13 September 2009 ride report - Daybreak!

I have been getting quite a number of people asking me the question "Where do you get the energy?" over the last few days. It seems I have been out riding a lot, many times till very late in the night (or rather the wee hours of the morning), just to do it all over again the next day. I have often wondered myself why my two boys are so energetic...chip of the old block maybe?

Anyway, I got up early this morning because I wanted to capture the sunrise. Yeah, I do have a fascination with the sunrise...and now you know I wasn't lying...hahaha! There is something special about it that keeps me going back for more. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it before, each new sunrise brings back the same feelings of awe, rejuvenation and hope.

I took my bike out, as usual, on my little morning adventure. I took the shortest route to the Marina Barrage, praying that I would  make it on time...and for beautiful cloud cover. You see, I always check the weather forecast before I leave and this morning's forecast was "partly cloudy"...perfect for sunrise photography IF the the right kind of cloud decides to show up. I got there just before the sky started to brighten and quickly scouted out a location for my shoot.

I decided that I would station myself on the roof garden and capture the sunrise from here. I had one of my favourite lenses on my camera this morning (AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4G ED DX) and I was looking forward to some beautiful wide-angle shots. After awhile on the roof garden, it was clear to me that this was the best I could get...because the cloud was not covering the right part of the sky.

Can you see how the bottom and top parts of the sky is brightening up in a bluish hue while the middle part is starting to get a little orange? This is caused by the low and thick cloud cover at the horizon, blocking the sun's rays. The cloud cover thinned out the higher up you look at the sky. That is why the orange part began in the middle and not right at the bottom. Still, I loved the way the lit structure contrasts with the (still dark) sky. It looked pretty to me and I was pleased as a peach!

I decided then to move down to the ground level for some other angles since I wasn't going to get what I originally envisioned up on the roof garden. Once on the ground level, I scouted out another location near the water side and practically camped there waiting for the colours to unfold. I did not have to wait long (well, only about 30 minutes or so) before this showed up.

I would normally have slapped on a telephoto lens on my camera to capture the perfectly formed sun. Fortunately, I managed to improvise with my only lens (which happened to be a super wide-angle lens) to capture this scene. I sat there for a long while just watching the day break...it was spectacular!

When the sun got higher up in the sky, I decided it was time for another photograph of my bike (haven't done those for awhile)...so I rode out to a place nearer the Marina South Pier and found this spot!

Don't ask me why I like this dark photograph where you can hardly see my bike...I just like it. After all, while I wanted to show my bike in the picture, the bike isn't the point of the picture. Yup, it was the sunrise I was after and I wanted my bike there because this will fit into my "bike landscape" collection later. Hahaha! Anyway, isn't it grand that I can get the bike so close to water? No way I can do that with my car!

I found this gem of a spot where people come to fish in the evenings, I think. There weren't many people there at this time of the morning so it made for a perfect spot for some light trail riding. I did not want to disturb the folks who were there to fish so I did not ride long at all...just five minutes...and I parked my bike to walk around and take pictures.

Many boats were going and coming to the pier while I was there. I realized suddenly that this pier replaces the original Clifford Pier! All the boats that used to dock there are now docking here instead. I even saw the Cheng Ho junk boat coming into the pier! Cool!

I was going to call it a morning but I suddenly had the urge to go to Mount Faber. I haven't been there for awhile and thought I should take the opportunity while I was within the vicinity (kinda). Riding up Mount Faber was fantastic! The roads were winding and the air was fresh. I took a slow ride up this morning...enjoying the start of this brand new Sunday. As I rode around the hill, I saw this off to the left side of the road.

I just love how that big cloud added so much drama to the otherwise plain looking sky. The entire city looks to be bathed in golden light. I felt that the drama unfolding in the sky reflected the life that was beating within the city below. I was thankful that I captured this shot quickly as this particular scene only lasted a minute...phew!

Daybreak. My favourite part of the day. Though the light show moves fast, the effects of it remains with me long after...and I believe that I am far better off having witnessed the splendour of it all. My hope is that more would experience the inspiration that daybreak has in store for us, everyday, without fail. I made a little promise to myself, then, that I would bring this to as many as I could...and that I would return...many times over!