Ubudiah Mosque

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.

Ubudiah Mosque

Good Distortions

With a wide angle lens, the vertical lines distort by diverging outwards when you hold the camera pointing down. You can use this effect to your advantage in your compositions. In this picture, I let the vertical candle and worshiper form a V-shape. The elements became an inverted triangle when the arm and joss sticks connect with the flame. Only problem with a wide angle lens is that almost everything falls into sharp focus. This is the time to use Snapseed’s Foggy Filter plus Vignetting selectively to feather the messy background. Photographed with the Olympus OM-D and Panasonic 7-14mm UWA lens at a Hungry Ghost festival prayers session in Hot Springs New Village just now.

Good Distortions

Growing Horns

Remember when you were in primary school and all you wanted was to have a nice picture of yourself taken? All your classmates wanted was to place funny gestures behind your head? This group of kids in a school in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) made sure no one had a photo taken without horns. Turned out to be better and I had as much laughs as they did 🙂

Growing Horns