Category: Thoughts

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

Multi Faith And JB

Three years ago I caught the sending off or launch procession for the Chingay Festival from the temple in town to the prayer site off town. The JB Taoist procession passed near the very old Catholic church.

I positioned myself and waited for the juxtaposition of icons from the two different faiths. The annual event took place this morning. There was another religious harmony factor involved which I found out when I visited the church a few days later.

The church was built on land donated by the late Sultan Abu Bakar and was then known as the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. There is also a marble statue of Mother Mary gifted by Sultan Sir Ibrahim Abu Bakar and it is still standing at the church’s front courtyard.

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

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

Meet My Favourite Terrorist

At the Pasir Gudang International Kite Festival, she frightened me when she showed up dressed like a terrorist. LOL. Although many men will argue their demure wives or girlfriends are usually terrorists in real life. Heh.

The National Geographic branded balaclava is a great accessory for photographers to carry. It is like a scarf you can tie in several ways. You can buy it at an outdoor adventure, fishing, camping shop or at a National Geographic shop. The Nat Geo shop in Singapore is already closed, I think. My other friend Daniel Tang has one such scarf too for his angling activities.

It may be breezy and windy at the kite flying venue but the sun is very harsh. As a macro and nature photography enthusiast, Sharon knows too well the dangers of prolonged exposure to UV rays when outdoors.

Ironically, the real danger there was actually spectators and photographers wandering too close and tripping or getting entangled with the many kite strings that may not be visible.

This year’s Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival is currently happening and will be until 28 February 2017.

Olympus OM-D ISO 200, f8, 1/320 sec.

#jb #pasirgudang #kitefestival #kites #layanglayang #terrorist #balaclava #sunprotection #portrait #natgeo #nationalgeographic #scarf #headgear

The Book Begins Here – Your Input Needed

It is now an empty or blank page on my screen. Adobe InDesign CC is the current industry standard for book design and layout, and was recommended by Johnny Ong. It was formerly PageMaker, I think. Johnny used it for his book. It is a new software for me and I am currently stumbling and feeling my way through.

I have the original images selected and stored in a dedicated folder, all saved in its original high and full resolution lossless psd format. Buyers will be getting the best resolution and see gorgeous colours that will jump out at them. That depends on the capability of the book printer, of course. I think some additional time may be needed as I need to rewrite some captions, if need be,

Will get Johnny to come over in to tidy up when needed. I think I will also document the process and challenges to help other future authors. Once the design and layout is completed, it can be sent to a specialist printer to do a full size, full colour, properly bound mock up to present to potential sponsors and backers.

Thing is I can’t decide on the size. It should be big enough to show the glory and sharpness of the pics. At the same time, I want to keep printing costs down and the selling price reasonable. The more affordable it is, the more people can own one.

I also need to keep weight down so is easier to transport for signing events and mailing to overseas buyers. No hard covers then. I don’t want it to be one of those bulky, heavy coffee table books. It ought to be small and intimate enough to pick up anywhere, anytime. It is basically a picture book with text, so what is your preference or suggestion on size? Appreciate your input. Thanks.

Some standard sizes mentioned on the web are:

5 x 8 in., 13 x 20 cm
6 x 9 in., 15 x 23 cm
7 x 7 in., 18 x 18 cm
8 x 10 in., 20 x 25 cm
10 x 8 in., 25 x 20 cm
13 x 11 in., 33 x 28 cm
12 x 12 in., 30 x 30 cm

Do you prefer portrait or landscape such as a Lat cartoon book? What you are seeing at this stage is only a screen capture of a rough draft; so please provide only constructive feedback.