Its back to bugs...

Well, after the birds, its back to bugs. Well, I do love shooting them bugs so I guess I will be posting a lot more about bugs than any other pictures.

I am going to dedicate this first posting on my outing at Taman Rimba Kiara to the long-legged flies. They are really quite awesome stuff to shoot. The colours are usually brilliant.



They are also quite small, making it a bit more difficult to shoot compared to say, a flesh fly. But still, they are one of my favourite subjects.

Shots taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

Land of the Hornbills..

Err no, this is not a posting about Sarawak since I am still stuck here in KL. The KL Bird Park has quite a number of hornbill species. Some are stuck in cages while others were free to roam about.

I saw some huge hornbills cracking some branches but they were way up there and I was way down there. Can't shoot them so I went around searching for easier victims.



There weren't many so I only have a few shots to share. I even took one that were inside the cages but luckily the net wasn't too obvious.



They refused to knock and decided to just barge into someone's home. Such rudeness :P

As usual, all shots taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

Birds that like water... they really do!

Water birds are probably the biggest species in the bird park and also the easiest to shoot since they are given the freedom to roam anywhere in the park.



But sometimes, you don't find them near water. They can be up at a tree, which is near water by the way, so I guess that counts. But of course, you find most of them at the waterfall aviary. Where else would they be right?



Walking on the path, I saw lots of them storks flying. And I thought to myself "Hrmm, this might be a good time to try some panning." Unfortunately, the 105mm is not exactly the fastest lens in town.

So I probably got one usable shot after probably wasting about 40 shutter counts.



See how they swoop down on stuff. Don't be holding a fish in your hand, you might not have the hand after :P



And of course, let's end with a customary black swan shot. Must have you know! Else you have never gone to a bird park :P



So what is up for tomorrow? Well, its going to be more birds. We will look at some hornbills. :)

Polly wants a cracker!

Well, one of the best places in the KL Bird Park is actually the Parrot area. This is where you see lots and lots of parrots, maccaws and other birds in that huge family. Not to mention some of them roam free in this area means you get better shots.



How else can you get up close to these lovely birds? Of course, some fly ridiculously low that they almost hit you.



Still, this remains my favourite area despite the danger :P I mean, when they are so colourful and so close to you, you just know that this is worth the entrance fee.



Next up, we will take a look at some water birds :)

Peacock madness!

I usually just post one picture but I think I've got enough in my reserves to go with a few in one post. So today's post is dedicated to peacock madness! The above is the peacock showing off its colours to me. Only one peacock in the whole bird park does this. I was walking past this fella and I didn't expect anything, camera was pointing down and suddenly, WHOOSH!



And then we have a closer look at the feathers. Impressive isn't it? And to think all this just to attract the females. Speaking about the females...



They are not as colourful. Wonder why? :P

Shots taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

ps: Reverted back to 500px wide after I noticed some monitors won't be able to display the 800px pics properly :(

Well, there is one bird in the park that demands your attention. You can't ignore it. Then again, no one really passes up the chance to shoot a peacock up close.

They are everywhere though. I think I saw more peacocks than sparrows at the park. Taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

Why am I so dirty?

I am trying a new style here. My previous blog postings have been done directly through Flickr but somehow I feel that 500px makes my pictures better than it is supposed to be.

I am still learning and I am flawed in many ways, and therefore I believe my pictures should be displayed in a way that people can find faults with it, criticise it and then I can learn.

This love bird was cleaning itself up, like the many other love birds at the park! They must be obsessed with cleaning themselves.

Just to show the difference between the 800px shot above which appears soft and the 500px if I have gone through Flickr (its must sharper):




Taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

I can streeetchh...

I can streeetchh, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

So, I was working on the 1st day of Raya and after work, with so little traffic on the road, I took a nice drive to KL Bird Park.

Surprisingly, not many people know that we actually have a bird park in this city. It was quite enjoyable but I wished I had a 300mm prime at times. Must put that into my wishlist :D

Taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

A face off...

A face off..., originally uploaded by nicklwc.

The dragonfly and me facing off in a staring competition. For the record, I won. He blinked then flew off. Sore loser.

Taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

See how long my body is...

See how long my body is..., originally uploaded by nicklwc.

I love damselflies :) They are so cute and thin and small and fragile. Such lovely creatures. They are carnivores though. Not so cute when they are busy eating up other insects.

Taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

You stay still!

You stay still!, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

This guy flew from left to right and right to left. I chased from left to right and right to left. Finally, he decided to stay in one spot for me.

When will bugs learn that I am harmless?

Taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm.

Shahila Johan - Seventeen Going on Eighteen

Shahila Johan - Seventeen Going on Eighteen, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

Shahila Johan acting as a 17 yr old who is going to be sent off to National Service. A parody of the musical The Sound of Music.

This is the final shot of the night as the staff told me that unauthorized photography is not allowed. Oops!

Taken with Nikon D90 and 105mm VR.

Keith Yew - Marina

Keith Yew - Marina, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

A tribute to Marina, whose father is no longer the Prime Minister of Malaysia. A parody of the musical The West Side Story.

Taken with Nikon D90 and 18-105mm VR.

Spending an evening with Peter and Jeff Hutchens...

Got the invite for a Thursday evening Photo and Film Workshop with the two brothers. I remembered watching the show on National Geographic and was thoroughly impressed. Now I get to learn how they did it behind the scenes.

It is going to be awesome! :)

Good Morning Towels

Tabitha Yong - Good Morning Towels, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

Tabitha Yong as a housewife complimenting the ever faithful Good Morning Towels and also complaining about her husband. A parody of the musical Hair.

Taken with Nikon D90 and the 18-105mm VR.

The Roti Man

Multiple - The Roti Man, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

In a tribute to our endearing Roti Man, the cast of Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah did it in a humorous rendition of a song from the musical Willy Wonka.

In other developments, I sold off the lens used in this show and settled for a combination of.. behold...... the D40 kit lens and the 50mm f1.8. Not to mention adding a bit of moolah to my bank account.

Taken with Nikon D90 and 18-105mm VR.

Chicken with the Chili on Top

Multiple - Chicken with the Chili on Top, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

The impressive Ho Soon Yoon (blue shirt) in a scene from Chicken with the Chili on Top. A parody of the musical Oklahoma.

With this lighting, the noise were more apparent but hey, am not complaining. With my D40, I probably wouldn't even have captured the shot in the first place.

Taken with Nikon D90 and 18-105mm.

Under The Tree...

Multiple - Under The Tree, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

A parody of Under the Sea, this was a song about a Mamak under the tree. Who would have thought that someone will parody something from the Little Mermaid.

In this shot, Mia Palencia is dancing with Sham Sunder Binwani. Just in case you don't know, they are the couple in the center.

Taken with Nikon D90 and 18-105mm.

Food Glorious Food!

Multiple - Food Glorious Food, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

We take a break from bugs to actually non-bug shots. Don't worry, if you like my bug shots (which I say thanks in advance), there are more shots to come.

But just to share some shots I took in a local "Broadway" production recently entitled Broadway Parodies Lagi Lah. This is a fantastic show and if you are in Ipoh or Sabah, I think you can still catch them. They finished their show in KL about a week back I believe.

The talented Glamorique Arshad (in yellow) in a scene from Food Glorious Food. A parody of the musical Oliver.

Taken with Nikon D90 and 18-105mm.

Looking for a meal..

Looking for a meal, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

This is probably my favourite shot from my visit to the Botanical Garden. Yes, it does not feature hypnotic eyes of the bugs but I love how everything seems to fit in this picture.

The colours, the bee looking inside the flower and its pretty sharp as well. So yes, I crown this one of my favourite shots!

Taken with Nikon D40 and 105mm.

Watcha looking at?

Watcha looking at?, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

The beetle staring straight at me. What makes him think that he will win a face off with me? Then again, he might win a no-blinking competition since he doesn't blink. Or does he?

I bought a book to identify bugs and stuff so I hope to identify most of the bugs I shoot. Only problem is... the book is for bugs in North America =.=

Taken with Nikon D40 and 105mm.

The fly masta!

The fly masta!, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

I believe this is the flesh fly which means they are scavengers!

I have a few shots of them and I thought to give the post processing a slightly different twist this time around.

Taken with Nikon D40 and 105mm.

A red dragonfly...

A red dragonfly, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

A friend suggested that I try composing some of my macro shots instead of just trying to get them sharp. Here is one attempt at it as I tried to use the leaf to split the image into half.

Taken with Nikon D40 and 105mm.

Why the D90 video mode is convenient?

Peacock at the KL Birdpark with the Nikon D90 from Nicholas Leong on Vimeo.

Well, the video mode of the D90 has been criticised quite alot for not having auto focus, the jellyfish effect and basically, people who put high hopes on it were left disappointed.

Well, I can say that I am definitely enjoying the flexibility it gives me. The video above is a simple reason why.

RAWRR!!!

RAWRR!!!, originally uploaded by nicklwc.

One of my favourite macro shot from my first outing was the picture of a tiger moth.

And I never got the chance to shoot at tiger moth again until recently. This guy was smaller than the one I shot the very first time and he was hiding underneath the leaf. Well, I flip the leaf over and took the shot.

He didn't even flinch. What a great sport :)

Taken with Nikon D40 and 105mm.