Category: People

That Soothing Smile

I was sitting on a bench drying my eyes in the smoke-filled temple and breathing fresh air when this cheerful 11-year-old plonked herself next to me. I immediately asked her to move further from me. Hope she wasn’t offended as I knew right away she is very photogenic, even through blurry eyes.

Photography Tip. I asked her to move as I knew she was sitting too close for this particular lens to focus. Know your lens’ minimum focusing distance without even having to look through the viewfinder. This will save you time. Fiddling about is also unfair to an obliging subject, especially when it is a stranger.

I consciously kept her off-center to include the two worshipers in the background. Sometimes, just ask your model what’s going on behind you and she’ll look unsuspectingly over your shoulders. That’s when you click.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f1.8, 1/2500 sec.

#streetphotography #smile #temple #street #portrait #candid #chinesenewyear #cny #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss

Animals At KLPAC

Animals At KLPAC.

If you see the previous tagged Facebook post by former The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac) staffer PuiSee Chu and wonder why there are rescued and fostered puppies in the building, there is a reason.

Bosses Faridah Merican and Joe Hasham are animal lovers themselves. I know because I spoke to Faridah about stray dogs before.

They tolerate and encourage their staff to be kind to animals. This is a good reflection of the organisation and something other corporations should emulate.

Pic of Pui See and Faridah with resident cat Mr Noisy.

Raise The Black Monopod

I was taken aback by the sheer number of monopods fighting with joss sticks for space at this temple procession. The new crowdscape of raised cameras is an inevitable sign of the times, I suppose. For the uninitiated, a monopod is a one-legged telescopic camera stand, as opposed to the three-legged tripod.

Many of the dSLR video shooters were using monopods to get a higher P.O.V. or simply to get above the crowd. The trend will become even more prevalent as more new cameras come with remote control and monitoring via smart phones.

The street parade was part of the annual Taoist Chingay festival at the old Chinese Temple in Jalan Trus, JB. Title inspired by “Raise the Red Lantern” by Zhang Yimou.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 320, f6.7, 1/1000 sec.

#chingay #jb #johor #taoism #procession #streetphotography #jossticks #monopods

Our Own Kokomo

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I want to take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go, Jamaica

Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo
That’s where you want to go to get away from it all
Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand
We’ll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in Kokomo

~ The Beach Boys

From the Pasir Gudang Kite Flying site, we drove down to isolated Desaru beach where Sharon indulged in her favorite macro photography on the beach. I just enjoy the view; the peaceful casuarina trees, the swaying palms, the gentle pounding of waves and the fine sand on my feet. This is life! Didn’t we get enough wind at Pasir Gudang? Haha.

Not many girls will enjoy macro photography because one needs to get one’s hands and knees dirty. It is tough work plus most girls dont like looking at bugs upclose.

Olympus OM-D ISO 200, f8, 1/500 sec.

#jb #johor #pasirgudang #kitefestival #desaru #beach #seaside #landscape #macro #kokomo

Kindness Is The Language Which The Deaf Can Hear And The Blind Can See

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see ~ Mark Twain

True Colours.

Sad to say, some of my fellow Malaysians are the most horrible and racist people when it comes to treatment of Bangladeshis. At a gas station, I saw a guy violently punching the perspex at the payment window and cursing the Bangladeshi cashier because he was served late. In a fit of anger, he threw the pump nozzle on the ground and drove off.

Saw another guy threatening to slap a Bangladeshi worker at a car wash because there were a bit of fingerprints on the windscreen. I have witnessed many other incidents of aggression, rudeness and mean behaviour towards these gentle people.

The Bangladeshis are easy picks because they are mostly meek, gentle and peaceful people.

I’ve met many Bangladeshi and migrant workers from other countries over the years and became good friends with them. First met them at regular restaurants, retailers, car wash yards, clubs (where they worked as janitors) and other places. Treat them with respect and they always reciprocate. Extend your friendship and they’ll do likewise. Humans are like that, whichever nation they are from.

One of them is my friend Aman from Bangladesh who worked here for 17 years without ever returning home once. He finally saved enough to get married and to buy a generator for his parents’ house in rural Bangladesh.

Here is a picture from 2007 where Aman (second from left) with his fellow countryman, and an Indonesian housemate hosted a simple and much-appreciated Hari Raya lunch. It was nice ethnic food in their tiny rented flat in Tiong Nam. The guests were his Malaysian colleagues and me.

#bangladesh #bangladeshi #migrantworker #friendship #hariraya #malaysia

with Alex Wong, Eric Wong and Felicia Suah