Recommended Locations for sunrise and sunset in Singapore

Any new photographers who like to try landscape in Singapore, here are some of my favorites.
Equipment is secondary. Just need a wide angle lens and some Grad ND filters and you are ok to go.
Just need to wake up early for the sunrise.

Sunrise recommended places.
1) East Coast Beach
2) Changi Beach Boardwalk (along the coastal walk)
3) Sembawang Park
4) Bedok Reservoir
5) Lower Seletar  Reservoir
6) Punggol and Lor Halus area
7) Marina Bay

Sunset
1) Punggol End (Jetty)
2) Labrador Park
3) Lower Pierce Reservoir


There are more places to explore. Here are some of the examples I mentioned above. Some of the places may have some changes due to redevelopment etc. I will go to the same places for a few times as each time, the sun or lighting is different. The foreground interest is important for wide angle shoots too. So going back to the same place will always yield a different photo.

Sunrise at Punggol and Lor Halus w M-Zuiko 9-18mm

After getting the used 9-18mm , I went out to shoot with the old E-p1 Pen.
The iso is set at 100 and Grad ND filter was used.

Here is the result from a $100 Pen camera. The 9-18mm (eq to 18-36mm) is great for landscape.
The E-p1 is small and easy to move. Great for shooting at difficult position.

Olympus 9-18mm m.zuiko

With a sparkling new camera Fuji Xe-1 in my arsenal, I still went ahead to further developed my m4/3 Ep1 system.
The Ep-1 is already out-date here in Singapore. Some are selling at less than $100 (singapore dollars) and a EP5 can cost almost 10times more. Ep-1 is still a great camera especially if one is still using iSo100-800. It cannot win the latest 16MP OM-d or EP-5 or EPL6 in terms of iso 1600 and above.

I am longing for a ultra wide angle lens for a while. However, looking at the current lens lineup in the Fuji X mount, I went to look for alternative lens from other mount for the wide angle area.

The Fuji 14mm f2.8 is abut 21mm in terms of Fullframe terms and cost about USD$999. The Zeiss 12mm (eql.18mm) f2.8 X mount lens cost also about USD$999. The samyang 14mm f2.8 cost about $299 USD but the size looks bulky. I do not really want to spend so much on a wide angle which is for me used only in landscape and will be mainly mounted on a tripod. A f2.8 aperture lens (which cost more)is not important for me for such application and usually for landscape shoot, I will stick to iso100-200.

Recently I saw a 9-18mm Olympus lens on sale at the 2nd hand forum. The 9-18mm is equivalent to 18-36mm f4-5.6.  I bargain and got it at abt US$250. The review on this lens is so far positive and I will test it out soon. It will be mounted to my EP-1 Olympus for landscape shooting. I will use my XE-1 w 18-55mm and 55-200mm for general shooting and low light handheld shoots.

Fuji X 18-55mm shooting in Sembawang Park

This park is located at the North of Singapore. It is a more quiet park compared to the rest of parks in Singapore. I did a 40min drive from my home in the early hours to catch the first light of the day. I went around searching for a good point to set up my gear. Scout around with a small torch in the wee hours and finally found a spot with some abandoned rock structures. I set up, test a few shots and confirmed my camera setting. From there I pray for good lighting to appear. Not always the light are good and if it a cloudy day, the red glow will not be there. If there is any magic light, be ready to shoot as soon as possible. This period of magic lighting last only about 3-5mins. Early preparation before any shoot is important too,

Gear used - Fuji Xe-1 w 18-55mm with ND filters. Mount on a tripod.

Wolf Spider

This species of spider can be found on the ground level and the web are build on the grasses.
Shot by Xe-1 fuji and 55-200mm with Raynox 250.