SITN@shuttersinthenight.comFind

Shooting B&W Film in Singapore with Nicholas Koh

Nicholas Koh shared an engaging and surreal set of photographs he took in Singapore, titled Past Your Bedtime, with us. Nicholas, who started out with digital photography, decided to challenge himself by shooting exclusively with push-processed film for this project. By pushing his Ilford HP5+ film to extreme levels (up to ISO 6400 equiv.), he made nighttime shooting possible and imparted the whole set with a stark, high-impact look. Here’s how Nicholas describes the look of pushed film at night:

I liken pushed film to charcoal drawings. Blacks are sooty and deep, and lights, where available, are usually strong points emanating from artificial sources. Shooting at night, your images will naturally be high in contrast, and pushing the film only increases this effect.

Nicholas reports that although pushing film allows for higher shutter speeds, he still ends up shooting hand-held at 1/5 to 1/2-second shutter speeds in some cases. That’s not an issue though, as he places greater importance on composition and framing than grain or blur. Black and white photography puts compositional skill at the forefront, as the absence of color leaves you with only the basic forms, shapes, and patterns present in the image. Nicholas explains:

With B&W photography, you’re left with the most basic of compositional aids – Rule of 3rds (or not), Framing, Leading Lines, and the interplay between Light and Shadow. A B&W photo makes the most of the above 4 to capture a photograph that tells a story.

The photos in Past Your Bedtime were primarily taken in urban areas of Singapore during the very early hours of the night, as streetlife remains active well past midnight. Nicholas describes his city outings in his own words:

I will think of a place that I feel has enough lively elements during that time of the night and just wander around the area, shooting. I like the wandering aspect, as I will almost always come across something interesting. Maybe it’s a scene that will not work at night, so I file that place away in my mind to come back when it’s light and take another look. Most of the photos are taken between 2-4am. Where I live, midnight to two can still be quite lively, and 2-4am is a good balance.

See more of Past Your Bedtime, and visit Nicholas’s website.

Little India, Singapore. There’s something about this photo that’s beautifully creepy. The light reflects off the booth and softens it up for the pushcart, framing everything nicely. I walked up to meter the scene off the grey metal shutters on the right, then closed down a stop for good measure. The negative I got was quite thin, but my scanner did a good job pulling out the details where it mattered.
Little India, Singapore. There’s something about this photo that’s beautifully creepy. The light reflects off the booth and softens it up for the pushcart, framing everything nicely. I walked up to meter the scene off the grey metal shutters on the right, then closed down a stop for good measure. The negative I got was quite thin, but my scanner did a good job pulling out the details where it mattered.
Little India, Singapore. Singapore is a pretty safe country, as evidenced by this family sleeping with the door to their home open. It does get warm here though, even during the nights, so the big fan was blasting away and the open door helped in air circulation. Homes like these situated in run down looking shophouses might look unkempt but the land they’re sitting on is literally worth millions in the land-starved country of Singapore.
Little India, Singapore. Singapore is a pretty safe country, as evidenced by this family sleeping with the door to their home open. It does get warm here though, even during the nights, so the big fan was blasting away and the open door helped in air circulation. Homes like these situated in run down looking shophouses might look unkempt but the land they’re sitting on is literally worth millions in the land-starved country of Singapore.
Little India, Singapore. I can’t tell if the shopkeeper is cleaning up before a day begins, or after a long night has ended. Such is the ambiguity of shooting at 3 in the morning.
Little India, Singapore. I can’t tell if the shopkeeper is cleaning up before a day begins, or after a long night has ended. Such is the ambiguity of shooting at 3 in the morning.
Punggol, Singapore. I was looking for high-contrast scenes with minimalistic elements. In fact, this will be a theme for my next series of photographs. I imagine it to be a love letter to Michael Kenna and Ralph Gibson. Anyway, roads here are usually either very busy, or straight as a ruler. I like the undulating back-roads found here, as they can add depth to the image.
Punggol, Singapore. I was looking for high-contrast scenes with minimalistic elements. In fact, this will be a theme for my next series of photographs. I imagine it to be a love letter to Michael Kenna and Ralph Gibson. Anyway, roads here are usually either very busy, or straight as a ruler. I like the undulating back-roads found here, as they can add depth to the image.
Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. I was walking around on foot when these two light globes were just obnoxiously radiating light everywhere. They might work nicely as a framing device, so I pre-focused, and loitered around the path. Sure enough, a cyclist came along and I captured him at just the right moment, bookended by the two light globes.
Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. I was walking around on foot when these two light globes were just obnoxiously radiating light everywhere. They might work nicely as a framing device, so I pre-focused, and loitered around the path. Sure enough, a cyclist came along and I captured him at just the right moment, bookended by the two light globes.
Punggol, Singapore. Another creepy shot. It was around Halloween when I took this shot, so the robot could be a community-based project that I chanced upon. The vertical streaks were a result of my processing, probably silver contaminants in my overaged fixer and insufficient rinsing.
Punggol, Singapore. Another creepy shot. It was around Halloween when I took this shot, so the robot could be a community-based project that I chanced upon. The vertical streaks were a result of my processing, probably silver contaminants in my overaged fixer and insufficient rinsing.
Little India, Singapore. This public portaloo is actually pentagonal in shape and houses 4 urinals spread in a radial pattern. I liked how light spilling in from the ajar door actually frames one of the urinals. Here, it is a frame within a frame within a frame. I was using a 28mm, so I had to get up really close, and you can imagine the smell wasn’t too encouraging, haha.
Little India, Singapore. This public portaloo is actually pentagonal in shape and houses 4 urinals spread in a radial pattern. I liked how light spilling in from the ajar door actually frames one of the urinals. Here, it is a frame within a frame within a frame. I was using a 28mm, so I had to get up really close, and you can imagine the smell wasn’t too encouraging, haha.
Waterloo Street, Singapore. Shooting at the late hours, you don’t get many people around. This lady is obviously drawn out after a long day, serving customers at the adjoining food center. Here in Singapore, we have food centers (also called “coffee shops” or “hawker centers”) where small food vendors set up stalls in a large area with communal sitting. A good portion of these places are open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, to cater to the city’s populace. I took this with a 21mm lens, thus I had to get up close for this shot. She didn’t have the patience for me, as you can tell from the skewed lines but I think it adds to the photo.
Waterloo Street, Singapore. Shooting at the late hours, you don’t get many people around. This lady is obviously drawn out after a long day, serving customers at the adjoining food center. Here in Singapore, we have food centers (also called “coffee shops” or “hawker centers”) where small food vendors set up stalls in a large area with communal sitting. A good portion of these places are open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, to cater to the city’s populace. I took this with a 21mm lens, thus I had to get up close for this shot. She didn’t have the patience for me, as you can tell from the skewed lines but I think it adds to the photo.
Little India, Singapore. The man in the foreground saw me snapping away and requested for me to take a photo of him. It’s rare that I get requests like that. I like this photo because of the other 2 elements here, both “framed” in their respective windows of pillars.
Little India, Singapore. The man in the foreground saw me snapping away and requested for me to take a photo of him. It’s rare that I get requests like that. I like this photo because of the other 2 elements here, both “framed” in their respective windows of pillars.
Tampines, Singapore. I was driving along a winding backroad in the northeastern part of Singapore when these two… structures, loomed into view. I had no idea what they were, but they were protected by high fences and stern looking signs. Thankfully, there was an open field next to it. It was a moonless night and the light meter on my camera flat out told me it was way too dark to take this shot. I had to bring out the emergency tripod I have in the car (it’s a photographer thing), set it on bulb and captured with a 2 second exposure. Didn’t have a timer with me, so it was a “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand…” moment. Turned out pretty well!
Tampines, Singapore. I was driving along a winding backroad in the northeastern part of Singapore when these two… structures, loomed into view. I had no idea what they were, but they were protected by high fences and stern looking signs. Thankfully, there was an open field next to it. It was a moonless night and the light meter on my camera flat out told me it was way too dark to take this shot. I had to bring out the emergency tripod I have in the car (it’s a photographer thing), set it on bulb and captured with a 2 second exposure. Didn’t have a timer with me, so it was a “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand…” moment. Turned out pretty well!

Related posts:

Top