Kit For Kids

Got to love these kids for their sheer exuberance and spontaneity. I was exploring this strange Kampung Balang with its labyrinth of narrow roads and paths earlier today. Stumbled upon a religious school deep inside and this group of kids were waiting for their school bus. Since my car was caught in a little jam outside the school, I rolled my window down to take a picture. Without cue or prompt they automatically struck this cute group pose. With cars behind me, I had like 3 or 4 seconds to get the shot.

The takeaway here is simple. You may have an arsenal of lenses but when driving always mount the kit lens as it can handle most unexpected moments. Set your exposure mode to P, enable AF and you are good to go. You never know what will appear round the corner.  And when it does, you usually won’t have the luxury of time nor have control of the situation.

Kit For Kids

3am Traffic Jam

The wholesale market in Selayang is busy with trolleys of fish and vegetable whizzing by at every corner. As with any peak-hour gridlock, things get crazy at the intersection. The Olympus OM-D captured everything sharply and its auto white balance rendered nice  colours even with the artificial and low-light conditions. But sometimes you don’t want that. So I used Snapseed to add a slight fog to convey the dreamy, surreal world of the midnight market. Corner vignetting (darkening) effect also enhanced the look.

Still, the most important visual elements that captured the moment of congestion are the two guys at the side looking diametrically. In scenes like these, I always shoot by seeing with my eyes instead of looking through the viewfinder. Also, when strangers you are photographing can see your face and smile, they react more naturally. Try it next time everything is flying around you. You get better pictures.

3am Traffic Jam

Love Grows

Love grows where my Rosemary goes…” I was humming this song when a heart-shaped red light glowed in front of me. I saw Daphne’s (@daphne_uijen) Instagram post of this peculiar red light yesterday and saw it today while driving in the area. Don’t know the reasons behind it but it does give you that warm, fuzzy feeling as you wait at the lights…  “She’s really got a magical spell and it’s working so well that I can’t get away…

Love Grows