A Word a Week Challenge: Pink

This is an entry  for the Word A Week Challenge: Pink.

The image below was taken last year at the Kadoorie Farm of Hong Kong.

Not sure whether this is a vegetable or a flower, but I love the pink color and the mood it ensues. The pink color just seems bursting out.

Pink is my favorite subject. For readers who would like to see more pink – in the form of pink blossoms in early Spring this year, please visit my post Pink Tuesday : https://retireediary.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/pink-tuesday-1/.

I also have a post “Spring has Sprung” showing pink Bauhinia in their full colors : https://retireediary.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/spring-has-sprung/

Sunlight on the Waterfalls

This is a continuation of my recent posts on “Sunset on the Waterfall“.

The images were taken on the same day, the same location – Jiulong group of waterfalls in Yunnan, China.

Instead of showing the macro view of the top tier of waterfalls, the images below focus on the lower tiers of waterfalls.

The first image shows three series of waterfalls. The top part being the toe of the first tier waterfalls shown on the posts “Sunset on the Waterfall”.

The sunlight shone on the waterfalls as they cascaded down into the lower pools.

I have turned the pictures into sepias; with this, I hope that the waterfalls will stand out even more. While the top one was taken at normal shutter speed, the other ones were taken with  longer shutter speeds.

In these images, the water was gushing down with all its might and glory; sanctifying and cleansing our souls.

After a day out at the waterfalls, we felt we were purified and blissful.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus

This week’s photo challenge is Focus.

The challenger showed two pictures with two different depth of fields to illustrate Focus. That is a relatively easy job.

I would think it is more difficult to come up with is a picture that viewers quickly recognize that  certain subject(s) is the Focus of the picture, without actually focusing it with a camera or without coloring the subject against a monochromatic background (which some clever photographers can do with a software).

Here are some photos which I would like to illustrate Focus.

My first image, taken in West Lake, China, focuses on the willow and tree on the left in the foreground. The background was hazy and soft.

The second photo was taken in Angkor Wat , Cambodia. The focus is on the nearby walls, the background of temple ruins are somewhat blur.

The third photo was taken inside a temple also in Angkor Wat. I focused on something which I don’t understand – these may be stoves in the temple kitchen. They stand out from the rest of the picture.

The last picture was taken in Luoping, Yunnan in China. Focusing on some rapeseed flowers means that other flowers in the field are not in focus.

It will be interesting to see how viewers see images – what they focus on and why!

Langkawi – I’ll Follow the Sun

After almost a whole day of travelling, we were tired when we arrived at Langkawi – “our” idyllic island.

We seated ourselves in the hotel restaurant overviewing the sea and were thinking of having an early alfresco dinner.

The sun was setting and the view was so beautiful; we decided we would go for a walk by the sea instead, chasing the sun as it went down.

When we reached this board walk, the street lamp was already lit and the view from the board walk was unbelievably enchanting.

The last rays of sun light reflected from the teak wood walkway.

We strolled in the direction of the sun, without knowing where the board walk was leading to.

We finally reached the very end of the board walk where the shore turned into a rocky beach.  We climbed up and down the rocks, having fun. . . . . .  and followed the sun . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sunset On The waterfall (2)

I think I will never understand what photos my reader friends would like.

Two months after posting a single photo on Sunset On the Waterfall, I got over 540 “Likes” and 50 comments! That was totally unexpected.

With that, I can’t help posting the other photo which was taken as a “portrait” on the same spot.

This photo was taken more for the reflection and ripples on the water surface.

The sun was setting  and the bamboo raft was entering into the shadow.

Again, the scene looks surreal. . . . . . .

Weekly photo Challenge: Carefree

The Challenge this week is Carefree.

Carefree means you are free of care – no troubles nor responsibilities.

To me carefree is  . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Floating down the timeless river Nile, Egypt in a felucca while enjoying  the scenery, without the responsibility of sailing.

Or walking on the beach in Koh Samui, Thailand. Relaxing your eyes to infinity while watching at a distance – the birds on the rocks and very far out, tiny people walking on the edge of the sea.

Carefree is having nothing (about the past) on your mind – you don’t care for the present and don’t mind what tomorrow will bring 🙂

Ta Prohm, Cambodia : B&W vs Color

This is the temple in Angkor Wat that was intentionally left in its natural state.

Minimum work was done to prevent further collapse of the structures and, at the same time, enough clearance was carried out to permit entry by  tourists.

In many places, you can see there is a constant struggle between the trees and the structures; with the trees trying to take over.

There are only two basic colors at Ta Prohm: the green color of tropical tree leaves and the brown color of the  tree trunk / giant roots and the temple structures including the walls.

You won’t lose a lot by turning the image into black & white. The B&W helps us to concentrate on the quality of the picture and the texture of the roots and the construction.

The original color version is also depicted here. Both versions convey their own but different mood. Roots like claws reaching out for the temple portal.

In the color version, the rust stain color water on the ground is more apparent and mystical.

The place is romantic, equally it can be described as eerie, mystical, declining and even crumpling. . . . . . . . .

Weekly Photo Challenge: One Shot, Two Ways

This week’s challenge is One Shot, Two Ways.

Not really in the mood for posting today as there are a few things bothering me. One of these is that the severe typhoon UTOR  is approaching. Typhoon signal No. 8 (highest number 10) is hoisted. But blogging is now a ritual. So here we go.

The challenger suggested that one way of doing it is to post a “landscape” photo alongside a “portrait” photo taken at the same spot. The following is my attempt.
Funny that I do not have a lot of “Portrait” photos! The set of images below are taken at the same location adopting both “landscape” and “portrait”.

The pictures below were taken in Tojinbo, Japan.  The cliffs are known for people jumping off for committing suicide.

As an IT dummy, I don’t even know how to properly put a “portrait” and a “landscape” photo side by side while leaving a margin in between

The pictures below were taken in JiuZhaiGou, China. They show the characteristic blue mineral rich water.

I think I have done a bad job of putting them together. There must be better ways of doing it.Somehow, they don’t seem to work very well. The next set of pictures was taken at a deep gorge in Yunnan, China.

The pictures below were taken in a restaurant in Budapest, Hungary.

I guess I better find out how to better presents sets of images like this next time.

Cheers!

A Word A Week Challenge: Bisect

This week the dictionary has fallen open at the word Bisect.

I frowned at seeing the word ‘bisect” as I may not have any pictures on it.

I am happy when I stumbled on this image which means “bisect” to me.

The image was taken in Annecy, France last year.

The picture is bisected into two halves. The pastel wall on the right, showing a bit of light and things inside a building.

The left hand side is further bisected into a grey wall and a narrow alley.

Hope by now you are not bored with the word bisect . . . . . . . . . . .  as the picture can also be perceived as being bisected by two circular curves which are the arches.

Black and White Photo Challenge: Texture

This week’s Black and White Challenge at Sonel’s Corner is Texture.

Sonel’s choice to have this challenge in B&W is great; when color is removed from an image, we concentrate more on the quality of the image and the texture of the objects on the photo.

At Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat the walls and trees form a system which depends on each other. The trees grow around, on and in the walls. Removal of the trees would probably destabilize the walls but some trees growing abnormally, for instance, tilted at an angle or trying to force the masonry blocks apart which may stress the walls and destabilize them.

The walls have a rough texture but some of the carvings on the walls have a finer texture.

The giant roots which engulf the wall also have a texture which is quite characteristic. Together, they give an eerie and crumpling feel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .