Laos: A travel back in time

Laos is a country as yet untouched by the modern demands.

Its beauty lies in the Lao people, history, culture, nature and the simplicity of a laid back lifestyle.

Arc de Triomphe - Vientiane, Laos. Grand Legacy of Former French Colonization.

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate to have the chance to visit Laos for a few days. Although I was travelling with colleagues and couldn't take as many photos as I would have liked, it was an all-expense-paid trip, so I'm not complaining! Despite the limited opportunities to shoot, I was still able to capture some of the beauty of Laos on the go. Here are a few of the photos I managed to snap during the trip.



Note:I only brought one camera with me during this trip, the Fuji X100. 

Freshly cooked fish from the Mekong River

A good spot beside the Mekong river to enjoy some sumptuous dinner.

Ho Phra Keo

Laos is mostly a Buddhist country.

Pha Tat Luang. A temple at the heart of Vientiane. 

Hanging out beside the great Mekong river.

The capital city of Laos, Vientiane, presents a unique glimpse of an emerging city at its early stage of development. The city's architecture and infrastructure remind me of what my home country looked like 15 to 20 years ago. Vientiane is located at the side of the Mekong River, which also serves as the border with Thailand.

During my trip, I had the opportunity to visit Nam Ngum Lake, which is approximately 90 kilometers from Vientiane. This scenic and vast artificial lake was created when the Ngum River was dammed for hydroelectricity. The lake boasts many small islands, making it an excellent spot for recreational activities like boating and fishing. Below are some photos I took during my visit to Nam Ngum Lake.

Nam Ngum Lake

Nam Ngum Lake

Our lunch was served on a lake cruise. Cool isn't it?

Our next stop was at the town of Vang Vieng, located about four hour bus ride from the capital. 

The town lies at the bank of the Nam Song river, a scenic scene surrounded with Karst hills.

This scene made me feel nostalgic.

Hanging bridge leading to the hills.

Nam Song river                                                                                                                                                              

Beautiful hills at the background

View at the top of a small hill.

Nam Song river

Nam song river

I was absolutely captivated by the natural beauty of Vang Vieng during my recent trip to Laos. I only had a limited amount of time to explore, but I was struck by the stunning scenery and felt a deep connection to the simple, laid-back lifestyle of the locals.

Although I couldn't stay as long as I would have liked, I'm already dreaming of returning to Vang Vieng and experiencing even more of its charm. This trip was just a glimpse of a beautiful country that seems to be frozen in time, a refreshing change from the hectic, stressful pace of city life.

Overall, my trip to Laos was a much-needed break and a reminder to slow down and appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds us. Cheers to more adventures like this one!

Alex

Portrait #9

Pattaya is a city in Thailand, a beach resort popular with tourists and expatriates.

It is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) southeast of Bangkok.

Hangin on the shore of Pattaya, one can see a lot of tourist and water sport enthusiast. It is indeed a busy tourist attraction. 

After the trip to Koh Larn, we had a short opportunity to relax and take some photos at the shore of Pattaya.

Still armed with a single speedlight and my x100, I wanted to create a different mood for my next portrait.

Aunt Janet made a quick pose for us.

With this I can conclude that I will be alright travelling with a light kit, my X100 and a single speedlight. 

Not enough for a pro work, but good enough for travelling light do that one can enjoy the trips more.

Cheers.

Alex

Portrait #8

Last December, we had the chance to visit Koh Larn island, Thailand.

It is a beautiful island 30 minutes off the coast of Pattaya. Read more about the island here.

I was able to made a quick portrait of our friend Glace using my X100 and a single speedlight.

Situations like this calls for a quick and simple set up.

For this shot, I set my X100 to A priority and use a handheld speedlight as a fill flash.



A very fast and suitable set up when travelling and planning to take some portraits.

No need to carry the heavy stuff.

A good way to enjoy photography while travelling.

Cheers.

Alex

Portrait #7

We are supposed to shoot around 5 PM, but some misinformation about the venue caused some delays.

 I arrived at the park a little bit more than 6 PM.

Light is fading, I need to move fast and think about my lighting.

We are supposed to shoot retro style portraits, but with fading light, it's impossible.

A single flash at camera left. Shot with my X100.

Not close to what we really wanted, but circumstances led us to this.

My subject seems satisfied, I'm not.


We agreed to shoot sometime in the future again.

Instances like these always reminds me to always be ready of different kinds of lighting needs.


But it's all part of the joy and excitement of doing photography.


Model: Kristine

Kristine is a musician based in Bangkok, Thailand.

She loves to play the violin, and been doing so for the last six years or more.

Cheers!

Alex

Early morning with the Fuji X100

We woke up before dawn to catch a glimpse of Erawan during its early hours of glory. Once we finished our coffee, we set off on our adventure. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the air had a crisp, refreshing quality to it. It was perfect! Equipped with just one flash, we made our way towards the waterfalls, stopping along the way to snap some shots.

I was testing my light, I had Lyn sat at the middle of the paved path surrounded by trees and bamboos.

A little farther ahead, we had a very nice spot where the sun is shining through the thick forest of bamboos.

I love how the X100 rendered the color of the sunlight. A handheld flash was used as a fill light.

After a brisk walk, we finally reached our destination: the first level waterfall, which we had chosen as the location for our portrait shoot.

As Lyn changed into a new outfit, I prepared my camera and flash, eager to start capturing some great shots.

Shot with one flash on a stand at camera right.  Lyn was braving the chilly water of Erawan falls.

After a satisfying photoshoot at the first level waterfall, we decided to take a couple more shots before heading back to our room. As we walked, we couldn't help but feel excited for the climb going to the seventh fall of Erawan. We knew that it was going to be a long and tiring journey, but the thought of capturing more breathtaking shots kept us going.

Shot with the same set up as above. Shot with aperture of  f2.8, 1/125 seconds at ISO 200.

The Fuji X100 is my go-to camera for environmental portraits. The sync at any speed and the built-in 3-stops ND filter make it a perfect fit. It's the camera I always grab for shots like the ones above.

There's something special about the morning light. The way it refreshes everything and adds a golden touch to the scenery is simply breathtaking. Walking around with the X100 during these hours is effortless, but if I had brought my DSLR, I'd be dragging it around like a backpacker's bag. Sadly, waking up early is not always easy, so we can always resort to shooting during sunset.

Cheers!

Alex

Portrait #6

I came running late, felt bad I might have missed something, and I expected a more advance photography workshop.

In the first place, It was titled "Premium Master Photography Workshop".

I was wrong.

Yesterday, Fujifilm Thailand and  Big Camera shop held a basic photography workshop for owners of their X series models.

The workshop dealt with the basics of photography as well as the features of the Fuji's X series camera models.

I expected it to deal more with advance photography techniques, but it didn't.

But I was not disappointed at all.

The people there are fun to be with and I get to shoot with their pro models too.

Not to mention the delicious buffet and the free tour around the Chao Phraya river.

It's nice to be around people who are enthusiastic about photography, amateurs and pros alike.

Fujifilm's provided model for the workshop.

The best part is, I got to experience shooting in a studio.

Shot with my Fuji X100 with two lights in a clam shell set up at front and one at the back for the rim.

I do hope next time they will offer a more advance photography workshop.

Also, I hope they did gave certificates yesterday.

But aside from that, it was fun and it's free. What more could I ask for?

Cheers!

"Lighting touch"

I always try to keep myself engaged in photography, no matter how hectic my other chores are.

Every week, I regularly challenge myself to think of any new things or ideas on how to take pictures.

This week I tried to do some lighting stuff again, but this time I tried something different, something I have been thinking for quite sometime now.

Shot using my Fujifilm X100 and external flashes.

Bored, so I asked my wife to pose with me in the hallway.

Played with my lighting style this time.

Great way to at least cure my photography craving this week.


Cheers.

Alex

"It's macro time again with the Fujifilm X100"

It's my first try using the Fuji X100 on macro photography.

Here are a few photos with some of my favorite quotes about photography.

There are no rules for a good photographs, there are only good photographs. (Ansel Adams)

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. (Dorothea Lange)

To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. (Elliot Erwitt)

A firmware upgrade for my X100!

Just a few weeks after I bought my X100, Fujifilm released a firmware version 2.01 for it.

I had no issues with my x100 older firmware version, but to receive good news like this is very exciting.

The original Fuji X100 have a lot of quirks, and the newer X100S camera addressed them all.

With the new firmware my X100 auto focus is now faster, manual focus is now easy to use and start up time is now a little bit faster.

It feels like a new camera. Now, I didn't regret choosing this over the more enhanced but more expensive X100S.

Here are some photos I took after I upgraded to the latest firmware.

(All photos are JPEG straight out of the camera)

Fujifilm releasing a firmware update to a discontinued model is a very classy act. Something that the other brand names hasn't done.

They just gained another fan boy in me. (And thousand others I'm sure)

Great cameras and great costumer service.

I might go Fuji system all the way someday.

Keep it up Fujifilm!

Cheers!

Alex

Cold feet on a wedding day

Nervously shot a wedding last week.

Why?

Because...

I have never done it before.

And it was indoors at night.

But I am eager to experience it, so I took the chance.

Brought with me my D3100, the Fuji X100 and two flashes.

I was thinking that if I can set the lights off camera, bounce it into the ceiling from a fixed position somewhere in the room, I'll be okay.

But then...

Bad news

1.The room have all kinds of lighting with different kinds of colors (you name it). => Messed up white balance.

2. So many photographers nuking their flashes around. => Goodbye off camera flash on optical slave mode.

3. The ceiling is not white.=> Can't use bounce.

The FUJI X100

I decided to use my FUJI X100 for majority of the shots.

I believe its high ISO performance is good enough that I don't need my flashes. 

We'll see.

The FUJI is doing okay at the beginning. Ambient light is still sufficient.

As the outside light goes dimmer and dimmer, more indoor lights needs to be turned on, and the white balance problem became worst.

My solution?

I resorted to black and white shots.

I love how the X100 gives black and white straight out of the camera.

Most of my shots are taken in RAW format and converted in-camera to JPEG. Oh yes, the X100 can do that. Cool huh?

Most of the shots above are taken at iso 6400. I love how the FUJI X100 handles noise and still keep details at high ISO.

Nikon D3100

Some shots taken with my D3100 with flash on-camera.

Shot in RAW, as I always do if using the DSLR,  and tweaked white balance in post processing.

Where are they looking? Too many photographers.

Lesson learned

It is better to shoot with flash than using high ISO. I should have used it from the beginning. 

If your'e the official photographer, don't agree to shoot a wedding with hundred other photographers flashing and nuking around. Just don't, forget it. 

If you are not the official photographer, then don't shoot at all. Be an ordinary guest and enjoy the wedding.

The FUJI is a capable camera in low light, but don't leave it to chance. Use flash.

Buy some wireless triggers.

Probably avoid wedding shots for now, I still have a lot to learn when it comes to this.

Cheers!

Alex

I love Fuji colors!

These past few weeks I knew I needed a little break, took my mind off anything that involves blogging.

After a long hiatus, now I'm back.

To spice up my life a little bit, I decided to add another camera in my collection.

I am thinking I needed a compact camera, even with just a prime 35mm lens,my DSLR sometimes feels like a heavy and bulky computer.

I need a camera I can carry around with me when I'm lazy to bring my DSLR.

I decided to buy this notorious fixed lens little camera from FUJIFILM.

(Well, after a very long research and finally after the finance department a.k.a wife approved the budget release for it)

The infamous Fujifilm Finepix X100!

And it didn't disappoint!

The camera feels and handles different. Feels solid but lighter.

I'm a fixed focal guy, so I love the fast f2 prime attached into it.

A breathe of fresh air. A lovely retro look with an optical viewfinder!

And the FUJI colors..

Photo straight from the camera, no post processing done except watermarking. 

Sweet, lovely FUJI colors...


Can't explain exactly what it is.


The texture...the colors...

                                          Photo straight from the camera, no post processing done except watermarking. 

The colors are something I cannot replicate in post processing.

I am a 100% RAW shooter, but I am starting to love the JPEG interpretation of this little gem.

                                            Photo straight from the camera, no post processing done except watermarking. 


I will spend more time with this, and maybe will post some review.

But to be honest, I am already loving this camera.

The fuss about its quirks are over-hyped.

Can't wait to do portraits using this!

Oh, did I mention leaf shutters and a built-in ND filter?

Cheers!

Alex