First up is the Westminster and Big Ben. A couple double decker buses provides the light trails to spice things up.

Then we have the Millennium Wheel – which is much prettier with lights on. Thanks to the rain I was able to get this shot without being blocked by any of those thousands of visitors.

Finally an HDR attempt at the Buckingham Palace.

First up’s the iconic Space needle:

Then we have the shot of downtown Seattle:

This is really one of the best situation to use HDR. It was raining the day I went up the Space Needle to take this shot. Without HDR, the shots were very flat since there’s no shadow from the sun. HDR really adds a lot of depth to the image. Better yet, the angry-looking clouds add a lot of drama to the otherwise regular shot as well!

The next one’s from the Seattle harbor:

This one was mildly challenging since the ship I was on was moving. Continuous shooting with AEB did the trick.

This was the cruise line (called Argosy) I took to tour the Seattle harbor. Again a tricky situation due to the moving water and ship. Photomatix did a great job in eliminating ghosting.

The famous Pike Place market! This showcase another strength of HDR in capturing high contrasting background sky and the neon logo.

Finally the famous original Starbucks at Pike Place! This is BY FAR the hardest HDR shot I took but the result is well worth the effort! The people were moving around and it took a lot of Photoshop touch up after rendering. Photomatix again managed to give me a great starting point by eliminating ghosting. It would’ve been impossible to capture so much details of the cafe interior with normal techniques!

I was overall a great experience and I really love the look of HDR. I don’t think this will be the last of my HDR work!

These two shots combined zooming with long exposure. I’m really fond of the floral one as it gives sense of color explosion :)

This one involves camera rotation, which is actually harder to pull off than the zooming one since you can’t rely on tripod for stabilization.

I found that there’re a few things that are essential for this type of shots work:

1. Steady, steady and steady frame! (I guess this is a no brainer)
2. A central theme object. You can’t just make anything play nice with motion.
3. A static focal point. You want some part of the image (the centroid) to remain clear and vivid so that audience can actually make out what you’re shooting at.

Try play with this next time you go shooting! You’ll love it :D

Now a major overhaul wouldn’t be complete without some spanking new photos! I spent some time in Japan over the New Year break and took some amazing photos there. The series of photos in this article all illustrate the traditional Japanese customs and architecture.

This photo of Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion – 金閣寺) in Kyoto is, in my opinion, the most amazing shot I took among the bunch. It was freezing cold the day I went there (25F!) and the sun was setting by the time I got to the spot. But luckily this was the perfect time to show off the marvelous golden coating of the pavilion!

The other photos were mostly taken from the new year night markets in Kyoto and Tokyo. These night markets were setup around popular temples so that locals can stroll the bustling shops after finishing their new year prayers.

I’ll be posting more photos from Japan soon. Stay tuned!

This is the final article on Shanghai with photos taken from my 2009 trip. I found this artistic drawing of Mao and Obama at one of the numerous street vendors in Shanghai. At a certain level, both Mao and Obama represent “change” but I’m not going to start a political debate here. What strikes me is that how strongly Western culture has firmly taken root in China. From pop songs to Hollywood movies, Shanghai’s sprawling with imprints of the West.

I guess this is a perfect photo to mark Obama’s first visit to China as the East and the West draw ever closer to each other. That’s it folks for 2009! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Even with all the countless brand new restaurants opening around the city, you can still find places where they still use these traditional “calling menus”. Instead of a server bringing you a copy of well organized menu after you’ve been seated, you go to a clipboard with hand-written “menu cards” to see what’s being served on the day.

An even more popular way to serve food is these street food vendors. Food is prepared right behind the counter where you order and pay. The food is not flashy but delicious (and cheap!). You’ll have to bear with the sometimes long line and the lack of seating but the experience is unmistakably Shanghai. Be sure not to afraid to try them out next time you visit the city!

This is the second installment of my summer 2009 travel photography.

As a continuation of my last article, these photos were also shot in Shanghai. As a result of the rapid economic development, Shanghai’s littered with abandoned buildings waiting to be renovated. This gives an interesting opportunity to capture some intriguing shots of things often missed by unaware passers-by.

I’m particularly fond of the shot with an old bicycle stashed away on a staircase of an abandoned building. The soft side-lighting, together with the red pipe and fire hose cabinet really make the photo pops. If you can’t read the Chinese on the last photo, the character on the yellow traffic sign means “slow down” – a bit of an irony for the fast-paced Shanghai city life, don’t you think?

I’ve been traveling a lot recently and here’s the first of many articles highlighting some of my works during this period.

First up is Shanghai – The last time I visited the city was more than a decade ago. So much have changed since then and I was in for a complete shock! The colonial style city I once knew has been largely replaced by a sprawling metropolitan that I found barely recognizable. However, this makes Shanghai even more intriguing due to its unique blend of tradition and modernity. These graffiti, found in a residential park in the western part of the city, are a clear indication of Western urban culture taking root in the East.

I’ll be posting many more photos in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Met this pair of excellent drummer – dancer performers while trolling down the lovely Newburry Street (I know again) in Boston. You see I’ve always aspired to be a drummer but unfortunately my sense of rhythm is… some what lacking (to put it nicely). And I guess don’t even talk about dancing…

Oh well at least I know how to enjoy their performance :) Their energetic display was a perfect match for the beautiful Boston summer. It seems that they perform every Sunday at Newburry and Mass Ave. Be sure to check them out!