Night Market (Pasar malam) at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

Friday, November 30, 2012

The Night Market at Brinchang (N4.49422 E101.38930) - Cameron Highlands is located around the area of Police Station Brinchang. Normally the night market is held on Friday & Saturday every week, but during the school holiday...the night market is carry on non-stop for the last 2 months of the year...

It was lucky that the rain stop after our dinner at Hong Kong Restaurant - Tanah Rata. So we just had a night market walk in the cooling atmosphere...it was not crowded maybe because the rain just stopped.

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Night Market (pasar malam) at Brinchang town, Cameron Highlands

Most of the stalls here sell, fresh vegetables, fruits, souvenires, local foods and etc...
We bought some of the 'small' strawberries (not sweet) and dried starwberries which was not bad...

The night market will easily spent about an hour or more for us to walk around, the stalls were located at both side of the main road...
We found one interesting 'Sea Coconuts' which from Thailand, and decided to taste on it...one coconut cost RM6 for big and RM4 for small...tasted sweet. :)

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Sea Coconuts stall

He cut it on-the-spot and let us taste before we buy, nice and honest guy!

When almost at the end of the night market, I found this stall very interesting! The strawberries which sell together with hot chocolate!

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Hot chocolate strawberries stall

She will pour the hot chocolate on the strawberries depends on how many stick you want...we tasted one and continue to buy another two sticks. Hmm...tasty! 1 for RM2 and 3 for RM5.

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The strawberries with hot chocolate

After finished our strawberries, said bye-bye with night market...and we walked back to the shops behind Rosa Passadena Hotel for some shopping...included to stock my beers...:)

That end our first day on Cameron Highlands...

Related post :-
*  My Cameron Highlands 3 days 2 nights trip on November 2012

Location map of Night Market at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands


Tribes of Omo Valley: OZZO Photography



Here's a behind the scenes video of a trip to Southern Ethiopia by Icelandic photographer Oli Haukur and other team mates who visited a number of tribes in the lower Omo Valley. The video was made with a Sony RX100, a Canon 5D Mark III and an iPhone 5, while the real behind the scenes portion is shown around half way through.

I was reminded of the brutality of the traditional whipping of Hamar women preceding the jumping of the bulls ceremony, and of the sound of the switches landing on bare flesh and at seeing the wounds and bloody welts on the backs of these women. I've written a post explaining this custom in The Whipping of the Hamar.

Photo © Oli Haukur/OZZO Photography
The lower valley of the Omo is believed to have been a crossroads for thousands of years as various cultures and ethnic groups migrated around the region. The people of the Lower Valley of the Omo include the Mursi, Suri, Karo and Hamer.

Kiliii Fish: Native

Thursday, November 29, 2012



I stumbled on the lovely NATIVE project; sepia portraits of modern indigenous people photographed by Kiliii Fish in Alaska, Oregon and elsewhere around the North Pacific rim.

Kiliii Fish is a photographer with ancestry spanning from China to Siberia, who grew up in the United States. His work consists of still photography and cinematography for portraits and for the sports/adventure. He also works with non-profits on issues from indigenous rights to environmental justice.

Photo © Kiliii Fish-All Rights Reserved


Hong Kong Restaurant at Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands - Pahang.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

After walking around Tanah Rata - Cameron Highlands, we settled our dinner at this Hong Kong Restauarnt (N4.47053 E101.37751) along the main road of Tanah Rata. Our initial plan was having our dinner at Restaurant SKG (N4.47504 E101.37239) which is surrounded by a farm, unfortunately the restaurant had stop operation, closed.

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Hong Kong Restaurant at Tanah Rata

We were there quite early in that evening, and looks like the crowd just started...it has a simple setup for indoor and outdoor dining area.
The lady boss came to served us and recommended some signature dish for our dinner...(she was friendly).

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The environment of Hong Kong Restaurant

Our ordered :-
*  Fried rice
*  Hot plate pork with onions and mushrooms
*  'Mah-po' tao-fu (bean curd)
*  Marmite chicken

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Fried rice

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Hot plate bean curd with onions and mushrooms

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Mah-po tao-fu (bean curd)

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Marmite chicken - recommended by Angie (the lady boss)

The fried rice was above average, the tasty hot plate pork was tender, the bean curd had a special taste and we like it! The honeyed Marmite chicken was flavourful and succulent! It was moist enough and well marinated.

It was a delightful dinner for us in the cooling climate at Cameron Highlands. We had a chat with Ms Angie (lady boss) and realized that she was from Kuala Lumpur and started their restaurant business here since 40 years ago...she has many regular customers from everywhere in the world included Malaysia and Singapore. I think we will become her regular customer too! :)
Beside the restaurant business, they are also the Authorized Booking Agent for : Bungalow, Apartment, Chalet, Hotel and Cottage.

The Damage : RM50.00 included drinks for 2 adults and 1 child. It's reasonable for the delicious foods on the Highlands.

We'll be back again on our next trips to Cameron Highlands in the future! :)

Related post :-
*  My Cameron Highlands 3 days 2 nights trip on November 2012

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Hong Kong Restaurant
27, Main Road,
Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands,
Pahang.
Tel : +6016-5657333 (Ms Angie Ng)
Business hour : 11am-9pm
The restaurant is open 7 days a week during school holiday

Location map of Hong Kong Restaurant at Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands


Captain Tristram Speedy: Travel Photography At Bonhams



Why would I mention Bonhams, an auction house, on The Travel Photographer's blog?

Well, it's because Bonhams is holding an auction of a rare photographic album of 180 Ethiopian images by Julia Margaret Cameron, Felice Beato and others. These images include a number of self portraits of Captain Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy(1836-1910), a well-known English explorer and adventurer during the Victorian era, who was also known by his Amharic name 'Báshá Félíka'.

He was a fascinating character who was an Indiana Jones of his time, with a long association with India, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Born in Meerut (India), Captain Speedy was a red-haired bearded man 6'5" tall, who learned to speak Amharic, adopted Ethiopian native dress, and was photographed by Cameron in various guises such as a Bedouin chief, a Nubian chief, a Nubian warrior and much more. He was the inspiration for a number of popular books.

I am enormously interested in news like that because it merges history, Africa, Asia, adventurism, exploration and photography. Despite my abhorrence of colonialism, I consider men such as Richard Francis Burton and now, Tristram, as quintessential eccentric explorers, as orientalists and ethnologists, and as remarkable linguists with an extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures.

They just don't make men that way anymore.

For those who don't know Julia Margaret Cameron: she was a British photographer born in Calcutta, known for her portraits of celebrities of the time. Her photographic career was short, spanning eleven years of her life (1864–1875), and got her first camera when she was 48 as a gift from her daughter.

As for Felice Beato (1832-1909), he was an Italian–British photographer, and one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. His work provides images of such events as the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the Second Opium War.

POV: The Facebook © Kerfuffle

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

I'm not a lawyer, but in my previous career incarnation I had to peruse, study and negotiate many complex legal documents...so the recent kerfuffle with many photographers posting some legalese jargon on their Facebook pages prompted me to reread its Terms of Service.

But first, here's what the photographers in my network of friends posted on their walls. Simply stated, this means that everything on their pages is copyrighted and cannot be used by Facebook et al.
In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, writing - published and unpublished, personal/professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berne Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times! (Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws. By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook's direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute). Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates...
Well, while it may look impressive, it's utterly useless. 

First and foremost, creators always own their intellectual property and posting it on Facebook won't change that. What is at stake is that Facebook, according to its terms of service, is granted a license by users to use it and display it. If you use Facebook, that's what you agreed to upfront...but it doesn't mean your copyright is at risk.

Facebook is very specific about this:
You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition: For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
However, if posting some legal mishmash on your Facebook gives you comfort, go ahead cut and paste it.

Facebook users must realize there are no free lunches. The social network is a business and seeks to generate profits for its shareholders. People who are serious about privacy issues, their name and brand ought to be careful and choosy about what they post on Facebook, while others go further and use their walls on their own terms; only sharing information they want to share for good and valid reasons.



Second Visit to Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands - Pahang.

Monday, November 26, 2012

This was our second time stayed in the Rosa Passadena Hotel (N4.49167 E101.38799) on Cameron Highlands trip due to the friendly Manager - Mr Barathi. Thanks to him for helping us on the room booking.
The blog post of our last visit on year 2009.

We reached the hotel around 5pm on the first day, and the check in only took us 5 minutes! Impressed!

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Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

The hotel is located in the middle of the Brinchang town which is convenience for us to have some local shopping and foods around the area. Brinchang town is famous of Steamboat restaurant, and there are plenty of them for you to choose from...

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The Hotel lobby

The Lobby looked the same since our last visit on 2009, but the corridor and the rooms have upgraded to better and clean environment...

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The hotel corridor...

We had a 3 persons room, and it surprised us on all new furniture with the basic facilities...

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The 3 persons room in Rosa Passadena Hotel, Brinchang.

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The room had equipped with new LCD TV, safe and a mini fridge...with a new wardrobe too. The bathroom has a mini bathtub which I felt the shape was a bit weird while showering...but the wooden support of the basin was really rundown! Do you notice it?

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The bathroom of the room

The new building of the school behind the hotel had completed, it wasn't here on our last visit. You can view it from my last visit here.

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The school new block had completed, view from the hotel room...

Anyway, we were satisfied with the hotel for our 3 days 2 nights stayed. The hotel staffs were friendly as usual...and the room rate we paid was breakfast included (which was not bad) for 2 mornings.

The hotel is provide a reasonable price with the convenience to reach the nearby shop and restaurant, and there's a private vehicles parking for those visitor who drive. It's one of the nice hotel at Brinchang town, Cameron Highlands.

ROSA PASSADENA HOTEL
No.1 Bandar Baru Brinchang
P O Box 8
39100 Brinchang,Cameron Highlands
Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel: +605-4912288
Fax: +605-4912688
Reservation : resvnrosa@cameronpremierhotels.com.my

Related post :-
*  My Cameron Highlands 3 days 2 nights trip on November 2012
First visit to Rosa Passadena Hotel on 2009

Location map of Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands


Antonio Gibotta: Holi

Photo © Antonio Gibotta-All Rights Reserved

In contrast with the currently underway Pushkar fair whose authenticity is marred by its popularity amongst foreign tourists; a topic I posted about a few days ago, Holi festival is one event I encourage most photographers to attend despite the potential damage to one's cameras from the dyed water and powder that is thrown during it. It's one of the events still outstanding on my list of Indian religious festivals, and it's one I blogged about repeatedly.

Today I add another Holi photo gallery by Italian photographer Antonio Gibotta.

Like his father, Antonio became a photographer and specializes in human and social issues. His international photo galleries include work from India, China, and Africa. Browse through his website, and don't miss his lovely black & white work from Kashmir. He won a number of recognitions and awards from international publications and contests.

My Cameron Highlands Trip on November 2012

Sunday, November 25, 2012

We visited Cameron Highlands at Pahang again on the 2nd week of November 2012. This was our first time visit the highlands almost year end, just to feel the cold and relax...

I purposely drove through the Simpang Pulai Toll and via the wider road to CH that took additional 'One hour' journey compare with the Tapah road...total of 6 hours+ drive included rest time from Muar, Johor.

Our itinerary as below :-

Day 1
*  Check in to Rosa Passadena Hotel, Brinchang.
*  Free and easy at Tanah Rata.
*  Dinner at Hong Kong Restaurant, Tanah Rata.
Brinchang night market.
*  Rest...

Day 2
*  Simple breakfast at Hotel
Butterfly Farm, Brinchang.
Sungai Palas BOH Tea Centre.
*  Simple lunch at Uncle Chow Kopitiam, Tanah Rata
Big Red Strawberry Farm, Brinchang.
*  Dinner at Mountain House Charcoal Steamboat, Brinchang.
*  Rest...

Day 3
*  Visit Sam Poh Buddhist Temple, Brinchang.
*  Check out from Rosa Passadena Hotel, Brinchang.
*  Lunch at Water Cress Valley Restaurant
*  Bye-bye Cameron Highlands!
Stay tune on my following detail blog posts for the above...

We had a wonderful vacation on Cameron Highlands this time even the climate not as cold as expected. It was relax and easy holiday for us without heavy traffic congestion. Never forget we had the 'best' Teh Tarik (our preference) at Brinchang, love the different dining experience at Water Cress Valley Restaurant, also realized that not 'all' charcoal steamboats at Cameron Highlands are good...haha!

Too bad the Restaurant SKG had closed down...and we missed the chance to visit the Famous My Lord's Cafe...both located at Tanah Rata.

We just simply Love the cool air (even not as cold as those days...) and the climate on the Highlands. We will try our very best to visit the highlands every year. Do you? :)

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History of Cameron Highlands

"In 1885,William Cameron, a government Surveyor, discovered a plateau at an elevation of 4500 -5600 feet above sea level.He then brought this part of Pahang into History,thus naming it the Cameron Highlands. From 1896 - 1902, the narrow path to the Highlands was widened and improved.Meanwhile surveys were carried out to identify the actual plateau in this area. In 1925, Sir George Maxwell paid a visit and its was then decided that the Cameron Highlands,which is situated in the present Tanah Rata and Brinchang areas, be developed into a Hill Station. Between 1926 - 1931 this area was zoned into areas reserved for the Department of Agriculture,Township and Residential Sites, Aras of Services , National Park ,General Adminstration and Recreational areas. After the Japanese occupation interest to develop further was revived but progress until the 1960s was hindered due to Emergency.After the termination of the Emergency,the Hill Station was carefully developed into a popular resort which not only attracted local tourists but overseas tourists as well."
Source from Here.

New! Unique! The Sufi Saints Of Rajasthan & Kashmir

Friday, November 23, 2012


I earned the reputation of planning, organizing and leading unusual "off the beaten path" photographic experiences, so I am particularly pleased to announce my forthcoming The Sufi Saints of Rajasthan & Kashmir Photo Expedition-Workshop in early May 2013, which promises to be another unique photographic expedition, rivaling in intensity those that preceded it.

This is a unique photo expedition delving into the esoteric traditions of Sufism in Srinagar (Kashmir) as well as to attend the Urs Ajmer Sharif, an annual commemoration of Sufi saints in Ajmer (Rajasthan). It is the largest commemoration of Sufi saints in India, attended by many thousands of South Asian Muslims. The Ajmer event attracts the pious and the not-so-pious...the religious and the charlatans, the fakirs and the storytellers.

In common with my photo expeditions-workshops, the aim of this one is to assist participants produce multimedia bodies of work by merging their still photography and audio recordings to create compelling narratives.

For a taste of my work with Indian Sufism, interested readers can view The Possessed of Mira Datar, an article and photos that offer insight into sufism in the subcontinent, the multimedia photo essay on The Possessed of Hazrat Mira Datar, and a gallery of still photographs on In Search of the Sufis of Gujarat.

Details are on The Sufi Saints of Rajasthan & Kashmir Photo Expedition-Workshop website.


Piers Calvert: Amazonian Body Paint

Photo © Piers Calvert-All Rights Reserved

"To realise the project I travelled solo with 45 kilos of camera equipment. All photos are shot on location with natural light."


Piers Calvert visited a photo exhibition in Bogota, Colombia, where he saw a photo of girls from the Okaina tribe wearing body paint, taken by an explorer in 1908. The beauty of this art form inspired Piers,  and he found the Okaina had long stopped the practice, and that the tribe was nearly extinct.

Nevertheless, Piers set out to learn if body-painting still existed in Colombia at all, and if so, if he could document it. His research revealed that Colombia has over 100 different indigenous tribes, but not all of them practice (or practiced) body-painting.

Piers' message to the indigenous tribes he visited was that their culture was disappearing, and offering a chance to record some of it. Most communities weren’t interested, but some of them were and allowed him to record their practices.

Most of the body paint is made using "jagua". This is a tropical fruit whose juice is used for traditional body art. It's painted (or rather stained) on the skin making elaborate designs, and only lasts for a few weeks, similar to henna.

The Way We Are Now is the Piers Calvert photographs of these indigenous tribes.

The Frame's Pushkar Fair

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Photo © AP / Rajesh Kumar Singh-All Rights Reserved

The Sacramento Bee's photo blog The Frame is featuring some 27 images of the Pushkar Fair, which started Wednesday, November 21 2012.

According to The Times of India, it kicked off "amid colorful celebrations and enthusiastic participation of foreign tourists"  and its first day highlight was a soccer match between local and tourists. This annual five-day camel and livestock fair is supposedly one of the world's largest camel fairs and has become an important tourist attraction.

You can see where I'm going with this. The Pushkar Fair, once a visually compelling event for photographers, has become a tourist attraction with all the negatives that such a description entails.

I've written up a post about the demise of the fair from a photographer's perspective in February 2007 (almost 6 years ago) saying this:

"It's absolute nonsense for serious photographers to time their stay in the town of Pushkar at the peak of the fair because it'll be full of tourists, the real camel trading occurs almost a week before the fair's announced schedule, hotels are more expensive at the height of the fair, and so on. If the idea of photographing a solitary dopey camel trader left with his final unsold scrawny camel (not to mention the gaggle of tourist-photographers who invariably will intrude in your viewfinder) excites you, go right ahead."

It seems it's gotten even worse. I haven't researched if there are any serious photo tours to Pushkar this year, but I suspect if there are any, they are very few.

Carlos Duarte: Mali

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Photo © Carlos Duarte-All Rights Reserved
It's been a while I haven't featured photographic work of Mali, and Carlos Duarte's work is the perfect excuse to do so.

A self-professed newcomer to photography, and one who never owned a film camera, and jumping straight into digital photography, Carlos started his craft about 6 years ago and gravitated towards social photography, portraiture and landscapes. Starting in 2007, he traveled to India then to Scotland, followed by Mali, then Iceland, Ecuador. This variety of locations resulted in diverse galleries which can be seen on his website.

Carlos added a wonderful West African song to his gallery of Mali...so you'll be well accompanied when you peruse his photographs, mostly environmental portraiture.

Mali is, of course, another country in the throes of civil unrest following a military coup and a rebellion from the Tuareg, and Islamist radicals controlling its north.  

Sheila Rock: Sera, The Way Of The Tibetan Monk

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Photo © Sheila Rock-All Rights Reserved
The Sera monastery is near Mysore (India) and houses 5,000 Buddhist monks living in exile.  It's one of the best locations to witness the monk debates on the teachings of Buddha and the philosophy of Buddhism. It developed over the centuries as a famous place of scholarly learning, training hundreds of Buddhist scholars.

Sheila Rock is based in London, and her photographs were published in TIME, Elle, Glamour, Rolling Stone, Architectural Digest and the Sunday Times. Her photographs were shown in various exhibitions in New York City, London and Turin. Her portraits form part of the public collection at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The Way of The Tibetan Monks' gallery of duotone photographs depicts the way of life in this Buddhist community, and shows a fraction of the photographs published in the photographer's book of the same title.

Writing of monk debates reminded me that I photographed and audio recorded the lively monk debates in a monastery in Bhutan, titled Sangha Debates.

Incredible India (Director Cut)

Monday, November 19, 2012


I saw this a few days ago on Facebook. It's guaranteed to bring a smile to your faces, especially if you're an Indophile.

 It's a commercial for the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India's 'Incredible India 2013' campaign directed by Prakash Varma and produced by Nirvana Films.

Lots of humor, some tongue in cheek, incredible color (of course) and a very cute main character who tries the Indian head "wobble", but (in my opinion) fails.

The Travel Photographer's Sufi Saints Expedition-Workshop

Sunday, November 18, 2012


I know...the wait is excruciating...but it'll be worth it. It's only a matter of days and details will be announced to my newsletter subscribers and on this blog.

This, as with my previous photo expeditions-workshops, is photo-journalism and travel-documentary oriented, will largely focus on story-telling, and on how to produce audio slideshows rivaling in quality and content more elaborate multimedia productions.

In the meantime, click the image for a larger poster image. I think it's really cool.

PS. I just realized that the last 3 posts are titled 'The Travel Photographer's...'. Self-centered or building anticipation?

The Travel Photographer's Blog Gets A Facelift

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Yes, The Travel Photographer's Blog does seem different today.

Following a coding issue that prevented some external links in some of my posts from opening, I amended its original template to what you see here.

I hope the new font provides better legibility, and that the color combination of red, white and grey along with wider margins makes for an improved layout aesthetic. I've tested it in various browsers; Opera, Firefox, Safari and Chrome...and they all behaved well. It works particularly well on large displays, but perhaps looks a bit cramped on smaller laptop screens. It works well on the iPad and with iOS6.

Well, maybe facelift is a bit much to describe what I've done...the British have a better expression for it. Let's just say I've just tarted up the blog a bit.

I hope you like it.

The Travel Photographer's Hanoi iPhoneography

Friday, November 16, 2012



Stephen Mayes, a director at the VII photo agency, recently made a splash in the blogosphere with an interesting interview featured on WIRED's Raw File blog, in which he expressed his view that mobile phone photography is a "pure implementation of the digital phenomenon", and that images made with these devices were not documents as such but rather a stream, or waves of visuals.

He also raised the point that the popularity of these images and the apps that make them are about a nostalgia for the past.

Although I am on Instagram, and use it and other apps quite frequently with my iPhone, I have yet to join the streaming aspect of it, preferring to take my time in sharing the images when I choose to, rather than joining the torrent. This will probably change once I figure out how to have two accounts on Instagram; one for my personal stuff and the other for my travel documentary photography.

That said, one needs to be careful with wily-nilly streaming, because the quality (or lack thereof) of the mobile images affects one's branding and reputation.

Whilst I grapple with this thought, you may want to sit back and get a feel of Hanoi's street life via my iPhone photography. 

American Tintype

Thursday, November 15, 2012


American Tintype from Matt Morris Films on Vimeo.

Checking in my Vimeo channel, I noticed this wonderful short documentary picked by its staff about Harry Taylor who discovered a passion for the 150-year-old craft of tintype photography.

There are also remarkable samples of his craft on his tintype gallery, which I urge you to visit.

The ICP website describes tintype as: "One of the most intriguing and little studied forms of nineteenth-century photography. Introduced in 1856 as a low-cost alternative to the daguerreotype and the albumen print, the tintype was widely marketed from the 1860s through the first decades of the twentieth century as the cheapest and most popular photographic medium."

And Wikipedia defines it as a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a sheet of iron metal that is blackened by painting, lacquering or enamelling and is used as a support for a collodion photographic emulsion.

For those of you who don't have that deep passion and investment, you may want to make faux tintypes as described on Instagram's blog.

Yes, digital tintypes on your mobile devices! Enough to drive the purists bonkers.


Chiaroscuro: The Power Of Light-Dark

Wednesday, November 14, 2012


On my Facebook page, I have already posted a few examples of chiaroscuro photographs that I made some time ago in Siem Reap and thought I'd write a post about them. Chiaroscuro photographs are a natural for the temples of Angkor Wat; an ideal place to apply this technique with its dark-light ambiance.

Chiaroscuro is an Italian coinage word which literally means 'light-dark', and is a way to enhance a scene by placing light and darkness next to each other. I don't want to be wordy, but penumbra can also be present in chiaroscuro scenes, as in the lower folds of the monk's robes in the top photograph.


Provided the right lighting situation presents itself, or is set up (as most of these accompanying photographs are) with one source of light , one can achieve the effect by exposing for the absolute highest tones in the image. I generally do it by using spot metering and opting for manual exposure.


I was also interested to know that there is a technique called tenebrism, (also from the Italian tenebroso or dark/unclear, which is a style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro. Meedo Taha, a photographer, film maker and architect (and a Facebook friend) reminded me of Caravaggio, who is credited with the invention of the style.

Another visit to MaMa Nyonya Restaurant at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

We had been visited the MaMa Nyonya Restaurant (N1.52412 E103.78532) at Taman Molek for few times in the past, and I would like to share some Nyonya dishes served by the restaurant with you.

Beside that I mentioned on previous post, these are some of the Nyonya Delicacies that you will not going to miss it...

Ayam Keluak (Authentic Nyonya dish)

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Ayam Keluak from MaMa Nyonya Restaurant

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The Authentic Buah Keluak from Indonesia

If you like know more about 'Buah Keluak', please click here : Peranakan Cuisine.

The preparation of the dish above took much more longer compare with other dishes...estimately one day. Some peoples might not easy to adapt the taste of the Buah Keluak, we normally mixed it with the rice and we like it very much! The curry chicken was tender and tasteful.

Garlic Ginger Fish

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Garlic Ginger Fish from MaMa Nyonya Restaurant

The fish was fresh and the taste goes well with the dried garlic.

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Ayam (chicken) rendang from MaMa Nyonya Restaurant

I believe most of us will think, this Ayam Rendang is commonly available anywhere around Malaysia. But the taste was different from the normal stall I visited, it had a thick rendang and nice frangrance taste. One of the Nice Rendang Chicken I ever taste before..

Sambal Petai Sotong (squid)

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Sambal Petai Sotong from MaMa Nyonya Restaurant

If you follow my blog post, you'll notice that we like this dish very much! As long as the dish available in the restaurant, we'll ouder. It taste like others, but the sambal was different and Good!

Bean Sprout with salted fish

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Bean Sprout with salted fish

This was average but the satled fish was nice!

Nyonya Spicy Steamed Fish

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Nyonya Spicy Steamed Fish

Normal steamed fish mixed with Nyonya Homemade Chili paste. This was my first time tasting the Nyonya dish! The homemade chili paste and the steamed fish really enhanced this Nyonya Delicacy very well! Hardly describe by words, you have to taste it yourself for the Delicious steamed fish!

We had a delightful dinner every time we visited the restaurant, we listed as one of our Favorite Restaurant within the Taman Molek area.

Related posts :-
* MaMa Nyonya Restaurant (Home cook) at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru.
* Nyonya Popiah at MaMa Nyonya Restaurant, Taman Molek - Johor Bahru.

MaMa Nyonya Restaurant
8, Jalan Molek 1/28,
Taman Molek, Johor Bahru
Tel : +6016-7167190 (Grace Lim)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MaMa-Nyonya-FOOD/110292562374357

Location map of MaMa Nyonya Restaurant at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru.


Muhammad Fadli: The Wa People

Photo © Muhammad Fadli-All Rights Reserved

I stumbled on the website of Muhammad Fadli, an Indonesian travel and documentary photographer, whose various galleries include photographs made in Taiwan, China, India, Singapore, and his native country.

I favored his work from Wengding, a Wa minority village in Yunnan which he titled Wa Frontier. Wengding is about 20 miles from Cangyuan county seat. The village is made up of 98 families who've kept primitive Wa residential architectures and ethnic culture. It has been the best-conserved primitive ethnic community and the must-see tourist site in Lincang Municipality.

You'll see images of buffalo skulls in the gallery, and that's because the Was used human skulls in their religious rituals, which included sacrifice to the God of Rice. These have been replaced by buffalo heads which are a symbol of wealth.

As for the woman with blackened teeth in the above photograph; blackened teeth is relatively common amongst ethnic minorities and tribes in Vietnam, China, Laos and Cambodia. Most of us have noticed that some Asian women cover their mouths when talking or laughing. This is a remnant of a superstition that exposing teeth is uncivilized savagery, and that's the reason behind blackened teeth. In Vietnam for example, the original rationale for blackening of teeth at puberty was the assurance that one would not be mistaken for an evil spirit!

Kuba Kaminski: The Whisperers

Monday, November 12, 2012

Photo © Kuba Kaminski-All Rights Reserved
In remote northeastern Poland there lives a group of elderly Orthodox devotees who are said to possess special powers. They are called “Whisperers.”

The work of Kuba Kaminski was recently featured in LENS, the photo blog of The New York Times, and it got my attention, not only because of its subject matter, but also because of the back stories that are told by Mr Kaminski about this photo essay.

"The Whisperers" are people in northeastern Poland who believe they have the power to heal diseases and physical pain, and that they are able to throw bad spells and exorcise possessed people from evil. It seems that they, mostly elderly women, treat their 'patients' by whispering special prayers.

I initially shrugged off this as being a way to con people out of their money, but it appears that the "whisperers" take no money for their services. After all, I've come across shamans in Bhutan, balians on Bali, the Zar women in Egypt, and the charlatans in the Sufi shrines of South Asia....but reading the text on the LENS blog, and Mr Kaminsky introduction of his web site makes me wonder.

Do read the article on the LENS blog with the back stories recounted by the photographer, and of his initial incredulity.

As he's quoted in the article...“It’s this type of situation when if you believe in something, maybe it’s true or maybe it’s the power of suggestion. Maybe it’s real spirits, and you don’t know that, and you cannot know that because, how can you?”

Kuba Kaminski was born in Poland, and hold a degree in photography from Lodz Film School. He worked as a photographer for the "Zycie" daily and a staff photographer for "Rzeczpospolita" daily newspaper till 2012. He's currently part of reportage. by Getty Images Emerging Talent.

POV: Is It Time For The Mamiya 645 (Again?)

Saturday, November 10, 2012


I've been thinking about my Mamiya 645 film camera and its 80mm f2.8 Sekkor for some time. It's been stored in my closet for some 20 years...virtually untouched. I had bought it at the start of my photography hobby (which it was then), and used it to learn the craft, thinking that I would continue using it...but with the technological advances in the SLRs and later on, the DSLRs...it was forgotten and sat forlornly in the closet ever since.

I believe cameras are tools; nothing more and nothing less. And I just couldn't think of a specific use for this tool. Although some photographers use it very successfully while traveling, travel photography generally doesn't lend itself to medium format cameras, whether digital or film. They're bulky, heavy and impractical in non-studio settings (or so I think).

However, the quality of its images is superlative.

It needs a bit of a professional cleaning, but before I do that, I'll try it out for a while on local mini personal projects. So I looked around and found that B&H stocks Kodak Tri-X 120 and other brands, and The Darkroom, an outfit in California processes film, and can also digitally scan the film on a CD.

We'll see if this impulse survives the coming few weeks, especially as I've embarked on a minimalistic panoply of tools, or is it just a flash in the pan.

The 8th Angkor Photo Festival

Friday, November 9, 2012



This wonderful Angkor Photo Festival will be held from December 1– 8, 2012 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I know from first hand experience that it's a festival that's well worth participating in, and attending because of the quality of the photography exhibited during its evenings and galleries. The quality of the curating, and the gracious hospitality of Francoise Callier and Jean-Yves Navel is instrumental in making a success of the event, along with the assistance of Camille Plante and Jessica Lim.

Since its inception in 2005, more than 180 young photographers from all over Asia have been selected to participate in the annual free Angkor Photo Workshops. Conducted by renowned international photographers who volunteer their time, the Angkor Photo Workshops provide participants with firsthand training, invaluable exposure and a chance to perfect their art.

I was privileged to attend the Angkor Photo Festival in November 2011 and one of my photo essays The Possessed of Mira Datar was featured at the festival. 

This is a phenomenal opportunity for all photographers, emerging and established. If you haven't submitted your work, go and attend it. You'll never regret it.

POV: Chutzpah or Clueless?

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Photo © Tewfic el-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

"Hi Tewfic,  As a photojournalist who specializes in the distinct cultures of Asia, Latin America and Africa, and someone who has led photography expeditions in the past, I am curious if a new photography tour from XXXXXXXXXXX is something you would share with your blog readers.

This is the first paragraph of an email I received a few days ago. The rest of the email is essentially describing the photography tour led by a "renowned" travel photographer.

Now this wouldn't be worth a post on this blog, as I get similar solicitations every now and then. However, this solicitation comes from a firm that describes itself as specializing in public relations representing some of the world’s best resorts, destinations and brands. More importantly, the photography tour it refers to is offered by one of the top adventure travel companies in the United States.  

Let me rewrite this: one of the top US based adventure travel companies is asking me to publicize one of its photography tours on this blog...knowing full well that I offer such photography tours and workshops myself. Flattering perhaps, but why would I publicize and endorse a competitor...and one that I know nothing about?

So it's either chutzpah, or the sender of the email is clueless. It also means that The Travel Photographer blog is considered as a must-go-to blog for travel photography and photojournalism professionals, enthusiasts and anyone in between...and its readership is valuable to tap into.

So here's what I'll do;

1. I will reply to the email offering to write a post with all the details of the company's tour against payment of $1500. Since the land cost for the trip is over $10,000, it can surely afford to pay for sharing its details on this blog.

2. The alternative would be for this adventure travel company to advertise my photo expeditions-workshops. I have one planned for the first half of 2013 and have the details ready.

If I get a reply, I'll share it with you.

And what does an Instagram photo of Jimi have to do with this post? Nothing.

The Travel Photographer's Hà Nội Streets (X Pro-1)

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
If there’s anywhere that lives life on the street, it’s Hanoi. 

So here is a gallery of 12 monochrome photographs made in its streets. For these I used my Fuji X Pro-1 and the Fujinon 18mm f2.0 lens and most were shot from the hip.

I didn't know this while on my last month's photo expedition-workshop, but it's said that Hanoi's Old Quarter consists of 36 streets (in reality, there's almost twice that number), each originally named for a traditional trade, and those eventually forming guilds. For instanceHàng Muối (salt) Street was where the salt traders converged to sell their ware. Not surprising, since Hanoi's Old Quarter has a history that spans 2,000 years. 


This has now changed to a great extent, with some exceptions such as Hang Bac street (which I walked up and down many times) and that was and still is where goldsmiths and silversmiths plied their craft/trade. Most street names in the Old Quarter start with the word Hàng. Hàng means merchandise or shop.

In Vietnamese, the formal term for street is đường phố; the latter word not be confused with its delicious signature soup, but which is a staple of its streets. 


Election Day

Tuesday, November 6, 2012


































"Vote For Obama" chalk graffiti on a sidewalk in SoHo.  

HAN (韩) Korea BBQ Restaurant at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru.

Monday, November 5, 2012

HAN Korea BBQ Restaurant (韩) (N1.53038 E103.79330) is located along Jalan Molek 2/2 of Taman Molek, Johor Bahru, which is just next to Standard Chartered Bank Taman Molek Branch. We had a bad experienced with the other outlet at Jalan Molek 1/28 (behind OCBC Bank Taman Molek) which was smoky and stuffy on our visit months ago, so we decided to give a try in this outlet on one of the evening...

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HAN Korea BBQ Restaurant, Taman Molek

Heard from friends that this outlet was took over from another restaurant not too long ago, and the design also different from the traditional Korea restaurant...no tatami.

It was quiet and not many customers on that evening, therefore it was nice and cooling...for me, the environment is better and spacious than the other outlet which I mentioned above...

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The interior design of HAN Korea BBQ Restaurant

As usual, we ordered the one of the set in the menu for 2-3 person, the set include marinated Pork (五花肉), chicken, beef and a choice of soy bean or kimchi soup. We took the kimchi soup...

There were 15 different types of refillable side dishes (banchan) as appetizers served on table before the main dishes serve where you experience in all Korean restaurant...

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side dishes served by the restaurant

The friendly waiter preparing the BBQ at the next table while we enjoyed the side dishes...

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Every table has the flexible vaccum to avoid smoky condition, common in all Korean restaurant. The waiter patiently barbeque the meats till perfection...under the smokeless environment. Great!

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The raw beef...

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The BBQ pork in process...

About less than 5 minutes, the BBQ pork served...

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Korean BBQ pork with onion...

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Follow by the BBQ beef...

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BBQ Beef...

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While we enjoyed the pork and beef, he (waiter) continue preparing the chicken immeditely...

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BBQ chicken in process...

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BBQ chicken with mushroom...

After all done, the Kimchi soup presented on our table...served with a steam egg...

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Korean Kimchi soup...

The pork, chicken and beef were tasteful! All were well marinated and tender! The chewy moment of the pork was unforgotten.
There were vermicellis, korean rice cakes and others in the Kimchi soup, and it was slightly 'special' compare with others, not very sour...we like the soup very much! I don't really like too sour and spicy Kimchi soup, that it kill the original taste of it (personal preference).
The texture of the steam eggs was nice, just melted in our mouth...
Delicious!

The Damage : RM118.00 for 2 adults and 1 kid included a jug of Korean tea.
The quantity of the foods enough to serve at least 3 adults, so we were overloaded again! We will be back and of course with more friends...:)

韩 HAN Korea BBQ Restaurant
84, Jalan Molek 2/2,
Taman Molek, 81100 Johor Bahru.
Tel : +607-3539002

Location map of HAN Korea BBQ Restaurant at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru.