Bird at the window

Just thought I'll give this blog a lil' something that I have never posted anywhere yet on the net including my Facebook account which usually contains all my photos that I have taken. Been very busy lately so this is just a quick something to share with everyone. I took this picture like a couple months ago but never really put it up anywhere, so here it is. The one and only exclusively picture by me found only on this blog. Hurray.



P.S. Take care and do leave a comment or so.

iTemple

I saw it. A fleeting moment as an old monk was walking under a shaft of light shining through the smoky air. Unfortunately, my relatively bulky camera was not with me and I had nothing in my hands to capture what I saw except for thin air. I missed that opportunity but I certainly wasn't planning to again, especially still in a place with so much character in it. Luckily my only solution was a convenient one. One that was the size of my palm. With deft precision and in an almost secret agent fashion, I slipped my hand into my pocket to reach for a device that could fit into the palm of my hand. It wasn't a hand gun I was pulling out nor was I trying to get arrested for public misconduct. Nay, it was in fact an iPhone 3Gs with a small built in 3.2 megapixels camera. Good enough for the situation at hand when my Canon was not available.

The camera's quality was mediocre in my opinion, and its zoom function was not of much use since the image quality drops a lot when in use. However, what I found so useful of the iPhone's camera was the simple fact that it was an iPhone. A slim, compact and most importantly non-intrusive camera. It makes shooting people a lot more easier than with my Canon, as people tend to feel intimidated when they are photographed by bigger cameras. The iPhone's camera is a long shot off compared to my trusty ol' work horse, and its lack of functionality in terms of its impractical zoom does not help either. Appreciate the iPhone's camera for what it is though and the image quality is good enough for general use. Besides, I would rather think of its lack of a practical zoom as an opportunity to treat it as a prime lens. Nonetheless, I am glad to know that a back up will always be there for me in my pocket ready to capture the moment whenever I do not have my primary camera with me. Its good for what its made for, and not to mention its enjoyable to use as well.


















Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Meeting the cows

The Approach

The highway to Mount Wellington was a very scenic and atmospheric one. All the better still when we came across a herd of cows grazing on a field. While I was photographing the herd, they started advancing towards me, probably wondering what this person is doing holding a black box like shape equipment in his hand. They came cautiously at first, wary of this stranger. A bold one came forth with the rest of the herd slowly following her. There were few cars on the road, so I guess they do not get visitors much. Eventually they came as near as they dared did and just looked at me. Interesting I must have been to them. They sure do not look like they get guest much because no drinks were offered. But I was certainly rewarded with a great photo. The entertainment of the cow's itinerary for the day. Graze. Graze. Graze. Human and camera.

From the other side

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

BW at night

Bridge

While reading 'The making of 40 photographs' by Ansel Adams lent to me by Uncle Cheah, I came across the photo Moonrise at Hernandez, Mexico. It caught me totally by surprise and I honestly admired the picture a lot. Taken at the last light of day, practically at night, it was a moon rise shot and certainly one of a kind. I loved the photo and the feeling it gave out. It was unlike any other black and white landscape shots I've seen. Since then, I've been inspired to take black and white nights shots as well and I finally found the chance while in Tasmania Island.

Taking black and white shots at night needed a different way of seeing than from taking it in the day time. I found that for myself, you had to use whatever artificial light there was and balance it out with the rest of the photo. Of course, the shot would have a lot of blacks in it, but with enough light to show details at vital parts of the photo it would work out. Or it should anyway, haha. For myself, I found it a bit like a delicate balance between the dark and the light available. And when done correctly, the mood it gave off to me was somewhat nostalgic in a sense. Some of them gave off a dark and lonely feeling, while another one would be a bit more fulfilling. The different approach needed to take these shots was a very rewarding experience and opened a whole new realm for me in black and white photography.

Waiting for the fish

Evening lights

Ferry Service, Tasmania island

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

Winter's colour

Red Winter

It was a dull winter morning when we just arrived in Tasmania and decided to have lunch at an Asian restaurant. Upon parking the car, I came across this scene of a little girl and her brother having lunch with their mom. Right next to the cafe they were at was a shop selling lenses with a fitting message for the day.

Grime 1#

Grime 2#

Beach moon

A fallen log

A stream at Tasmania's National Park

Tasmania's trees

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

Stripped

Once proud and mighty,
Rich it was with greenery,
It brought along a pretty scenery,
But alas time took its toll,
And now I am old and feel the cold,
However knowledge I now hold,
That everything comes and goes,
So woe to my foes as it should be,
For though I am green no more,
Stripped off I was to the core,
I will still stand forevermore.

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photographs by Lucas Yap S.W.

Nature's Work

Rock stump

While sitting in our underpowered suv that was climbing up Mt.Wellington's road, I was hypnotized by the beauty of nature's creation. I know it has been this way since the dawn of time, but to be able to identify it myself and process it almost naturally is a gift to one's soul indeed. The intricacy of a fallen tree stump over a piece of rock as a shaft of light illuminates a part of a tree stump behind the rock convinces me as if hours were spent into designing this perfect architectural model. I have my own reasons of why I found it so beautiful, but I shan't spoil the surprise for you. Interpret it with your own sense of beauty and absorb it how you will. I wished I had more time in Australia, but unfortunately it was just a short trip since we didn't have time due to my exams. Either way, I still enjoyed it a lot and congratulations again to my brother who graduated there and thanks to my dad as well who made the trip possible. I'll definitely be back again.

Bent

Branched out

The Path

Intertwined

I strive to perfect the connection between my brain and my heart, that instinctual reaction to identify and process the beauty I see in any situation.

Commonly satisfying

I finally got a new tripod after losing my own quite a while back and decided to get to know it better by using it to photograph the moon last night. Just a pretty simple common moon photo, nothing spectacular though I would say it's an improvement over my first moon shot. However, I still find it rather gratifying after cropping the photo to see the moon in such detail. The only time I remembered seeing the moon this close myself was with a telescope. When I was a kid I always thought that since the moon is so far, you would really need some expensive 'high tech' gadget to take such a close shot of the moon. To be able to do it myself with relative ease brings me great satisfaction to my childhood wonders. Sure, I can search up 'moon shots' with google and be spoilt for choice with tens of thousands of similar and even better photos to choose from but this is my moon shot and there's none like it from me.

Also, I'll be going to a short trip to Australia for six days to attend my brothers graduation and will be staying at Tasmania island for a night. It's one heck of a short trip, but hopefully the time will be fully spent productively with my camera and I will get at least a shot or two that gives me the 'That's it right there' feeling. See you soon!

Monkey Business

A commonly found monkey grooms itself while perched on a tree.

Photograph by Lucas Yap S.W.

Another world

While I was walking around Old Klang I came across a puddle of water by the side of the road. I could see the reflection of a building and the street light on it and decided to take some shots of it. The odd thing was that there was a man watching me take the photo. He curiously asked me what I was shooting and I told him I was trying to get a shot of the reflection in the puddle.(Though I haven't gotten any keepers of it yet) And with that he proceeded to go into his car when I got a single shot of the puddle and his feet. To be honest this was practically 30% prediction and 70% luck. Sometimes, a little luck is needed in photography, sometimes luck gives you a photo you may never be able to replicate again. I guess that's part of the beauty of photography. My only gripe would be the slight motion blur, but thanks to the motion blur by the feet as well, it only adds to the effect of the photo in my opinion.



One of the most vital aspect of every photographer is patience. It's not just confined to photography, but life itself.





Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

The Old Part of Town

I received an invitation from my uncle/mentor to go shoot some photos with him and his friends at Old Klang. Of course, I accepted it without any hesitation. The group consisted of Uncle Cheah, Uncle Kamarul, Uncle Meng, Uncle Joseph and me. The kind of images we were taking were mainly street photography and I had some trouble at first trying to get my vision of the place, as I'm not very experienced with street photography. I couldn't really see much at first for the first hour and a half but I eventually adapted to it though. It was definitely a good change though I wasn't fully satisfied with my 'creative eye' during the shoot. I felt like I had a problem connecting with the images that day. I was forcing myself to see an image and create it. Perhaps I wasn't sure what I was looking for. Or maybe I'm just lacking in experience. Either way, I think I managed to get some keepers though. Here are a few of them for the moment. I'll upload the others as a separate set later. Hope you enjoy looking into it.









Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

The lazy English bulldog!

At ease

Snore, fart and burp galore!
A dog beyond my utter comprehension,
Daisy's her name, indeed she is,
How unfitting it is though for a dog like this!
Make way all for the English bulldog,
For she ambles around with her signature snort,
Letting all know that she is coming forth!

Days and nights fused to a core,
She sleeps every day may it rain or shine,
Or the angry caretaker's whine,
Like a freight train knowing no end,
The roar of her snore keeps me up awake at all ends,
I honestly know not, how I sleep with the commotion she makes!

Make way all for the English bulldog,
For here comes Daisy rushing at all accords,
Knocking all in her way down callously,
For the only time she is graced with so much energy,
Is when the maid readies her food,
Nay, she shan't miss a single meal nor be late for it,
For she is Daisy, the English bulldog!

My bed is my throne

Daisy's nap

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

An ever expanding process that is photography.

Monkey crossing, Semenyih

It's already going to be the second month of 2011 and I know that this post is a little late, but nevertheless, I find it is essential as 2010 was the year I was blessed by the insights of photography. Never would I have thought before this that taking a photo is so complicated and deep and is actually attuned to your inner self. It is also a never ending process as well. To further accentuate on this point, take a look at the last photo you can remember that you took. Why did you take it? What inspired you to press the shutter button? Was it because you saw a fleeting moment on a child's face? Maybe you spotted a rare Sumatran tiger that is on the verge of extinction and you wish to capture it forever in time. Why did you take it? What did you see in it? The answer all depends on who you are in an artistic sense. Personally, I find that as we grow older and learn new things about the world, so does our photography. In another words, photography is a way of life. How I see the world itself is my photography. I don't need a camera to have a vision. Because without my vision my camera is nothing. But with a vision I can always make a picture though it may not be on a piece of glossy paper, but at least I know it existed. Think about it, the first thing that always comes to your mind when photography is mentioned, is the camera of course. However it is naught but a tool to show the world how I feel and view the world through my own eyes. The real source of the photos that I took came from inside me. Cliche' as it may sound, it was what was inside me and the vision I had that made the photo. What one sees when he or she looks at a photo is actually the photographer's mind itself. Therefore as I mature and change as time goes by bit by bit, inevitably so will my photography, because this will indirectly in the end affect my vision one way or another. I have been photographing for a little over a year but surprisingly it has felt as if I have been shooting for years already. However I think this is only because I honestly feel as if how I viewed the world has changed a lot since I started photography. This is only the beginning though, and I look forward to facing the future with an open mind and see where it takes me in my photographic journey.

An old man at a leprosy center

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

White bark

It was approximately ten in the morning when I was out photographing with Uncle Cheah at Tasik Semenyih and the last of the morning light was already gone. I decided to call it a day and as I was walking back towards the car, I stopped by a small pond that was located right next to the road. As I took in the area and looked around, it then suddenly struck me. A white in colour dead tree bark was standing upright in the pond against the lush green of the forest vegetation. Perfect I thought. The harsh day light probably helped to make the contrast between the white bark and the greenery of the forest behind it all the better. I took a couple of frames from different angles and with different compositions. Here are the three that I picked out from them all.



Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.