SkyBlueSky

Pooja

Cleaning out and reorganizing a few drives. Shot on Fuji Velvia 100 in 2007. No camera data but I'm assuming somewhere around 1/10th at f11, ISO100. Canon 20mm f2.8 on my trusty T-90.

Women enter Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to perform a parkrama or circumnambulation of the temple deity. We attended this pooja in 2006 and 2007 in KL. Incredible to watch 1000 (?) women all dressed in red walking from Bangsar to Chinatown at dawn. In 2007 I was able to gain access to an upper balcony at the temple where this shot was taken. The celebrants entered the temple in groups. I cantilevered myself and tripod over the edge and waited for the women to get the go ahead to enter the portion of the temple where the deities are housed. I'd envisioned this shot after attending the event in 2006 and seeing the upper balcony which was closed to visitors. Returning in 2007 the organizers remembered me and helped me gain access to the balcony. An important lesson in returning to a scene and working it from another angle.

Chow Kit for the IHT

I spent a couple of mornings earlier in the month in Kuala Lumpur's Chow Kit market photographing a story that appears in today's New York Times Global Edition. Click here for slideshow.

I've had a long fascination with Chow Kit and (as many of you know) markets in general so this assignment was a real treat.  But Chow Kit is special. To me it represents the promise of a multi-cultural Malaysia where Malay, Chinese and Indians come together with food being the element that binds. It's also a look into Malaysia's possible future where traditions - like a producer of tofu working in his family's 30 year old shop or a seller of kampung lemons (who now sells as much online as in his Chow kit shop) that work side by side with new immigrants from Africa and Indonesia. I'm not saying it is one big happy family but it is an interesting barometer for where the country could be going. This is one place I've got bookmarked for future visits.

A portrait and an accidental self portrait

Find a spot and wait. That's what I often tell my fellow photo 'walkees'. I came across this shot from a walk back in January in KL's China Town. Yellow backdrop, purple doors, nice light so when I saw this guy and his granddaughter coming down the street I knew I needed to stop and ask them for a photo. They kindly obliged. It wasn't until I came across the image today that I noticed the shadowy figure caught in the shop's mirror. Captured on my Ricoh GRD III (1/800 at f5.0 ISO100).

My (other) KL

Since moving from Kuala Lumpur to Penang I have begun leading biweekly photo workshops for UN High Commission for Refugees in Malaysia. Apart from it being a fun and rewarding project in itself the project lets me explore KL, and a different part of KL (most of my time is in and around Pudu), in a way that I hadn't before. There's something about leading the workshop that has made me want to really get out and work to come up with something 'new' to me. Maybe it's that I am pushing others that makes me push myself a little harder? Possibly.

Here are some images I've gotten so far. Admittedly, they are random but over time (the workshops will go into early 2012) I'm hoping to bring some form into the equation, revisiting some of the people and locations with the hope of telling a more cohesive story (or stories).

Let's go shopping!

I'll admit it - I hate shopping. Push me into a mall and I go into a near catonic state. But pay me and that's a completely different story. Which is just what happened when Travel + Leisure SEA asked me to shoot the lastest and most happening shops in Kuala Lumpur.

 


My friends at Wonderful Machine were kind enough to post a PDF of the layout here. Or buy your own copy and read all about what's 'hot' in KL.
 

On Assignment for Oglivy Australia

I recently had a 5 day assignment for the promotions arm of Oglivy Australia. The brief was to tag along with Australia Masterchef Winner Adam Liaw as he leads a group 6 Australian / New Zealand food journalists and bloggers as they eat their way across Kuala Lumpur and Malacca.  Not completely unchartered territory for me but a challenge non the less.
Challenge one was that apart from shadowing the group I was to provide images for each of the journalists stories. So essentially I'm shooting 5 stories at once while the bus moves from location to location. Tough but like anything, relax and work it. A place like Raju's (above and below) makes it a little easier.

I knew going it that it would be kind of a 'run and gun' situation. Work fast, get as many shots of the dishes, scene and group as possible while checking in with the journalists to see what they might need image wise.

Gear wise I packed two Canon full frame dSLR's, 3 lenses (all Canon) : 24-70mm f2.8, 70-200mm ISM f2.8, 50mm f1.2 (my primary 'food' lens), a 580 EXII speedlight + Pocketwizard Plus II triggers, and a Manfrotto Mag Fiber tripod. All of which (surprisingly) fit neatly into my ThinkTank Shape Shifter backpack. (for safety's sake I also packed the Ricoh GRD III).

 (above Master Chef Adam Liaw, below the hard working ladies of Bayan Indah Culinary Retreat).

Over the course of the week I ended up shooting about 50gb of images. Not an extradinary amount but we covered a lot of ground between the two cities.

(above : Adam Liaw and Author / Chef Florence Tan at the Majestic Hotel, Malacca. below : Ayam pongteh).

And at the end of the week I was reminded that hey, this ain't such a bad way to make a living.You meet interesting people.

And you get to eat the props.

 

Get Prints - Give Prints! Just in time for the holidays!

Looking for the perfect gift or just tired of starring at your blank walls? Then I have just the solution for you. Head on over to my virtual gallery where I'm offering a limited time 20% discount on all prints and merchandise. To receive the discount simply insert the coupon code EATINGASIA in the discount code box when you check out. Photoshelter will take care of the rest.

 
Take a look around my galleries of images shot on travels and assignments around the world. To make it easier I've organized a 'Top Picks' gallery of top selling images as well as 'Your Kitchen Wall' which are suggested images that I think would look great in your kitchen or dining room.

US, Europe, Australia orders typically ship within 2 working days of order placement (although given the time of year give yourself a few days extra if you want it under the tree).

If you don't see what you are looking for drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll take a look through my archives.

Happy holidays!

KL rocks to its own beat.

(above singer / songwriter extraordinaire Azmyl Yunor)

We've lived in KL for a little over 5 years now. It's great city and we've certainly enjoyed our time here but if there was one thing I would change is the lack of live music. Or I should probably qualify that, interesting live music.

I grew up with DIY / Indie bands in the US and have seen (or heard about) similar scenes popping up around Asia, but never KL. That changed when a young Indonesian friend begain waxing about the local KL scene. Hmm, better check this out...and we did..and you can read about it in this month's Travel + Leisure SEA .

(above Mathematix perform at Cafe 1).

Shooting bands is a little new to me..but it's starting to grow on me.  Every club has its' challenges to shoot in, but as I found out no where near the challenges that the musicians themselves have finding (and keeping) venues to play in.

(above Shh Diam! below Nao Band)

But the musicians we met are incredibly optimistic about the future and for a good reason.

There is just so much untapped talent in this city that it can't help but spill out into a wider audience. (below ThinkTadpoleThink)

The scene is still rather fragmented. Clubs are closed about as soon as they open so you'll need to track bands via their MySpace or Facebook pages. Every gig we went to seemed to point to yet another future gig so it's very much word of mouth, band / fan driven.

See ya at the next show!

 

 

 

Berjaya Times Square - Be there or Be..

 
Join me tomorrow October 23 at Berjaya Times Square for the Futuromic Imaging Fair. From 2pm to 3pm I will be presenting some of my work, walking through my approach to photography, and talking about my new friend the Ricoh GRD III.

 
(above lanterns in Penang. One of the images I will be showing shot with the GRD III).

 
The Futuromic Imaging Fair starts today and runs through Sunday. Plenty of photoshoot opportunities, and giveaways. You can even get your camera and lens cleaned for free!

 
If that doesn't make you smile -nothing will.

 
We'll be looking for you there. A quick note - the event will run in real time - not Malaysia time - so by 2pm October 23 we mean 2pm October 23 (got it?). Cool. See ya!

My KL (and possibly yours)

I have begun offering photography walks around KL. As a lead up I recently took a photographer around Kuala Lumpur's China Town area. Below are a couple of the shots I grabbed that morning.

 
 

If you are interested in learning more about the walks drop me a line at [email protected] We can work out an itinerary that best suits your interests and goals. I hope to see you soon!