No Parking!!!

On Chap Goh Meh this year, I saw this sign hanging on the gate of one of the houses along the road heading to Ma Zhu Miao. The owner must have been so infuriated by the inconsiderate worshippers of the temple who park in front of his gate that he took things one step further by coming up with such an amusing sign.

 

(Click on the photo for a larger view)

I admire his effort for this, but, I wonder if it serve it's purpose since I doubt anyone will believe it. 

Anyway, it still gave me a good laugh. Hope it does for my readers too.

I wonder if it'll be there the next time I visit the temple...

Cycling: Pantai Irama

I took this photo of my bike after cycling to Pantai Irama on a sunny day.
I have always like the beach as it's always breezy with the tranquil sound of waves, it's a refreshing and soothing to someone that is so used to the bustle of the city.

The sand was too soft and fine to ride on, giving way to deep depressions if I try to cycle on it--the curse of racing bicycle's fine wheels. But, I manage to ride my bike on the firm sand near to the coastline which unfortunately got me wet as the waves caught me in their surge.
My bike being washed by waves.

Finally, a photo of my bike's and my shadow.

Valentine

Happy Valentine to all, no matter if you are

single and available, 

single but not available,

engaged,

married,

..

Of all the paper roses I saw, I like this the most, it's a Miura-ken rose. It's final form is the nearest to my perception of a fully bloomed rose. The paper with lines printed on it is the crease pattern, which is a one-step connection from the unfolded square to the folded form, done by Robert J. Lang. There are no folding sequence included on his site except for the basic folding instructions of hills and valleys. 

It took me 3 tries to get it into something resembling the one on his site, with final steps from a origami forum I googled. It's not an easy rose to fold, but it's a very fulfilling one when completed.

The pdf file can be found here.

Postcards

Happy 1st anniversary, Discover Nikon on Facebook!!!
It was a brilliant idea to have a competition in the form of an online postcard. It's nice to see your own photo used in a postcard, albeit it's just on your computer screen. ^.^

When I read about the competition, I was kind of lost on which photo to use.
Sunrise?
Fireworks?
Landmarks?
People?
Sunset?
Flowers?
The list is endless.

So, in the end I decided to use this photo for my postcard. It was taken last year in my campus. It was the first time I put my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens to good use. The sun was setting, and it caught my eye that a cloud was looming high above the sun. I exposed for the sky and left the foreground in silhouette.
(Thanks to Edwin, Kean Hwa and Hai Feng for inviting me to join them for a photography session at our golf course. I wouldn't have taken this photo if not for you guys.)

Pui Pooi also did a postcard using my photo. ;p
This photo was taken during my trip to Bali. We woke up around 3 in the morning and with less than 2 hours of sleep, started our hike up Mount Batur. After a 2 hours hike, we reach the spot where I took the photo, it was still dark when we reach there, surrounded by thick fog. Shivering with cold and armed with a cup of hot beverage, we waited patiently for the sun to rise. It was exhilarating to see the first spot of red in the midst of the fog. The fog slowly thinned to reveal a burning red hemisphere rising at the horizon. You can hear the sound of cameras clicking away at the marvellous sight. The hike up the mount was, in my opinion, well worth the effort.
(Thanks to Hai Feng for all the planning during the trip.)

Click here to go to Discover Nikon page on Facebook.