Photowalks in Shanghai city

Some interesting pictures during out recent Shanghai trip. Also, check out what I found not-so-glamorous but interesting street view of Shanghai here.

Welcome to Shanghai!

Beside The Bund

Busy street in Xu Jiahui

Across the street from Jianghuo. Nothing much but good enough for family photo-taking.

Beautiful sculpture seen from the Nanpu Bridge. Take the city-touring bus called Big Bus Tour for RMB100 and you get a 24-hour pass to all the buses.

Solar-powered photo kiosk at The Bund. Get your pictures taken with Oriental Pearl Tower on the background and print them here.

Oriental Pearl Tower viewed from The Bund

Close-up view from the foot of the tower

 Sight seeing with boat touring the Huangpu River

Just Glass. Interesting structure covered with glass panels

The up-coming Shanghai Tower (partly covered by cloud) is the world's 2nd tallest building after Burj Khalifa. It was still under construction at the time of visit.

 The Bund

'Floating' traditional house at Yu Garden

Hope to visit this place again in the near future. It's a modern city and you won't have too much trouble communicating even if you don't speak Chinese.

Different time, different view

The Public Bank was established in 1966 and today (as at the end of 2011) it is the largest non-government-linked corporation in Malaysia by market capitalisation. Public Bank Group currently operates in Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Hong Kong, China and Sri Lanka.

With a total of 401 branches and over 17,500 employees, the Public Bank Group serves the financial needs of over eight million customers from all walks of life in Malaysia and in other countries in which the Group operates. Public Bank Group the third largest banking group in Malaysia by asset size, with total assets of RM249 billion as at the end of 2011. - Public Bank homepage.

Public Bank tower standing next to Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:-

Evening view

Morning view

Mid-day view. Seen from level 41 of Petronas Twin Towers.

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Pulau Sepanggar

Pulau Sepanggar is a small island off Kota Kinabalu coast and located between Gaya Island and Sepanggar Bay. To get there you have choices of speed boat or the slow moving small 6-passenger sampan which would be a torture if you are a person who hates waiting

By speed boat, say 75HP outboard engine, you will reach the island in about 25 to 30 minutes time. The island has no electricity but the school is powered by hybrid solar-generator system.

Location of Pulau Sepanggar. [Google Map]

Approaching Pulau Sepanggar



Yayasan Sabah (Menara Tun Mustapha) seen from a speeding boat.



SLR cam zoom






Village on the seashore



Thief monkey lurching as we get on with business


Eagle hovering near the settlement probably preying on the folks' chicks



Mt Kinabalu is clearly visible on a good day. This island could be a perfect spot for capturing sunrise shots of Kota Kinabalu and Mt. Kinabalu.

Travelling with a Photographer

Recently during the year-end I travelled with my family and took quite a lot of travel pictures; afterall what is travelling if you don't take photographs, right?

I am not a professional photographer but I would say I take some (read not many) decent pictures worth printing, at least to my own humble opinion. This beg a question of would it be necessary to travel with a photographer. Would you be taking better pictures if you were travelling with a photographer? Well, if you love taking pictures, it would certainly be a good idea. Read on if you are still an amateur, as you will find in this entry, ways to get in touch with great photographers who you will need for taking pictures when you travel.

Many of us don't travel often due to personal constraints such as financial, time, or other important commitments. As such, you'd want to make sure that you have the best pictures to bring back home with you. It is for this reason that you need someone with decent photographing skills travelling with you. It may seem like an easy task taking great pictures, but more often then not, you will find that you wished you did better. A good photographer will make sure that you take pictures like a professional does.

If travelling with a professional photographer friend or family member is not possible, try searching the internet. You may be surprised that there'll be someone near you with the same itinerary, who is good in photography. Punch in search keys that lead you to websites that review various photographers. The more a photographer is reviewed by credible websites, the less likely is that person an amateur. So, search a bit more.

I remember reading an article by a professional photographer where he mentioned that he "will take you with me and show you exactly how it is done, just as if you are my photographing buddy". That means you leave it to the photographer to deal with all the technical details and you just focus on your requirement on how you would like a picture to look like. It would be really good to exchange idea with your photographer while he/she gives you valuable recommendation.

No doubt you alone can take beautiful pictures of the wonderful places you visit but having someone with experience in photography would make quite a lot of difference and you'd be amazed at how good your pictures are afterward.

Happy Holiday, go travel and come back with great pictures, every single one of them!