Coliseum Cafe

Opened in 1921, the Coliseum Cafe is living heritage from the days of colonial Malaya. In later years, this Kuala Lumpur landmark is known more for its sizzling Hainanese steaks served by very old waiters (who still wrap a white napkin around your neck). Patrons went there more for the ambience than the food. The furniture and architecture remained as it was during the time when William Somerset Maugham patronised the bar. The place was occupied by the Japanese Army during the 2nd World War and it probably saw its fair share of executions.

It is hard to level some old buildings in the viewfinder as the horizontal beams are often not truly straight. What I did when framing the facade was to line up the vertical grid lines against the swing door. I was fooling with Snapseed’s grunge filter to add some texture to compliment the rainy day and out came these 2 skeletal patrons. Hey! It is still the Chinese Hungry Ghost Month.

Coliseum Cafe

Dark Frame

Composing, framing or cropping for a square format is more challenging, actually. One way is to use a ‘frame’ as a compositional element to ‘de-square’ and make your picture more intriguing. In this picture, I used the overhanging leaves and hill slope as a frame for the family around the tombstone. Under-exposing created the silhouettes, evoking a sombre yet detached viewpoint.

Dark Frame