太平湖 (Taiping Lake)

除了小时候课本里曾经读过， 太平湖在太平以外并非闻名遐迩。途经太平到此一游，却意外地发现她不施脂粉天生丽质的魅力。

风和日丽的清晨，不需要特殊摄影技术，太平湖清秀脱俗的容貌自然而然地展现在摄影机里。

太平湖路边的大树，听说叫做雨树。一棵棵雨树粗壮的树枝，从路的一边延伸至另一边，再延伸到湖水绿波上，虽然年岁已不小，却仍然雄赳赳，且万分神气的流露出那不拘又带点稚气的好看样子。

摄影，它总就是能够让我看见世间不朽的美丽。

I passed by Taiping and visited Taiping Lake recently. The unspoilt scenery here is a dream place for photography enthusiast like me.

A few snap shots with my basic but trusted DSLR and its lenses are enough to bring out the beauty of this scenic place and share with all these images here.

A picture is worth a thousand words. You can have your own judgement whether this place is worth a visit if you pass by this small town…

Note: For those who may be not from this region, Taiping Lake is located in Taiping, a small town in the state of Perak, Malaysia, and is north of Ipoh.

人间天堂 (Beautiful Dusk Hour)

虽然工作非常忙碌，下班后的生活也平凡，但不复年轻的心像静止的水无欲无求，却也觉得踏实且完美。

无求与随缘的心，让我感觉到俗世间的美丽。当然不幸的事也时常发生，但纵观整个局势，世界仍旧算得上是极其美丽的，天堂其实就在人间，只要你用心去体会一切。

从微小的昆虫世界，到亲人小孩们的欢乐，到日出与日落的灿烂，甚至是穷乡僻壤，也成为了我这好摄者的天堂。

在此分享两张日落的作品，希望各位也能看得见人间的美丽。

I like to shoot landscape during and after sunset. At this hour, the color of the sky is in transition from bright to orange glow to bluish to dark, and we can get images of different mood and feel.

For these types of shots, I always try to use a tripod if there is one. With the tripod, I can set the ISO to the lowest which is ISO 100 in this case. Small aperture is selected to have slow shutter speed. With slow shutter speed, the surface of the water would turn into a mirror like finish that I always like to look at.

Some particulars/parameters of the photos here:

First photo:
ISO: 100; Aperture: f/22.0; Shutter speed: 5 seconds lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm

Second photo:
ISO: 100; Aperture: f/16.0; Shutter speed: 2.5 seconds lens: Canon EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm

Hope you will find our world beautiful as I do.

庭院摄影 （Backyard Photography）

邻居们在庭院周围种了许多花花草草，引来了不少小生命在此寻花问柳。

小蝴蝶不请自来，在内子栽种的花丛中自助享用各种花汁，与生俱来的吸管，轻易的随意品尝甘甜花蜜。

小蚂蚁不甘落后，也学着在花芯里寻觅蜜糖，无奈先天不足，吸不着蜜糖，反被花粉缠身，弄得狼狈万分。小蚂蚁呀小蚂蚁，还是安守本分，回地库里和同伴们分工合作，分享食物吧!

太阳花明艳照人，蚱蜢情侣在此缠绵了一夜，留下了刚脱壳的小蚱蜢在此，没看清楚之下，我还把小蚱蜢错当为一片落叶呢。

庭院微距摄影，在小小生命中寻获大大乐趣。。。

Backyard photography is one of the most convenient ways to explore photography. What you need to do is to have many plants and flowers in your backyard or front garden, every weekend you’ll be able to observe diverse forms of life activities here.

With a basic dslr body and a macro lens, the opportunity to explore life in your backyard is endless.

Over this weekend, I accompanied a Small Branded Swift butterfly around who was sipping the afternoon nectar with its natural straw. I then followed a black ant that was trying to make some Nyonya kuih with natural ingredient from the garden, but ended up with its body covered with pollen. Finally I visited the sunflower home and found a newly born grasshopper baby that had just emerged from the white shell.

山城怡保 (Ipoh’s Mountainous Scene)

怡保是岳父的故乡。除了美食之外，最爱这里的山峦。

暮色低垂时，薄雾笼罩着远方的山脉，望着窗外的树木与民居，与远方的山脉有层次的重叠着，这宁静的山城景色，对山城人来说也许再普通不过，对于不居住在这里的人却有点不食人间烟火的感觉。

在横街海鲜饭店用晚餐，爆炒烧肉，马来占炒野菜与炒蚌等家乡菜肴都美味得不得了。之后，在路边停车之处发现天泛红霞，昏暗的街灯，远方的山的灰暗影子，与一排不甚起眼的店屋，即带出了小镇独有的浪漫感觉。

把不起眼的事物与景象用心观察，就会发现不起眼其中的特别。。。

Ipoh is the hometown of my father in law. Other than the tasty food it is famous for, I especially like the mountainous landscape here.

Both the images here were shot with the mountain in the background, which adds interest to a minimalist composition. The foggy weather also added some mood in the otherwise boring looking scene.

One of the interestingness of photography is one has to explore for beauty in the daily life scene which may not be readily noticeable if we do not feel and see the surrounding with our heart….  

裕廊飞禽公园 (Jurong Bird Park)

买了一支佳能70-200mm新镜头后，又和家人们重游裕廊飞禽公园。

裕廊飞禽公园里的鸟类和旅客接触多了，都相当温顺且不惧怕人们靠近，因此对于想拍摄鸟儿的朋友们，是事半功倍的选择。

佳能70-200mm f/2.8L镜头拥有大光圈，不仅在光线不佳的情况下可以拍出清晰的效果，而且也有效的虚化背景，以突出主题。

有朝一日，也许我会回到深山野林里寻觅大自然的鸟儿生态。。。

Because of the purchase of the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens, I visited Jurong Bird Park again. This was my second visit ever since I picked up DSLR photography.

One key advantage of Jurong Bird Park is that the photographer can go near to the birds as compared to birds in the wild. Shooting the birds here was almost effortless.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8l IS II is a superb lens. Because of the large aperture, not only it is possible to capture images under dim lighting condition, it also produces visually appealing background blur. The built-in 4-stop image stabilization makes hand holding at the telephoto end possible.   

After two visits to Jurong Bird Park, I have an urge to try out wild bird photography in their natural habitats…..  

追焦摄影 (Panning Photography)

周末是和家人小孩们户外活动的好时刻，小孩们骑铁马时，亦是我练习追焦的好机会。

追焦摄影是极其有趣的摄影技术，拍摄效果与一般凝固动作的手法不同，拍摄时必须跟着拍摄物一起移动，以达到清晰与模糊混杂充满动感的画面，是我个人非常喜欢的一种手法。

摄影的乐趣，除了不同镜头拍摄不同效果，也有千变万化的手法与技巧，让摄影发烧友之热忱冷切不下来，不断学习追求以达到另一种境界。

忙碌的工作，必须抽空用摄影来平衡，以免变成城市里的机器人。。。。

On this day when my kids were cycling in the park, it was a good opportunity for me to practice some panning shots of my kids cycling.

I switched my camera to shutter priority and set the shutter speed to as low as 1/5 second and started trying out the panning shot without much success. I then slowly increase the shutter speed to 1/10, 1/15, 1/20 and 1/25. Eventually out of close to 100 shots, there were only a couple of shots with reasonable result. The most suitable shutter speed for this case turned out to be around 1/20s.

Panning yields interesting result but it requires some patience and practice to achieve nice shots.

宠物 (Hamster)

工作越来越忙碌，上网时间难免少了许多，部落格更新几乎零。忙里偷闲的机会只在周末，和家人共度悠闲时刻，享受天伦之乐。

女儿一直以来都很渴望养宠物，不久前终于答应她买了两只仓鼠，成为宠物的主人，全权负责仓鼠的起居饮食。

每隔几天彤就为仓鼠洗笼子换木屑，身为弟弟的衡就兴致勃勃的帮姐姐抹干器具。两姐弟分工合作，之前斗嘴之事烟消云散，这是养宠物后最让爸妈欣慰的事。

仓鼠体积极小，且柔若无骨，好几次竟在夜里从笼子铁条之间的隙缝钻出来，幸好没溜出屋外被野猫吃掉。

最近也买了一支新镜头，就把姐弟俩清洗宠物屋的光景拍摄下来，也把小仓鼠的可爱模样摄入镜头里。。。。

Our little girl had been persuading us to buy her pets. After turning down her request numerous times, we recently bought her two hamsters from the neighborhood pet shop.

As the owner of her new pets, our little girl is responsible to look after the daily life of the hamsters. This includes changing the food, the water, the sawdust and washing up the entire home of the hamsters. Whenever she carried this out, her little brother would happily help her out.

I recently bought a new 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, the images here were the test shots using the new lens. I wish to capture more images with this new lens in the new future.

家乡 (Sunset By the River)

也许从小在米乡这小镇长大的原因，我对朴实的乡村景色特别偏爱。每趟回来家乡，我总爱来到这静寂的河边，看着小河里的流水，望着那随风摇摆的椰子树，心里有说不出的宁静平和，我所眷念的，正是这与世无争的生活。

发呆了良久，太阳开始缓缓的降落在树丛里，有备而来的我从容的把落日余晖拍摄入镜头中。

在外工作多年，回到家乡，朋友们已不像以往那样多，也都有了各自的家庭，各忙各的。除了和家人在一起的时候，单独一个人的时间反而多了。除了拜年和一些小聚会，在家乡的农历新年竟是最清闲的一段日子。

母亲今年已七十八，除了膝盖偶尔会酸痛，所幸身体尚无大碍，依旧有一斑朋友定时练功强身。也庆幸从事保健产品的姐姐长期供应给母亲服用养生。

兄姐们都生活得很融洽，孩子们都能打成一片，今年唯独少了嫁到狮城的妹妹太过忙碌没能回来。

家乡的新年，清闲中带有热闹，又不失和谐欢欣的气氛。唯一恼人的，是那酷热的天气。。。

Whenever I come back to my hometown, I like to wander around just to look at the places where I grew up as a child. Equipped with a camera, I would try to capture images of places appealing to me.

This small river is located at the back of my sister’s residence. I would never miss visiting this place whenever I visited my sister. The simple view of the ordinary wooden houses, coconut trees by the river and its serenity are enough to have me captivated. I would sink into deep mental meditation state.

When the sun started to set, I would be awoken from the meditation. Came prepared, I shot the sunset scene of this tranquil place to be used on my desktop wallpaper.

随性 (CNY)

年幼的儿子从小就爱看舞狮，买了个小舞狮头给他，他就随着舞狮录像的节奏似模似样的舞起来。和所有小朋友们一样，爱玩，爱闹，爱模仿的天性不需大人们的启发，它就在体内流着的血液里，也在每个人与生俱来的基因里。

回到乡下过年，除了和家人们的团圆饭，和朋友们聚一聚，一些民间习俗如放鞭炮，舞龙舞狮，烧香接财神等虽然都是春节惯例，却让春节的气氛更加浓郁，也让那几乎忘了玩乐的心灵又活跃起来。

没有了民间传统艺术，没有了信念，生活会是如何呢？只有工作生产赚钱的生活，和行尸走肉没甚分别，也必定不是完整的。因此朋友，兴起爱玩的时候就请尽情玩乐吧。平衡永远比失衡好得多。

随缘随心随意，是我向往的生活。如何在为生活奔波的同时，能做到随缘随心随意，是我在龙年的小展望。。。

During my stay in my hometown for CNY (Chinese New Year) celebration, I had an infection on my lip, but that did not stop me much from having good times with my family and enjoying the usual lovely atmosphere of the Spring Festival.

The traditional Chinese cultural art and practices such as the lion dance, the firecracker and the prayers for the God of Fortune made the children as well as the grown-ups cheery and delighted.

I did not miss the opportunity to capture some images of the lion dance, the firecracker and the incense sticks used for the prayers.

Every Lunar New Year celebration may be more or less the same, but I never fail to enjoy the joy through these simple activities and atmosphere they created, as well as through the opportunity to reunite with family members and meeting some old friends.

步步高升 (Balik Kampung)

无论我们如何努力，尽管我们以最快的速度奔跑，也追不到地球环绕太阳的转动。于是，兔年又接近尾声，我们也再次开始准备回乡过年。

看着我们的“年岁”户口节节上升，不曾下降过，或多或少也会有少许领悟：健康就是一切；除了健康，就是亲人朋友，其他事情在户口不断上升的真相前，都变得次要了。

在我返乡之前，让我分享最后几张巴厘岛的摄影作品，当作兔年最后一篇博文，也当作是巴厘岛系列的结尾。

1。海神庙附近的日落
2。海神庙经历千年日月精华的墙壁
3。库搭海滩
4。山脚下的梯田景观

祝各位龙马精神，身体健康。

It’s this time of the year again, when the Earth is close to completing yet another Lunar cycle of orbiting around the Sun, and most of the Chinese working outside of their hometown again begin to prepare to travel back to their respective village for family reunion and Lunar New Year celebration.

I can already visualize the traffic condition on the highway leading back to numerous towns of the country. It would be like a few concentrated beams of light shooting from the main cities of the country towards the smaller towns of the country. Every vehicle would be like a particle of light, with the difference that there is a driver, and some with passengers, in each vehicle, whose hearts are beating in a blissful frequency looking forwards to the family reunion, which, for many could be an annual event.

As the last post for the year of rabbit, let me share with you a few photos taken in Bali to close out my articles of Bali.

1. Sunset in Tanah Lot. We waited and hoped for a dramatic sunset that did not arrive.
2. Front wall of Tanah Lot Temple. Note the construction materials that had gone thorough hundreds of years of erosion and weathering.
3. Kuta beach.
4. The exotic view of Tegallalang Rice Terraces.

I will shoot off tomorrow like a photon. Happy Lunar New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone!

欢乐时光 （Memorable Bali）

除了拍摄风景古物花草艺术之外，孩子和家人们在巴厘岛的欢乐时光也是摄影好题材。

小孩们出外旅行，只要有伴，就能玩得天翻地覆，学业功课都被那排山倒海的气势击中飞到九霄云外，爱玩乐的本性表露无遗。

大人们除了游山玩水，暂时返老还童和小孩们打成一片之外，当然也趁机品尝巴厘岛的饮食文化。从简便宁静的山谷早餐，山崖海角的下午茶，到巴厘岛道地菜肴如烤乳猪，烤鸭，沙嗲，特色杂饭，和各式各样的咖啡样本品尝，让每个人都尽兴的满腹而归。

不吃过道地食品，不算来过巴厘岛；若不把家人小孩们的欢乐时光拍摄下来留念，也不算有个完整的旅程。

若干年后，重看这些相片，记忆瞬间就能划破时空，一次又一次的重新体验旅程固中趣味。。。

The trip to Bali was a satisfying one not only for me as an avid photographer, but all members of the two families, four adults and four children, enjoyed the company of each other throughout.

Without companionship, the trip would not have been so enjoyable. The swimming pool was exceptionally fun to swim in not only because it was located in a deserted valley in Bali but also just because everyone got to swim and play together.

The beach looked stunningly sunny and beautiful not only because it was located at the tip of Indian Ocean but also because everyone was in a lovely mood.

The sampling and tasting of the Luwak coffee and other numerous types of coffee was not only awakening but also fun. So were other numerous meal stops that provided for the much needed energy and rest before proceeding to the next attraction.

No trip would be considered complete without some family photos, where our sweet memory was deeply embedded inside, readily available for us to rediscover its sweetness at any time in the future.

返璞归真 (Original Bali)

返璞归真，才是最响往的生活。

走在巴厘岛乡间的小路上，我的步伐出奇的轻快，我的思绪出奇的松弛。空气中似乎充满无限新鲜氧气，从鼻根吸入后充沛迅速输送全身，令人心旷神怡。

暖暖的阳光透过大树照在身上，徐徐的微风轻拍树叶发出的乐声飘入耳根。鸭子群在翠绿的田里嬉戏，小童们结伴步行上学堂；独自耕种的农人，头顶载物的行人；一幅极其简单自然的画面，竟让习惯了城市里霓虹灯吵杂声电脑电视手机多媒体广告等严重污染的官感，霎时获得释放，回归自然，返璞归真，感觉就像回到最初的起点，只有真，善，美。

巴厘岛某些景点，需要步行一段路程才到达目的地。由于所经过的村庄小巷朴素的田野风光，倒有点像是到郊外远足，连我们年幼的小孩们也虽然疲倦却不喊累。

郊区的巴厘人生活也许清苦，依然依靠山上流下的水洗澡洗衣，但朴实无华的简单生活，是另一种城市孩子们无法理解的现实与修行。。。

In the rural areas, Bali is exceptionally original in nature without much influence of modern technology and western culture.

We noticed that in the village, the villagers still rely on the stream from the mountain as the main water source for shower as well as washing their clothing. There were groups of ducks seen in the paddy field and the owner would come to chase them back home in the evening.

The original village life of Bali is a purity that is hard to experience in the city. Ironically there are many city folks who lead a busy city life with the objective of retiring and retreating to a peaceful and quiet life one day.

We met with a rich Danish American here who owns a beautiful resort in a valley in Ubud. Obviously he had chosen Bali to be his permanent residence, and his quality of life here is really admirable.

Who dares to say simplicity is not the ultimate sophistication….

天涯海角 (Romantic Bali)

站在巴厘岛最南端的峭壁上，面向着水天连成一体的印度洋，吹着迎面而来的海风，心情莫名的兴奋，潜伏已久的意识呐喊起来。

乌鲁瓦图也许不是个发达的城镇，其大自然景观的气势却得天独厚，教人把一切烦恼抛诸脑后，宁愿在此乐活慢活发呆一辈子。

断崖庙的绝景不止吸引了游客，也引来了大群的猴子猴孙在此常驻，可见其山灵水秀必定不亚于神话里的花果山。

这里也有些专门帮情侣们安排度蜜月甚至婚礼和结婚照的服务，包括浪漫的住宿，梦幻的玻璃小教堂等。在晋身柴米油盐阶段之前，小两口在此宠一宠自己也是应该的。

风尘仆仆来到这天涯海角，为的只是喝杯下午茶，听那海浪打在岩壁的声音，和看那冲浪高手们和大海最亲密的接触。当然也不忘了好摄一番。。。

We found the romantic face of Bali at Uluwatu.

Here, the soft and sexy Indian Ocean comes in close contact with the strong and handsome Rocky Cliff of Uluwatu. Their encounter results in the most natural sight and sound entertainment of the wave hitting the rock, in a way that melts the heart of all souls.

Pura Luhur Uluwatu temple was built here in the eleventh century facing the breathtaking view of the cliff. This is not only a popular tourist attraction but it also attracted large groups of wild monkeys to make this place their home. It is a dream natural habitat after all.

There are some villas here that provide services for honeymooners, as well as photo shoots and special itinerary for newly married couples. Most of the villas have beautiful facilities and scenery overlooking the Ocean.

If you want to get out of the hustle and bustle of city life, Uluwatu can provide you a dream retreat where you can pamper yourself with either a spa treatment or just taking your own time sipping tea while watching the wind surfers in action or listening to the sound of wave hitting the rocky cliff.

巴厘岛微距生态 （Natural Bali）

巴厘岛的天然微距生态，给我们的旅途增添了些小乐趣。

除了神秘的火山，漫长的沙滩，蜿蜒的河流，浓密的森林，壮丽的断崖，纯朴的村庄，葱绿的梯田，尔雅的居民；巴厘岛路边一草一木一虫一蚁皆流露着自然气息，感觉就像投入大自然的怀抱。一些微距生态在我们不经意间出现，逗乐了孩子们，也让我的微距镜头派上用场。

你看，巴厘岛的蜘蛛是否特别妖艳，连蜘蛛网也散发出野性。你看，巴厘岛的苍蝇和辣椒是否与众不同，谁敢说不是火山泥孕育出来的。你看你看，巴厘岛的绿叶本身就是艺术，可比美任何一件最细腻的手工。还有你看，巴厘岛的宝贝螺还是活的，生活在天涯海角的花圃里，还和我们共用一条行人道。

真情流露的巴厘岛，与其坦荡荡的热情，在瞬间就把我这个好摄之徒给征服了。。。

(注：“天涯海角”是巴厘岛乌鲁瓦图位于印度洋县崖上方的度假村的称呼，拥有海天一色的景观并可让人俯瞰印度洋，来到这里，我们都醉了！)

For my trip to Bali, I brought along three Canon lenses, i.e. 10-22mm wide angle, 50mm f/1.8II and 100mm f/2.8L macro lens.

For all my travel abroad, I would consider the 50mm f/1.8II a lens that I would definitely bring along due to its negligible size and weight (yet it provides for large aperture and sharp images). Another lens that is a must-bring-along is none other than the 10-22mm ultra-wide zoom lens that is extremely suited as well as versatile for scenic landscape shots. For the third lens that my bag was capable of carrying, I hesitated between the 100mm macro lens and the Sigma 18-250mm super zoom. Eventually I decided to choose the 100mm macro lens due to its better image quality and macro capability.

The result of the decision was some macro shots that I would have missed if I brought along the 18-250mm super zoom instead.

The images here were shot as the opportunity arose without our intentionally searching for the subjects. I like to take macro shots, and it sure felt nice to shoot bugs and plants away from home. The spider was more photogenic and wilder than those in my garden, the fly and the chili just looked special compared with those in my neighborhood, the plants were more artistic, and the shell critter from the Cowrie family detected by my kids was such a good model that I could hardly find near my house.

Bali really is a paradise for a photography enthusiast like me….

旅者与人（Balinese People）

也许是我们以旅者的心情看巴厘人，总觉得他们都很悠哉闲哉地过生活，并都平易近人，有着极其温和的个性。

负责驾驶的巴厘叔叔，以平稳的驾驶技术，东南西北穿越巴厘岛大街小巷山区闹市，不徐不疾不温不火，完成我们六天顺畅的旅程，其耐力和耐性值得一赞。

旅店中的职员，画廊里的画家，炒咖啡豆的青年，都尽责的做着他们的功课，悠闲中不失敬业乐业的享受着生活的每一时刻。

村庄里的小孩，路边的头顶小贩，文化村里的舞蹈员，都是生命舞台的表演者，也是身为旅人和摄影发烧友双重身份的我的摄影目标。

所谓旅人一转身，就是一辈子。所有在巴厘岛有缘一见的人，也许一辈子里就只有一面之缘。能将之摄入镜头留念不失为一乐事。

除了巴厘人，一些同是旅者身份的人物，也被我摄入镜头中。。。

Whenever a photography enthusiast travels to a new place for vacation, the local people always make for a good photography subject. There was no exception in my trip to Bali.

Balinese people are generally friendly and contented. In an island rich in historical, culture and art heritage, and with its economy largely depends on tourism or related activities, most of the people are soft-spoken and well mannered.

Other than our extremely friendly driver and tour guide, the people that we met there including the painter, the coffee bean baker, the hotel staffs and the kids on the streets all were always seen in a relaxed mood. The only slightly stressful encounter was with a few villagers trying too eagerly to sell some local merchandise to us.

Besides the local people, I managed to snap a few shots of other tourists while waiting for sunset in Tanah Lot Temple.

People are indeed interesting subject to shoot in photography.

艺术一周 (Artistic Bali)

在巴厘岛的一周里，我们无时无刻都被艺术包围着。

不管在旅店里，街道上，餐厅或神庙里，各式各样的画画，石雕，木雕等都在散发出它们独有的气息，悄悄的感染着所有周遭灵魂的情绪。

一幅画，到底包含着多少创作能量？一尊石雕，又到底有着几许灵性和意念？

我在想，巴厘人为何花费如此巨大的时间与精力在艺术创作呢？是在向世人展现他们的才华，是和宇宙对话的方式，还是一种精神抒发的表现？

我当然想不出任何结论。

因为人本身，又何尝不是一件最具震撼性的艺术创作。。。。

祝各位在新的一年里，身体健康之外，人人都充满无限的创作灵感。

Bali is truly an artistic island.

Throughout our six-day stay here, all sorts of art forms ranging from numerous paintings, handicrafts, sculptures and architecture surrounded us.

Down here, we need to learn to turn down our pace of living. Else, we would not only miss the numerous creative paintings and art creations both along the street and in the galleries; but we also would not have noticed the details embedded in the daily objects such as the meticulously crafted doors, the exotic architecture exclusive to Bali, and the numerous wood and stone sculptures that complimented the buildings.

It may be not exaggerative for me to say that in our six day here, I had seen more paintings and sculptures than I had in my whole life, till now.

As I grow older, I learn to slow down and appreciate art more and more. Our trip to Bali opened my eyes even wider to the Balinese art, culture and style of living.

It's the first day of 2012, wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year...