A Scene from Singapore River

[Bored Dad]

Here I am again to make another attempt and to learn from the critiques, so please load and fire at will.

This shot is taken during the 2nd Newbie Outing on 15 Sep 07 nearby UOB Plaza and standing next to Singapore River. No PS was done on this and what I like is the sky and the calmness and peace feel that this photo gives me. However, I'm not sure if placing the the Swissotel building at the center is a good decision, any advise?

This shot is taken with:
f/5.6, 17mm, ISO 100, shutter at 4", Av priority mode.

 

[junkai21]

Nice sky colors!!

 

[Kit]

Doesn't work. You're right, having Swissotel is not a good idea. This photo is a collection of buildings in a incoherent manner. Don't think you got a good spot. Watch the verticals too.

 

[Kit]

and BTW, since you had a tripod, why use f/5.6?

 

[night86mare]

the arrangement of buildings does not appeal here, as kit has mentioned
as what i always say, try to find some "order"
or at least a focal point here
in this case the most outstanding building around the area or scene you have selected is swissotel, nonetheless because of its height

so i would suggest to work around that

also, the sky is devoid of interest, it is monotonous, and you have given it too much emphasis in terms of space, that is bad

in this scenario concentrate on what you have, not what you are lacking, so use the river and reflections, which look pretty good here from my viewpoint

composition wise everyone has differing opinions, but as mentioned, either moving the camera downwards to focus on reflections in landscape, or as per my preference, portrait format would be good. using swissotel as a focal point in your composition of course, as mentioned

on the bright side, exposure is good, though for landscapes/cityscapes/seascapes, do try to shoot at the lowest iso possible - not sure if you have done it here, too lazy to check exif, and shoot at f/8 and above to retain maximum dof, especially when you have a tripod. also try not to go above f/16, to avoid diffraction softening effect

i'm thinking you might have used shutter priority/program/aperture priority here. for landscapes, do try to experiment with manual mode eventually, gives you a lot more control over the image that comes out, and you can afford it, unlike some other situations like sports, etc

keep shooting! =)

 

[Bored Dad]

Thank you Kit, I always appreciate your sincere and honest opinion, cause only then I will really learn, though will be a bit stressed lah... Hehe..

OK, noted the it's not a good idea to place Swissotel Hotel at the center, will be more careful about choosing a spot and pay more attention about the buildings' coherent composition.

As for why I use f/5.6... You got me there, honestly, I would thought that f/5.6 will be good enough to use. Is it better to use f/8.0 instead?

 

[Bored Dad]

the arrangement of buildings does not appeal here, as kit has mentioned
as what i always say, try to find some "order"
or at least a focal point here
in this case the most outstanding building around the area or scene you have selected is swissotel, nonetheless because of its height

so i would suggest to work around that

also, the sky is devoid of interest, it is monotonous, and you have given it too much emphasis in terms of space, that is bad

in this scenario concentrate on what you have, not what you are lacking, so use the river and reflections, which look pretty good here from my viewpoint

composition wise everyone has differing opinions, but as mentioned, either moving the camera downwards to focus on reflections in landscape, or as per my preference, portrait format would be good. using swissotel as a focal point in your composition of course, as mentioned

on the bright side, exposure is good, though for landscapes/cityscapes/seascapes, do try to shoot at the lowest iso possible - not sure if you have done it here, too lazy to check exif, and shoot at f/8 and above to retain maximum dof, especially when you have a tripod. also try not to go above f/16, to avoid diffraction softening effect

i'm thinking you might have used shutter priority/program/aperture priority here. for landscapes, do try to experiment with manual mode eventually, gives you a lot more control over the image that comes out, and you can afford it, unlike some other situations like sports, etc

keep shooting! =)

Thanks Night86mare for your frank opinion and suggestion.

As for ISO setting, ISO 100 is the lowest I can go for my canon 20D.

f/16? Wow! never thought to go this small aperture for a night shoot... OK, have really learn a lot tonight!

Thank you all for your comments and suggestion, really appreciate it. Will keep shooting for sure.

 

[night86mare]

Thanks Night86mare for your frank opinion and suggestion.

As for ISO setting, ISO 100 is the lowest I can go for my canon 20D.

f/16? Wow! never thought to go this small aperture for a night shoot... OK, have really learn a lot tonight!

Thank you all for your comments and suggestion, really appreciate it. Will keep shooting for sure.

why f/5.6 is not good - you can afford it for this scene i suppose, because the distance is quite far away and there is nothing too close up. but in cases where you have foreground interest, you might end up with soft foreground or soft background

note that most lenses are sharpest from f/8 to f/11 and in a landscape you would want maximum sharpness to bring out maximum detail since in a wide setting you have so many components, the slight difference in sharpness will go a long way negatively

you may play with aperture, i.e. use a smaller aperture to lengthen the exposure timing - always play with everything, while understanding what you are doing of course, you can achieve certain effects when modifying certain things. in this case i would think that to "smooth out" the river slightly more (with longer exposure) so that the reflections are not so "choppy" closer to you (water closer to you requires longer exposure to smoothen out as compared to further away) you can either use a nd filter OR if unavailable, what i mentioned before would work too

 

[Kit]

Thank you Kit, I always appreciate your sincere and honest opinion, cause only then I will really learn, though will be a bit stressed lah... Hehe..

OK, noted the it's not a good idea to place Swissotel Hotel at the center, will be more careful about choosing a spot and pay more attention about the buildings' coherent composition.

As for why I use f/5.6... You got me there, honestly, I would thought that f/5.6 will be good enough to use. Is it better to use f/8.0 instead?

My personal observation..... sometimes, we are tempted to record what we see, there and then. Its convenient. We don't explore various options that might work better. In other words, we see it but we don't look at it. For this particular photo, you have to ask if capturing the entire scene the only way to go? Or could you have gone it for a tighter crop? Or forget about that spot altogether and look for somewhere else? Don't be too quick to take that photo just yet. Walk around and surprise yourself. Its not wonder I find that the first picture I take of anything usually goes to the bin.

Too be honest, I can't tell if you have enough DOF from what's posted. You do usually step down your lenses for deeper DOF when taking landscapes.

 

[Bored Dad]

why f/5.6 is not good - you can afford it for this scene i suppose, because the distance is quite far away and there is nothing too close up. but in cases where you have foreground interest, you might end up with soft foreground or soft background

note that most lenses are sharpest from f/8 to f/11 and in a landscape you would want maximum sharpness to bring out maximum detail since in a wide setting you have so many components, the slight difference in sharpness will go a long way negatively

you may play with aperture, i.e. use a smaller aperture to lengthen the exposure timing - always play with everything, while understanding what you are doing of course, you can achieve certain effects when modifying certain things. in this case i would think that to "smooth out" the river slightly more (with longer exposure) so that the reflections are not so "choppy" closer to you (water closer to you requires longer exposure to smoothen out as compared to further away) you can either use a nd filter OR if unavailable, what i mentioned before would work too

OK bro, really appreciate your advice.

Will sure go out and shoot more night shoot with different settings as suggested, then will see how the effect goes. Will share a photo in here again soon. Hehe... :bsmilie:

 

[Bored Dad]

My personal observation..... sometimes, we are tempted to record what we see, there and then. Its convenient. We don't explore various options that might work better. In other words, we see it but we don't look at it. For this particular photo, you have to ask if capturing the entire scene the only way to go? Or could you have gone it for a tighter crop? Or forget about that spot altogether and look for somewhere else? Don't be too quick to take that photo just yet. Walk around and surprise yourself. Its not wonder I find that the first picture I take of anything usually goes to the bin.

Too be honest, I can't tell if you have enough DOF from what's posted. You do usually step down your lenses for deeper DOF when taking landscapes.

You're right bro, so very right. I was so excited to capture the nice blue sky and fear I might miss it and thus, was just set up my gear quickly and just aim at some point and try to capture proper composition. Though I did give some thought of the composition portion for this shot but I have to admit that I didn't give it too much thought for the fear of missing the nice blue sky.

Again, really appreciate your comment and advise cause it's where I can really learn and improve. Will keep shooting for sure.

 

[Kit]

Its almost like you have to work the other way round. Look for the spot, design your composition then wait for the light to come. If you are not doing this for a living, then you have all the time to wait for the right moment. Even if it means a second or third trip back.

It took me 3 trips, waiting 2 hours on the last trip to get this.....

and to make the most out of your photos..... try out different stuff.....

 

[sprintist]

Doesn't work. You're right, having Swissotel is not a good idea. This photo is a collection of buildings in a incoherent manner. Don't think you got a good spot. Watch the verticals too.

wanted to say something like that too. the colours at this time is always beautiful.

slight barrel distortion and the first thing that came to my mind was..wah all sorts of buildings can be found in this picture! not that its bad but it has no clear focal point.

 

[Bored Dad]

Thanks guys, really appreciate your frank comments and suggestion, a special heart felt thanks to Kit.

Will improve on it and hope to show some better photo in the future.

 

[LittleWolf]

This shot is taken during the 2nd Newbie Outing on 15 Sep 07 nearby UOB Plaza and standing next to Singapore River. No PS was done on this and what I like is the sky and the calmness and peace feel that this photo gives me.

You're making it very hard for yourself. Singapore skyline scenes like this, in particular in touristy areas, have been shot to death by hordes of locals and tourists alike. Unless your picture is truly outstanding, I don't think many people would even bat an eyelid. There may be nothing wrong with the picture, but "good" or even "very good" execution is just not enough to overcome the fatigue that instantly sets in when people, at least in this part of the world, see "yet another one of those".

 

[lastboltnut]

I think the sky is too plain to deserve such a big space for this pic.

 

[yehosaphat]

Composition doesn't work for me. As mentionedby Kit. Look for something which is different, interesting and at the end of the day, you can say this is something unique to me. Also try again when the sky is more dramatic.

 

[vincechan06]

It took me 3 trips, waiting 2 hours on the last trip to get this.....

Hi,
This is an excellent photo. Where do you take it from?

Can you share your exif for the above photo? Did you do and post-processing?

-vince

 

[Kit]

The exposure timing is around 8 secs, using f11. Adjustments to colours and sharpening was done. That's about it.

 

[SNAPG]

My suggestion ...
The left side of the picture is dark compare to the other building.
i suggest you should focus more to the right starting from the parliment house -->.
maybe zoom in with more details would be better..
If the sky have some clouds would be nicer.