Crepuscular Rays

Crepuscular rays over the tree tops after sunrise

Here is another photo of crepuscular rays after sunrise this morning. The sun was playing a peek-a-boo between the clouds and tree tops. The light rays were quite faint – I could not see them with my eyes at first. Only when I looked at the LCD screen did I see the sunlight. In an earlier picture, there were no clouds on top. A few minutes later, fast moving clouds converged on the scene. A quick snap and the clouds seemed to frame the picture. Have fun over the weekends, everybody!

 

Twilight : Between the Fence

Twilight - Shadows and Light Between the Fence

I found another location today I can take pictures of sunset where there were fewer people about. 7.30pm – the sun had set but the golden glow lingered on the horizon while the North Star blinked its shining brilliance. The fence was meant to be a leading line. Not quite a perfect composition though I hope to improve with time. With hindsight, if the star is placed on the upper left corner above the highest fence, it makes better symmetry.

What looked like behind the fence? Something like this.

Twilight at Nature Walk section of Punggol Promenade

Have a great weekend, everybody!

 

Mystical Waterfall

Waterfall at Milford Sound, New Zealand

Waterfalls are always delightful to see. This is one of my favourite waterfall photos. Milford Sound – a must-go destination in New Zealand. This is another composition of a similar picture posted earlier.

Does this scene looks like it was taken in a cave? Not quite. It was taken in broad daylight with bright sunshine in winter. Always experimenting, I switched the setting to Night Landscape and this was the result. Ghostly and mystical that’s what I hope it conveys. For comparison, pictures in its bright natural colors are in this posting – Waterfalls Galore at Milford Sound, New Zealand.

One of fun things I learn in photography – while it is good to know some of the rules, rules are meant to be broken! Have fun shooting!

 

Misty Morning

When the mist lingered, the landscape looks soft and romantic

Misty morning is a wonderful scenery to photography. A wee bit wispy, a wee bit ethereal. The layers in the distant adding more dimension to the scale. Giving this scene a soft monochrome violet look to invoke the mood. The mist doesn’t linger long. The sun rises and chases away the mist. Another time to get the misty scenery is after the rain. Another time, another place.

 

Stormy Weather

Fast moving cumulonimbus clouds over the horizon

6.30am. From the west, there was a brewing thunderstorm on the horizon moving west to south direction.

Cumulonimbus clouds with thunder and lightning

6.43am. A storm was coming. Electrifying to watch the lightning show among the storm clouds.

Storms clouds lighted during sunrise on the East horizon

7.01am. Sunrise was supposed to be at 6.59am today. Thick clouds layered the East so not a glimpse of the sun yet.

Rain clouds overlooking the highway

7.33am. The sky was looking very dark. On my way back home, a glimpse of the rain clouds. Made it just in time. The sky poured rain showers even as I am typing now.

A good rainy Saturday morning to everybody!

 

Dawn Awakening – Sunrise Anticipation

Dawn at Serangoon Reservoir

As each morning unfolds, I never know what I am going to see at dawn. Will the sun even makes an appearance? Could there be a red dawn over the horizon? Or is a lavender sky going to greet the day? It always amaze me how each dawn and each sunrise differs. I had my red dawn picture the other day. On Good Friday, storm clouds covered the sky. Today, we have a blue dawn with light hints of yellow and orange. On one day, the layers of colorful clouds will be on the east. On another day, the myriad of colors will be on another location. No two days are ever the same. It takes a while to build up a time line photos of a familiar location. Looking back, it is a lot of fun and very fascinating to see the different moods of each day.

 

Misty Beach Panorama

Panorama of Rocks at Punggol Beach

A landscape panorama of the iconic rocks at Punggol Beach. This was my first attempt for long exposure photography. Stacking the polarizer and ND filters, I was not sure it could be done. Specifications : F18, 8secs, ISO 100. The yellow tint was from the sun glowing on the sandy beach and the sea water was looking greenish on that day. The only way to do such photography is switching to Manual. I have this variable ND filter that can go from 2ND to 400ND. Handy to meter the scene at its brightest setting, then twisting the lens to its darkest angle for that misty beach scene. Endless possibility now enfolds.

 

Forest Silhouette

Plants and trees framed in silhouette. Can you spot the man in the picture?

It is blinding funny sometimes I go pass the same route hundreds of times and do not see the things right in front of my eyes. I see more possibilities now for future scenes I want to photograph. Meanwhile a prelude of what I have in mind. A forest scene in silhouette. The sunlight was so strong that I ended up using  a yellow graduated filter. When converted to black and white, I see more of the shapes of plants, trees and leaves. It so happened, a man walked by when the shutter clicked. In that pose, looked like he was doing tai chi. Or maybe that was just my overactive imagination. 😮

 

Crepuscular Rays at Dawn

Crepuscular Rays over Pulau Ubin at 6.51am Dawn before Sunrise

Crepuscular rays are sunlight that looks like torchlight beams that shine through when the sun is covered by layers of clouds or when the sun is below or above the horizon either at sunrise or sunset. Yesterday morning was the first time I saw crepuscular rays at dawn before the sunrise. They cloud layers were too thick for the light rays to be seen clearly. At 0EV, the horizon was a pastel peach and pink. The rays were only visible when the picture was underexpose. This exposure was taken at -1.3EV. Dawn is fast becoming my favourite time to photograph. Sometimes dawn turns out to be more spectacular than the sunrise. 🙂

 

Stormy Weather

Thunderstorms brewing in tropical Singapore

They say the best natural light is before or after a storm. April, May and November are the peak months for thunderstorms in Singapore. Go outdoors but beware of stormy weather that bring along thunder and lightning. Do you know that Singapore has the second highest rate of lightning strikes in the world? That is the hazard of living so near the equator.

This picture is a little dark and moody. Cumulonimbus clouds signaling an oncoming storm. I could not decide if that dark shape in the cloud is a snake, dragon, lizard or a shark? Looks like it is breathing fire on the land. Such brooding premonition.