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.

A great start to 2011

Just beyond, Lake Semenyir, Malaysia

The 1st of January, 2011 was spent with my camera in hand and my vision of the world coming true. I went to 'Tasik Semenyir' with my father's long time and close friend, Uncle Cheah, an experienced photographer who shoots a lot of beautiful black and white photos although he does shoot color photos as well. It was a great way for us to start out the year as we stood by the side of the road overlooking the man made lake and producing what we saw and how we saw it into the digital memory card. A photographic toast it is to the start of a great and fulfilling year.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

An eagle and a puff of cloud, Penang

There's something about this shot that I'm mesmerized with. It could be the simplicity of the given moment that gives this shot of the eagle a rather majestic, lonely feeling to it as I shot it from my hotel beside a beach busy with tourists going about their activities. A solitary eagle soaring against a blue back drop with a puff of white cloud in front of it, indeed I find it mesmerizing.

Into the unknown

'Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.' ~ William Shakespeare

Should I risk it all for what I love as my future? Whether I even have what it takes to pursue this dream of doing what I love? Is questioning my ability and love to do it already my weakness of it? Or do I just continue having faith and believe in myself though the chances of my success is slim and I may just end up failing miserably if it doesn't work out? I honestly know not, till I do tread these waters and brace myself for what is to come whether it may be good or bad, for life without certain risks that comes with the adventure of being alive is a life not worth living for one will always ponder in doubt and uncertainty if he would have ever made it across should he ever had attempted the leap.

Written by Lucas Yap S.W.

Photos by Lucas Yap S.W.

Together by the beach

A mother and her son by the beach, Penang

"There is a road from the eye to heart that does not go through the intellect." ~ Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Light house of Penang

The Island with a light house, Penang

I was at my hotel room's balcony and just taking in the view of the sea side when I saw the different shades of colors in the sea and the island with the light house. The sky was blue and had lovely puffy clouds about.