Minimal Stillness
Simple is good and sophisticated.
Simple is good and sophisticated.
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Mar, 2015Views
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Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Member Selection Award
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken off the eastern coast of Singapore, commonly know as "Changi Point" to the locals there. I took this photo from a broad walk observation deck that overlooks the islands on the other side.Time
This photo was taken around 6pm in the evening. I had to act fast as the sun set at about 7pm, so it was slowly getting darker by the minute.Lighting
For lighting, I simply wanted to create a stark contrast between the main subject and the environment. As I was doing long-exposure, I don't really have much control over the light. I simply had to leave the shutter open longer than what I have calculated. That's to compensate as the scene was slowly getting darker.Equipment
This was shot on a Canon 550D with a 18-135mm lens. I used a 10 - stop BW Neutral Density filter and left the shutter on for 30 seconds to get the smooth effect of the water. ISO was set at 100 to minimise noise. The camera was mounted to a Sirui tripod.Inspiration
As I have always loved simplicity, my vision for this photo was to achieve one that echoes simplicity.Editing
Yes. Of course. I did brighten up the water and at the same time, I decided to make the background to be less obvious. I wanted the contrast to be strong between the main subject, the environment and the water. I also edited the subject to be slightly darker.In my camera bag
Nowadays, it's a Canon 7D Mark 2 or a Fujifilm X100T. I love carrying the Fujifilm around as it is light and highly portable. The only downside is it uses a fixed 23mm lens. On the good side, it produces really beautiful and natural tones and I don't do need to do a lot of post-processing. For the Canon, I use the 18-85mm lens. I have a Canon IR remote trigger for doing bulb exposure and also a 10 stop BW ND filter.Feedback
In terms of gear, I don't carry as much as I used to before. At the end of the day, camera is just a tool for you to express yourself, much like a paintbrush is a tool for the painter. Vision is more important. Being able to visualise in your mind what you would want to achieve from the scene and then setting up your camera to do that. That's when technical importances come into play, e.g what aperture do I use, what shutter speed do I use. For me, this process is liberating and I enjoy going through that. Take your time and don't go trigger happy. Think each shot carefully before you shoot, that would help to ensure most of your photos are well-taken and also less stuff for you to sort through in Lightroom! Once the photo is taken, post-processing is the next step to help you get to the vision that you have envisioned when you took the photo.
