Thoughts
"A bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle such as a canyon, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed, the material used to make it and the funds available to build it."
The above definition is from Wikipedia and I find it very fitting. To me, bridges are often very under-appreciated structures. Most of us take them for granted in our daily lives as we cross them during our daily commune. Yet, we took no notice of them as they serve us silently over the many obstacles throughout our journey. They helped shorten travel time and provide a means of interaction between people from both ends. Without them, life would be very different.
Henderson Wave immediately came to mind for this week's DPS assignment. It is a very unique pedestrian bridge that connects Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park and forms part of the Southern Ridges:
"Henderson Waves (Chinese: 亨德森波浪桥) is a 274-metre (899 ft) long pedestrian bridge. At 36 metres (118 ft) above Henderson Road, it is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It connects Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park. It was designed by IJP Corporation, London, and RSP Architects Planners and Engineers (PTE) Ltd Singapore.
The bridge has a wave-form made up of seven undulating curved steel ribs that alternately rise over and under its deck. The curved ribs form alcoves that function as shelters with seats within. Slats of yellow balau wood, an all-weather timber found in Southeast Asia, are used in the decking. The wave-forms are lit with LED lamps at night from 7pm to 2am daily."
Being the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, I wanted to show just how high up the bridge is. I also wanted to show how this lovely bridge is appreciated and enjoyed by the people.
Getting The Shot
The morning sky was dense with clouds and the morning sun was well hidden behind the clouds. Light wasn't good and decided to use Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) for post-processing later.Because it was a weekday morning, the bridge was rather quiet except for some tourists and morning joggers. Managed to capture them on the bridge to add some "life", as well as for scale, else the bridge will look very "lonely". The bracketing effect also conveyed some motion.
From the shot, you can see some of the nearby HDB residential building on the left, the office towers of the Central Business District in the distant and even the PSA container cranes in the horizon. That's how high up the Henderson Wave really is...!
There are some cool altitude markers on the wooden floor at intervals along the whole bridge... this one reads "+64.20m above sea level".
Post-Processing
All the images were enfused. The technic is called "Exposure Fusion". It is NOT a kind of HDR (High Dynamic Range). In fact, it is quite the opposite - it creates a low dynamic range image from a series of bracketed exposures... LDR if you will.
The bracketed RAW files were first converted to JPEG using Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) software, then dropped into EnfuseGUI for "enfusing". The enfused image was subsequently opened in GIMP for the usual touch up on Levels, Saturation, Un-sharp Mask and Cropping.
Personally, I prefer enfused images over HDRs. Enfused images look more natural... not so "fakey" like a HDR. Of course it lacks the 'Wow' factor of a HDR but in real life, subjects don't appear HDR-ed. The enfuse process is also much simpler... and faster, and you can even incorporate a flash exposure for enfusion. Not trying to convert you here... just a share of my opinion... anyway... this is MY blog ;)
Shooting Information:
Date Taken: 28 Sep 10
Camera Body: Canon 40D
Lens: EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM with Hood
Mode: Av @ F11
ISO: 100
Tripod: Giottos MT9250
Ball-Head: Giottos MH1302 with MH655 Quick Release Base Plate
Post-Processing: Exposure Fusion using EnfuseGUI and touch up in GIMP
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