02 Sports Photography

The theme I chose for this photography project is “Colours of Life”, and the genre is sports. If you would ask me what brings people together from all over the world, I would answer and say just one word - sports. Sports bring people together and compete in the pursuit of excellence and glory. The Olympics is a global phenomenon held once every 4 years and pits together the best athletes from all over the world, and brings people from all walks of life.

As someone who plays sports regularly, I truly get fascinated by the colours there are. Sports have so many colours ranging from the white of a shuttlecock to the green of a football field, to the blue we see in swimming pools, to the red gravel that form the stadium tracks and to the black of a bicycle tyre.

Growing up, I remembered those times where the children in my neighbourhood would get together in the evenings playing catching in the nearby playground. It was when we got to run, climb and play with each other in our own little corner. The various colours used for the playground will always remind me of my childhood memories.

Aperture: f/1.6
Shutter: 1/125
ISO/gain: 32
Metering mode: Spot
Shot size & Camera angle: Wide Shot, Low Angle
Justification of settings use inclusive of focal length:1/125 shutter speed is a good shutter speed for architecture. ISO kept low as it used to compensate for exposure to natural sun lighting

As a Singaporean in my mid-20s, I often think about our nation’s success in the global stage. Just a few months ago, Loh Kean Yew, our very own national team badminton player became a world champion winning gold in the men’s singles in Huelva, Spain. Therefore, a tribute to our badminton champion was needed, with a rainbow of colours to celebrate this legendary occasion.

Aperture: f/1.6
Shutter:1/60 secs
ISO/gain: 250
Metering mode: Spot
Shot size & Camera angle: Closed-up shot, Top-Down camera angle
Justification of settings use inclusive of focal length: Closed up shot so no need to have a high focal length and ISO is higher than usual to capture details from the overhead light source

Small Title

However, with the success in badminton, we cannot deny that football is still the national sport of our country. Football is a global sport that brings people in from all over the world. In my opinion, football is a global language, and it brings together people from all walks of life. Our country is no exception. Thus, I had a model wearing our flag colours of red and white, playing this beautiful game watched by billions around the world.

Aperture: f/1.6
Shutter: 1/900 secs
ISO/gain: 32
Metering mode: Pattern
Shot size & Camera angle: Full Shot, Hero view
Justification of settings use inclusive of focal length: The high shutter speed was used as it was very sunny that day, and also reducing exposure. ISO kept low due to the high shutter speed.

Sports is also a way of life in which practicing it makes us healthy and focused. People play sports to stay healthy and is good for the state of mind. Yes, all of us do feel tired after playing sports but its always good to freshen up with a sports drink right after to feel re-energised.

Aperture: f/1.6
Shutter: 1/120 secs
ISO/gain: 100
Metering mode: Spot
Shot size & Camera angle: Close-up shot, Hero view (-15)
Justification of settings use inclusive of focal length: An overhead lamp was used to shine on the drink and ISO remained low at 100. The object is not moving too hence the shutter speed being at 1/120 seconds. Aperture remained low as the photo was taken right in front of the object.

But maybe in life, especially in Singapore, we just need to push ourselves one moment at a time to achieve our dreams. It does not matter whether it is a sprint, or a marathon, It is all about the journey that we take in our daily lives that matter where we will end up in that is our destination. The only way is keep on going forward, just like our forefathers when they created the Singapore pledge, "Majulah Singapura".

Aperture: f/1.6
Shutter: 1/90 secs
ISO/gain: 40
Metering mode: Pattern
Shot size & Camera angle: Full shot, straight on angle
Justification of settings use inclusive of focal length: Shutter speed is kept low and created the running motion using Photoshop. ISO kept low as it used to compensate for exposure to natural sun lighting