"Encounter"
Taking a break from my Malaysian photos, I went out for a sunset shoot at Hallett Cove few days ago. It was such a beautiful day, and by looking at the clouds throughout the day I knew it was going to be an awesome sunset.
What I did not expect though, was to meet my future wedding photographer Joel C Photography there. He was there with his cute family, along with the Adelaide Uni Photography Club. We had a very good chat about things in general, mainly photography.
I have never felt so happy in a long long time. And the bonus is the awesome photos that I got from that day!

"The First World"
Up on the Genting Highlands in Malaysia, there's a theme park, and a casino. It is the largest casino in Malaysia, and everyday you see thousands of people coming and going, mostly gamblers.
First World Hotel is the fourth largest hotel in the world, with over 6000 rooms. It also held a "Ripley's Believe It or Not" record for the hotel with most rooms (not sure if that is still true). It also has a very high tech self-check in machine, so if you've already booked a room all you need to do is to insert your ID into the machine and it will check you in, giving you the cards and room number. No need for long queues anymore!
This shot was taken at the hotel lobby, right where you walk in. Although they try to make you feel like you're in a jungle, it felt artificial and fake. But it looks good!

"Shanghai 1943" (Sorry Jay Chou!)
This particular scene reminded me of old Shanghai, busy, crowded, shop signs everywhere, people everywhere. It ALMOST made me wanna travel back in time to experience it!

"Intrigued"
I was really lucky to have captured this moment...

"Ancient Dwellings"

Very few people would appreciate the historical impact of these ancient homes, and even fewer would believe that to this particular day, people are still living in them. These homes have been inherited for generations, some of them built since the Chinese first came to Malaysia (or Malaya back then). The good thing about this little photo walk with my friend is that I learnt to be humble, and to appreciate the life lessons these histories taught me. Only 4 Chinese words came to my mind: "饮水思源“.

"Street Art"
The best thing about Penang is that there are a lot of wonderful street arts such as this one hiding in the heart of the city. I'm sure everyone's seen all the different murals photos that's been flying the around the net but I haven't seen a lot of this particular one.

Just in case you're wondering, the words on the wall are "Lumut Lane Core Zone, George Town World Heritage Site; The birthplace of Ahmad Rashid Talu, the first to write an original Malay novel with local setting and local characters"

Ah how I love my country!

"The Bend"
The streets around KOMTAR are among the most historic in Penang. Lots of old buildings, shops that have been there for yonks, people busy hustling and bustling, crossing streets, riding bikes, or in cars. I don't know why, but every time I pass by this particular bend, I'm always hit by a touch of nostalgia. Penang is truly magical.

Malaysia Truly Asia -- "The Icon"

There's literally millions of photos on the net of KOMTAR, one of Penang's tallest buildings, and definitely an icon that represents what Penang is.
Finding a unique composition interesting enough for KOMTAR is no easy feat, as it is pretty much "just a rod", and almost every composition has been done before.

I was lucky enough to be able to take this shot while waiting for a friend to go on a little photo walk. I'm pretty satisfied with the result. The only regret I have is it's shot right at the middle of the day. It would have been a million times better if it's shot at sunrise/sunset/blue hour or even at night!

Technical stuff:
Nikon D7000, f/8, 32 bit HDR with bracket of 1/80, 1/320 and 1/1250, adjustments in Camera RAW, color enhancement in PS using LAB equalization technique, gaussian blur and high pass sharpening, and various dodging and burning.

As always I appreciate all 'connects', comments and share!

"The Band"
Baby let me rock your world,
with my voice and the band.
Don't mind the sweat,
fling and wave your sexy hand.
Dance like there's no tomorrow,
'cause you'll never be this high again.

"Of Beans, Grains, and Herbs"

4 more days, that's when I will leave my beloved home country to work for the bills again. But that's also when I can properly view all the photos I've taken these 2 weeks in all their glory and edit them on my 27" screen. I can't wait to get my hands started on them!

This shot is of a really long and cool corridor of display outside a restaurant in one of the hotels at Genting Highland. It consists of tubes filled with coffee beans, herbs, rice, grains, bread crumbs, etc. etc. And I'm sure most pharmacist will agree with me that Coffee comes first. Right? ;)

Feel free to "connect" or comment if you like this photo!

"The Convention"

I don't have my proper laptop while I'm in Malaysia, just my Netbook, so I'll be sharing some old photos, but also some preview photos from Malaysia that I've quickly edited.

This was taken at Glenelg at the beginning of the year. It's a real wonder that all the gulls are so used to human that I got very near and they weren't alarmed at all. It was such a magnificent thing to be able to observe so many at one place.

"The Fight"
At dusk, two warriors fight.
Their moves, faster than light.
Dragons of fire and cinder,
proof of the warriors' might.

"Don't Hold Back"

"Don't hold back
Is there anybody out there feeling something?
Engage me
Let me breath the courage of your actions
Don't hold back make it be for the good"

"Hold On, Rock On"
No matter what life hurls at you, you must hold on to your beliefs and never let go, and you must rock on, unwavering.

"Ghostly Dream"
New photo up. A long exposure this time. C&C welcome.
See the full narration at penangkiaphotography.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/ghostly-dream.html

"Buffalo Drummer"
You might wonder what the title of this photo means. It's really simple. This guy is the drummer for the Buffalo Tales, the latest band supporting Wes Carr. Now you get it? :P
Wes and the band performed some of their songs during the Australia Day concert, and I must say I was impressed! Not your mainstream pop genre, but they're very catchy...

Awesome sunset, awesome subject. Read full story at:
penangkiaphotography.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/the-sunset-jet.html