WH Yeo Photography

Portfolios: Land and Seascapes

Land and Seascapes is one of my favourite subjects to photograph. The never-ending changes in light, the infinite compositions and just sitting down to appreciate the light is what pushes me on in this realm of photography where patience is the key to captivating images.

ND filters come in really handy when the skies are bland and you just need a little more drama in the shot. The rising sun lit the trunks which would otherwise have been in deep shadow. A month later, I went back to the location, only to find that the trees were gone.
   
The moon was absent and the sky was jet-black other than for the constant lightning strikes on the western horizon. This is the only shot from about 300 that has more than a single strike and had the clouds nicely lit.
   
The lightning was almost constant and hidden behind a thick layer of clouds meant that it was backlighting the bags of moisture.
     
  
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 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.
     
  
The rainbow was keeping me busy till it became too faint and I decided to head to another location. It was then I saw the setting sun had cast a spot of light on one of the rocks in the distance. A minute later, I was in position and got a couple of shots before the sun went behind the trees and the rock became indistinguishable from the rest around it.
   
Waiting for the light is part and parcel of landscape photography and while doing so, I noticed this lone tree standing out from the background trees that were of an entire different texture and colour tone. Using a stack of huge rocks as foreground allowed some good colour contrast as well.
   
It was yet another great sunset but the row of trees behind me meant I could not really shoot to the West. Thus facing East, I rockhopped and found the best foreground I could before slapping on the ND and ND grad filters and getting the long exposures.
     
  
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.
   
The noon was scorching and I was out strolling on the beach. Decided to head out to the waters to see what I could get. It all looked normal before I added a strong ND filter to slow everything down.
  
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.
     
  
It was a gorgeous morning but the sun was too high up in the sky. In these situations, I shoot in other directions. Observing the waters, I noticed the swirls and bracketed plenty of shots to get a good one .
   
I previsualised this shot while squeezed in the seat of the coach. And it was not by a stroke of luck I got the shot. Hundreds of shots were taken to ensure I had the keepers and while standing in thigh-deep waters. I had to hold onto the tripod to prevent it from toppling over when the waves came in.
   
A gloomy morning it was. The weather was one and injuring myself and the equipment was another. Fortunately, the camera was still working and the wide angle was functional. ND Grad was used to hold back the sky a little but it really was a dark and eerie morning.
     
  
Getting into position way before the light is at its best is always an aim. But in this case, we were a little late and underestimated the ground we had to cover to reach the location. Nevertheless, a few shots were in the bag and this was one of the better ones.
   
The tide was too high to head down the waters. Decided that I can maybe try something different and set the camera to monochrome with the embedded Jpeg file showing me the result. The multi-coloured gravel provided a variety of tones that was needed for them to stand out.
   
The white clouds stood out nicely from the blue sky which really is more intense than that in Singapore. A polarizer widened the gap further. As much as I am not an advocate of cropping, it worked well here. More sand or sky would have imbalanced the image.
     
  
A soft-edged ND grad was employed here as the sky and water (where the reflected sunset is) was too bright in comparison to the area near the rocks.
  
A reflection of a not really fantastic sunset sprang us into action. As the waters was coming in, they left a clear pool of water for the reflection and a long shutter speed blurred it nicely.
   
A dark cloud loomed over what would have been an amazing sunrise. It summed up my feelings as I had formatted and reused a card when I have not backedup the photos. A better workflow when travelling will need to be sorted out soon. More importantly, never back up the cards when I am totally exhausted.
     
  
The surf was splashing hard and I had to shield the camera from the spray at times. A solid ND and ND grad helped kept the contrast manageable and slowed the shutter speed as well.
   
The morning was great and soon after we were there, a group of fishermen and "fisherwomen" came down and got to their various activities. Some were digging the mud for clams while this man walked all the way out with his rods.
  
The heat would have been unbearable if not for the constant cool breeze. A strong ND filter slowed the shutter speed while a polarizer saturated the colours.
     
  
Walking back from the beach and into a forested area, a lone tree greeted me and I stood, thinking how I could make an image. A long zoom and a narrow aperture came together for this.
   
Clouds are known to be bad news for astrophotography. But in this case, I feel that what made the picture unique was the light wisps of cloud that gave a different feel from other astro images that I have.
   
The Antartic winds were blowing up and was soon a little too much for me to handle. Fortunately the light kept me going.
     
  
The softlight was working the subtle colours and the setting sun was making contrast way more manageable. A ND grad however was still used to keep the contrast range within the limits of the camera's sensor.
   
The rushing waters were "calmed down" by the use of slow shutter speeds. A fast shutter speed would have given an entirely different feel to the image.
   
The tide was coming in fast and I was getting a little paranoid given that I have just trashed a near brand new 24mm Tilt Shift lens. Waiting for that one single current to hit the rocks at the correct angle and timing my pressing of a remote put me against the odds even more. At long last, a wave came in and within seconds, I was packed up and heading back to the beach.
     
  
It pays to look up even when you are shooting towards the ground. In this case, I was doing macro when I stood up and looked up at the sky. The many small puffs of clouds had me changing lenses and slapping on a polarizer to saturate the blues.
   
The lalang was swaying constantly in the slightest breeze and it was only after close to half an hour's wait could I fire off a series of shots.
   
Shooting along the coastal areas do pose their risks. The rocks that were exposed at low tide are covered by the incoming tide and can be a hazard. Walking slow and using the tripod as a walking aid is essential.
     
  
Too slow a shutter speed and the water will be silky smooth, too fast and it will be pretty much a normal shot. I used a slower than normal speed here of about 1/20 to get a slower shutter speed whicih still rendered the currents clearer than if it was silky smooth. That gave a painterly effect to the image.
   
The sun was setting and once again, I was late after covering the street racing which unbelievably is about 30 secs walk from me. The beach by the town was amazing and everyone was packed at the racetrack, leaving me alone at the rocks which I did not mind a single bit.
   
Known as the largest shallow waterbed in the world, Baishuiyang in China was packed with tourists. I had to look for a spot and a really small spot it was that was not packed with tourists to shoot the waters.
     
  
A long exposure of 30 secs @ wide open aperture of 2.8 gave me enough time to light paint the rocks with a LED torchlight. A lot of trial and error was needed but you just need a single shot to make all the effort worthwhile.
   
The sun was setting fast and I was panting up the hill, trying to catch the light before it fades off. The cool climate helped a lot and I was still fresh when I reached the location. Composed with the tree that I had seen during a recce, slapped a ND grad on and I was ready.
   
This vast piece of land is due for construction. As I write this, excavators are digging up the grounds which is about the size of 10 football fields. What will be on it? 2 roads and plenty of houses....replacing the vegetation that is believed to be at least 5 decades old.
     
  
Shooting at seasides do provide an infinite number of photo opps but the dangers of slippery rocks is always at the back of my mind. The rocks here are terribly slippery with algae and I was nearly on all fours as I made my approach.
   
A dull sunset was what I was ready for as the huge cloud loomed over the horizon. Nevertheless, the equipment was set up and I sat waiting. Minutes passed and glimpses of orange were seen above the distant trees. Nature always has its surprises in store for us.
   
That was the question that was poised to me when I showed this image to a relative. His response was the waves looked like clouds and the rocks looked like mountain peaks....Hmmm...
     
  
The pristine beaches of East Malaysia are wonderful and in this case, the brownish waters were due to sediment that has been stirred up by the monsoon rains.
  
Long exposures have know to give that ethereal misty feel to any moving object. In this case, a high denisty ND filter was used. Midway through the exopsure, the sun burst out and splashed pools of light across the landscape....Another yearning for a second body came right then.
   
It was a trip meant for testing out the prototype 1D Mark IV but I still ended up shooting landscapes at both ends of the day. A lot of rocks were well-placed for the nice sunlighting and all I had to do was compose, select the appropriate ND grads and wait.
     
  
I have visited this vast piece of land when I was 14. I recall riding my bicycle past it but never ventured onto it. 3 years back, I decided to head down and the wildlife there was not lacking in any way. A closer look revealed weeds and grasses that could have been untouched since the 1960s. Construction however has taken over this piece of land and in a few months, this scene will be gone but for me, it will never be forgotten.
  
Rushing to my usual sunset spot, I looked up and saw these really beautiful clouds. With a polarizer to saturate the colours, I grabbed a few shots before moving on. Yes, the sunset was good but the clouds was the highlight of the day.
   
The sunrise was arriving and the group of us were searching for a suitable composition amongst the mess of rocks and pebbles. Ten minutes later, I decided to move off while everyone seemed to have found theirs. I went through the rugged terrain and came through an opening. The scene before my eyes made me paused in my tracks....it was just that awesome and I thought a Stegosaurus might appear out of nowhere.
     
  
The walk through the forested hills was one out-of-the-world experience. There were not even any birdcalls as it was still over an hour before sunrise. Getting to the location early was essential as I had not been there before and scouting out a shooting spot beforehand is needed.
   
With the camera low to the rocks, I had to wipe the saltwater off the lens so very often. The scorching sun did not help things other than giving me the worst sunburn I had in years.
   
The fires in a nearby country gave us some amazing sunsets and a host of cough and cold related illnesses. Well, we just have to make use of what we have at times and just try to make it interesting.
     
  
It was a freezing morning and I had to get a timelapse of the sunrise. With the large broadcast camera rolling and its nickel cadium batteries providing extra juice, I rushed back to get my photography gear. Upon returning to the spot, I was greeted by a flawless red strip across the eastern sky.