[benruane] - 2010 APOC - A Photo as Often as I Can

[benruane]

Welcome to my APAD variation, APOC, which is for a photo as often as I can. I hope you enjoy my shots as much as I enjoy taking them and do feel free to drop your comments as we go along.

But first a bit of catch-up.

Cheers,
Ben Ruane

 

[benruane]

(1) View towards the Second Link
2 Jan 2010

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(2) View towards the Second Link (2)

2 Jan 2010

These two photos were taken the day after New Year's Day. We were at Raffles Marina in the early
morning and this view captured me. The strong pink flowers against the fairly still blue sea and sky.


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(3) Wushu master in the making?
11 Jan 2010

My youngest son playing in the playground. He tends to get quite active! I liked
how the shot was taken when he is airborne as it conveys a sense of motion.



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(4) Playing in the shadows
11 Jan 2010

Another shot from the playground. I liked the shadows and spots of light. The colour
version is also worth a look (http://bit.ly/5wdxoN) as it came out very "rich" (for lack of
a better word). But I chose this version as I like the colour tone applied. Also, my son's
pose speaks of expectation and coiled energy!


(to be cont'd...)

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[benruane]

(cont'd)


(5) Sunrise (or moonset!) over Bukit Panjang
11 Jan 2010
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(6) Sunrise over Bukit Panjang (2)
11 Jan 2010
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While walking out of the door that morning, I glanced over my right shoulder and saw
this beautiful sunrise. What I didn't even notice until later (when looking at the photos
on the PC) was the moon at the top of the frame of the first photo (#5). Bonus!
I liked the colours and the (surprise) presence of the moon.


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(7) Hesitation
16 Jan 2010
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Again my youngest son. We were at the running track along Bt Timah Road, kicking a
ball around. I liked the expression on his face and the picture seems to go well in mono.


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(8) Steps at Dairy Farm Nature Reserve
18 Jan 2010

Happened to be at the Dairy Farm Road nature reserve that afternoon taking some
photos for the Alpha club's January photo competition. These steps were nearby where
I was shooting and I thought the scene was quite pretty, in a "stoney" sort of way.
Again, I thought the mono treatment was nice.


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(9) The Thrill of the Chase
23 Jan 2010

My eldest son riding his scooter at the running track along Bt Timah Road. I liked
this simply for the pure exhiliration obvious on my boy's face! Actually, this photo
was taken during one of our races (me running, him riding). We'd race over a certain
distance with me holding my camera at something like waist-level, guessing what
would be in the frame and just pushing the shutter over and over as we raced. Quite
a lucky shot, really (I deleted 99% of the shots taken from these races as they showed
only grass or track or sky or were totally out-of-focus).


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OK, that concludes the catch-up.

And, now, I will continue with my APOC 2010 gallery.

Thanks for taking the time to look and (hopefully) leave your comments.

Cheers,
Ben Ruane​

 

[benruane]

A couple of iPhone shots from a walk-around at Iluma shopping mall with the kids.

(10) Detail of pillar
25 Jan 2010


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(11) Detail of ceiling
25 Jan 2010​

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(12) White Lotus installation art at Iluma
25 Jan 2010​

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OK, that's all I have got today.
Cheers, Ben



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[benruane]

Yesterday was saved with an evening trip to Sembawang Park with my wife and kids.

(13) Flower against a sunset
25 Jan 2010



This shot was taken with the sun setting in the background.
The blue vertical/horizontals are the beams from a swing set.

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[benruane]

(14) A lazy, sunny afternoon
25 Jan 2010



And this shot, also from Sembawang Park, of my wife and eldest son enjoying a moment.
It's been photoshopped for the "retro" look and also the lens flare (not sure if I like the flare; it's not what I had in mind originally but it's the best I was able to do)

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[benruane]

And one more to wrap up today...

(15) By the light of the lamppost
25 Jan 2010


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[benruane]

Today is my wife and my anniversary. 9 years! I will try to post a more cheerful, celebratory photo later but, for now, I have a rather gloomy and grungy photo to share. Gloomy? Perhaps.

(16) Box in the carpark
27 Jan 2010



(Sony A200, 35mm, f3.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 400)


This was taken hand-held in my carpark block this morning. I like the grungy feel and the
textures around the wall and floor. The various stains and streaks add to the mood, I feel.
But the inside of the box is clean, almost inviting, and contrasts with the surroundings
and the exterior of the box.

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[benruane]

(17) Jack the Vespa
28 Jan 2010
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(Sony A200, 50mm, f2.0, 1/80 sec, ISO 160)

Spotted this Vespa parked near my place. Nicely done-up and looked-after.

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[soulFLY]

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Nice capture, excellent DOF and sweet bokeh...

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A little tilt and hope its straight and wonder how it looks in square crop...

Nice minimal capture...keep up the good work..​

 

[benruane]

Nice capture, excellent DOF and sweet bokeh...

A little tilt and hope its straight and wonder how it looks in square crop...

Nice minimal capture...keep up the good work..

Thanks for the feedback. Agree on the tilt and I tried to correct it but it ended up looking even weirder. So I've let that one go and will treat it as one that got away

Thanks again for the comments. A few more photos coming shortly. Catching up again after a few hectic days.

Cheers, Ben

 

[benruane]

I got pretty tied up with various things the last few nights and had no chance to upload
these photos. So here goes, with a bit of a catch-up of the last few days:

(18) Shin-deshi
(shot date: 25 Jan, post date: 2 Feb)


(Sony A200, 50mm, f2.0, 1/5 sec, ISO 400)

This was one of my submissions for a monthly photo competition at another photography
group/forum. The shot was my first "real" experience with off-camera lighting, which in
this case was a torchlight with tissue paper (diffuser) wrapped around the front and held
in one hand from the side, while my other hand hit the timed shutter. All this while lying
flat on my tummy on the floor of my flat with all the lights off. Maybe not the most
glamourous of setups or execution but, well, it was something like midnight so nobody
saw me doing it and it was a bit of fun!

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(19) Texture of the waves
(shot date: 25 Jan, post date: 2 Feb)

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(Sony A200, 50mm, f8.0, 1/160 sec, ISO 100)

This photo was taken handheld at Sembawang beach, with my camera down near the
water and looking out towards Johor. I just like the satiny look of the water and the deep
blue tone.


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(20) Detail of glass roof at Forum shopping mall
(shot date: 29 Jan, post date: 2 Feb)

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(Sony A200, 50mm, f1.7, 1/80 sec, ISO 320)

Shot handheld on a gloomy day. Processed in B&W
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(21) Back of Toys R Us at Forum shopping mall
(shot date: 29 Jan, post date: 2 Feb)

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(Sony A200, 50mm, f1.7, 1/80 sec, ISO 250)

Shot handheld, inside at early evening when the light was failing outside. The shot is taken
from the playground area at the far corner inside the mall and looks up at a large neon
Toys R Us sign. I wanted to capture the failing light and I have also 'moodified' the scene
somewhat. I especially like the light details on the ceiling.
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(22) A railing, vibrant colours and a dash of bokeh
(shot date: 29 Jan, post date: 2 Feb)


(Sony A200, 50mm, f1.7, 1/15 sec, ISO 400)

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(to be continued)
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[benruane]

(continued...)



(23) Detail of a fern at Botanic Gardens
(shot date: 30 Jan, post date: 2 Feb)

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(Sony A200, 50mm, f2.0, 1/250 sec, ISO 100)

Shot handheld on a bright and sunny day. I love the strong greens and the bokeh of the
light spots through the trees in the background.

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(24) Detail of a tree at Botanic Gardens
(shot date: 30 Jan, post date: 2 Feb)
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(Sony A200, 50mm, f2.2, 1/2500 sec, ISO 100)

Shot handheld on a bright and sunny day. I've processed it with B&W and boosted
shadows, which I think gives a very exotic feel to this picture, almost an alpine feel.

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Thanks for coming to see.
Cheers, Ben

 

[night86mare]

this is nice!

(18) Shin-deshi

 

[benruane]

this is nice!

(18) Shin-deshi

@night86mare - thanks for your comments. Glad you liked the picture!
Cheers, Ben Ruane

 

[benruane]

Ahh, its been a few days since my last post. I kinda knew this would happen! Two nights
ago, I went for a wander down at West Coast Park while killing time waiting for my wife
to finish a function. Here are 5 shots I'd like to share. I've changed to displaying the medium
size image (when pasting link from Flickr) and I hope that this is fine. If its too small, I will
go back to the larger size. I confess unabashedly to taking inspiration from fellow
Clubsnapper "dearchivism", whose work and compositions I like very much. As you will see
below, I have some way to go!

I present to you five photos from my night-time West Coast walkabout...

(25) Night view of the shipyards (West Coast Park)
(shot date: 3 Feb, post date: 5 Feb)

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Sony A200, 50mm, f2.0, 1/4 sec, ISO 200)

Shot with tripod (horrible, cheap thing). I would have liked the black lines of the rig
legs to be bolder/darker, but I wasnt able to get that quite right in Photoshop.
I particularly like the reflections in the water and the fade-out of the sky colour.

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(26) Mega yacht and Pulau Bukom (West Coast Park)
(shot date: 3 Feb, post date: 5 Feb)

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Sony A200, 70mm, f5.6, 8 sec, ISO 200)

Shot with my crappy tripod, which I came to realise really stinks. Need to buy a
proper one one day. Still it allowed me to do this 8 second exposure. Anyway, I
wasnt sure about this photo. I do like the smoke trails from the chimneys on the
horizon. Placement of the yacht is a bit off to me, though.

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(27) Night view of a tree by the path (West Coast Park)
(shot date: 3 Feb, post date: 5 Feb)

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Sony A200, 50mm, f2.0, 1/3 sec, ISO 200)

Shot with tripod. I like the colours (muted a bit in Photoshop) and the tree in
silouette.

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(28) Night scene of a pathway (West Coast Park)
(shot date: 3 Feb, post date: 5 Feb)

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Sony A200, 50mm, f1.7, 1/6 sec, ISO 400)

Shot with tripod at a low position. Again, I like the muted colours, though the
picture looks a bit noisy.

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(29) Steps, shadow and barbed wire
(shot date: 3 Feb, post date: 5 Feb)

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Sony A200, 50mm, f2.0, 1/3 sec, ISO 400)

Shot with my tripod. This may be my favourite shot from the night. It was a bit further
around from West Coast Park, along one of the inside roads. I noticed the shadow of the
steps as I drove past, so stopped and took this shot. The colours have been muted in
Photoshop. While I originally cursed the fence and barbed wire for blocking the view of the
steps, I actually like the way it came out.

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OK that's all I have got until next time.

I'll be going to the Singapore Airshow on Sunday, so hope to have some mroe to share then.

Cheers, Ben
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[benruane]

(30) Bicycle chain
(shot date: 10 Feb, post date: 10 Feb)



Testing my Helios 58mm f2.0 M42 manual lens. Focus is on the centre chain link.
Picture cropped slightly.

Camera: Sony A200
Focal length: 50 or 58mm *
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: f1.7 or f2.0 *
ISO: 100

* The lens has "58/2" printed on it, which I assumed to mean 58mm focal length
with fixed aperture of f2.0. But the EXIF data records the focal length as 50mm
and aperture of f1.7. I dont know which is right? I shot this in manual mode with
the aperture wide open. The LCD display shows f1.7 (and this cannot be changed).
Again, I don't know?!


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(31) Basil
(shot date: 10 Feb, post date: 10 Feb)



Testing my Helios 58mm f2.0 M42 manual lens. Focus is on the centre basil leaf.
Picture cropped slightly.

Camera: Sony A200
Focal length: 50 or 58mm
Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec
Aperture: f1.7 or f2.0
ISO: 100

Same technical questions on focal length and aperture as with photo #30 (above).

Anyway, I love this lens! I almost sold it and am glad I didn't; it deserves more
time to make its acquaintance!


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That's all I have today. Thanks for viewing and I look forward to more feedback!

Cheers, Ben​

 

[benruane]

(32) Friendly feline
(shot date: 11 Feb, post date: 11 Feb)



More testing on my Helios 58mm f2.0 M42 manual lens. Handheld shooting,
manual camera setting. Focus is on the cat's right eye. Picture cropped slightly.

Camera: Sony A200
Focal length: 50mm (or 58mm?)
Shutter speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: f1.7 (or f2.0?)
ISO: 100

Same technical questions on focal length and aperture as with the other
photos from the Helios lens. In any case, we sure have some friendly cats
around my block. Very comfortable in their environment and will happily
come and say hi as you walk past. I miss having cats as pets.

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Thanks for viewing and I look forward to more feedback!

Cheers, Ben​

 

[soulFLY]

(29) Steps, shadow and barbed wire
(shot date: 3 Feb, post date: 5 Feb)

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Cheers, Ben
​

This is fantastic...good job..

 

[benruane]

@Soulfly - "fantastic" ... *swoons*
Thanks for your feedback

Cheers, Ben