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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Nasi Minyak (which literally translates to ‘oil rice’).

Nasi minyak is a traditional Malay dish and can be found almost everywhere in Malaysia. In fact, it is so popular that different states have different ways of cooking it. Nasi minyak is a must-have at big celebrations and Malay weddings (a common local joke is that to find out when a Malay friend is getting married, just tease them about when they will be “serving you nasi minyak”)
Nasi Minyak (wich literally translates to 'Oil Rice".
 Malaysia boasts many local gastronomic delights that are unique to each culture. One of the most popular local dishes is nasi minyak (which literally translates to ‘oil rice’).In terms of appearance, nasi minyak is easily distinguished by the light yellow shade of its rice (though sometimes other colours are added using drops of food colouring). As can be guessed from its name, nasi minyak is typically cooked with ghee/oil which causes the rice to develop a rather oily texture. Once cooked, it emits a fragrant smell and a slightly buttery taste which provides a delicious contrast when served with spicier gravies such as curry and sambal. Cashew nuts and raisins can only be mixed with the rice to produce a more delicious flavour
  Malay weddings (a common local joke is that to find out when a Malay friend is getting married, just tease them about when they will be “serving you nasi minyak”).
 Nasi minyak is a must-have at big celebrations and Malay weddings.
As a type of traditional food, nasi minyak holds a special place in the hearts of many Malaysians simply for the comfort and familiarity of home that it symbolises. For Malays in particular, it represents unity and harmony during social gatherings. However, the beauty of food lies in its universality and ability to leave an impact not only on one’s taste buds but also their impression of a country. Therefore, as a quintessential Malay culinary experience, nasi minyak should not be missed by anyone regardless of whether you are Malaysian or not.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Black & White Wedding Photograph.

These days, you’ll find a lot of individuals who are usually planning that black-and-white images are outdated. Indeed, these kinds of images look classic as well as out of trend. These types of also give a perception that the occasion that got caught took place a long time ago especially if the audience is of younger generation. Many still don’t recognize that black-and-white images are still quite significantly most desirable.
 A Malay wedding is usually performed when either one or both spouses are Malay. Malaysian law defines a Malay person as a Muslim.Malay weddings are grand affairs where the couple is treated as royalty. The traditional wedding ceremony is in two parts. The first part is the akad nikah (marriage contract), which is the legal and religious part of the wedding. The second part is the bersanding (enthronement), which is a family celebration. It is usual for the two parts to be celebrated over two days. However, it is becoming common for there to be a gap between the parts of the wedding, during which the couple are legally married, but saving up for an elaborate bersanding. In cases where the couple have family spread around the world, a number of bersanding may be held in different countries to allow everyone to wish the couple well.
 A Malay wedding proper begins with the akad nikah (marriage contract) ceremony. The groom signs the marriage contract and agrees to provide the bride with a mas kahwin (mahar,literally 'marriage gold' in form of money or goods or anything as requested by the bride).It is opposite to dowry where the mas khawin is paid by the bride to the groom. The mas khawin is a symbol to show that the men is willing and are prepared to build a family with the lady he chose to get married to. The contract signing is done before a religious official and is accompanied by prayer.
 The contract signing is done before a religious official and is accompanied by prayer.
 The couple now officially 'Husband & Wife"
 In relation to wedding photography, black-and-white images might be excellent option. At the affect of the modern day, increasingly more couples highly recommended it far more than the colored pictures. It also became the specialization of some of the most well-known wedding photographers. Research shows that if someone would be shown images in which some are of black and white print out, they’d don’t forget these kinds of even far more. There’s constantly some thing distinctive and remarkable about black-and-white wedding pictures.
  The bersanding is to take place the next day and  actual wedding day is the Bersanding. This literally means the "sitting together of the bride and bridegroom on the bridal couch". Known as the Pelamin, this couch is the centrepiece of the whole ceremony, and two pelamins are required - one in the bride's house and the other in the bridegroom's. As the Bersanding ceremony customarily takes place in the afternoon, the bridegroom entertains guests at his own house in the morning. The bersanding (enthronement) ceremony begins with the groom's procession with friends, relatives, musicians and people waving bunga manggar (palm blossom) to meet the bride. Often various good-humoured attempts are made to waylay or stop the groom from getting to the bride. The main part of the bersanding involves the seating of the bridal couple on a dais and sprinkling them with yellow rice and scented water by family members, relatives and guests as a sign of blessing. Each guest will receive a bunga telur (egg flower), a decorated egg with a fabric flower, as a sign of fertility. The couple are considered royalty for the day, and so various royal customs are performed for them, including musicians playing court music and 'bodyguards' performing a display of Silat (traditional Malay martial arts).
The modern days Malay wedding have flower girls to accompany the wedding couple to the Pelamin .
After the bersanding ceremony, the wedded couple and their guests attend a celebratory feast called the makan beradab (formal meal). This involves the bride and groom feeding each other sweetened rice. The celebrations are concluded by posing for family photographs.
 The couple are considered royalty for the day,
 Candid family photograph...
The celebrations are concluded by posing for family photographs.
 Well, Malay wedding also have wedding cake this day......
It can be really funny that in the past, individuals wished to put some colors inside the wedding pictures. Nowadays, we desire to take away the color to make the picture less vivid. The main reason behind it’s constantly people’s wish to come up with pictures that reflect the beauty of the entire wedding ceremony.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

My First Post of The Year 2012.

Welcome 2012! It’s a bit odd saying and writing those numbers because my internal clock still feels like I’m stuck in 2011 or later. 
 Nothing fancy here just to Thanks the organizer of 1Malaysia National Photography Competition..
My 2011 Portfolio you can view all my 2011 photograph from this website:
Awang's Photography


For the past few days I spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to write for my first blog entry of the year. Do I write something funny, recap my favourite moments of 2011 or write what I want to achieve in 2012?.
The year 2011 was good to me; I had a lot of great opportunities come my way, such as writing about my trip on holiday,trip invited by firefly airline and Tourism Malaysia, trip to nature invited by Sarawak Blogger and Sarawak Tourism Board.
Some people the dawn of the New Year is a great time for setting healthy life style goal or re-adjusting career plan milestones.As a freelance and hobbyist photographer and blogger I want to start project 366.Just in case you guy did not know what project 366 all about well just log on to this website :

Project 365 – Tips for Taking a Photo Each Day Made Simple.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year filled with positivity. Thank you for all or your support throughout the past few years and I look forward to a great 2012  .

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Seasons Greetings.

Seasons Greetings & Best wishes for a very happy and prosperous new year 2012

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

An Introduction to Bird photography.

Birds are very interesting creatures, but it’s not so easy to photograph them. Wild birds usually don’t pose where you want and, moreover, it’s often difficult to get close enough to take quality pictures. But if you know some basics of bird photography, it becomes much easier to capture amazing moments of the birds’ life.

Finch Bird. shot with my Olympus E620 Zuiko Lens 70-300mm
It’s not necessary to have an expensive camera of lens, however the proper equipment lets to take bird photos easier.
Shot with Olympus E620 lens 70-300mm
Most birds are quite shy, so you need at least 200mm (300mm is better) to take pictures of them. Longer focal length not only lets to photograph birds from larger distance, it also gives more blurred background. 
Tripod, monopod, flash, even remote control sometimes help much, but usually aren’t necessary.
The next step is to learn, how to get to the birds closer, so then you will be able to take quality pictures of them.Everything starts with a good light. The best time for photography is morning or evening because the light is soft and has a pleasant hue, shadows are not so distinct, it’s easier to get details from very bright and dark areas.
Birds are wonderful creatures. When you are taking photos, don’t harm them. I strongly advice you not to photograph birds near nests (except when the distance is large and bird isn’t sensitive to disturbance – there are only very few such species). Even if you don’t harm birds, you can show the place of the nest for predators. The life of bird is more important than a photo.

Conclusion

Bird photography is exciting and full of adventures.

Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-bird-photography#ixzz1hpi4TJTz


Monday, December 26, 2011

Policemen On Bicycle.

“Police Officers - Should there be more police officers in our streets? Every day I see small offences being committed (driving with a mobile phone in hand, bike riders on the pavement, youths drinking in ‘non drinking zones’, etc) but there is no one of power there to prevent or stop this from happening?

The Royal Police of Malaysia in Sarawak launched its bicycle beat unit  to widen its reach in crime prevention.This unit might eventually cover all areas under its jurisdiction, especially those places which are not accessible to police patrol cars.
I think our cops do a great job.
 wonder if the local police have been as extensively trained riding this bicycle and yes,cops on bikes will be faster than cops on foot.the patrolmen on bicycles will cover an area for at least two hours before moving to another location.The policemen involved will be fully equipped.
I have faith that members of the newly set up unit are fully capable of doing their jobs effectively and hopefully the Kuching Waterfront – which is such an attraction to visitors and locals alike – will be safe for all of us local and also to the tourist.

“Should there be more Police on bicycle in Kuching? Of course they should & what say you ?.