Tag: cny

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

That Soothing Smile

I was sitting on a bench drying my eyes in the smoke-filled temple and breathing fresh air when this cheerful 11-year-old plonked herself next to me. I immediately asked her to move further from me. Hope she wasn’t offended as I knew right away she is very photogenic, even through blurry eyes.

Photography Tip. I asked her to move as I knew she was sitting too close for this particular lens to focus. Know your lens’ minimum focusing distance without even having to look through the viewfinder. This will save you time. Fiddling about is also unfair to an obliging subject, especially when it is a stranger.

I consciously kept her off-center to include the two worshipers in the background. Sometimes, just ask your model what’s going on behind you and she’ll look unsuspectingly over your shoulders. That’s when you click.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f1.8, 1/2500 sec.

#streetphotography #smile #temple #street #portrait #candid #chinesenewyear #cny #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss

Fresh As Tesco

A 4 KG carton of honey mandarin oranges I bought from them are still juicy today, some 20 days later. In comparison, a box I received as a gift around the same time were already dried up and some oranges are rotting.

Amazing that the Tesco ones stayed so fresh, juicy and tasty so many days after purchase. It was labelled as Fujian Yongchun Honey Mandarin imported from China by Kaishen Trading. Was cheap too. Cant remember the price but hope co-shopper Johnny can remember.

Shopping for perishables is a hit and miss affair and it depends on luck, I know. I was twice lucky and was also happy with the CNY pineapple tarts bought from Tesco.

Panasonic Lumix GM-1, ISO 200, f4.5, 1/160 sec.

#tesco #mandarins #fruits #oranges #shopping #fruits #cny #tescomalaysia