A Creative Day.

For the last several days, I have been been wanting to have a day that I could completely dedicate to being creative. It would be a day spent writing and shooting with little else. Though I've scheduled it, something has always come up usually a health issue. It's been frustrating.

Creative style by the tourist seating near me..

I just want to get up real early one morning, even before the sun has come up, and go out shooting. In the afternoon have lunch and spend a couple of hours writing and then as the light gets good again, spend the rest of the day shooting. That would be a nice way to wind down after festival holiday.

People spending an hour reading newspaper.

I try to be more creative,after considering it I finally come up with new photoblog in Black & White images.It was a lot of fun and I was pleased with the images. Because I wasn't concerned with getting perfect exposures, composition and focus, I shot from a gut level, impulsively. I saw something that interested me and I just snapped the shutter. I didn't consider it carefully. I just saw and shot.
The B&W images that I shot for my Street Photography blog can be found here> My Streettogs.Com

The End "Last Day of Month of Ramadan".

 Today is the last day of Ramadan.First, the traffic, when it's not Ramadan, the roads are congested for a good but getting worst to-day.How you spend your last day of Ramadan?
I think most Muslims is busy with cleaning and last minute shopping .

Street vendor selling katupat casing along the street in Kuching.

People rushing for last minute shopping in Gambier Road in Kuching.

Hi, peoples.
I wish you all "Selamat Hari Raya".

Panasonic LX3 vs Leica D-Lux4.

What a better time and place to talk about Panasonic LX3 and Leica D-Lux4.I seldom see any bloggers yet to talk about this in the year 2011 but in the years 2008/2009 almost every photographer is talking about the similarity of this two camera.For example photographer IAN HO of Life is Good  he talk about LX3 vs D-Lux4 in his blog in the year 2008.For more info just log on to his website LIFE is GOOD.

Panasonic Lumix LX3 & Leica D-Lux4.

The expert says "They have the same sensor, lens, LCD, housing material, embedded software, battery, and battery charger. Both take identical pictures." Yet, the Leica "is often described as taking warmer, smoother, somehow better pictures, which would be amazing given the technology is identical." .
Update: A few commenters have pointed out that there are a couple minor but significant differences between the two cameras: They say the firmware is in fact different, meaning they process pictures slightly differently, giving the Leica slightly warmer colors, and that the Leica has a less reflective lens coating.
I have upload 4 images from Ian Ho. Credit to
http://ianho.blogspot.com Thank You very much Sir....let's get on with the pics. All pics were done with exact same settings on both cams with no tweaks to Saturation,

B&W photo from Leica D-Lux4 .1/30,f2,ISO200 photo credit to Ian Ho.

B&W photo from Panasonic Lumix Lx3. 1/30,f2,ISO200.

Images from Leica D-Lux4  photo credit to Ian Ho

Images from LX3 1/30,F2, ISO200  photo credit to Ian Ho.

Even if you grant that the pictures the two cameras take aren't exactly the same, they are pretty damn close.Regardless of whether you think they're the exact same or just really close, I still raises worthwhile question about the power of branding and history on one's perception of quality.

Old Gambier Street Spices Trader in Kuching.

This smell the aroma of this spice reminds me of walking back to old time Kuching, the narrow alley with dimly litted artificial light in contrast to the sunny morning sky just outside of the alley. You can immediately smell the aroma of heavy Indian spices hanging in the air. Every time you are there, it never fail to heighten your taste buds and your senses. Very much transient your perception to a land far away such as India or Sri Lanka.
Photo from my Lumix LX3 .

Jalur Gemilang - The Malaysian Flag.

The Malaysian flag or Jalur Gemilang consists of 14 horizontal red and white stripes of equal width; a dark blue canton occupying the upper left quarter of the flag; and within the canton, a crescent, and a 14-pointed star. The stripes represent the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states - namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Penang and Terengganu - and the Federal Government, as represented by the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.

 The colours red and white symbolise courage and purity respectively. The canton symbolises the unity of the people of Malaysia. The crescent is the symbol of Islam, the official religion of Malaysia; and the 14 points of the star signify the unity of the 13 states of the federation with the Federal Government. The colour yellow signifies the royal colour of the Rulers.

After 40 years without a name, the Malaysian flag was officially named Jalur Gemilang on the 40th anniversary of the country's independence, Aug 31, 1997. Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad made the announcement at midnight in conjunction with the National Day celebrations.
 The name Jalur Gemilang is the Bahasa Malaysia term for Stripes of Glory. The tallest free-standing flagpole in the world (100 metres) is situated at Merdeka Square (Independence Square), in Kuala Lumpur, the very spot where the Union Jack was lowered for the last time at midnight on Aug 31, 1957 and the Malayan flag hoisted up for the first time.

Taraweeh Prayers in Ramadan.

When the month of Ramadan begins, Muslims enter into a period of discipline and worship:  fasting during the day, and praying throughout the day and night.  During Ramadan, special evening prayers are conducted during which long portions of the Qur'an are recited.  These special prayers are known as taraweeh.
The word taraweeh comes from an Arabic word which means to rest and relax.  The prayer can be very long (well over an hour), during which one stands upright to read from the Qur'an and performs many cycles of movement (standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting).  After each four cycles, one sits for a brief period of rest before continuing -- this is where the name taraweeh ("rest prayer") comes from.
During the standing portions of the prayer, long sections of the Qur'an are read.  The Qur'an is divided into equal parts (called juz) for the purpose of reading sections of equal length during each of the Ramadan nights.  Thus, 1/30 of the Qur'an is read on successive evenings, so that by the end of the month the entire Qur'an has been completed.
It is recommended that Muslims attend the taraweeh prayers in the mosque (after 'isha, the last evening prayer), to pray in congregation.  This is true for both men and women.  However, one may also perform the prayers individually at home. These prayers are voluntary, but are strongly recommended and widely practiced.
There has been some dispute about how long the taraweeh prayer is supposed to be: 8 or 20 raka'at (cycles of prayer). It is without dispute, however, that when praying the taraweeh prayer in congregation, one should start and end with the imam, according to the number that he performs. Night prayers in Ramadan are a blessing, and one should not argue about this fine point.
SOURCES from About.Com Islam

Foreigners return from perform Taraweeh Prayers in Kuala Lumpur

Friday Prayers in Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur.

Taraweeh Prayers sources from About.Com & Photos from my Panasonic Lumix LX3.

 

 

 

World Photography Day.

Do you remember the first time you held a camera? Pushing on a button somehow procured a preserved rectangular memory that you could hold in your hand. From that day on you never looked back…mostly because you were too busy looking into the viewfinder. World Photography Day is to-day Friday, August 19th, and it’s the perfect.

 WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY DAY
Submit your photos as part of World Photography Day

World Photography Day is all about celebrating photography and remembering how special a photograph can be.
Today, we take our photographs for granted. But next time you’re flicking though photos from your last holiday, remember that there was once a time when photography didn’t exist. A time when those precious moments couldn’t be captured, uploaded and shared.
On August 19th, celebrate photography and share your world with the world!
Join up here: http://www.worldphotoday.org/ and submit photos between 19 and 26 August
 World Photography Day is celebrated on August 19 of every year. The day originates from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Louis Daguerre which was announced by the French Academy of Sciences on January 9, 1839. A few months later, on August 19, 1839, the French government announced the invention as a gift to the “Free World.”
Can you Imagine an event or occasion without taking of photographs, whether it is a wedding, birthday, anniversary, reunion, or just a simple group meetup. Without photograph, it’s always INCOMPLETE.
So guys, its time to get your cameras out !!
Happy snapping ........