Tag Archives: celebrations

Thaipusam 2013 – Part 2

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At the crack of dawn, another ritual takes place by the river. The cleansing ritual is supplemented by piped water due to the polluted river water. This is where the OM-D comes into its own, astonishing other shutterbugs shooting from a safe distance with a tele.

I placed the water resistant-camera directly under the shower. Me and the camera took a good dunking. Resolution was (naturally) somewhat affected because the lens was dripping with water.  When push comes to shove, very few cameras can come near the OM-D and gushing water. I will also post a video later where you can see how severe the splashing was. Update: Video posted here.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 4000, f4, 1/1000 sec.

Thaipusam 2013 - Part 2

Thaipusam 2013 – Part 1

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I arrived at Batu Caves at about 5am and was greeted by a pair of spinning LED kavadis under the moonlight. Traditionally, a wingman pulls the hooks attached to the bare back of the kavadi bearer. Now, we have two guys behind pushing a mini electricity generator on a trolley. Lol.

Instead of firing a flash, I used a slow exposure so the kavadis drew neon trails on the camera’s sensor, creating a beautiful light show.

The Thaipusam ritual of carrying of a kavadi is considered penance for one’s sins or the cleansing of one’s soul. Some bearers pierced their tongues or cheeks with a small spear or skewers as a gesture of unwavering devotion.

The annual Thaipuam Festival at Batu Caves Temple in Malaysia attract over a million devotees, visitors and tourists. It is one of the largest such celebrations outside the of state Tamil Nadu (India) where it began.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f4, 1.6 sec.

Thaipusam 2013 - Part 1

Happy New Year 2013!

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Photographed / videoed this New Year Eve’s fireworks display at the Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC Park) from quite near the cannons. Ended up pairing the Olympus OM-D with the Panasonic Lumix 7-14mm ultra -wide angle lens so as take in everything. The fireworks were shooting higher than the world’s tallest twin towers.

I brought popcorn and just let the camera roll. In Full HD video mode, the camera was capturing 9000 potential stills in the 5 minutes span. The quality of the stills grab is good enough for web and Instagram use. One of which is shown here. Shot some high res stills  in the first minute. After that, I switched to video recording mode and enjoyed the fireworks by looking up at the lighted night sky instead of peering through the viewfinder or at the LCD.

Photography tip: If practical, juxtapose fireworks against a landmark. Fireworks against the dark sky alone can be anywhere.

Watch for the first time the spectacular fireworks from KLCC in Full HD embedded below or from my Youtube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/tvsmith

Happy New Year 2013

Full HD Video:

Happy New Year 2013!