I noticed there was glorious sunset at my own backyard. Quickly grabbed my camera and I did a quick recce of the location. Found a suitable one and clicked away. It resulted in the photos below:

The pylon on the top of the hill behind my house

Fiery red, orange and violet sky

Grass as a foreground

The pylon at slightly different time

The grass

Last 2 weekends I went to Seremban and had the opportunity to shoot around Seremban town. However I paticularly loved the old shophouses which some were more than 100 years old. Some shophouses’ facade were given a new coat of paint and refurbished but there were quite a number of them left to rot. Seremban used to be one of the important administrative towns during the British colonial days perhaps because of its close distance to Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan being one of the federated Malay states.

Unfortunately nowadays Seremban seems to develop more slowly than other towns in Peninsular Malaysia even though its tourism industry is thriving especially in Port Dickson which is considered the most popular beach in Malaysia.

I reserve my comment on its slow development and what I want to show you are the photographs of its beautiful and classic facade belonging to shophouses in Seremban. I appeal to the state government that something be done to well preserve the beautiful and intricate facade of these shophouses as they are the invaluable heritage from the yesteryears just like what the Singaporean government has done to its classic shophouses built during the British colonial era.

The facade was given a new coat of paint of vibrant orange

Side view of the striking orange facade which now houses a Bata shop

Another highly saturated orange facade

Another interestingly designed windows

The cute cartoonish white and purple facade which caught my attention

The facade whose building is now occupied by Hong Leong Bank

A row of multi-coloured shophouses

Green and brown facade

Pastel coloured facade

Reflection of another row of multi-coloured shophouses

The typical five-foot way belonging to this kind of shophouses to protect the customerrs from the scorching tropical sun light in the afternoon

The ugly side - perhaps it was left to die its natural death

I love to imagine what this shop looked like during its hey day

This one seems to be left to rot for years

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Comments and criticism are welcome in open arms

Eidul-Adha – Festival of Sacrifice

Eidul-Adha – Festival of Sacrifice

Eidul-Adha – Festival of Sacrifice

Eidul-Adha – Festival of Sacrifice

Eid al-Adha “Festival of Sacrifice” or “Greater Eid” is a holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.

Four thousand years ago, the valley of Mecca was a dry and uninhabited place. According to Islamic history, the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was instructed to bring Hajar and their child Ismael to Arabia from the land of Canaan by God’s command.

As Ibrahim made ready to return to the land of Canaan, Hajar asked him, “Who ordered you to leave us here”? When Ibrahim replied: “Allah”(God), Hajar said, “then Allah will not forget us; you can go”. Although Ibrahim had left a large quantity of food and water with Hajar and Ismael, the supplies quickly ran out and within a few days the two were suffering from hunger and dehydration.

According to the story, a desperate Hajar ran up and down between two hills called Safa and Marwa seven times, trying to find water. Finally, she collapsed beside her baby Ismael and prayed to Allah for deliverance. Ismael struck his foot on the ground, causing a spring of water to gush forth from the earth. Other accounts have the angel Jibral (Gabriel) striking the earth and causing the spring to flow. With this secure water supply, they were not only able to provide for their own needs, but were also able to trade water with passing nomads for food and supplies. When the Prophet Ibrahim returned from Canaan to check on his family, he was amazed to see them running a profitable well.

The Prophet Ibrahim was told by God to build a shrine dedicated to him adjacent to Hajar’s well (the Zamzam Well). Ibrahim and Ismael constructed a small stone structure–-the Kaaba–which was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in Allah. As the years passed, Ismael was blessed with Prophethood and gave the nomads of the desert his message of surrender to Allah. After many centuries, Mecca became a thriving city and a major center for trade, thanks to its reliable water source, the well of Zamzam.

One of the main trials of Prophet Ibrahim’s life was to face the command of Allah to devote his dearest possession, his only son. Upon hearing this command, he prepared to submit to Allah’s’s will. During this preparation, when Satan tempted Prophet Ibrahim and his family, Hajar and Ismael drove Satan away by throwing pebbles at him. To remember this rejection of Satan, stones are thrown during Hajj.

At the time of sacrifice, Ibrahim discovered a sheep died instead of Ismail, whom he hacked through neck. When Ibrahim was fully prepared to complete the sacrifice, Allah revealed to him that his “sacrifice” had already been fulfilled. Ibrahim had shown that his love for his Lord superseded all others: that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dear to him in order to submit to God. Muslims commemorate this superior act of sacrifice during Eid al-Adha.

I blogged about Jonas Bendiksen – a young, energetic and highly talented photojournalist many months ago.

Take a look at his recent superb works on slum in many parts of the world here.

His chosen panoramic format suits the subject very well.

Went to Putrajaya recently and couldn’t resist shooting its prominent landmarks again since the weather was very clear with blue sky and all.

The building that houses the prime minister's office

The Putra Mosque

A boat ride on the man-made Putrajaya Lake

The domes of Putra Mosque

The Putra Mosqe in a frame

Comments and criticism are welcome with open arms.

Descending the step

I feel like sharing with you that my picture above was selected to be in the Daily Dozen in National Geographic website, Your Shot section.

Among the pictures submitted to Your Shot section in National Geographic website, 12 best pictures are chosen every weekday and from the pool of pictures for the whole month and the best two are selected to be printed in National Geographic magazine in the Your Shot section.

Below is the screen shot of my picture in National Geographic website in Your Shot Daily Dozen. It appeared in August – Week 2. Click here to go to Your Shot Daily Dozen and choose August Week 2 to get to the page below.

National Geographic's Your Shot Daily Dozen for August | week 2

I am delighted to share with you here that one of my pictures was published in a newsletter of Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University.

It’s also a great pleasure to hear from its editor, Liz Denius, that my picture became the first photograph that the newsletter published starting from this issue.  Since she received such a good feedback on this issue she planned to include a photograph in each of its weekly issue.

Thank you Liz for the encouraging feedback.

Below is the screenshot of the newsletter which originally is in PDF format.

Newsletter of Center for Southeast Asian Studies at NIU

We would like to wish our siblings, relatives and friends Selamat Hari Raya Eidulfitri.

This year we celebrated Hari Raya Eidulfitri in Kelana Jaya – my wife’s family house in Kelana Jaya that has become her “hometown”. Besides my parents-in-law and my brother-in-law Mamat, my wife’s sister Intan, who just gave birth to her second child on Saturday, a day before Raya, celebrated Hari Raya there as well with her family.

The big extended family

My beloved family

My father-in-law & mother-in-law

Me and my beloved wifey, Nina

My lovely wife, Nina

My first, second and third kid

Nur Batrishia Khadijah, our first daughter

Nur Afrina Aishah, our second daughter

Nur Nashmia Maisarah, our baby daughter who is now 7 months old

More family photos here.

I wish all muslim friends and muslim readers Selamat Hari Raya Eidulfitri and Eid Mubarak. Maaf Zahir & Batin from me and family. Enjoy the festivities with your loved ones in the coming Raya and let this joyous occassion get us closer to our loved ones and relatives.

Do drive carefully while balik kampung since the Malaysian road accident statistics is very scary every year!

Raya photo in 2008 in Jerteh

This is our last year’s raya photo at my parents’ house in Jerteh, Terengganu.  Our youngest baby, Nur Nashmia Maisarah was not in the picture as she was born only in February this year.

Every year in the month of Ramadhan muslims from within and outside Kuala Lumpur will throng Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman area to shop for clothes and food in preparation for their Eid festival or Hari Raya as they call it in Malay. They could get almost anything there at a bargain. It is such a happening and colourful place even the grand and glittering shopping malls around KL find it hard to match.

I took the opportunity to shoot around the bazaar last weekend. Enjoy the pictures!

A string of tents snaking through between two rows of shophouses along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman

The tents at close-up

Shopping for headscarf at bird's eye view

Traditional food - serunding for sale

Shopping for headscarf

Kids are not spared - imitation watch for sale

Two enterprising ladies selling "songkok" - men's traditional headgear

It is a multi-racial market - this Indian lady is selling handbags

Multi-coloured headscarves on display on the mannequins

These two lady entrepreneurs are selling artificial flowers

Mouthwatering pickles to whet your appetite

Shoes on sale for ladies

You can view more photos at this page in my zenfolio or just sit back and watch the slideshow