Only the clouds are truly free, II
During the last ten years, it’s quite possible that I’ve photographed in just about every accessible (and some inaccessible) location in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Many times, I’ve revisited the same location multiple times at different times of day and in different weather conditions to try and get something unusual; the more often you go, the more likely it is to be a bust – that’s just the law of probabilities at work. One location I don’t go to very often – mainly because of weather and its one-trick-pony nature – is the KL Tower; 421m to the top of the spire, about 335m to the outdoor observation deck, and a little bit more altitude (50m? 70m?) by virtue of being on top of another hill in roughly the highest part of the city. There are two challenges: one, good weather at the times of day when the sun is still casting interesting shadows; two, there’s always some degree of atmospheric haze or pollution, visible especially with distant subjects even if you’re on the roof deck with no glass in the way. My challenge for this visit – on the spur of the moment to make the most of a break in the schedule and a clear morning – was to try and make something different… MT
This set was shot with a Nikon D810, AFS 80-400/4.5-5.6 VR G and PCE 45/2.8 and processed with PS Workflow II.
Superstructure in pink
Trio
Obvious by camouflage
The wedge
In the remote kingdom surrounded by clouds
The flood
Fifty years before
Fifty years after
Overlooking
Obligatory KLCC image
Just another day at the office
A subtle sort of dominance
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Images and content copyright Ming Thein | mingthein.com 2012 onwards. All rights reserved
Ming Thein | Photographer 
Thanks for sharing!
Love the remote kingdom…
It’s not as romantic close up 😛
Ming,
You wrote “….two, there’s always some degree of atmospheric haze or pollution…” regarding challenges. You turned the haze challenge to great advantage with #3 (no caption), ‘Fifty years after’ and ‘Obligatory KLCC image’. You couldn’t resist the clouds either with ‘In the remote kingdom surrounded by clouds’ . Very Ming; very nice. Many thanks for sharing as always.
R/Carlos
Thanks Carlos – haze can help with background separation (by reducing contrast) or suggesting distance…
I like this response. This one gets tucked into the bin of usefulness for future application.
R/Carlos
Think misty morning landscape.
I’m not big into cityscapes or architecture, but when you do it I find it really captivating. (That’s a compliment BTW in case it’s not clear!)
I often challenge myself to go back (& back & back) to the same place, but to go to something as confined as an observation deck on a tall building and find so many varied shots is really something Ming.
Seeing your output… hard for my limited vocab… Ok analogy it is then…
It’s like following a faster driver around a race track, you can almost understand what they’re doing in the turns, but you have no ability to keep up!
Hah – thanks Adam, the faster driver spends more time practicing 🙂
Beautiful shots. Never thought cities could be seen from such perspectives. These could easily compete with quite a few natural landscape shots in terms of breathtaking-ness.
Thanks – cities really are landscapes, but manmade. We can use the same compositional approach for both…
Good article!
Great compositions and your processing really shows the “transparency” you are always talking about. I have the workflow video but haven’t realy been able to put it in practice.
I’ve done this “trying to find different compositions from a high place” here in Rio on the Christ the Redeemer statue (typical tourist attraction) and it’s really fun.
https://flic.kr/p/xf63z7
https://flic.kr/p/xf63rj
https://flic.kr/p/wzFHC7
Sorry! Didn’t know the flickr links would embeed the actual images in the comment, though it would only be the hyperlink
You may want to pull back very slightly on the contrast, especially further away (try a gradient to reduce contrast from the top) – this helps to reinforce the impression of distance since we are used to a bit of atmospheric haze…
Love the long landscapes, they are a personal favorite of mine.
Thanks Kenny – I personally find longer lenses work better for landscape because of the layering, but that’s a personal preference…
Never seen Genting so clearly from the Tower before. You must have had a good day!
It’s rarely clear enough to have that kind of view at distance; I lucked out.
I think the idea of challenging yourself to revisit the familiar with fresh eyes is an example of another important way of seeing. Thank you for the great images – I love Superstructure in Pink – and for an interesting assignment!
Thanks Kath – it can also be extremely frustrating, though. Especially if the muse doesn’t strike or the light is bad…
I particularly like the pink superstructure and trio: they have an immensely satisfying abstract quality about them. I could see a similarly abstract motif in a more tightly cropped excerpt of the Flood, but I wouldn’t dream of telling you what you should do! And it’s super as it is. It’s just that there is almost always more than one image in a picture.
Thanks – curious to hear your crop suggestion actually…I was composing at the limits of 400mm, and did want a bit more.
Great shots Ming! I’ve been to KL a couple of times but never really had much luck with the conditions – I guess I’ll have to try again some time in the future 🙂
Thanks – weather tends to be extremely fickle here, and your clear sky windows don’t always coincide with the right light…