BanHup Teh Photography » Traveloque

Enlightenment

Banhup Teh — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:05:59 +0000

This is another shot of the same two monks but this time it was taken at Ta Prohm, the temple ruins in Siem Reap made famous by the shooting of Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie a few years ago (the previous shot posted on January 13th was taken at Preah Khan).

Taken with Nikon D3 + Nikon 24-70mm/2.8 Aperture Priority 2 f/3.2 ISO 400 1/50s.

Enlightenment (Click image to view large)

Mama, shed a tear for me

Banhup Teh — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:00:14 +0000

This shot was taken during my teaching photo-safari to Siem Reap late last year. We were on our way out to Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia, when we passed through this fishing village. What a great place for my type of street portraiture!

Taken with the Nikon D3 + 24-70mm/2.8 aperture priority @ f/3.5 ISO 400 i/400s.

Mama, shed a tear for me

My recent trip to Jiuzhaigou, China

Banhup Teh — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:56:24 +0000

Is there such a thing as paradise on earth? If there is, Jiuzhaigou has to be it.

Jiuzhaigou Valley (simplified Chinese: 九寨沟; traditional Chinese: 九寨溝; pinyin: Jiǔzhàigōu; literally "Valley of Nine Villages"; Tibetan: Zitsa Degu (gzi rtsa sde dgu)) is a nature reserve and national park in the north of Sichuan, a province in south-western China. It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. It belongs to the category V (Protected Landscape) in the IUCN system of protected area categorization – sourced from Wikipedia.

When my dad sounded out that he wanted to see Jiuzhaigou our siblings took the opportunity to visit this place. We knew that the elevation of Jiuzhaigou ranges from 1998 to 2140 m but little did we realise that the air is still quite rarified especially to a 82 year old. We were glad that my dad still did quite well.

Words cannot describe how beautiful this place is. Here is a shot of Five Flower Lake located at the center of Jiuzhaigou. This lake apparently is the only lake that never freezes in winter. It is believed that this is because of the high mineral content of the water and/or the presence of springs at the bottom of the lake which provide for a constant temperature even during winter. The latter was never proven.

Autumn has to be the best time to visit this paradise.

More shots to share when I have them processed.

Bali, a never-ending story

Banhup Teh — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:29:25 +0000

I have lost count of the number of times I have been to Bali. For the past few years, I have been there at least once a year – sometimes even twice in a year! Despite that I never seem to get enough of this magical island. When one has nice food, really friendly people coupled with so many shooting opportunities, what else can a photographer ask for? This is especially so if one is into people photography.

I organised a photo-safari to this paradise last July where a group of keen enthusiasts joined me with this eat-sleep-drink photography event. It was a shoot in the morning, a short rest in the afternoon (when lighting was too harsh to do any photography anyway) and more shooting till sunset followed by post-processing sessions every evening. One can only imagine what fun we had!

Here are a few shots from the trip to share. I have updated my All about Bali gallery slideshow with shots from this photo-safari. Please feel free to view that gallery which I will be updating daily when I have the shots processed.

Action

Splash

Cast away

Reflect

Fly away

Trapped

Banhup Teh — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:45:22 +0000

Another shot taken at the village that led us to Tonle Sap. This was taken on our return trip from the lake. We stopped by a village that makes hammock weaved from water hyacinth fibres. While negotiating how many we should purchase (to help the local 'economy' going) I got this boy to pose for me among one of the hanging hammocks. We eventually bought four (one for me even though I have no use for it). Wait, I can use it as one of the many props that I have with me!

Trapped

Back to the ‘future’

Banhup Teh — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 13:25:51 +0000

Yes, I have come back to reality. This is because going to Siem Reap, meeting the people there and experiencing their way of life is like going back in time. It reminded me of what it was like about half a century ago back in Malaysia. And Malaysia is still just a developing country!

Anyhow it was a great experience for all of us who were there for this photo-safari. We were at the temple ruins which included Ta Prohm, the film set for Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie, and the nearby villages especially those at Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. We had, as can be expected for all my photo-safaris, many shooting opportunities during the day and post-processing sessions in the evenings. I am sure all the participants have some great shots to share…I know I do.

For a start, allow me to share with you a shot of these 2 sisters that we met at one of the villages on the way out to Tonle Sap. Life is simple but hard for these people. We helped in whatever way we could by giving the children gifts e.g stationary, and purchasing their goods even though these might not be of much use to us.

More photos to share when I have processed them.

Siem Reap, here I come!

Banhup Teh — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:20:47 +0000

One more day and I will be off to Siem Reap, Cambodia on my (very likely) last teaching photo-safari for the year. Having organised and taught in 2 previous photo-safaris this year (Myanmar – March and Bali – June), I think it is time I start something different to keep my interest going. You see, I get bored with routines easily hence I have thought of something exciting for the future. More of that later.

The last time I was in Siem Reap was during Crossing Bridges 5 in November 2008 where I also did my red umbrella series. This time round I have organised an exciting and interesting itinerary for the participants. For a change (didn't I say I am usually bored with routines?) I have planned a more structured teaching program especially during the post-processing sessions in the evenings to get the participants more involved. They will have assignments daily which will be reviewed and critiqued.

Finally, since I will be away for this photo-safari from 16th-20th and since I am not sure if I will have access to the internet, please be patient if I did not reply to your emails or inquiries. I assure you that I will reply them at the earliest instance once internet access is available. For that I thank you for your understanding.

And for that, allow me to share with you a shot of Pak Gulem taken during my last photo-safari to Bali.

Taken with Nikon d3 + Nikon 24/1.4 Aperture Priority @ f/2.2 ISO 200 1/125s.

Will I do pre-wedding photography?

Banhup Teh — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:06:47 +0000

Someone once asked me this very question and I gave a very non-committal answer. I now know deep down inside me I will take up that challenge one day. Yes, one fine day….

During the Bali photo-safari recently, I met multi-award wedding photographer Keda Z. Feng at one of my frequent haunts in Bali. With his permission (both to shoot some and to post these) I grabbed a few shots. A very special 'thank you' to Keda for this opportunity and the permission to share these. Here is how I would like to see the shots.

Click image to view large.

Which is better?

Banhup Teh — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 09:18:57 +0000

Assuming this is any good at all, which do you think is better, the one in color or the one in black & white? Personally I can't decide.

This was taken at a local market in Kayu Amba, Bali. It was early morning with the light coming from an alley to her right. Still quite dim as the ISO will show. This elderly lady was standing alone in one corner selling her small basket of vegetables. Like in almost all of my subjects, I approached her to get her permission to take some shots. I was so glad that she didn't mind at all.

Taken with Nikon D3 + Nikon 24mm/1.4 @ f/1.4 ISO 800 1/400s.

Click image to view large image.

Pak Gulem at work

Banhup Teh — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:02:02 +0000

Pak Gulem is a friend of Pak Sara's. They are both from the village of Bedulu, Bali. You have seen a shot of Pak Sara. Here is a shot of Pak Gulem at work taken with the Nikon 24mm/1.4 @ f/1.4 1/640s ISO 200.