I grew up in Seremban, and I never really take notice of all the details around my hometown until I view it thru the lens.

I took this photo way back in 2007. Convert it to B&W using GIMP, via channel mixing.

Love it!

It’s a shame that buildings with historical value are not well maintained.

We seemed to take things for granted with the everyday things we see. We never bothered to take note of those little details which surrounds us.

I took a walk around town one Saturday morning trying to capture a bit of the city. What I discovered is a place full of contrast and vibrant.

Back in May, I was in Singapore for a business trip. Manage to meet up with EP (a buddy of mine since university days) for a photo session in the evening. Just like the throng of tourist in Singapore, everybody wants a shot of the Merlion.

I took the following shot with my Tammy 17-50mm F2.8 lens. The interesting thing about this shot is, I have to balance the exposure for both the background and the foreground. I wanted to maintain enough lighting and sharpness for the background, while maintaining a sense of motion for the flowing water. This typically calls for a long exposure shot, but the tricky part is making sure the Merlion wasn’t overexposed.

I set the camera at F6.3 with a shutter speed of 6 seconds, tripod mounted. ISO is at 100 to minimize noise. While adjusting for the perfect view, I literally place my index finger over the lens, making sure it covered just the Merlion. When I fire the shot, I maintained my index finger at the position for about 4 seconds before moving my finger away.

The background was fully exposed for 6 seconds, while the Merlion was only exposed for about 2 seconds. The result? An almost perfect exposure, with the texture on the Merlion still visible.

The approach is pretty straightforward. Two layers were created from one single RAW file, with each layers having their levels adjusted to the required exposure. I’ve kept the bottom layer at the original exposure settings, while the top layer was adjusted to a much darker tone, with the intention of revealing a stronger skylight. As I’m working with RAW file, I was able to reveal the rolling clouds, which of course gives an extra punch to the image!

The top layer was then masked, and the mask over the dunes were later erased to reveal the original exposure. Both layers were then flattened and converted into Jpeg.

Original Raw file

I’ve always been amazed by macro shots. Simple things in life that we usually take for granted, are revealed in superb details, such as the thin veins on the orchid petals which are visible in this shot.

The built quality is obviously non comparable with its Canon equivalent (EF 100mm F2.8 USM Macro). But with the price I’m paying (RM1360), I’d say it’s still pretty decent – lightweight, compact and a non burden to carry around. The lens extends quite significantly during focusing, so it can be quite a hassle when focusing on shorter distance, as it may bump into the subject. As the front element is deeply recessed, so there’s really no point in using a filter or a lens hood, as the front glass is very well protected (cleaning is a bit tougher though).

I have yet to fully explore the capability of this lens, but based on the few test shots that I’ve taken so far, image quality is really sharp. I have absolutely no complains on that. Do check out my flikr site for more photos taken with this lens. The lens is ship with a padded lens pouch together with a lens hood (which is basically useless).

My next assignment – a DIY light tent. That should keep me occupied during the weekend.