Pose For Me

Pose For Me

This dingo had climbed out from its cave, climbedto a higher ground and pose for me. Guess that I'm quite attractive to the dingo. Just that the look from it does not reassure me. According to the guide, dingos are like wolf + dog. They howl like wolf and looks more like a dog.

The dingo (plural dingoes or dingos) or warrigal, Canis lupus dingo, is a type of wild dog, probably descended from the Indian Wolf (Canis Indica). It is commonly described as an Australian wild dog, but is not restricted to Australia, nor did it originate there. Modern dingoes are found throughout Southeast Asia, mostly in small pockets of remaining natural forest, and in mainland Australia, particularly in the north. They have features in common with both wolves and modern dogs, and are regarded as more or less unchanged descendants of an early ancestor of modern dogs. The name dingo comes from the language of the Eora Aboriginal people, who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Emu's Splash

Emu's Splash

This is an Emu. I was also quite luckily as to capture this guy raising its head from the water. If you click on the picture, you will notice the water splash from its beak to the pool. The picture will be better if I had framed the Emu more towards the right so that all the water droplets will be in frame. But hey, I do not know what it's going to do next.

The Emu subspecies that previously inhabited Tasmania became extinct following the European settlement of Australia in 1788; the distribution of the mainland subspecies has also been affected by human activities. Once common on the east coast, Emu are now uncommon; by contrast, the development of agriculture and the provision of water for stock in the interior of the continent have increased the range of the Emu in arid regions. Emus are farmed for their meat, oil and leather.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Sleepy Guy

Sleepy Guy

This guy is sleepy. I caught him yawning. See how cute he is? If I did not remember wrongly, they sleep 2/3 of their lifetime. We, human sleep for about 1/3 - 1/4 of our lifetime.

The koalas sleep for up to 19 hours. The koala lives on the East coast of Australia. They live and sleep in the eucalyptus trees. It's hot, light, and dry here.

The koala has big ears and a big nose. The mother has a pouch. The koala has very thick fur. The adult koala gets 25 to 30 inches long. The koala is very small when it's just born. After a month the cub is 1 cm. long. The koala weighs 15 to 30 pounds. One cub is born at a time.

(courtesy of koalaexpress.com)

Shining Fur

Shining Fur

Mr Koala perched upon a tree at the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary. The sun shining from above give his opaque fur some golden highlighting. Although some may say that the leaves at the foreground maybe distracting, I felt that it gives some depth towards the picture and bring the shy koala natural character out.

The Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is a thickset arboreal marsupial herbivore native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae.
The Koala is found in coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia, from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula. Populations also extend for considerable distances inland in regions with enough moisture to support suitable woodlands. The Koalas of South Australia were largely exterminated during the early part of the 20th century, but the state has since been repopulated with Victorian stock. The Koala is not found in Tasmania or Western Australia.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Macroing

Macroing

This is Val. She is taking some macro flower shots of the flower. As she said herself, the picture makes her looks as if she was a small kid. Post processed to give a brown black and white touch with mist look, matching the mysteriousness of her hair covered face.

Roadside Duck

Roadside Duck

I know, this is not a duck. It is some long beaked animal which was very challenging to take due to the white fur and the black head. Post processing in photoshop was needed so that the head can be seen.

Top Angle Of Attack

Top Angle Of Attack

This is Matthew focusing on the flower from the top. Mounted, he has the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM. A great lens which I hoped that I could have one too. I find that picture of people trying to take photo of other things can be quite interesting as it shows our own image when we are doing so. Unless someone took a photo of me taking someone taking something.

The Sweet Entrance

The Sweet Entrance

Over at the back of the Hedgend maze, there was a field of this flowers and a hut. Hue was changed into a purplelish mood deteriorating colour. I thought that the wooden fence plays a nice part in the picture.

The Art of f/2.8

The Art of f/2.8

That's Fei with his gigantormous lens. It's a Canon EF 24-70 mm f/2.8 L USM. Quite a mouthful but guess the weight of it? It weights close to 1kg. When you go round and shooting with that weight, it will really encourages you to go to gym more often.

All-in-all the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens is amazing. The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens is built like a rhino, and is as sharp as a razor. The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens is a bit heavy, which tends to bother people with really weak arms, but if gives me confidence in the amount of glass used to help produce superior image quality. I highly recommend the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens and consider one of my all-time favorites.

(courtesy of canonlensreview.com)

Rebel Kiss X Focusing

Rebel Kiss X Focusing

That is Jo. She had the Japanese version (Kiss N) of the Canon 350D. What's the great deal? Her kit lens is USM. It focuses real fast. And we can't buy this lens. It is only available as part of the kit lens in Japan. Now, who talks equality?

Nikon Man

Nikon Man

My model, Sam. Well, I had zoomed in on him and focused on his "Nikon" camera. The "Nikon" word stands out from all of the element as not only it is one of the only thing that was sharp, but also his long telephoto lens and the curl of the fingers help to direct the eye straight to the word.

Hairy Leaves

Hairy Leaves

This was taken at the Hedgend Maze, Healesville again. This time, I had focused on the two leaves just grown out. The focus was perfect and if you click on the picture to bring up a larger one, you can clearly see the hairs on the leaves. Thanks to Shayen for lending me her lens which I will not have gotten such a sharp detail with my own lens.

Budding Out

Budding Out

It's spring again! Well, it is at the time of writing this. This flower has outdo other flowers by blooming early. The early bird gets the worm.

In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of the stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately.

The buds of many woody plants, especially in temperate or cold climates, are protected by a covering of modified leaves called scales which tightly enclose the more delicate parts of the bud. Many bud scales are covered by a gummy substance which serves as added protection. When the bud develops, the scales may enlarge somewhat but usually just drop off, leaving on the surface of the growing stem a series of horizontally-elongated scars. By means of these scars one can determine the age of any young branch, since each year's growth ends in the formation of a bud, the formation of which produces an additional group of bud scale scars. Continued growth of the branch causes these scars to be obliterated after a few years so that the total age of older branches cannot be determined by this means.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Fei Among The Bush

Fei Among The Bush

My model, Fei, posing when I was about to to take the photo of "Between The Maze" in the previous entry. I find that the neutrality of the green "bush" enhances his face and dark jacket.

Between The Maze

Between The Maze

This is the plant that keeps us from getting t the fina destination. Always blocked by them! You can see the amount of leaves they have and these plants are really strong in term of their branch too. You can also see the short depth of field in this picture.

Handprint of Networks

Handprint of Networks

The hand on the left is my hand. The one on the right, I can't remember whose it was. It can't be my hand as I had to hold the camera. The image has been processed to black and white with an extreme contrast.

The Leader's School

The Leader's School

This is Mao Ze Dong's school, Hunan First Normal College. It is one place of a maze where every turn looks similar. The teacher had warned us to stick together as we will be sure to be loss if we go out from the group. I had taken the image and post processed it as to give it a modern "old" postcard look. Below is our news from their website.

12月29日，2006年印尼华裔青少年冬令营成员与我校学生进行了新年联欢。冬令营一行170余人参观了青年毛泽东纪念馆，瞻仰了青年毛泽东铜像，缅怀了毛泽东等老一辈革命家的丰功伟绩。尔后与我校学生进行了“我们都是一家人”的大联欢，双方表演了十余个异彩纷呈的节目。我校学生与印尼青少年还互赠了礼物，双方增进了对彼此的了解，建立了国际友谊。

(courtesy of hnfnc.edu.cn)

Cultural Cuteness

Cultural Cuteness

Seems like an ordinary portrait photo? But by one look an Indonesian will realise that this girl is one too. Not by her look, but by her action. Indonesian will very often tilt their head down and shoot their eyesight up. It the the Indonesian meaning of cute!

Cuteness is a kind of attractive beauty commonly associated with youth, innocence and helplessness, as well as a scientific concept and analytical model in Ethology, first introduced by Konrad Lorenz. This is usually characterized by (though not limited to) some combination of infant-like physical traits, especially small body size with a disproportionately big head, large eyes, a small nose, dimples, and round and softer body features. Infantile personality traits, such as playfulness, fragility, helplessness, curiosity, innocence, affectionate behavior and a need to be nurtured are also generally considered cute.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Bubur

Bubur

My so unfortunate model, Burhan who went with us to the winter camp trip in China. This photo was taken in a bus. His red jumper and large black sunglasses made him look so feminine or gay.

Road To Nowhere

Road To Nowhere

This picture shows the same view as "Underwater Shed". However, I had focused and zoom in to this part of the land. What interest me was the long dusty land heading of into the horizon. Isn't this suppose to be a dried lake?

Upon The Horse

Upon The Horse

This was one of our teacher guide in Changsha, China. Her name is Xie Xiao. I had asked her to stand there and point her hand out. Then I moved myself so that her finger was just right upon the horse. This is another creative example of using the different in size due to distance to make something out.

Rusty Tiles

Rusty Tiles

Dirty, "rusty" roof overlooking the foggy sky from an elevated land. I cannot remember the place name though.

The characteristics of a roof are dependent upon the purpose of the building that it covers, the available roofing materials and the local traditions of construction and wider concepts of architectural design and practice and may also be governed by local or national legislation.
In most countries a roof protects primarily against rain. Depending upon the nature of the building, the roof may also protect against heat, against sunlight, against cold and against wind. If the roof is the covering for a house, then all these protective functions are called into play. Other types of structure, for example, a garden conservatory, might utilise roofing that protects against cold, wind and rain but admits light. A verandah may be roofed with material that protects against sunlight but admits the other elements.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Tilted Cover

Tilted Cover

A cover for a walkway. The way the attap almost touching the ground is absurdly weird to me. Where was the architect?

Water Skipping

Water Skipping

My clumsy friend trying to cross the lake with those small stumps. It was just nice that I was planning to take his photo when he started to lost his balance. Fortunately for him, he didn't fall into the water, or else another interesting picture of him.

"Capture the Moment"

Japan In Chinese Backyard

Japan In Chinese Backyard

This backyard struck me as it made me think that it looks like japanese. The photo has been adjusted in photoshop to bring back the colours lost in the foggy day.

Fish Nuggets

Fish Nuggets

These fish pieces are left outdoor to dry. The net at the bottom helps to dry the fish pieces from the bottom too. And also, it really smells!

Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which prevents the growth of microorganisms and decay. Drying food using the sun and wind to prevent spoilage has been known since ancient times. Water is usually removed by evaporation (air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying) but, in the case of freeze-drying, food is first frozen and then water is removed by sublimation.
Drying works by removing the water from food which the bacteria and micro-organisms within the food and from the air need to grow. It also creates a hard outer-layer, helping to stop micro-organisms from entering the food.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Among The Bamboo Leaves

Among The Bamboo Leaves

Lilyan as my model, hiding among the bamboo leaves. What I really like about this photo other than her great big smile is the nice bamboo leaves framing around her.

Creatively think of objects to use as a frame. Some examples include branches, windows, tunnels, doorways, and archways. Anything that lets you look through one thing at another thing will make a good frame.
Use an interesting frame for your photograph. If possible use a symbolic object for framing your subject, something that has a meaning in relation to the subject
Consider depth of field when working with a frame as a foreground object. Since you have a foreground object (the frame) and a background object (the subject) you can chose your depth of field. Do you want your foreground to be in focus? If so, then use a small aperture to keep the frame and subject in focus. Conversely, if you want only the subject in focus, use a large aperture.
Keep the camera�s focusing and lighting sensors on the main subject. If possible, use a foreground frame that is a darker object than the background. Expose for the subject in the background and let the frame darken.
Emphasize your subject. All framing directs the viewer�s attention to the subject, but you do not need to always go tightly into the frame. You can leave the subject framed but still leave other objects around the edges of the photograph. In this photograph the frame is a window, but you can still see the cannon around the edges of the photograph.

(courtesy of scrapjazz.com)

So Unreal

So Unreal

What's so real about this? This is an example of long exposure picture where in the middle of the exposure, I had covered the lens and aim it at somewhere else. And let me assure you that this is not image layering done in photoshop.

Underwater Shed

Underwater Shed

This was a place where lake used to be. And in the winter, tha lake had become that pool of water there. Somehow, there was that simple shed in the "lake". So in the spring when the lake fills up again, is the lake suppose to be underwater? If you blow the picture up, you cansee that there were a brown and white horse in the distant.

Clinging Branches

Clinging Branches

The trees there are clinging to its own branches in the windy winter. No leaf, but tons of tiny branches on a tree.

Shadow Cutting

Shadow Cutting

This man is a shadow cutter. Someone will stand sideway infront of him and he will cut his shadow or sillouethe. Of course, the rest of us crowd around him to see the black paper turned into an art progessively.

On The Making

On The Making

A bulding in the making showing the raw bricks and wood to support the attap. The picture was post processed to give a warm look as to show the mood of the whole antiqueness of the simple building.

I'm The Great

I'm The Great

My feet! Toying with the chairlift infront of me virtually. Who's the king here?

A chairlift (technically, an elevated passenger ropeway), is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They are the primary onhill transport at most ski areas (in such cases referred to as 'skilifts'), but are also found at amusement parks, various tourist attractions, and increasingly, in urban transport.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Turnaround

Turnaround

This is where the chairlifts end and turn to go to the other end otherwise known as the bullwheel. I had those kind of scenes where that tower broke and the whole chairlift system just plunge down. Just wondering Does it look safe? No. Why was I on it? I have to.

The rope is the defining characteristic of an elevated passenger ropeway. The rope stretches and contracts as the tension exerted upon it increases and decreases, and it bends and flexes as it passes over sheaves and around the bullwheels. The fibre core contains a lubricant which protects the rope from corrosion and also allows for smooth flexing operation. The rope must be regularly lubricated to ensure safe operation and long life.
Various techniques are used for constructing the rope. Dozens of wires are wound into a strand. Several strands are wound around a textile core, their twist is oriented in the same or opposite direction as the individual wires; this is referred to as Lang lay and regular lay respectively.
Rope is constructed in a linear fashion, and must be spliced together before carriers are affixed. Splicing involves unwinding long sections of either end of the rope, and then winding each strand from opposing ends around the core. Sections of rope must be removed, as the strands overlap during the splicing process.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Web of Branches

Web of Branches

A black and white picture showing tree branch layered against an out of focused vegetation at the back. The winter cold can be seen from the two still "standing" leaf.

To The God

To The God

The number of people praying infront of Mao's statue was never ending. Some placed their hands together while stnading, some neeled and pray until they can smell the newspaper. Many people there treat Mao as a God. In Indonesia, we placed Buddha or cross or a praying bracelet at our car dashboard. However, in China, many people placed a small statue of him instead.

So Long Chairman Mao

So Long Chairman Mao

That's one big statue of him in his hometown. It is erected in the Hunan province of ShaoShan. Not too fr away from Chang Sha. That day was his birthday anniversary. Tons of people had come to et off fireworks and some even pretended to be him and walk around shaking people's hand.

Regarded as one of the most important figures in modern world history, Mao is still a controversial figure today, over thirty years after his death. He is held in high regard in China where he is often portrayed as a great revolutionary and strategist who eventually defeated Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War, and transformed the country into a major power through his Maoist policies. However, many of Mao's socio-political programs such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution are blamed by critics from both within and outside China for causing severe damage to the culture, society, economy and foreign relations of China, as well as enormous and unnecessary loss of lives, a peacetime death toll in the tens of millions.
Although still officially venerated in China, his influence has been largely overshadowed by the political and economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping and other leaders since his death.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Village Field

Village Field

Shot near the village where Mao Zhi Dong was born at. This picture shows a small terraced field on a foggy day. Seems that the little seeds are growing happily. Australia's one in crisis though, with food prices to rise due to drought.

Great Early Sunday

Great Early Sunday

This photo was taken during Mao Zhi Dong's Birthday on the 26th of December 2006. This particular one was taken near a public toilet though. I still remembered that this photo was taken before I had entered the toilet as I was afraid that it will be gone when I'm done. This only gave me 3 chance to take the photo (urgent!!!) and as expected, it was gine when I came out. The title was given not because the picture was literally taken on a Sunday, but the cliche of cycling down the street on an early Sunday.

Today, gas balloons are often filled with helium, which is non-flammable. Gas balloons are regularly used for high-altitude research (such as with weather balloons) and for record-breaking manned balloon flights.
Helium-filled balloons for scientific research have flown to altitudes more than 50 km above sea level, above Earth's stratosphere and into the mesosphere. Such balloons fly above over 99.9% of Earth's atmosphere and operate in near-vacuum. They are used to image the Sun and stars in ultraviolet or other wavelengths of light that does not penetrate the atmosphere, to detect weak cosmic rays or the cosmic microwave background, or to study conditions at the top of the atmosphere.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Famous Red Little Thing

Famous Red Little Thing

Who cares of such an old, greasy thing. Well, I love it cause it's so dirty and dusty. Almost anyone who had watch hollywood action/ comedy movie will know this. The scene when the cars hit it and allthe water will burst out. Die Hard even use it to almost bring down a heli.

The concept of fire plugs dates to at least the 1600s. This was a time when firefighters responding to a call would dig down to the water mains and hastily bore a hole to secure water to fight fires via bucket brigades or, later, via hand pumped fire engines. The holes were then plugged with stoppers, which over time came to be known as fire plugs. This is the source of the colloquial term fire plug still used for fire hydrants today. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, the city installed water mains with holes drilled at intervals, equipped with risers, allowing an access point to the wooden fire plugs from street level. [1]

(courtesy of wikipedia.comm)

Back to Oldies

Back to Oldies

A stree photo along the Lu Bu Xing (2nd prev photo). This time showing an old bronze (?) statue of a man sitting accompanied by his modern friends. The exposure had made the people around him blur with additional blur done on photoshop.

Trajectory of Lights

Trajectory of Lights

An experimental photography of trying to "imprint" lights on the sensor long enough to give a memory effect. The photo was taken at the Lu Bu Xing (prev photo). I had set the camera on a tripod, a 25sec exposure, zoom out starting position. Then I start my count and after every few seconds, I will zoom the lens by a little quickly. The information below is talking about the invention of those date stamp which you can set to have on the lower right of each photographs (those ugly red thing).

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, cameras have been provided with a character imprinting device which can be mounted within a camera body. Generally, such a device employs a light emitting lamp 12, a reflecting mirror 14 for changing the direction of light from the light emitting lamp 12 and a character-signal Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) 15. Usually, a module 16 is provided to mount the lamp 12, deflecting mirror 14 and character-signal LCD on a rear cover 11 of the camera while also shading the device from ambient light. In addition, a film presser 17 is attached to the rear cover 11 and a film 18 is moved passed the character-signal LCD 15. An outer-signal Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) 13 is also attached to the rear cover 11.

(courtesy of patentstorm.us)

Lu Bu Xing

Lu Bu Xing

This is a famous shopping street in Changsha. It is called the Lu Bu Xing (the walking street). What this means is thatpart of road is not accessible to cars, only to the no "11" human's legs. Shot with a 25 sec exposure, the car lights mixed in between of the busy crossing.

Water Leak

Water Leak

Bicycle, rotting vegetables, grime and pools of dirty water just beside the food court in the Bu Xing Lu. I had shot this with burst mode with a shutter speed of only 1/18th of sec.

The Signs

The Signs

The road sign (for the pedestrians) near the Bu Xing Lu showing direction all around the pole. The show was done with a flash and an underexposure of the sky so as to bring out some contrast and colours.

Highly reflective traffic signs that can be clearly seen by drivers 24/7 day and night and in poor weather conditions. Signs have a long service life, 10 to 15 years. They conform to BS873 and current Highways and European Traffic regulations. Printed on high grade reflective material and bonded on to aluminium plate, the finished signs are very UV stable. Our post mounted traffic signs are strengthened with aluminum channel and supplied with sign fixing clips. Unless otherwise instructed, wall mounted signs are supplied undrilled.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Mum's Little Diamond

Mum's Little Diamond

Shot near a student stadium in Changsha, China. This mum was more than happy for me to snap picture of her baby. The baby looking lost in the hip hop style cap. This is not really going to happen in Melbourne with all the pedophile hype.

Pedophilia or pædophilia is a preferential or exclusive sexual attraction by adults to prepubescent youths. A person with this attraction is called a pedophile or paedophile.[1] The ICD-10 and DSM IV, which are standard medical diagnosis manuals, currently describe pedophilia as a paraphilia and mental disorder of adults or older youths, if it causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
The term pedophile is also used colloquially to denote an adult who is sexually attracted to adolescents or youths below the local age of consent,[2] as well as those accused or convicted of child sexual abuse or child pornography related offences.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Big Eyed

Big Eyed

Nerissa, my not so lucky model of the day. Shot with an 18mm focal length from top, I had exaggerated the size of her forehead and eyes. Of course, she has naturally large pair of beautiful eyes.

Wide angle distortion isn't a lens imperfection. It is what happens when a person views a print at the "improper distance." People tend to look at pictures from about 12 inches away. If they brought the print right up to their eyes, a picture taken with a 14mm lens would look normal. Take a moment to blow up the image at the top of this page and stare at it from different distances. Note that from a standard typing distance, the woman looks like a space alien. Viewed from up close, her head doesn't look strange at all.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Framed Ranges

Framed Ranges

This was one of the famous mountain ranges in China. The mountain is divided and named into different sections. These brances were lighted sharply in the sun with dual colours of brown and green over the range of mountains.

Into A New Chapter

Into A New Chapter

One of our friends walking through the lonely walk with sunlight filtering through the rows of trees. Walking into another part of discovery at the enormous mountain.

The Good Warmth

The Good Warmth



Michelle, posing after the sun provided her with the much needed warmth in the freezing winter.

Sunlight is bright. In the broad sense it is the total spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon. This is usually during the hours known as day. Near the poles in summer, sunlight also occurs during the hours known as night and in the winter at the poles sunlight may not occur at any time. When the direct radiation is not blocked by clouds, it is experienced as sunshine, a combination of bright light and heat. Radiant heat directly produced by the radiation of the sun is different from the increase in atmospheric temperature due to the radiative heating of the atmosphere by the sun's radiation. Sunlight may be recorded using a sunshine recorder.

(courtesy of wikipedia.com)