Hi All, I have started photography for only a couple of months. Try as I might, there seems to be very little info on shooting a subject like the Sentosa musical fountain at night. Any information on how to approach this subject is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-- Loke W F (lokewf@yahoo.com.sg), April 11, 2003

Answers

Hi Loke,

First of all you'll need a sturdy tripod to prevent camera shake. If you don't have one and are interested in night photography, it'd be a good idea to invest in one. Barring that, you'll have to find a stable place to sit your camera.

Secondly, you'll need a camera that can keep the shutter open for a few seconds. i.e. most later SLRs have shutter speeds as long as 30 sec. or you can use the "B" function or if you have it, "T" function. Bulb means you open the shutter by pressing the release button and it stays open until you release the button. "T" or trip as I like to refer to it, means the shutter opens when you activate it normally, press and release, and it stays open until you activate it again. Use a remote release cable or your self timer to avoid touching the camera (vibration) to fire the shutter.

If you've got mirror lock-up facility on your camera, use it also. This means you flip the mirror up before you fire the shutter. Vibrations caused by the mirror when it flips up can sometimes affect the sharpness of the photograph.

The object is to minimise vibration when the shutter opens.

Thirdly, high speed film is not necessary due to long shutter speeds. Suggest you use ASA 100 for better colour and finer grain.

You can use a wide angle lens to capture the scenery of the laser light show, or long zoom to focus in on details like individual water spouts.

But most of all, enjoy your photography.

hope this helps.

PM

-- PM (gundam78sg@yahoo.com), April 11, 2003.

hi again,

Sorry but I typed the wrong e-mail address last time.

-- PM (gundam78sg@yahoo.com.sg), April 11, 2003.

Why I can not see any pics here? Thanks.

-- Sally (fountain@public.bta.net.cn), November 24, 2003.