Chinatown With Olympus E-PL2

Posted on February 4, 2011 by TV Smith

The first day of Chinese New Year presented an excellent opportunity to perform some real world tests of the new Olympus E-PL2. I left all other lenses at home and took just the E-PL2 and the 17 mm kit lens for a spin at the Kwan Ti Temple.

For street photography, the combo is a good choice as it is lightweight and unobtrusive. Since I dial into different modes all the time and do exposure compensation on the fly, the menu system and control wheel of the camera coped quite well…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f16, 1/160 sec -2 EV

Fire & Smoke. By reducing the exposure two stops, I was able to preserve the ambience of the flames, smoke and the silhouette effect. I also manually adjusted the camera’s white balance preset to make it ‘colder’. A small aperture was also chosen for greater depth-of-field. For a compact body, every control was still easily accessible.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f13, 1/160 sec

Young Supermodels. These two girls struck up a series of wonderful poses when they saw my camera :). One thing I found out was that the LCD appeared brighter than it actually was. So I tend to underexpose in the beginning without checking the histogram display (which I usually don’t).

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f2.8, 1/180 sec with flash

Deities. One of the things I like about the E-PL2 is the easy flash compensation adjustment. Here, I dialed down the on-board flash by two stop since the camera was very close. I can also fire an external flash remotely via the wireless RC feature. This frees up the hot-shoe for the optional electronic viewfinder.

Getting there: Mycen Map of Chinatown KL

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Dong Zen CNY Light Show 2011

Posted on February 2, 2011 by TV Smith

When I arrived at the Dong Zen Buddhist Temple in Jenjarom, a storm was already brewing. Which was all well and good as the dark clouds and rain added another dimension to the light show. The new Olympus E-PL2 handled the tricky lighting situations quite competently. As the camera was fitted with a fixed-focal pancake lens, I had to do a little bit of manual zooming with my legs…

The Dong Zen Temple. Olympus E-PL2, ISO 640, f2.8, 1/250 sec

Here, I needed a relatively fast shutter speed to ‘pause’ the rotating rabbits.

Aisle To Buddha. Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f11, 1/10 sec

I was having a hard time trying to align the shot when I realised the paper mache pagodas aren’t perfectly straight. Maybe it was the wind 🙂 Nevertheless, this is a beautiful entrance to the Buddha Memorial.

Reflections. Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f11, 1/13 sec

When the rain stopped, the sky was already pitch black and I had to quickly get this shot before the puddles on the ground dry off.

Magical Wonderland. Olympus E-PL 2, ISO 200, f13, 1.3 sec

I like how the visitors with camera freeze up in this very slow exposure.

Arch & Tunnel. Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f8, 1/5 sec

If you noticed, I shot mostly with a small aperture (big ‘f number’) where possible. This gives it the wide depth-of-field but a tripod is required.

Handsome Fler. Panasonic LX-5, ISO 500, f2.2, 1.8 sec

Turns out the pancake lens (17mm f2.8) is a delightful lens for street photography. I brought along a tripod fitted with a fluid head in case I wanted to shoot some videos.

Getting There: MyCen Map to FGS Dong Zen Temple in Jenjarom

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Thaipusam 2011 @ Batu Caves

Posted on January 20, 2011 by TV Smith

Vei! Vei!

“Vei! Vei!”, the pilgrims and devotees chanted in unison, extolling the resident deity Lord Murugan. For the pierced kavadi bearers, the physical bondage is more than an act of spiritual devotion. It is also an act of penance, the fulfilment of vows for prayers answered. The many shutterbugs there were blessed, too. After weeks of dull weather, the sky over Batu Caves took on a deep blue glow, this morning…

Sharp As A Spear

The new Panasonic LX-5 with the ’17 mm lens’ is as sharp as a spear (vei). See the details captured in her forehead and eyebrows.

Fire & Cockerel

When I arrived, there was already action in the dark. Here, I used an external flash for foreground fill. This cross-dressing team attracted a lot of whistling and cheering.

Orangy Sunrise

The Indian-Chinese Team

Up-Close & Emotional

Nothing beats a small camera where you can get it in position with just one arm outstretched, instantly. The totally silent LX-5 is also less obtrusive.

The Curut Man

The curut or cheroot (a leftover from the British colonial days) is featured prominently.

Hot Hot Day

Dainty Deities

Don’t ask me why the Chinese deities were there 🙂

Boy Band

Unisex, For A Day

I tried taking the scheduled 5:42 am train, which didn’t arrive at my boarding station (Kampung Batu) until 6:15 am. The new Batu Caves KTM Railway Station handled more than a million passengers today, I think.

My Kit

My mobile and lightweight reporting kit. Panasonic Lumix LX-5 and Apple iPad 3G (in an Orkio Bag) With it, I can photo-blog from just about anywhere. The iPad requires a suite of apps like Photo Resizer, Watermarking, FTP and the Camera Connecting Kit, of course.

Tip: You can view larger versions of the images here, gallery-style. When the page finishes loading, click on any picture. Navigate via the arrows on each side of the frame.

All pictures captured with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 camera by TV Smith

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Author Archives: TV Smith

Chinatown With Olympus E-PL2

Dong Zen CNY Light Show 2011

Thaipusam 2011 @ Batu Caves