The St Joan Of Arc Church and Synagogue is located in the Chinatown district of Saigon. Built in 1928, this Ho Chi Minh City landmark is almost always photographed straight-on with a wide-angle lens in travel brochures.
I walked down a bit and waited until these two street vendors arrived. Their Vietnamese conical straw hats provided juxtaposition against the pink Gothic architecture. The Church is known locally as Thánh Nữ Jeanne D’Arc and also Nhà thờ Ngã Sáu.
What do you do when you arrive at a beautiful landmark on a very hazy day? The weather was so dull everything appeared almost monochromatic. I walked around the famous Blue Mosque in Shah Alam looking for an element that will make the picture a little more interesting. Found this star-shaped grill on one of its gates and photographed through it. A compositional frame can be an overhanging branch, an arch or anything of any shape. Use it to draw attention, to juxtapose or to give the main subject some depth, as in this case.
The iconic, royal Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala Kangsar is rarely seen as a silhouette. Understandably so, since it is a beautiful landmark when brightly lit. When I see a hazy sun, I see opportunity. Exposing for the sun created a nice and rarely seen silhouette of the multiple domes and minarets. The green filter was commonly used during film photography days. Coloured gels/filters designed for black and white film were used with colour films for effects.
Built in 1917, Masjid Ubudiah was designed by architect Arthur Benison Hubback. He is also known for his Moorish designs of the Ipoh & KL Railway stations and Masjid Jamek.
