Happy New Year 2019 !

Happy New Year !

Sunrise at Masjid Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz Shah, the Shah Alam Mosque, Malaysia

I've expected a rainy morning today, but went ahead to Shah Alam for a sunrise shot anyhow. It actually turned out quite alright!

© 2018 Edward Chen. The view of Masjid Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz Shah from Taman Tasik Shah Alam.
Taken with the Samsung smartphone camera and edited raw using Snapseed.

It's common that people nowadays use the smartphone, a device which they always have on them as their primary camera. However, I was a little surprised of how powerful a smartphone camera can be these days. I wouldn't imagine producing a photo like the one above with my older smartphone cameras.

The photo above was taken handheld using the Samsung Note 9 and then edited RAW with Snapseed right away with the phone. All these were done while my Sony a7r3 was still recording S&Q on the heavy tripod. At times I was thinking if I should have left the camera and the tripod behind! Haha!


Below is the video taken from the Sony a7r3, available only at 720p due to the filesize. You may also watch the 1080p HD version here: https://youtu.be/bD4LOJoEC8w

Note: 720p only due to size constraint 

With the rapid advancement in smartphone AI technologies, I think it may affect not only the feasibility of getting a dedicated camera like the Olympus OM-D E-M1 micro four thirds camera, but also other advanced cameras like the Sony a7 series which are currently popular among hobbyists.

What do you think?

2017 July, Hulu Langat Revisited (Birding)

I revisited Hulu Langat again today after I have put down the Sigma 150mm-500mm earlier in March this year. Yes, I haven't been birding much since March, except the time when I was traveling in Thailand with my Olympus OM-D E-M1.

Anyway, around 8 o'clock in morning, I picked up a friend of mine in Puchong and headed towards Hulu Langat after a quick breakfast. Upon reaching there, we were surprised to see a group of photographers were already there! Surprise ! Mind you, it's on a Wednesday...

We were there for the Blue-eared Kingfisher. But lucky for us, another two birds also came to the same spot searching for food, the Rufous-backed Kingfisher was one of them.

All photos are taken using the Sigma 150-500mm adapted to the Sony a7ii using Sigma mc-11 in APSC mode. I also used the fluidhead monopod instead of the tripod this time.

© Edward Chen.

Morning walk at the Setia Alam Wetlands

I thought of going for a short walk at the Setia Alam Wetlands after sending my kids to school early in the morning. But it was already seven o'clock when I was leaving the school, so I decided to do some grocery shopping before I went (since the sun was already rising). 😆

I reached the wetlands slightly before eight o'clock and took photos as I walked around the park. 😊 

All photos are taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the Kowa Prominar 8.5mm f2.8 MFT manual focus lens.

© Edward Chen Photography

As expected, due to the time of the day, it's not really what I wanted. The sun was too bright and the lighting was harsh. But it wasn't hot, so I just continued my walk around the park.

© Edward Chen Photography

Collared-Kingfisher and more... Birding Trip to Tanjung Karang Selangor (Part Two of Two)

Continuing from Part One...

As I took shelter in the warung (eatery), the locals (I should have taken a we-fie with them as they are super friendly) told me about the birds they usually see in the area. They mentioned the raja udang (kingfisher) being commonly spotted around there. But they mistook the bee-eater as one of the kingfishers. Egrets are common across the river, and so are eagles.

Then one of them called for me and pointed into the trees.

Not one, but two collared-kingfishers !

© Edward Chen

Birding Trip to Tanjung Karang, Selangor (Part One of Two)

Some new birds are added to my collection of photos on my recent trip to Tanjung Karang... 😄

It's a cloudy forecast on a Monday morning, rain seems to be coming soon. However, I went ahead with my plan to Tanjung Karang since I've already planned for the trip after my birding trip to Kuala Selangor last week.

Tanjung Karang is located about 15 kilometers away from Kuala Selangor, or 15-18 minutes away. The drive in the morning is smooth as usual, since most cars are headed towards the opposite direction.

I arrived first at Bukit Melawati. Scouted for a few minutes to see if there's any special bird hanging in the nearby trees. I just saw some swiftlets and lots of juvenile Asian Glossy Starlings in the trees. So I headed to Tanjung Karang after a few snapshots. It was already raining.

Juvenile Asian Glossy Starlings. © Edward Chen

Upon reaching the rural area of Tanjung Karang, I spotted a Black-naped Oriole with a bountyin its beak. But it flew off once I moved my car to get ready for the capture. 😭

Nearby in the same tree was a black Koel. It was watching me all along and wasn't startled by my presence unlike the Black-naped Oriole.

The "Common" White-throated Kingfisher, Black-napped Oriole and a Family of Whistling Ducks!

This morning is not the usual birding day, when I just see the common white-throated kingfisher at the park. Apart from the black-napped oriole, the great blue heron and other birds that I usually see, a family of whistling ducks came towards me and headed right into the pond! That's really a happy moment looking at how they stayed together and those little ducklings looked so cute! 😆

© Edward Chen

Birding at the lake in the morning with the Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM (Follow-up on techniques)

Just a simple follow-up, continuing my previous post on "birding in the evening".

This morning I went to the lake again with the same setup (Canon 7D + Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM). I wanted to try and see if it's possible to stop down the aperture and take better photos of the birds there.

The setting is basically a shutter speed of 1/500 or less, at f7.1 or f8.0, auto ISO. 

Only the second photo is edited in Lightroom CC. The rest could be cropped.

Here are the results:

White-throated Kingfisher (BEFORE EDIT)
© Edward Chen

White-throated Kingfisher (AFTER EDIT)
© Edward Chen

Birding at the lake in the evening with the Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM

Following my previous post on birding, I went to the nearby park again. This time, it's in the evening. At first I was ready for a dull, gloomy weather as it looked cloudy. But it the wind blew the clouds away, leaving a harsh sunset at the lake. I regret not bringing along my cap!

There was no bird in sight aside from the few swiftlets dipping into the lake. A bee-eater saw me approaching and flew off as I walked another step.

Here are some of the birds I managed to take snapshots of before they flew away. 😁 Photos are shot at 500mm and cropped.

Asian Glossy Starling
© Edward Chen

Birding with the Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM

Today I went out birding at the nearby lake with my Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM. It's not a light combination, the lens alone is 1780g and together with the body it's around 2.6KG! I do not carry a bag or any accessories along, so it's basically just the camera and lens attached to my Black Rapid strap. 😁

The AF-tracking was responsive and it's not hard to lock-in focus in such bright daylight, although not all photos taken are keepers (which is normal). 😉

Setting is basically the widest aperture, auto ISO with shutter speeds of 1/600 if the bird is stationary or 1/2000-1/4000 if it's moving.

Here are some of the photos taken: