Vogtmanns’ Boat Quay Outdoor Photo Shoot
On their return to Singapore (having lived here in the past), they revisited the Singapore River, one of their favourite places in the city-state.
The Vogtmanns first came to me more than nine months ago, knowing they’ll be in Singapore for a family friend’s wedding here. But they weren’t just simple tourists looking for pretty shots – they’d lived in Singapore for two separate periods. Even though they now live in beautiful Southern California in the U.S., fond memories of the Singapore stuck with them.
Many ideas came up leading up to this day, but they were quite sure of what they wanted: black & white, photojournalistic, and shot around the outdoor Singapore River/Boat Quay area, where both financial and historical worlds of Singapore mesh to make a unusual setting.
Although you will see some posed photos below (they requested it!), every other beautiful moment was set up by them. They’re such a happy bunch, and the three kids are just uncontrollable! They ran around and climbed over everything, from historical statues to a Coffe Bean cafe next to Marina Bay. I was happy to put on my photojournalistic hat and watch them wreak havoc and express some love.
While I rarely get requests for black & white processing, I’m really glad I got to play with contrast, shadows and light to create moody b&w shots. Of course, it also helped that we arranged for all of them to wear only black and white (well except their shoes!).
Also, the 24mm f1.4 was used in some of these shots, and it was an absolute dream. I can see why some shooters only use prime lenses. I’m dangerously close to following that path as well. 
I do sincerely hope I get to meet the Vogtmanns again, even if it’s just a social visit. It may be a while or it may be never, but at least now we all have these photos to serve as memories for their time in Singapore.
