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?

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

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 Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam

It's one of those days when I feel like going on an outing further out from my usual area. Today I went to Taman Botani Negara Shah Alam (Bukit Cahaya). Met a few birding photography enthusiasts at the car park and joined them for the morning walk into the park. Thanks to Teoh, Teoh's son, SK Yeong and Michelle for their company! 😁

RM3.00 for carpark entry and another RM3.00 fee to get into the park.

Here are some of the photos taken:

White-throated Kingfisher.
© Edward Chen

 

Swiftlet.
© 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: