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!

Kuantan Skies #18

This is part 18 in a series of 26 photographs of the Kuantan Skies taken this year. All but 3 were taken from my window or balcony.

Kuantan Skies #18 - A crescent moon hangs in the dark night skies over Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan

Observing the moon

I love the moon. It looks great in the evening and night sky. I know that I need a professional camera to get the necessary zoom ability to capture great photos of it.

Here are some photos of the moon in Kuantan which I captured with my Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot. I think they look pretty. What do you think?

The bright white moon hovers over Bukit Sekilau

What is our fascination with the moon? Did man really land on the moon? The moon shows us something we don't fully understand about space, and what could lie further beyond our moon

The moon is framed by a selection of trees in a small field in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan

The fading light of day only enhances the sunlight hitting the moon as it shines brightly over houses in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan

The moon is not subject to the laws of gravity, as are objects here on earth. In this photo the moon hangs nicely between the frame of two tree branches at a field in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan

I hope you enjoyed those photos. What fascinates you about the moon?

Chap Goh Meh (Part 2) @ Pahang Buddhist Association

For part 2 of Chap Goh Meh, we join the action as the sun was setting over Kuantan. . . . .

The singing and dancing began with my nine-year-old English student, Yuki. She was the first performer on stage to open the event and put on a great performance!

Second up was a very handsome young boy who likewise kept the crowd well entertained!

Many late-comers filled up all the chairs

The Pahang Buddhist Association temple all lit up at night is a wonderful picture of lights

The stage

Beautiful view of the Pahang Buddhist Association gardens gorgeously illuminated at night

The moon shone down on the Chap Goh Meh celebrations to mark the end of Chinese New Year

Click here if you missed Chap Goh Meh (Part 1)

Mooncake Festival at Teluk Chempedak, Kuantan

Wednesday 22nd September, 2010, we celebrated the Mooncake Festival at Teluk Chempedak beach in Kuantan.

From past errors, we decided to go very early this time, around 6pm, ensuring we avoided horrendous traffic jams and easily found a convenient parking space. Around 7pm, the road to Teluk Chempedak becomes jammed and with limited parking spaces, this area of Kuantan descends into chaos with impatient drivers honking their horns at will. (I am an impatient 'backseat' driver!)

We managed to find a nice spot on the beach at Teluk Chempedak and planted our branches into the sand where we later hung our lanterns. I cut up my fingers digging deep holes in the sand so we could light candles and place them down in the holes. All in the name of the Mooncake Festival where a supposed woman looks down on us from the Moon. I wonder what she would think?!

This image reminded me of one of my more favoured tunes..."Dancin' in the moonlight, everybody's feelin' warm and bright..." Although dancing wasn't really the appropriate thing to do on a quickly filling beach!

A few cut fingertips later and this is how our little display looked!

Our display stands brightly beneath the Moon

After the candles had burned out we saw a few people passing by who fell down the hole! Rather amusing! We laughed quietly to ourselves.

There was quite a lot of imagination on show, and this was my favourite display...

...This one was interesting too...

A turtle

A display using paper cups from McDonalds. I don't think it would have lasted long!

Almost like they are building a mummy!

The excitement was elevated each time someone released one of these mini hot air balloons up into the moon-filled sky. A number of them, unfortunately, ended up mangled in the trees.

My wife turns for a picture as we watch the scenes at Teluk Chempedak

Lauren enjoyed blowing out this candle!

There were so many people by 9pm. The beach was full of activity.

I bought along two of my students, Chai, on the left, and Syarina, in the middle. Lauren was tired and fell asleep quickly later in the night at bed time.

Go and check out last year's Mooncake Festival at Teluk Chempedak HERE

The Angelic Moon

Last night was Halloween and as I gazed up to the skies I wondered what sort of 'trick' was being played before me. Then I wondered what had crashed into the moon, causing a huge impact explosion. Perhaps it was the end of the world, and the sign of the coming of the Son of Man? There were many sore and aching necks around Kuantan last night as everyone marvelled at the rare scene before our eyes...

What we were witnessing, infact, was an optical phenomenon called a 22 degree halo. These halos appear when the sky is covered with thin cirrus clouds containing ice crystals. It forms when sunlight is refracted in hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. The ice crystals act as prisms and the light passes through them, dissecting into colours. {Click on the pictures for a clearer view}