2007 Count Down @Marina Esplanade

[Clockunder]

Camera : Nikon Coolpix 5700 (prosumer camera)

No. of pictures : 6

This time didn't get nice fireworks pictures as I didn't want to reach there very early to reserve a good shooting location. Arrived there at about 9pm.

In fact, I didn't find out the exact fireworks main launching location and its facing before I went. I thought they would be, like last year's Count Down, launched from a barge right in the middle of the Marina bay.

#1 The crowd


#2 The performance


#3 Most people went away for shelter when the rain came at about 10.15pm. Luckily, the rain didn't last long and stopped at about 10.45pm.


#4 After the rain stopped, decided to go up to Sheares Bridge. Arrived there at about 11.25pm and didn't have any space to shoot. So for a change, I tried some handheld shots of the fireworks at ISO 400 since I had a bad facing location (sideway to the fireworks) and also too near to the firing point to have any good background.


#5 This is a "cheat" photo. Used one of the fireworks shot taken there (F8, 4 sec, ISO 100) and combined it with the landscape shot taken after the fireworks ended.

[Clockunder]

#6 After the show ended, only then I could get a nearer and clearer view of the site.

[smallaperture]

As usual, very good pictures. But one comment though - the WB of the last pic seems to be out leh - building all so blue?

[germ_boi]

Originally Posted by smallaperture As usual, very good pictures. But one comment though - the WB of the last pic seems to be out leh - building all so blue?

I think it's due to the lights shining at them

[huaiwei]

Originally Posted by smallaperture As usual, very good pictures. But one comment though - the WB of the last pic seems to be out leh - building all so blue?

Nah the spotlights were shining on two of them, hence the slight blue colour. I witnessed it on site, which was as beautiful as the last photo captured.

[Clockunder]

Originally Posted by smallaperture As usual, very good pictures. But one comment though - the WB of the last pic seems to be out leh - building all so blue?

Thanks for leaving a comment.

Yes, the WB of the last pic is out ........... inconsistent with the earlier 5 pictures.

Pic #6 was the only one shot in RAW because I had all the time to shoot at that time and also I was afraid that the bright balls in the foreground water would be blown out if the background buildings were exposed to what I wanted. To play it safe, I shot in RAW in addition to jpeg so that I had leeway to make any necessary adjustment.

In post-processing, I forgot to ensure consistency in WB for all pictures posted as a series.

The rest of the pictures were shot in jpeg which generally has a redish biased WB.

Thanks for pointing that out. I will take note of WB consistency in the future.

[Clockunder]

Originally Posted by germ_boi I think it's due to the lights shining at them

The difference in the colour of light shinning on the buildings definitely had some impact on the colour they appear in pictures.

What I forgot was the consistency of the WB in all the pictures posted.

[Clockunder]

Originally Posted by huaiwei Nah the spotlights were shining on two of them, hence the slight blue colour. I witnessed it on site, which was as beautiful as the last photo captured.

Thanks for leaving a comment.

It's actually the WB of the first 5 pictures which were biased towards redish while the last picture (shot in RAW format as opposed to the jpeg format for the other 5) was towards blue.

Yes, the WB of the last picture probably reflect nearer to the colour we saw that night.

So in a way, the WB of the first 5 pictures was off.

However, "small aperture" was pointing out the WB in the photography sense : WB consistency in a photo series.

[huaiwei]

Hmm...yeah I get what you mean. If I were to judge them based on individual photos alone, I wouldnt think there is a need to adjust the WB for the last photo.

[Clockunder]

Originally Posted by huaiwei Hmm...yeah I get what you mean. If I were to judge them based on individual photos alone, I wouldnt think there is a need to adjust the WB for the last photo.

I also like the WB of the last picture better because it's closer to what I saw that night but as the first 5 were shot in jpeg, I'm unable to adjust their WBs to exactly match the last one.

Actually, I think the last picture is slightly more blue than what it probably was that night but it gives it a desired cool quiet look which better reflects the tranquility after the show ended.

[Outlook]

#5 stands out. Like it, even though it is a combination.
For #5, the red lights on right is bit overexposed.

[Clockunder]

Originally Posted by Outlook #5 stands out. Like it, even though it is a combination. For #5, the red lights on right is bit overexposed.

Thanks for the feedback.

Actually the very dark sky background of the buildings make it very fake. I think I need to think harder about how to blend the scenes better.

Moreover, as I didn't expect the fireworks to be lined up in that direction, my shooting location makes the fireworks stacked up as they overlapped. Unlike in the past, I didn't shoot facing perpendicular to the firing location and hence they didn't line up nicely across to layout nicely in distinctive patterns.

For the CBD backdrop in picture 5, I shoot in RAW as well as jpeg. To avoid the over-exposure mentioned, I think I have to work on the RAW one instead of the jpeg one currently used in Picture 5.