At about 2:30 am just now, the chariot makes it way through the city. Accompanied by thousands of devotees on foot, the procession is heading towards Batu Caves for the annual Hindu festival of Thaipusam.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 1600, f5.1, 1/100 sec.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f8, 1/1600 sec.
If you are a Malaysian aged 30 years and older, you probably wondered about the only theme park that existed in its time. Now closed for more than 20 years, the park is in a decrepit and sad state. A sign on the zinc door says Welcome, No Entry, Danger.
The then popular Mimaland was famous for its giant dinosaur and prehistoric figures, all conceived before Crichton’s Jurassic Park book was even written. Besotted with all kinds of problems ranging from deaths on the water rides to landslides, it was eventually shut down by the authorities. What lies now behind the locked gate?
Olympus OM-D, ISO 800, f11, 1/1000 sec.
I shook the gate and two silent dogs raced towards me. They look like Orang Asli (aboriginal people’s) hunting dogs. Lean and mean. The sight of Mimaland’s entrance archway sucked me in like a time tunnel.
All of a sudden, I recall the big waterslides, paddle boats on the lake, people frolicking on the shady lawn, the crazy maze, the chalets and the dinosaurs. A strange guy looking like Norman Bates from the movie Pyscho appeared out of nowhere. He claimed to be the caretaker. According to him; vandals, thrill-seekers and ghost-hunters trespassed over the years, damaging the place further. It is now mostly overgrown with tall lalang (blade) grass.
He said he can’t let me in. I told him I’ll be back with a court order and search warrant for the dinosaurs. Haha. Just kidding. That was a line I borrowed from the movie Holes. Since he mentioned the current land owner, I’ll try to obtain permission to explore the place. Google’s satellite map shows the large pool area drained and the boating lake all muddy.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f22, 10.56 sec (for pic above).
Fireworks Photography Tip 1: Juxtapose the fireworks against a landmark or skyline. A shot of fireworks alone in the sky, however nice, doesn’t say much. It could have been photographed in any city.
Fireworks Photography Tip 2: Use a speed slower than 2 seconds to maximise the flowing effect of the burst and to better capture the sparkle. It means you will need a tripod.
For users of recent Olympus cameras, just set it to Live Time in Bulb mode and watch the exposure develop on the LCD screen. Stop when you feel it is nice enough. This takes the guesswork out of shooting blind in B manual mode.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f22, 6.46 sec (for pic below).
Fireworks Photography Tip 3: Get your act together as fast as possible. The view gets progressively smoky after the first or second minute. After that, lingering smoke usually gets too heavy and may obscure the landmark or the fireworks itself. The smoke will also create a colour cast.
And one most important tip: Once you get your settings correct, just fire away but alternately look at the sky. Take in the beauty with your naked eyes directly, not by viewing through a viewfinder or LCD throughout. In this case, I had no choice but to look up. I was so near the epicentre that chunks of burning sulphur and hot ash were landing few inches away.
Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f16, 3.58 sec (for pic below).
