Bugged Again!

A closer view of the same bug. Again shot with flash and with the lens stopped down for greater depth-of-field. If anybody knows the name of this insect, please do put a comment on this blog, as I'd really like to know. Nikon D70, AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8

Bugged

Yes I never get tired of shooting insects -- maybe it's because it gives me a glimpse of what goes on in a typical day in a bug's life. Trying to get a shot of this cute little red and white bug was a major feat in itself-- this insect was only about half the size of my thumbnail and would not stop moving no matter what. I must have taken about 15 shots or so with off-camera wireless flash (thanks to Shu Ping for holding the flash!) before I managed to get just TWO acceptable shots. The flash allowed me to stop down the aperture to about f/18 which was necessary due to the very shallow depth of field. This shot is slightly cropped to get rid of too much of the boring background. Nikon D70, AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8

Unclear on the concept

The colour and composition of this abandoned cart caught my eye. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

Tea houses

Well, they're not really teahouses, but are in fact the residences of the workers of the Boh Tea farm. This was stitched together from just two images. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

Boh Tea Farm

This panorama is stitched from 3 images. These vibrant green tea fields are from the Boh tea farm in Sungei Palas. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

Strawberry View

This panorama is stitched together from 4 images -- the finished image equals a 12-megapixel photo! This view can be seen from Strawberry View restaurant on the way up to Brinchang in Cameron Highlands. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

Grandstanding

I've been to Cameron Highlands in the state of Pahang numerous times, yet I never get bored taking photos of the place. I always seem to have a new take on the same places I've visited many times before. I took this picture with the intention to turn it into a black and white image to emphasise the three trees and the white road. Nikon D70, AF-S VR DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

Falls

A more conventional waterfall shot. Slightly cropped on either side. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6IF-ED 

Together

Another one of my frequent visits to Kanching Waterfalls in Rawang. Kanching is an interesting place with lots of falls, some of which are quite pristine as you go higher and higher away from the picnickers. However, a straight waterfall shot isn't always interesting and I always try to include some people in it to inject some colour and human interest. This was taken at I think the 3rd waterfall up. The falls have an artificial wall built to act as a dam to create a pool. This was of course taken on a tripod with an exposure of several seconds to blur the falls. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6IF-ED 

Bottles

This picture was shot handheld at MidValley Megamall reecently at a little booth showing a new Italian car. There was coincidentally a fashion show going on but who's interested in that? Certainly not me -- I happen to find taking pictures of models on a catwalk (whether male or female) incredibly boring. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED.

Egret

The Cattle Egret is a pretty common bird in Malaysia and is usually seen in the rice fields in my hometown. It's so named of course, because it tends to hang around cows which stir up grasshoppers and other insects which the bird feeds on. However, this is a shot taken at the local bird park while testing my new AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. Yes the lens has a ridiculously long name but performance is brilliant! This shot was taken at the 200mm end of the lens' range and it's as sharp as I could possibly want. While the lens is pretty sharp even wide open, best results are obtained when you stop down the aperture a couple of stops down from maximum. Nikon D70.

Doggy

Well you know about people and their pets and how they never get tired of showing pictures of them. Well, I'm one of those people. Here testing my brilliant new 18-200mm AF-S Nikkor. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6IF ED

Cambodia!

Just came back from a major personal photography trip in Siem Reap, Cambodia with friends and housemates! Tooks hundreds of photos -- if you want to see all the Cambodia shots, click on the Cambodia link on the right of the Web page.

Under the roots

This is one of the roots which appears in the Tomb Raider movie. Seen here is Woon, my housemate, modelling for the shot. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Painting the ruins

A number of street artists hang out at Ta Prohm doing watercolours and sketches of the buildings here. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Reconstruction

It's amazing how well Nikon's 3D Matrix meter coped with this shot. I actually took another safety shot because the image looked a little under-exposed in the camera's LCD, but it turned out the camera was correct, so I used the first, Matrix-metered shot. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Ta Prohm

This is the entrance to Ta Prohm, one of the places that Tomb Raider was filmed at. Ta Prohm is notable for having trees taking root right on the temple walls. The place is still being reconstructed and there're a lot of stones everywhere being slowly catalogued. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Funky wideangle

Yet again, a funky distorted shot of one of the buildings at Angkor Thom, taken with my friend's 10.5mm fisheye lens. The lens is loads of fun. Unfortunately, this lens suffers from quite major chromatic aberration at the edges, which mostly clears up when you stop down the aperture, which I forgot to do in this shot. The design of this structure reminds me of an Aztec temple. Nikon D70, AF Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8

Hidden wall

SC peeks out from the corner of the partially reconstructed hidden wall. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Wall Detail 2

More closeups of the major wall. Thanks to SC who drew my attention to the fact that the "wall" is actually two walls built one in front of the other, and that there was hidden detail in the small space between the two walls. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Shooting the wall

My friend Pete preparing to take a shot of the wall. Again, notice the different coloured rocks used in the various sections. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Wall Detail 1

Just an interesting shot of the detail in this wall. What struck me was that this particular wall was made up of several different types of rock, making some sections stand out more than others. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Red rocket

Well it does look like a red rocket. A closer look at the buildings of the longest panoramic below. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Longest Panoramic ever

This is the longest succesful panoramic I've ever done -- a joined image of 6 images, taken handheld. The joins are nearly invisible here, and required very minimal work on my part. Too bad it appears very small on Blogspot, because if you could see it in a much larger size, you'd be able to pick out all kinds of interesting activity going on, such as people selling ice-cream and families having a picnic. The shot is of a number of little buildings near the Angkor Thom complex. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5

Colour in the ruins

Another Buddha statue in the Angkor Thom ruins. The splash of colour always makes an otherwise dull grey shot more interesting. Foreground interest to help lead the eye into the picture is also important when it comes to wideangle shots. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Candlelit

This shot of one of the Buddha statues in Angkor Thom required an exposure of several seconds, with the camera locked down on a tripod of course. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4

Off-duty Monks

Another closer shot of the Buddhist monks. I like the contrast between old and new here. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5