Tag Archives: polarizer

Yeng Keng Hotel

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Seeing as today was a public holiday I decided to head to Yeng Keng Hotel for lunch. I was surprisingly pleased that it wasn’t busy, I had a parking spot, and I was the first customer for lunch.

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(Above pictures) Took these shots courtesy of my Canon 10-22mm lens and Speedlite 580EX II. Believe it or not you drive along that path to get to the parking area. Someone obviously forgot their shoes. The staff were pleasant, the décor was pleasing, and yes, I had a nice time.

(Below) I ordered the char hor fun (broad noodles) which at RM15 wasn’t that pricey. The portion was big too.

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(Above) For dessert I chose their orange cake with whipped cream and mixed fruits. I liked it and the single espresso that I had after that was one of the strongest I’d ever experienced—it felt more like drinking pure coffee powder.

(Below) After the meal I climbed some stairs to get a better vantage point and took some pictures of Chulia Street. Yeng Keng Hotel is located in the heart of Penang, which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. As you can see it was a lovely afternoon and my Hoya HD polarizer certainly saturated the blue sky.

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That’s Yeng Keng Hotel on the left with the orange roof. They have some nice rooms too; I was allowed to view one but they said photography was forbidden. Oh well.

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It’s all in the clouds

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Yup, I know. For some time now my photography has shifted towards two subjects—food and the sky. On a fine Tuesday afternoon I was outside on my balcony and saw some interesting cloud formations developing. I instinctively knew that I would get better shots at the Straits Quay area, so I grabbed my Canon EOS 550D with 10-22mm ultra wide angle lens, popped on a Hoya HD polarizer, and took off for the mall. Here are some of my favorite shots.

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(Above) Straits Quay taken from the car park. I shot this at the widest end of my Canon 10-22mm lens. I love the way the foliage borders the top and bottom of this picture. The Hoya HD polarizer is simply amazing—it’s literally make-up for the sky.

(Below) I went out to the promenade and was met with this awesome sight—I’d never seen such a wonderful spectacle before. I quickly fired off several shots.

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(Above) I crouched down and played with the distortion and perspective that made me love the Canon 10-22mm in the first place. The railings lead our eyes toward the far distance.

(Below) The lighthouse becomes a leaning tower. The polarizer not only made the sky bluer, it also cut down the reflections on the sea surface.

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(Above) That phenomenal cloud formation again. This time I used the rocks on the shore as added interest. I did my best to keep the horizon straight; guess I should have brought my tripod along.

(Below) A view of the marina, shot at the widest end. I like the way the foreground boat (Minnie) points us towards the distance.

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A glorious afternoon

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It was a warm but not too stifling afternoon. Straits Quay was not packed with people since it was a weekday. Armed with my Canon EOS 550D, 18-135mm IS zoom lens and my trusty Kenko circular polarizer I walked along the marina and took about 50 photographs. Here are a few of my favorites.

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(Above) Here’s the modern looking lighthouse. It was a very nice afternoon indeed, and the polarizer saturated the skies perfectly. The red pointed top of the lighthouse draws our attention into the picture.

(Below) A closer crop of the lighthouse in vertical format. ISO 100 makes the picture very sharp and vivid.

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(Above) I zoomed in to 85mm for this shot of the Lady Kinari. I wouldn’t mind sailing in a boat like this.

(Below) I love this shot because I allowed some subtle reflections to appear in the water (a polarizer could remove all of the reflections, but then the water would look rather dull) Shot at 1/200 s f/9 the picture is pin-sharp.

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(Above) I couldn’t get enough of the blue skies, it was breathtaking. This picture is simple but sometimes simplicity is all you need. I could have stayed on for the rest of the afternoon but I had to go to work!

(Below) Another of my favorite shots. This was taken at the extreme wide-angle range of my Canon lens (18mm) What makes this picture appealing to me at least, is the juxtapositioning of foreground elements (on the left) with the far-off building on the right. The lighthouse provides some relief in the center.

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More Blue Skies

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At the request of my fellow blogger Sue (see her comment in my last post) I decided to snap a few shots on another warm and humid afternoon. The temperature hit 90°F today, blech. I took off my protective UV filter before attaching the circular polarizer, reason being I didn’t want to see vignetting on the edges of my pictures. I’ll have to go ask my photo dealer whether he can exchange a thinner UV filter for me. I hope that’s enough clouds to keep you satisfied, Sue. Sorry about the absence of seagulls though…they must be trying to escape the heat!

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