-dawn walk around Marina Bay this morning by starting on the far side of the Sands complex and am glad I did.

Singapore Olympic Walk

I spotted the Olympic Rings commemorating the 2010 Youth Olympics along the promenade at the Marina Bay Sands a few weeks ago and concluded that a photo in darkness would work nicely. This morning I walked over before breakfast and captured the image below. I continued walking over to the Double Helix Bridge and made the second image looking out to the ArtScience Museum and the boardwalk.

Marina Bay Sands "Floating" Buildings

The two angular buildings that appear to float in the bay in front of the Marina Bay Sands are quite fun to photograph in the pre-dawn light. I captured these two views this morning. The ArtScience Museum is visible in the background of the first image, and a reflection of a lighted stairway appears in reflection in the upper left hand corner of building in the second image.

Pre-Dawn Images of Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum

The ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore has quickly become a favorite early morning destination for my morning walks. The combination of dramatic light, shadows, and shapes makes for very enjoyable time behind the camera.

Here are two images from this morning.

Zhujiajiao Canal Town

I was in Shanghai recently and had the opportunity to spend a few hours on a photo outing at the canal town of Zhujiajiao, about 50 km out from the city. It was a rather chilly, damp, and foggy day which seemed to fit the scene very nicely. My guide was a professional photographer from Shanghai, assisted by a very able translator. Below are some of my favorite images from the afternoon.

Sandhill Cranes without all the Gear

I am visiting my father in New Mexico for a few days and went out for an afternoon drive to the Albuquerque Nature Center near the Rio Grande. I wasn't planning to do any serious nature photography on this trip, and had brought 'only' my new Canon S95 pocket camera. Along a lane just before the nature center we found a field surrounded by a wire fence with a surprising number of sandhill cranes and a few canada geese. I walked slowly to the fence and made several photos within a few feet of the cranes without disturbing them. They seemed to be fairly habituated to having people around, and I actually saw more approaching as I walked back to the car after several minutes.

Normally, I would expect to be using a heavy DSLR with 500 mm lens set on a gimbal mount, as well as a second DSLR hand held with a 400 mm lens for 'on the wing' images; but I guess this shows that it isn't always just about the gear when it comes to nature photography.

Singapore Countdown Lights Practice

The lighting crew was out practicing this week around Marina Bay in Singapore for the Countdown to 2011. I went out both Thursday and Friday mornings around 5 AM to capture what I could of the bright lights, and have two to share (one from the 34th floor of the Sail @ Marina Bay, and the other from ground level).

Working on the Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum

Work is continuing on the Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum in Singapore. This morning I went out and made a few images of the work being done high up on the sides of this unique lotus-shaped building.