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Tom Soper Photography. Commercial Photographer, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK

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TOM SOPER'S PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

The Green Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew

March 29, 2015

Every overseas visitor who has come to visit us during the last 5 years has commented on the greenness of Singapore. Despite 50 years of urbanization and commercial growth, the city retains a very green feel and this is in no small part the legacy of Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, whose funeral is today.

In 1963 Lee Kuan Yew planted a tree in Holland Road Circus to launch the Garden City movement. The movement aimed to create a ‘city in a garden’ and to a large extent this has been realised.

Lee Kuan Yew said, “Cities cannot just be made up of concrete buildings, tarmac and pavements. It would be depressing and unpleasant to live in. You need to balance that with trees and flowers. This will make Singapore more pleasant to live in.

“Singapore has become much greener, despite increased urbanization. Almost half of Singapore is covered in greenery. We have set aside land for world-class gardens, parks and nature reserves. Many visitors are amazed at our tree-lined roads, and this has become an economic value to us. More importantly, Singaporeans today live in beautifully-landscaped housing estates, and are able to exercise and enjoy fresh air in the urban oases right at their doorsteps. None of this would have been possible without decades of conscientious planning and commitment.”

Planning and Commitment epitomise the approach that has lead to the remarkable rise of Singapore. But to also retain a commitment to building a green city, alongside developing a global economic hub, showed true vision and a faithfulness to Lee Kuan Yew’s promise to build a city for the people of Singapore.

The green nature of the island makes it a pleasant place to live and was greatly enhanced in 2011 when the wonderful Gardens by the Bay was opened. Gardens by the Bay feels like the ultimate representation of the modern, green city Lee Kuan Yew aimed to build. It is a stunning contemporary Yin to the Yang of the beautiful1859 Botanic Gardens. Yesterday, Gardens by the Bay planted a tree in memory of Lee Kuan Yew and to me it feels like this amazing complex is a fitting legacy to a true visionary.

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Tags singapore, lky, leekuanyew, asia, legacy, green, gardensbythebay
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Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Gardens by the Bay Shoot and Editing

January 14, 2015

Just before Christmas my good friend Stuart Jenner (www.stuartjennerphotography.com) and I headed down to Marina Bay and took some shots of Gardens by the Bay. The 'golden hour' in Singapore is more like a golden 3 minutes, so you have to be ready to catch the few moments of good light, if it comes at all. So we stood about chatting like a couple of camera bores with beers in hand and cameras poised on tripods, waiting for the perfect blue sky. 

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It didn't really get very blue but we took some shots anyway. A few minutes later we were scoffing Japanese food and refreshing ourselves with a bucket of Asahi after a tough 3 minutes work. Job well done.

I took a a few shots in an attempt to create a panorama which I would stitch together later in Photoshop. The original four shots looked like this...

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Nothing special really. But I thought I'd give it a go in Photoshop anyway. Well, actually all I did was select the images in Lightroom, right click and choose EDIT IN > MERGE TO PANORAMA IN PHOTOSHOP. Photoshop did the rest and creating a great panorama. I then saved the panorama back to Lightroom where I spent sometime making it look pretty. I think the result is not too bad considering I'd had a few beers when I took it. Thanks Photoshop, thanks Lightroom. You rock!

Shooting info: Tripod, shutter release, Nikon D800, 70-200mm nikkor lens at 70mm, ISO 160, f16, blend of 4 images (10s, 13s, 15s 25s). Aperture Priority.

Tags landscape photography, singapore, photos, photography, nikon, adobe, lightroom, photoshop, asia, asahi
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Dancer

Dancer

June 2, 2014
Tags dancer, dancing, dance, china, asia
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#Panjiayuan #Flea #Market, #Beijing, #China. #asia #markets #flag #flags #silhouette #sky

#Panjiayuan #Flea #Market, #Beijing, #China. #asia #markets #flag #flags #silhouette #sky

March 18, 2014
Tags beijing, silhouette, sky, asia, flag, china, panjiayuan, flea, flags, markets, market
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#photo of HDB #housing in #Singapore #asia   www.tomsoperphotography.com

#photo of HDB #housing in #Singapore #asia www.tomsoperphotography.com

February 9, 2014
Tags photo, housing, asia, singapore
1 Comment

February 8, 2014

Memories of Beijing. www.tomsoperphotography.com

Tags beijing, china, asia, market, markets, travel, photooftheday, buddha, buddhism, tea, teapot, police, policeman
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February 7, 2014

Recent images of #Singapore. www.tomsoperphotography.com 

Tags singapore, light, asia, gardensbythebay, supertrees, helixbridge, housing, windows, blue
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January 14, 2014

Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China

Tags china, beijing, temple, travel, asia
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Panjiayuan Flea Market, Beijing. www.soperimages.com #beijing #china #market #flag #flags #asia #instagood #beautiful

Panjiayuan Flea Market, Beijing. www.soperimages.com #beijing #china #market #flag #flags #asia #instagood #beautiful

January 25, 2013
Tags beautiful, beijing, asia, instagood, flag, china, flags, market
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Temple of Heaven, Beijing. #beijing #temple #china #templeofheaven #asia #tourism www.soperimages.com

Temple of Heaven, Beijing. #beijing #temple #china #templeofheaven #asia #tourism www.soperimages.com

January 17, 2013
Tags beijing, asia, templeofheaven, china, tourism, temple
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In the pool shooting for a school ad campaign.

In the pool shooting for a school ad campaign.

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