Garden Living

One of many common scenes on this island of Singapore. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

The sky was just a patch of white despite the exposure having been biased 1-1/3 stops darker. So highlights were pulled back in post to see a little of the rain clouds that were actually there.

Line Dance For Birds

Caribbean Flamingos lining up for a dance with others egging them on in the former Jurong Bird Park. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

ISO had been pushed up to 400 for this shot and details expectedly took a hit. It was a 1/2-inch sensor kit. The shutter speed for this was already just 1/125 second. And it would’ve been slower if this had been shot at base ISO and would’ve otherwise ended up with motion blur.

Fruits In Their Season

Trees bearing ‘fruits’ in their season on Sentosa Island. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

The lens flared quite badly here on the left of the frame. The “Auto haze removal” tool was used to fix the issue in post.

Outdoor Arts

Esplanade Outdoor Theatre by the bay livening up at dusk. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

With a shutter speed of only 0.8 second, the camera was placed on a roof parapet to get the shot. And as the original background had looked rather busy, it was locally darkened and toned down in post.

Life On The Water

An elderly boatman doing some repairs on his boat in the eastern part of the island. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

There wasn’t any exposure compensation applied at the time of capture so the white cabin of the boatman’s boat had originally appeared almost washed-out.

Pulling back the highlights in post had recovered details such as peeling paint and rust on the said cabin. Dark and mid-tones of the boats around the elderly boatman were then darkened and toned down.

The Emperor Package

An emperor tamarin enjoying a spa provided by its room mates in the local zoo. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

A couple of distracting leaves bathed in sunlight prompted the conversion of the image into monochrome in post. Not only were those leaves ‘burned’ away, the two attending tamarins, except for the eyes of one which had need to be brightened a tad, were also darkened to tone them down.

Solace In The Darkness

“Eastern cowboys” by Timor Leste craftsmen on a night journey in a wilder part of the conservatory. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

This was taken with the exposure biased darker by 1/3 stop despite the original bright background so as to keep the carving details on the sculptures. Much work was then done in post to ‘burn’ out the background and surrounding distracting foliage which inadvertently had turned it into a night shot.

Times Of Difficulty

Ominous clouds gathering over the Riau Islands in 2018. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Details weren’t that great as this was taken with a small sensor bridge camera. I had chosen reach over sensor size for the trip.

Missus Eva

Bougainvillea ‘Mrs Eva’ blooming profusely in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

Beckoning Benches

Benches in a World Heritage garden enticing visitors to enjoy a nice afternoon with them. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

My copy of the lens flared quite badly due to fungi. The area especially with the sky in the frame had need to be fixed in post. This was done lazily with the ‘auto haze removal’ tool. It seemed to do the job.

A Theology Of Faces

Face mask lanterns adorning a pastry shop in Chinatown. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Blooming In The Shadows

African daisies sprouting up in the conservatory. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

These daisies were taken against a tribal shield backdrop under the shade of a tree with the exposure biased 1-1/3 stops darker.