Tag Archives: street photography

The Secret World Of Vuvuzelas

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I hate plastic vuvuzelas. They make the most awful and irritating sounds. I think the China factories must have an overrun from the 2010 World Cup. If your blowing isn’t noticeable, you can add a compressed air can and mutate it into an air horn. They are now sold at every event, including this election rally in Putrajaya.

If you enjoy photography, the elections need not be about banners, politicians or supporters. Find a different angle. In this case, I placed the camera on ground level next to a street stall. The colourful vuvuzelas sprang to life. With a very strong sun behind, they became glow sticks in this seldom-seen view. Like a peek into a surreal, fantasy world.

I upped the saturation a bit and added a diffusion filter. This enhanced the neon effect and soften the very sharp ultrawide lens. Placing a woman’s stocking over the lens can also produce a similar effect.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f11, 1/800 sec.

The Secret World Of Vuvuzelas

Bride of Batang Berjuntai

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Saw this pair of newly-weds outside an Indian bridal shop in Bestari Jaya (formerly Batang Berjuntai). The mannequins reminded me of the movie Bride of Frankenstein, creepy yet captivating in its mystery. I applied Snapseed’s vintage filter to match the charming little town’s 1960s-ish atmosphere.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 800, f4.5, 1/40 sec.

Bride of Batang Berjuntai

Meet Mr Kadeer

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I was trying to photograph the giant flag at Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) when I noticed a bearded man walking round and round the field. Started a conversation with the gentleman when he whizzed by again.

He turned out to be Mr Kadeer, a money changer, from nearby Masjid India. He told me he would exercise by walking at least 10 rounds, each time. After the chat, the nice man invited me for breakfast at his shop :-). Street photography need not be about stealing shots with long lenses or hiding. Engage your subjects. That’s what I love about street photography.

Photography Notes: The Olympus FL50R flash has the seldom-utilised FP mode. With it, you can sync flash at high speed shutter, allowing balanced fill-in under strong sunlight. I don’t normally like fill flash but Mr Kadeer was in a shadow area. The reason I don’t like to use it often is because it gives it that ‘television commercial look’ or ‘Bollywood feature film look’ where you know that powerful HMI lights and reflectors were deployed.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f5.6, 1/4000 sec with FP flash.

Meet Mr Kadeer