Look into my eyes

This was taken back home, while I was back on a holiday. It is amazing to know that there are so many different types of dragonflies/damselflies. Awesome - the colours, the patterns!



Ethan was very curious about these insects, especially since I was going around photographing them in our garden. We had the clothes line which we strung across the garden and the dragonflies love to hang about there. So I had a couple of shots of them motionless on the line but I liked this particular series cause it was on our fence and I had a good angle to take it's picture.





The light was failing; it was evening and I was using my macro lenses. So I tried firing the flash and the results were these two pictures. The first two pictures were taken without flash.



I like this last one a lot.....and I love the first one.

The Garden of Fine Art

We were visiting the nearby Kyoto Botanical Gardens when we stumbled upon this gem of a building designed by Tadao Ando. Entrance was only 100¥. (In this picture, you can the the reproduction of Monet's Water Lilies: Morning on the floor and at the far end is Michelangelo's Last Judgment)



According to the brochure, this is apparently the world's first outdoor art garden. Famous art masterpieces were re-created using porcelain panel painting for this facility. A porcelain painting is a photoengraving from the positive film taken of the original painting (source: brochure).



In this picture you can see the reproduction of three masterpieces, from left: Van Goh's Road with Cypress and Star, Renoir's On the Terrace and Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon.



While we were there, these three ladies were playing classical Japanese songs. It went so well with the atmosphere. In the background is Michelangelo's Last Judgment.



A reproduction of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. For those of you who have read The Da Vinci's code, maybe you should head here to search for the hidden clues!



My friend Ernesto looking up at the Last Jugdment, a work that took Michelangelo six years to finish. The original is located at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. This panel painting measures 1430cm x 1309cm which is about the original size. Looking at this reproduction had filled me with so much awe - I wonder what my feelings would be like if I were to see the original. It depicts the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse.



Another close up view of the panel painting.





I didn't notice this at first, Ernesto did - so thanks Ernesto! I made them (Eddie and Ernesto) pose for me!


This picture was taken by Eddie Puay

And yes! That is me posing somewhat - not as good in posing as those two above though! I thought since there was a common theme (the same background), I might as well post a picture of me here. So to all those who had complained before that I had never posted a picture of myself in my blog, well, here it is!

How to kiss

Leaning in......



Kiss!!

Photographer : Me

Cast:
My nephew
My sister

Location : Home

Happy Mother's Day!

To the two awesome mums that I know and love : my dearest mum and sister.

Happy Mother's Day. I miss you both!

Black and white times again

I have at least one more post about the Kyoto Botanical Gardens but I am assuming that you guys do not want to be assailed with more pictures of plants. So I will hold it off till some other time to post it.



I will continue with my current obsession of black and white photography. Although colour photography is gorgeous and even essential in some situations, B&W mode can give a picture a different feel to it. Take for example, the first picture above. I don't think that it would stand out if it were in colour but since it was taken in B&W mode, the shadows and light appear more distinct, making the trees more striking and the presence of gloom.



The varying shades of grey, black and white allow more details to appear more visually striking, which sometimes can be lost in colour. Just look up Ansel Adams and his brilliant B&W photography of landscapes. Just.Simply.Awesome.



And I love B&W portraits of people. One of my favourite photographers in this medium is Henri Cartier-Bresson. In a portrait, the person is the main objective, the rest can either enhance or distract the viewer. So when your eye sensors are not assailed by colours, you will pay more attention to the person(s) in the picture and not so much to her/his attire, accessories and so on. However, there are many portraits of people in colour that are iconic - Annie Leibovitz is the master in this field. I love the one she took of John Lennon, naked, with his wife, Yoko Ono, for the Rolling Stone magazine (and I liked it even before I knew the story behind it).



Despite the advancement in colour photography over the years, B&W photography is still being embraced and loved. I don't think that it will ever fade away.

Lines and curves

Warning : More plant pictures. Scroll down at your own risk!



This post is simply about lines and curves. All the simple, clean lines and beautiful curves that you see in nature.



Sometimes we are so awed by the complexities of things around us that we forget that it is the simple things in life that is the most beautiful.



We are often too busy chasing after that rare exotic flower (in this instance) that we do not realise that beauty is staring at us straight in the face.



If only we just take the time to look, to discover what is around us before moving on to the next step. To discover what we have missed.



To just sit down, relax and have simple, good ol' fun.



After all, we only have one life.