Category: Photography

Caught In A Spiderweb

Inside the tunnel of an underpass, I decided to have some fun with the camera. For safety reasons, try this only when you are a passenger.

Set the camera’s shutter speed to between 1 and 2 seconds. Click and rotate your camera during the length of the exposure. The rotation need not be a full or perfect circle. Your mileage may vary.

To make the light bluish at the end of the tunnel, change the white balance to one of the presets by pre-viewing to see which works best.

This may be one of the last of such colour combos as the city’s street and infra lighting are gradually converted to daylight-coloured LEDs. The spider web patterns here are the result of warmer and older sodium lights.

I wish there are more taillight reds but many local motorists fail to see the need to turn on the lights when entering a tunnel. The red streaks are cars braking into a traffic jam at the end of the underpass.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 50, f22, 1.6 sec.

Tiny Chewbacca Flowers

Trampled by humans and decimated by grass cutters, the plants survive somehow.

Each pod is smaller than a finger nail and a closer look reveals its understated and strange beauty.

Macro photography with the Sony FE 55mm prime and Raynox DCR-250.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 1600, f4, 1/1250 sec.

Hate To Burst Your Bubble

Can we bring back old-fashioned, conservative bubble blowing?

I also know it is accidental and rare but when it happens, those elongated bubbles can be a bit awkward in a family park.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f4, 1/1000 sec.

Something Big Is Coming Down

Continuing my series on festival day in the ghetto. A little Burmese Muslim girl is dressed in her Hari Raya best.

She’s sitting on a squashed box by the roadside. Those red spots on the pavement are not colour run from her brand new dress. They are betelnut spit spat out by the many chewers here.

The girl has grabbed a front row seat, behind the raffia strings cordoning off the area. People are milling around, looking serious, waiting for something.

I asked her mother standing behind and she jabbed the guy next to her. The young man with a punk hairstyle quickly chimed in to say there’s gonna be a rave.

A rave party on the streets, in a migrant-only neighbourhood? A dance party with DJs, crowd swinging their arms like car windscreen wipers and EDM??? Wonderful!

It is my lucky day but I must first get pass the bouncers to get better pictures. I hope they are not as dour-looking as the waiting crowd.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 160, f4, 1/60 sec.

The Backstreet Boys Sepak Takraw Championship

Behind the wall of spectators, is an exciting game of sepak takraw. The community organises some informal events for the special day of Eid.

Fittingly, one of the events is Sepak Takraw, a favourite sport played here on Sundays. Sepak takraw is a kind of foot volleyball played with a woven rattan ball.

Some historians believe the Burmese ‘Chinlone’ artform (single-player takraw-style kicking) was derived from Cuju (catch ball), a form of military exercise from ancient China circa 3rd century BC.

Given that it is a public holiday today, many of the migrant workers are not just here to support their teams but also to catch up with fellow villagers from home. It is serious competition for the teams and just as serious socialising for the supporters.

Public holiday breaks are fewer for them as not all holidays are recognised by their employers. Many workers may also opt to work overtime for additional wages.

This ‘village’ consists of 90 percent Muslim migrants from Myanmar and because it is Eid-ul-Fitr, there is a festive and cheerful atmosphere all round.

Back to the game; Tekong Karin passes the ball to Obai who scored with a tumbling somersault. The third (hidden) player is Tun Tun Min.

Seeing the crowd’s enthusiasm and the thunderous cheers form both sides, I asked some of the spectators who’s playing who? They replied “Sama Kampung” or “from the same village”.

Having witnessed their skills and passion for the game, I am not surprised their countrymen back home are moving beyond village championships. Myanmar won the Gold for men’s doubles in the recent SEA Games.

Next: How I was inducted into a Rohingya Rave Party.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 1600, f9, 1/400 sec.