Moods of Autumn Photo Shoot
I decided to bring my new Canon 5D MkII out for a test photo shoot the other weekend, with some encouraging results in the autumn light. I used the 24-105mm which normally comes as part of the kit. It was basically a nice stroll along the canal just outside our apartment in Rodley – I even got some tips from bypassers, but no good tips this time unfortunately.
The leaves hadn’t all turned yellow yet, but I did still capture some nice autumn photos, including some nice fresh and dried out plants/flowers and some swans. Hopefully these photos will start bringing out the moods of autumn and I’ll try to get some more whilst the leaves are still on the trees.
Swans in Rodley, not far from our apartment. There's another swan behind and they're both having a nice autumn clean (although arguably swans spend much of their time on self grooming). 105mm, Aperture: F4.0, Shutter: 1/250s, ISO: 100
I managed to get a nice bokeh with this flower photo, and you can see the water dripping off the petal... nice! 105mm, Aperture: F6.3, Shutter: 1/100s, ISO: 200
I captured this little furry bee as he was trying to collect whatever was left of pollen before all the flowers die for the winter season. you can see it's so old that its hair has gone grey, just like with humans (or it could be pollen, who knows!). 105mm, Aperture: F8.0, Shutter: 1/100s, ISO: 320
Just like the bee, these plants are growing old and are enjoying the last of the sun before the frost comes and kills them off completely (arguably these plants are already dead). 105mm, Aperture: F14, Shutter: 1/160s, ISO: 100
As you can see from the last photo it was a great day to take pictures outside our apartment in Rodley, along the canal. If you like these photos you should also check out the other photos from this photo shoot
Pulau Ubin Photos
Finally got around to uploading the photos from my Pulau Ubin trip with the missus’ cousin Eddie in Singapore. Although we wished for low tide, we still managed to capture some nice photos at Pulau Ubin, the only place in Singapore where you really can get away from the city! I used my Canon 400D as usual with my 24-105mm lens.
We saw a few of these huge spiders which are poisonous. You need to be very careful that you don't walk into them... but you're alright as long as you stick to the road. Focal Length: 102mm, Aperture: F4, Shutter: 1/100s, ISO: 400
I wouldn’t have spotte any of these animals and insects had it not been for Eddie’s observation skills. We could have caught shots of wild boars as well, but apparently it wasn’t always a good idea to come face to face with them… The instruction was… RUN!
We captured a few colourful crabs coming out of hiding to gather food. I like this photo because of the crab's (or crabette) strong colours which makes it stand out even though it's very small. Focal Length: 105mm, Aperture: F5.6, Shutter: 1/125s, ISO: 200
I figured I’d make this next spider photo extra large to scare you… booh! It was really great to get so close to the spiders.
This spider "portrait" photo was taken with flash, which is what gives the harsh light with dark background. Intimidating or yucky? Depends on your preference. Focal Length: 105mm, Aperture: F7.1, Shutter: 1/320s, ISO: 200
No trip in the jungle without photos of monkeys. There was a gang of about 10 monkeys, big and small, roaming the dirt roads and scavenging the bins for food. That’s what happens when you mix monkeys with tourists! You can also check out my Long Tail Macaque monkey photos and Orang Utan photos from our Borneo trip in 2009.
We caught this monkey and its gang red handed scavenging the bins for food at Pulau Ubin. I selected this photo as it had the most personality. Focal Length: 105mm, Aperture: F4, Shutter: 1/160s, ISO: 800
On the way back we captured this little cricket crossing the road. Fortunately it stood still long enough for us to take a nice cricket photo.
This cricket photo was captured on the way back to the boat which would take us home to Singapore "main land". Focal Length: 105mm, Aperture: F4, Shutter: 1/125s, ISO: 400
It was a great trip and we captured some nice photos at Pulau Ubin. Definitely going back another time! These photos are just a selection. You can find the rest at tol.smugmug.com.
Christmas Photos
How about a few macro-licious christmas photos? Here are a few that I took using my make-shift macro studio, and they don’t look to bad eh? To get the maximum picture depth I’ve used F22 aperture with my 50mm portrait lens.
As you saw in my previous post about the header, the photo below is of two “nisses”, Norwegian leprechauns. They were a Christmas present from last year.
Two "nisses" with hearts in their hands
In this case blue really works well on blue and I managed to get what I think are really nice colours after a bit of experimentation. Again these are Christmas presents that have their own little place on our living room shelf.
Singing Angels
Would you believe it, another angel. This time made of glass. I’ve tried to use the classic composition, with the angel roughly being positioned in the cross at the bottom right (although I think it’s slightly off).
A Glass Angel
Ok, they’re not angels or Santa Claus, and they don’t really have anything to do in a Christmas themed post. But hey, who’s discriminating? Not me. They were on my shelf and were a nice potential photo subject, so why not? Only problem is their hair is too shiny so you can see the macro studio walls – must be that Pantene Pro-V…
Chinese Ladies
I think that sums up all the Christmas decorations we have in our apartment. That said, after coming back from Norway next year I’d expect there to be some more on the shelf, so watch this space! And apologies for not cleaning the polystyrene properly if you did happen to notice. These photos can also be found in my TOL Photography Gallery
