Temple in Cambodia - nature reclaiming the land

Siem Reap is a unique place, all over the world we hear of human destroying nature through deforestation... in Siem Reap, it's the reverse. Here, we see the forces of nature claiming back the land.

Huron-Clinton Metro Park - Street Photography

I was provided wrong information of an Independence Day Firework event at the Huron-Clinton Metro Park - victim of internet scam! After arriving at the park, I found out from the rangers that there is actually no firework event being planned for until Jul 2, 2012! What a disappointment... well, at least I get to rest earlier. I looked into my camera bag and found some long lens... then I thought, since I haven't done this for a long while, I thought I should probably try my hands on taking some street photos again. Actually, I always admire the work of street photographers but I always cringe at the thought of doing one. Reason? It's extremely "unnatural" for me. 


You see, I like to close up and take the details. It's the expressions on people's faces that make street photography appeal to me. In order to take good and sharp images of people's faces you'll have to go close to them. That is where the problem lies... once you turn up with a camera and focus on people's face... all the natural moments instantly becomes awkward. Your subjects notices you and shy away... moment lost! I always admire those street photographers who go around taking street photos with a 50mm... for me a 50mm is closer... but still not close enough.


The shots below are all taken with the 70-200mm Canon lens mainly at f2.8 or 3.5 (I prefer large aperture as it makes the subject pops). Still processing the rest... more to come later.



<This is my favorite photo of the day - love the boy's expression!>


(A grandpa with his grand-daughter>


<Two sisters>

Sometimes... you never know what you'll get!

I slept early last night (1030pm)... well, maybe not that early but this was the earliest I slept in weeks. The trouble with sleeping at 1030pm instead of the regular midnight is that you wake up very early as well... my body has a "ok that's enough sleep for you" mechanism. I could do a few snooze but it'll seldom last more than just a few.


Anyway, this morning... there was a different motivation for not snoozing and waking up early. I almost could not believe the beautiful sight that greeted me when I opened my eyes! Seeing is believing! After taking the photos... I immediately made myself a cuppa' (oh, the smell of coffee in the air plus the fresh cool breeze of the morning) ... a scene like this, don't waste it!

A picture speaks a thousand words... really?

Below is a shot of sunrise at the world famous Angkor Wat, Cambodia. I always laugh when photographers or bloggers write about how serene the place was... in fact the words "peaceful serenity" seems to be constantly associated with photos of Angkor Wat. See below... a shot that I took at Angkor Wat in 2011.






Sure looks "peaceful" and "serene" doesn't it? The photo below is what it actually looked like at the scene of the photo. There were hordes of people crowding next to the each other to catch a shot of the sunrise! Oh... and people weren't friendly either! The spot where I set up had 4 sets of tripods... got to  be really careful not to knock any camera over! Come on... anyone who thinks this is serene is out of their mind! Well, lesson learnt... a picture speaks a thousand words... but not the complete picture.

Looking back... life was simpler back then!

Looking back at old photographs have 2 very distinct benefits (a) it acts as a gauge to how my sense of photography has changed; and (b) it reminded me of why I picked up photography at the first place. 


I have been asking myself lately about how I have progress in photography. Sometimes, I like to revisit my earlier photos and see how my photo "eye" has changed over the years... While I feel that I am still not generating a high enough "hit" rate, I am now generating a higher hit rate than before. 


Do you sometimes worry too much about ISO, aperture, shuttle speed, post processing etc when you're shooting? Well, when I first started taking photos... I was completely oblivious to all these "technicalities". You know what? I just shoot whatever that interests me... it was much simpler back then, just point and shoot... sometimes in "Auto" mode. Re-visiting the photos I took when I first started photography allows me to trace back my steps and reaffirm why I started photography in the first place. It was less complicated back then... I take photos because I wanted to capture the memories, to keep the pieces that made up the life I now live.


<This is a photo I took in Melbourne, Australia when I bought my first DSLR>



<This photo was taken using a Panasonic Lumix Camera - before I bought my first DSLR>


<My first attempt at "Street Photography" - taken at the Chinese New Year Night Bazaar in Boxhill, Melbourne>