Going Back To Cityscape Photogaphy
May 7th 2021. That was the date of my last (published) cityscape. I tried doing a few over the summer of 2021, but I was never particularly happy with my results, and so I never published any of the photos. After shooting almost exclusively cityscapes for most of my time here in Singapore, I found myself having run out new locations and inspiration throughout most of 2021. What was once a weekly habit slowly became a monthly event, and then even that stopped. The months rolled by, and between school and working my hawker project (which I’ve made significant progress on), I didn’t really feel the desire to shoot cityscapes.
Then in January 2022, a lot happened. I had just finished shooting for the Objectifs 2021 Shooting Home Youth Awards, which also felt like the natural time to finish shooting my own hawker project. My camera also needed to go for repairs, and what was supposed to be a three week wait became nearly eight. For someone who has always used photography to destress and unwind, that was… less than ideal. Especially during the more stressful parts of the semester, I kept looking through old photos, especially my cityscapes of 2018-2020, longing to be out there with my camera and tripod. Even though my photography ambitions have largely moved on from cityscapes, watching golden hour transition into sunset and then blue hour over a picturesque part of city always brought me serenity, and I really missed it during my two month enforced hiatus from photography. I knew that once I got my camera back, I had to go shoot a cityscape.
But of which part of the city? My most recent image (albeit from nearly a year ago) was of the Merlion and the CBD, so I didn’t want to go back there. I have quite a few images that I’m happy with from Chinatown, so maybe not there too. I looked back at some of my first images from my time in Singapore, and then it hit me: I should go to back to Clarke Quay.
2018 Clarke Quay
This was actually my second photo after moving from Hong Kong. I took it on a Saturday night, while all my army mates were partying (ah the pre-COVID life). I remember thinking to myself “I may be the only army boy who has gone to Clarke Quay on a Saturday night to take photos”. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think this is a terrible image. It was a really pretty sunset, and so the colours were really nice. But I think this image reflects where I was in my photography journey: while I had some grasp of post-processing, I was still rather heavy handed in my editing, and I think it shows.
Flash forward to nearly four years after that photo was taken. I have not taken a cityscape in almost a year. I almost got lost in the mall, trying to find the carpark where I had shot this from. In the end though, I had the location to myself. Few things I noticed straight away. First was that the Novotel building has been demolished entirely. I had no idea that it had been torn down, but honestly not complaining. It was quite an ugly building, and its removal made much more of the skyline visible. Second was just how much more quiet it was. Yes it was a Wednesday. Yes we are still in a pandemic. Even still, the frequency (or lack thereof) at which the river boats came and went still shocked me.
Having the place to myself was honestly awesome. I could play my music out loud, and I really felt at peace, just focusing on my camera and the view in front of me. Honestly the sunset from today was disappointing compared to the previous two or three days, but even still, there was still some colour in the sky, plus a pretty decent afterglow. Being out there really made me miss shooting cityscapes, and I think that you can see it through the final image. One of the things that I’ve learnt about post-processing in the last few years is control. While all our software can radically transform our images, subtlety is still key. A few years ago I would have undoubtedly gone ham on that sky, trying to bring out every possible shade of red and orange and yellow. Now though, I’m very happy with the sky as it is. Less really sometimes is more. While the composition is definitely not perfect (would have liked more space on the left, and I’m not sure how much the water or the right side of the sky are ultimately doing), I certainly think that this is a stronger image than the one I took in 2018. Is this a portfolio image though? Maybe. We’ll see. I’ll see how I feel about this one in the days and weeks ahead.
2022 Clarke Quay
So what now for my cityscape photography? Have I reignited my passion, and am I going to go every week? Truthfully, probably not. As I said, my photography ambitions have largely moved on from cityscapes. I’ve found a lot more meaning in interacting with people and more documentary-type work, so that’s probably what I will spend the majority of my time and energy on. With that being said, today was a reminder that I still do enjoy cityscapes, and that I will come back to them from time to time. Cityscape photography to me is now like an old friend - not something you spend every day doing, but something that you can come back to, and feel like no time has passed. Something which feels comfortable, and puts you at ease. That is cityscape photography for me.
