Tag: klcc

Buka Puasa At KLCC Park

Since I was at the Petronas Twin Towers, I went for a walk at KLCC Park after I finished my business. Wonderful to be able to enjoy the sunset and changing hues of the sky.

On the way back, I stumbled upon a Malay family breaking fast at one corner of the park.

Naturally, I asked permission to photograph them. I explained that it is a rare and blessed moment to have culture, architecture and a dusk sky so beautifully juxtaposed. The Azri Family graciously agreed.

Not only that, they kept insisting I join them by offering me whatever food they brought along. I am truly touched by their generosity, hospitality and friendship towards a stranger (and fellow Malaysian).

Am also glad I was successful in capturing them as they really were: humble, jovial and very warm people.

We chatted and Mrs Azri said they are looking forward to go back to their kampung in Rembau for the holiday. There’ll be prayers in the morning followed by a big feast on the first day of Raya.

Here’s wishing the Azri family and everyone a safe drive home and Selamat Hari Raya.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/60 sec with Sony HVL-F60M fill flash.

Conjunction of Jupiter And Venus – Part 3

If you were looking out for the conjunction tonight, you may have thought the two planets moved so close together that they merged into a single object. It didn’t happen here, as viewed from very near the equator. Maybe higher in the northern hemisphere or elsewhere they appeared closer.

Due to the haze in the Klang Valley today, it was hard to see both as clearly as last night. I can still see Venus shining bright though. Jupiter is the higher of the two and more faint. The separation is distinct and both were visible for a brief period.

Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 3200, f3.5, 1/40 sec.

Is Adobe Photoshop CC 2015’s New Dehaze Made For Us?

Adobe announced a major update to its Creative Cloud subscription service last night. Photoshop CC 2014 became Photoshop CC 2015, and included with it are several useful new features.

One of the new features that caught my attention was Dehaze. I downloaded the new version immediately to try out Dehaze. Well, not as immediate as I wanted; for the update process was a bit clunky and took a while.

You have to update the Creative Cloud Services first, Then download the big install of Photoshop CC 2015 (and Lightroom). Copy all your plugins to the new folder and download, reinstall the latest Camera Raw.

Yes it can get ugly; so here’s a quick and dirty demo for those who don’t have the patience, time or a fast internet connection. Haze can now be easily removed or reduced with a simple slider in the Camera Raw Filter. It can add haze too, if desired.

As you know, Malaysia has one of the worst haze occurrences thanks to a leaky neighbour. So the true test of the Dehaze slider, for me, is whether it can fix a picture fogged up by the transboundary haze or smog.

I ran a picture from the last bad haze day which that was captured in October 2014. The original picture was photographed in RAW and I opened it directly in Photoshop.

For a different comparison, I included another picture with organic haze or mountain mist photographed at the Genting Highlands resort.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/800 sec (city scene)
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f7.1, 1/100 sec (mountain scene)