Following from my post yesterday on
Punggol Promenade Riverside Walk, I journeyed on to Lorong Halus Wetland Reserve, formerly a landfill site but has been transformed into a wetland reserve by PUB's efforts as part of the Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters (ABC Waters) Programme.
The water lily ponds and vast piece of open grassland made this a tranquil place, ideal for just sitting back and relax. The last time I came to this place was back in 2011 on an afternoon where I drove directly here. So I pretty much know what I would expect. However this time round, it was an late evening walk and I was rather surprised with new photography subjects that I can find.
Ponds with Water Lilies
The ponds are filled with water lilies and blooming water lilies in various colors are very nice photography subjects. The water lilies are relatively close to the edge of the ponds and you can easily have a close-up picture of them with a 200mm telephoto lens.
The reflection of the lilies on the calm ponds can also give additional characters to your picture.
Dragonflies
Although there are also plentiful of dragonflies, it is slightly harder to have a close-up photography of them based on my experience. This is because they are most likely to stop-by on the lilies or grass in the ponds which will be at least 2-3 meters away from edge of the pond and the pond would be in your way that makes it hard to find the right angle/composition.
Flying Aircrafts
To my surprise in the last visit, there are low flying aircrafts that get really close (perhaps due to Paya Lebra Air Base which is nearby).
Walking Bridge that Joins Lorong Halus Wetland Reserve to Riverside Walk
If you have not entered Lorong Halus Wetland Reserve from Riverside Walk, this is your chance to walk the distinctively architected red walking bridge.
View of Sun Setting Behind Riverside Walk
As my last visit was in the late evening, I came to notice the beautiful landscape view of sun setting behind the Punggol estate over at Riverside Walk with the entire reflection in the Sungei Serangoon (Serangoon Reservoir).
I cannot help but pull up my tripod and setup my camera for bracket exposure with +/-2EV (i.e. Exposure Value). I further blend the differently exposed pictures using Photomatix software.
What is Exposure Bracketing?
When taking photographs of sunrise or sunset (or any scenes with overly bright light source), you may end up with the sky is nicely exposed but the foreground/landscape is underexposed (i.e. black),
OR the foreground/landscape is nicely exposed but the sky is totally blown (i.e. white).
So in order to have a surreal picture of both nicely exposed sky and foreground/landscape, exposure blending is required. Exposure blending is achieved by through bracket exposure in photography term i.e. taking 3 pictures - first picture at the exposure setting based on what you set, second and third picture at an exposure value higher and lower than the first picture respectively. You can access the exposure bracket setting through the menu on your DSLR.
WIth the same picture taken in 3 different exposure, you will need to blend it together using software such as Photoshop or Photomatix (which I'm using).
Safety Precautions
- Be careful not to fall into the pond with your camera when photographing dragonflies or water lilies. Always what where you step, especially along the slope into the pond.
Please visit
http://jefzlim.smugmug.com/Destinations/Singapore/Lorong-Halus-Wetland/ for more photos ...
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