Is Singapore running out of places for landscape shooting?


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kentwong81

Senior Member
Jun 18, 2010
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Singapore
I started this thread because I notice that there are a lot of similar Singapore landscape photos posted in this forum, like rocks, reservoirs, bridges, lone tree and MBS.
Some are even identical in terms of angle, colour and timing shot by different people. Every year when we browse the gallery, I think we can see the same photos shot by different people or same people again and again, which make the photos no longer interesting. Now when I view the landscape photos shot oversea, although they are not perfectly shot or PP, they are more interesting and fresh. Do you feel the same too? Or maybe just me...:confused:
 

the grass is always greener on the other side.

ok, well, we have not as many places for landscape, but it does depends on the photographer to exploit every unique angle as well
 

i think you see repeating landscape shots by various members is because we are often inspired by one another. :D
 

Grass is greener at other end but we can't deny in a small island like our land n with so many ppl taking photography as hobby... We seriously run into same location over n over again even if u use diffrnt perspective... Maybe let's form a group outing oversea at times and get more different style pics ;)
 

Part of training oneself is to keep repeating the same actions (or take the same views), so when time comes to execute on a fast sunrise/sunset, it will be 2nd nature.

And for the same view, for a different day, the sunrise and sunset will be different. Only when you learn to appreciate them fully, can you look at any view and never get tired of them.
 

If you look at something every other day, it will eventually become so normal and commonplace that you will cease to notice it anymore. That is why you find photos taken overseas to be "more interesting and fresh".

In my opinion, the idea of shooting a subject that has been photographed countless times, is the challenge of finding a fresh and innovative perspective. That will make your shots of the same subject that many others have shot countless times, stand out.

But yes, there are many who shoot the same thing from the same spot without any new or interesting ideas. :)
 

My photos not good enough to show off... but I find HDB estates to be very interestingly coloured with fascinating angles and shapes etc. "Landscape" not just snow-capped mountains and raging waterfalls mar...
 

I started this thread because I notice that there are a lot of similar Singapore landscape photos posted in this forum, like rocks, reservoirs, bridges, lone tree and MBS.
Some are even identical in terms of angle, colour and timing shot by different people. Every year when we browse the gallery, I think we can see the same photos shot by different people or same people again and again, which make the photos no longer interesting. Now when I view the landscape photos shot oversea, although they are not perfectly shot or PP, they are more interesting and fresh. Do you feel the same too? Or maybe just me...:confused:

well, i'm sure the people whose photos you find "fresh" from overseas have the same idea for their own landscapes.

the american photographers over at naturescapes, for example, seem to take the same view, but never tire. it is still marvellous for me.

i have gone back to lower peirce reservoir many times and i haven't reused a single composition there. maybe that should tell you something.

also, how much of singapore have you covered? that's something i always ask when people say "singapore boring leh" "singapore repetitive".

i don't really fancy draken's style of processing sometimes, but he does have a load of interesting subjects that he takes the time to source out and shoot.

a few weeks back i viewed the gallery of an overseas photographer who had visited singapore. "no way", i thought, when i looked through his gallery, "this is singapore, but i haven't seen these views before!"

then after doing some research based on the landmarks, etc, and using google street view, i realised that his photographs were taken in the clarke quay/chinatown area.

singapore is running out of places? nah, but the people can't be bothered to look or go. i confess that at times, i'm guilty too.

recently i picked up a few photography mags in the library. one of the breathtaking covers i saw had a short writeup on the photographer in the magazine itself. it so happened that i found that same photo on flickr that very same day by accident:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmcneal/2779861092/in/faves-night86mare/

do you know what is behind this photo? let me quote it for you:

"shi shi beach is one of the lesser known beaches in washington state due to its remoteness. the roughly five mile journey to the beach is divided between walking through a muddy forest and then along the beach to the arches."

"on a side note, after shooting that sunset, mcneal unpacked his tent only to realize he hadn't brought the tent poles. within an hour, the clouds moved in and it began to rain hard. unable to make the journey back in the dark, he tried sleeping on the beach with the rain and beach crabs. he didn't get much sleep that night, but making such a beautiful image made it all worth it."

from outdoor photographer, nov 2009

in singapore, i have seen people posting online that they are unwilling to put their tripod into the mud.

in singapore, i have seen people complaining that the sea might damage their camera.

do you think they would walk 5 miles through a walking forest, and stay overnight? do you realise that he didn't just conjure his tent up from nowhere, but was entirely prepared to camp overnight in the rain?

no, singapore is not running out of places for landscape shots, it is running out of people who have the right sort of passion... to shoot. instead of having group outings to buddy hug and praise each others' photos.
 

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I think it is also because there is a large pool of photography hobbyists in this small island. Everytime I pass by the Elgin Bridge at South Bridge Road after work, I can always see large group of people shooting the Singapore River area with tripods.
Although each location has different look at different hour, what I usually see are the photos taken at sunrise, sunset and night, which are not much varieties, especially Singapore doesn't have the four seasons like Japan.
Forming an oversea photography tour is a good idea. There are hundreds of nice landscapes in the Sout East Asia Region, but I still hope that we can dig out some unknown and interesting places in Singapore for photoshooting.
 

I think it is also because there is a large pool of photography hobbyists in this small island. Everytime I pass by the Elgin Bridge at South Bridge Road after work, I can always see large group of people shooting the Singapore River area with tripods.
Although each location has different look at different hour, what I usually see are the photos taken at sunrise, sunset and night, which are not much varieties, especially Singapore doesn't have the four seasons like Japan.
Forming an oversea photography tour is a good idea. There are hundreds of nice landscapes in the Sout East Asia Region, but I still hope that we can dig out some unknown and interesting places in Singapore for photoshooting.

ok, where are these places?

5078633544_3b05efd43c.jpg


5158466448_4375c30b03.jpg


5126447842_8108f74136.jpg


5060040964_b0bd865d75.jpg
 

Thanks to shed some light on my query by writing such a detailed explanation.
I will strive to photoshoot something interesting in Singapore, which are different from what I've seen so far in the forum. Well, it's a very challenging thing, which need some brainstorming before getting the action. :think:

well, i'm sure the people whose photos you find "fresh" from overseas have the same idea for their own landscapes.

the american photographers over at naturescapes, for example, seem to take the same view, but never tire. it is still marvellous for me.

i have gone back to lower peirce reservoir many times and i haven't reused a single composition there. maybe that should tell you something.

also, how much of singapore have you covered? that's something i always ask when people say "singapore boring leh" "singapore repetitive".

i don't really fancy draken's style of processing sometimes, but he does have a load of interesting subjects that he takes the time to source out and shoot.

a few weeks back i viewed the gallery of an overseas photographer who had visited singapore. "no way", i thought, when i looked through his gallery, "this is singapore, but i haven't seen these views before!"

then after doing some research based on the landmarks, etc, and using google street view, i realised that his photographs were taken in the clarke quay/chinatown area.

singapore is running out of places? nah, but the people can't be bothered to look or go. i confess that at times, i'm guilty too.

recently i picked up a few photography mags in the library. one of the breathtaking covers i saw had a short writeup on the photographer in the magazine itself. it so happened that i found that same photo on flickr that very same day by accident:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmcneal/2779861092/in/faves-night86mare/

do you know what is behind this photo? let me quote it for you:



in singapore, i have seen people posting online that they are unwilling to put their tripod into the mud.

in singapore, i have seen people complaining that the sea might damage their camera.

do you think they would walk 5 miles through a walking forest, and stay overnight? do you realise that he didn't just conjure his tent up from nowhere, but was entirely prepared to camp overnight in the rain?

no, singapore is not running out of places for landscape shots, it is running out of people who have the right sort of passion... to shoot. instead of having group outings to buddy hug and praise each others' photos.
 

I think it is also because there is a large pool of photography hobbyists in this small island. Everytime I pass by the Elgin Bridge at South Bridge Road after work, I can always see large group of people shooting the Singapore River area with tripods.
Although each location has different look at different hour, what I usually see are the photos taken at sunrise, sunset and night, which are not much varieties, especially Singapore doesn't have the four seasons like Japan.
Forming an oversea photography tour is a good idea. There are hundreds of nice landscapes in the Sout East Asia Region, but I still hope that we can dig out some unknown and interesting places in Singapore for photoshooting.

That could be us, the sunchaser newbies, Kit's Archi, CB's Beginners, pentax group etc... trying hard to hone our skills to perfection. :D

I have taken the MBS so many times and still can't get enough of it. Every time I capture the image, it always look different.
 

#1 is amazing shoot, not seen in this forum so far.
#2 is a nice shoot, but as many people have done the same before, it no longer has the "wow" factor like the #1.

ok, where are these places?

5078633544_3b05efd43c.jpg


5158466448_4375c30b03.jpg


5126447842_8108f74136.jpg


5060040964_b0bd865d75.jpg
 

people, as in all ages, all sizes, all shapes.......

if anyone already 七老八十 still only how to shoot XXM, something is very wrong here.

dang. I haven't really shoot any xmm. how leh?:p
 

Thanks to shed some light on my query by writing such a detailed explanation.
I will strive to photoshoot something interesting in Singapore, which are different from what I've seen so far in the forum. Well, it's a very challenging thing, which need some brainstorming before getting the action. :think:

basically, what N86M says you haven't try hard enough to look for new things, new angle to shoot in here. In a metropolitan city like the one here, there are many things to shoot as it is rich in details, geometry, patterns, colours...etc.

temperate climate countries has seasons, they made good use of it. Us, we can really shoot all year round.
 

#1 is amazing shoot, not seen in this forum so far.
#2 is a nice shoot, but as many people have done the same before, it no longer has the "wow" factor like the #1.

#1 is a location shared by a friend from the pentax section on flickr.

#2, yes, so where is it? :)

if you want wow factor, that has more to do with light than anything else.

let's take the uk for example, dorset coast has been covered to death by every budding uk seascape photographer.

durdle door is a famous structure there:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonyspencer/3920162436/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonyspencer/4275052842/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robspages/4121816422/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonyspencer/4282966074/

the same person can take 3 different views, in different light, and then someone else can come along and do something new.

the eiffel tower has been shot to death.

ditto for golden gate bridge...

is it that important to be different? what are you in photography for? to look in the mirror and tell yourself that you take special, unique pictures? then i suggest you do the unthinkable - row a sampan to the north pole, for example, and take a photo of it on the ice, it would be the most unique photo on earth, i would think (except that someone could probably do a good photoshop job and crap it out in 5 minutes today).

when you really think about it, it's all been done before, but i know i'm in it for the hobby, and after a certain point, i feel happy just being there, shooting, knowing that i can appreciate the sea around my legs, the sea soaking into my ... underwear, or even just looking at the light and feeling your heart racing when you think about how to compose the scene, move around, half-squat quickly to see if a different perspective works.

that's me, i don't know about you, and i'm not one to tell anyone how to enjoy their hobby, but to me, trying to go out of your way to be special (or take special, cool, unique pictures that no one else has produced)... sometimes what you thought was special... was the most cliched thing ever. i've been there before. now, i would rather spend that energy on shooting what i like to shoot. the way i like to shoot it. :)
 

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