Wet Is Good

The cityscape comes alive when the roads are wet and reflective. Most cameras can take a little drizzle and it is the best time for night photography. You can take shelter but some raindrops will still get onto your glass when you point it upwards. Use a UV filter and stand by a tissue or cloth to dab at intervals.

During the rain tonight, I chose the Panasonic 7-14mm lens so as to take in the Twin Towers from close range. The ultrawide lens has a very big front element and no filter thread. As such, I didn’t want to wipe the bare glass as much. I just worked the droplets into the scene for added realism.

Wet Is Good

Face To Face

I was walking around the Orang Asli kampung (aboriginal village) in Carey Island looking for a Mah Meri artisan. Many of the craftsmen were in London for some Tourism Board exhibition last week.

Finally found Atan busy chipping away outside his house. The friendly Orang Asli  explained that each mask takes him about a month to make. It is sculptured out of a single piece of mangrove timber. He laments that wood of this size is increasingly hard to find in the nearby swamps.

The ancient Mah Meri art form includes figurines and other intricate carvings. See the next post for a picture of a completed mask.

Face To Face