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| Tuesday, 7-Nov-2006 22:37 |
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A Walk Along the Coventry Canal
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Thanks to the inviting Autumn weather of the weekend, I felt inclined to embark on a photography adventure along the Coventry Canal.
The Coventry Canal is a waterway built around the year 1800 served to transport coal between areas in the Midlands. Nowadays, the Canal is all but abandoned and forgotten but thanks the the Coventry Canal Society, the waterway was saved from destruction by the local government.
Over the weekend, I went along 5 miles of the Canal (that is around 8 kilometres) by foot in the hopes of capturing photos of the hidden beauty of Coventry. The themes here are reflections, water, contrast, nature and Autumn.
(It was also a chance for me to try out my new Hoya Pro 1 circular polarizer  )
The total length of the Canal is 5.5 miles (around 8.5 kilometres). Along the canal is a pedestrial walkway complete with maps, sign posts, artworks and guides for visitors.
Above is the Ricoh Arena as viewed from the Canal. Ricoh Arena is a stadium famous for holding various concerts (Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi performed here recently) and football matches.
Boats could be seen lining the Canal and forms part of the landscape.
 
In stark contrast to the tranquility of the scenery, one could see industrial plants and power pylons intruding into the vistas. The quietly passing boats could barely stir the mirror like surface of the waters.
Ducks and swans populate the water side.
The end-point of the 4 hour journey on foot is Hawkesbury Junction, it is where the Coventry Canal joints up with the Oxford Canal. Here one could find this famous bridge as well as a famous cafe to rest awhile before starting the 5.5 mile journey back!
The Corridor.
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| Thursday, 2-Nov-2006 22:31 |
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Autumn
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Right now in the UK, we're almost at the end of Autumn. These are the times when the day is severely shortened. Sunrise begins late at 7am and sunset is at 4.30pm. That means, if it was still in Ramadhan, when you guys in Malaysia are just about to pray Asar, we here are already having iftar. However, it also means driving back from work at 5pm in total darkness.
Due to deficiency to sun exposure, depression is a common problem in this country: a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD for short, how appropriate eh?).
Despite other people getting depressed, I love these times when the leaves start turning red and eventually start falling to the ground.
If only the temperature wasn't 4-11 degrees Celsius!
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| Thursday, 26-Oct-2006 22:31 |
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Coventry: The Whittle Arch at Night
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I've intended to take these photos of the Whittle Arch for months now as the arch is beautifully illuminated at night in blue and gold. Opportunity for photography arose tonight after a storm as the skies dramatically cleared.
I braved going out alone in the cold night, much to the stares of the passers-by. It was actually quite scary! However, worth it for the experience and the pictures in my opinion
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| Wednesday, 25-Oct-2006 08:20 |
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Father and Son
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Further experimentations with Black and White and the dodge & burn tools. Thanks to borakphoto I was aware of the benefits of black and white in the first place. In this picture I deepened some of the shadows to add contrast the inside and outside of the house. I also deepened the reflection in the glass door (originally to achieve symmetry, but the reflection now looks scarily wraith-like in my opinion).
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| Tuesday, 24-Oct-2006 22:49 |
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Black and White : Pasrah
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This was originally a picture of my 1 year old son frolicking, and then lying on the garden this morning. I was experimenting with several things, namely:
1. Photoshop
2. The channel mixer
3. The dodge and burn tools.
I can't believe how a black and white picture could alter the mood of a photograph so dramatically! The original image was warm and benign, turned black and white it looks almost like a murder scene 
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| Monday, 23-Oct-2006 00:06 |
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Despite it being the day before Eid over here, while waiting for the last Iftar for this year, we headed over to the Sherwood Forest in Nottingham, famous for the location of the Robin Hood legend.
The forest was around 1 hour drive away from Nottingham city centre, which surprised me. I was also surprised by the sheer scale of the forest. It completely dwarfed us.
It is now Autumn in this country, and soon the leaves will turn red and fall to the ground making it an exciting time for photography.
My friend taught me something simple but new for the 400D i.e. I could tweak the contrast, saturation and sharpness setting. In these series, I increase the saturation by one mark, and to me, I think the pictures are more vivid and lively than before. Thank you Exdua for teaching me the valuable tip!
Sherwood forest is full of ancient trees such as the above. I was really reminded of the Ents from Lord of The Rings. Look closely at the tree above and you could almost feel the tree staring back at you.
Lastly, the forest provided many opportunities for close up shots, such as the one above.
Overall, Sherwood forest is worth the visit - for the variety of flora and fauna (apparently there are many creatures such as birds, foxes, rabbits and deer in these woods) and especially in Autumn, it would make a brilliant opportunity for photography. However, do bear in mind that it's very far in the heart of Nottingham. Make sure you make a toilet visit before leaving the house!
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| Friday, 20-Oct-2006 14:50 |
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Salam Aidilfitri
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Salam Aidilfitri to everyone. Eid Mubarak, and maaf zahir & batin.
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| Friday, 20-Oct-2006 08:24 |
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A Visit to ...
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I'm so sorry I haven't been replying to all your comments all this while, but please forgive me as I have been quite busy travelling. Try and guess where before the end of the picture series (it gets more obvious towards the end):
St Michel Metro station, taken as a train whizzes by. Flowing lines lead towards the "horizon". Taken at a slow shutter speed so that the train would blur.
Tour Eiffel Metro station, again the curved, leading lines but unfortunately no Metros wanted to whizz by. However, people could be seen waiting for their transport to arrive.
Notre Dame cathedral in all it's glory. Notre Dame is probably one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. Notre Dame, as you know, is famous for the Hunchback of Notre Dame legend.
Notre Dame as seen from across the river Seine. Boats (or Bateoux as they said it there)could be seen lining the river.
Muse de Louvre from the outside. Notice the tall pyramids. The Louvre is famous for the Mona Lisa.
Notice the fountain ends sharply, mirroring the large glass pyramids.
The Eiffel Tower. By now it should be obvious that I had been in Paris It was lovely.
Please forgive me if this picture of the Eiffel is abit blurry. It was taken on a pitch black night, handheld, on a moving and rocking boat, with my kids clinging to my arms! Despite that, the picture is relatively sharp (I bumped the ISO to a whopping 1600 and took hundreds of the same picture and chose the sharpest).
Cinderella's Castle in Disneyland.
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| Sunday, 15-Oct-2006 07:11 |
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Wales
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The Cardiff City Hall
Cardiff University, Main Building
Caerphilly Castle
The Millenium Stadium
Cardiff Bay, early morning
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| Friday, 13-Oct-2006 19:10 |
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Night photography experiment: Cardiff Bay, Wales
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Canon 400D - 22mm -F8 - 10 sec - ISO 200
Canon 400D - 41mm - F22 - 25 secs - ISO 200
Canon 400D - 18mm - F3.5 - 1/6 sec - ISO 800
Canon 400D - 18mm - F5.6 - 1/8 sec - ISO 400
Canon 400D - 18mm - F11 - 4 sec - ISO 100
At the moment I'm off work for around two weeks - and guess where I am? Yup, Cardiff in Wales.
Cardiff brings back lots of memories to yours truly, especially because I graduated here and I have spent much of my life in this beautiful country. Throughout these years, I have always wanted to capture these images of Cardiff Bay at night, and only until recently (with the purchase of the 400D) have I managed to realise the dream.
This is also the reason why I think a tripod is absolutely crucial to my photograpy; I love night photos.
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Tenang je tgk pic ni.Best2.. 
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starting to experiment with photoshop ey? 
