View allAll Photos Tagged SMLSerenity
I woke up early in the morning to wait for sunrise, and to try some long exposure shots for the Serenity series. This particular capture was exposed for 60 seconds, so the clouds are blurry and the water is clear. It was raining a little bit earlier and I think that I really need to clean my lens somewhat. But I am happy with the result.
Photographed with the Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM mounted on tripod in Ma On Shan, Hong Kong.
日出雲影 Sunrise Cloudscape / 寧 Serenity / SML.20140715.6D.32930.P1
And now we take a short break from photojournalism and marvel at some truly incredible cloudscape seen recently outside my window stitched together using 5 full resolution RAWs with the 6D + 17-40 f/4L.
I switched to using Autopano Giga for my panorama stitching as I noticed that Hugin kept on removing resolution from my high res captures—but I couldn’t figure out why. APG has been pretty good so far though so it is nice.
# SML Translate: 白雲如棉挺山青 水映黃昏藍天明
+ 白: white.
+ 雲: clouds.
+ 如: (appears) like.
+ 棉: cotton (describe the clouds).
+ 挺: erect, holding up.
+ 山: mountains.
+ 青: blue / green (describes the color of the mountains).
+ 水: water.
+ 映: reflects.
+ 黃: yellow (color of the sunset)
+ 昏: sunset.
+ 藍: blue.
+ 天: sky.
+ 明: bright.
+ 白雲如棉挺山青 水映黃昏藍天明: during the yellow sunset, the water brightly reflects that of the blue sky with puffy white clouds.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-29T18:57:50+0800
+ Dimensions: 14616 x 5304
+ Exposure: 1/40 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ ISO: 320
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 98 degree horizontal, 64 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Planar
+ GPS: 22°22'42" N 114°9'42" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG (Vista Paradiso, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China)
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) + 吐露港 Tolo Harbour
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3.0, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130529.6D.15293-SML.20130529.6D.15298-Pano.Planar.98x64
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“白雲如棉挺山青 水映黃昏藍天明” / 香港中文大學全景之寧 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130529.6D.15293-SML.20130529.6D.15298-Pano.Planar.98x64
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #SMLPano #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #自然 #Nature #CUHK
This was shot handheld with the 7D + 100-400 during sunset last week. The color information is rather tricky in this shot, so I processed it mainly inside Photoshop Lab mode. If processed in black and white then the drama is somewhat gone, but leaving them in tact looks odd also. I might circle back and work on it more later.
Stitched with 4 captures.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-07-06T18:02:15+0800
+ Dimensions: 14160 x 3702
+ Exposure: 1/800 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 400 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ Panorama FOV: 9 degree horizontal, 2 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Planar
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG (Vista Paradiso, Ma On
Shan, Hong Kong)
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3, Lightroom 5, Photoshop CC
+ Serial: SML.20130706.7D.43781-SML.20130706.7D.43784-Pano.i4.9x2.L1.P1
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
黃昏雲影 Evening Cloudscape / 香港日落全景之寧 Hong Kong Sunset Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130706.7D.43781-SML.20130706.7D.43784-Pano.i4.9x2.L1.P1
Cloudscape is up to millions of interpretation. It never repeats itself and it never stops evolving.
This is how humans should live. For me, everything is an experiment. And I try not to repeat what I did before. This is the only way to live — to try different things and see what happens.
Life does not come with a manual. It has no rules — so as Mark Twain once said:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
# SML Translate
+ 青: Blue. (It can also mean green and blue-green but in this context I meant blue)
+ 天: Heaven, sky.
+ 雲: Clouds.
+ 錦: Brocade. Here used as metaphor of the thickness of the clouds.
+ 龍: Dragon.
+ 藏: Hide, hidden.
+ 宮: Palace.
+ 青天雲錦龍藏宮: The clouds are so thick in the blue sky that the dragons have decided to hide in their palace (and that’s why you don’t see them :)
# SML Workflow
Photographed handheld with the Canon EOS 7D + EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + 1.4x. Processed in Lightroom 4.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-05 15:04:29 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/1250 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 235 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + 1.4x
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'25" E (SML Universe HKG)
+ Serial: SML.20130205.7D.21291
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“青天雲錦龍藏宮” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130205.7D.21291
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #藍 #蓝 #blue #色 #color #雲 #云 #cloud #cloudscape
/ #山水 #landscape #攝影 #摄影 #photography
/ #香港 #HongKong #中國 #中国 #China #Canon7D #Canon70200
This is an HDR time-lapse of a Shing Mun River (城門河) during sunset in Hong Kong. It was shot from the vantage point of the Banyan Bridge (翠榕橋) which runs parallel to the river which reaches most of Shatin (沙田).
# Black and white vs Color
The video first shows what the HDR footage looks like in color, which highlights the change in hues during sunset. Then it shows a side-by-side comparison when processed in black and white. And finally, it shows the footage when separately processed in black and white. In the B+W rendition, you would see that the intention — which is the clouds in the sky and its reflection from the river — is much more pronounced when the color information is removed.
# Workflow
As I wrote previously [1], I originally had not intended it to be an HDR time-lapse, but since I erroneously left the AEB (auto-exposure bracketing) on before starting the timer, I ended up with 3 exposures spanning -3 to +3 every 5 seconds. The way I processed it is as such:
1. Import RAW files into Lightroom, such that they would be serialised (renamed) the way I need them to.
2. Create an HDR processing preset using Photomatix Pro using one of the image stack.
3. Batch-process the whole folder of images using the preset set in step 2 and output to 16-bit TIF and 32-bit HDR files.
4. Import those 16-bit TIFs into Lightroom, and create DNGs for each of the tone mapped HDR images.
5. In LRTimelapse, setup keyframes from the DNGs (LRT only works on DNG or CR2 and not TIFs)
6. Processed keyframes in Lightroom: one set for color, one set for B+W)
7. Batch-process DNGs using LRT again.
8. Export 1080p JPGs from Lightroom for each frame.
9. Assembled image sequences inside After Effects.
The workflow is not really very complex — but mostly I was just waiting for the computer to crunch numbers to process all these images. After all this, you get 8 seconds of footage, which was also one of the reasons why I decided to output both the color and black and white versions so there would be a slightly longer time to watch it through.
# Soundtrack: Memoirs (Cinematic Version) by Rameses B
Once again, I salute talented musicians who graciously published their music under Creative Commons (CCBY) such that I can focus on working on the visuals. Soundtrack has always been the bottleneck for most of my footage.
soundcloud.com/ramesesb/rameses-b-memoirs-cinematic
# Notes
1. 如上以下 As above, so below / 香港沙田城門河之寧 Hong Kong Shatin Shing Mun River Serenity (BW HDR) / SML.20130807.6D.25123-24-25.HDR.BW: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9501334606/
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-07 (recorded) 2013-08-14 (processed)
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3, Manfrotto tripod, Manfrotto head
+ Workflow: Lightroom 5, LRTimelapse 3, Photomatix Pro 4, After Effects CC, Ableton Live Suite 8
+ Video: 1920x1080 (1080p), 24fps, Progressive
+ Location: 香港沙田城門河 Shing Mun River, Shatin, Hong Kong
+ Photographer: See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography
+ Soundtrack: Rameses B: Memoirs (Cinematic Version) / SoundCloud CCBY
+ Media Production: SML Universe
+ License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CCBY)
+ Copyright: 2013 See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Universe Limited
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
+ Serial: SML.20130807.6D.25087-SML.20130807.6D.25677-HDR-PPTM-TL
# SML Simulcast
+ flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9510440760/
+ youtube.com/watch?v=FZXN8jMyDQo
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
如上以下 As above, so below / 香港沙田城門河
之寧 Hong Kong Shatin Shing Mun River Serenity (HDR Timelapse) / SML.20130807.6D.25087-SML.20130807.6D.25677-HDR-PPTM-TL
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #HDR #SMLHDR #Timelapse #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #cloudscape #clouds #video
Every now and then I come across some seriously insane natural phenomenon. I often seen this view in movies and I always thought that it must be Photoshopped somehow, and yet today I went to the Hong Kong International Airport to hang out with a friend whom I have not seen in twenty years and the sky opened.
Nature. Crazyisgood!
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-25T20:15:29+0800
+ Dimensions: 5472 x 3648
+ Exposure: 1/640 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°18'51" N 113°56'12" E
+ Location: 香港國際機場 Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130425.6D.02896
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“天開 Opening of the sky” / 香港國際機場之寧 Hong Kong International Airport Serenity / SML.20130425.6D.02896
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #機場 #airport #自然 #Nature #山水 #Landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #天 #空 #Sky
Long exposure photography used to take a lot of time. I would travel to a remote location and stayed for hours, then circled back to the studio and worked on it for yet more hours. It still takes a lot of time but removing travel in the equation is far more efficient in the equation.
When I used to live in New York, I would sit in front of the Manhattan Bridge for hours with my tripods to do long exposure HDRs. But after 9-11, police would come and hurry me away, thinking that I am plotting an attack. Seriously WTF? Yes, I bet that a terrorist would spend 3 hours sitting under the bridge with a tripod just so you can see that he is analysing the structural engineering for attacks. NYPD has always been a hassle to me and is very annoying.
So more Hong Kong awesomeness for me now is that I can just mount my camera on the tripod at home and do landscape photography before I go to bed at night. This is a 30-second exposure and everything gets mixed to a beautiful blur. I love it so much that I have decided to try my hand at some Chinese poetry which rhymes.
夜雨霧濃山無形 水影明照彩霞城
# SML Translate
+ 夜: night.
+ 雨: rain.
+ 霧: fog.
+ 濃: concentrated, thick. Describes the fog.
+ 山: mountains.
+ 無: no, not.
+ 形: forms.
+ 夜雨霧濃山無形: On a rainy night, the fog is thick and the mountains are left with no form.
+ 水: water, lake, ocean, sea.
+ 影: reflection, image.
+ 明: bright, clear.
+ 照: image, light, bright.
+ 彩: rainbow (color).
+ 霞: red cloud, after glow.
+ 城: city.
+ 水影明照彩霞城: The water reflects the bright lights from the city to render a city painted in the colors of a rainbow.
# SML Workflow
Photographed with the Canon EOS M + EF 17-40 f/4L mounted on a tripod. Noise reduction in Lightroom 4. Processed in Photoshop CS6.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-06 02:07:29 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 4958 x 3306
+ Exposure: 30.0 sec at f/4.0
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°26'58" N 114°12'26" E
+ Serial: SML.20130206.EOSM.01652.P1
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“夜雨霧濃山無形 水影明照彩霞城”
/ 夜之寧 Serenity at Night
/ SML.20130206.EOSM.01652.P1
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #夜 #night #水 #water #山水 #landscape #霧 #fog #攝影 #摄影 #photography #lights #reflection #香港 #HongKong #中國 #中国 #China
Since the dawn of civilisation, humans look upon the heavens and are in awe of its ever-changing patterns. Although completely abstract in configuration, it never ceases to amaze. Exactly what it is that makes these puffy clouds so delightful to see?
So I started to use a telephoto lens to do panoramic shots of these sceneries. Yes, if you use a wide-angle lens you could very possibly capture the same moment and then crop out the sky — but you see, when you crop a digital image, you lose all the details and subtleties in the abstract painting, and all you are left with are pixels in white and blue. And in this panorama stitched using 18 RAW captures, you get instead an image which can be printed with all the resolution in its glory.
Across social media networks, be it Facebook, Google Plus, or the recent rather unfortunate redesign of Flickr, there is an increasing need for some imageries which extend a very wide field of view. Call it a banner or cover photo if you will, and based on analytics reports I was surprised to find my panoramas making their ways to blogs as banner images. Well here is another one for you… though I did not really see my photography as part of a background image, for the sake of Creative Commons, at least that would be a possible use…
I decided to use the 70-200 f/4L for this after noting that it was mostly sitting ducks ever since I bought the 100-400 — and without a doubt, the vaccuum-pump action on the 100-400 does not keep a very nice steady hand.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-06T15:09:56+0800
+ Dimensions: 29398 x 4024
+ Exposure: 1/800 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 200 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 61 degree horizontal, 12 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Spherical
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG (Vista Paradiso, Ma On
Shan, Hong Kong)
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3, Lightroom 5
+ Serial: SML.20130806.6D.25010-SML.20130806.6D.25027-Pano.i18.61x12
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
藍天白雲棉 Puffy clouds in blue sky / 香港夏日全景之寧 Hong Kong Summer Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130806.6D.25010-SML.20130806.6D.25027-Pano.i18.61x12
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #Panorama #SMLPano #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #Nature #天 #sky #雲 #clouds
GettyImages: gty.im/177603274
The first thing I thought of when I saw the reflection at the river was the oil paintings by Gustav Klimt [1] — in particular, the abstract geometric forms seen in his “golden phase.” Although it is often hard to say how an artist pick up his particular style of painting, it does make me wonder if Klimt has passed by some water surface near European castles, which under the afternoon sun create some fantastic abstract as seen here — though in this case it is just some residential building which has no architectural quality to speak of, though within the reflection they are very much desired.
Noting this, I would probably go back and shoot some videos as they are quite interesting to look at.
# Notes
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-09T16:44:15+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/400 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 235 mm
+ ISO: 160
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ GPS: 22°23'25" N 114°12'3" E
+ Location: 香港沙田賽艇中心 Shatin Rowing Centre, Hong Kong
+ Subject: 香港沙田城門河 Shing Mun River, Shatin, Hong Kong
+ Workflow: Lightroom 5
+ Serial: SML.20130809.7D.49564.CR2
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 抽象 Abstract, 形 Forms
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
Ode to Klimt / 自然抽象之形 Nature Abstract Forms / 香港城門河之寧 Hong Kong Shing Mun River Serenity / SML.20130809.7D.49564
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #抽象 #Abstract #形 #Forms #SMLForms #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #water #reflection #Klimt
After some satisfying results with long exposures recently, I tried my hands on some truly long exposure — 15 minutes (or 903 seconds to be exact).
I have previously shot this floating anchor (buoy) before, with the 7D + 70-200 f/4 + 1.4x at 15 seconds [1]. This one though is shot with the 6D + 100-400 at 15 minutes, and it is interesting to compare the difference.
At 15 minutes, the water surface is completely smoothed and it truly looks like liquid gold. If you look at the 15-second shot, on the other hand, you will observe that the water is still somewhat “rough” by comparison. There is also a nice “dimple” near the anchor which is very sweet. Also unexpected is the refracted shine to the right of the buoy—which makes the light even more precious.
# SML Translate: 仲夏夜深流金夢
+ 仲: middle, mid.
+ 夏: summer.
+ 夜: night.
+ 深: deep. (describes the night — deep into the night).
+ 流: flowing (describes the water).
+ 金: gold, golden. (the color of the flowing water).
+ 夢: dream. (the mood)
+ 仲夏夜深流金夢: A dream of flowing liquid gold in the middle of summer. It might not technically be “summer” yet but it surely feels like so already in Hong Kong — it has been 32-degree celcius out for the past few days.
# Notes
1. “冬夜萬物寧 金輝獨詠春” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130208.7D.21344: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8455872022/
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-20T01:16:563+0800
+ Dimensions: 5472 x 3648
+ Exposure: 903.0 sec at f/20
+ Focal Length: 400 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Release, Manfrotto tripod
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong
+ Serial: SML.20130520.6D.06967
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, Long Exposure 長時間曝光
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“仲夏夜深流金夢” / 香港吐露港夜之寧 Hong Kong Tolo Harbour Night Serenity (903-sec LE) / SML.20130520.6D.06967
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #LongExposure #LE #SMLLE #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Landscape #seascape #gold #夜 #Night
Recently during sunset, a line of disparate and lingering clouds caught my attention. They hung in mid-air, against a vast mountain with very delicate power lines running on its top. In the shadow area, you can briefly make out that it was captured near urban areas—it is that of the Tai Po district in Hong Kong. But it is not the focus here. The silhouette forms is what interest me, so I left them hidden in the shadow. Could I have pumped them up with some Photoshopping? Yes, I guess I could but then you would miss the delicate lines. Minimalism is the aim. When we remove the details, we can see the tiny details more succinctly, I believe.
13 Canon EOS 7D + 100-400 captures. Stitched with Autopano Giga 3. Processed in Lightroom 4.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-07-04T19:10:18+0800
+ Dimensions: 19510 x 5720
+ Exposure: 1/500 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 400 mm
+ ISO: 640
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ Panorama FOV: 12 degree horizontal, 4 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Planar
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG (Vista Paradiso, Ma On
Shan, Hong Kong)
+ Subject: 香港大埔 Taipo, Hong Kong
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130704.7D.43437-SML.20130704.7D.43449-Pano.i13.12x4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
靜夏 Quiet summer / 香港日落全景之寧 Hong Kong Sunset Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130704.7D.43437-SML.20130704.7D.43449-Pano.i13.12x4
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #Panorama #SMLPano #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #山 #mountains #日落 #sunset
The sunset was red yesterday evening—literally. I have never seen the sun in such vibrant red except in books perhaps so I took a photo.
I was not entirely sure under which condition would render the sun in this color. Could it be that the clouds were very thick and so all which was revealed is left behind as a red sphere in the sky?
If you zoom to the right you will see a helicopter flying near the mountain. Lately I have been seeing a lot of helicopters passing through but I do not really know why that is either.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-06-20T18:51:56+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/320 sec at f/5.0
+ Focal Length: 235 mm
+ ISO: 160
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG (Vista Paradiso, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong)
+ Subject: 太陽(日) Sun
+ Serial: 22°25'9" N 114°13'25" E
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
日落紅 Red sunset / 香港之寧 Hong Kong Serenity / SML.20130620.7D.42890
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #天 #空 #Sky #山水 #landscape #日落 #sunset #紅 #Red #山 #mountains
In a city plagued with air pollution and noise, I find peace and serenity on a path deep within a park, completely enveloped in the color green.
Stitched with 12 captures with the 6D + 17-40 mounted on pano head. As a night time semi-long exposure, you can see the leaves fluttering softly in the wind.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-23T19:36:23+0800
+ Dimensions: 19234 x 4567
+ Exposure: 2.0 sec at f/11
+ Focal Length: 19 mm
+ ISO: 400
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3, Manfrotto 303SPH pano head, Manfrotto tripod
+ Panorama FOV: 365 degree horizontal, 93 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Spherical
+ GPS: 22°25'12" N 114°13'43" E
+ Location: 香港馬鞍山遊樂場 Ma On Shan Recreation Ground, Hong kong
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3, Lightroom 5
+ Serial: SML.20130823.6D.26855-SML.20130823.6D.26867-Pano.i12.360x93
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
綠茵林 Green Forest / 香港馬鞍山遊樂場360度全景 Hong Kong Ma On Shan Recreation Ground 360-degree Panorama / 夜之寧 Night Serenity / SML.20130823.6D.26855-SML.20130823.6D.26867-Pano.i12.360x93
/ #寧 #Serenity #全景 #Pano #Panorama #SMLPano #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #城市 #Urban #park #night #soccer #green #nature
\
A floating mini lighthouse (light anchor?) in the middle of 沙田海 Sha Tin Hoi in Hong Kong. Another night time long exposure for 15 sec. It actually blinked a few times but of course you will only see a blur. At first I thought that I might not be focusing well, but I think that it just might be that since it is floating on the water it is not exactly still.
# SML Workflow
Photographed with the Canon EOS 7D with the Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III. Processed inside Lightroom 4.
# SML Translate:
冬夜萬物寧
金輝獨詠春
More Chinese poetry writing. My 二嬸 auntie (my dad’s second brother’s wife) said that my 二叔 (my dad’s second brother), who is a retired Chinese literature teacher, said that my previous poems do not fit in the structures of 平仄 [1] tone patterns [2]. Oh I did not know that there are so many rules. SML Thank You for the EDU.
But the issue is that even though I read through the Wikipedia I still have no clue how to do it properly. I speak Cantonese. My Chinese Literature teacher in high school once said that Cantonese is most similar to the language spoken in 唐朝 [3] Tang Dynasty [4]. So in some ways it should be possible to write Chinese poems using Cantonese intonation. However, the available texts online only reference Mandarin pronunciation rules, which I do not speak very well.
That said I am learning quickly—mainly because pinyin appears to be a very efficient way of inputting Chinese on the iPhone. I used to know how to type in Canjie but I don’t really know how anymore. Having Chinese handwriting input directly on the iOS devices have made me lazy these days.
+ 冬: winter.
+ 夜: night.
+ 萬: ten thousand. Metaphor for many aka all.
+ 物: things.
+ 寧: serenity. Metaphor for silence and peacefulness. (also title of the series).
+ 金: gold, golden color.
+ 輝: shine, shimmering.
+ 獨: alone, single.
+ 詠: sing, chant.
+ 春: spring.
+ 冬夜萬物寧: everything was quiet in the winter night.
+ 金輝獨詠春: while a singular golden light (referencing the single mini floating lighthouse) sings on its own for the coming of spring. (Chinese new year is this weekend, marking the end of winter and the beginning of the spring seasons)
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-08 03:30:09 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 15.0 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4 Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe (Hong Kong) Limited
+ Subject: Floating light anchor on a winter night on Sha Tin Hoi reflecting the lights from the Tolo Highway from the vantage point of Ma On Shan in Hong Kong SAR, China.
在中國香港冬夜的晚上, 從馬鞍山遠看沙田海, 海水反映了吐露港公路和浮光錨的燈光和倒影。
在中国香港冬夜的晚上, 从马鞍山远看沙田海, 海水反映了吐露港公路和浮光锚的灯光和倒影。
# Notes
1. 平仄，是中國詩詞中用字的聲調。平指平直，仄指曲折。根據隋朝至宋朝時期修訂的韻書，如《切韻》、《廣韻》等，中古漢語有四種聲調，稱為平、上、去、入。除了平聲，其餘三種聲調有高低的變化，故統稱為仄聲。詩詞中平仄的運用有一定格式，稱為格律。 zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/平仄
2. Tone patterns (Chinese: 平仄; Mandarin Pinyin: píngzè; Jyutping: ping4 zak1) are common constraints in classical Chinese poetry.
The four tones of Middle Chinese—level (平), rising (上), departing (去), and entering (入) tones—are categorized into level (平) tones and oblique (仄) tones. All level tones are level. All other tones are oblique. If tone patterns are used in poetry, the pattern in which level and oblique tones occur in one line is often the inverse of a that of line next to it.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_pattern
3. 唐朝（618年－907年）是中國歷史上強盛的朝代之一。國號唐是晉國的古名，泛指今山西省的中心地域。唐朝由唐高祖李淵所建立，為胡漢融合後的大帝國，與隋朝合稱隋唐。唐室出身關隴集團，先祖李虎在南北朝的西魏是八柱國之一，封為唐國公。 zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/唐朝
4. The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Táng Cháo; IPA: [tʰɑ̌ŋ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ]; Middle Chinese: Dâng) (June 18, 618 – June 1, 907) was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the only Chinese empress regnant to rule in her own right. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_Dynasty
“冬夜萬物寧 金輝獨詠春” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130208.7D.21344
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #山水 #Landscape #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #水 #Water #自然 #nature #夜 #nights #shadow #reflection #攝影 #摄影 #photography
/ #中国 #中國 #china #香港 #HongKong #Canon7D #Canon70200f4L
As we descend in the cable car from the peak of 泰山 Mount Tai, we see the lower peaks of the mountain sandwiched between 雲 clouds and 霧 fogs. When I grew up seeing these in Chinese paintings I had always thought that they were artists’ interpretations. It turns out it really does look poetic like this in real life. I was stunned beyond words—it was breathtakingly beautiful.
After sweating in direct sunlight for an hour, I managed a seamless panorama without parallax horizontally, but it would appear that while I have setup the horizontal nodal point correct, I have failed the vertical nodal point so there are vertical seams.
But this is far better than my previous shot without a pano head [1], so it is definitely an improvement. (self pat on the back). Calibrating for the vertical nodal point is tricky, as it requires comparing horizontal lines. For vertical lines I just bring a light-weight light stand with me and compare with buildings far away. For horizontal lines I have to come up with something different.
Pictured is one of the public housing development in Hong Kong, where as you can see, the view is spectacular and the air is fresh.
68-image stitch. Captured with the 6D + 17-40 mounted on Manfrotto 303 SPH pano head + 190XPro tripod. TC-80N3 remote release.
# Notes
1. 馬鞍山海濱長廊 Ma On Shan Promenade / 香港360度全景之寧 Hong Kong 360-degree Serenity Panorama / SML.20130308.7D.27330-SML.20130308.7D.27356-Pano.Cylindrical.360x62.8: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8538184863/
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-06-30T15:38:09+0800
+ Dimensions: 18473 x 6818
+ Exposure: 1/400 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 360 degree horizontal, 136 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Spherical
+ GPS: 22°25'22" N 114°13'29" E
+ Location: 香港馬鞍山海濱長廊 Ma On Shan Promenade, Hong Kong
+ Subject: 頌安邨 Chung On Estate, 錦豐苑 Kam Fung Court, 吐露港 Tolo Harbour
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130630.6D.17608-SML.20130630.6D.17682-Pano.i68.360x136.Spherical
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
夏日熱度 Summer Heat / 香港馬鞍山海濱長廊360度全景之寧 Hong Kong Ma On Shan Promenade 360-degree Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130630.6D.17608-SML.20130630.6D.17682-Pano.i68.360x136.Spherical
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #Panorama #SMLPano #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #馬鞍山 #MaOnShan #promenade #sun
This capture has a weird dimensions because it was shot while I was in video mode—I shot the full video of this, to be posted once I am done with it.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-04T17:43:50.092 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 2916
+ Exposure: 1/200 sec at f/11
+ Focal Length: 38 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°26'11" N 114°13'2" E
+ Altitude: 3157.5 m
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Serial: SML.20130304.EOSM.03030.P1.L1
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature
“日落雲海觀 Sunset Cloudscape” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130304.EOSM.03030.P1.L1
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #自然 #Nature
Here is another shot of those same “god rays” [1] as you guys call it shot on the same day with the 7D + 100-400.
Crepuscular rays [2] are rays of sunlight which radiate from the sun through gaps in clouds. Interestingly I don’t know anything about it but when I see the Chinese name I immediately knows what it means. Chinese is great that way, as the name 雲隙光 [3] literally means lights from the gaps of cloud—so basically cloud as gobo…
This shot was processed in Photoshop Lab color mode as the colors require a very delicate balance. Lightroom’s RGB only editing poses some limitations as to what you can do, and for the sky specifically using two sliders for color temperature tweaking is closed to impossible to get what I wanted. Maybe some day we will see Lab color mode in Lightroom, maybe? Adobe?
# Notes
1. “天開 Opening of the sky” / 香港國際機場之寧 Hong Kong International Airport Serenity / SML.20130425.6D.02896: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8680281995/
2. Crepuscular ray: Wikipedia: EN: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepuscular_rays
3. 雲隙光: Wikipedia: ZH: zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/雲隙光
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-25T08:25:41+0800
+ Dimensions: 4962 x 3308
+ Exposure: 1/2000 sec at f/4.5
+ Focal Length: 105 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ GPS: 22°18'50" N 113°56'13" E
+ Location: 香港國際機場 Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130425.7D.40078.P1.L1
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“雲隙光 Crepuscular rays (God Rays)” / 香港國際機場之寧 Hong Kong International Airport Serenity / SML.20130425.7D.40078.P1.L1
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #Nature #山水 #Landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #天 #空 #Sky #GodRays #CrepuscularRays
GettyImages: gty.im/177596047
There is a beach at the end of the Ma On Shan Promenade (馬鞍山海濱長廊). It is called Wu Kai Sha (烏溪沙) [1]. Just a few years ago, it was quite a hike to get here, but with the recent urban development of Ma On Shan, you can now get here rather quickly by taking the MTR to Ma On Shan station and walking for another 10 minutes.
Noting that this is rather close by, Rainbow Teddy (彩熊 RT) asked me to take him to photograph the sunset. I thought that since I will be at the beach for quite a while anyway, I took the pano head with me to do a 360-degree panorama.
As the sun starts to set, the place has transformed from a beach to be a photographer’s heaven, and even in the view here you can see a slew of photographers joining RT to capture the scenery on the beach.
Because of the extreme lighting conditions, I shot this as an HDR. Altogether, 36 images were shot covering the -3 to +3 range in a 12-capture stitch.
# Notes
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Kai_Sha
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-09T18:29:39+0800
+ Dimensions: 18424 x 4529
+ Exposure: 1/40 - 1/100 sec at f/11.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100 - 2500
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3, Manfrotto 303SPH pano head, Manfrotto tripod
+ Panorama FOV: 360 degree horizontal, 95 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Spherical
+ GPS: 22°25'40" N 114°14'1" E
+ Location: 香港烏溪沙 Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3, Lightroom 5, Photoshop CS6
+ Serial: SML.20130809.6D.26354-SML.20130809.6D.26392-Pano.i36.360x95.HDR
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography, HDR, 彩熊 Rainbow Teddy
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
烏溪沙 Wu Kai Sha / 香港日落全景之寧 Hong Kong Sunset HDR Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130809.6D.26354-SML.20130809.6D.26392-Pano.i36.360x95.HDR
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #Panorama #SMLPano #彩熊 #RainbowTeddy #HDR #SMLHDR #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #Nature #Beach #Sunset
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9477691330/
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9477691330/sizes/o/ (18424 x 4529)
Original: 12417 x 2313: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8509778677/sizes/o
I brought my tripod to the Ma On Shan Promenade and photographed this panorama of 香港中文大學 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) today. It is a bit cloudy so I had to push it quite a bit inside Photoshop to give it a bit of color. Will definitely go again. You can see 火炭 Fotan on the left side and Science Park on the right as well.
This is stitched using 8 RAW images shot with the Canon EOS M + Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM lens. As usual I have found Hugin to be the best pano stitching software available. Once processed, it is tweaked inside Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-26 14:20:32 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 12417 x 2313
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'14" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山海濱長廊 中国香港马鞍山海滨长廊 Ma On Shan Promenade, Hong Kong, China
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 The Chinese University of Hong Kong
+ Serial: SML.20130226.EOSM.02539-SML.20130226.EOSM.02546-SML.Pano.P1.L1
+ Workflow: Hugin, Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
“香港中文大學全景 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Panorama” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130226.EOSM.02539-SML.20130226.EOSM.02546-SML.Pano.P1.L1
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #SMLPano #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #中文大學 #CUHK #大學 #University
Nature has a very magical property: under the right condition, one can look like another.
This looks like an aerial view of a snowy mountain, but in fact is a 11 second long exposure of the sea. The white streaks are mostly a result of the sunlight being reflected on the moving water surface. Eleven seconds is a long time for water to travel, and so it renders a rather unexpected capture.
In my mind, I had imagined that it would leave a long trail of something, but I too did not expect these results. Trust that I will be trying this more in the future, perhaps with a wider lens also.
The uneven exposure on the left side of the frame is somewhat unfortunate—it comes from the shadow of the building I am in. I tried to fix it a bit inside Photoshop but perhaps I should just try to avoid this spot next time.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-19T15:04:03+0800
+ Dimensions: 5472 x 3648
+ Exposure: 11.0 sec at f/32
+ Focal Length: 84 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Release, Manfrotto tripod, H&Y ND2-ND400
+ GPS: 22°25'7" N 114°13'18" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong
+ Serial: SML.20130519.6D.06942.P1.L1
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 抽象 Abstract, 形 Forms, Long Exposure 長時間曝光
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“自然抽象之形: 白浪如雪山 Nature Abstract Forms: Waves as snowy mountains” / 香港吐露港之寧 Hong Kong Tolo Harbour Serenity (11-sec ND LE) / SML.20130519.6D.06942.P1.L1
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #抽象 #Abstract #形 #Forms #SMLForms #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Seascape #LongExposure #LE #ND
In various historic religious texts, there has been mentions of the opening of the sky. When it is cloudy as today, what was seen as the clouds sow dissipates and revealed the golden light from the sun, it looks almost like a painting coming directly from paintings seen in the Renaissance period.
The natural vignette from the 24-70 is quite strong, as I now finally get to photograph with a full-frame body. Here it is actually profile corrected but the extreme contrast from the shield sunlight still adds to the mystery of its all.
As with all challenging processing I utilised Photoshop’s Lab mode to extract detail while keeping color information in check.
# SML Translate: 日落天開雲中現
+ 日: sun.
+ 落: down.
+ 天: sky.
+ 開: opens.
+ 雲: clouds.
+ 中: within (the clouds).
+ 現: appears.
+ 日落天開雲中現: the sky opens and within the clouds you can see the golden sunset.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-16T17:51:32+0800
+ Dimensions: 5472 x 3648
+ Exposure: 1/1250 sec at f/2.8
+ Focal Length: 66 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130416.6D.00779.P1.L1
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“日落天開雲中現” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130416.6D.00779.P1.L1
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #Nature #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #天 #空 #Sky #Sunset
Someone on Facebook asked to see a color version of an HDR photo previously processed in BW [1]. This is not the same capture but it was photographed at about the same time.
The HDR was merged inside Photomatix Pro, which sometimes do a decent job but sometimes create these weird color cast that was difficult to manage. So I might try using Photoshop to do the HDR conversion later.
But here you see why I did not process this in color, as mainly the hills in the back has a blue cast from the air whereas the color information does not really help. In the front, the sky is reddish whereas further away they are yellowish. Processing in black and white is almost a cop-out but when color information is not helping I generally prefer working on photographs in black and white — because it is the cloud forms which should be the star here, not the blue sky and awkward color-casts in the mountains.
…in my opinion.
# Notes
1. “風和日麗白雲錦 Cloudscape on a sunny day” / 寧 Serenity HDR / SML.20130509.6D.05650_1_2.HDR.BW: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8721922705/
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-09T13:28:43+0800
+ Dimensions: 3506 x 5259
+ Exposures: 1/640, 1/4000, 1/80 sec at f/11
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3, Manfrotto tripod
+ GPS: 22°25'22" N 114°13'29" E
+ Location: 香港馬鞍山海濱長廊 Ma On Shan Promenade, Hong Kong
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) + 吐露港 Tolo Harbour
+ Workflow: Photomatix Pro 4.2.5b, Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130509.6D.05631_2_3.HDR.P1.L1
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 高動態範圍攝影 HDR Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“白雲如綿 陽光乍現 Moments of sunshine amongst puffy clouds” / 寧 Serenity HDR / SML.20130509.6D.05631_2_3.HDR.P1.L1
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #HDR #SMLHDR #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #自然 #Nature #CUHK #lensflare #sky
This capture has most of the elements that I look for in this series. God rays: check. Wild patterns on the water surface: check. Tiny boats on the water surface which references that of Chinese traditional paintings: check. Puffy clouds on the distant: check. The only thing it lacks is some more dramatic clouds on the top. But still, what are the chances? I shall meditate on this to will it to happen…
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-25T17:58:43+0800
+ Dimensions: 5038 x 3358
+ Exposure: 1/250 sec at f/11
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Workflow: Lightroom 5
+ Serial: SML.20130825.6D.26876.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
風暴雲光 God rays during the storm / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130825.6D.26876.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #HDR #SMLHDR #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #cloudscape #clouds #storm #godrays
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9688106256/
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9688106256/sizes/o/ (5038 x 3358)
GettyImages: gty.im/170024046
After taking some 15-minute shots, I thought why not take some 30-minute ones, and so here it is. Unlike the purple one which was shot from the horizon [1], this one was shot from the 27th floor near my bedroom window.
For this one I left the white balance at the “natural” settings, so you can see that normally the sky is just a very reddish glow . I also had a 15-minute shot for this, and for that capture you can see the clouds more clearly. But for pure illustration of the mood, you can’t beat the sky on this capture.
There is this odd streak in the middle of the frame, which I think might be a boat, but I was not looking at this capture the whole time I was photographing this so I cannot be sure.
This might eventually be reprocessed as black and white. As you can see there is really no “correct” way of setting the white balance on these night long exposure shots, which might be precisely the reason that most photographers just process them as black and white.
# SML Translate: 夜照金空
+ 夜: night. (time)
+ 照: brightens. (describes the lights)
+ 金: golden. (the color)
+ 空: sky.
+ 夜照金空: At night the lights renders a golden sky
# Notes
1. “春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝” / 香港中文大學夜之寧 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8737183033/
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-20T02:08:32+0800
+ Dimensions: 5051 x 3367
+ Exposure: 1806.0 sec at f/20
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Release, Manfrotto tripod
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) + 吐露港 Tolo Harbour
+ Serial: 22°25'12" N 114°13'24" E
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, Long Exposure 長時間曝光
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“夜照金空” / 香港中文大學夜之寧 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Night Serenity (1806-sec / 30-min LE) / SML.20130520.6D.06972
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #LongExposure #LE #SMLLE #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Landscape #夜 #Night #城市 #Urban #中文大學 #CUHK
I did not begin to appreciate the magic of cloudscapes until I started working with time-lapse photography. The clouds during sunset in Hong Kong’s typhoon season is most incredible, and combined with sunset the color fidelity is second to none.
The time-lapse which I have shot in the past were output directly from camera without much processing, mainly as I did not see it possible to process each RAW capture by hand to create a video. However, a friend on Instagram recommended that I checked out LRTimelapse, which allows me to set a few shots in the RAW captures as keyframes and then batch it over the entire sequence.
With this new tool in hand, I am able to process each capture to my standards and then sequenced it together inside Premiere Pro.
The title of this sequence is by my auntie Rita Lee in Hong Kong. The soundtrack is found on SoundCloud on tracks licensed via Creative Commons. This video could not have been made without all the fantastic creative resources available. Once again, CC rocks!
# Soundtrack
Alrus Cathleen and Alrus - Cloud Kingdom (ft. Laura Conway)
soundcloud.com/alrus/alrus-cloud-kingdom-preview
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-07-06 (recorded) 2013-07-08 (processed)
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens:Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3, Manfrotto tripod, Manfrotto head
+ Workflow: Lightroom 5, LRTimelapse 2, Premiere Pro CC
+ Video: 1920x1080 (1080p), 24fps, Progressive
+ Location: SML Universe Limited, Vista Paradiso, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China
+ Subject:Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Science Park, Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong
+ Photographer: See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography
+ Chinese Title (提字): Rita Lee
+ Soundtrack: Cathleen and Alrus - Cloud Kingdom (ft. Laura Conway) by Alrus (SoundCloud CCBY)
+ Media Production: SML Universe
+ License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CCBY)
+ Copyright: 2013 See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Universe Limited
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
+ Serial: SML.20130706.6D.18062-SML.20130706.6D.18889-TL
# SML Simulcast
+ youtube.com/watch?v=VnG5egmMsWg
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
風起雲湧 變幻萬千 Everchanging Cloudscape / 寧 Serenity 延時攝影 Time Lapse Photography / SML.20130706.6D.18062-SML.20130706.6D.18889-TL
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #山 #mountains #日落 #sunset #延時 #TimeLapse #Alrus
30-second long exposure with an ND filter.
Personally I would have preferred the 4-inch filters so I can drop in after I have set the focus, but I can’t seem to find them in Hong Kong. But I found this variable filter recently: the H&Y ND2-ND400 specifically. It is a screw in, and when set to minimum ND2 I can still see the scene fairly clearly as well as able to focus using the AF on the camera. After I have the parameters set, I dialled it to ND400 and expose everything manually.
I think that I should be able to push a little longer next time. What I observed is that because of the wind, the plants appear to move quite a bit and thus rendering a blur. So next time I would try to do a 2-minute if I am able to.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-10T14:44:17.63+0800
+ Dimensions: 4743 x 3162
+ Exposure: 30.0 sec at f/22
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Remote, Manfrotto Tripod, H&Y ND2-ND400
+ GPS: 22°25'8" N 114°13'16" E
+ Altitude: 21.9m
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山恆明街2號聽濤雅苑二樓花園 Garden, 2nd Floor, Vista Paradiso, 2 Hang Ming St, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130410.7D.37680.BW
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“假山流水 Water flowing amongst rockery” / 寧 Serenity (Long exposure with ND Filter) / SML.20130410.7D.37680.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #水 #Water #石 #Rocks #山水 #Landscape #longexposure #ND
I never tried doing bokeh on the 70-200 but it seems that it is very good at it. In one test I managed to get 6 circles covering the entire capture—crazy. But when they are so large I also saw that the dusts are everywhere so I will go clean my lens and try again later.
# SML Translate
+ 朦朦朧朧隱隱約約 (Simplified Chinese: 朦朦胧胧隐隐约约) is probably best translated as “Blurry Hazy Foggy Vague”. When you double-up Chinese characters it implies more of that. So it is blurrier than blurry and hazier than haze. Somewhat bizarre. Hard to translate. Chinese is challenging because unlike other languages which have specific grammar and structure, you can really lump Chinese characters up in anyway you like—Yes, seriously WTF awesome.
# SML Workflow
Photographed with the Canon EOS M + EF 70-200 f/4L on tripod. Processed in Lightroom 4.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-09-03 21:05:32 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3416x5124
+ Exposure: 1/13 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 70 mm
+ ISO: 6400
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°24'58" N 114°12'49" E (SML Universe HKG)
+ Subject: Science Park’s reflection on Tolo Harbor, Hong Kong, China.
”朦朦朧朧隱隱約約”
/ 寧 Serenity
/ SML.20130203.EOSM.01610
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #夜 #night #水 #water #ocean #山水 #landscape #攝影 #摄影 #photography #bokeh #lights #reflection #香港 #HongKong #中國 #中国 #China
How do you capture the wind which is invisible? By long exposure, naturally.
This is an aerial view of the Ma On Shan Promenade. You should recognise it by now by the oh-so-lovely blue jogging trail. Everything is at a stand still, but by using the ND filter and expose for eight full seconds under bright day light, all of a sudden you noticed the invisible wind because the trees wiggle to a blur, and in turn reveal the very defined architectural patterns on the floor.
A baby stroller walked by on the pavement within this capture, but you do not see it, because it has only registered very few pixels.
ND is useful in more ways then I imagined. Sweet.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-19T15:07:25+0800
+ Dimensions: 3488 x 3488
+ Exposure: 8.0 sec at f/25
+ Focal Length: 140 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Release, Manfrotto tripod, H&Y ND2-ND400
+ GPS: 22°25'11" N 114°13'24" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港馬鞍山海濱長廊 Ma On Shan Promenade, Hong Kong
+ Serial: SML.20130519.6D.06945.SQ
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 形 Forms, Long Exposure 長時間曝光
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“静物微風中 Still life amidst the breeze” / 香港馬鞍山海濱長廊之寧 Hong Kong Ma On Shan Promenade Serenity (8-sec ND LE) / ML.20130519.6D.06945.SQ
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #形 #Forms #SMLForms #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Landscape #LongExposure #LE #ND #風 #Wind
I have always wanted to do large format photography, but the cost for the cameras are somewhat prohibitive for me. But I believe that if I have the will, I can do it. So I have been hacking this by stitching 7D captures together for a view which is beyond which a wide angle lens can capture.
This one shows the view from SML Universe HKG, and is the subject for my 寧 Serenity photography series. While the single frame captures can also cover so much, by panning the camera in portrait mode set to 17mm focal length, I am able to cover a large area of the sky as well as the sea.
The sea tiling is imperfect, because it moves. This done handheld, so the seams might not be perfect. Also my window does not open as wide as it could, so I actually had to use two different windows to get this. I wish that I can get roof access but unfortunately not. I would consider going to up to the mountain next to me to see if I can get a better view in the future.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-05 14:30:27 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5101 x 2975
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 120 degree horizontal, 72.5 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Cylindrical
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 + 科學園 + 大埔工業村 + 八仙嶺 + 吐露港 The Chinese University of Hong Kong + Science Park + Tai Po Industrial Estates + Tolo Harbour
+ Serial: SML.20130305.7D.26344-SML.20130305.7D.26351-SML.Pano.Cylindrical-120x72.5
+ Workflow: Hugin 2012, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
“香港中文大學 + 科學園 + 大埔工業村 + 八仙嶺 + 吐露港 The Chinese University of Hong Kong + Science Park + Tai Po Industrial Estates + Tolo Harbour” / 香港全景之寧 Hong Kong Serenity Panorama / SML.20130305.7D.26344-SML.20130305.7D.26351-SML.Pano.Cylindrical-120x72.5
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #SMLPano #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #CUHK #SciencePark #TaiPo #PatSinLeng #ToloHarbour
After some recent success photographing panorama with the 100-400, I tried to photograph the cloudscape with the super telephoto to see if I can get similar results. What I aim for, as always, is the resolution which a regular lens would not provide
Unlike landscape which I can easily determine whether or not I have made a shot, I find the abstract forms in the sky a bit harder to track. So I will likely get a pano head soon. For now I have somewhat decided that I would just go with the Manfrotto 303SPH instead of the robotic heads.
Photographed with the 6D + 100-400. 20 image stitch inside Autopano Giga 3, processed in Photoshop CS6.
# SML Transalate: 千層雲匯
+ 千: a thousand.
+ 層: layers.
+ 雲: clouds.
+ 匯: converges.
+ 千層雲匯: a thousand layers of clouds converge.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-06-13T18:52:13+0800
+ Dimensions: 21440 x 4048
+ Exposure: 1/160 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 190 mm
+ ISO: 125
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ Panorama FOV: 43 degree horizontal, 16 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Planar
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG (Vista Paradiso, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China)
+ Workflow: Autopano Giga 3.0, Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130617.6D.16226-SML.20130617.6D.16245-Pano.i20.43x16.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
千層雲匯 / 香港日落全景之寧 Hong Kong Sunset Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130617.6D.16226-SML.20130617.6D.16245-Pano.i20.43x16.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Panorama #Pano #SMLPano #自然 #Nature #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #雲 #Cloud #天 #空 #Sky
Originally I had come here to do time-lapse of the sunset, though right before I started the timer, I was working on an HDR panorama of the scenery, and had forgotten to turn off AEB (auto-exposure bracketing) setting when the timer started running. So what ended up happening is that I now have a series of HDR time-lapse footage.
In the perfect world, perhaps, these captures will automatically be stacked to HDR, then perhaps with a script I will be able to batch-process them throughout. But since I have not yet figured out how to do this, here I present you with a still capture from one of the series, here I present you with one of the HDR captures instead.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-07T19:02:31+0800
+ Dimensions: 5431 x 3621
+ Exposure: 0.4, 1/20, 1/160 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 400
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3, Manfrotto tripod / head
+ GPS: 22°23'16" N 114°11'58" E
+ Location: 香港沙田翠榕橋 Banyan Bridge, Shatin, Hong Kong
+ Subject: 香港沙田城門河 Shing Mun River, Shatin, Hong Kong
+ Workflow: Photomatix Pro 4.2.5, Lightroom 5
+ Serial: SML.20130807.6D.25123-24-25.HDR.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, HDR
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
如上以下 As above, so below / 香港沙田城門河之寧 Hong Kong Shatin Shing Mun River Serenity (BW HDR) / SML.20130807.6D.25123-24-25.HDR.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #HDR #SMLHDR #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #cloudscape #clouds
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9501334606/
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9501334606/sizes/o/ (5431 x 3621)
Windsurfing (滑浪風帆) is an important sport in Hong Kong—mainly because the only athlete to ever win an Olympic medal representing Hong Kong is a woman named 李麗珊 [1] Lee Lai-Shan [2].
Last year some friends from Sydney asked if I ever see people surf at the harbor outside my window, and I said probably not. And as usual, I stand corrected. I spotted four this afternoon. Super sweet.
Nice minimalistic geometric forms cast against the very complex forms of the waves. I especially like the impressionistic reflection on the water. I think that I will likely process this into a black and white in the future because it is screaming for it.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-23 14:55:51 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/500 sec at f/9.0
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 160
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'19" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Serial: SML.20130223.7D.24672.P1.L1
+ Workflow: Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 體育 Sports, 形 Forms, 寧 Serenity
# Notes
1. 李麗珊，BBS，MBE，MH（1970年9月5日－），暱稱珊珊[1]，生於香港，為長洲原居民，香港著名滑浪風帆運動員[2]。她為香港取得歷史性首面奧運會獎牌兼首面金牌（滑浪風帆），因而被香港傳媒冠以「風之后」的美譽。 zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/李麗珊
2. Lee Lai-shan MBE BBS (Chinese: 李麗珊) (born in Cheung Chau, Hong Kong, 5 September 1970) is a former world champion and Olympic gold medal-winning professional windsurfer from Hong Kong. She is the only athlete to win an Olympic medal representing Hong Kong, not as part of China. Since 1997, Hong Kong has been stipulated to append the word "China" after its name in all Olympic events. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Lai_Shan
“滑浪風帆 Windsurfing” / 香港體育之形 Hong Kong Sports Forms / SML.20130223.7D.24672.P1.L1
/ #體育 #Sports #形 #Forms #SMLForms #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #Nature #滑浪風帆 #Windsurfing #水 #water
Located on the shore of Tolo Harbour northwest of Ma On Shan in the New Territories in Hong Kong, there lies a place called Wu Kai Sha (Chinese: 烏溪沙) which is familiar to many locals. It is famous for a campsite—the Wu Kai Sha Youth Village of YMCA, which is often used by Christians in Hong Kong as a place for retreat. Shown here is the beach which lies directly adjacent to the campsite, which is located at the end of the Ma On Shan Promenade.
Because the ND filters I have add such a strange vignette, I also shot some photos at the beach without it. Here the vignette is natural to the 17-40, and I really want to find some graduated ND filter soon in Hong Kong but I do not know where to get them near by. Simply put there is no equivalent of B&H in this part of the world.
# SML Translate: 藍天靜水岸邊沙
+ 藍: blue.
+ 天: sky.
+ 靜: quiet.
+ 水: water.
+ 岸: shore.
+ 邊: side.
+ 沙: sand.
+ 藍天靜水岸邊沙: the sands by the shore under the blue sky and tranquil waters.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-06-16T15:04:16+0800
+ Dimensions: 5190 x 3460
+ Exposure: 1/1000 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'40" N 114°14'2" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山烏溪沙 Wu Kai Sha, Ma On Sham, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130416.6D.00697
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“藍天靜水岸邊沙” / 香港烏溪沙之寧 Hong Kong Wu Kai Sha Serenity / SML.20130416.6D.00697
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #烏溪沙 #WuKaiSha #自然 #Nature #山水 #Landscape #Seascape #Beach #Shore #Sea #Pier
Situated adjacent to The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Water Sports Centre (Chinese: 香港中文大學水上運動中心), there is a ferry pier which provides regular ferry service to remote areas including Tap Mun and Ping Chau in the northeast New Territories [1, 2].
Pictured is a 15-second long exposure of the pier at night shot across the harbour from Ma On Shan. As with most super telephoto photos, I was quite surprised to see the details. For example, there is no way for me to see that someone is on the pier from so far away, and yet there he is, sitting by the pier. He appears to be fishing while a woman look on on the side.
Photographed with the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L + 1.4x Extender, which effectively created a 560mm f/8L lens. With the exception of the Canon EOS 1D lineup, none of the other cameras can auto-focus at this size so it is manual focus. This also means that it is probably not going to be possible for me to use this combo for sports photography.
# Notes
1. Wikipedia: EN: Ma Liu Shui: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Liu_Shui
2. Wikipedia: ZH: 馬料水: zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/馬料水
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-18T00:43:11+0800
+ Dimensions: 5341 x 3560
+ Exposure: 15.0 sec at f/10
+ Focal Length: 560 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ Accessories: Canon TC-80N3 Remote, Manfrotto tripod
+ GPS: 22°25'22" N 114°13'8" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港馬料水渡輪碼頭 Ma Liu Shui Ferry Pier, Hong Kong, China
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130418.6D.00932
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 長時間曝光 Long Exposure
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“馬料水渡輪碼頭 Ma Liu Shui Ferry Pier” / 香港夜之寧 Hong Kong Night Serenity (15-sec LE) / SML.20130418.6D.00932
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #LongExposure #LE #SMLLE #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Landscape #夜 #Night #城市 #Urban #碼頭 #Pier
Sometimes people asked me when I decide to process photographs in color vs black-and-white. It is easy. When things do not work as well in color, I develop them as black and white. Push as you will, but some photographs just won’t work as well in color.
This is one such example, the black and white version to follow. But here you see it is very foggy. You might say that it has a very blue cast—but it is not the cast. The natural laws of physics and the way air absorbs colors dictates that things in the far would appear bluish. The color information here is almost a distraction. But I am posting this here so you can compare after the fact.
Like I said, I am a nice guy. This is stitched together using seven 7D RAW captures mounted on a tripod at my living room window—a dangerous act with the camera exposed in the air, yes, but well worth it I think.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-20 18:25:13 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 9444 x 3350
+ Exposure: 1/60 - 1/125 sec at f/2.8
+ Focal Length: 67 mm
+ ISO: 400
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 50 degree horizontal, 37.1 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Rectilinear
+ GPS: 23°43'27" N 111°17'43" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港八仙嶺和吐露港 Tolo Harbour + Pat Sin Leng, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130320.7D.35728-SML.20130320.7D.35734-Pano.Rectilinear.50x37.1
+ Workflow: Hugin 2012, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 山水 Landscape, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
“雲內有山 山中有雲 Mountains inside clouds, Clouds inside mountains” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130320.7D.35728-SML.20130320.7D.35734-Pano.Rectilinear.50x37.1
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #全景 #SMLPano #山水 #Landscape #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #城市 #Urban
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8538184863/sizes/o/ (full res 17721 x 3402)
I took my tripod down to the Ma On Shan Promenade today to do a 360 degree pano. I don’t yet have a pano head so the tiling closest to the lens cannot really be tiled correctly. But here again you see why this place is magical.
On the left hand side you see the Tolo Harbour, with Science Park to the left. And on the right, first in the middle is the Horizon Hotel, followed by some private development properties, the mountain seen nested between all the buildings is Ma On Shan, and to the far right is public housing development—different pricing, same view.
Also pictured in the middle are some crazy Hong Kong people using the fences to hang dry clothes in public. Seriously WTF. So you see what I posted earlier in my stream is not a singular example!
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-08T13:49:40 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 17721 x 3402
+ Exposure: 1/640 - 1/2000 sec at f/4.0
+ Focal Length: 17 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 360 degree horizontal, 62.8 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Cylindrical
+ GPS: 22°25'31" N 114°13'34" E
+ Altitude: -10.4 m
+ Location: 中國香港新界馬鞍山海濱長廊 中国香港新界马鞍山海滨长廊 Ma On Shan Promenade, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130308.7D.27330-SML.20130308.7D.27356-Pano.Cylindrical.360x62.8
+ Workflow: Hugin 2012, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography, 寧 Serenity
“馬鞍山海濱長廊 Ma On Shan Promenade” / 香港360度全景之寧 Hong Kong 360-degree Serenity Panorama / SML.20130308.7D.27330-SML.20130308.7D.27356-Pano.Cylindrical.360x62.8
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #SMLPano #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #城市 #Urban #街 #Street
The simplest thing are most beautiful. This is the reflection of the sunset at 城門河 Shing Mun River, a river in Shatin, Hong Kong.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shing_Mun_River
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-06 17:46:55 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3210 x 4891
+ Exposure: 1/500 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 125
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°22'46" N 114°11'28" E
+ Location: 中國香港新界沙田城門河 中国香港新界沙田城门河 Shing Mun River, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130306.7D.27064
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“日落金輝 Golden Sunset” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130306.7D.27064
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #日落 #Sunset #水 #Water
What is often rather unclear when photographing in near total darkness is the white point to develop in.
But since most image sensors are configured with 2G 1R and 1B, yellow (R+G) and green (G+G) are pretty good to work with. Here processed using green as layer. It could work just as well in black and white but I prefer the intensity of the warmth from the yellow glow so I pick it slightly towards lime.
Image sensors’ typical config: (where BG/GR together makes one single pixel)
BG BG BG
GR GR GR
This is why blue and reds are normally noisy but the greens in hardware is actually twice as much resolution. At least this is how I see it.
Photographed with Canon EOS M + Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM mounted on tripod; manual focus + manual exposure.
# SML Data
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
+ Date: 2013-01-23 20:32:10 GMT+0800
+ Camera: Canon EOS M
+ Lens: Canon EF 17-40 f/4L
+ Exposure: 15.0 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 40 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Dimensions: 3440 x 5160
+ GPS: 22°24'58" N 114°12'49" E
+ Serial: SML.20130123.EOSM.01585.P1
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“綠之寧 Green Serenity” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130123.EOSM.01585.P1
This is a time lapse with 1-minute intervals which spans a 24-hour period of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (香港中文大學 CUHK) from the vantage point of SML Universe HKG. A total of 1427 frames full res RAW files were captured to make this 1 minute long video. You can see that objects on water really do move quite a bit, and there are always some bizarre patterns on the water surface. It really is quite incredible.
I photographed this using fullres RAW because I intended to get enough footage for a 4K cinema release years from now. But HDD storage space is starting to become an issue, so I might shoot in fullres JPEG in the future because exporting all these RAW files for JPEG stills was somewhat time consuing as well.
Soundtrack is my own rendition of Bach Counter Fugue No.1 scored with Organ + Harpsichord.
+ Date: 2013-03-12 18:14:01 to 2013-03-13 18:00:01 (1-minute intervals) GMT+0800
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
+ Video: H264 MP4, 1920x1080 (1080p), 24fps, Progressive
+ Audio: AAC, 320 kbps, 48 kHz, Stereo
+ Length: 59 sec
+ Color: Color
+ Location: SML Universe Limited, Hong Kong, China
+ Subject: 香港中文大學 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) + 吐露港 Tolo Harbour
+ Photographer: See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Photography
+ Soundtrack: SML Music: Bach Counter Fugue No.1
+ Media Production: SML Universe
+ License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CCBY)
+ Copyright: 2013 See-ming Lee 李思明, SML Universe Limited
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 延時攝影 Time Lapse Photography
+ Serial: SML.20130312.7D.31822-SML.20130313.7D.33248-Timelapse.001
# SML 1080p Simulcast
+ SML Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8555883879/
+ SML Vimeo: vimeo.com/61783380
+ SML Universe YouTube: youtu.be/IwfJcfk6cTM
“中文大學一天變 CUHK in a day” / 寧 Serenity 延時攝影 Time Lapse Photography / SML.20130312.7D.31822-SML.20130313.7D.33248-Timelapse.001
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #延時 #TimeLapse #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLMusic #SMLVideography #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #城市 #Urban #中文大學 #CUHK #大學 #University
In Renaissance oil paintings there were often these magical cloudscape which seems out of this world, and yet nature presented itself as such outside my window yesterday. Stunning and majestic.
8 captures with the 6D + 24-70 handheld.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-08-27T18:41:29+0800
+ Dimensions: 8644 x 3897
+ Exposure: 1/80 sec at f/11
+ Focal Length: 70 mm
+ ISO: 320
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
+ Panorama FOV: 58 degree horizontal, 38 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Spherical
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Workflow: Autopango Giga 3, Lightroom 5
+ Serial: SML.20130827.6D.26923-SML.20130827.6D.26930-Pano.i8.58x38
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
黃昏雲霞 Sunset Cloudscape / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130827.6D.26923-SML.20130827.6D.26930-Pano.i8.58x38
/ #寧 #Serenity #全景 #Pano #Panorama #SMLPano #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #nature #馬鞍山 #MaOnShan #clouds #cloudscape #sunset
I enjoy works which have multiple levels of reading — the macro view vs the micro views. For these kinds of captures, however, I have wished that I would have the tools which have a high enough resolution (detail) for both views to register.
From afar (or if you view the photo as a thumbnail), you should see some very abstract lines. There are horizontal lines running from top to bottom, large strokes which are left behind by ships. From left to right, there are curves which is a reflection of the water current, ever so slightly.
But as you look closer, you would see that there are some tiny lines which go across the the frame. There is a tiny figure on the lower left, which is in fact a person windsurfing on the surface. There is in fact another person windsurfing at the far end of the sea also.
At the macro level, you will see the reflected sun as molten silver, which is another level of reading.
The figures in this photographs are participants of an otherwise abstract image. If the windsurfers are the focus, I would have photographed him directly with a long lens, which you can in an earlier capture shot at 400mm [1].
Life action shots cannot really be tiled easily, so as much as I would have loved to shoot the whole image with a 400mm, it could not possibly register as a single continuous image. Maybe if I have an array of 400mm + cameras? Or maybe a large format can do. 20 years later when I have that budget, perhaps. For now, just this bit.
# Notes
1. 滑浪風帆 Windsurfing / 香港水上運動 Hong Kong Water Sports / SML.20130526.7D.42169: www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9107548809/
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-26T16:29:26+0800
+ Dimensions: 5472 x 3648
+ Exposure: 1/800 sec at f/9.0
+ Focal Length: 70 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Camera: Canon EOS 6D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'33" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Workflow: Lightroom 5, Photoshop CC
+ Serial: SML.20130526.6D.15016.P1.BW
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 抽象 Abstract, 形 Forms
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
水 Water / 自然抽象之形 Nature Abstract Forms / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130526.6D.15016.P1.BW
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #抽象 #Abstract #形 #Forms #SMLForms #黑白 #BW #SMLBW #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #Seascape #windsurfing #sports
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9709341714/
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/9709341714/sizes/o/ (5472 x 3648)
I have been experimenting with using my own photography as a source image to influence image generation with Stable Diffusion. seeminglee.com/blog/serenity-ai-purple/
The rationale behind this is straightforward — I have taken lots of photos over the years, but the conditions under which they were taken were not always ideal. Photography is subject to a myriad of influencing factors, and even with a specific vision in mind, nature may not cooperate to allow that vision to be captured perfectly. Similarly, the ideal setting we imagine might simply not exist in reality.
That’s where the power of AI comes in. I’ve discovered its phenomenal ability to materialize the concepts I feed into it. A potential point of contention is that since these images are AI-generated, they might be perceived as the product of AI rather than my own creativity. This viewpoint occasionally arises among those unfamiliar with AI work. I personally disagree, but I’ll reserve that discussion for a separate post.
Considering these images are the fusion of my original photographs and my descriptive text prompts, the notion that they’re devoid of human creative input seems baseless. As such, in my opinion, they are completely entitled to copyright protection.
I plan on experimenting this further, exploring diverse series and themes. My archive is filled with photographs that I find intriguing but seem to be missing that final touch to elevate them. I’m optimistic that by leveraging text prompts, I’ll be able to address these shortcomings and conceive new creations that blend my photography and the power of imaginative prompting.
1-9. Night Serenity 夜之寧
Stable Diffusion with SDXL, using my own photography as source image.
- 50 Steps, DPM++ 2S a Karras
- SDXL Base 1.0, SDXL VAE 1.0
- Automatic1111 Version: v1.6.0
10. 春夜霧朦朧 紫空燦金輝 / 香港中文大學夜之寧 CUHK Night Serenity (60-sec LE) / SML.20130513.6D.06547
- Canon EOS 6D
- Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
- Manfrotto tripod
- Remote release with Canon TC-80N3
- f/11, 24mm, 60 sec, ISO 100
The serenity series are mostly photographs taken outside my window. It is the same exact view, but the scenery changes quite often—drama by nature!
The cloudscape at sunset this evening is simply too incredible not to capture it—nature never repeats itself so if I don’t do it today there will be no tomorrow to capture the same thing. Just wow! A panorama is currently being processed to show the full view. But since I already have a wide angle shot, I generally like to also do the detail view—with only the essence.
# SML Translate: 藍空看黃昏 雲海錦西山
+ 藍: blue.
+ 空: sky.
+ 看: view.
+ 黃昏: yellow sunset.
+ 雲: cloud.
+ 海: sea (describes vastness of clouds).
+ 錦: brocade (describes thickness of clouds).
+ 西: west (directional).
+ 山: mountain.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-04-02T18:13:38.00+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/125 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 70 mm
+ ISO: 125
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'25" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130402.7D.37459
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“藍空看黃昏 雲海錦西山” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130402.7D.37459
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #雲 #Cloud #Cloudscape #天 #空 #Sky
I have always wanted to take photographs of the moon, but I think that my lenses are just not long enough. Every telephoto beyond the 400mm range are all > US$10,000+ — where do people get that kind of dough to buy those lenses? I can’t quite justify that yet. I wish that Hong Kong has a place for lens rentals. There must be something like this here. Or maybe in mainland China?
# SML Translate: 藍空掛白月 雲澌獨自寧
+ 藍: Blue.
+ 空: Air, sky.
+ 掛: Hang, hook. Metaphor for the moon floating in air.
+ 白: White.
+ 月: Moon.
+ 雲: Clouds.
+ 澌: Disappeared.
+ 獨: alone.
+ 自: by oneself.
+ 寧: Serenity.
+ 藍空掛白月 雲澌獨自寧: The moon floats by itself in a clear blue sky without clouds and finds serenity on its own. (It contains an autobiographical suggestion where I generally prefer not interfacing with humans and that I find comfort being on my own)
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-02-22 17:17:33 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3376 x 5064
+ Exposure: 1/640 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 280 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ GPS: 22°25'8" N 114°13'35" E
+ Location: 中國香港馬鞍山遊樂場 中国香港马鞍山游乐场 Ma On Shan Recreation Ground, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong, China
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130222.7D.24506
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
“藍空掛白月 雲澌獨自寧” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130222.7D.24506
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #自然 #Nature #藍 #Blue #天 #空 #Sky #月 #Moon
www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/8527234502/sizes/o/ (20575 x 2198 original)
It used to be that I must mount on tripod to do panorama—Not anymore. Hugin, which is open source and thus free, has an uncanny ability to align images. The best part is that it can do so interactively.
Pictured from left to right:
+ 科學園 Science Park (in the foreground). A campus-like environment designed for established technology enterprises as well as startups as venue to promote interaction and innovation at a local as well as global level. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Science_Park
+ 大埔工業村 Tai Po Industrial Estates (in the background). An industrial zone for Hong Kong industrial factories. It also house the headquarters of Asia Television Limited, which broadcasts one of Hong Kong’s primary television channel ATV Home and ATV World. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Po_Industrial_Estate
+ 八仙嶺 Pat Sin Leng (the great span of mountains). A mountain range located within the Pat Sin Leng Country Park. The name 八仙嶺 literally means “Ridge of the Eight Immortals”, who are famous xian ("immortals; transcendents; fairies") in Chinese Mythology, and symbolizes the eight peaks along the Pat Sin Leng mountain range, each named after a different Immortal. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Sin_Leng
+ 吐露港 Tolo Harbour (the great span of water). In the past pearls were very abundant here. Pearl hunting had been a major industry in Tai Po from Han Dynasty. The hunting lasted until the Ming Dynasty, when the pearl oysters were nearly extinct in the area. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolo_Harbour
+ 聽濤雅苑 Vista Paradiso (the window on the far right). Where SML Universe HKG is located at and where I took this photo. So yeah the view is pretty spectacular here. It is also where most of the photographs from my 寧 Serenity series was taken at.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-04 10:56:23 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 20575 x 2198
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM + Canon EF 1.4x Extender III
+ Focal Length: 98 mm
+ Panorama FOV: 68 degree horizontal, 10 degree vertical
+ GPS: 18°8'43" N 112°39'33" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 科學園 + 大埔工業村 + 八仙嶺 + 吐露港 + 聽濤雅苑 Science Park + Tai Po Industrial Estates + Pat Sin Leng + Tolo Harbour + Vista Paradiso
+ Serial: SML.20130304.7D.26296-SML.20130304.7D.26307-SML.Pano.Rectilinear.68x10
+ Workflow: Hugin 2012, Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
“科學園 + 大埔工業村 + 八仙嶺 + 吐露港 + 聽濤雅苑 Science Park + Tai Po Industrial Estates + Pat Sin Leng + Tolo Harbour + Vista Paradiso” / 香港全景之寧 Hong Kong Serenity Panorama / SML.20130304.7D.26296-SML.20130304.7D.26307-SML.Pano.Rectilinear.68x10
/ #寧 #serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #SMLPano #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape
For a long while now, I have wondered what those weird rocks formation across the harbour is. Now that I can zoom way far, I took a pano and realised that they were not rocks at all. They were in fact Chinese traditional tombstones.
In remote locations in Hong Kong, there lies these traditional burial grounds which have been present before the modern times and dates back far before the Opium War after which the British took over as part of a 99 year lease from China [1].
The 風水 fengshui is excellent here. Its back is against the mountains and it faces the ocean. The area is called Yim Tin Tsai (Chinese: 鹽田仔; literally "Little Salt Field") [2]. It is apparently an island and is connected to the mainland in the north by a road to The Beverely Hills [3], a luxury residential development, and to the island of Ma Shi Chau [4] in the east by a tombolo.
Perhaps even more interesting is that a late neolithic prehistoric site sting back to about 4,000 years ago has been identified on the island. Members of the Hakka Chan (陳) clan were thought to have moved from today’s Shenzhen and settled in Yim Tin Tsai during the 19th century.
I have seen many fishermen boats coming from that vicinity towards me (also in the center of my capture), and it appears that there is in fact a fisherman village as well as a typhoon shelter for boats just across the hill.
(This sounds like a potentially full-blown photojournalism article for me to work on in the future—stay tuned)
Stitched together using 13 full resolution captures on the 7D with the 100-400.
# Notes
1. History of Hong Kong: Wikipedia: EN: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hong_Kong
2. Yim Tin Tsai (Chinese: 鹽田仔; literally "Little Salt Field") is an island of Hong Kong located in Tolo Harbour. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yim_Tin_Tsai_(Tai_Po)
3. The Beverly Hills (Chinese: 比華利山別墅) is an upscale, private gated community in Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, situated along the coastline with a panoramic view of Tolo Harbour, developed by Henderson Land Development. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beverly_Hills
4. Ma Shi Chau (Chinese: 馬屎洲 Cantonese: ma5 si2 zau1, literally meaning "horse excrement island") is an island of Hong Kong, under the administration of Tai Po District. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Shi_Chau
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-02T15:06:40+0800
+ Dimensions: 12723 x 2939
+ Exposure: 1/640 sec at f/7.1
+ Focal Length: 400 mm
+ ISO: 400
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ Panorama FOV: 12 degree horizontal, 10 degree vertical
+ Panoramic Projection: Rectilinear
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港大埔鹽田仔 Yim Tin Tsai, Taipo, Hong Kong
+ Workflow: Hugin 2012, Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130502.7D.40971-SML.20130502.7D.40983-Pano.Rectilinear.12x10
+ Series: 全景攝影 Panoramic Photography
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“大埔鹽田仔 Yim Tin Tsai in Taipo” / 香港全景之寧 Hong Kong Panoramic Serenity / SML.20130502.7D.40971-SML.20130502.7D.40983-Pano.Rectilinear.12x10
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #全景 #Pano #SMLPano #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山水 #landscape #自然 #Nature #山 #mountains #Tombs #風水 #Fengshui
Landscape photographers know that sunsets and sunrises are the best time for photography. The sun’s brightness is greatly diminished when at the horizon. At a relatively lower altitude, the clouds are rendered in a golden shade of off-white, thus balancing the overall color composition.
Human’s color vision is governed by two axis: Green ←→ Magenta and Blue ←→ Yellow [1], which is precisely why working in Photoshop’s Lab color space [2] has an advantage as you are balancing the what humans see and not what the monitor represents (which is RGB).
Pictured: The amazing cloudscape at sunset above 香港中文大學 The Chinese University of Hong Kong [3].
# SML Translate
+ 日: sun
+ 落: down, falling down, coming down
+ 日落: sunset
+ 西: west, western
+ 山: mountain
+ 日落西山: the sun sets at the mountain to the West
+ 雲: cloud
+ 海: sea
+ 觀: view, observation
+ 日落西山雲海觀: the sun sets at the mountain to the West while we observe the beautiful scenery of the sea of clouds.
# Notes
1. The color opponent process is a color theory that states that the human visual system interprets information about color by processing signals from cones and rods in an antagonistic manner.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opponent_process
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_vision
2. A Lab color space is a color-opponent space with dimension L for lightness and a and b for the color-opponent dimensions, based on nonlinearly compressed CIE XYZ color space coordinates.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lab_color_space
3. 香港中文大學 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Abbreviation: CUHK or The Chinese University) is the second oldest university in Hong Kong. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_University_of_Hong_Kong
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-01-21 17:21:02 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 3154 x 4731
+ Exposure: 1/500 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 24 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L
+ GPS: 22°25'9" N 114°13'25" E (SML Universe HKG)
+ Series: 寧 Serenity
# SML Workflow
Photographed with Canon 7D, processed in Lab mode in Photoshop CS6, noise reduction in Lightroom 4.
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“日落西山雲海觀 日落西山云海观 Sunset Cloudscape” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130121.7D.20684.C23.P1
A blue yacht from the CUHK Water Sports Centre (香港中文大學水上運動中心) sails in peaceful waters at Tolo Harbour. Its simple triangular forms accents well with the organic reflected forms of the water surface.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-05-07T12:46:59+0800
+ Dimensions: 3456 x 5184
+ Exposure: 1/1000 sec at f/5.6
+ Focal Length: 400 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
+ GPS: 22°25'10" N 114°13'26" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 香港吐露港 Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Serial: SML.20130507.7D.41086
+ Series: 體育 Sports, 男 Men, 形 Forms
# Media Licensing
Creative Commons (CCBY) See-ming Lee 李思明 / SML Photography / SML Universe Limited
“孤舟獨航 Sailing (CUHK WSC)” / 香港水上體育運動之形 Hong Kong Water Sports Forms / SML.20130507.7D.41086
/ #形 #Forms #SMLForms #體育 #Sports #男 #Men #SMLMen #CreativeCommons #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #人 #people #攝影 #摄影 #photography #yacht #Sailing #blue #watersports #CUHK
Everything is a blur on a foggy day like this. Amazingly I have already tried expanding the dynamic range a bit with curves, but it still takes quite some effort to extract some details. If you have a sharp eye, you will find two ships sailing amidst the serene waters. The color is so muted that they appear almost like color noise—and they do. But there is something comforting about this blue gray hue, so I kept it.
In Chinese traditional painting, landscape is called 山水. 山 means mountains. 水 means water. Together they mean landscape—as it appears that those are the two key ingredients which makes up a Chinese landscape. Which this should be one. The ships is the 人氣 life force—another necessary ingredient in Chinese painting. No matter how tiny, they add a bit of life to the overall composition. Thus this is me trying to do Chinese painting, through photography.
# SML Data
+ Date: 2013-03-21 12:13:33 GMT+0800
+ Dimensions: 5184 x 3456
+ Exposure: 1/125 sec at f/8.0
+ Focal Length: 34 mm
+ ISO: 100
+ Flash: Did not fire
+ Camera: Canon EOS 7D
+ Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
+ GPS: 22°25'31" N 114°13'15" E
+ Location: SML Universe HKG
+ Subject: 中國香港八仙嶺和吐露港 Tolo Harbour + Pat Sin Leng, Hong Kong, China
+ Serial: SML.20130321.7D.35763
+ Workflow: Lightroom 4
+ Series: 寧 Serenity, 自然 Nature, 山水 Landscape
“霧山水 Fog, Mountains, Water” / 寧 Serenity / SML.20130321.7D.35763
/ #寧 #Serenity #SMLSerenity #自然 #Nature #山水 #Landscape #CCBY #SMLPhotography #SMLUniverse #SMLProjects
/ #中國 #中国 #China #香港 #HongKong #攝影 #摄影 #photography #山 #Mountains #水 #Water #霧 #Fog