Tag: landscape

Ulu Slim Hot Springs

Just when I arrived at this secluded hot springs, a damn tour group came charging in. These package or group tours are getting out of control.

The tourists are herded everywhere. Before they can enjoy the steam, the tour bus driver was already sounding the horn. What’s the hurry? Next stop; Moo Cow Frozen Yogurt or what?

I wanted to take a dip but that tour leader or tour guide in the middle wasn’t too friendly. What’s with staring in this area, anyway?

The hot springs at Ulu Slim is nice in that it wasn’t turned into an ugly cemented pond or worst, proclaimed as a spa, as with many other exploitable hot springs in the country. I like that it remains a (free) natural pond within an idyllic country setting.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f6.3, 1/250 sec.

Love Wins And Rainbow Colours Abound

This is a rare natural phenomenon known as a rainbow cloud or fire cloud. I photographed it last July from Bukit Beruntung near Federal Route 1. It was my second time seeing and photographing this beautiful weather phenomenon. The first time was from the old Bentong road.

I discovered something new when I re-opened the image in the updated Photoshop software today. Rainbows and cloud rainbows benefit greatly from the new Dehaze filter in Photoshop CC 2015. The rainbows colours became more vivid and clearer when Dehaze was deployed under Camera Raw Filter.

With another image of a regular rainbow arc, I was able to bring out the so-called double arc or secondary rainbow that was otherwise invisible. There is payload though. It is at the cost of noise increasing in the blue spectrum, especially that of the sky.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f11, 1/1000 sec.

Is Adobe Photoshop CC 2015’s New Dehaze Made For Us?

Adobe announced a major update to its Creative Cloud subscription service last night. Photoshop CC 2014 became Photoshop CC 2015, and included with it are several useful new features.

One of the new features that caught my attention was Dehaze. I downloaded the new version immediately to try out Dehaze. Well, not as immediate as I wanted; for the update process was a bit clunky and took a while.

You have to update the Creative Cloud Services first, Then download the big install of Photoshop CC 2015 (and Lightroom). Copy all your plugins to the new folder and download, reinstall the latest Camera Raw.

Yes it can get ugly; so here’s a quick and dirty demo for those who don’t have the patience, time or a fast internet connection. Haze can now be easily removed or reduced with a simple slider in the Camera Raw Filter. It can add haze too, if desired.

As you know, Malaysia has one of the worst haze occurrences thanks to a leaky neighbour. So the true test of the Dehaze slider, for me, is whether it can fix a picture fogged up by the transboundary haze or smog.

I ran a picture from the last bad haze day which that was captured in October 2014. The original picture was photographed in RAW and I opened it directly in Photoshop.

For a different comparison, I included another picture with organic haze or mountain mist photographed at the Genting Highlands resort.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/800 sec (city scene)
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f7.1, 1/100 sec (mountain scene)

Guardian Of The Cemetery

A Hindu shrine guarding a Chinese cemetery in the outskirts of Slim River. What was even more interesting was that the burial grounds had both Taoist and Christian tombstones mixed together. Quite unusual.

I suspect there is also a Hindu or Indian burial ground nearby. I can see what looks like a funeral pyre.

Waited for a lighting strike but it didn’t happen at where I pointed the camera. I was the only living soul around and the atmosphere was getting a little creepy. Could hear howling dogs but I can’t see where they are.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f13, 1/320 sec.

The Slim River Rest House

At one glance, Rumah Rehat Slim River looks like a charming hippie commune from the flower power days. Only thing missing is a VW Kombi with psychedelic colours.

Unlike other government rest houses from colonial days, this one is relatively recent. The reception clerk told me it was built in the 1960s.

The motel-style chalets are on stilts, clustered on a big lawn with nice countryside surroundings as a backdrop. I think I’ll stay here for this part of the journey.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/1000 sec.