NDP 2010 Fireworks as seen from Marina Barrage

Okay… I’ll confess, I’m not the most patriotic person in town. That said, I am a sucker for a good fireworks display, and I thought that Singapore’s 45th Anniversary would warrant some crazy-big light show – the likes of which haven’t been seen  before this end of the causeway.

While that wasn’t too far from the truth… unfortunately, I was – physically at 8.15pm (i.e., when the fireworks started firing). Rewind to the day before, here is the conversation I had with an army buddy of mine:

Noel: Soo what you doing during NDP

Army Buddy of Mine (ABoM): Nothing… why?

Noel: Wanna go take photos of the fireworks?

ABoM: Okay… where?

Noel: Erm… anywhere in the CBD will be mad-busy…

ABoM: Yup.

Noel: How about Marina Barrage? I’ve not been out there and it’s soo far away , most people won’t be traipsing out there.

ABoM: Oh yah, they’ll need a car to get out there too, so I guess there won’t be too many people out there…

Big mistake. How big? About 450,045 people big.

So there I was, surrounded by about 450,045 people (yes I counted each and every one of their little heads), their kids, their dogs and their kites (???), squished along that curvy ramp-roof of Marina Barrage, hoping and praying that the roof wouldn’t cave in under our collective weight, and that the person with the giant Doremon kite (which kept sweeping in front of my camera) would suddenly be yanked into the air and over the edge. The Barrage stayed up, and the Doremon owner stayed on the ground. You win some you lose some.

I have to say that despite my late arrival (7.30pm), I still managed to get a decent vantage point – thanks to a super nice family of Singaporeans allowing me to squeeze in beside them at the railing (giant Manfrotto tripod and all). Unfortunately the other thing that had squeezed in between me and the upcoming fireworks was Marina Bay Sands – the new giiinourmous Casino at the waterfront. So you know what they say… when life puts a Casino between you and the fireworks, make silhouette photos. So that’s what I did.

Here are a few of the highlights.

Yes that is a person lying in the middle of the fountain. I thought it was a case of CSI: Singapore – for just a moment.

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The CBD before the festivities began

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Looks almost like something out of Star Wars – Marina Bay Sands = The Death Star? Some would say that they are similar in more ways than one.

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This is where the smoke started moving in.

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The big finale.

A nation gets older, and Noel gets wiser – about fireworks vantage points at the very least! Looking forward to NYE already!

In Noel’s bag:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm F/2.8L

Canon RC-1 Wireless Remote Control (that I promptly dropped into the nice family beside me’s rubbish bag)

Manfrotto Tripod and Ball head

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With Debbie Harry’s lyrics still ringing in my head, Y2K has given way to 2010.

After dealing with closure of my carefully planned fireworks-photo-vantage-point (new broadwalk beside Marina Bay Financial Centre), hordes of people, illogical police crowd-control tactics and unfriendly photographers who had ‘reserved’ every front-row seat… I managed to score a good space at the Mandarin Oriental.

Here are the highlights:

~ Floating Light Spirits à la Avatar ~

~ Tall Poppy Syndrome ~

~ Dandelion ~

~ Decepticon Descending ~

~ Space Invaders ~

~ Water Fountain ~

~ Giant Rubescens Octopus ~

~ River of Fire ~

~ Squiggles ~

~ Bursts ~

~ Finale ~

Hoping 2010 is as spectacular for everyone as the fireworks!

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