Leo Laksi’s Bangkok And Back

Travel to Hong Island by long tail boat

Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Hong Island (or Ko Hong) for a bit of light kayaking, snorkeling and heavy duty fun.  We had signed on with Sea Kayak Krabi for their package that included three islands, a great lunch, and a circumnavigation of Hong Island.  All in all it was a lot of fun.  The kayaking did not require any technical skill and was void of any strenous paddling.  It was a pleasurable trip that I would recommend to anyone, including families with children.

Although the trip took place on a holiday, the island was visited by only 30 people while we were there.  Given the size of the beach, you had all the privacy one could desire.  And of course as you can see from the photos, the tropical waters were crystal clear.

Photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8mm zoom lens.

Ranger station

Long tail boats

Beautiful beach

Kayaking through the slot

More boats

With Fullerton Hotel in background.

If you’ve followed my blog, you know that I love walking the bridges along the Singapore River.  From the Esplanade to Clarke Quay and beyond, I find myself walking this route every time I visit Singapore.   I’m not a fan of making this jaunt during the day.  But at night, well, that’s different. Most of the bridges are lit by auxiliary lights that vary in color.  Between these lights and the reflection of city lights on the water, an ordinary river by day becomes a magical stream at night.

The subject of this posting, the Cavanagh Bridge, a pedestrian suspension span crossing near the magnificent Fullerton Hotel, was built in the 19th Century and is a tribute to the Scottish company that designed and built it.  The setting is spectacular, being accented by the tall modern skyscrapers in the background.

Photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Bathed in blue.

Narrow perspective.

And now in red.

Red and narrow.

Along the river.

Young and old

Hong Kong is one of the most vibrant places in Asia for street fashions.  While not exactly cutting edge like Tokyo, it has a certain look all its own.  It’s the combination of elegance and street sense that make it a standout city.  These photographs were taken over a span of four days last month in a couple of the more street fashion conscious areas in Hong Kong, Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mongkok and Causeway Bay.

Photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 lens.

Waiting for a sms

Another girl, another phone

Shopper walking to MTR

Walking away

Two right, one left

Spotted from across the street.

Last month I posted photos of this same series. Well I happened to have more as you can see.  It was quite a treat to see this shoot unfolding before my eyes.

Photos taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 lens.

Another bus

Profile

Looking down

Look at the camera

Sometimes when you are out looking for something to shoot, one can overlook detail.  One of the exercises I learned early on is to look for and shoot detail.  Not the kind of the detail that requires a macro lens, but the kind of detail that can train your eye to look for a successful photo in a partial image of an object or person.  Perhaps go out on a photowalk with just an emphasis on hands as I’ve done in this series of photos.  Of course, it doesn’t have to be hands, almost anything will do.   How about car wheels?  Or tires.  Or windows.  Again you’re shooting for detail so partial images of objects are ok.

I’m not guaranteeing success with every shot but I do guarantee that you will develop an eye for detail that will make your photos stand out.

Photos taken with Nikon D700 and Nikkor DC 135mm f/2 lens.

All laid out

Lined up and ready to go

As I posted a few days ago, I spent a long weekend in Hua Hin,Thailand, a laidback beach resort about three hours south by car from Bangkok.  Although Hua Hin’s development is dizzying in the last five years, it still retains a small town charm.  While there, I happened upon a sailing event that involved several classes of sailboats, from large craft to the small dinghies you see in these photos.

These boats were sailed single-handed by 11 year olds and one had to be impressed with the capabilities of these children with these very tiny craft on open seas.

Photos captured with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Reflection of a few dinghies

Eleven dinghies

See-saw

Getting ready

Hobie Cats going out to race in Hua Hin

I didn’t go to Hua Hin to shoot a sailboat regatta.  In fact I had never shot or even thought to shoot sailboats.    But once I got to the beach and noticed that preparations were being made to launch a number of sailboats, I just had to give it a try.  I only had my Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens which doesn’t give me much range when trying to capture the race itself.  Nor did I have a boat to get me closer to the action.  All I had was my two feet on the beach and in the water.  I knew I had to fill the frame to make it more interesting.

The photos turned out very colorful, what with the color of the sails on many of the boats.  To make things just a little different I decided to to go retro and convert to black and white.  All photos are uncropped and with minimal post-processing (beyond conversion to b&w).

Photos were taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.  All images are uncropped.

Same as above in black and white

Two boats launching

Two boats launching

Ready to go

Ready to go

Push

Push

Woman in kimono

The Temple Street Night Market near Jordan  is one of the busiest and the most interesting locales in Hong Kong.  The variety of goods, from clothing to home furnishings to various trinkets is enough to keep the visitor coming back for more.  To me, it’s a great venue for photographs.  Whether its street photos or still lifes, one finds a variety that would satisfy most photographers.

All photos shot with a Nikon D700 and 85mm f/1.4 lens.

Purveyor of shoes

What to buy?

The glow of the light

Bamboo steamers

Chinese brushes with bokeh

Chinese Pear

Last week I devoted my attention to the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4.  This week I am renewing my relationship with the superb ultrawide Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens.  In addition to the stereotypical landscapes that people think about when using an ultrawide angle, I like this lens for closeups.  Not macro type closeup but wide angle closeups.  And I like a bit of bokeh.  These photos were taken at a distance of around 4 to 8 inches (10 – 20 cm).

This lens is extrasharp and at higher f/stops can be amazingly sharp edge to edge.  I like to use this lens at f/2.8 for the sharp center and the smooth bokeh.

Green mango

Deep-fried crab

Stewed fish

Stewed crabs

Grilled fish

Kobe graffiti corner

Several weeks ago I picked up the highly acclaimed Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom lens.  On a full frame camera like the Nikon D700, the wide angle junkie can attain Nirvana for its field of view (fov) in a non-fisheye lens.  Now sometimes, amateur photographers think of ultra wide angles (UWA) and landscapes in the same breath.  However, UWAs are very useful in shooting photographs where the subject is closer, such as in this series of photographs recently shot in Kobe, Japan.

This lens is considered the reference standard for wide angle zooms.  And for good reason.  The resolution is phenomenal with a sharpness in image that almost unmatched.  Edge to edge image quality at a f-stop of 11 is quite sharp.  However, at wide open or near wide open, the lens yields bokeh that is pleasing.  These photos were shot at focal lengths from 14 to 24mm.

Downside?  The lens is huge, with a bulbous front element, for which there is no filter.

Photos shown are uncropped and  taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Closer can be interesting

What to eat

Looking from the outside

Flowers with bokeh