Everything Is Relative

When I parked my car about a mile from the Sri Lanka Buddhist Temple, I realised I have three bags of gear in my car. Had no choice but to squeeze all into the largest bag and carry it with me. I was complaining about the long walk in the hot sun when I met a lady with no feet.

Wheelchair-bound Pauziah told me she suffered from bone cancer and had her legs and fingers amputated. Because her arms are weak, she saved for an electric wheelchair by selling packet lunch door-to-door in the area. Now that she owns one, the spinster found out it will cost more than a thousand ringgit to replace the battery when it eventually fails. Thus, she is seeking donations.

I am normally quite skeptical of panhandlers but after a half-an-hour chat by the roadside, the lady seems quite genuine. She’s a philosophical, cheerful and positive person. Made me feel like a worthless amoeba for complaining earlier.

Olympus OM-D, ISO 200, f9, 1/200 sec.

When The Going Gets Tough...

Meet Mr Kadeer

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