WH Yeo Photography

Portfolios: Covers

The page about the monthly Covers of the homepage. The chosen images are usually the best of a bunch.

Photo for January 2012: Steps to Greater Heights.The morning sun had gone through the thick patch of cloud above the horizon and was getting a little harsh. Moving down the beach where the tide was still a distance away, I followed the narrow but fast waterflow from inland. The curves made me pause in my path as the waters continue to rush past my feet. Getting low down to the ground, I found the "steps" and fired off. Reviewing the image on the LCD, I noticed something bluish in the background behind one of the rocks. I looked up and saw a huge 5 gallon plastic jerry can bobbing in and out. Huffing and puffing, I lugged the jerry can up the beach. One was to get it out of the frame and secondly, I do that to clear the beach of any man-made objects that can cause harm to the inhabitants of the ocean. Canon EOS 5D Mark II w/ Canon 16-35 II, processed in Aperture, Silver Efex Pro 2 and Photoshop.
   
Photo for December 2011: Morning Greetings.This image illustrates the importance of having 2 working cameras, one mounted with a wide angle and the other with a telephoto. In this case, the 2 cameras were 5D Mark IIs and the lenses were a Canon 24-105 IS and the Canon 70-300 IS L.The mist was making the light interesting and walking down the road, the 4 horses came together. It was a split second moment as one of them turned away almost immediately. If I had only a wide angle, this image would definitely not come to fruition. Changing lenses while the scene unfolds seems as difficult as writing with the other hand and frustration will no doubt set in.Shot with the 70-300 IS L and processed in Aperture and Photoshop.
   
Photo for November 2011: Clouds from Heaven and EarthThe morning was chilly and the wait for the sun to hit the peaks was futile. Nevertheless, a ND filter allowed a slow shutter speed while multiple exposures blended together managed the wide exposure range.
     
  
Photo for October 2011: The Hanger.Many of us travel far and out to locations and really neglect what we can shoot near home. On this morning, I decided to head to a location I have not been to for more than half a year to hopefully re-ignite my passion for local subjects.The clouds were absent and the sky was bland. There was however not much wind at all and I turned to "macro mode". Seeing a red ball over the horizon, I proceeded to duckwalk among the low-lying weeds and chanced upon this spider hanging on its home that had lasted through the night.As you might have guessed, lining up the 180 macro lens with the sun in the background is the toughest but once that was done, the task of shooting quickly was on hand as in less than a minute, the red ball will become brighter and move higher up in the frame. Shooting with a wide aperture throws the star nicely out of focus while Liveview was a tremendous aid in ensuring the spider was kept in good focus.5D Mark II, Canon 180 Macro. Processed in Aperture.
   
Photo for September 2011: Battered Shelter.The sunrise was over but the light was still soft and was definitely not the harsh noon light we equatorial shooters are accustomed to.Walking around, I chanced upon this lone shell on the sand and the receding tide was still reaching it every few seconds. Off came the ND grad and on went the ND filter. I need a slow shutter speed but not one that was so slow to blur out the foamy waters too much.It was pretty much all about timing after setting up and with each passing minute, the chances of the waters rushing up were getting slimmer with the lowering tide. Fortunately, the lactic acid generated from the extending squatting was well worth it as the wave came up and I got the moment.Canon 5D Mark II, Carl Zeiss 28-85, processed in Aperture with Silver Efx as plug-in.
   
Photo for August 2011: The Final Hour.The closure of the railway system in mainland Singapore sparked a frenzy amongst the people. Everyone rushed to catch a glimpse of the tracks before the demoltion takes place. The last day of July spelt the final day the tracks will be open to the public. Walking some distance all alone at night, there was surprisingly not a soul around. It was in total contrast from the crowds seen in the day. Reaching the railway bridge that was about 5 metres from the ground, I felt alone and enclosed within the confines of the century-old metal structure. It was a surreal feel to be witnessing the final moments of something that almost everyone has always taken for granted.With a 17mm TSE (Tilt-shift) lens, I was able to do a 3-image vertical panorama from the tracks to the tip of the bridge. The white dots in the sky are short star trails resulting from the 2 minute long exposure.Canon 5D Mark II, 17mm TSE, processed in Aperture and Photoshop.
     
  
Photo for July 2011:The Last Shadow.As the last train arriving into Singapore departed the station, I held the lens tightly against the holes in the fence and used a very high ISO to allow as fast a shutter speed as possible. Once again, Image Stabilization proved to be a godsend and a shutter speed of 1/4 second @ f/4.5 with a focal length of 70mm, I was getting sharp frames off the newly-purchased Canon 70-300 IS L. It was a lens that served me well during my quest to capture the final images of the KTM trains at the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. From 1st July onwards, the century old train service will no longer be heard churning away across the island. Scenes and sounds that I once took for granted will cease and never will this scene be repeated.5D Mark II and Canon 70-300 IS L. Processed in Aperture.
   
Photo for June 2011: Clinging On.The Reef Stars were located after I decided to take the risk and head out far from the beach. Rock-hopping brought me to the edge of the waters and there in the midst of the surf were the Reef Stars. Despite the pounding waves that threatened to wash off my tripod, the Reef Stars hung onto the rocks with seemingly very little, if any effort. 5D Mark II and Canon 16-35. Processed in Aperture.
   
Photo for May 2011: Oceanic Swirls, New ZealandThe climb to the rocks was a trecherous one but the 2-storey high waves were too tempting and I just had to get there before the sun sets. What greeted me was an awesome sight of giant Kelp washed around by the pounding waves. What was more of a surprise was the quiet beach water just a few hundred metres away. At this bay, it was the exact opposite. Taken with a "drenched" 5D Mark II and 24 TSE II. Processed in Aperture.
     
  
Photo for April 2011: SingaporeI was staring out the studio's window when I noticed the cars exiting the carpark. A couple of shots later, I was still unlucky in my timing and at long last, patience partnered luck and the last take got me this. A perfect silver-coloured car came by and I knew right away that the final image will make a great monochromatic image. The Edit function in Camera+ brought up the Ansel effect and a few seconds later, the image was saved and ready for viewing in the Camera Roll. Could I have done the same thing with Photoshop? Sure I could but that would require me to download the image, open up Photoshop, set the Curves and Channel Mixer and resave it and load it back into the iPhone.
  
Photo for March 2011: IndiaMy last cover image from India. This was one of the keepers that really caught my eye when I was editing. Shooting at one of the Seven Wonders of the world was not an easy task. We had to apply for a permit to get our tripods in, get our bags searched and were in the end not allowed to use the support equipment on the Palace grounds. Yes, the tripods were only allowed outside the Palace where you will not really see anything worthwhile. By the time we had our bags checked, a thousand people were already in the palace. So much for being 2nd in the queue at 5 in the freezing morning.Once inside, a guide approached me and brought me around. Bringing me to some common angles, I gestured to him stating that I did not want this common angles where I saw the thousand people who got in earlier than me. He said ok and asked me to speed up. Armed with 2 bodies (17 TSE and 16-35 wide angle), we made our way through various spots. He would stop and say HERE. I would look up and see an unconventional view of the granduer ahead. AT times, I would shake my head and we would move on. We got into the Mosque and I tapped him on the shoulder and we stopped. I saw this image and slowly placed the tripod down while he acted as the pair of eyes on the back my head. 3 shot HDR and I was done.The cost for his services? USD20 and it was only later on then I realised I paid way too much. But the images were in the bag and I was in high spirits the rest of the day.Gear: 5D Mark II, 17 TSE, Sirui tripod and Kirk BH-3.Post-processing software: Aperture, Photomatix Pro and Photoshop CS4.
   
Photo for February 2011: India- Yes, it is the same location as the Photo for January. India was just such an awesome place that I really enjoyed my time there. Shooting on tripods was a big issue at plenty of attractions but since this was along a roadside, there was no fear of someone asking me for a permit.2 timings were crucial here. The timing for which the sun will burst out from the sky but was still not the bright white spot it will in a while and the second is the timing where I capture the image. As expected, many frames were shot and this one caught my eye as the motion blur was just perfect (not just the shutter speed at work here but the speed of your subject as well) and the position of the subject was also the better one among the lot.An ND grad was used to cut the exposure from the eastern sky and cropped to a more squarish format. And yes, that was planned when I was composing the shot.
     
  
Photo for January 2011: India- The morning air was fresh and crisp. The mood was a little dampened however, after I was stopped by a guard from tripod usage outside the Gatewayof India. Nonetheless, I had a few shots in the pocket and moved out of the secured area.The rising sun was starting to make the contrast working against me and shooting towards the orange ball of fire meant that flare will have to be dealt with. Walking down the pavement, I discovered that a lamppost could be used as a flag i.e. block the sun from my setup. That solved 2 problems: no flare and no distracting hotspot in the image. Slapped on a 2 stop soft Nd grad and a 3 stop hard Nd grad and all that was left was waiting for the right moement. A women in traditional Indian sari came in from the right and I timed my exposure for her to be when I pre-visualized the image 3 minutes before. A blessed and safe 2011 to everyone out there.
  
Photo for December: Malaysia- This photo was missed by my initial round of edits. That's one more reason why one should go through the folder after a couple of months from the first edit and you may be surprised with what you may discover. The beautiful, almost surreal looking waves in this image made it a keeper for me. On a second look, it somehow resembles a frock from the ancient times.Using just the Adjustments tab in Aperture 3, I brought the flat-looking RAW file to what I vividly recalled seeing that evening.
   
Photo for November: Malaysia- A hectic 2 months it has been and managed to squeeze in some time for a short trip up north. Shot during high tide which is not the norm, the waters were coming in really fast and I was constantly moving back to prevent the tripod from sinking into the sand. A ND grad and ND filter was used to both control contrast and slow down the shutter speed.
     
  
Photo for October: Malaysia- Sunset was still a few hours away and shooting into it right now will mean all sorts of flare and contrast issues. I turned to the left and saw some fast moving clouds. Needed something static in the frame and saw this lone bare tree. Slapped on a 10 stop ND filter and the shutter speed slowed to give motion to the clouds.
   
Photo for September: Singapore- It was a shock win for USA's Maxamillian Schneider as North Korea's Hyon Song Chol saw his chance of a Gold Medal at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games held in Singapore fade away.
   
Photo for August: Singapore- Getting the golden opportunity to be withn 3 feet from members of the group, TAO was not an everyday thing. Coupled with the extremely challenging lighting situations that made exposing each frame an arduous task, I had to adapt. This frame would not have been possible if I was way back with the audience. Bysquatting below the stage floor, I got the single spotlight illuminating the solo artist beating the drums to a hynotizing beat. Shutter speed was slow and the ISO was bumped up to achieve a usable handholding speed.
     
  
Photo for July, MalaysiaWhile waiting for the light by the crashing waves and the monstrous rocks, I came upon this scene a distance away. The bare tree did not catch my attention the previous trip as it was bare and the background was pretty messed up. This time round, instead of passing by it, I stood a little longer and visualized how it would look with a longer lens. It took on a different feel immediately and I got the 80-200 on the tripod and slapped a polarizer to saturate the colours. Everything is seldom perfect and in this case, the cool strong wind threatened the stability of my tripod a little.
  
Photo for June: Malaysia- The waters were coming in and the tide was rising. There was a constant need to pull my bag to prevent it from getting soaked. The tripod was also sinking into the soft sand now and then and because of that, I had to shoot a lot more than I have to normally. Each time the waves came by, the tripod will vibrate just that tiny bit and ruin the exposure. It was thus a neccesity to try and contain the contrasty scene within a single shot and that is when my neutral density graduated filters play a vital part. I am not a die-hard filter fanatic and will use HDR when the scene allows me to but in this case, chances of shooting for HDR was minute and with the fast fading light, choosing the conventional method worked better.
   
Photo for May: Malaysia- Stuffed at the races during the weekends meant that I could only get out to my usual coastal locations in the early part of the week. It's all worth the 4 hour journey that transforms both the scenery and my mode of thinking. The concrete jungle disappears and petrol-wasting fast cars are no longer an irritant. I feel at peace at this locations and that explains the number of trips I have made there. In fact, I do not banish the thinking that someday,I will move there and just stay out for the duration of my visa. That will be an awesome experience.