Went up the Marina Bay Sands Skypark, hoping to catch some shots during the magic hour. However, I did not expect a long and slow queue which took more than 20 minutes due to printer failure at 3 out of the 4 counters. To top that off, I was told my Manfrotto 190B tripod was “too big” and had to check it in at the bell counter, so wasted quite a lot of time. By the time I got up there, it’s already too dark. Had to make to with what I have.
Interestingly, the security person said that there might be strong winds up there which could topple the tripod and hurt someone. This sounds ludicrous as we all know that a heavier/bigger tripod = more stable.
Thankfully, I also had my GorillaPod and my trusty Panasonic Lumix LX3 to take some shots. The DSLR without a tripod is practically useless up there for night shots.
So for those going up there, take note of the following:-
1. No “big” tripods. They didn’t officially say how big, but Manfrotto 190B is considered “too big”. Those with the 4-section tripods might fare better, or maybe I am just unlucky to be random checked.
2. Officially, the rules say “No professional photography/video equipment allowed”. Again, no one know what’s “professional”. Is a smallish Leica M9 considered professional?
3. It’s dark, very dark up there. Be really careful when climbing the stairs to get up to the upper platform. Bring along a small torchlight.
4. Except for a small section at the tip of the skypark which is covered by glass, the rest of it are basically unblocked save for 3-4 horizontal steel cables. You can easily shoot through them as the vertical spacing is quite wide.
Enough rambling, here’s the shots. I’ll probably go up there again to get better shots.
Finally, 2 shots of the Marina Bay Sands taken before I went up the Skypark.
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