On the first day of the Lunar New Year, devotees thronged a temple in Chinatown. Beautiful sunny morning and a cloudless blue sky make a picture perfect day.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/800 sec.
Blue Skies And Candlelight
Reply
Tag Archives: candlelight
Ambience
As you know, fine dining isn’t about taste or service alone; is also about ambience. Hundreds of candles light up the Theatre of Cuisines during MIGF’s Gala Night. In the centre, a Latin band plays The Girl From Ipanema, adding to the magical ambience. Salsa your way there today, as there is still time to sample all the food from participating restaurants.
Malaysia International Gourmet Festival. See www.migf.com for details.
Photography Notes: It was not too long ago, that camera manufacturers advertised shooting under candlelight as a special feature. Today, we do it without batting an eyelid. Better sensitivity and image stabilisation makes it easy. Only thing to watch out for; is the white balance. The camera might automatically over-correct the warm colours. If it does, go to your White Balance settings and try the various presets. Keep it warm to preserve the ambience. Yes. If you want to sound snooty, say ambiance.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 2000, f3.7, 1/30 sec.
Lanterns Were Us
What was your favourite lantern when you were a kid? I liked the fish because it cast its fascinating scaly patterns on the wall. The dragon was good too. I made it dance and float on a stick. The superheroes were a rare treat. Nowadays, kids prefer Angry Birds and Powerpuff characters than the traditional animals. Or Batman and Superman.
Children would parade around the neighbourhood with lighted lanterns. All these happened for a month leading to the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Malaysia, the event is also known as the Mooncake Festival or Lantern Festival (Pesta Tanglung)
The colourful cellophane lantern in a wire frame is not the folding accordion-type the West is familiar with. As an adult, you too can have fun with lanterns using your camera. Study candlelight photography with lanterns. Hang one up and photograph the shadows it projects on a wall. Use a white mahjong paper or kitchen foil to provide fill light in front. Experiment, click and have fun with your own light show.
The Mid-Autmn Festival (中秋节) falls on 30th September this year.
