World Champ At Their Home Ground

World Champ At Their Home Ground.

The two young men in the previous pic are part of a prestigious troupe known as the Khuan Loke Dragon & Lion Dance Association. I was amazed by their acrobatic and daredevil performance on the high poles.

Looking at the troupe’s Facebook Page back home later, it was nice to discover they are indeed the World Champion for the High Pole Category. Dragon and Lion Dance is a sport recognised by the Olympic Council of Asia.

The night (known as ‘Chap Goh Mei’ in Malaysia) marked the end of the 15-day celebration of Chinese New Year. Beautifully-lit Thean Hou Temple was the backdrop for the thrilling lion dance and spectacular fireworks.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 6400, f4, 1/60 sec.

#documentaryphotography #nightphotography #liondance #chinesefestival #chapgohmei #cny #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss

Troupers

Met these two young Malay lion dance troupers last year. As I was taking their pic, their Chinese and Indian teammates kept mentioning KFC.

Puzzled, I asked them about it. One of the boys appeared in a KFC television commercial near that time.

According to Albert Fong, lion dance expert and trainer on my Facebook, they are Hakimi Ismail (left) and Eskandar Zolkarnaine.

#liondance #cny #nfc #sonyalpha #a7r

Mickey Mouse Shadows

Shooting the annual lion dance and fireworks at Thean Hou temple last year took time. Much time. Although the two events I wanted to photograph was scheduled at 10 pm, I had to go there before 5 pm.

Otherwise; the road up the hill will be congested with cars and chartered buses. Many drivers who came later, gave up and their cars can be seen parked on the highway as I was driving back. A few, overheated and stalled going up the hill.

Time after time, a Malaysian event will never start on time or takes place as scheduled. The fireworks didn’t start until way past 11 in the night when it was published as 10 pm.

Anyway, plenty of time to while away and to look at or photograph things not done normally. The temple courtyard had interesting shadows I never noticed on previous trips. Mickey Mouse shadows.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 400, f11, 1/320 sec.

#lanterns #shadows #cny #theanhoutemple #sunset #blackandwhite #sonyalpha #a7r #samyang

Content Farm

A day trip destination like the fishing village of Tanjung Sepat benefited from the then Facebook boom, I hypothesised.

Many Facebook users do not or can’t write or produce original content. Which was why sharing became popular. It may be second nature for us old bloggers and we forget not everyone are as prolific.

So a picturesque venue like Tanjung Sepat provided the backgrounds for selfies. Selfies are quick, easy and valuable content that let people post on competitive social media. Malacca, Sekinchan, Kuala Selangor and KKB are some of the towns that benefited as day trip destinations too. Domestic tourism wins with selfie tourism.

This was photographed at the jetty next to the Gano mushroom farm. On my trip there yesterday, I noticed the wooden seaside pier is now gone.

Unfortunately, town planners possibly do not appreciate or recognise rustic things. The charming wooden quay is now being demolished and replaced by a long modern concrete jetty.

The town did boom over the years with a proliferation of seafood restaurants. Visitors like to see fishing boats and nets, not just eateries.

#tanjungsepat #jetty #seaside #pier #sunset #silhouette #selfie #smalltown #goldcoast #selangor #landscape #writing #documentaryphotography