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My friend Guy and I did a shoot not long ago with Cheryl, who’s a cool professional model with some amazing tattoos, and also well versed in photography tricks. I love shooting around neon lights, but there are very few remaining in Singapore, and many are not at street level. The few that we can access are a bit small…
This was from a while back, I was hired by an Manic, an incredible creative agency based in Singapore, to do a photoshoot for two cool boutique hotels in Singapore, Classique and Strand. They were inspired by some street shots I had recently took around Haji Lane. The agency did a great job designing these sites, they look fantastic.
A while back I did a fun shoot at Sum Yi Tai with a model I hired. It was a Wong Kar Wai-theme shoot with the model wearing a cheongsam and drinking cocktails. Lots of fun. The owners of the restaurant were very kind to let me use their space and helped out a lot. Some time later, I got…
Foreground bokeh can be achieved through layered Photoshop effects, or by getting clever with any transparent object you can get your hands on. Stop by any smoke shop and for about $0.50 cents grab a blue, red or any color lighter you like. During the shoot, hold the transparent end right up in front of your lens and start shooting….
I built my own light kit two years ago using an acid battery, an inverter and a set of colored fluorescent lights. The battery can power them for about 2 hours. These lights are powerful, I can light up a pretty big space with them or give subtle accents to my subjects. But one thing they are not is portable….
I started a project almost two years ago where I wanted to learn about two things. How to better tell a story through photography, and how to hire and manage a professional model. To tell a better story, I decided to rewatch all the classic Hong Kong cinema that I grew up loving so much and gave special attention to…
Had a fun and quick shoot last week with a model named Chloe. Totally random, was looking for models with cool tattoos for a shoot and she was one of the models who responded. Did a walk through Rochor Centre and Bugis and got a nice set from it. Was quite funny as when Chloe arrived, her friend was there…
I spent three weeks in Japan recently, mostly for vacation and a bit of it business. Of course while there I shot a lot of street. Some of my favorite spaces to shoot in are Nakano, Akihabara, Ebisu, Shibuya, Harajuku and Shinjuku. Most are obviously good spots and in every guidebook. However you really need to slow down and take…
For the last two years I’ve decided to ease up on street photography and take what inspired me from shooting street and carefully craft my photos from it. Each session I try new things and develop new techniques. I had an idea in the beginning to shoot using a petrol generator to power a set of colored fluorescent lights. Now…
I started asking strangers for portraits a few years ago, it came about for two reasons. I currently live in Singapore and this city is an incredible convergence of cultures. There are so many beautiful people from around the world here, which makes it an ideal place to take portraits. The other reason is more a deeper personal reason. In…
It was really cool of Sigma France to publish my article about my experience shooting only with Sigma lenses for 24 hours in Shanghai, China. The article was written in French, so I thought I would share the English version here: So I played my cards right and made it to Shanghai a day early at my own expense before…
About a month ago I was invited by Sigma France to write on my experience shooting with Sigma lenses. I travel frequently for work and thought it would be fun to write about shooting only with Sigma lenses for a day in Shanghai, China. So I went a day earlier to a business workshop to do it and prepared a…
Starting a photography series is not hard, take a simple concept and run with it for however many photos it takes before you feel satisfied that it’s complete. You could artificially create a series, such as people holding red boxes around the world, then carry a red box wherever you go for a year and take photos of strangers holding…
A few months back I was invited to share my photography in the latest and final issue of be movement, for the special SG 50 celebration issue. It’s a beautiful magazine so if you manage to find a copy, please pick one up. It was a pleasure working with the be movement team on this. You can find out more…
Quick thoughts on the Samyang 14mm f2.8 Lets get something out of the way first, with some practice, 14mm makes everything look epic and exciting. For those of you who are new to this, 14mm is not like a fisheye lens which intentionally distorts everything, 14mm lenses are typically “rectilinear”, which means it produces images with straight lines and very…
Check out the latest Singapore issue of TRVL, featuring 10 of my Singapore photos! https://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/trvl/id391961927?mt=8
Shooting with the D810 is wonderful, like driving the nicest car you can imagine. Pairing it with some funky old piece of glass may not be what a lot of people think about when they consider a camera like this, but lately I wanted to see what else is out there, outside the Nikon bubble. Achieving a swirly bokeh with…
One of my photos made it into the Flickr 10th anniversary book, “#flickr10”. Thanks Flickr!
Had my photography featured in a Singapore travel article in China National Travel(CNT VISUAL) magazine!
Hanoi, Vietnam is an absolute dream for street photographers. Employ the most basic travel smarts and your equipment should remain safe for the duration of the journey. In brief, 5 simple tips to keep your photo walks in Vietnam safe and fun, ensuring an awesome experience: 1. Walk around with only 2-3 lenses max, and keep them concealed in a…
Just spent the last 4 nights in Hanoi, Vietnam. Took with me the 50mm f1.2, 85mm f1.4, and the 20mm f3.5(Voigtlander) and had a GREAT time. Going to write a post shortly on the experience, but here’s a shot to share for now.
At the moment, Nikon users have only a few options for Nikon branded 35mm lenses. The high end 35mm f1.4 G intended for full frame bodies, the 35mm f2 AFD with the same intention for full frame, and the 35mm f1.8 DX intended for cropped frame bodies. Not really worth mentioning as it’s not really a lens that is easily…
I had the pleasure of spending the evening a day ago with Waseq, a talented photographer visiting for the week to attend a study session here in Singapore. Check out his beautiful photos here. Over coffee and tea that evening at Killiney, we decided to hit the streets of Orchard and get us some portraits of strangers. Typically shooting candids,…
I’m doing the next APAW at CRC. I better see you all there so get in on this! 🙂 More details here: http://tinyurl.com/ms4edfw
ISO at 1250, f1.2, 50mm on my D700, handheld 1/200. Can push it much further. I like to embrace the grain, I’ve never been a fan of the “perfect” photo, and I cringe when people talk “sharpness”. Art photography is something I love very deeply, so I am not out for a reality imitating capture, I am out to capture…
Finally got around to tidying up my Flickr account into “Collections”. Check ’em out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonsiegel/collections/ Going to start separating my Chinatown and Little India shots into their own series(sets). Often I get into discussions about Flickr and why I continue to stay with them. I have many reasons for this, but thought I’d share my top 5 here: 1. Flickr…
The other day, as I made my way to the train station, rather than enter and go home, I walked past it and kept walking. Took a left turn, and parked myself across a busy sidewalk from a Chinese medicine shop. I stood there, relaxed and waited for a bit, for the right person or couple to wander past so…
Xeni from Boingboing.net posted my photos from Thaipusam in Singapore! Thanks Xeni!! Link
Lately I realized that I do not generally share a lot about myself online besides my photos. One of the pitfalls of social media, is that it can be rather deceptive when used as a tool to analyze a person and their activities, and unless you are a skilled detective, it is doubtful that you will be reading between the…
Initially I wrote back with a bit of a long reply to someone who kindly wrote to ask whether a switch from cropped sensor to full frame would make a substantial difference in their photography. I got a little carried away and included a few other tips about my own personal journey in photography. Tips which I thought I might…