Kuala Lumpur, album

Thought it would be nice, apart from the 'KL by Night' series, to also make a regular album with photos of Kuala Lumpur... They're taken over a period from 2007 to 2009. I have more photos of course, so maybe in future there will be a second album.

Click here to view the 18 photos. Some were published on this blog before, some are new...

Dust II

And at the off change that some people think 'he's whining about dust on his sensor, how bad can it be, dust...' here's a photo which shows how bad it can be.

Now note that I would normally not show this picture, even without dust, because it's nothing special. Just to demonstrate this is a serious issue...

Dust in almost the middle of the picture, just above the horizon... I'm not even sure if you can call that dust or that it's perhaps a full blown grain of sand... it looks huge...

And for people who couldn't discover it on this small photo, here's a blow up. Note also the three pieces in the sea within the yellow circle...

Decided not to burn myself by cleaning the sensor myself, besides, these big pieces are gone, the internal dust shaker worked for those. And with the vacuum cleaner held close to the camera (don't try that at home kids, you might suck out the mirror) I think I was able to get rid of most of these big chuncks completely. But to remove the hair I'll probably visit the Canon service center somewhere next week and let them do it. The machine was simply too expensive to fool around with myself...

Dust

Well, the sunrise was a bit of a bummer. Too cloudy. Did manage to take some nice shots, but then, when I reviewed the pictures, I spotted dust... ON THE SENSOR! One big piece is really spoiling most pictures, so before I show any they have to go through Photoshop to remove it.

Dust on the sensor is not uncommon, but the big problem is: how to get rid of it. I also discovered a piece of a hair, and it's totally stuck. The sensor on a DSLR is extremely sensitive, and replacing it if you scratch it will cost you the price of the camera. Canon can service it, but the testimonials from people who went through that aren't positive. They usually get it back with even more dust. Furthermore you loose the camera for about 2 to 3 weeks, not a nice prospect.

In fact, when messing around trying to clean it, I already damaged the focusing screen. It's scratched by a cloth that wasn't the right one, or from a grain of sand slipping through. That's not really a big issue, because it's just a piece of glass that can be replaced. They sell them new for a few dollars. But it shows how careful one needs to be with this equipment.

Reviewing photos from Beijing showed that the piece of hair was already on there. It only becomes visible at higher apertures, starting with F8 or so, and I don't take many shots that high. But knowing it's there already bothers me. It's also in a nasty position, at the top right, so it will show very easily when taking pictures with a piece of clear sky in it.

So now I'll start looking for the right cleaning kit, to do it myself... Also not a nice prospect, when you know that one wrong move will turn you suicidal...

In the meantime, whilst I sweat to somehow get my sensor cleaned, enjoy the photo I took before I spotted the dust... yes, a monkey again :-)

Click on the photo for a bigger version...

Beijing album IV - Jingshan Park

Probably the best day photo wise of the Beijing trip. Made not too many, but a few very nice ones if I say so myself. And if you want to know what this header photo is about, you'll have to click...

Take a look here at some 17 photos...

Visitors from China will have trouble with these albums, since the used domain is blocked there. They can click here, but will have to click around more to get to the bigger versions of the photos.

Sunrise

We're in Kuantan now. Chempedak beach...

And it's what some would consider 'in the middle of the night'. I usually consider this as 'somewhat late, perhaps time to sleep'. But not this night, cause I want to catch the sunrise. Problem of the east coast is that it's facing... yes east. There's no way to catch a sunset, so, how awful, it has to be the sunrise.

I'm not a morning person, I'm sure I've written that before on this blog, but in this case I'll consider this morning simply as an extension of the night. Problem solved...

Only thing now is to find out how late exactly, as to not sit for an hour on the beach fruitlessly, being stung by mosquitoes or bitten by sand flies.

Ok, just done that, dawn is 6.32, exact sunrise is 6.54, so I need to be out there at 6.30...

Ah and yes, the aim is of course to take some nice pictures.

Let's hope it's not too clouded...

Monkeys!

I turned all the monkey pictures taken at the east coast of peninsula Malaysia during trips in 2008 into one album. Some were already shown on this blog, but some are new. If you like the critters, have fun...

Click here to view them all, the album contains 23 photos...

Vietnam - Hanoi album IV

And the third day of Vietnam is finished.

For people losing track with all the photos, this was a trip in March 2007, more than two years ago.

It's nice to compare (well, for me anyway) with the more recent albums like China and really see some progress in the photos, subject wise and technically. Good equipment also helps.

I disliked the lens I used most in Vietnam (for the nerds: the Canon EF 28-135mm). Reviews claim it's a fine lens for its price, and be that as it may - perhaps due to me being quite new to it all or maybe it was a not so good copy - it didn't perform very well. Also visible on some of these pictures.

It flared a lot, even with hood, and somehow light would always overflow in the rest of the picture. Look for instance at the guy sitting on the balustrade, fishing in that really green lake. Then look at the top quarter of the photo and see how washed out it is. Perhaps it's the humidity, perhaps simply wrong lighting, but this lens spoiled a lot more photos than my present gear. Dunno if there's a specific technical term for it, but I would call it 'unhappy'. It also produced a dull contrast and rather soft images. It did perform quite well in Cambodia, in sunny dry circumstances, but humidity is a given in a lot of countries in this region.
I sold the lens not long after the trip to Vietnam.

The camera used was the Canon 350D, almost ancient (Canon just released the 500D, that's 3 models beyond the 350D), and obviously that also makes a difference compared to my present camera (the 5D mark II).

Click here to view the album...

Beijing album III - Forbidden City

One of my objectives, when I bought my first DSLR camera, was to try to stay away from 'tourist' photos.

That hasn't been easy.

To want to be original is one thing, to actually achieve it is another. And I must admit that I didn't realise how difficult it is to really take a 'wow' picture, or a photo that tells something more than just what the image reflects.

The Forbidden City is a good example. If you google a bit on pictures of other people who visited Beijing, you'll find at least half a million pictures (for instance on Picasa web) and they're all similar. The same buildings, the same picture of the portrait of Mao, the same bed of the emperor... I even saw some of the photos I took, at similar angles of similar subjects at the similar location.

It's too boring.

Not that there's anything wrong with tourist photos mind you, I don't want to sound all snobbish. In the end I'm also a tourist, and I also like to take pictures of stuff that others have photographed millions of times already. Some of these objects simply beg for it. But I also like to come home with at least a few 'different' ones. And 'seeing' or discovering the 'difference' at a place like the Forbidden City, that's not easy - is my main point.

Therefore this third album doesn't have many of the 'usual' shots and in actual fact doesn't contain many photos for six hours of tourist site. Although I did take a few of the 'standard' photos, and do show a few, when making the album I focused a bit more on details.

The last pictures were taken in the early evening in a park close by the hotel, not in the Forbidden City.

If you want a general overview of the Forbidden City I suggest you google for it.

Click here to view this third album, with some 22 photos...

Visitors from China will have trouble with these albums, since the used domain is blocked there. They can click here, but will have to click around more to get to the bigger versions of the photos.

Twice and doorknobs

Turns out I took a photo at almost exactly the same spot - from the train - on the way to the wall and back... here's both of them...

The third was taken in the Forbidden City...

Doorknobs on the doors of one of the many buildings in the Forbidden City...

Click on the photos for a bigger version...

Beijing album II

And here's the second album of Beijing, the second day, where we wander around Tiananmen Square, after deciding it's too busy for the Forbidden City... with some 27 photos.

Visitors from China will have trouble with these albums, since the used domain is blocked there. They can click here, but will have to click around more to get to the bigger versions of the photos.

Strike a pose

Posing for his mother who took a picture of him, in front of the back entrance of the Forbidden City...

Click on the photo for a bigger version...

Pots and Trees

Plants in big pots at the entrance of Jingshan park...


Blossom trees near the wall of the Forbidden City...

Click on the photos for a bigger version...

KFC

Women at KFC...

Click on the photo for a bigger version...

Aerobics

Had to compromise on the quality here to keep the upload small. The quality of the movies of the new camera is amazing, but the files are huge. The original was 300mb, for only about a minute of movie. Uploading that would take too long.

Complication of filming with the camera is the focus, which isn't set automatically. So during filming I have to do it manually, which account for the sometimes fuzzy images - clearly not used to using the camera for movies.

In the real movies they have someone for that, called 'the focus puller'. I had to do it myself... :-)

This was just some testing and playing around with new features of the camera, not meant as a 'keeper'. But I hadn't counted on the younger girls passing by, which made it quite funny (if you're me), so I decided to show it...

I'm not fully sure how this player works, but after hitting the play button and a bit of 'Buffering...' it should start playing...

Mind the volume though, it's quite loud...

Beijing album I

And here's the first album of Beijing, the first day with some 19 photos.

Visitors from China will have trouble with these albums, since the used domain is blocked there. They can click here, but will have to click around more to get to the bigger versions of the photos.

Entrance

Entrance to the Forbidden City at the Jingshan park side...

Click on the photo for an extra big version...

Generations

Click on the photo for the bigger version...

Posing in the Park

Found her in Jingshan park... sadly she belonged to another photographer, but that didn't stop me... And although he did give me some dirty looks when I snapped away (my lens was way bigger), I think she liked me... :-)

Close up...

Click on the photos for the big version... first one is a bit larger than usual...

Beijing ducks, not yet roasted...

Ducklings in a box... being sold on a market...

Inspecting the merchandise, chicklets in a bag, being sold from another box...

(click on the photos for the big version...)

The Scorpions II

And for the people who think I was brave, I wasn't brave enough to nibble on a black one... those were a bit too much... Click on the pic for the big one...

The Great Wall

Yesterday we climbed the wall.

The scenery is amazing.

We took the train, from Beijing North Train Station, which looked rather new. I had read about it on the Internet and the cab driver kept insisting there was no train to the wall from there. I pushed for it anyway, and it turned out there were trains almost every hour. It's a beautiful ride. A big train, very new and modern, with big windows almost all the way to the floor, so you can enjoy the scenery. Half way when it enters the mountains it slows down to begin its climb. My guess is that it climbs at least 500 meters, if not more.

From the Badaling station it's about 800 meters walk to the entrance of the wall.

Even in the mountains there's a lot of dust and sand in the air, which makes the view look very foggy, but that hardly spoils the magnificence of it all...

Here's a few pictures...

Beijing North Train Station

First view of the mountains, photo taken from the train...

First view of the wall, photo taken from the train...

View from the wall...

Part of the wall...

Click on the photos for the bigger version...

The Scorpions

Yummy...

Click on the photo for a bigger version