A Travel Blog - One photographer's journey with the Canon EOS 5 Series DSLR Cameras and Lenses

Another image of Putrajaya, which is the government capital of Malaysia.  This image was shot from the second level (bottom level) of the Putrajaya International Convention Center (PICC).


EOS 5DS R / Lens 24-70 mm f/2.8 L USM

There are only three locations in Perth where you can shoot the city's skyline in all it's glory.  The first and most famous location is from Fraser's Avenue in Kings Park and Botanical Gardens.  However, that viewpoint has been shot to death.  Everybody who has ever been to Perth has already shot from that viewpoint.  The second location is from Sir James Mitchell Park in South Perth.  This viewpoint offers a different perspective of the city reflected from one of the three small lakes across the park.  The third location is from Mends Street Jetty, also in South Perth.


Mends Street Jetty is only a 10 minutes drive from the apartment that we always rent when we are in Perth.  Getting to Mends Street Jetty is only a matter of punching in "Mends St Jetty" in Garmin and the GPS will get you there in no time.  The view from Mends Street Jetty offers the classic view of the Perth Skyline reflected across the Swan Rivers.  I think the best time to shoot this location is during the weekdays at sunset.  Although the setting sun will not be in the frame, this timing is perfect as the lights from the buildings will be at it's maximum during this period.  Shoot this location during sunrise or weekends and you will find that the lights from the buildings will not be fully lighted.


The above image was shot at the Mends Street Jetty area during the autumn of 2012.  As the sun was setting behind me towards the left, it was impossible for me to include the sun in the frame.  I had waited for a good thirty minutes until the ambient light had balanced with the artificial lights of the building.  This had ensured that the contrast of the scene was manageable without needing any fanciful filtration techniques.  I was careful to expose for the brightest part of the sky without blowing out the highlights.  From there, the highlight exposure was pushed towards the far right as possible using the "Expose To The Right" or ETTR technique.  This had ensure that the details in the shadow or the darkest part of the scene had contained details and not rendered as pure black.


EOS 5D Mk II / EF 7-200 mm. F2.8 L USM Lens.

The view of Lake Tekapo, Mac Kenzie Region, New Zealand from the compounds of the Church of the Good Shephard.


EOS 5DS R / Lens EF17-40mm f/4L USM

The Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur is a six tiered Chinese Temple opened in 1987 built to pay homage to the Chinese sea goddess, Mazu.  This syncretic temple with elements of Buddhism, Taoism and Confinucism is a grandiose structure and represents a successful combination of modern architectural techniques and authentic traditional design featuring imposing pillars, spectacular roofs, ornate carvings and intricate embellishments.

The red lanterns are only lighted once a year, for a period of two weeks.  It is lighted during the eve of the Lunar Chinese New Year until "chap goh mei" or the 15th night and last night of the new year.  With it's splendor and the fantastic red colours of the lanterns contrasting against the cobalt blue skies during twilight, it is a must visit location for tourist and photographers alike. 


The prayer hall houses 3 altars, each with a sculpture of one deity or goddess. As one enters the prayer hall, the altar on the right is dedicated to Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. Tian Hou is in the centre while Shui Wei Sheng Niang (the Goddess of the Waterfront) is at the left. In the middle of the hall and between the altars are two pairs of Kau Cim oracles that can be used by visitors. 
In addition to her altar in the prayer hall, there is also a smaller statue of Guan Yin to the right of the hall, set amongst rocks and falling water. Here one can kneel and receive a blessing of water from the statue. Outside the temple at the entrance to the grounds, there is a larger statue, similarly set amongst rocks and falling water.


Other features include a Chinese Medicinal Herbs Garden, a Wishing Well as well as a Tortoise Pond.  Finally there is a large statue of the goddess opposite the temple, along with a collection of other large statues that include representations of the twelve animals of Chinese astrology.


EOS 5DS R / Lens EF17-40mm f/4L USM

We are always taught in photography classes, workshops and magazines to never place the horizon dead center of the frame.  This contradicts the compositional "Rules of Thirds" whereby it states that the horizon should always be placed at the bottom 1/3rd or the upper 2/3rds of the frame.  However, compositional rules are not etched in stone.  Rules are just guidelines and should not be used just for the sake of using it.  There are times where you need to break all rules and compose according to the scene in front of you.  The camera is not going to break down just because you did not follow some compositional guidelines. 


While I am aware of the power of the Rules of Thirds, I have never allowed any compositional rules to dictate my way of shooting.  More often than not, I will still incorporate the Rules of Thirds in most of my images.  There are also times whereby compositional rules will not do justice to the architectural landscape in front of you.  The Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque shot from Ayer 8 in Putrajaya is one such example.  To enhance the symmetrical aspect of the composition, I had placed the horizon dead center in the frame - dividing the image into two equal half.  The Rules of Thirds composition will not work in this case.  I do not think the viewer's eye will be confuse on which half is the more prominent half of the frame.  The reflections of the mosque and buildings on the lower half of the frame will always play a supporting role to complement the upper half of the frame where I had placed the main focal point of the image.  In this composition, I do not mind the vast negative spaces left on the bottom and upper top of the frame.  These negative spaces had "isolated" the mosque from it's surrounding which to me had portrayed a stronger composition.


Two images were blended to make the single image you see above.  The strength of this image relies on the stillness of the reflection and the lighting of the buildings during the blue hours of twilight.  Close to the blue hour, a catamaran had powered across the lake.  This had created ripples and waves which had broken up the stillness of the reflection.  I had wanted to use an earlier image before the catamaran, but the lightings of the buildings were not prominent yet.  As a last resort, I had blended an earlier image before the catamaran had caused the ripples and a later shot of the mosque where all the buildings were lighted. 


Canon EOS 5DS R / Lens EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM

Back to a very familiar hunting ground! 
Many, many years ago when I was just starting out in photography, the Kuala Lumpur skyline from the Titiwangsa Park was among my very first few locations that I had visited to develop my photographic skills.  Back then, I was still using Canon's excellent EOS 3 and the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II medium format systems.  The Velvia 50 slide exposure was my sensor then.  Although I still have these fine cameras, it is now collecting dust in my dry cabinet today.  At that time, Putrajaya had not existed yet.  Seasons changed, weeks became months and months became years -  different locations were identified and visited, to an extent that I had almost forgotten about this location.


It was a very surreal experience coming back to the Titiwangsa Park after all these years.  I am now using Canon's EOS 5DS R - an evolution in resolution!  Besides my camera system, nothing else has changed.  I still know the exact location to set-up the tripod for the best viewpoint.  Most of my images from here was always cropped very tightly focusing only on the KLCC Twin Towers and also the KL Tower on the right.  For this visit, I had wanted to shoot a wider angle view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline.  The EF 24-70 mm standard lens was used at a focal length roughly at 35 mm - to ensure the skyline still retains it's function as a focal point of the image.  To enhance the symmetrical aspect of this shot, the horizon was placed dead center in the frame - mitigating the use of the Rules of Thirds.  Rules to me are only guidelines - it is not etched in stone.  Sometimes, you will need to break all compositional rules to ensure a better image.


This image is perhaps one of the last few images that can be shot from this location.  The Titiwangsa Park will be closed to the public very soon for the next two years.  This is to accommodate Kuala Lumpur's River Beautification Project which is scheduled to start next month.


Canon EOS 5DS R / Lens EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM

Just two and a half hours drive south of Perth, the Busselton Jetty is situated at the northern gateway to the Margaret River Wine Region, in the seaside resort town of Busselton.  Extending 1.8 kilometres over the protected waters of Geographe Bay, the heritage listed Busselton Jetty is the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.  As one of the most popular tourist attractions in Western Australia, it is a must see for any visitor to the Capes Region.


The Busselton Jetty which is overlooking the Geographe Bay is a must visit destination everytime we are in Perth.  The journey to Busselton is not difficult - unlike Malaysia, the roads in Western Australia are relaxing, easy and most important, toll-free.  I woke up extremely early in the freezing winters of Western Australia just to shoot the sunrise at Busselton.  It was a ten minutes drive from our apartment to this location.  Due to the freezing temperature, I had the location all to myself.  Using The Photographer's Ephemeris (TPE) apps, I knew that the sun would be rising in front of me and behind the Busselton Jetty.  To get this angle, I had to wade half-way out of the sea - risking extreme frostbite at my legs due to the icy seawaters.


As I was constantly battling the extreme weather and winds, I had to complete this shoot as fast as possible.  If not, there would be one dead photographer floating on the shores of Busselton later.  Within 10 minutes, I had wrapped up the shoot and making my way out of the waters to head back home.  Any longer, I would have succumbed to frostbite and that will be the end of my adventures in Western Australia.


EOS 5D MK II / Lens 24-70 mm f/2.80 (L) USM

EOS 5D Mk II / Lens EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Is photography an art? Are photographers artist?


While there are similarities since creativity and art comes from the right side of the brain, there are subtle differences between a photographer and an artist.  Many would think that a photographer is also an artist - the end results are the same.  A photographer has a pre-visualized image in his imagination and uses a camera and photographic skills to record that imagination onto a 35 mm or larger camera sensor.  An artist has also a pre-visualized imagination and uses brushes, colours, pastels and oils to record that imagination onto a blank canvass.  While the end result is the same, the processes to achieve the end results are not the same.


An artist creates their masterpiece by additions - landscape elements, trees, the flow of water and lighting are added onto a blank canvass to create the final output.  A photographer creates their masterpiece by subtractions - subjects, branches jutting out from corners, rubbish and landscape imperfections are subtracted from a chaotic scene to achieve compositional balancing in the final output.


Over the years, I have received many collaboration and exhibition opportunities from various gallery owners locally and internationally.  I have even received an offer to exhibit some of my images in an art gallery in Italy.  However, I found out that most of these galleries specializes in art exhibitions - the water colour and painting types of artwork.  I had felt that my photographic works somehow do not fit into these type of artistic categories.  Most of the time I had to turn down these offers, no matter how exciting it may seem at that time.  The only photography exhibition offer that I had taken up was the KL Guerilla Photography Exhibition at Avenue K and Klickr's My Neighbourhood Exhibition at Capsquare some years back.  I want to be known strictly as a photographer, not as an artist.  Although I did a lot of drawing and painting during my school days, I have no interest at all to dabble with brushes, pastels and oils once again. 


In case I am pilloried by this posting, I am not talking about fine art photography as I do not categorize my works as fine art.


Image 1: The 12 megapixel EOS 5D / Lens EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM


Image 2: EOS 5D Mk II / Lens EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM

There was a time, many many years ago where every photographer just had to shoot the Wilayah Mosque from this location at Publika during sunrise.  You will not be well known if you do not have this classic view of the mosque in your collection.  Not wanting to be left out, I had also joined the bandwagon.  Trying to be smart (or maybe trying to be different), I had opted to shoot the mosque during twilight instead.  The internet has had enough of sunrise images of this mosque.


However, the season has passed.  Times have changed and photographers move on.  We hardly see any new images of this mosque nowadays.  The location and viewpoint has now become like the Berembang Indah apartments.  Everyone who has a camera has shot from here already.  Lots of images by different photographers, all with the same viewpoint and angle.  I have only made one attempt to shoot this mosque during a clear and calm evening three years back.  I have not been back to this location ever since.


If a scene has been shot to death, I will try to avoid that location at all cost.


EOS 5D Mk II / Lens EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM