A Moment in Time: 11 Apr 07's Sunrise at Changi Beach

[night86mare]

Got arrowed to post the images, and er, tell a story. Hope you guys are entertained! Well in short, espion, sprintist86 and me went to chase the sunrise @ Changi Beach on Wednesday morning. Started pretty early, I got picked up around 5 am so yeah, everyone was pretty tired after the whole thing.

Sunrise chasing is always very exhilarating. I hope everyone gets to do it once at least in their life, even if you do not photograph it. Well worth waking early, and all that. The feeling you get when you see the colours in the sky, with the sun gradually revealing its glory and greeting the world, well, let's just say that it's unbeatable. =)

The photos -should- be in chronological order, and I will probably put the credit of the photograph right below it. Er, you might see some different colours due to different processing, different WB (I shot fluorescent for some of the earlier shots from me, like the one posted in my APAD thread).. But it's essentially the same thing. Taken from 3 different viewpoints, as we somehow ended up splitting up to take up different vantage points.

So here goes;

Twilight, and the beach is deserted, dark. The 3 garang souls who are not afraid of any sea monsters or sea ghosts arrive. In the darkness, lights blink. They stoically take out their trusty tripods and brandish them around to dispel evil spirits. (Sorry for the corniness! But hey, everything I write down and take IS art! -wink espion-)


05:46 hrs
night86mare

A house blinks at the end of the lonely path, tortured souls groaning. The tree they are bound to, ever famous for consuming many photographers' film, mind and spirits, posted in many many Changi Beach shots leans over it. Menacingly. Waiting.


night86mare

A seething mass rises from beyond the darkness, seeking to add more to their ghastly congregation. In the midst, messy-hair-ghouls cackle in glee, tossing their hair recklessly in the ghostly winds. Behold! A headless creature, another with a neck bent at funny angles! AND ALL OF THEM HOLDING BANNERS SAYING NO TFCD!

The 3 steadfast explorers wave their cameras bravely, and for the moment, JUST for the moment, they catch a glimpse of an Afghan girl dressed with goggles (oh! the horror!) walking towards them with some desert food that she has prepared. But she too, vanishes in the wind with a weak murmur when the flashes are activated in full force.

They congratulate themselves, patting each other on the back, but realise that this is not due to the force of their puny built-in camera flashes. No, it is not. The Light has come. The Sun has arrived. A red glow flickers its unknown message from behind the clouds, shooing the new day.

The 3 crack their heads. It is a must-catch! It is a must-see. But what fun is it to capture it from the same viewpoint when we are 3? They discuss for a moment, weigh the pros and cons (e.g. like running into the dreaded Afghan girl ghost) and decide that they must do what they must. And so they split.

One goes into the water, braving the sea cockroaches (hahaha) and dead crab ghosts and promptly finds himself waist-deep in water. But no, he perseveres, knowing that sometimes, when you want a good photograph, you must work for it. A scrape on his shin, from a rock that could not be seen from the surface! But he does not notice, his mind is focused and sharp on the task at hand:


espion

The two others are not so adventurous. One decides to hug the beach. After all, sand is known to have protective powers against flames and headless ghosts. But oh, his eyes are tied to the tree (figuratively, anyways). He loves it. He has never taken a shot of it. But he must! Even though it is cliched!


night86mare

The Sun reveals itself slowly, like an ah pek revealing himself to a bashful girl for the first time in her life. And it will never reveal itself that way again. Everyday it rises differently. So know that - that moment in time, it is special. He gently caresses the clouds, painting them, staining them brilliantly with the full colour spectrum of the rainbow. The sky is bathed in red, immediately to the left of the point of tension:


espion

<to be continued in the next post!>

[night86mare]

(Oh gosh, I'm running out of corny stuff to write down! Must be NS kill my brain cells! =( )

And then, in one brilliant flourish, he throws aside his towel (why does the Sun wear a towel, you may ask. I don't know! Don't ask me! Ask him!)


sprintist86

Revealing the absolute glory of nature, Sun-style, rising up into the sky.
[now you know what it looks like!]

Oh, but the Sun is old.

He cannot sustain for long. So he glows, blazes for a brief moment...


sprintist86

Before wilting..


sprintist86

...Giving us a view of what Africa may look like, right here on Changi Beach!
A boat gawks and says: Boy, I can do better!
He chases after another, but she is not willing. She runs!


night86mare

The ants by the side of the beach also decide that it is a sign that they must mate:


sprintist86

[night86mare]

But a loner decides against it.. Running off to hide in one dark corner.

sprintist86

I'm done!

[sprintist]

haha very funny..wanna read on..

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by sprintist haha very funny..wanna read on..

Ran out of steam. Very tiring to write such stuff without Sion or drakon chipping in a few words. =D

[eikin]

Originally Posted by night86mare sprintist86

i hope this doesn't seem rude but this particular picture caught my attention, and here's what i saw

[night86mare]

eikin, what do you mean? 0.o Can explain in more detail?

That's sprintist's photo.

[eikin]

Originally Posted by night86mare eikin, what do you mean? 0.o Can explain in more detail? That's sprintist's photo.

no i mean i hope you guys don't mind me editing that picture to show what i see as potential in it

[night86mare]

Ah, I see.

I see what you mean.. Though the resulting image is a -tad- too abstract for me.. =D

[eikin]

Originally Posted by night86mare Ah, I see. I see what you mean.. Though the resulting image is a -tad- too abstract for me.. =D

hope i didn't interfere with your little story as well, do carry on

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by eikin hope i didn't interfere with your little story as well, do carry on

Was done.. Too tired after the front burst and the happy sun's escapade.. That's all, hehe.

[sprintist]

Well done..haha duno how you can link the picture and story so well into one..good job haha

[feimao07]

nice series...gd narration...

hmmm...i somehow do agree with eikin...

the first thing tat caught my attention was the rows of tree-trunks...

cos if i were to compose tat shot...i would crop off the tree-trunks n show more of the sky...

[zoossh]

Originally Posted by night86mare night86mare

i'm more conventional, and particularly like this one.

[wainism]

Originally Posted by night86mare espion

hey may i noe how did u achieve the colour graduation of the sky?

post processing or filters?

thanks

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by feimao07 nice series...gd narration...

Glad you enjoyed it. I personally like the second post a lot, since we three had a laugh about the phallic symbol in the sky in the car about it.

[espion]

Originally Posted by wainism hey may i noe how did u achieve the colour graduation of the sky? post processing or filters? thanks

post processing: mini HDR (over 2 EV), tweaking in curves, and blending mainly.

And this is the X-rated censored scene:

[Parka]

The colors are marvelous.