Photography, Dining, Travelling & Living: aqua & aqua luna

Brochure of aqua luna
with Canon EOS 7D, f/2.8, 1/30 sec, ISO-500, 16mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

In a few more days, 2013 will end so I thought I should clear up some older drafts.

Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui
with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

A couple of months ago, I received a Red Packet voucher from my father-in-law and my wife and I redeemed a dinner plus junk trip at aqua. Since aqua is famous not only for its food but also for its amazing view of the Victoria Harbour, I just had to bring my Canon 7D with the Canon F 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM and the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX.

Panorama of aqua bar
with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

Before I got to use the DSLR, I could not help but made use of my the panoramic mode on my then-Galaxy Note 2. The outcome really isn't bad, as you can see from the photos above and below.

Panoramic view of Victoria Harbour
with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

The harbour looks amazing! Could have been even better if the restaurant windows were actually clean and not covered with rainwater stains and dust.

Canon EOS 7D + Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX
with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

The Galaxy Note 2 camera in itself is a pretty decent phone camera. In this case, it performs well in capturing the red on the camera strap and the seams on the remote pocket.

with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

What the Note 2 camera did great was the capturing of dim light from the sky, creating a lovely contrast between the lightbulb of the lamp, the sky and the darker metals.

with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

In the above photo though, Note 2 camera gave pretty noisy dark regions in order to settle for a more saturated colours. 

with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

However, if the subject is adequately lit, Note 2's HDR mode does provide pretty sharp images with distinctive colours.

Sunset in the restaurant
with Canon EOS 7D, f/8, 1/40 sec, ISO-200, 14mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Let's take a look at some of the photos from my Canon EOS 7D.

This camera does not come with an HDR mode, only bracketing plus post-editing can create an image with HDR effect, much less convenient than the Note 2 when taking photos in low light. What is promising is the low level of noise seen in the above image.

Bread as starters
with Canon EOS 7D, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, ISO-200, 16mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Comparing the 7D images with those from the Note 2, though unfair, Note 2 obviously does not have the buttery smooth depth of view that 7D can offer,

Signature cocktail
with Canon EOS 7D, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO-200, 16mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

the colour balance on the 7D is also much more gradual, let alone the superior bokeh from the flare of the setting sun from the above image.

Special table for special guest, with the view of both Hong Kong and Kowloon
with Canon EOS 7D, f/8, 1/30 sec, ISO-200, 11mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Both the above and below images of a dining room are photos I like a lot. In the one above, I purposely include the sunset, the harbour, Hong Kong and Kowloon in it, while keeping in mind the geometry that is created by the building structure as well as the gaps between the glass walls. If the reflection of the glass can be removed and the chairs can be lighten up, then this would be a perfect photo to be on a magazine. However, none of these pictures have been photo-retouched in order to show the originality of the photos.

with Canon EOS 7D, f/8, 1/25 sec, ISO-200, 16mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

In the photo above, the chairs were better lit as a result of a slight tilt of angle. Again, would have been perfect if the reflection doesn't show in the middle of the glass.


Let's talk about the food.

(Veal) Ravioli in tomato sauce with truffles
with Canon EOS 7D, f/4, 1/50 sec, ISO-6400, 58mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

I must admit that all the dishes tasted amazing! Absolutely top-notch stuff! I like the sweet yet sour tomato sauce that goes with the ravioli, very appetising!

Roast Italian Seabass with carrot foam
with Canon EOS 7D, f/8, 1/8 sec, ISO-3200, 55mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

The roast Italian seabass with carrot foam and spinach melts in your mouth instantaneously, and I do not just mean the fish, I mean everything! Biting that crispy skin was my favourite moment having this dish.

Fish again!

with Galaxy Note 2

Image from Locky's English Playground

This fish is not bad, but after having the previous seabass, another fish dish really was too much for the taste buds. I would prefer a non-seafood dish. Oh well, the asparagus was the best.

Tiramisu
with Canon EOS 7D, f/8, 1/4 sec, ISO-3200, 45mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

The wine in the tiramisu was slightly too strong for me, but it was 'moussely' delightful. Not the best I have tried, but it is something high above the standard.

with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

After dinner, it was time to say goodbye to aqua and walk to the pier for the junk trip. But just before we left, a final panorama of the night harbour view -- Spectacular!

with Galaxy Note 2
Image from Locky's English Playground

The aqua luna looks fabulous as a whole, but my lenses was not wide enough to capture the entire length of the junk together with the harbour, and Note 2 did an excellent job in this case!

with Canon EOS 7D, f/4, 1/4 sec, ISO-3200, 24mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

Back on my Canon this time with the L lens. Noise became much more obvious with ISO 3200, which is the maximum ISO I set. Noise Reduction was set to Standard mode, which apparently was not good enough.

Passengers on aqua luna
with Canon EOS 7D, f/4, 1/4 sec, ISO-3200, 24mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

I would have loved to set the ISO below 1600, nonetheless, I would not have enough stability on the photos had I done that. The sailing junk would not have allowed me the additional exposure time needed to capture enough light. The above photo is one of the best capture of the passengers -- some dynamic, some static.

Sailing on!
with Canon EOS 7D, f/2.8, 1 sec, ISO-500, 11mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

I love this one taken above. Taken with 1 second of exposure time, it shows the head of the junk very sharp, while the horizon is tilted showing the movement of the boat. All the skyscrapers are on the horizon with the lights from the buildings being dots in the centre of the image, stretched upwards on the right and stretched downwards on the left. The seawater waves are smoothed due to the 1 second exposure time. In my opinions, this image comprises both stillness on the junk, the speed of the junk and the divergence of the surrounding from the midpoint.

Central, here I come!
with Canon EOS 7D, f/2.8, 1/3 sec, ISO-3200, 11mm
Image from Locky's English Playground

A photo shoot of the Victoria Harbour will not be successful without at least one good photo of Central. Though pretty noisy in this one, I have the Bank of China on the left and IFC 2 on the right while the junk headed straight through the middle. This photo is similar to the one before except that this time, a man walking down the stairs is the centre of attention. While everyone sat still, he walked 'ghostly' down the steps. With a little Photoshop work, tuning the contrast and lowering the noise level, this image will surely look gorgeous! Then again, there is its beauty in non-retouched photos and I hope I have managed to demonstrate this point.

Christmas holidays may have ended, New Year is just a few days away. Try to take some photos too and share with me!


Vocabulary:
bokeh -- (n)[U] Japanese: [boke]) is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image.
flare / lens flare -- (n)[C] the light scattered in lens systems through generally unwanted image formation mechanisms, such as internal reflection and scattering from material inhomogeneities in the lens.
'moussely' -- (adv) like mousse


Resources:
aqua @ Openrice
http://www.openrice.com/english/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=10757&region=0&s=3

Red Packet
http://www.redpacket.hk/buy-a-gift/red-packet-gourmet-dining

Bokeh @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

Lens Flare @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_flare