This week, I decided to try my best at improving my night photography. But why pictures of Singapore? Well, having arrived at 9 p.m. with less than 24 hours to explore the city, I didn’t really have time to do anything other than wander around the streets at night. We flew Singapore Airlines (which, yes, was every bit luxurious as I’d heard), though I know Emirates does have daily flights to Singapore City as well. My two traveling companions, Bill and Josephine, were amazing–though they were both visibly exhausted, having traipsed around the perimeter of Malaysia for nine days, they let me, the young person, sweep them out of the hotel, find a local hakka stall to get some late-night Indian food, drag them through the nightlife at Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, take a journey on the immaculate subway, stroll along the breezy riverfront, ride the elevator up to the very top of the very swanky and wonderfully infamous Marina Bay Sands Hotel, watch me have a cocktail while they both sipped on lemonade, and join me on the long taxi ride back to our hotel. And, though I know they were up to the challenge partially because they had both taken me under their wing during the trip and wanted me to have company on my evening sojourn in a totally foreign city, I think they, too, had a pretty good time partying in Singapore City. As you’ll see in a minute, there’s no doubt I did!
So this week, I got to work with editing my night shots from our whirlwind city tour. Luckily, some of the places we went had some excellent ambient light and some beautiful backdrops. My cityscape scenes, however, leave little to be desired, as I didn’t bring a tripod and my best efforts at standing still weren’t exactly stellar. But, I’m here to show you the process, so let’s revel in the good, the bad, and the ugly, shall we?
Top contenders for this week:
So, what would YOU do in Singapore if you had 12 hours? (And which picture do you like best?)
Love,
Kristin, novice shutterbug maven
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(By the way, I LOVE Julieanne Kost’s Lightroom How-To Videos!!) If you’re learning along with me, here’s what I used to import my images from my external hard drive without actually downloading all of them to my desktop’s hard drive:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/lightroom/using/WS427A4C94-2499-456d-8E17-AE09D3316A03.html
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-5/lightroom-5-exporting-images
Are you shooting in RAW or JPG? If you shoot in RAW you can do a lot more with your photos afterwards because there’s a lot more data (JPG compresses the data). I love seeing your photos! Those noodles with the egg on top look amazing!
Hi Wendy!
I’m still shooting in JPG–how can I switch to shooting in RAW? And is there anything else about RAW data that’s important to know? (I love your advice!)
And yes, the noodles WERE amazing…mmmm….
Kristin 🙂
Great pics!
Thank you, Lydia!!
You covered all of that ground in 12 hours? AMAZING! I especially like the night photos of the city and harbor (it is a harbor isn’t it?). You definitely should pick-up a small tri-pod – even a table-top unit – that you can stick in your bag. It will help with the clarity. And, maybe one of those trigger devices that you attach to the shutter so you won’t jiggle the camera. Also, I’d like to see the name of that hakka stall since it was colorful. Maybe a close-up of that one table with the people smiling and enjoying their food. Last, I noticed that some pictures seemed dark. How can that be helped when you’re taking shots on the fly? Maybe someone can shed some light (no pun intended) on this?
Yes, a tiny tripod is definitely next on my list! And I know what you mean about some of them turning up dark (with the light from signs and streetlights too bright–like the hakka stall pic). I’d love someone to “shed some light” on this, haha!
Dad, you’re the best 🙂
Kristin
What camera do you have? Once I know, I’ll send you some info to show you how to find it and some articles that helped me get started with a DSLR.
W
Just saw it in your last post! I’ll send you an email with some info!
W
Ooo thank you, Wendy! Yes, I’m shooting with a Nikon 3200 right now 🙂 🙂
You’re the best! Can’t wait to see what you send me!
Kristin 🙂