Category Archives: Photography

Angsty Ants

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I got a call from a very impatient-sounding ant the other day…

Ant: Do you do portraits?
Me: Sorry, I don’t do formals.
Ant: But the storks recommended you. Do you do casuals then?
Me: How big… eh… I mean how small are you guys?
Ant: My head is less than 1 mm.
Me: Depth-of-Field may be a problem.
Ant: It’s not our problem.
Me: Can I use flash?
Ant: No! Jeez. Flash is not allowed in the colony.
Me: No group shots I hope.
Ant: Why???
Me: Ants are hard to control and don’t take instructions well.
Ant: Alright. How much?
Me: What’s your budget?
Ant: A few grains of sugar. They are expensive nowadays, you know.
Me:  Deal. Promise you pay me in 90 days?
Ant: Of course. I don’t live that long anyway.

So the next day I went to the designated spot under a tree and there were a few ants hanging on a cable tied to a branch. I felt a sting on my left toes and realise I almost stepped on the client. And so my job began…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/250 sec

First off was Jeremiah, a worker ant originally from Tapah. He stood still long enough for me to focus on the eyes.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 400, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 400, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Selvi insisted on a profile shot and was posing too hard. She needs to relax.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f4.5, 1/250 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f4.5, 1/250 sec

Mike, the guy who commissioned the job, was bossy as usual but was easy to work with. Problem is his wife keeps tagging along. She can be seen hiding behind. Oh well.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Instead of saying ‘Cheese’, I said ‘Sweet’ and Annuar showed me his sharp teeth.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 320, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 320, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Siew Ying was most shy and didn’t strike an aggressive stance like the others. Turned out better.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/250 sec

Mike again, after pushing his wife off the cable. For my next ant portraits I must bring along a tripod. It was quite tough hand-holding the camera and trying to set focus on their eyes manually at the same time.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/80 sec with flash

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f3.5, 1/80 sec with flash

Remember I told you I don’t like doing group shots for ants. It can get really messy as they refuse to follow instructions. For this shot, I sneaked in a burst of flash from a wireless FL-36R unit held with the other hand. That also contributed to the pandemonium.

All pictures photographed with the Olympus Pen E-PL2, Zuiko Digital 35mm f3.5 Macro Lens, Olympus EX-25 Extension Tube and Olympus MFF-2 Lens Mount Adapter.

See also: The Art Of Art Filters | Layang Layang | The Bird Park | Stalking Storks

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.

Stalking Storks

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You’ve been told babies are brought in by storks. But where do storks come from? They come from Zoo Negara, apparently 🙂

The Painted Stork (Mycteria Leucocephala) you see perched above tall structures all over the Klang Valley were originally from India and Sri Lanka. Part of a captive breeding programme at Zoo Negara, the birds were subsequently released and became free-flying residents of the zoo.

In the mornings, they set off in various directions but return to roost in the evenings. Over the years, I have seen small colonies as far away as Putrajaya and above the Bird Park at the Lake Gardens.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 1000, f5.6, 1/2000 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 1000, f5.6, 1/2000 sec

Road To Putrajaya. My fascination with these beautiful birds started when I spotted one flying alongside my car on the elevated sections of MRR2, about a decade ago. Since then, I have been observing them in flight and there is something peculiar. They often use highways as part of their flight path instead of flying line-of-sight.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f7.1, 1/1000 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f7.1, 1/1000 sec

Morning Clock-In. On the Duke, near the Air Panas Toll Plaza, several flocks can be seen perched on the giant light fixtures. It is easier to get a shot of a stork landing than taking-off as they can stay perched at one spot for hours.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 1600, f6.7, 1/2000 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 1600, f6.7, 1/2000 sec

Up-Close. If they are not lazing on lamp posts, they can be seen wading and foraging in shallow waters. At Zoo Negara, they have a lake and a little island to themselves.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 640, f6.4, 1/2000 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 640, f6.4, 1/2000 sec

Birds Of A Feather. The Painted Stork gets its name from the distinctive pink feathers on its back.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f8, 1/320 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f8, 1/320 sec

Nosy Neighbour. At the National Zoo, the giraffes are the storks’ next door neighbours. If you need a super sharp and long-reaching telephoto lens, I highly recommend the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm (150 to 600mm equivalent ) zoom. All pictures here are photographed with this compact and feather-weight lens.

See also:
The Art Of Art Filters | Layang Layang | The Bird Park | Driving An Ultra-Wide

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.

Layang Layang

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Strange as it may seem, there exists a place in Kuala Lumpur where people of different race and creed have fun together, voluntarily. No script, no slogans. No propaganda, no politics. That mythical place is the Kite Park…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f10, 1/320 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f10, 1/320 sec

The giant white teddy bear in the sky (seated left) pushes away the dark clouds, triggering nasty stares and gnashing from the angry dog (inside gap)…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f10, 1/500 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f10, 1/500 sec

A shy little red kite was the first to greet the sleepy white clouds…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f11, 1/800 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f11, 1/800 sec

Then, one by one they soared. Dancing with the clouds, teasing the reluctant sun.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f9, 1/320 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f9, 1/320 sec

The eagle and the wau soon rule the sky. Traffic on the highway came to a standstill. More people were arriving, many parked miles down the road. The poor children…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f7.1, 1/125 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f7.1, 1/125 sec

For this little girl, the long walk was definitely worth the extra effort. Here, she can command her kite, challenge the adults and master the wind.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f11, 1/640 sec

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f11, 1/640 sec

For those not into kites, the nearby lake offers a soothing retreat from the city.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f8, 1/180 sec with fill in flash

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f8, 1/180 sec with fill-in flash

This city is not that far, as you can see in the background. This friendly and pretty stranger volunteered a pose. The halo effect is an artifact of this particular art filter and lighting.

All pictures here photographed with the Olympus E-PL2 with Dramatic Tone Art Filter enabled.

See also:
The Art Of Art Filters | The 1-Minute Food Pic | The Bird Park | Driving An Ultra-Wide

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.