Flag Vault

Flag Vault.

The Chingay part of the annual Johor Bahru parade is seldom photographed before sunset. By the time the temple procession and floats move into the city, it is usually way past nightfall. To catch the giant flag bearers in daylight, I went to the starting point in a village. That turned out to be near impossible as every surrounding road was closed for the massive event.

Me and JB resident Sharon navigated through a maze of back roads and shortcuts before finally ending up at the village where the procession assembled. We still needed to walk a long way to the starting point as there were like a million people already there.

Bewildered and unaware of what was going on, we discovered a site where there were 4 different Chinese operas of different dialects and where worshipers congregate to pray. It was human crush just moving along there among the crowds.

Even though I had plenty of experience covering cultural processions, it was to be one of the toughest stints on foot, starting from 3pm to 3am.

Chingay is the street art of balancing and vaulting giant and heavy flags. The Johor Bahru Chingay Parade is said to have a 140-year history. It is happening in JB tonight.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f6.3, 1/1000 sec.

#festival #chingay #parade #culture #johorbahru #johor #jb #malaysia #olympus #tbt #chinesefestival,

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

Golden Sands Of Desaru

I first went to Desaru on a leisurely, unplanned roadtrip, maybe 20 years ago, with Ken Chia and a bunch of other friends. We went via Kota Tinggi waterfall and I remember Desaru as very deserted. Desolation is a rare charm nowadays, though.

It is still relatively quiet and lonely. I like it this time on this second trip with Sharon. It was quite idyllic and beautiful. Desaru is near the southern tip of the peninsular facing the former South China Sea.

The shadows of the palm trees and casuarina trees were like paintings on the golden sands and it was tricky capturing it. We were standing on a ledge and needed to keep our own shadows out of the way. The beach was surprisingly litter free for a weekend getaway destination.

Olympus OM-D ISO 200, f10, 1/500 sec.

#jb #johor #desaru #beach #seaside #landscape #landmark #travel #coconuttrees #sand #horizon #sky #tourism #malaysia

Our Own Kokomo

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I want to take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go, Jamaica

Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo
That’s where you want to go to get away from it all
Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand
We’ll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in Kokomo

~ The Beach Boys

From the Pasir Gudang Kite Flying site, we drove down to isolated Desaru beach where Sharon indulged in her favorite macro photography on the beach. I just enjoy the view; the peaceful casuarina trees, the swaying palms, the gentle pounding of waves and the fine sand on my feet. This is life! Didn’t we get enough wind at Pasir Gudang? Haha.

Not many girls will enjoy macro photography because one needs to get one’s hands and knees dirty. It is tough work plus most girls dont like looking at bugs upclose.

Olympus OM-D ISO 200, f8, 1/500 sec.

#jb #johor #pasirgudang #kitefestival #desaru #beach #seaside #landscape #macro #kokomo