Tag: sonyalpha

Wesak Day – Bokeh Paradise

At the Buddhist Maha Vihara Termple in Brickfields is a tent where hundreds of oil lamps are kept lit. It is a photographer’s paradise.

Some newbie photographers think ‘bokeh’ is as simple as an out-of-focus background. It is more than that. It is how the lens render the out-of-focus point(s) of light in relation to the part that is in focus. There is an aesthetic and subjective quality that depend on the lens, aperture and distance.

Here, I manually set the focus of the Sony FE 70-200mm G OSS lens onto the middle row of glass lamps. The blue blobs are daylight from outside and the orange is a monk in saffron robe.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 160, f4, 1/250 sec.

Wesak Day – Eternal Flame

Silhouette of a volunteer topping up the oil lamps. Love how the camera handled the colour balance of warm colors from the flames and cooler bluish daylight seeping through.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/125 sec.

Vesak

Vesak or Wesak Day is celebrated today (3rd May) here in Malaysia and also in Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia and a few other countries.

Other Asian countries such as Thailand and Singapore celebrate on 1st June 2015. India, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and China observe the festival on a different day.

The variation is due to the different lunar, lunisolar and Gregorian calendars used.

Buddha Day, as it is also known, commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha.

Golden statues photographed at the Thai Chetawan Temple in Petaling Jaya.

Follow me on Instagram too, also at @tvsmithmy

Happy Vesak.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 1250, f4, 1/160 sec.

Shaved Ice And Light

Iced dessert from Kak Jah’s Cendol stall in front of the post office in Kuala Kubu Bahru. I poured Nescafe Ice into a take-away pack and it tasted pretty cool.

Photography Tip: It is possible to do nice food photography at a roadside hawker stall. It can be done without any additional equipment but it requires a systematic approach.

Survey the ambient light before finding a seat. Note the direction of light, plus the shadows and highlights it will cast. Then, choose a table and seating position in relation to that.

Travel food photography is not about climbing on a chair (blogger-style), taking a overhead shot and tagging it as #foodphotography.

It entails an understanding of light that you cannot control. Harness the existing ambient light and use it to shape the food or to highlight its textures.

What if the light is really bad? Don’t bother, then. Just enjoy the food. There are no laws compelling you to post every meal you had.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/320 sec.

Man In The Tree

Sharing more outtakes from the earlier leg of the road trip. Saw a man plucking cikus (sapodilla) on top of a tree during exploration deep inside a village in Ulu Yam. I will continue with the journey after the long holiday weekend.

Someone asked me: Why carry the very expensive Sony A7R and its heavy arsenal of Zeiss lenses when it is safer, easier to use lighter, less expensive mirrorless systems?

The answer is simple. I do carry two other mirrorless cameras but a day will come. This was such a day. The day when a scene will cry out for the brute resolution of the A7r. The camera will clearly define every leaf and every fruit.

It will pick out the details right down to the ash on the tip of the cigarette or make out the motifs on the man’s shirt. Its fine tonal rendition will separate the leaves from the fruits. The excellent dynamic range will keep everything in check, from sky to face, even under the harsh sun.

I can think of more but the most important reason is that this is also an archival mission. Many of the old surviving buildings, towns and lifestyle documented on this journey will soon disappear forever. So why not capture it at the best practical quality for future generations to relive and to appreciate.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/800 sec.