Walk in The Park: August, twenty thirteen

I briefly mention in the Butterfly Park post that I’m looking to bring the Walk in The Park series back to life, so instead of flooding my blog with individual pictures from these walks, I have decided to do the monthly edition instead. This is a backlog for the month of August. Kudos to my brother with his sharp eyes for pointing out subjects for me to shoot.

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All pictures were all shot with Olympus EPL-5 handheld with the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 macro lens.

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(For previous pictures from the Walk in the Park series, click here.)

Snap: Butterfly Park, Kuala Lumpur

A few weekends ago, I was out for photo walk in the Butterfly Park with a couple of friends (all of whom uses the Micro Four Thirds system camera). It all started with me asking Robin Wong, to teach me some tips on shooting macro with my Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 macro lens which I have gotten along with my Olympus EPL-5. The reason why I got myself that lens was because I have always have an inclination to shoot macro insects even with my Canon S90  back then. So, anyway I haven’t been able to do much macro shooting lately so I thought it’ll be a good idea to have a macro photo walk.

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One of my favourite pictures is the last picture above of a hairy spider, which was really puny actually. He was probably the size of my finger nails. I only started getting better macro shots (which was only the last two spiders when I joined Robin back for the last part of the walk, where he gave me tips on how to work a macro shot). Before that, I was walking with Alex who was assisting me with the flash unit.

Can I be honest and say that I was tad disappointed with my pictures when I got back to review them? There were a couple more shots but because I was careless in reviewing my pictures on the spot, in terms of the focus of the pictures I had to forgo many of these “potential” pictures, which was a waste really. Well, lesson to be learned here is to be more careful when I’m shooting macro. But I’m definitely going back to the Butterfly Park to shoot macro again, and if you’re interested too, do join me! Just let me know, :)

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Thank you to Robin Wong, Jackie (+ girlfriend), Alex and Robin’s friends for making it for the photo walk, I hope you guys had fun. Robin has posted the pictures from the walk on his blog (his pictures was really gorgeous and it made me rather hesitant on posting my pictures) Insect Macro Shooting and Jackie has also posted his pictures Macro: Butterfly Park on his blog.

All pictures were all shot with Olympus EPL-5 handheld with the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 macro lens; ISO 200 and an aperture between f/5.6 to f/7.1. Flash was fired remotely in some of the pictures.

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This post is categorized under Walk in The Park in an attempt to bring the series back to live. A little background information on the series; it started out with walks I take to the park armed with my trusty Canon S90 way back in 2010 (when I first got that camera then). I take these walks pretty often and they were like my shutter therapy session. These walks had also sparked my interest in macro shooting. But nowadays I rarely make these walks, starting this series again, I hope to take more walks and get more pictures to post. I won’t be limiting the series to just the park in my place but basically any other parks I visit to. So, keep an out for this series. :)

Walk in the Park: Sunset Sun

It has actually been a while since I last went to the park to shoot. I did try to shoot a few times, but I ended up with pictures that I feel were just not good enough to be published. Perhaps, the place is just lacking the inspiration, with me shooting there for some time already. It just becomes flat and dry. Well, I’ll keep shooting, but perhaps this would be the last of this Walk in the Park series.

(For previous pictures from the Walk in the Park series, click here.)

Walk in The Park: Grasshopper

I have not been able to get much shots from my Walk in The Park, I don’t know if I have ran out of inspiration or I need a change of landscape and environment. I think we all need that. Being in the same place for too long, does bore anyone out. So, anyway this was one of the recent shots I got from my walk. I was aimlessly shooting around and I didn’t realise a grasshopper was there. It scared me when I first saw it, but I thought it’d be nice to try to capture some pictures of it. So, what do you think of the picture? :)

(For more pictures from the Walk in the Park series, click here.)

Project: Walk in The Park [with a cute puppy!]

I would usually shoot nature-ish pictures for this project, but this time around, the walk in the park lead me to a cute puppy who loves her pictures to be taken. And I couldn’t resist. Enjoy! (For more pictures from the Walk in the Park series, click here.)

*sniff*

*tries to wink*

*look left*

*look right*

Project: Walk in The Park [2]

This is a project inspired by my walks to the park, because I find that if we really looked, there are many amazing pictures waiting to be captured. :)

For more pictures from the Walk in the Park series, click here.

Rant: State of mind.

Imagine if I could take a picture of my brain… I think it would look like this picture. Out of focus, cluttered.

For more pictures from the Walk in the Park series, click here.

Rant: Hopelessness.

Picture was taken during the late afternoon during one of my favourite walks to the park. See other pictures here.

The morning after. One thing I loathe about going to sleep, was waking up the next morning. Especially on days where my classes begin at 8am, I’m sure this resonates with my classmates and really, about thousands other students. To make matters worse, you’ve got an exam the next day. So, really what is the point of waking up? And today, I woke up feeling hopeless. It wasn’t just a feeling that would fade away. In fact, it pretty much stayed on and lingered till I finished my exam. Hell, it doubled tripled during my exam, so much that I have felt the urge to just walk out of the hall, leaving my paper incomplete. I stayed on, but that didn’t make much difference. All it did was help me feel less guilty, seeing that I ‘utilised’ the allocated time to complete the paper, right? So, yes. Sighs. I don’t want to go bed and wake up feeling hopeless.

Project: Walk in The Park

For more pictures, http://itscarmenhong.wordpress.com/.

Hello in Goodbye.

I want to thank those who have been there for me, without each and everyone of you, I really don’t know how I could hold myself together. I love each and everyone of you. <3

This is a pictures from my Walk in The Park series. Click here for more pictures.

New chapter; everyday is a new chapter.

Yesterday marks the end of a chapter of my life. It wasn’t easy to do it, but needless to say, it was something that I should have done eons ago. But for what it was worth, I held on till yesterday. Looking back, there are memories that I know I would cherish forever and of course, moments that I wish I never had to relived. And then, there are wishful thinking. I wish I had not given in so easy or I could have fought for what was my worth. But what is done is done. I am just glad, it is over. It is time to move on.

“The first one is the worst one, when it comes to a broken heart.” Boys Like Girls

Flawed beauty.

“Today, I like a klutz. Actually, I’m a klutz everyday. But, today, just a little more. I am the kind of girl who get cinema halls wrong and I can’t remember numbers well. Can we still be friends? :)”

Two weeks plus since I last blogged, damn. This semester, I’m simply laden with far too many exams, issues and stress. Blogging has taken a back seat on my priorities. But, today, I’ve had it and I decided to have my another Walk in The Park shutter therapy.

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It started out quite disappointing, with the insects flying all over when I tried to take a picture. I kept walking till I passed by a row of neatly trimmed bushes. A few stalks of pink flowers caught my attention, but only for a moment. I walked on straight. A few steps after, I stopped and looked back. There was something about the flowers that was not quite right. It was imperfect, such is the wrath of the insects.

The flower is flawed. It is not hideous, just flawed. Like us all.

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Some privacy, please?

Erm, I think they are mating, right?

I never meant to intrude these insects’ privacy, really. I just came across them during one of my Shutter Therapy session at the park. And I really couldn’t miss such an opportunity like that. I mean how often do you get to see insects mating. I was surprised that I was able to get a nice clear shot since it was windy and the leaf was shaking. I was afraid that they might just fly off since I’m there but they didn’t. :)

This picture is part of my Walk in The Park series. Click Walk in The Park for older pictures.

Shutter Therapy.

I read Robin Wong's post on his thoughts of photography with great joy, what he wrote was something I could personally relate to. This is an excerpt of his post;

"I have shot at that street already, I don't think there is anything interesting left to photograph." Same street or place, may have different people and activities at different times. Walking down the same street the second time will give you different subjects. Also, you may be more open to different opportunities, since you are already familiar with the street. Going to the same place to shoot again can help to improve your photography, because you can approach your subjects differently, with a different lens and perspective, or different shooting style. Nothing is the same in each shooting session, you decide your own variety.

Before reading his post, I wanted to walk to the park and shoot. But I hesitated, since I’ve been there at least three times to shoot already and there were probably nothing interesting there. However, after reading it, I thought why not. I mean, just give it a try. I might be surprised.

Shot was taken after it rained, around 5pm where the sky was still clear.. albeit being slightly cloudy.

 

Indeed, I was. Unexpectedly, I managed some shoots which I thought was pretty okay for a novice photographer with a compact camera. To be honest, I try not to put myself down by thinking that I can’t take good pictures with a compact. Because Canon S90 is a pretty awesome camera.. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

For this picture, I actually had trouble trying to find an angle. Even after I took a few shots, I wasn’t satisfied but I settled for this anyway. What do you think of it?

 

I’m only going to post these two pictures this time and save the other two for later. Hehe, so do look out for the pictures. And you can always click on the tag Walk in The Park to see the older pictures I took. Frankly, looking back at those pictures, I have improved in term of the composition of the subject and all the other photographic aspects. What do you think? If you have any comments, I would love to hear them. :) After all, I’m still looking at areas to improve myself.

A walk in the park. [With Cammy] – Quotes Edition

A walk in the park. [With Cammy] – Part 2

Considerably, the worst shot for today’s walk. I may sound a little too critical about my photographs - I know right. But this was shot without looking through my lens. I placed Cammy underneath the leaves and just snapped away. Actually looks fine-lar!

 I know this is a super plain shot. But I took it because I just felt like it. It’s simple, nice and free from clutter. Ah, such a peaceful shot, don’t you think so?

Do you know what this reminds me of? The speck of dust which fell on the flower! From the movie, Horton Hears a Who! This flower certainly looked something like that.

 Spot the similarity! :)

 And guess who I meet there at the park? A ladybug! I’m so happy! It’s my first time seeing one and I managed to see a baby one also, but too small for me to take a picture of. :D

 Ladybug, ladybug, ladybug!

I would have never found these little wonders if it wasn’t for my brother who kept pestering me to bring him to the park. Luckily he dragged me there because I was so bloody stressed out and annoyed with my portfolio, I could use the fresh air. And I came back home, feeling lighter and happier.

And, out of the blue when my brother was gaming, I showed him a picture of a guy with 6 packs. I said, “Kah Lok, you must look like that next time.” He said, “Ewwwwwww.”

A walk in the park. {With Cammy}

I need to exercise more often. I'm thin but my body is in dire need of a toning. Plus, I need to get fit by next Friday because I'll be playing futsal again. But it's a competition this time, so it's no longer child's play. And I've already picked my team; Liang Bin's team! Haha. If you had read my previous post about my first Futsal Experience, then you'll know why I chose to be in Liang Bin's team.

Anyway, most people would bring their dogs for a walk in the park but I bring my camera instead. Well, I don't have a dog and I badly need to need to know how to use my camera's functions. I need someone to explain to me the shutter speed and aperture settings too.

I took this picture after it rained. I tried to take the same picture another day but it didn't turn out this nice.

I basically spent 30 minutes kneeling on the sand trying to get a nice shot of the pink flower above. Guess why? Because of all days I decided to take a walk with Cammy, I choose one day when it was windy. And most of the flowers were swaying from left to right. Which is why I gave up and took pictures of the sunset instead. I thought those pictures were pretty good. 

I like this because you could see the rays of sunshine here. It's not that obvious and I want to get a picture where the rays are obvious.

God, I love the hues of orange here.

The sun morphed into a star. Wait, it's already a star. Hehe.

I love this shot. Took it single handedly as my other hand is in front of the lens.

So. what do think of the pictures? I hope to be able to get better shots soon. Maybe I should bring Cammy to the jungle. I will, one day.