singaporephotography – Mermozine-Photography Blog

Follow me to…. Marina Bay, Singapore….

Posted on 13 August 2021 by Mermozine

Once upon a time (to be more specific two weeks ago), I decided I wanted to photograph the sunrise above Marine Bay.

I got ready the day before (which is very organised for my personal standards!!):

– Camera ready ✓

– Battery charged ✓

– Memory cards ✓

– Lenses ✓

– Neutral density filters ✓

– Bottle of Water ✓

I got up very early in the morning, and here I was, at about 6:15-6:20 am setting up my gear at Garden East Bay, to witness a beautiful sunrise.

It was still so dark that I had to use a flash light to set-up properly my camera to get ready for some long exposures.

Marina Bay, Singapore © Catherine Houston/MermozinePhotography

As the sun started to rise it and the sky started to transition from the blue hour to sunrise colours it became clear that not only there was too many clouds for beautiful colours but I had chosen the wrong spot (I should have done more research online but I’m much more a trial/error kind of person…). Either way, it was too long to unpack everything and move to a better spot, so I decided to roll with it! 🙂

Once the sun all the way up, I started to walk back to the Gardens by the Bay, toward Marina Bay.

It’s quite a long walk, but worth doing! From tropical paradise…. to downtown skyscrapers…

Past the flower domes you’re about 5-10 minutes away from Marina Bay Sands (depending on how fast you’re walking). At this point you could decide to stop, get a drink and chill out, or to go all the way around the Marina Bay to see the Merlion. I went for an intermediary half way choice.

First thing to admire on the way?

The water lily ponds at the feet of the Science Museum.

Yes, this little water/nature paradise is that close to the city center!!

I finished my tour some long exposure shots of the skyline of Raffles Place – the center of the Financial District of Singapore.

And yes it was time for me to get away from the sun (as you may know I’m turning into a vampire and can’t stand under the sun from 10am to about 4pm…).

I hope you enjoyed our little walk together ;-).

Next time? Jurong Lake Gardens… Stay Tune….

Bye Bye

To schedule a photowalk / workshop or purchase a print…. follow the link below 🙂

https://www.mermozinefineart.com/

The colours of Singapore – Joo Chiat

Posted on 3 February 2020 by Mermozine

The colours of Singapore – one of my favorite photography subjects.

It’s funny but from Europe I’ve imagined Singapore as a very modern (which comes in my mind with greyish-glassyish buildings), and while it’s partly true, the Red Little Dot is so much more.

I already talked about all the beautiful green places all around the island, but another charming trait of Singapore is all the traditional colourful Peranakan shophouses all around the city. Who can see them in Little India, Emerald Hill, Chinatown, …, and of course Joo Chiat.

Joo Chiat is a small and charming neighbourhood, toward the east coast, well worth a stroll.

I arrived there early in the morning, and was welcome by singing birds on a balcony.

And of course I admire many Peranakan shophouses. All with different facades, all colourful, all full of history and charm. Here is just a few sample.

Joo Chiat © Catherine Houston

I stopped a few minutes near a very small temple, between two condos.

Joo Chiat @ Catherine Houston

And like I always do, I enjoyed walking around the back streets, taking pictures of bikes (another ones of my favorites subjects) and hunting colours in every corner.

Joo Chiat @ Catherine Houston

and hunting colours in every corner.

Joo Chiat @ Catherine Houston

What’s your favourite part of Singapore?

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Green green Singapore – Thomson Nature Park

Posted on 26 October 2019 by Mermozine

From Europe, my first thoughts of Singapore were of lots of buildings, very high skyscrapers and a modern, urban jungle… for me, a green nature person, the thought of moving there was a little scary.

But just out of the airport, I was relieved to realise how wrong I had been. Yes, there is a lot of urbanisation, but the green is everywhere, and the jungle is far from being only an urban one.

You have giant parks like the Botanical Gardens, Gardens by the Bay and MacRitchie Reservoir, but there are also plenty of smaller ones.

Today, I went for a stroll (literally, since a stroller was involved!) in a newly opened park, Thomson Nature Park, just off of Upper Thomson Road. If you have not discovered it yet, it’s the perfect place for a quiet stroll in nature (we were alone almost the whole time).

To give you a little preview of what to expect there…

– nice clean trails, lots of gorgeous lavish nature,

… monkeys

… “ruins trails” (quite fun for kids)

… beware of random falling durians… 🙂

and spoiler alert… quite an handful of hungry mosquitoes (I guess it’s the price to pay to experience a “jungle-like” hike).

Like a bird on a bench…

Posted on 4 June 20194 June 2019 by Mermozine

It was one of those (rare) days when I had no client appointment and no kid to watch after (well just a couple of hours really…), and I sat there, on my balcony, like a bird on a bench, not sure about what to do.

I wanted to go out and take pictures, but at the same time doing nothing and even just watching TV was not an unpleasant idea either.

I waited, and waited…. looking at the sky, thinking it’s probably going to rain anyway….

But I grew up in a house surrounded by a big garden, and my parents never considered highly staying inside doing nothing (although my dad would not argue as strongly about going outside when I was playing piano :-)).

So many years after my childhood I still have that little voice inside my head telling me that I should go outside.

So I waited a little more, but eventually… I took flight…

I did not go very far, just the park next door, but I took my camera with me and enjoyed walking, observing, remembering why I love photography at the first place.

Nature is beautiful but we often forget to take the time to look at it.