Category: Photography

Those Days Were Nuts

The shells, along with those from melon seeds (kuaci) littered every inch of the floor. This was before the introduction of boring, mandated popcorn and garden variety cineplexes.

During those days, a sickening symphony of cracking and squashing sounds can be heard as cinema goers wade through the mess when the movie ends. Every one will carry his or her empty soft drink bottle out though. They get a deposit return for the bottle. Haha.

Though I hated smelly cuttlefish more, my biggest gripe was not the litter or the snacks. It was the lazy projectionist cutting off the end credits prematurely and that MOFO usher.

Five minutes before a movie ends, the sicko destroys your concentration and enjoyment with a spoiler. He will loudly pull open all the exit door curtains to signal the movie is ending, just when you least expect it.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 125, f4, 1/250 sec.

Four, Says The Glove

Shadow of the ice-cream man’s bicycle cart and a dropped glove. Plenty of photo opportunities outside, at the street leading to the temple. Hawkers, panhandlers and buskers create a carnival-like atmosphere. And you may be stepping on a photography tip.

What time is best for such street photography? Post-4pm. Lower sun means longer and more interesting shadows. It also enhances the texture of the asphalt and other surfaces.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f5, 1/1600 sec.

Wesak Day – Bokeh Paradise

At the Buddhist Maha Vihara Termple in Brickfields is a tent where hundreds of oil lamps are kept lit. It is a photographer’s paradise.

Some newbie photographers think ‘bokeh’ is as simple as an out-of-focus background. It is more than that. It is how the lens render the out-of-focus point(s) of light in relation to the part that is in focus. There is an aesthetic and subjective quality that depend on the lens, aperture and distance.

Here, I manually set the focus of the Sony FE 70-200mm G OSS lens onto the middle row of glass lamps. The blue blobs are daylight from outside and the orange is a monk in saffron robe.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 160, f4, 1/250 sec.

Wesak Day – Eternal Flame

Silhouette of a volunteer topping up the oil lamps. Love how the camera handled the colour balance of warm colors from the flames and cooler bluish daylight seeping through.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/125 sec.