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.