Rotterdam May 2013

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

I attended Geospatial World Forum which was held at Beurs World Trade Center, Rotterdam, Netherland from 13 - 16 May 2013. Together with a friend who presented his project in the forum, we started our journey with a long flight from KLIA to Heathrow for transit, before flew to The Hague Airport, Rotterdam.

The chill weather registered from 6 - 11 Degree Celsius which is too cold for me who are used to warm weather of the Equator. I was made to understand that it was supposed to be warmer as the summer is just aroud the corner, but only God knows why. The mid-day temperature was a bit higher but still cold for me.

The photo below was taken during noon while me and my friend tried to find Halal Food for our lunch, around the center of Rotterdam city, not far from the Beurs WTC. After going through winter and spring, the trees still have not many leaves which make me wonder. The black silhoutte against the bright sky.

After several efforts finally we found a Kebab Take Away outlet within a walking distance from the hotel where we stay. However, we still miss 'nasi'.

    

Please enjoy the photo, thank you.

Sunset at Yong Peng

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

I went down south to Yong Peng, Johor for a site visit and meeting with my colleague about 2 weeks ago. There is a site near Yong Peng that I wanted to photograph for a long time especially during the golden hour.  And I saw an opportunity to do so as the golden hour was just around the corner, I waited for a while before proceed to the site.

I reached the bridge crossing Sungai Bekok around 7 p.m. and the sun still smiling above the west horizon. The view was fantastic, the sky was clear with some clouds hovering near the west horizon and the sun sometimes hiding behind the clouds curtain.

Preparing the camera, ISO100 was set with aperture f/9 and exposure compensation -0.7 while the camera set the shutter speed. Metering was set near the sun. The following photos are some of the photographs taken that day....

Please enjoy the photos....       

We can see the light rays penetrating the clouds and some reflection from the heavy vehicle add in  a little bit of drama in the photograph....

View of Sungai Bekok, the clear and calm water reflecting the yellowish evening sky...

As the sun started to touch the horizon, reddish colour appeared.....

This photograph was taken during my way back towards Air Hitam. After a while, when the sun hidden behind the horizon, I noticed reddish glare appeared behind the trees. In a glance, we may think there was fire behind the trees....

Thank you.

Reflection: Tasik Biru

Assalamu'alaikum w.b.t.

 

It was a long time since my last entry as I am a bit busy recently. However, I will try to make a room for updating this blog whenever possible.

 

Today, I would like to share some photos of Tasik Biru or Blue Lake, located at Kundang, Rawang. The following is the excerpt from Wikipedia

 

'Tasik Biru Seri Kundang is a lake located at Seri Kundang, Rawang, Selangor. It is an ex-mining lake that used to be developed long time ago during the British period. During its olden days, the lake was used to be the biggest mining area in Rawang district, and one of the biggest in Selangor as well. It is about 25 km to the north from Kuala Lumpur.

 

After the colonial time, Tasik Biru is set to be a water sports and recreation centre for the local and foreign tourists. The area surrounding the lake, encompassing about 32 hectares (80 acres) would be upgraded with a recreation area and a jogging track around the lake'

 

Wow!! It seems that this Tasik Biru is one of the famous spots in Malaysia! However, now Tasik Biru is being developed and we can see housing estate starts to emerge near the surrounding.

 

The photos below were captured from 17 storey apartment building, standing tall beside the lake. The sky was a bit cloudy but still good for photography. The calm weather and absence of water activities in the lake enable us to see good reflection on the surface of water. Maybe this is how the lake got its name.

 

Anyway, please enjoy the photos.  

 

Beautiful bungalow house beside Tasik Biru..

Calm weather cause good reflection of the sky

Another serene view....

 

 

Thank you.

 

Photo review

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

 

Today, I would like to share on some photos and the review of them. This review is solely based on my understanding and my own opinion. Others may view them differently and have their own comments.  

 

The following photos of my nephew were taken several weeks ago while he was playing at varandah of the house (I was not able to shoot the other children as they were actively running here and there...).

 

Background 

 

We usually forgot to consider the background while taking photographs especially in having candid shots.

  

This close-up photo was taken such that the subject to fill the frame. The subject was placed at the center, defying the rule of third. The eyes was looking toward outside of the picture making the viewer to wonder what was he looking at?  

 

Aperture f/5.6 was used to get shallow Depth of Field in order for the subject to stand out from the surrounding. However, the flaw was in the background. The square, dark crystal glass on the wall seems 'protruding from his head'. I should have move to the right a bit and 'separating' the cristal glass from his head. :)  

 

Companion

Still with Irfan Naim as the subject, but the frame is zoomed out a bit to have bigger view of the surrounding area. Now, the viewer can see other subject on the scene. Looking at the Rule of Third, both subjects were placed near to the 'points of interest'. It seems that Irfan Naim was pictured with his Lego set at the porch.

 

But still with flaw in the background where the cristal glass seem 'attached' to the main subject. However, the impact might be less. And, there was no interection between the main subject and his Lego Set.  

 

Activities

Timing is important in taking candid photograph. Waited a bit longer and after a while he ignored my existance and continue with his activities.

  

The following photo shows the activities and interection of the subject (Irfan Naim) and his Lego Set. These make the photo seems 'alive'.

Thank you.

Sun Halo

 

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

 

It was a sunny day on 2 Oct 2012 when suddenly I recieved a call from my wife describing a rainbow forming around the sun.

 

I checked the sky. It was nearly half past one and the sun was very bright with clear sky. Obviously I saw a circle of 'rainbow' arround the sun. It was a sun halo.

 

Based on my search in the internet, halo effect is an optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating coloured or white arcs arround a source of light. In the case of the sun halo, it may caused by ice crystals formed in the upper cirrus clouds (5 to 10km high) at troposphere region. The crystals act like prism and mirror, refracting and reflecting the sun light that create the beautiful 'rainbow'.

 

As I didn't bring my DSLR, I had to utilize whatever possible gadget in hand. Lucky that I had my handphone with me, thus I used my handphone camera to capture the event. 

 

The last two photos were shared by my friend. Beautiful shot using handphone camera.... Credit to my friend.... :) 



 

 

had to shield the sun to have a better view...

From another angle...

Sun halo: a good framing...  

From another angle...... credit to my friend
 

Thank you.

Lady Photographer





 

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

 

Nowadays, many of us can afford to have DSLR as the price has gone down due to high competition amongst the giants such as Canon and Nikon as well as many other players in the market. And the products offer features that are user friendly which are good for average customers. However, only a bunch of people will go deeper into photography as it needs passion and patient.... :)

 

I like to shoot candid. In candid photos, the subject will look natural and not 'posed'. Candid photos can tell us a lot of stories. In an event, there are a lot of subjects to be shot and an opportunity for candid shots. Part of my favourite subjects are the photographers themselves.

 

So..... enjoy the photos below.... :)

 

 

 

Thank you.....

Gua Tempurung: icon of Ipoh

Assalamu'alaikum w.b.t.

Gua Tempurung is one of the famous icon in Ipoh, Perak. Formed million of years ago, the limestone majestic structure clearly marked the land while one entering Ipoh valley from the south via the North-South Expressway. 

The limestone formation originated from seabed that experienced up-lifting process millions of years ago. Observing the site, looking towards the east, one can clearly identify the cause of the up-lifting process; the granite intrusion forming mountainous range, protruding upwards can be seen on east of Gua Tempurung formation, namely Gunung Chantek of Perak.

From time to time, the up-lifted limestone formation being exposed to weather and rain, and the water slowly dissolving the minerals from the stone, creating weak and hollow stone structures. The gravity then take charge, pulling down the weak structures, left crumbled at the toe in which then forming the low land and soil sediment. That is why we can see clusters of the limestone hills formation in Ipoh valley having more or less the same height. In fact, they are buddies from the same parent rock.     

The chemical reaction between minerals within the limestone and water from rainfall, also resulted in formation of caves with beautiful abstract structures carved inside the cave. This can be seen inside the Gua Tempurung (and why it is called Gua Tempurung) which is famous with its beautiful structures. SO... feel free to visit Gua Tempurung and see them by yourself.

Meanwhile, please enjoy the photos of Gua Tempurung from the outside.   

Gua Tempurung viewed from the North-South Expressway (from low angle)...

another view of Gua Tempurung

At the toe of the hill formation...

The granite formation at opposite of Gua Tempurung , form part of Titiwangsa Range.

Thank you for viewing.

CH: All about strawbery

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Still about Cameron Highland and our family visit to the highland. While walking around Cameron Highland, I noticed two things that become an icon of Cameron Highland: the tea and the strawberry. 

Wherever we went, we could see strawberry, either in the form of the fruit itself or being 'transformed' into chocolate strawberry, strawberry key-chain, strawberry pillow etc. And mostly everybody talking about strawberry. Some were talking about picking the strawberry from the plant themselves. And my wife, kept talking about 'Opah Strawberry' that she heard from her friend. 

Looking at this scenario, we wished to experience picking the strawberry ourselves. And after venturing into several strawberry farms, talking to some locals, only on the third day that we managed to find Opah Strawberry Farm. Actually, the location of Opah Strawberry Farm is just about 10 to 15 minutes driving from where we stayed. During our visit in Cameron Highland, only Opah Strawberry Farm allowed visitors to pick their own strawberries, while other farm still didn't allow the visitors to do so.   

strawberry become an icon of Cameron Highland

Her first experience picking up a strawberry

Looking closer, this is how strawberry plant look like. 

Collecting....

A busy moment for mother and daughter..

Finally, it's all about strawberry....

Thank you for viewing.

CH: Morning view (2nd day)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

It was about 0715 of the 2nd day of our visit to Cameron Highland. As I love photography, I got a habit of going out early in the morning with my camera, especially when I am at new places or having a vacation or travelling away from home.

The weather was cold with chilly wind on my face. Looking at the sky, it was cloudy, but I was not sure whether it was dew or the low hovering clouds (actually we were at the high ground...). They look the same. While wondering around the area and taking some photos, suddenly I felt rain drops on my face and my bare hands. Suddenly it was raining! Without any warning! 

I ran to the nearby building, in order to protect the gear. No wonder some of the brochure for Cameron Highland reminds the public to be ready with either raincoat or umbrella while being in Cameron Highland. Because of the unpredictable short term rainfall, without any sign or warning.   :)

Nearby houses or... cottage... and the cloud seems so near...

Parking area at the back of the homestay apartment...

Pine trees are common in the area.... may be due to the cold weather.. ..

Thank you.

CH: Tea Plantation

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Browsing through the photographs which I took during our visit to Cameron Highland, I stumbled upon this photo, the first photo that I took at Bharat Tea Plantation, Tanah Rata.

It was a stunning view of the vast tea plantation as the view-point is located at the edge of the 'crater' and the sun was shining not far from the west horizon, about to end the day. With a nice weather, it was a perfect time for photography, soft lighting, not far from the golden moment for the day. 

We can see up to the opposite side of the plantation edge. The tea plantation is like a bowl, surrounded by the original forest. At the far side of the field, I saw a substantial size of slope failure occurred in the forest, however did not encroached into the tea plantation area. Lucky that the slope failure occurred in the jungle, so nobody get hurt, and nobody care. 

However, I believed that the case will be treated differently if it were near the road or highway, or near residential area.     

Thank you for viewing.

Wedding: Ema & Bad (3)

Other photos of Ema & Bad's wedding.....

Thank you for viewing....

Wedding: Ema & Bad (2)

2 June 2012 was a big day for Nor Shima. While waiting for her beloved husband, she managed to pose for the camera. Of course they have their own official wedding photographer, but the big event was an opportunity for me to polish my skill and talent. May be I will be a wedding photographer in the future, who knows....?

Till then.... please evaluate these photos....   

Not sure whether I did well or not. Feel free to give your comment and suggestion. It might be a good for me to improve my shots and skills.

Thank you so much.

Wedding: Ema & Bad

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

2 June 2012 was a memorable day for Nor Shima and Mohd Badarul Hisyam as it was the day that both of them were announced as husband and wife.

The 'akad nikah' was carried out at the bride's home after Asar prayer. 

The wedding ring as a symbol of their promises that they will be together till the end of time....

Acceptance of the 'nikah' that tied them together.... witnessed by families and friends 

Newly wed couple....

Hope to be happy till the end...

As family members, we also pray for their happiness....

Thank you.


 

Happy faces on the rock slope

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

On 15 Feb 2012, we did our refresher training for the rope access technique. For this time being, on the real rock slope surface.

Accending and decending on the rock slope is slightly different from what we were trained before. Many things need to be evaluated and considered before starting the activities. All are related to the safety aspects. Protection to the rope that being used as well as protection to the personnel involved.   



After setting up all the anchor points and satisfied with all preparation, I led the decend to down slope. This photo was shot by Muhammad Fakhar, my colleague.

Second decender, Fajrul. So eager with the new experience...

Happy face of Yakob...

Awangku Hisyam... thumb-up

Encik Mansor....

Che Ruslan... full of energy...

Fauzi was our last decender. This photo was shot after my ascending to the top....

Fauzi while ascending up. Notice the ascender he was using...? 

The sun was hot and burning. However, all participant were happy with the activities that marks our experiences. Please enjoy the photos.

Thank you.