Top 20 Photos of 2013 - #17

#17

Taken through a hotel window, this is a night scene of the town of Kuantan. The night lights make it appear that the streets are on fire, or that some pile of lava has flowed down from an eruption close by. All this imaginary commotion goes on beneath a full moon. The space between the moon and the land emphasizes both and provides a nice contrast. Technically, I had to first focus on the land and then alter the composition by moving the camera up to include the moon. For me, this is a very pleasing outcome!

Top Ten Photos of 2011

Hello and welcome to Kuantan for my top ten photos of the year review. You may remember some of them from earlier posts. I had around 30 pictures, all of which could have featured in the top ten, but after much consideration, these are the best of the best.

10. At number ten is a hanging bridge over Lembing River, in the quiet town of Sungai Lembing. My wife, Lauren, and a friend stand midway down the bridge.

9. In at nine is this hot photo from Bukit Sekilau. Children stand in front of the raging fire as the fire crew make their way to the scene.

8. In eighth position is this lovely perspective picture of a road bridge in Singapore overlooking Marina Bay.

7. At seven is this picture of Lauren and her aunty Urai surrounded by sun, sea and sand at Damai beach, near Kuching.

6. This abstract image makes sixth spot. A torchlight shines down on a diamond to create this light show on the wall.

5. From the 18th floor of Park Seven condo, I captured the raindrops on the window, with the iconic Twin Towers in the background.

4. In fourth slot is this lovely yellow flower. It wasn't until I reviewed the image later that I noticed one bug homing in on another sitting on the flower.

3. In third place is this fascinating image of 'the smiling gecko'. After spending half an hour getting him out of the kitchen, we got him to the balcony on a Cornflakes box, where he smiled for a photo!

2. Second prize goes to these two flies on an orchid branch, copulating fully oblivious to my lens. I held a piece of white paper behind them for focusing purposes, whilst snapping the picture with the other hand.

1. My best picture of 2011 is undoubtedly this night scene of Marina Bay, Singapore, from the wobbly Helix bridge. It was dark, I was tired, the suspension bridge was bobbing up and down, but the picture came out crystal clear.

Which photo did you like the best? Would you have chosen a different number one?!

Top Posts of 2011 - Part 3

Part 3 of my Top Posts of 2011 go through the months of January - April. Here are some of our best moments . . .

1. Right at the start of the year I compiled my top ten photographs of 2010 which I enjoy doing at the end of every year.

2. In January we had a most lovely stay at The Zenith Hotel courtesy of the General Manager. It had only just opened it's doors so we were among the first to see around the hotel and a short while later, stay there for a night.

3. I am a sufferer of headaches and migraines, and it is not at all pleasant, in fact it can be highly debilitating. So my blog post about headaches and migraines was long overdo and it was responded by some very positive comments.

4. In March there was a large fire just down the road which we first smelt, then viewed from the window, then I had to go down there and get some closer pictures. This image was the most enduring, with the young children looking excited in front of the huge flames:

5. During the month of April I took part in the April A-Z blogging challenge, which was one big highlight for me. I gained a wealth of new followers and comments, and good things happened during that month. I particularly enjoyed blogging about the letter 'X' for "xenodocheionology" which was a popular and unique 'X' post.

So that's the highlights of the blogging year done and dusted. The next thing will be my top ten photos of 2011 which will be coming soon.

Have a very happy new year wherever you are!

Fire in Bukit Sekilau!

A fire Monday afternoon razed a workers living quarters in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan, Malaysia.

I'm not sure how it started. But there are no living quarters left. I noticed it was getting a little hazy around 2pm:

But it was soon apparent that this was no haze:

Plumes of black smoke poured out from the wooden housing

There was soon a large crowd as the flames began to grow

The sound of cracking planks of wood filled the air as waves of intense heat blasted my face

My wife, watching events from the window of our apartment down the road, brought in the clothes

The firemen arrived when the fire was at its highest. I was amazed as they jumped out of the fire engine, grabbed a hose and sprinted right on in towards the fire. Such bravery.

A fireman scrambles for more equipment, as below, a fire hydrant fails to function due to an agonisingly blocked pipe

The one time you need the fire hydrant, and it doesn't work! It's very fortunate there were no people trapped inside

Nothing seemed to work, but back-up soon arrived

The fire fighters eventually got the blaze under control

The final image was taken a couple of hours later when I went to survey the damage:

I feel for the Indonesian workers who once lived here as they worked on a housing project nearby. I hope they will be taken care of.