reframing the world one picture at a time
A little while ago, I was on a company trip to Melaka/ Malacca – happened to attend Friday prayers at one of the more pleasant mosques I’ve been to, on the outskirts of the historical city of Melaka/ Malacca. The open, airy architecture made the most of its location by the sea, oriented well to allow cool breezes to flow through and keeping the internal temperature pleasant. I got some images before and after the main prayer session.
Series shot with a Sony NEX-5 and 18-55 kit lens.
There’s a magical whimsy about hot air ballooning. It’s always appealed to me because of the silence, grace and intimate connection with your environment that you can’t get from other forms of flying; unfortunately there’s also the issue of complete lack of control over navigation, and the fact that your sole protection from the elements is a wicker basket, and the only thing keeping you from crashing is a thin bag full of gas. But still, I do enjoy watching them fly and very occasionally going up in one myself. MT
Images from a variety of events.
Fire. Nikon D700, Zeiss ZF.2 2/28 Distagon
Unhappy at being left behind. Leica M8, 35/2 ASPH
Rising. Leica M8, 35/2 ASPH
Watching the show. Nikon D700, 24/1.4
Evening glow. Nikon D3100, 85/1.4 G
High priest saluting the power of fire. Nikon D700, 24/1.4
Although not technically aerial shots, the 421-m tall platform (plus hill) afforded by Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL tower) is a great place to get some interesting images of the city downtown at dawn or dusk – though it usually rains in the evening, so morning is a better bet. MT
Series shot with a Nikon D700 and 28-300VR.
One of my other passions is to have a good cigar now and again. Although I mostly prefer Cubans, there are also some very good things coming out of the Dominican Republic such as the Fuente Opus X and Padron brands. Needless to say, a camera usually accompanies me to these outings; partially because it’s attached to me like an extra limb, and partially because I write the occasional review and video for My Cigar Blog. MT
This series shot with a whole load of different equipment.
Mt. Yotei overlooks the Niseko area in Hokkaido, northern Japan, and is itself a popular skiing destination. In many ways, it’s the archetypical ‘perfect’ mountain, being symmetrically conical – much like the iconic Mt. Fuji. It also happens to provide a perfect backdrop to a golf course. Shot during the summer off season, when everything is green and not covered in snow. MT
Series shot with the Nikon D700, Zeiss 2/28, 2/35 and 2/100 lenses.
It’s everywhere, even in town!
Here they build the super-tugs that maneuver and tend to offshore oil drilling rigs and production platforms. Series shot at the Jaya Shipyards in Singapore with the Panasonic TZ3 and Ricoh GR-Digital I. MT
This car is a bit of a legend – the weapon that Ford used to beat Ferrari at their own game at Le Mans in the late 60s and early 70s. I was lucky to find an original, still-raced example locally, and even luckier to get the chance to photograph it. MT
Series shot with the Fuji Finepix X100.
Every special race car comes with a cute grid girl in a short skirt.
Nagarkot is a popular tourist destination at the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal; you aren’t really there, but you do get a spectacular view of the mountains if the weather cooperates – it did to some extent on the one day and one night we were there. Kathmandu is situated in a valley that tends to trap smog, pollution and every other kind of nasty; less than two hours outside (probably more like half an hour if the roads were maintained properly) and you’re breathing clear mountain air. Feeling ambitious, we undertook a 9km round trip hike; we underestimated the heat and altitude, and landed up flagging somewhat on the way back down – it might have had something to do with the rather disappointing view from the ‘lookout tower’ that was both not that much of a tower, and extremely difficult to climb because the ladder inexplicably started six feet off the ground. MT
Series shot with a Nikon D700, AFS 24/1.4 G and AFS 85/1.4 G lenses.
Everest by aeroplane
Incredible night view; not really visible to the naked eye, but that’s why we have cameras with 30s exposures and f1.4 lenses.
Before sunrise. What appears to be a cloud bank turns out to be a solid unbroken mountain range.
Breaking dawn
Watching the view
Commando training – center left.
…as you’ve probably never seen it before. This is why a watch like this is magical; it’s very, very difficult to capture in photographs because of the technical challenges. But, it’s a good example of what happens when you get really serious about watch photography – and put all of the previous three articles into practice. MT
Series shot with a Nikon D700 and 60/2.8 G. Nothing less than 2:1 magnification here – no cropping, either!
The contents of the museum aren’t particularly interesting, but the building itself is quite the architectural curiosity. I particularly like the oculus at the top that admits both light and rain; the latter which happens frequently in a tropical country, leading to some interesting effects in the pool below. I can’t say the building’s design was that clever, though; useable space seems pretty low. The entrance feels very much modeled on the Louvre pyramid. MT
Series shot with a Nikon D3100 and AFS 24/1.4 G.
Behind the scenes videos
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