Over the Wesak holiday weekend a few of us took a day trip to Malacca. We were taking a HK friend for a visit to Malacca and we have to be the local guide taking Jeremy to the usual Malacca landmarks and the heritage trail of old Malacca. Apart for the sightseeing we also took Jeremy to try some local Nyona cuisine, cendol, and the all time Malacca favourite, Satay celup.
Due to the extended weekend holiday Malacca is packed with tourists, causing traffic jam around the red building and in Jonkers Street. By later afternoon we were feeling hot and exhuasted, dying for some cool drink we ended up in Geographer Cafe. After dinner is a long drive back to KL due the the heavy traffic along the highway.
Thaipusam in KL is probably the most photographed event of the year. With photographers and tourists coming from all over the world it is certainly the most celebrated 1-day religious event of the year. I have been coming here almost every year since the first time I came years ago when I was still using my film SLR. For the first timer, the sights and sound, the colours and customary rituals will definitely overwhelm you. This year is slightly different and more challenging even to the experienced Thaipusam shooters as the location have been moved with the construction of the new flyover and KTM station. The kavadi carriers have to walk a much longer route and walking across the railway lines too.
The early morning hours is the best time to shoot starting at the riverside where the bathing and blessing rituals are performed before they start the walk up to the Temple Caves. Getting a good shot is not that easy with so much things happening around you and at times there are more photographers then devotees. Lighting condition is most challenging and extremely low before sunrise as it¡¯s usually lighted up with only a few small fluorescent lights, some candles and oil lamps. Due to the huge crowds carrying your overloaded camera bags can be a burden and obstructive making it difficult to move around quickly. This year I chose to use the Nikon D3s to take advantage of higher ISO ability, a Nikon 24-70mm and the new Nikon VR II 70-200mm lens. It would have been much easier to have 2 camera bodies, as changing lenses among the crowd is a hassle. The D3s allowed me to use a much higher ISO to maintain a faster shutter speed to avoid blur picture and the new 70-200 works perfectly picking up the subject even in very low light conditions.
One of my favourite scenes is the shower area where devotees cleanse themselves with a quick shower. It¡¯s better to use a longer zoom lens here as the water can get into your lens if you get too close. The longer zoom lens will also blur out messy background and helps to compose your subjects tighter as you are mostly likely to see other photographers shooting opposite you. The praying rituals near the riverbank also promise some interesting pictures, catching them the moment they go into trance or the moment when the priest pierce the cheeks of devotees. I find the faces of these devotees most interesting with their intense expressions and with the added colourful costumes and accessories it made strong visual images. The walk towards Batu Caves offers a different photo opportunity with the individual group of devotees chanting, dancing and stopping to offer blessing to the people who came before them. And if you have the energy to brave the crowds following them all the way up the 272 steps to the main Temple Cave will surely rewards you with some fine pictures.
But amidst the chanting, the drum beats and smokes from the burning incense you can get carried away and be drawn into the whole ritual. And some photographers does get carried away and get in the way of the devotees by pushing their cameras inches away from their faces.
The just concluded Nikon Birding and Nature Photography workshop saw more than 60 participants and 6 speakers/mentor spending 3-day/2-night at the Mt. Kinabalu Park. There were classroom sharings, outdoor photography and birding sessions from Friday till Sunday. The weather at Mt. Kinabalu Park is rather unpredictable with thick clouds spreading over the entire park during the afternoon and rain throughout Saturday. Friday afternoon started with a slight drizzle but ended with a brilliant sunset. And we have a good morning of sunshine on Sunday morning when we gather at 5am for sunrise and shooting around Kundasang.
The workshop is a huge success as everyone join in to share and learn, making new friends, trying out new photographic equipments and techniques. There is even a charity sale of framed photos in aid of the Cheshire Homes.
This event is organized by Sandakan Photo supported by Nikon Malaysia in conjunction with Sabah fest 2010. The event is graced by Tengku Adlin representing Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Sabah.
After the event is over I spend 2 more days in KK hoping to take some pictures of the fame KK sunset. The first evening I was in KK waterfront and the next evening I went to Tanjung Aru but both days were spoilt with rain in the later afternoon. This is my second attempt in KK but I still can¡¯t get that beautiful sunset¡I guess I will be back again.
I am not so much of a coffee person but occasionally I still enjoy the weekend morning at Starbuck having coffee and surfing the net or catching up with some writing.Usually I would be at Mid valley but last Sunday I went to KLCC as I needed to check out the Homedec exhibition. Nothing really special, just the usual stuff but lots of people. Later I went out to the KLCC park to take some photos with my iphone using the lomo effects.
Later in the after noon I went to Dataran Merdeka to take a photo of the Sultan Abdul Samad building and the surrounding skyline for my stock images but I was totally unprepared and very disappointed when I see the amount of trash scattered all over the field. I believe this were left over from Saturday Labour Day celebration but it was already late on Sunday afternoon when I was there and the pile of rubbish is still all over the place. This is suppose to be a major KL tourist landmark and there were a few busload of foreign tourists taking photos of Sultan Abdul Samad building and some were seen walking at the padang. I was rather lost for word when a Chinese tourist asked me why are there so much rubbish on the field?
