29/6/2009 Buildings around Little India

2 days ago, I went to Little India for photo shooting. I given myself a theme this time - Old Buildings and interested stuff belongs to the building.

So here's the outcome.


The sky appear to be wash out due to overexposed


Seems the composition does not bring out the main theme of the photo, failure...


A more satisfied shot =D


I had taken this shot with 3 different exposure, trying to merge into a HDR, unfortunately, not successful, so I just pick one with the best exposure


Originally there're 2 lanterns, but it also have part of a plant that distracted the theme, so I just crop the door, and the floor out


Originally the color of 2 buildings are quite a contrast, but I wanna make it looks old, so I just change to sepia and added some noise. The contrast between the air-con and bird cages is interesting to me


The building and the sky was quite dull, so I just change it to sepia, the effect is fine for me


Trying to find a spot where I can exclude the wire, unfortunately the only spot is to stand at the middle of the road, so I dun wanna risk by hitting by car


An interesting shot, the laughing buddha had immigrate to India, and now is officially an Indian.(The shopkeeper stares at me while I snapping this photo)


Same building with the previous one, different angle


I was at the opposite of the Kuan Yin Temple and saw the sunset, so I just snapped it. It would be nicer if the sunset is more vivid


Due to lighting, the Kuan Yin Temple was quite dull, so I just changed it to black and white and add vignetting effect


I wonder will this looks nicer if it's in monotone?




It's written Han Jiang Home Temple, at first, the shot got quite a few subjects in it, so I just crop it out, so the main subject is the wording


The Chinese traditional door guardians. It takes me quite some times to snap it, because of the white balance, end up I used custom white balance


The dragon, I have try to change the photo into B&W, but end up still back to the original, with colors


The tiger, this one does not looks as complicated as the dragon


The door and the window is my focus for the shot, it looks old to me =P

28/6/2009 Should I ?

I had a best friend once, who I can share with and joke with, but then I have never learn to really appreciate this best friend of mine, I had hurt this friend again and again.

I have done a lot of damage unto her, and disappointed her a lot, I can't even count how many things I have done that had hurt her. I felt that I am just a loser, and have caused all the problems toward this friend.

I have asked myself, what can I do, what is one best thing that I can do to make this friend happy again, I kept asking myself.....

Maybe the best thing that I can do for this friend, to avoid this friend getting hurt again, is that I just kept myself away from her. I think I am just a failure in friendship, maybe I should just stay away from everybody else, especially from this friend, to prevent myself from hurting others that are close to me.

Should I? Should I just kept myself away from this friend in order to make this friend happy again?

25/6/2009 Batu Ferringhi Sunset

I have been looking for a place to view the sunset for quite some time, with the help of Google, finally I found a place without much distractions like buildings (though with many Jet Skis, tourists and other stuff), which is Batu Ferringhi. The exact location of the place is Sunset Bistro, just after Park Royal hotel where there is a small lane on the right hand side, just turn in and go straight.

Actually I was kinda rush to go there, as I reached home from work is around 6, and by the time I was ready to go out, it was already 6:15, well, I just try my best then. After caught in some minor traffic jam at Burmah Road and Gurney, I was thinking to give up and just go to Tanjung Bungah as the time was already 6:50 when I reached Tanjung Bungah.

Fortunately, I didn't give up my original plan, after all, I still manage to reached my destination on time. With better weather, less haze today, the sunset was just nice, though it's not perfect.


Let the sunset begins


This is the sunset I was looking for, though the color of the sky was not vivid enough




Bye bye Sun, see ya tomorrow


Many horses around there for riding, of course, not FOC


Trying to snap with long expose to create ethereal like water, yet still need more practice


Another shot of long exposure, looks no different eh?



Panoramic view of the beach, some minor glitches while stitching the photos, though not obvious



The Moon has arised

06/06/2009 National Horse Show

The Penang Turf Club held the National Horse Show 3 weeks ago from 5/6 to 7/6. I went there at 12 something, but nothing much to see as the horse show was held at the morning, so I just missed it. Anyway, I managed to snapped some photos in the events, though not much photos regarding horses, as I am not managed to find a good angle for a good composition.

Well, just share what I have taken then :P.


Horse shoes exhibited


A stall that managed by Japanese was selling Japanese dolls and other Japanese decors










It's a donkey, but it won't talks






Panoramic view of the Penang Turf Club

18/6/2009 2 months old for my A200

It has been 2 months since I got my first entry level DSLR, so far it has served me faithfully and I am satisfied with its performance. Yup, compare to Nikon and Canon, it might not be the best, yet I like it very much.

So after 2 months of usage, these are the pros and cons that I experienced.

Pros:
1) With anti-shake (Super Steady Shot) built in, which helps to reduce hand shakes.
2) Natural colors.
3) Heavier than some entry level DSLR like Nikon D40 and D60 and Canon 1000D.
4) Great LCD.
5) Accurate Battery level info, which shows percentage left.
6) With sensor cleaning function, just done that yesterday, as there are many dust on the sensor.
7) Able to use the Minolta AF lens.

Cons:
1) Lots of noise when using ISO higher than 400.
2) Slow processing of images.
3) Loud Auto Focus sound.
4) Lenses are not cheap even without anti-shake (since it's built in the kit itself).

Well, even though my A200 is not good in performing with high ISO, which is quite crucial to me, yet I still love it. :)

17/6/2009 Tanjung Bungah

Yesterday after work, I went to Tanjung Bungah to snap some photos of sunset. At first, my destination is Batu Feringgi, but due to some reasons and traffic jam, by the time I reached Tanjung Bungah, is already 7 pm. So instead of rushing myself, and taking the risk that I might miss the sunset moment, I just drove to the beach behind Crown Jewel hotel.

In fact, the sunset was kinda disappointing yesterday, as there are haze, which caused the sky to be quite dull. Anyway, I still manage capture some photos, so I just share it out here.


Nice clouds, but the color of the sky is not vivid due to haze




It will be nice if the color of the sky is vivid with these clouds


Taken this with my new Hoya ND8 filter which reduce the light taken in thus can take the photos with longer shutter speed


The stuffs that hang on the wood are actually sea shells


Hotels, hotels and more hotels along the beach


Closer look of the fire

Finally, my own signature

I have spent an hour using Photoshop and Illustrator to create my own signature yesterday which will be use in my photos.





Finally, I got my own signature.

PS: the a logo stands for Alpha, the DSLR by Sony.

23/5/2009 Dragon Boat Competition

This was the first time I attended the International Dragon Boat Competition which was held at the Teluk Bahang Dam.

The Sun was high and it's very warm that day, I was looking forward for the teams to compete one another so I can get a few shots. Unfortunately the distance between the place I stand and the lake was too far, and the guard does not allow the audience to go closer, so I didn't manage to get very close shot. In addition, as a newbie in photography, I tried to apply the panning technique on the dragon boat teams but I only managed to captured one with the motion feel.

Well, I was kinda disappointed not just of my photos but also of the organizer, for they should setup a place where audience can get closer to the lake so that the audience can have a better view. Anyway, I hope that they will make it better next year.


Double Dragons


"Hey, stop blocking my view!"


The only photo with panning technique that's viewable


Row, Row, Row the boat, moving down the stream~