© Craft and Vision | PHOTOGRAPH Magazine Issue 3 | A Digital Quarterly Magazine for Creative Photographers

“The work of others has much to teach us, not only about making photographs, but

also about seeing the world.”

- David DuChemin -

I believed that to be a great photographer, we need more than just a camera skills, we need more than just a technical skills, we need more knowledge than just to know how to operate our camera’s gears, we need to all rounded photographers and educated photographers if we wanted to go far in this field, but then I know successful in photography doesn’t mean that we can sell our single images for a thousand of dollars, it’s more than that, sometimes it is just a personal satisfaction that you finally know that you already make it.

Those photographers who featured in this digital quarterly photography magazine is not a  World Press Photography Competition Winners but most of them success in their own world, in their own term and we can learn from their experience a lot. Sometimes, very little we can learn from their photograph, in order to fully appreciate their pictures, we need to go behind the scene, we need to know how they get the pictures, how they plan everything, so that in the end we can see the result and even though some of the photograph featured in this magazine look quite simple, trust me, it will never easy to get those image.

Some of you might  say that if they were there, if they were in Africa, if they were in Tunisia, they will get the same pictures as well, maybe yes or no, it will never be that easy, you need to plan, you need to know their customs, get to know their people, their tradition, belief, and if possible find someone local who can help you get closer to them, people are not a statue, where you can photograph them as you like, they have feelings that we must respect, so don’t simple say that, you can do it too, if you were there as well. Yes if you said you can take a better picture of Taj Mahal or Statue of Liberty, then I can believe you because they are not human, you can play around and they will never get bored at you but people are different.

Anyway, about this PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE ISSUE 3 , there’s more than about travel and people photography, you can also learn how to use reflectors, a little bit of Lightroom editing to get the best of your images and there is also about foods photography if you like one. Photography Issue 3 is packed with incredible portfolios and Q+As—this time from: Hengki Koentjoro, Dave Delnea, and Kevin Clark. And there are the usual great columns from people like Martin Bailey, Nicole S. Young, Kevin Clark, and John Paul Caponigro, as well as a featured article from David duChemin about his recent work in Northern Kenya. You have plenty of inspirations here and this Photograph magazine is more than 100 pages that will inspire you to see the world differently.

You can get purchase PHOTOGRAPH Magazine Issue 3 for USD $8 from CRAFT AND VISION

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Snowstorm in Uludag | Bursa Turkey

“Then Come The Wild Weather, Come Sleet or Come Snow, We Will Stand by Each Other, However it Blow.”

- Simon Dach -

We were hit hard by snowstorm during our arrival at Uludag after about one hour journey by a taxi from our hotel in Bursa. I really wish before our departure that we will get a nice weather, a dry snowy scene so that I can take a beautiful picture of my family against the white snow but instead, we were greeted  by a heavy snowstorm.

Anyway I think, it is a blessing in disguise, despite the heavy snowstorm, I’m grateful actually, grateful that my family have the experience watching the snow flakes falling from the sky. It is truly a magical experience despite the uneasiness and even though I didn’t manage to take a lot of pictures due to the snowstorm, I’m quite satisfied that I manage to get here with my family.

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Raphael and HaiQal Inside Hagia Sophia Istanbul | Turkey

“Families is Where Our Nation Find Hope, Where Wings Take a Dream,”

- George W. Bush -

It ain’t easy to get a picture of them together, this is among the few that I like best. They are always running here and there in a different directions. Most of the times, twenty month old Raphael, was with me sitting or hanging comfortably inside a baby carrier with me.

*tk

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | A Printed Memory | Priceless Piece of a Papers

“A photograph never grows old. You and I change, people change all through the months and years, but a photograph always remains the same. How nice to look at a photograph of mother or father taken many years ago. You see them as you remember them. But as people live on, they change completely. That is why I think a photograph can be kind.”

( Albert Einstein )

I’ve written few blog post about  about printing your digital photographs and I don’t want to create another long post here, anyway, I try to make it a habit to prints some of my family pictures at least every six month period. I believe for those of you who have a camera with you, be it a compact camera, a DSLR or even your Android or iPhone camera, you took thousand pictures, if not hundreds of pictures a month with them.

But not many people care to prints it, maybe it is not that important, maybe your photograph is not so important, maybe it was just intended for facebook album, just some kind of visual information about where you are, what you are doing and something like that, but sometimes the funny things is that, when you accidentally deleted your photograph you get angry, why is that? If it’s not important, why got angry. I want to ask you here, how many of you have printed any of your pictures taken with iPhone? I’ve printed hundreds of them and the quality is acceptable for 4R size.

Nowadays we have so many gadget to view our photographs, some of you may think that it is a waste of money to print a photograph when you can always view them on your mobile phones and iPad but trust me  it will never be the same as looking them in prints. Some of you reading my blog, might be a wedding photographers and I believe that most of you will gives your customer an album, a printed album and not just a CD or DVD, why is that? Why not just give them a DVD and charge the same as printed album?

You may say that, it  was a different scenario, that one is for business purpose, but come think of it, if you think that an album or printed materials is so important for your clients, then why not make one for yourself, make a custom album for yourself, for your family, even if you don’t have the time to make a custom album for yourself, just print them on a normal 4R or 8R size, that will be just fine.

Time and time again, I read someone posted in facebook about their corrupted hard disk, all those precious family pictures is “history,” yes to those of you who have money, they can send the hard disk for a “recovery” but that one will surely cost you some money. I think you will pay more for the “recovery service” than the price of your hard disk. So I think a printed photographs can act as an “insurance” for your precious memory.

Some of you reading this might think that I wanted to sell you something, wanted you to come over and prints your picture with my company, actually I don’t have any company, I don’t have any hidden agenda here, I just wanted you, my friends to really take a good care of your pictures, especially your family pictures, print some of them, print the best among the best, the best moment, you can print using your very own printing machine or just send them to normal printing lab.

The printed photograph above were my latest printed material, more than 200 pieces of them, I use normal photo lab service that you can found in shopping malls to get it done, all of them is 4R in size. I wish I can make a photobook someday but I really don’t have much time but yes I will make one someday. I know that some of the photograph especially travel pictures really will look great in photobook than looking at them by pieces.

Anyway, whatever it is, make sure you print some of your digital photograph before it is too late, before you have million of them and then you have a hard decision choosing which one to prints. So if you have nothing to do after reading this post, why don’t you select some of your best pictures, put them into one folder, save them to your thumb drive, take your family to a shopping mall or bookstore, find a photo lab, give them your thumb drive and then have some lunch and within an hour your picture should be ready, how hard is that.

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Kuala Lumpur | Sultan Abdul Samad Building

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Malay: Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad; Jawi: باڠونن سلطان عبدالصمد) is located in front of the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) and the Royal Selangor Club, by Jalan Raja in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The structure takes its name from Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning sultan of Selangor at the time when construction began.

The building houses the offices of the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture of Malaysia (Malay: Kementerian Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan Malaysia). It formerly housed the superior courts of the country: the Federal Court of Malaysia, the Court of Appeals and the High Court of Malaya. The Federal Court and the Court of Appeals had shifted to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya during the early 2000s, while the High Court of Malaya shifted to the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in 2007.

It was designed by A.C. Norman and built in 1894-1897 to house several important government departments during the British administration. A.C. Norman spent time in Africa and saw Muslim mosques in India which led him to use Moorish architecture in the building’s design.The 41-meter tower chimed for the first time to coincide with Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Parade in 1897 and has chimed since.

In 1945, when World War II ended, Britain resumed control again, but Malaya’s independence movement had matured and organized itself in an alliance under Tunku Abdul Rahman. When the British flag was finally lowered in Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Square in 1957, Tunku became the first prime minister of Malaya.

In front of the building is the Dataran Merdeka (or Merdeka Square). It was here, the Union Jack flag was lowered and the Malayan flag hoisted for the first time at midnight on August 31, 1957. The Dataran Merdeka was officially opened on January 1, 1990, in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 1990.
The Merdeka Square symbolized British sovereignty as it was a cricket ground for the colonial administrators and fronted the Royal Selangor Club, Malaya’s most exclusive whites-only club.

In 1961, Abdul Rahman mooted the idea of the establishment of “Malaysia”, which would consist of Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei, all of which had still been British colonies. The reasoning behind this was that it would allow the federal government to control and combat communist activities, especially in Singapore. It was also feared that if Singapore achieved independence, it would become a base for Chinese chauvinists to threaten Malayan sovereignty. To balance out the ethnic composition of the new nation, the other states, whose Malay and indigenous populations would cancel out the Chinese majority in Singapore, were also included.

A 95-metre flagpole, one of the tallest in the world, marks that spot with a flat, round black marble plaque. It is located at the southern end of the square.

To mark the occasion on the morning of Merdeka Day, Thousands of spectators converge on the city to watch the colourful parade along the streets of the city and performances held at the Merdeka Square. Each state will be represented, as are the many ethnic groups that comprise multiracial Malaysia. The National Flag will be flown throughout the country, at office buildings, private homes and on vehicles. State shows, competitions and exhibitions will also be held in all states.

During state occasions, coloured lights twinkle in the arches. The section of Jalan Raja is closed in order for the people to enjoy the night scenery of the area.

- Wikipedia -

Kuala Lumpur Oh Kuala Lumpur

Aku datang dari desa hanya sebatang kara
Meninggalkan kampung tercinta dan sanak saudara
Setiba di kota raya ku giat berkerja
Berlumba lumba mengejarkan apa yang dicita

Meskipun badai yang melanda aku terus melangkah
Mengharungi hidup kota dengan sepotong doa
Agar kehidupanku lebih maju bermakna
Cuba membela nasib agama, bangsa negara

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur
Menyinari hidupku
Kota yang penuh dengan cabaran
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur
Menyinari hidupku
Kota yang penuh dengan harapan

Si miskin dan si kaya semua tiada dibeza
di kotaraya yang mempunyai berbilang bangsa
Bila larut senja menjelma sungguh indahnya
Oh bertapa aku terharu dan sungguh berbangga

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur
Menyinari hidupku
Kota yang penuh dengan cabaran
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur
Menyinari hidupku
Kota yang penuh dengan harapan

- Malik Ridzuan -

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Basilica Cistern | The Entrance

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Basilica Cistern and Medusa

It was very easy to miss this place, I’ve been to Istanbul thrice and only during my third visit that I was able to locate this place. Actually it is not hidden somewhere but very easily to go unnoticed.

The entrance to the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul is across the street from the Haghia Sophia, opposite the yellow building of the Tourist Police in Sultanahmet. This immense underground water container was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian I in 532 to meet the water needs of the Great Palace. This marvellous piece of engineering only confirms yet again that those were the heydays of the Byzantine Empire. You can refer to my picture above, the entrance of the Basilica Cistern, from the outside, it is not something that will get your eyes attention. During my second visit, I thought that it was the entrance to the toilet, please forgive me for not getting closer and take a closer look at what’s written at the outside of the doorway.

There are hundreds of ancient cisterns hidden underneath the streets and houses of Istanbul. Of the two that are open to the public, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the largest and Istanbul’s most unusual tourist attraction. Looking at the photograph above, some of you might be thinking of taking a tripod inside, unfortunately, tripod are not allowed inside the Basilica Cistern, if you happen to arrived at the ticket counter with your tripod, the security officer will ask you to leave your tripod at the security office and you can take it back once you finish touring the place.

The lighting was very low inside there, yes you can use flash inside there, no problem with that, if you wanted to take a photograph of your family, friends or your self portrait inside, yes you can use flash but if you wanted to photograph this place without killing the atmosphere, then you should use the available light there but the problem is that, the lighting was very low, for the photographs above, I have to use somewhere around ISO 3000 to ISO 4000.

If you interested to know about the mystery of Medusa head there, you might wanted to read this :

MEDUSA

It is not known exactly where these two heads came from, but there is a rumour saying that they were brought here after being removed from an antique building of the late Roman period. Another mystery is about why one of the Medusa heads is upside down while the other is tilted to one side.

But it is commonly accepted by scientist that they were placed in that way deliberately. If one wants to go deeper in wanting to know more about the history of the mythological of Medusa one can come across the following story :

It is said that Medusa was one of the three underground Gorgona Giant Sisters. Out of these three sisters only Medusa was mortal and she had the power of transforming people who looked at her into stones. It is said that in the old times the statues and pictures of Medusa were placed in very important buildings and private places to keep them away from bad omen.

in another rumour, Medusa is said to be a girl who was very much proud of her black eyes, long hair and beautiful body. For a long time she was in love with Perseus, the son of Zeus. At the same time Goddess Athene was in love with him and she become jealous of Medusa love with perseus. For that reason she turned Medusa’s beautiful hair into horrible snakes. Then whoever looked at Medusa turned into stone. When Perseus saw that Medusa was bewitched and she was turning people into stone by a mere glance, he cut her head, then won many wars by showing his beloved one’s head to enemies.

Medusa, a sea nymph, was the most beautiful of the three Gorgon sisters. She was courted by Poseidon, and made love to him in a temple of Athena.

Furious, Athena transformed Medusa into a monstrous chthonic beast with snakes instead of hair, whose frightening face could turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded while sleeping by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield.

Having coupled with Poseidon previously, two beings sprang from her body when she was beheaded. One, Pegasus, was a winged horse later tamed by Bellerophon to help him kill the chimera. The other, Chrysaor of the Golden Sword, remains relatively unknown today.

In classical antiquity and today, the image of the head of Medusa finds expression in the evil-averting device.

From that time onwards it is said that Byzantine swords handles were stylised with Medusa’s head.

Before closing on, I would like to let you know that the area is slippery, so you have to watch your steps carefully and if you are traveling with kids, it is a great place to bring them here, just watch them carefully. The cistern can store up to 100, 000 tons (almost 3 million cubic feet) of water underground and still holds a few feet of water with fish swimming around the columns. Let your children be entertain with the swimming fish inside the pond and let them mesmerised listening to the sounds of dripping water mingle with the strains of classical music.

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Istanbul Heritage Red Tram | Istiklal Caddesi | Taksim

There are many great looking modern trams in Istanbul but this one in Taksim Square is quite unique looking, and antique. There is a long history about the reintroduction of this tram in Istanbul, but I’m not going to write about it here, I think the most interesting things is to know is how you can get on board.

You can only found this Heritage Tram in Istiklal  Caddesi. So if you staying somewhere in Sultanahmet area, the fastest way to get here is to take the modern tram to Kabatas, the last tram station on the European side. Once you get down from the tram, you need to get into Funicular Line, it is located underground, you need to pay for another ticket, it is 3 Lira as of February 2013. It is very short ride, then once you get out of the station, you need to cross the road and you will see the Heritage Tram Stop, which look like a normal “bus stop”.

© 2009 Wazari Wazir | Heritage Tram Stop | Taksim Square

Actually there are another way on how you can reach the red tram. If you are coming with a tram from Sultanahmet, you can get down at Karakoy station, which is located at the end of Galata Bridge and then go walking uphill, go straight uphill until you see the tram tracks. The other  way is that, you can take a Karakoy – Funicular line, but it can be a little bit of a hassle to find this station since it is located inside an old building to the left side of Karakoy tram station.  If you are coming from Sultanahmet, just look for  ”Tünel” sign and you will be fine.

Before you board the tram, please make sure that you have already purchase your Jeton or Istanbulkart (preferable) because you cannot pay your ticket with cash money, you need to have Istanbulkart, since February 2013, the fees is the same as normal modern tram in Istanbul which is just 3 Lira. Istiklal Street is not that long, it is  approximately three kilometres, walking is the best option if you wanted to explore this area but it is also good experience if you catch this Tram for a short ride.

© 2012 Wazari Wazir | Heritage Tram at Istikal Caddesi | Taksim | Istanbul

So guys, if you ever have a chance to visit Istanbul, make sure that you spare some of your precious times there by taking this Red Heritage Tram, it is unique in Istanbul even though there are other old tram, somewhere on Asian side, this one is quite special because it served the Istiklal Street, among the busiest and most happening place in Turkey. Even if you are very tight on your travel schedule, just get yourself a picture taken with this red tram, and instantly those who travel a lot will recognise it.

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | Father and Son | Princes’ Island | Istanbul

“A father loves you dearly but you don’t see it and so you’re always trying to please your father, but your father doesn’t let you know how he feels, which is, you don’t have to please him because he already loves you.” 

- Anonymous - 

© 2013 A Photograph of Me Overlooking Annapurna Range From Sarangkot by Ahmad Shukri

 ”Indeed, Allah Will Not Change The Condition of a People Until They Change What is in Themselves.” 

- Ar-Ra’d : 11 -

 “I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”

 - Diane Ackerman -

 “A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.”

- Wilfred Peterson -

. “If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

- Henry David Thoreau -

 “Never forget that life can only be nobly inspired and rightly lived if you take it bravely and gallantly, as a splendid adventure in which you are setting out into an unknown country, to face many a danger, to meet many a joy, to find many a comrade, to win and lose many a battle.”

-  Annie Besant -

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life and in change there is power.”

 - Alan Cohen Quotes -

“It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

- Teddy Roosevelt -

“Adventures don’t come calling like unexpected cousins calling from out of town. You have to go looking for them.”

- Anonymous -

© 2013 Wazari Wazir | National Monument | Tugu Negara | Kuala Lumpur

NATIONAL MONUMENT

The idea for the construction of the National Monument was mooted by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Aljhaj in 1963 to commemorate the warriors who died defending the sovereignty of the country. An area measuring 48, 562 square meters facing the Lake Gardens was set aside for its construction. The monument complex encompasses five components, the National Monument, fountains, pavilion, a war memorial and the surroundings gardens

The monument embodying seven bronze statues also represents the triumph of the forces of democracy over forces of evil. The monument was designed by an American sculpture, Felix deWeldon and was completed in early 1966. It was unveiled on 8th February of the same year and from then on a ceremony to commemorate the passing of the warriors is held here annually.

Just wanted to share some basic photography tips when it comes to photographing landscape, man made monuments, building, or anything that is huge in size. Most of the times when we travel, we always attracted to something that is huge in size especially the monuments. So in order to tell the viewers how big the size is, we need to give our photograph a sense of scale, so that viewers will have a clear idea about how big or tall the things is.

The simple way to do that is by adding a human element into it. Most famous landmark or iconic monument in this world attracts a lot of tourist, so you can just include some of them in your photograph. I know that some of you may think that the people in your frame will pose as a distraction, you wanted a “clean” shot without the added of any human element into it, some will even go as far  as cloning out the people in their photograph with Photoshop. I cannot say that what you did is wrong but come think of it, human elements in your photograph will make your story completed, viewers will know the size of the statue that you are taking without asking you, how big or tall the statue.

Maybe it is your preferences not to include any human in your photograph, nothing wrong with that but if you take a look at great travel photography especially in travel photography magazine, most of the times you will see a photograph of a monument or a statue with human element in it.

For the photograph of our National Monument above, I did wait until  a lot of tourist came by, then only I took the photograph, I welcome them in my frame, I did not find them as a distraction, in fact I should thanks them for decorating my frame, for giving a sense of scale to the monument. The national monument is among the “must see” things if you take a travel package in Kuala Lumpur, a lot of tourist bus and van park outside the main entrance of the National Monument and most of them will spent at least half an hour here, appreciating the sculptures, take few pictures before move on to another interesting places here in Kuala Lumpur.

So the very next time when you have a chance to visit any huge iconic monument in any country, just take a few shots to include some of human element in the frame as well, but then, it is not a necessity to include just a human, any animals also will do the job, the idea here is to give the viewers a sense of scale, about the size of the things that you photographed.