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Showing posts from October, 2015

Too soft and fluffy

Last weekend was the launch of the inaugural Sarawak Hobby Fest 2015. The two days event was held at Kuching Sentral and saw a huge turnout of collectors, cosplayers, yo-yo players, and even a very talented local artist. The crowd response was also overwhelming despite not having any advertisements in the physical format i.e. banners and newspapers. I could not make it on the first day due to heavy overlapping schedule on that Saturday, and sadly missed out on the cosplays. I was looking forward to it so much as I wanted to hone my portrait photography skills. Nevertheless, I was there on Sunday and had fun looking at and photographing the amazing line-up of Gundams, Transformers, dolls and other collectibles that were on display there. It was fun to be able to use the 50mm lens on the Canon 60D again. I've missed it very much as I am continually trying to get myself used to my new Olympus OMD E-M10. I really like to 50mm format for its tight framing and shallow dept

Extinction or evolution?

The Kenyalang Park mixed development is one of the oldest modern residential and commercial area in Kuching. The development consist of single storey and double storey low-cost houses with a centralized commercial hub, which comprise of shophouses, a market, a cinema/theatre and an office block. A new wet market was added to the area while a new block of shophouses was tucked in the back of the old shophouses.  The name Kenyalang is taken from the local name for the Hornbill bird, which is also the official bird of the state of Sarawak. Sarawak is also known as "Bumi Kenyalang" or "Land of the Hornbills". Just like the bird, which has deep roots in the local Dayak culture, this area has also a deep relationship with Kuchingites and the history of the city. This area is becoming a jewel to artists and photographers as this is the few places where traditional businesses still thrive. The juxtaposition of 60s modern architecture with a mix of traditional and

Hell's Gate

I believe, one of the first reasons why I took up photography was because of these gates.  I'm a huge fan of urban exploration and I've always wanted to explore the forgotten, trace the memories of the people who inhabited that place, and perhaps, find a hidden sanctuary that I can make my own. I was taken in by the beautiful and haunting photographs of abandoned places posted online and realized that there are many interesting buildings and places around the city that has been abandoned and not fully explored and photographed. With the rapid speed of development of the city and the disregard to historical architecture, these buildings will be forgotten forever. To me, it feels as if that every time a historical building is destroyed, the unique identity of the city is destroyed and it ignorantly transform into another typical modern city.  The identity of the city is the reflection of the history and future of the people. If we fail to understand that the city i

These eyes of mine

I've decided to start a photo blog, as a way to put to good use of the hundreds of photos (and the hundreds of hours spent taking them) that have been sitting in my laptop gathering digital dust and cobwebs. Though these photos may not be corrupted and forgotten that easily (touch on wood!), my biggest fear would be the fading of the memories and stories that go along with them will.  Well, here we go, I guess. Off into the unknown. Off to a new adventure. Camera: Canon 60D Lens: Canon EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6