Tag: tree

The Big Tree

The Big Tree.

I am hoping the (new) land owner and developer, TRX (Tun Razak Exchange), will be able to preserve or spare this tree when they demolish the market eventually.

Credit should also be given to them for not chasing out the traders when City Hall (and TRX) could not get their act together on the moving day.

Previously, everyone was told they must move end of March but the new complex wasn’t ready in time. Now it looks like it might be in May.

I inquired at the DBKL office at the market on Monday and a staff member said he has no idea.

Play by ear but do visit the old market, if you haven’t. The atmosphere and character is expected to be completely different at the new location.

The modern RM57 million ICC (Integrated Commercial Complex) is in Pudu.

The original Bukit Bintang Market started out at the land where then KL Plaza was to be built. It subsequently moved to here in Imbi. Hopefully, the new Pudu location will be the permanent home.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f8, 1/400 sec.

#documentaryphotography #imbimarket #market #landmark #streetphotography #conservation #landscape

A Tree In Sungai Lembing

While searching for the previous tree image, I found one image from 2007 photographed in Sungai Lembing, the historical mining town. There was also a tree in the middle of the road. That was ten years ago and I am not sure if it is still there. Maybe recent visitors can confirm.

Known as the El Dorado of the East, it was once a bustling cowboy town in Pahang. It had one of the world’s biggest and deepest underground tin mine while it was in operation. Today it is a sleepy, rustic town with a few relics still standing in the ghost town. It was like as if time stood still, all of a sudden.

2017 re-processing of the image made the colours pop. Originally, it was flat and dull. I still remember having a homemade pineapple ice drink with boiled pineapple cubes and attap chee at the stall across the road. Wonderful stuff.

My friend the famous turtle scientist and conservationist Pelf Nyok has a cousin staying there who can guide and ferry you to the famous rainbow waterfall. I didn’t go though. It was on the local hipster bucketlist during the last decade.

Olympus E-510, ISO 200, f10, 1/250 sec

#sglembing #pahang #tree #smalltown #tree #nature #heritage

Trees Are Poems The Earth Writes Upon The Sky

A re-visit to Pasir Penambang. the small seafood and fishing town off Kuala Selangor, brought a smile to my face. Happy to see the old tree in the middle of the road still standing and alive. In a society with scant regard for conservation and preservation of nature and old things, it was surprising to see the tree still in the middle of the road spared – four years on.

I last photographed it in 2013 and titled it King Of The Road – Small Town. Big Tree. Instead of using sepia, I used Nik Collection’s Color Efex Pro 4 Bi-Colour Filter for the current image It is similar to bi-color Cokin filters of old days.

Although published in my old blog and on Instagram, I made the mistake of not tagging it adequately. Finding the previous image was tough and it took a while.

Upper: Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/640 sec. (2013)
Lower: Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 200, f10, 1/320 sec (2017)

#pasirpenamambang #kualaselangor #smalltown #tree #nature #landscape

Nature’s Art

The cats in the previous picture were looking at me looking up at this tree in the orchard. They must be thinking city people are strange people.

A couple of curious kids came and sat next to me on the grass littered with fallen leaves. Finally, one brave little girl asked: “Why are you looking at the leaves for so long?”

I wanted to explain: “I am looking at the seasons in the sun”. Although trees are evergreen here, they do have their seasons where the leaves change colours and the branches bear fruits.

I didn’t know how to put it in simple words. I could only muster “Cantik” (beautiful) and she giggled. I bet she thought I am strange too.

Many moons ago, the late country singer John Denver was in KL and I was happy to run into him by chance. I saw him looking silently at the fountain in front of the hotel for a long time. Only his wife and manager understood what he was doing, I thought to myself.

The rest of the entourage thought it was rather strange and a few began to snigger after a while. Several busybody taxi drivers laughed and told me “dia gila” (he’s mad).

I smiled but I knew what he was doing. He stopped to smell the roses, as the idiom goes. He took time from his busy schedule to appreciate the beauty of things around him.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f6.3, 1/100 sec.

Man In The Tree

Sharing more outtakes from the earlier leg of the road trip. Saw a man plucking cikus (sapodilla) on top of a tree during exploration deep inside a village in Ulu Yam. I will continue with the journey after the long holiday weekend.

Someone asked me: Why carry the very expensive Sony A7R and its heavy arsenal of Zeiss lenses when it is safer, easier to use lighter, less expensive mirrorless systems?

The answer is simple. I do carry two other mirrorless cameras but a day will come. This was such a day. The day when a scene will cry out for the brute resolution of the A7r. The camera will clearly define every leaf and every fruit.

It will pick out the details right down to the ash on the tip of the cigarette or make out the motifs on the man’s shirt. Its fine tonal rendition will separate the leaves from the fruits. The excellent dynamic range will keep everything in check, from sky to face, even under the harsh sun.

I can think of more but the most important reason is that this is also an archival mission. Many of the old surviving buildings, towns and lifestyle documented on this journey will soon disappear forever. So why not capture it at the best practical quality for future generations to relive and to appreciate.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/800 sec.