The Shadow Of Your Smile

On that sunny day, I thought I saw the shadow of a giant Christmas tree appearing on the wall of the Selangor Dredging building. It was the shadow of one of the adjacent Twin Towers. The smiling sun put up her own Christmas decor, albeit for a brief moment.

Olympus E-3, ISO 100, f7.1, 1/400 sec.

#shadow #sun #cityscape #klcc #christmastree #christmasdecor #olympus #klcc #tbt

A Personal Greeting

In an age of impersonal recycling of gifs and video messages.

Think of this as a handmade, homemade or hand-crafted or personalised card from me that included my photography and design…

My friend Teh Lian Chye has a theory:

“During the days of yore, when greeting cards took days, and go through multiple processes to arrive at their destinations, that by the time the cards arrived it’s already new year.

Therefore we used to greet people with ‘Merry Christmas & Happy New Year’. We saved time and effort – two holidays in one sentence. Done”

#greeting #2017 #klcc #greetingcard #christmas #newyear

Lee Jetty Sunrise

She saw the sunrise rising in Penang and chased after it, ending up at Lee Jetty at around 7:15 am. The takeaway is scenic or beautiful scenes can be found at your own backyard, if you care to see it. You don’t need to go to Mauritius 🙂

Important to note that she kept the horizon or sea level. A slanting sea from careless framing can ruin a nice seaside shot.

I used the free Nik Collection suite that included HDR Efex Pro2. I think Nik’s mobile Snapseed will be able to accomplish the same with its Drama filter. Making the rain clouds visible added drama to the sunrise. The blue and red hues can be adjusted to taste. Additional lens flare was rendered by Photoshop CC.

Sony Xperia Z3, ISO 50, f2, 1/400 sec.

#landscape #penang #sea #sunrise #processing #contrast #demo #tvsexample

Need Your Help

When I posted or published the recent Kampung Hakka and Santa Factory photo essays, several well-meaning friends messaged or commented that they were glad to see me out and about, and that I was recovering well. While I appreciate your positive prognosis, the truth is:

I wasn’t, really. I was fortunate to have a good caregiver. She pushed my wheelchair and drove me to exactly how I wanted to position the camera. The bottom line is: Good help must be fairly compensated. Nothing is free.

In addition, going to the faraway and exotic places cost plenty of money for tolls, petrol and meals that drained my pocket.

I like to be able to indulge in what I like instead of wallowing in despair and hopelessness. Also being able to photograph and write keep my mind. body and soul fresh, alert and positive.

Much as I want to get out and about, I have to be realistic about financial resources. I am saddled with bills for medical care, medicines, special transportation, physio therapy and many other day to day expenses without any incoming income.

When I last appealed for donations for food for my cats. many kind people and generous friends and even strangers from near and far responded promptly and meaningfully. That I appreciate deeply. I can’t thank you enough. You know who you are. Hugs.

I am therefore appealing to those who can afford it to make (another) small donation to keep the pictures and stories going. Think of it as important, critical and impactful crowdfunding. To the many who say they enjoyed the pictures and stories very much, here’s your chance to put your money where your mouth is. Haha. No obligations, though.

If you are abroad, you can send funds to my Pay Pal account at tvsmith@gmail.com
:
Fellow Malaysians at home may find it easier to bank in money to my RHB or make a simple online transfer.

RHB Bank Malaysia Current Account Name: T.V. Smith
A/C No: 2-12200-1012422-6 or 21220010124226 (without hyphens)
RHB Bank Taman Megah Branch
SWIFT Code: RHBBMYKL
My Tel: +6012 3368 360
My E-mail : tvsmith@gmail.com

Drop me a message or mail, if your name appear unfamiliar or mismatched so I can thank you personally. Thank you for helping. Happy holidays. Remember: every cent counts, no matter how small.

If you are unable to donate cash, donations of cat food in dry form or kibbles will also lessen my burden greatly. E-mail or message me to find out how or where you can drop it off.

It’s the season to be generous 🙂