Making of a Photograph: Part 6 – Singapore Skyline with Merlion

This is my most favourite version of Singapore skyline with “Merlion” (a mythical creature with a lion’s head and the body of a fish), which is probably among Singapore’s best-known landmarks.

Normally, I’m a bit reluctant to come here (Merlion viewing platform) and shoot, as the place is always crowded with tourists, which makes it difficult to set up a tripod. I keep the tripod low (not fully extending legs) so that it takes less space on the ground, but I’m still scared of someone accidentally kicking the tripod leg (especially during the long exposure 😅).

This photo was shot in December 2019, then COVID hit the world soon afterward. With no tourists coming in, shooting at Merlion viewing platform became so much easier, as sometimes it was just me and one or two other locals occupying the whole place. 😅

So, while the country was closed, I came here more frequently to shoot, trying different angles, shooting vertically, etc., but at the end of the day, I couldn’t shoot anything better than this photo from December 2019. 😅

As for the technical aspect, I started the long exposure at 19:04 pm (1 minute after sunset) and extended 1/4 second of base shutter speed into 259 seconds (at f/5.6) by using a 10 stop ND filter.

It was still about 20 minutes before the end of dusk, so there wasn’t a deep blue hour hue yet appearing in the sky, but nowadays I’m also fond of this cleaner look of the pre-dusk sky. 😀

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About the Author: LASTLIGHTS.NET is a passion project of Joey J, a Singapore-based Japanese photographer primarily shooting cityscape photography with long exposure at blue hour. Visit his Home Gallery (30 most favourite photos taken) or download his free eBook, Getting Started with Long Exposure Photography.