OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya) or Disabled Person in Malaysia.

It’s getting harder and harder to be a disabled person in Malaysia these days when employers don’t want to hire you because you are handicapped or you just can’t get out of the house because of the lack of public transport and accessibility.But not to Awang (Picture below),he is a registered disabled person in Malaysia.He registered him self at Jabatan Kebajikan (ministry of welfare) and was given a OKU card.

This afternoon I bought a few packets of dried sweet fish crackers from Awang  and when he saw with camera he ask me to photograph him.He also talk to me and say I cannot see any reason why my disability cannot do business here and I'm not a beggar .He ask me to speak to the local authority (City Council) not to chase him away for doing business at footway.

ID card from Malaysian Government  for disable person.

My Walking Day...

I was standing behind the exit to Gambier Street of Masjid India & I saw this young photographer.

This morning I was on the street ,There is no crowd yet,maybe I'm just too early.It was a year ago since I started to gain interest in street photography but I have a limited knowledge on photography.I would say I got the basic but compared to an immediate photographer I am way off.

Still no crowd yet ....old part of Kuching City.

I keep on saying & tell myself I need a lot of practice to catch up.But practice is nothing if you don't know what you are doing.I still have to learn how to maximise the light an use different angle to have wide options and the most important is to know your camera.

Street photographer is a style of capturing images of everyday life on the street.A good street photographer should  be capable to stand alone to tell a story even with out any text explanation needed.It shows everyday life as it is.

 

The young & old on the street. The young with golden gray hair style & the old beautiful people with natural white hair .

 

The hair style & colours attract the attention of my camera lens.

It employ straight forward shooting style.This mean that when this to young mans look at me they immediately understand what the photographer want to say about their hair style & colours.

So to be a good street photographer ,we need to practice,practice and practice.

Have a nice day.

(my next post is World Walking Day)

Nestle World Walking Day 2010 in Kuching.

I’d like to invite friends to this great social event get healthy , meet people & I will be around too .Spread the love,the love of walking that is,It's no competition,no stress event.Just join in the fun,walk,walk and walk for a couple of kilo meters .Don't worry come early for free World Walking Day T-Shirt.

Official web site HERE

See you guy around at Kuching Waterfront  this coming Sunday 21st November 2010.Rain or shine I will be there.

Pictures tell a story.

Picture tell a story...I know that it is warm, and perhaps nothing much is going on, but to me “sleeping” while on duty is not really acceptable.

Picture talk...does this picture has meaning or Is it legal to sleep on a park bench if you are homeless?.

Pictures tell a story. Pictures talk. As you begin to photograph different things, you will notice that each picture you've taken actually has meaning. It may be that others will recognize the meaning of your pictures, too, and there is nothing more gratifying than that. The more you learn about photography, the more you will amaze yourself with the pictures you take. You may decide to take photos of nature, or culture, or sunsets, or mountains. The sky again is the limit. Exploring the opportunities is what makes photography fun.

Malaysia-Muslims to celebrate Eid-al-Adha on November 17th.

Today, the ketupat casings can be bought in wet markets. Some stalls even sell cooked ketupat a day before the celebrations.

JANUR (Young Palm leave).

Preparing the ketupat started with the anyaman process when the janur were woven into casings. The casings were then filled with rice and boiled for a few hours.The brother & sister helping their parents process the janur to woven into ketupat casing.

Men, women, and children of the Muslim community are required to dress in their finest clothing to perform the Eid prayer.

All the above photos are from my 2009 collection.

Muslims all over the world are all set for the celebrations of the upcoming religious holiday of Eid-al-Adha and in Malaysia is on Wednesday November 17, 2010, which is also known as ‘The Celebration of SacrificeSacrifice'. The Greater Eid of Muslims, Eid-ul-Adha, marks the end of the Hajj, which the fifth pillar of Islam and the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
The festivities of Eid-al-Adha take place on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. The date of celebrating Eid-al-Adha is approximately after 2 Months and 10 Days of Eid-ul-Fitr.
The essence of celebrating Eid-ul-Adha is to commemorating the trials of Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hajra and his son Ismael. After the sacrificing act of Prophet Ibrahim, it has become a tradition to slaughter livestock and feed the poor to mark the occasion.
However, the sacrificed animals on Eid-ul-Adha have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice. It is the tradition of Eid-al-Adha to distribute meat among the needy and poor people.

Can I take photos in a shopping mall?

Yes you can. That is, until a security guard or some representative of the mall’s administration asks you to stop. The mall is a private building, and as such, the owners or administrators have the right to ban photography on their premises.

Christmas Decorations are Starting to Go Up

 

 

If a person is a minor subject in a larger photo I don’t seek permission – it’s just not logistically possible to ask everyone for permission.

There are some taboos about photographing people, especially women,I mean the above ladies .

 

 

It’s just not logistically possible to ask everyone for permission to photograph....but just don't hide when photographing people.

Getting ‘permission’ can mean different things in different situations – often it’s simply a matter of holding up your camera and smiling with a raised eyebrow. Other times you might actually ask but gesturing will usually be sufficient enough to get a nod or a shake of the head. I find that it’s quite rare to get knocked back from a friendly approach.

All the above photograph are taken in 3rd floor of a Bolivard  shopping mall Kuching,Sarawak.

Candid.......

Camera shy......

I went shopping today, and decided to take the camera with me.I was just trying to quickly capture some fleeting moments with my walk down the high-street. All the photos were taken with the camera down at my side, I seem to be a little too shy to point a camera at random strangers.

You photograph me ,I don't care I just love lesson to music...You don't need to hide to photograph .

If you hide, it implies there is something wrong with it, if that person notices that you are hiding, then they'll feel aggrieved. It's all about timing and being part of the scene not just recording it. Let people see that you're taking photographs, be open about it, you're doing a good thing. Just like documentary subjects they forget the camera. I give people a chance to refuse having they're shot taken, they do have that right.

You don't need to hide to get a Candid, and street shots should be framed properly and there's not much challenge in taking a shot of someone with out them knowing. The challenge is the context you shoot them in.

Thank You people .

Just another photograph practice.....

With your camera pre-set, pick a spot on the street and proceed with calmness, sensitivity and poise. With practice, you’ll make great street photographs.I'm ready ...I'm following the above tip from the expert.

Last week end ,I can't stand the heat.The weather is so hot.I was at  my friend apartment, invited him to join me but he have reason for not going out outing due to the weather  and further more he got fever..

If I want to go to the street again,I just play the tourist style,camera around my neck,photograph everything around me,being ignorant but again the weather is so hot and I can't stand the heat..well, just forget about the whole thing.

Does street photography have to be taken on the street? what if I'm seating on a bench of bus stop. does that count ? I purposely make my self comfortably seating on a bus stop bench looking for subject  and try to shot the moment happening.

So here I'm seating on a bench of bus stop with my camera pretend  to set a camera setting ,trying to look normal totally not like photographer try to snap but I'm being watch by the lady & the three gentleman.

Wait,are they looking at me ? I don't want them to hear the shutter click.I guess all the kind people in my pictures are foreign workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh.That's the beauty I see on the street,urban street fashion wear by this young peoples.

He is not  doing a catwalk fashion modelling .He happen to see me holding a camera & I thought maybe he wanted to be photograph .
But it's  already too late as I press the shutter button without being notice by  this young man.So back home,let's take a look at the shots.
Gear : Olympus E-620 & Zuiko lens 14-54mm f2.8-f3.5.
The wise words from the PRO....."There are different way of looking.I have my own way.For me .photographing a street scene or a foggy landscape is a little like listening to a music.It give me strength ".
Thank You.

New Sarawak river taxi .

New Sarawak river taxi to operate by early next year & the bigger and more comfortable boat, equipped with better safety features.

The new-look river taxi was to add a new tourism product in the state (Kuching,Sarawak) and to provide an alternative mode of public transportation in the city to ease traffic congestion. This 28 feet long and 8 feet wide and can accommodate 10 passengers  but the traditional river taxis or locally known as "perahu tambang" are usually made of wood and can accommodate six to eight passengers. They are still retained and operate the existing routes.

Moments of street life.

I love the idea of photographing people on the street for their style........it can be funny & inspiring .

It's just a street scene of people.

 

The street life,it can be funny and sometime even scary or desperate but always dynamic,vivid and live.

My photograph above are nothing but portrays of the street life captured.

Gear: Olympus E-620 & prime lens Zuiko 14-54 f2.8.

PP: LR3.

The 1Malaysia Broadband Carnival.

The carnival is organised by the Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture (KPKK) and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and supported by the state government.

 

 

Some of the activities lined up for the carnival are anime exhibitions, broadband & Internet usage awareness workshop and local creative content workshop.

Over the last weekend many carnival organised by the Government agencies held in the city of Kuching.

Traditional Dress.

To-day I have decided to post a photo that I took on one of  the celebration in Kuching.   I took this while at a padang merdeka with some friends.  I shot with Olympus E-620 and happened to have the camera out at the right moment as I passed this people wearing Sarawak native traditional dress.

Beautiful traditional dress.........

Beautiful maiden with colourful traditional dress.

Melanau of Sarawak with their traditional dress.

Student wearing traditional dress during the performance in Kuching.

TYT Birthday Kuching in Sarawak.

Thousands of people from all walks of life in Padang Merdeka Kuching in Sarawak on the morning of October16 to witness the parade and rally to highlight the Yang di-Pertua Negeri's 89th birthday.

 

 

About 100 contingents drawn from government departments and agencies, associations, political parties, the army, uniform and non-uniform bodies, the private sector and ethnic groups  taking part in the event.

Military vehicle making march past....

The field performances and creative cultural  presented by  various ethnic groups of Sarawak.

Olympus DSLR......

Picture taken with my Olympus E-620........Kuching City .

I heard about Olympus has possibly discontinued all their current DSLR that include the model I'm using.I have been an Olympus faithful owner and look like my E-620 finally become my full time camera now.

TV3 Carnival 'Jom Heboh'

TV3 Jom Heboh carnival has been around from one state to another state of Malaysia and Kuching,Sarawak hosted the event last weekend.

This is the first time I visited the carnival after watching it on the television for years.Finally last Sunday I had join the crowds.

to

The carnival was held at a parking space near to Sarawak stadium.

It appear that Maxis Hot Link was a main sponsor,I was here in the morning and it was already many crowd.

The weather was so hot as you can see the people were scrambling for shade under the trees.