Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Lotus under the sun 阳光下的荷花 ...



Taman Alam Perdana, Klang 
巴生富豪苑 ...

The lotus is a plant that takes root down below, 
beneath the surface of water, 
in the dark, 
in the mud, 
and starts growing upwards. 
As soon as it raises above the surface, 
a lotus flower unfolds under the intense rays of the Sun.
 ...
This development depicts the many changes
taking place in a meditative human being. 
The mud symbolizes the difficulties one encounters on earth, 
the dark water stands for accompanying painful emotions. 
 ...
But the more a lotus plant grows, 
the more it feels the rays of the Sun in the water;
insight increases and the end of the tunnel is in sight. 
 ...
The unfolding of the flower above water represents 
redemption of man from all worries and the 
meeting with happiness, love and light.

(words from a Chinese meditation scripture) ...


Lotus under the sun 阳光下的荷花 ...



Better medicine 更好的医疗 ...



Porridge with Potato and Carrots ...
马铃薯萝卜粥 ...

Sometime ago, I read in a documentary that
"When mammals get sick they eat only grass to heal themselves." ...

Whenever I am 'feeling sick',  I will 
look for porridge with potato and carrots ...
which seems to have
cleansing effect to all the heats and dirts
collected in the body through 
the daily favorite foods ...

Proper food is perhaps our best medicine ...


Porridge 粥 ...

Monday, May 30, 2011

Defeated with Integrity 诚信 ...



Lake Garden, KL 
湖滨公园 ...

It is better to be standing strong in being 
defeated with integrity,
then 
to win without it ...


DSC_0026

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Lights of faith 莲花灯的信心 ...



Wat Chayamangkalaram Thai temple
臥佛寺
Penang 槟城 ...

All we need everyday
is just that little light of faith 
to have the energy and strength
to paint the lights 
in the darkness
in our daily journeys ...


Wat Chayamangkalaram Thai temple 臥佛寺 ...

Absorbing life 吸收生命 ...


Neighbours garden ...
邻居的花园...

Everything we do is based 
on agreements that we have made - 
...
not just agreements with ourselves, 
but with our family, friends, other people, 
with God, 
and with life itself ...
...
But there are some-things which we need to 
let nature takes its own course, 
...
and letting things unfold naturally in our lives 
the way they should always seems to be the best way ...


Absorbing life 吸收生命 ...

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Is there light at the end of every tunnel 是否有光照在所有隧道的尽头 ...



Penang street shot 槟城街拍 ...
Georgetown Penang 槟城 ...

It is true that
there is light in the end of every tunnel;
don't be too sure about it, 
as
there may not be any light at all

if you blindly believe that you are in the tunnel ...


Penang street shot 槟城街拍 ...


Friday, May 27, 2011

Eerie feeling of the changing world 变化中的世界, 阴森的感觉 ...



Old coffee shop 旧咖啡馆 ...
Lebuh King ...
Georgetown Penang 槟城 乔治敦 ...

I was born in the 60's ...
in the 70's, a bowl of WanTon Noodle cost $0.30 Ringgit, 
in the 80's, you can get one at $1.50 Ringgit, 
in the 90's, $2.50 Ringgit will do, 
Beyond 2000, a bowl was selling at $3.50 Ringgit, 
In 2011 today, you may not get a bowl with $4.50 Ringgit ...

For the past 15 years, I have 
never had a salary increase nor bonus ...
but I am still glad I still have a job ...

The thought of the shrinking money scares me a little
as I am close to retirement age ...

I wonder what a bowl of Wonton Noddle will cost 
10 years from now,
if I live to see it ...


Old coffee shop 旧咖啡馆 ...

What if I took another path 如果我走了另一个路径 ...



Lebuh King ...
Georgetown Penang 槟城 乔治敦 ...


When I was young (well, in high school), I have always 
wanted to be an Architecture ...
I started my first year University in Architectural school,
I got all grade "B"s in my design classes
 while all other classes I completed easily with "A"s ...

At the end of the first year, 
I asked the "Acrh 102" lecturer, 
why didn't I do well in the design classes ...
the answer was quite simple, 

" I may not be artistically inclined" ...

I was disappointed at myself and 
thought if I can't be a great Architect, 
I might as well quit early and 
do something else ...

So, I changed my discipline and finished 
with an Industrial engineering and management degree.

The rest is history ...

The thought of the fact that I could have been 
an Architect or perhaps somethings else,
maybe a Chef or a Photographer ...
have haunted me in the past many years ...

For what if I have taken another path in my life, 
what would I be today ...


Old coffee shop 旧咖啡馆 ...

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Answers to their prayers 祈祷的答案 ...



Guan Yin Temple 观音寺 ...
Georgetown, Penang 槟城


Wealth or Health 财富或健康 ...
Curse or Blessings 诅咒祝福 ...
Blame or Forgiveness 指责或原谅 ...
...
Yet
I believe that 
...
the power of prayer lies in 
not what you ask for 
but
what you do not ask for ...


Guan Yin Temple 观音寺 ...

His Journey in Life 他的人生旅程 ...



Guan Yin Temple 观音寺 ...
Georgetown, Penang 槟城

A Buddhist monk's life,
Along their journey, 
the ultimate goal of a Buddhist monk’s life is
to attain liberation from suffering 
through self-discipline and by 
following the path of Buddha ...
 ...
never really thought about that ...
what is 
life without suffering
...
But for me, 
each moment is enough ...
Life lived within the awareness 
whether it is 
  delight, surprise, chagrin, dismay
is 
heaven on earth 
... 


Guan Yin Temple 观音寺 ...



Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Art of Coffee 咖啡的艺术 ...



Coffee Lane
咖啡坊
King Street, Georgetown, Penang


The Art of Coffee 咖啡的艺术 ...


The Art of Coffee 咖啡的艺术 ...


The Art of Coffee 咖啡的艺术 ...


The Art of Coffee 咖啡的艺术 ...



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Destiny 命运 ...


Hainan Temple 
琼州会馆/天后宫 ...
Georgetown, Penang 槟城乔治市 ...

Perhaps very much like fortune cookies in a 
Chinese Restaurant table, 
but
these fortune papers are picked up after you draw a number 
from sticks on a bamboo cup 
...

you can find them 
in almost every Chinese Temple 
...
From the number on the stick, you then
pick up the numbered fortune paper, 
written in "old-Chinese language"
...
mine
is destined to be a turbulent year
...


Destiny 命运 ...


Destiny 命运 ...





Sunday, May 22, 2011

Painting Line Art with Photoshop ...



Shame of me to be posting this despite
only learning Photoshop for a little bit more then
a week ...

But some of you ask me how this was done,
so I am just sharing
what I think to be fun

(on windows)
Step 1) Load the original image to Photoshop.
Step 2) Create a Layer (Ctrl-J or drap orginal to copy a layer)
Step 3) Change Layer 1 to BW via Shift-Ctrl-U (Image-Adjustment-Desaturate)
Step 4) Create Layer 2 out of Layer 1 to have 2 copies of the BW version
Step 5) On Layer 2 set it to "negative" using Ctrl-I (Image-Adjustment-Invert) 
Step 6) On Layer 2, using the blend mode to set Layer 1 to "Color Dodge"
Step 7) From step 6, the image turns white on layer 2 (don't worry) 
Step 8) On Layer 2, Filter - Other - Minimum (set to 5, plus minus) to get the lines 
Step 9) You may merge Layer 2 and Layer 1
Step 10) You may also use the Opacity to set to below 100% to get some color into it
Step 11) Returning to Lightroom you may further adjust the Hue and Saturation.
Step 12) In Lightroom, you can also Clarity, Recovery to adjust further ...

Step 11, 12 may not be necessary as I think there can be done
using Photoshop tools itself ...


马六甲红屋区 Melacca Red House area

马六甲红屋区 Melacca Red House area


Melaka City 马六甲市

Melaka City 马六甲市



Painting Bamboo 竹画 ...

Painting Bamboo 竹画 ...


For me, I am an engineer and teacher by profession, 
I have always believed that 
when I teach something I have learned 
I am a happier person 
then if I kept it to myself ...


Saturday, May 21, 2011

Harmony with Nature 与自然和谐 ...



Penang Butterfly Park ...
槟城蝴蝶公园...

To be in harmony with nature; 
we, 
the humans 
must understand how 
for millions of years;
 them, 
the non-humans 
have 
lived and evolved with nature, 
without the presence and curse 
of materialism and technology ...


Butterfly Park ...


Friday, May 20, 2011

Beats of a dragonfly 打败蜻蜓 ...



吉隆坡湖滨公园 
Lake Garden KL

a dragonfly beats its wings 30 beats per second ...
you probably have to chase for one that is busily flying around ...
but patience is the key as 
one will usually finally stand still for you ...

I was advised on the following guideline ...
Aperture to be at least f/5 to f/8
Shutter speed at least 1/200
ISO not to exceed beyond 400
Set camera to continuous mode ...
and Focus on the eyes ...
.
my shot was at 
f/7, 1/100, ISO 200, -2/3, Shutter priority ...
and I 'almost' followed all the guidelines recommended by
some photography expert ...
.
but
did it turn out right ...


Blue Dragonfly 蓝蜻蜓 ...


DSC_05911_2

Don't blame me 不要怪我 ...



When I started photography last year, 
I have this thinking already that too much processing 
is not acceptable
as one must get the right shots from the camera ...
so, I stick to the software provided by the 
camera vendor for transfer and simple processing ...

As I just ventured into both Lightroom and Photoshop
last week, 
I am beginning to appreciate 
the kinds of touch-up and "makeover" 
these advanced software can do, 
and don't mind to say that I am loving it ...

I am discovering another dimension of art and creation 
using these software that I think I will enjoy too ...

I am beginning to think that 
as long as it pleases 
the eyes of the audience, 
it does not matter what medium was used to 
create that art ..


Melacca China Town ...


Malacca Street Candid ...


Thursday, May 19, 2011

Hope 希望 ...



吉隆坡兰花园 
Orchid park, KL ...

to me, 
anything from nature 
is
HOPE ...


Hope 希望 ...


Hope 希望 ...


When you get something straight out of the camera 
without further processing, 
it is always a JOY ...



Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Green 绿 ...



吉隆坡兰花园 
Orchid park, KL ...


Green 绿 ...


Green 绿 ...



Monday, May 16, 2011

Heritage Mansion 文物大厦 ...



Along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Penang ...

I know some of you condone excessive processing 
using software tools, 
.
 While certainly getting the "perfect" shots straight out of the 
camera without further processing is the ultimate satisfaction of a photographer 
but
there is just little luxury for time and perfect conditions 
when we are doing travel photography ...
(perhaps another excuse) 
.
after using Picasa for image transfer from my camera and 
some simple processing 
for almost 18 months,
. I just finally move to using Lightroom 3 ... 
I am quite excited about it's possibilities 
for correcting and enhancing an image ...


Heritage Mansion 文物大厦 ...


Heritage Mansion 文物大厦 ...


Heritage Mansion 文物大厦 ...


Heritage Mansion 文物大厦 ...


Heritage Mansion 文物大厦 ...



Crossroads 十字路口 ...



吉隆坡兰花园 
Orchid park, KL ...

Is it a coincidence that we met,
a distance friendship through photography ...

I wish you a beautiful week wherever you are
and whatever you are doing ...


Crossings 交叉 ... by 黄清华 WongCW


Sunday, May 15, 2011

Saturday, May 14, 2011

I have a dream 我有一个梦 ...



KLCC Park 
吉隆坡市中心公园 ...


I have a dream 我有一个梦 ...


I have a dream 我有一个梦 ...



Sushi 寿司 ...



Shogun and Saisaki Restaurants 
將軍壽司 
@ Wisma UOA II, Jalan Pinang, Kuala Lumpur ...


Sushi 寿司 ...


Sushi 寿司 ...


Sushi 寿司 ...


Sushi 寿司 ...


Sushi 寿司 ...