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I rather be somewhere deep within our lush Malaysian tropical rainforest, all alone (with enough food supplies) to shoot Nature.

I badly need some peace and tranquillity away from humanity, which at times I disdain.

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2. The small creek running along one of the main route of Gasing Hill, Petaling Jaya.

Sharing only two film images from my previous trip to Thean Hou temple.

It was a hot and sunny morning, and there were some opportunity to play around with shadows cast by the lanterns.

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After shooting a wedding ceremony in the morning, I rushed back to shower before heading towards Putrajaya for the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

It was the last day of the festival, but we ran out of luck as it rained heavily in the evening, right just after a special VIP finished her speech during the closing ceremony. 

1. It was still blazing hot when we had arrived, but slowly dark clouds began to hover over us.

2. Just a moment ago, he was struggling to hold on to his balloons, when a strong gush of wind suddenly passed by.

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4. The Putrajaya Millennium Monument

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What a wasted trip all the way to Putrajaya, and looks like we have to wait till next year.

We drovein the rain back to Kuala Lumpur. Halfway, we remembered that we have also missed St. Patrick’s Day. So, we headed to Finnegan’s Irish Pub at Sri Hartamas for a pint of Guinness Stout.  

If you arrive early in the evening, particularly during the weekends, you can easily find lots of stalls selling an assortment of bivalves.

These are sold at quite a reasonable rate, and should be quite fresh because harvesting is done locally.

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2. Clams.

3. Mussels.

4. Oyster, being sold at a pretty price locally.

5. Pholas orientalis

The locals call them Mentarang or Angelwings.

6. Bathing in the glory of the golden hour.

7. A lonely fishing rod, waiting for the last catch of the day.

8. A long exposure of the night sky. It was a pretty miserable attempt as we were not properly equipped (having only a flimsy tripod) and there were the swarm of highly active mosquitoes.

If look carefully, there is the Orion constellation somewhere at the upper right of the picture.

Took a couple of my friends down to Tanjung Sepat for sight-seeing, and at the same time (for the 1st time too) to taste the infamous Jugra Beggar’s Chicken (also commonly but not accurately called Banting Beggar’s Chicken).

Our morning started off with Lido nasi lemak in Klang. Bad move, as there are more food in Tanjung Sepat awaiting for us.

1. Busy activity at the Lovers’ jetty, the sole remaining jetty of Tanjung Sepat.

As the boats are parked at the terminal end of the narrow jetty, the only fast way to transport the catch is by motorbikes.

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4. The upgraded Hai Yew Hin pau maker.

They have expanded by having a new production site opposite their old restaurant. The old sites is still in use, serving paus and other fried stuffs (even soft shelled crabs) and other local produce.

Now, there are more mechanisation and even an air-conditioner at the new site, a far cry from what was previously (here).

5. A gloomy and cloudy day for landscape. Better to come another time for sunrise/sunset shots.

6. The unassuming wooden facade of Restoran Bukit Jugra, famed for their beggar’s chicken.

It’s located opposite a Chinese temple, near the foothill of Jugra Hill.

Note: You have to pre-order your menu at least a day before, and they firmly do not entertain walk-ins.

Their contacts: 03-3120 2525 / 03-3120 2515

7. Overlooking the mangrove. Wear long pants, as there can be quite a lot of mosquitoes.

8. The place where the wrapped food are kept under hot glowing ash.

9. The wrapped items were carted out in a wheelbarrow.

10. Unwrapping has begun.

11. And stock essence began to flow.

12. Stuffed herbal duck. I prefer this as it very much tasted like any herbal duck soup.

13. Glutinous rice, my least liking.

14. Herbal chicken. My friends remarked that it tasted very much alike Essence of Chicken, but much better and stronger.

15. In total, we had four dishes. The last one was herbal pork knuckle, which tasted very much like bah kut teh.

These were taken while waiting for a portraiture workshop to begin. The organiser (Mr. Zamrudku) was introducing his works and giving some pointers to the participants.

Just shows how attentive I am during a talk.  

1. Putra Mosque

2. Putra Square. I just love shooting against the Sun, particularly with a wide-angled lens.

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A usual photography trip with Zybisko14, and with the sudden inclusion of Jellyikan & Jonathan, the trip turned into chasing sunrise.

While driving madly to Tanjung Sepat, a groggy Zybisko14 called to inform that he would be late, and a funny phone conversation ensured.

Part 1

* Passed my phone to Jellyikan

Zybisko14 (in a state of stupor): Hello, kiankheong?

Jellyikan (using my phone): Hello, Zybisko.

Zybisko14 (in his mind): Why am I talking to Jellyikan? Did I dial the wrong number?

* Zybisko14 hung up and called again.

Zybisko14 (still in a state of stupor): Hello, kiankheong?

Jellyikan (using my phone): Hello, Zybisko.

Zybisko14: WTF?

Part 2

Zybisko14: So, I’m calling to say that I can’t wake up and will only be meeting you in the afternoon.

Me: Aren’t you already awake by now?

Zybisko14: Ya hor! WTF!

1. Shots taken at the Lovers’ Jetty.

It’s quite a perfect location for both sunrise and sunset shots.

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6. The Lovers’ Jetty in early morning.

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12. Surprisingly, the mangrove trees don’t thrive quite well near the jetty, lots of dead trees.

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A view from my condominium unit.

From afar are the cranes of Port Klang terminal.

While on the way back to Klang (after a tiring mangrove trip at the Kuala Selangor Nature Park), we decided to make a temporary stop at Pantai Remis, Jeram.

The sun was already setting. Most of the crowd were pulling away, and this further narrowed the already narrow access lane to the beach. We were stuck in a small traffic before finally reaching a spot at the beach to park.

Luckily I brought along my friend’s tripod, so I decided to bracket a few exposures of a particular scene to try out High Dynamic Range (HDR) technique later. Just to extend the exposures of such contrasty scenes such as sunset.

The tripod also allowed me to use slow shutter speed in order to make the waves silky smooth.

1. Without HDR.

2. HDR image.

3. Without HDR.

4. HDR image.

5. And we did some silly poses.

6. Trying out the papercut-out.

7. Afterglow, after the sun has already set.

HDR image.

Still need to fine tune my HDR workflow as to reduce the introduction of unnatural colours. However, the process of aligning the pictures and adjustments, even with automation, is painfully slow on aging my desktop computer.

Oh, by the way, if you try googling, there is another Pantai Remis, but it’s a coastal town near Setiawan, Perak.

Was invited by a friend to join him on a 4×4 trip. Yearning for a rugged adventure, we (including Zybisko14 and Jellyikan) left Kuala Lumpur on an early Sunday morning to Lata Berembun, Pahang.

1. The interior of our 4×4, which belongs to Jonathan’s colleague. Beneath the hood of this aged pick-up is a tremendously powerful petrol engine, packed with enough horsepowers to tame the rugged terrain.

2. And our off-trail began. A local farmer on his motorbicycle, heading towards his orchard to collect his produce.

3. The lone tree.

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5. Our lush tropical forest.

6. Our nifty ride.

7. The halfway stop before entering the forest reserve.

8. From here onwards, the terrain became increasingly tricky. There were countless times when we bumped our heads, shoulders, ribs, and butts against the metal railings of the pick-up. Sure sore all over the body.

9. We arrived at bridge. The river was rapid as it had rained earlier in the morning, and this prevented us from crossing the river using the 4×4.

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11. Light rays coming through the canopy.

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13. Special lunch delivery.

14. The highpoint of the trip, the waterfall. As we arrived late in the afternoon, and lacking suitable filters, this is the best that I can do. Too bad, the water was quite brown, washing all the siltation after the morning rain.

Next time, I would be better prepared. With better timing, tripod, and a host of filters.

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16. Vibrant colours, when the forest canopy blooms.

After finishing uploading the pictures, I have just realised this is my first time taking so many landscape pictures. And they are way better than my macro shots. This only means that I’m too rusty and need to go out and shoot more.