Photo walk 18 May '10

Some folks have asked me why I took up photography in the first place. Well, I took it up because I was going through a relationship crisis two year ago, and I needed something to distract myself really badly. And photography did provide that avenue to express myself through pictures and to forget the pain. (I know it sounds morbid, but its true). And once again, I'm confounded with this issue, and I had to distract myself today through shutter therapy. Dear, these pics are for you.

Today we took a drive up to Santubong. The clouds were fluffy and the skies were blue. It was as if God provided those blue skies to tell me everything's gonna be okay.

I tested the rig's capabilities using the RAW file format in SRGB colour space, which offered better post processing capabilities in lightroom (duh!). The tonal gradation is fantastic and packed with detail. To emphasize the blue skies, I used the vivid picture control mode.You can easily pick out the foliage on the island across the river when viewing the full resolution files.

The clouds were swirling around the apex of Mount Santubong like a majestic crown. With D lighting set to 'normal', no clouds were blown out. I also slightly increased the saturation of the blues and greens to make the whole scene more appealing.

This is your typical Malay house set deep in the kampungs along the coast. Its construction is very simple -  a series of plywood walls supported on stilts, with a gabled zinc roof. Nothing fancy, and it costs about a tenth of your regular terrace house.

The town is very quiet, as if it was slumbering. The water from the river flows steadily and quietly into the sea, ready to begin the water cycle once more.

We also stopped by Buntal town. The tide was very low, hence we had to walk quite a distance before reaching the water's edge.

It's very very muddy here, and I almost slipped several times. In retrospect, at least the soft mud prevents your beloved camera from being smashed to bits.

Another view of Santubong mountain from the top of the bridge. It's a little risky if you stop your car right in the middle, I can tell you!

On the way to Pasir Pandak. The signboard at the junction got ripped off (perhaps to be sold to scrapyards), so we had some trouble locating the place.

Lo and behold, a fleet of fishing boats were awaiting our arrival.

Its as if these boats have known the waters for generations, and are all too eager to sail out once more.

We also encountered something more than fishing boats, which made the session more interesting..

The kids were all too eager to have their photos taken which is great. Do likewise in the UK or the US, and you'll be sued for sure. Hmmm.. where are my model release forms?

The mangrove trees love seawater. I was expecting more trees to grow here, but I guess the fishermen cleared them.

That's about it for today. For more pictures, please click here. Thanks!