Night Lights

Driving home one night I picked up the camera and started shooting images through the front windscreen. (My wife was driving!) I set the shutter speed to two seconds and wiggled the camera around in circular shapes while shooting.

And here is "Shutter Wiggle #1":

Jalan Dato' Lim Hoe Lek, Kuantan. Car headlights and tail lights appear in circles while the blue and green in the background is The Zenith Hotel and Menara Zenith

What do you think to this style? Different and interesting? Silly and boring? It has a nice abstract quality to it. I'm making a very popular and ordinary place appear in a very abstract and unique fashion.

Let's hope I can replicate this technique in other photos!

First night photos with Canon EOS 650D

I'm really enjoying getting to know my Canon EOS 650D.

The other night I went out to take my first night shots with my new camera. I also decided to capture images using an 8-second shutter speed.

Jalan Dato Lim Hoe Lek, Kuantan

With the 8-second shutter speed I was able to capture the lights of moving cars as red and white streaks across the image. I will definitely find a busier road next time!

Jalan Dato Lim Hoe Lek, Kuantan

The following image was taken without the manual adjustment of shutter speed . . .

The Zenith Hotel and Menara Zenith are illuminated at night, as seen from Jalan Dato Lim Hoe Lek, Kuantan

In-built photo editing on the Canon EOS 650D allows you to select an area to be focused on, while blurring out the rest

Standing tall...

On an overcast day in Kuantan, The Zenith Hotel and Menara Zenith stand tall on the skyline. The inevitable rain pounds hard and loud on these tin roofs on houses in Bukit Sekilau. The 'Astro' television signal goes haywire during particularly heavy downpours.

The Zenith Hotel, Kuantan - A Year and A Half On

The Zenith Hotel in Kuantan is over 18 months old now and stands as Kuantan's tallest building. It is one-third of a complete structure which includes the Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC), and Menara Zenith.

At the end of 2011 I documented The Zenith Hotel after one year of operation

We attended the buffet dinner and soft launch opening on 31 December/1 January 2011.

A couple of weeks before the opening, I photographed The Zenith Hotel

The Zenith Hotel 2 months from completion

The Zenith Hotel 4-5 months before completion

Check out the progress of the construction of The Zenith Hotel from the earliest days of its existence back in April 2009.

Here's how The Zenith Hotel appears now, as of July 2012:

Zenith Hotel Views

The Zenith Hotel and Menara Zenith are the newest iconic structures in Kuantan. The hotel is fully completed while the office tower is nearing completion. These landmarks have served as navigational tools for me and my cycling journeys.

Sony DSC-W520 Digital Camera Sweep Panorama

We have a new Sony DSC-W520 digital camera. It comes with a new Sweep Panorama function, allowing me to take panoramic pictures encompassing 261 degrees. 

Here's why we have a new camera . . .

The other week we had a tragic accident in which our Panasonic Lumix DMC-F2 digital camera landed on the floor lens first, and was damaged severely. Lauren was passing the camera to me, I was receiving it, and somewhere in between, it dropped, crashed, on the hard cold floor. I buried my face in my hands in silence. Lauren, feeling bad, went to her room and lay on her bed in silence. Surprisingly I didn't feel angry with her or the situation. After a few minutes I went to see Lauren to tell her not to feel upset. That was a nice moment.

Here are a few panoramas I've been shooting . . . just minutes after purchasing the new camera!

Zenith Hotel and Menara Zenith from the roof of East Coast Mall

A view of Kuantan town from the roof of East Coast Mall

An up-down panoramic image of Menara Zenith

The Zenith Hotel in Sweep Panorama mode

The Zenith Hotel main entrance