The start of a new year is usually marked by fireworks, but one photographer captured something a little more nautical.

Captured first flares fired on New Year's Day

Veteran Singaporean photographer Darren Soh created a composite image of brilliant flares fired from the ships anchored off Singapore.

A composite image is one that merges multiple images into a single creation.

Writing in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, Jan. 1, Soh said he could capture both the fireworks and the firing of flares from the ships as he was photographing from Changi at midnight.

He then explained the significance of the firing of flares at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day, saying that it is an "age old maritime tradition".

And because of the sheer number of ships anchored off Singapore's East Coast, the firing of flares "could be quite a sight".

Indeed it was.

Within three hours of Soh posting his image, it received more than 650 likes, and was shared at least 70 times.

Final composite image made from 11 different images

Soh also explained the process he took to create the final composite image, saying it took a total of 11 images, with each lasting 30 seconds in exposure.

The images were taken "continuously after each other of the same scene", and the entire process lasted five and a half minutes, he wrote.

Not the first time he shot flares

Speaking to Mothership, Soh said this was not the first time he has captured flares.

"I’ve known that the ships do this every new year, but it’s usually between the fireworks and this (the flares)," he said.

"But being at Changi allowed me to photograph both, I just needed to swing my camera left to get the flares and right to get the fireworks."

Here's another image of the new year's first flares that Soh took back in 2015 at East Coast Park.

And here's a photo of the New Year's Day fireworks in 2020 that Soh said was taken just a few seconds after midnight:Soh also shared that he has been photographing New Year's fireworks and flares "on and off" for about 20 years.

Breathtaking.

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