Hei everyone! I’m back with another video and I am very excited to share this video with you guys. Today, I’m gonna talk about one awesome location that is the easiest to get to, the cheapest place to park and yet it has the best options for sunrise and sunset photography. In fact, if you start from this location, you can access more than 9 stunning different spots for sunrise and sunset. I’m gonna reveal exactly how to get there, and how to find these compositions.

So the beauty of this location is that it all starts out from one point, and from that point it leads to many different possibilities. Most conveniently, this place also has the cheapest carpark. I’m talking of course, about the esplanade.

So here are more than 9 different spots you can shoot from, starting from the Esplanade.

More than 9 different locations within a short walk from the Esplanade

1.) Start from the Esplanade outdoor theatre. From here, I like to observe the water conditions. If the water is calm and reflective, you can shoot a panoramic with The Central Business District on one end, and balance the composition with the MBS on the other end.

If the water is calm enough and there are no boats, you can get a panoramic image here.

2.) If you’re not a fan of panos, you can also walk to the beginning of the Jubilee Bridge. There, you can shoot a portrait or landscape image of the CBD skyline, with the city lights still on if you’re early enough.

Stand at the beginning of the Jubilee Bridge from the Esplanade

2a.) For sunset, you can cross under the bridge and set up on the other side of Jubilee Bridge. Get a good shot of the buildings looming above the Anderson Bridge in the distance.

Stand on the other side of Jubilee Bridge and shoot towards Anderson Bridge for sunset

Use other photographers so show the scale of the skyscrapers

3.) Get on the Jubilee Bridge, walk a little further into the bridge. Stop and turn left. If the water is reflective enough, you can get a shot of MBS in the water reflections.

There’s plenty of potential spots for photography on Jubilee Bridge

4.) Keep walking until you reach the Merlion. There’s a number of possible compositions you can shoot here, both in landscape and in portrait. Personally, I like to go wide and shoot a panoramic here. Balance the framing with MBS right smack in the center, with the Merlion on the right, and the Singapore Flyer on the left. If you’re here in late February, the sun may rise in line with the Museum of Art and Science.

Merlion Park is usually crowded with tourists.

I’m gonna stop here for a pro tip. Guys, I can’t over stress this. When shooting a sunrise or sunset, always look in front of you as well as behind you, because the beauty of a sunrise or sunset can happen either in the direction where the sun is setting, or in the completely opposite direction. Just to prove this point, if you’ve watched my last video you know that I shot 30 sunrises in row from home. One of these shots is a sunrise, and one of these is a sunset. Remember that rays like these or dramatic cloud formations can occur both in front or behind you.

Crepuscular rays can appear in the direction of the sun, and anti-crepuscular rays in the completely opposite direction. It always pays to look behind you as well as in front of you.

So if the skies are suitable, walk in front of the Merlion and shoot back towards the Fullerton Hotel

If the skies work better, you can sometimes shoot in the opposite direction as the sun.

Interesting cloud formations sometimes make the shot better

This is the furthest we’re going to walk from this point. According to Google Maps, if you walk straight here from the Esplanade it would have taken you only 5 minutes. What if we turn left from the Esplanade instead?

5.) (Sunset only) Walk to the Helix Bridge, from the base of the bridge, you’ll see many photographers set up there.

The Helix Bridge is a popular spot for photographers, but it only works well for sunset instead of sunrise.

Photographers are a common sight along the riverbank.

You can setup there, or set up on the bridge itself

Pro tip: Use a ND filter in a crowded place like this to make the crowd disappear. If no one stops moving during your exposure time, you may get a shot that looks empty even though there were people.

6.) Walk to the Art Science Museum. There are some opportunities for you here.

You can get a reflection shot of the city skyline in the water,

Use a circular polariser to bring out reflections like these.

with some fishes as foreground, framed by the Arts Science Museum

Fish as foreground. Here, the opposite effect of a polariser is used to cut down reflections instead so the fish are more obvious.

7.) You can also walk to the edge of the riverfront, use symmetry as your compositional element

This shot works best during sunrise before any boats disrupt the stillness of the water.

This image was short listed as a top-tier image by the Motif Collective!

8.) Next option, for sunset only, walk towards Louis Vuitton. You will see this very popular viewpoint, but this is only suitable for one photographer at a time

Space for only one photographer here, best to go alone.

Moody and dark skies make for a haunting image.

9.) Finally, walk towards the Marina Bay Waterfront for a sunset shot of the Singapore skyline.

This perspective is only possible as a panoramic.

If you’re heading home from here, the MRT station is right inside MBS. If you drove and you have to walk back to the Esplanade, it’s a 20 minute walk back.

So that’s 9 amazing locations you can shot from, just by starting out from the Esplanade. I know that Gardens by the Bay is just around the corner, but I think we’ve covered enough of one amazing location. Let me know if I missed out anything.

More than 9 photography spots all within 20 minutes walk of the Esplanade.

As always guys thank you for reading, shalom and good bye!

Singapore's Best Photography Locations

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