Laid out between gargantuan skyscrapers are the asphalt covered canvas that we are all too familiar with. Taking us from anywhere to everywhere, being on the road can be exciting. If you own a vessel fitting for said adventure, we’d like to help you show them off. So get behind the wheel, start your engines; or hop on the shotgun if you’re feeling antsy, ‘cause we’re about to go for a shoot.
Location 1 : The Vault
“A large room or chamber used for storage, especially an underground one”
As defined by Merriam-Webster. Giving off vibes of 007 or even Bruce Wayne’s Batcave, butler not included, the Vault will give life to your fantasy of having your own underground garage.
Located deep underneath Singapore's Fusionopolis, basement 6 to be exact, these vault-like doors are what you want for your shoot. With the lack of space in Singapore to have your own garage, now you can drive out of one, feeling like a billion dollars, with pictures to back up your claims.
Go in a little further, behind the steel doors, and enter the abyss. This leads to a dark room where it begs to be littered with the lumens of your installations.
True colours show when one is backed up against the wall, that is true even for machines. The aura here is created by the brake lights being reflected off the pitch-black walls.
However, where there is darkness, there too will be light.
The lamps in this room are activated by motion sensors, which opens up a shot for a pose with your prized engines - like so.
Our thoughts:
Security may or may not chase you out*
The motion sensors lamps behind the vault may take up to 5 minutes (of not sensing motion) before it dims
To avoid crowds, best to go after 11 pm
May get really stuffy if you stay too long
Per entry charges after 7pm at $1, before that costs $1 per hour
(NOTE: The Vault is currently closed till further notice, probably due to Covid-19 restrictions to prevent crowding. You are still able to go down to basement 6, but steel doors are closed.)
Getting there:
1 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138632
Image by Google Earth
Enter into the basement car park and spiral all the way down to basement 6.
Location 2: Seletar
Now it’s time to head out of the garage, into the wild. We’re now navigating to the rustic parts of the country. This one is well known, and for good reasons. The runway of Seletar Airport, placed in your backdrop.
Nothing spells attitude like a car on a runway. Disrespecting a track designed for 52000HP engines with a 108HP engine, and looking better while at it, we like to call that a tasteful insult. Though driving into the runway is actually not allowed, for legal and safety reasons, we think it’s close enough anyway.
Change up the angle, and the mood changes with it.
With aged colonial buildings in your background, as if you’re travelling back in time with a vehicle of the present. The contrast in age is one worth brandishing.
Our thoughts:
This place is always crowded with people at any time of the day
Strategic camera angles might do the trick in filtering them out
Staying here for long might beep your IU of some cash, do make sure there is sufficient amount (~$0.60 per 30 min with a 15 min grace period)
Getting there:
10 Hamilton Pl, Singapore 799636
Exact photo spot is a road between Hamilton Place and Hyde Park Gate
Image by Google Earth
Location 3: The Pit Stop
Still with us? Refuel if you need to. Go east to Aviation Park Road where you will find this “Pit stop”. There isn’t a name for it yet but we decided to go with it as it looked like a secluded pit stop along a foreign highway. There, a stretch of ring fences will be apparent with an endless sky for your backdrop.
Gather a crew - in groups of 5 only for now - it is time for a group photo. With enough exposure and wide enough lenses, the outcome is out of this world, literally. You will even be able to capture alien worlds for the starstruck factor in your shots.
When we said endless sky, we meant it.
If you were unclear what we meant, hopefully this would clear it up. We caught the sunrise for this one. Whether it is dusk or dawn, the outcome is the same: Picture perfect.
Our thoughts:
Look out for cyclists getting amazed by your vehicles as you drive along Aviation Park Road
Rushing here is a no go, average speed 70 km/h camera in force all day
Lesser people the later it gets
To catch the sunrise, be there by 6 am
(NOTE: average speed camera calculates the time between which you pass by the cameras.)
Getting there:
Along Aviation Park Road, near Changi Exhibition Centre.
Image by Google Earth
About 1 km away from Changi Ferry Terminal
Location 4: Marina Coastal Expressway
Shift your gears, it’s time to change lanes, think you can keep up?
BAM! The ultimate shot.
We usually avoid cameras in tunnels hoping not to be flashed, not this time. Even though there’s not much to see in a tunnel, the simplicity in the setting accentuates the subject. A place where only vehicles exist, the perfect flex for a new car.
The infamous rolling shots, this one done in the MCE tunnel, towards KPE/ECP. The complexity of such a shot demands a few things:
Precision. The photographer needs to direct his model to be at an exact spot, while both vehicles are on the move.
Speed. Both vehicles have to be at the exact same speed once both vehicles are in position.
Communication. By whatever means, there must be clear communication between photographer and model at all times.
Machine-power. You need a minimum of 2 cars for this.
(Need help with rolling shots? We’ll be more than happy to help out! Contact us via thevisualcatalogue@gmail.com or www.instagram.com/shutterspeedplus/ for enquiries.)
Our thoughts:
Traffic will come when you least expect it, check your quarters
Avoid lane 1, you do not want those high beams illuminating your rear-views
After midnight for the least traffic density
Though not illegal, traffic police might still be doing their jobs
If the shot isn’t perfect, you will need to go an entire round for the next opportunity
(NOTE: It is very important not to hog up the road, therefore you need to seize a small window of opportunity for the shot. If failed, the tunnel won’t run away, simply enter back in and try again.)
Getting there:
MCE tunnel is linked to KPE, ECP and AYE.
However, if you need to know how to get there, you probably should familiarise yourself with the roads of Singapore before taking on this shoot. Hunting such spots is no easy feat.
We think this is enough for a whole list of pictures, if you take our word for it. Fasten your seat belts, there is more to come. Till then, stay safe!
Disclaimer: This is not an itinerary for a day trip. The pictures taken above are taken on different days.
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