Category: Photography

The Back Way Is The Best Way To Cameron Highlands

For this journey, I took the off-the-beaten track back road. It is the old ‘Silk Road” that meanders alongside the Main Range.

My journey began at the foothill of Genting Highlands and on to Raub where the road splits to the other highlands resort of Fraser’s Hill.

From Raub, I headed north to Sungei Koyan where the road splits again, with Kelantan and the National Park to the east.

At this remote crossroad, I headed west and up into winding mountain road before descending into the outrageously mutilated Bertam Valley. Further down, the once-beautiful and misty Ringlet Lake is now an ugly silted mess.

Going uphill again, I was relieved that some of the tea plantations and strawberry farms from childhood memories are still there, like refugees in paradise lost.

I take refuge in the saying that it is the journey and not the destination that matters. During the drive, the landscape changed from plantations to secondary forests to mountains and I drove, literally, into the clouds. More pictures to follow.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f9, 1/800 sec.

#cameron #highlands #mountain #landscape #nature #adventure #tbt

IOI City Mall, Putrajaya – Part 20

The zany pedestrian crossing is painted with the fur stripe patterns of a zebra instead. The quirky and zany approach gives hint to or acts as a prelude to the creative and unconventional management of the mall inside.

The suits (management) will normally panic if such an idea is suggested. Kudos to whoever who approved and allowed the implementation. The crossing is at the basement car park, just outside the entrance with 7-Eleven and Tony Roma’s.

There are a few remaining pics which I may post outside the series.

Hope you enjoyed the series as much as I enjoyed capturing the images.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 3200, f4.3, 1/60 sec.

#documentaryphotography #ioicitymall #mall #shops #zebracrossing #zebra #blackandwhite

IOI City Mall, Putrajaya – Part 19

Wonder Of Wondermilk.

Wondermilk The Cupcake shop at IOI City Mall is enchanting even for adults. The corner shop caught my eye as it looked surreal and magical in design. it is a glass and wood encased, retro looking shop with an old fashioned wooden door.

I shot through the glass and let the camera’s auto focus fluctuate, clicking when it was nicely soft. That added to the enchanting, magical atmosphere created by the rows of hanging lights inside. Some unexpected things provide the photographer with the most fun.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 400, f3.5, 1/60 sec.

#documentaryphotography #ioicitymall #mall #shops #wondermilk #interiordesign #bokeh

IOI City Mall, Putrajaya – Part 18

A Japanese Kabuki theatre mask serves as window dressing or display in one of the shops in the mall. A big mall such as this means the competition resulted in many shops making extra effort to stand out. A bonus for those with a camera.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 500, f3.5, 1/60 sec.

#documentaryphotography #ioicitymall #mall #shops #kabuki #masks #windowshopping

Bang Ka Lee Is Not The Punjabi Baby Adopted By The Lee Family

Nice of them to include (or commission) a piece of local history by a local artist.

The kandar pole traders roamed the streets with food pots carried on each end of the long, strong and flexible wooden poles balanced on a shoulder.

The nasi kandar dish derived its name from the kandar poles used by the mobile street hawkers who were mostly of Indian or Indian Muslim descent from Tamil Nadu state in India.

It seem to be inaccurately depicted as turbanised Sikhs or Punjabis here. The artist is Chinese and was probably culturally insensitive and geographically ignorant, like many other non-Indians here.

They erroneously and habitually call any Punjabi or a Sikh with a turban Bengalis (Bang Ka Lee in Chinese Hokkien) but then, Bengal is another region altogether.

I think Kandar wood is from the Sal tree (Shorea robusta), native to India

Kudos to Little Penang for including a plaque to credit the artist who is Penang born deaf mute, self-taught mural artist Louis Gan. His most famous wall mural is “Brother and Sister on a Swing” in an alleyway off Chulia Street Ghaut, in George Town, Penang.

Panasonic GM-1, ISO 1250, f4, 1/60 sec.

#muralart #kandar #wallart #penang #littlepenang #hawkers #ioicitymall