Forest City, Second Link & Lighthouse @ Raffles Marina Yacht Club
Dubbed as one of the best spots to watch beautiful sunset in Singapore, from the pier at Raffles Marina Yacht Club, the panoramic view of a number of iconic structures standing against the radiant evening sky can be enjoyed without blockage. These structures are namely Tuas Second Link, Forest City Johor and Raffles Marina Lighthouse. The pier is 2-3 minutes walking distance from Tuas Link MRT station, the last stop of the East-West MRT Line at the western end of the island. It is open to the public.
Challenges:
Both
the Second Link and the Forest City are clearly visible, but appear far away and therefore look tiny from the pier at the Raffles Marina Yacht Club. Equipped with only a
16-35mm camera lens on hand and limited by accessibility (some zones are fenced-off for security reasons), thus making them stand out and look
prominent from their surrounding bare open space become a challenge. And telling their story via photography from a unique angle is another
one.
Thought Process:
Forest City Johor:
This is an unusual perspective of the Forest City as it looks tiny, dense and compacted from this angle. It connotes as a “hidden treasured city” floating in the vast ocean, with fleets of cargo ships traversing its port and rows and rows of heavy lifting cranes lining up its harbor. It reminds me of “the invisible city” told by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan in the book bearing the same title.
Since it looks tiny from this angle, I adopt the technique of “layering composition” to lead the eyes towards it. I choose a deserted pier to function as both the “leading line” and the “foreground” of my composition. I place it diagonally against the horizon, thus adding visual tension to the otherwise horizontal setting. I then build up the visual drama by contrasting the brightness of the sun and the radiant sky near the horizon, against the darkness of the silhouette of the Forest City.
The
Forest City is depicted here as a "mystic city" coming from nowhere – like a
mirage in the ocean.
Tuas Second Link:
I envisage that the “right moment” will come, when the afternoon sun will cast a radiant glow on the bridge, making it shines brighter than the surrounding environment, thereby accentuate its presence more prominently. I also observe that the sea is not calm enough to produce a reflection of the bridge in the water, I therefore decide to take a long exposure shot. This is to smoothen the cloud and the sea, thus providing a soft atmospheric background to showcase the bridge.
The key composition techiques adopted here are “framing”, “depth of field” and “light accentuation”, all are aiming to make the bridge stand out from its surrounding environment.
In this picture, the full length of the bridge is shown shining in radiant light in a calm and serene evening setting. Although more than 20 years has passed since its first open for traffic in 1998, the bridge still looks robust and strong – it looks like its best moment has yet to come.
Raffles Marina Lighthouse:
Unlike the Second Link and Forest City, Raffles Marina Lighthouse is reachable at close distance. However, there are many visitors taking selfie in front of it, of which I have to avoid. My interest is to tell a story of the lighthouse that sets against the backdrop of the bridge, where the presence of the formal is complementary to that of the latter – like a tale of two iconic structures facing each onthers on opposite shores.
I choose to create a “vista composition” to tell the story. A vista is formed by using the blue hand rail in the foreground as the “leading line” to guide the eyes towards the lighthouse on the left and the bridge at the far end. I conceive the lighthouse to be the “vertical highlight”, and that of the bridge, the “horizontal focus point” in the composition – they juxtapose with one another across the Straits of Johor.
In
this picture, the juxtaposition between the lighthouse and the bridge has created a visual dialogue - which makes their combined presence felt more meaningfully than they can do it singularly.
Background:
Tuas Second Link is a bridge
connecting Singapore and Johor, Malaysia. The bridge was built to reduce the
traffic congestion at the Johor-Singapore Causeway and was opened to traffic on
2 January 1998.
Forest City Johor is an integrated residential development and private town located in Iskander Puteri, Johor, Malaysia on a man-made island of 1370 hectares. First announced in 2006 as a twenty-year project.
Raffles Marina Lighthouse overlooks the bridge and the floating city. It is 12-metres
high and it flashes every 10 seconds with a beam that reaches 15 metres. Built
in 1994, this is the only lighthouse in Singapore that is owned and maintained
privately.
JS 。 Photograhphy
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