Spring Splendour

Spring Splendour
Although we do not have the four seasons here in Singapore (it’s either rain or shine here, with the weather humid throughout the whole year :P), the splendour of spring seems to be in full swing currently at the Botanical Gardens, at least by the Symphony Lake. After my initial visit 2 weeks ago, my repeat visit over the weekend saw the pond filled full of water hyacinths and lotus blooms. I managed to find this particular lotus flower isolated nicely by the morning light. Using partial metering on the flower, the rest of the background was thrown into a nice rich and dark green, emphasizing the flower as the main subject in the frame.

More Ducks This Way

More Ducks This Way
These two ducks were having a comfortable time resting on the sign in the middle of the Symphony Lake at the Botanical Gardens. I was wondering how to capture the humour of the scene as cleanly as possible — there were just too many distracting subjects (kids running around, trees, pavements) in the background. Adopting a low angle may have helped a little (as Dad was pointing out to the group of students with us). I took another solution: I incorporated the path in the distance with an isolated group of passers-by to tell a funny story instead. The ducks were made the main focus of the story by keeping them sharp relative to the rest of the picture.

Frozen In Tranquility

Green Valley Lake
Another trip to the Botanical Gardens yesterday (with Dad and a group of junior college students) yielded some new pictures. This is the first of another series from the Botanical Gardens. The saturation and contrast has been boosted up significantly to get this final effect. Can anyone suggest a better title for this? I can’t seem to come up with a nice caption today…