Tag: street photography

A Hipster’s Bazaar

Putrajaya’s Ramadan Bazaar is refreshingly different and somewhat bizarre. It is more a showcase of clever marketing tactics, than of food.

Many of the stalls have banners with hipster catchphrases such as ‘the real original’, ‘no additives’, ‘infused’ and ‘yogurt-fied’, for example.

Quite a few proclaim a small town’s name where the dish and seller supposedly originate; leaving you wondering why they are not selling in their home towns.

If in doubt, one can always ask via their Facebook (and ‘like’ symbol) displayed on the stall.

Maybe I found all the hipster mantra odd because I spent the last two weeks at rural Ramadan bazaars where traditional food and a smile was the appeal.

Here’s sweet and sulky Aini selling red velvet cakes. I don’t like velvet cakes so I bought some layered blueberry and tiramisu cheese cakes from her.

How can I not? She baked all the cakes herself, all night, while listening to indie music.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f6.3, 1/80 sec.

Dance Of The Doves

They always look graceful when frozen by the camera in mid-flight. At a market, I saw a shopkeeper throwing grains and the birds swooping in from a telephone wire.

Pays to keep the camera in S or shutter priority mode for street photography. I rolled the dedicated shutter speed control dial rapidly while lifting the camera to my eye.

It all happened in a matter of a few of seconds. Before I hit the targeted 1/4000th of a second, the birds were already overhead.

While I can control the camera, the flight formation is all luck. I added the green hue in post.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 200, f4, 1/3200 sec.

Going Home For Raya

I started on this journey on Federal Route 1 on March 29. I have since covered Rawang, Serendah, Ulu Yam, Rasa, Kuala Kubu, Kerling, Kalumpang, Hulu Bernam, Tanjung Malim, Behrang, Slim River and many tiny places in between.

To tell the story, I visited quaint little towns, rustic villages and wandered through dusty roads and jungle trails. Camped in tents, stayed at dodgy ‘rumah tumpangan’ (lodging houses) but also at comfy hotels, chalets and motels. Met friendly and warm people from all walks of life.

In between, I have also traveled back to my home base in KL several times to replenish and to attend to paying work. Where possible, I try to continue again the next day. Quite tiring but it kept the sense of adventure and exploration fresh in my mind.

I’m going to take a short break to visit the Ramadan bazaars in KL that I love, break fast with friends and make way for the many cars in the upcoming exodus. Will continue with the road trip where I left off after the Hari Raya holidays.

Another reason I need the break is that I must make my new website catch up with the daily pics. Before I can finish adding some of the missing older ones, I ended up acquiring even more new pics and stories to manage.

Nevertheless, the website gives it the much needed interface of systematic sorting, categorization and tagging of subjects befitting an epic travelogue. And unlike Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, topics are easily searchable and there are related links in every article or post.

Look out for more unique images and stories of awesome people, nature, animals, food and places on the route after the break. We’ve only just begun.

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

Nature’s Art

The cats in the previous picture were looking at me looking up at this tree in the orchard. They must be thinking city people are strange people.

A couple of curious kids came and sat next to me on the grass littered with fallen leaves. Finally, one brave little girl asked: “Why are you looking at the leaves for so long?”

I wanted to explain: “I am looking at the seasons in the sun”. Although trees are evergreen here, they do have their seasons where the leaves change colours and the branches bear fruits.

I didn’t know how to put it in simple words. I could only muster “Cantik” (beautiful) and she giggled. I bet she thought I am strange too.

Many moons ago, the late country singer John Denver was in KL and I was happy to run into him by chance. I saw him looking silently at the fountain in front of the hotel for a long time. Only his wife and manager understood what he was doing, I thought to myself.

The rest of the entourage thought it was rather strange and a few began to snigger after a while. Several busybody taxi drivers laughed and told me “dia gila” (he’s mad).

I smiled but I knew what he was doing. He stopped to smell the roses, as the idiom goes. He took time from his busy schedule to appreciate the beauty of things around him.

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

Country Living

Hard enough getting two battling cats to sit together for a portrait. Even harder to get a goat to walk across frame on cue.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f9, 1/320 sec.