URBAN GLAZE by JonathanDanker

Jubilee Bridge with Singapore skyscrapers in the background

So I’m happy to say I’m the owner of a Canon 24mm TS-E mk 2. I was quite apprehensive to purchase this lens as it cost quite abit of money. Plus I already had an 1.4X extender for the 17mm TS-E which would make it a similar focal length.

But you just can’t say no to having one of your dream lenses right? So, I dug deep into my pockets and placed that money on the table of Cathay photo. Even after purchasing.. I was still a little disheartened that I had spent so much…

BUT…

On the first image I took with the lens, I was just amazed.. like seriously amazed at the optical quality.. I do have quite a bit of L lenses but none of them have hit this level of sharpness.

The final blow of wonder was when I had uploaded what I took tonight into the computer for some 100% pixel peeping..

The crispness of the output was just staggering.. I could see every detail so defined. It does make me wonder how this lens would perform on a 5dsr… but unfortunately.. that is not financially viable for me.

So… at the end of the day.. I have no regrets getting this lens and I’m just a little sad that all my other lenses are not of this quality.

About the image.. For anyone that has tried to shoot this bridge on a Friday night (or any other night for the matter) … It’s just utter hopelessness that you’d be able to get it without anyone in it.. So I did a little photoshop magic and did a smart object median stack from the 16 exposures I took over half an hour and got a reasonably empty bridge with just a little bit of ghosting.

Combined with the slight drizzle, the shine of the bridge is quite a special addition to what is now becoming a postcard image of Singapore.

I hope you like the image and if my description is a mess please forgive me as I do not pen down my thoughts that often. Thanks for viewing and have a great weekend!

Canon 5d Mk 3 | Canon 24mm TS-E f3.5L | ISO 160 | f 11.0 | focal length 24mm (3 exposure digital blend with 16 frames for median stacking to remove excessive crowds.)

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© Jonathan Danker
My images are posted here for your enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. Please contact me @ jonathan@anselmedia.com if you are interested in using one of my images for any reason.

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Shanghai Morning by yu-ruwen

Shanghai Morning

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Electric Beijing II by JulienFolcher

My first successful attempt at lightning photography. This a composition I’m very familiar with, it is shot from my apartment window, I shot it countless times, I often use it to try out new gear and techniques and it’s a nice view of Beijing CBD, that’s why I picked this apartment. This allowed me to concentrate only on the technical aspect.

There was several previous failed attempts for this photo. Missed the lightning, blew out the highlights, lightning happening outside of the frame, there is so many ways to fail this.

Last week a big thunderstorm hit the city so I gave another try, not hopping for much given my previous experiments. I guess the experience gathered from the previous attempts was enough to avoid the easy mistakes and get something usable in lightroom. Had my camera sticking out the window on a tripod taped to the balustrade (some home made engineering right here) for something like 20 minutes, taking consecutive 50 sec exposures before the rain got too intense and ruin my not weather sealed camera.

This image is a stack of 3 x 50sec exposures featuring a lightning bolt. I think the fact that I was at f22 protected the highlights while giving me long enough exposure to increase my chances of getting a lightning bolt in the frame. The 3 exposure were stacked in Photoshop using the “maximum” mode.

Hope like it.
Please view on black background (H)

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Electric Beijing by JulienFolcher

It’s raining today, so I decided to revisit some old raw files I haven’t developed… I took this as an editing exercise. On the last 3 images I uploaded here (this one included) I am trying to not use the clarity slider in Lightroom , I tend to dislike the “HDR” look it gives to the images more and more, especially the dark or light traces it leaves around the edges.
Here I tried to make up for the clarity with a contrast adjustment layer and very specific dodge and burn.
This is an experiment, so let me know what you think or how you deal with this issue on Lightroom and Photoshop.

Cheers

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Beijing sunset by JulienFolcher

Probably the best looking sunset I have seen in Beijing so far. Skies are particularly clear these days…

This is a composite shot of 3 photos taken at different moments of this epic sunset to get the sunburst, city lights and the movement of the clouds all in one frame.

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Sydney Harbour by JulienFolcher

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Jubilee Bridge by JacobsLB

‘Jubilee Bridge’ linking Merlion Park and the waterfront promenade in front of Esplanade had its opening brought forward to allow Singaporeans to say their last farewell to Singapore’s founding father- Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

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