It’s one of those locales that needs careful planning, and at the time a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia wasn’t available. Flight time to Colombo was approximately three hours, followed up with a three-hour drive to Mirissa. 

Accommodation

We stayed over at No. 53 – a historic ancestral residential home in Colombo close to the airport. The family were extremely friendly and kindly greeted us at some silly hour the evening of our arrival.

Breakfast the following morning was delicious, with a mix of both Sri Lankan and western food.

With full bellies, and happy hearts we set off on our road trip to Mirissa.

We chose to stay at the Peacock Villa due to the many rave reviews on TripAdvisor. The villa’s operated by a father and son team Gamini and Gomida Jayasinghe with Simba the Labrador for pats.

Our suite on the first level was overlooking a river and surrounded in forest. Therefore, it was like I was living in a national park.

Wildlife Front Row Seats from the Peacock Villa

Monkeys (red faced Macaques) on occasion were swinging through the trees. One cheeky baby decided to try untying my bikini straps while they were hanging from the drying rack, and fortunately he was unsuccessful.

Palm Squirrels danced along power lines, they’re such competent acrobats and fun to watch.

Peafowls resting on neighbouring roof tops, and it surprised me that they are so noisy.

Large billed crows, I’ve long had a fascination for the black feather beings. And there’s plenty of them about in Mirissa making mischief.

Magpie Robin (oriental magpie) which I identified from this helpful blog post.

Indian Pond Heron’s (paddy bird) resting on tree branches close to the river were a lovely sight as they’re such a still bird.

Water monitor lizards frequently cruising by in the river below. Interestingly I become a fan when some years ago I watched a monster one lumbering along in a deep drain culvert in Penang – Malaysia.

Beach Days Everyday

Beach days every day was the routine we quickly grew fond of. Starting with a session mid-morning, and then back again in the afternoon for a top up of rays and a cool beer. 

The shore break could be a little tough. And if dumpers aren’t your thing, more gentle spots can be found further along the beach. 

There’s tons of water activities available if you’re keen. Like surfing, stand up paddle boarding, boogie boards, snorkelling etc.. 

Eating Always Eating

You won’t starve with plenty of food to eat, and a good variety.  As a vegetarian there was always an option for me on the menu.  Some of the spots we dined at included:

Shady Lane Mirissa

Dewmini Roti Shop

W&D Beach Restaurant

Our World Wi Fi Café

Deltano’s Wood Fired Pizza

In summary, we loved our beach holiday and intend to re-visit Sri Lanka and explore other regions.

The post Sri Lanka Top of my Wish List appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

This is due to leaving my homeland of New Zealand in March 2011 to live in Phuket – Thailand. In 2015 I relocated to Malaysia spending one year exploring Penang, and I’m now a resident of Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur Photographers

Kuala Lumpur has a very active community of enthusiastic street photographers devoted to their craft. They get together for photo walks, organize regular gallery exhibitions, and manage several popular online forums for sharing their photography. Which is ideal for inspiration and is a valuable support structure for the members.

When it comes to street photography I prefer to work alone. When I’m in the flow I’m fully immersed in the environment looking for a portrait subject or street scene opportunity.

Seeking Permission

Generally, I will seek permission for a portrait photograph and enjoy the shared experience of taking the photograph. The people of Kuala Lumpur are generally open to posing for portraits, and have a fun attitude.

At first I struggled with the V-for-victory, peace, or ‘Y’ as in Yeah! sign every time I either point my camera and or asked for a photograph. For now, I’m relaxed and accept this as how the person likes to be represented.

Photography Style

Aesthetically my preference is a shallow depth of field with a sharp focus on the subject’s face, with the eyes being the most important part of the image.

Most of my portrait imagery is in portrait orientation, and stylistically I produce my photographs in black and white. Nowadays, I’m working with natural light rather than an artificial light source for my street portraiture.

If you wish to see more of my street portraiture, the best place to do this is my portfolio website. I’m also active on Instagram, please follow if you’re interested in my travels and photography.

See you online 

The post Studio Based Portrait to Street Portrait Photography appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

Pasar Karat is on the fringe of Petaling Street and starts at 5 am and stall owners are around to 10 am and I understand that Sunday is the busiest day with all the vendors turning out with their wares. Some of the old timers have been hawking for 20 – 30 years.

For me Pasar Karat was not a destination, more a part of my photo walkabouts.  The occasions I’ve been strolling through the Jalan has generally been after 10 am, therefore I’ve missed the hustle and bustle of the busy trading times.

These street portraits from Pasar Karat are both candid and posed. I’ve Included a small vignette of a watch trade, and some items that remained unsold. Decorating the Jalan are colourful wall murals which I imagine are not as obvious during prime trading time.

Pasar Karat is worthy of a visit to see some of the character of Kuala Lumpur. However, personally I do prefer to buy my watches from the shopping mall!

ADDRESS for Pasar Karat – Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia

Jalan Raja Muda Musa,

Kampung Baru,

50300 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia

Happy exploring 

The post Pasar Karat Flea Market Photo Walk appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

This study examined the size of mannequins used in national fashion retailers on the high streets of two English cities.

Still Life Shop Mannequins

Mannequins are good portrait studies as they don’t move, and are generally  posed under shop lights. Therefore, I consider mannequins to be more still life subjects.

The challenges posed by the shop lighting or lack of lighting is what inspires me most. Reflectivity, and shape also makes for an interesting photograph.

Of late, I’ve also been focused on individual body parts and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the occasional missing digit.

Shop Mannequin Photo Series

This post includes some of my favourite mannequin photos. What’s beautiful about this fascination of mine is that the window displays often change, the clothing, their poses, and the sets.

For more photos of mannequins please visit my photo series gallery.

I try and keep it current, and update it regularly with new images.

The post Shop Mannequins Photo Series appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

I love stepping out with my camera, wondering who I might meet on my travels, and what photos I’ll make along the way.

My vocation is portrait photography, and the street provides so many interesting subjects.

The opportunity to learn about people, a snippet of their lives is what motivates me to keep stepping out.

When the portraits are downloaded, it’s another opportunity for me to gaze upon the subject, recall our conversation and imagine more …

This is a short list of what is important to me in my craft of Street Portrait Photography.

MY STREET PHOTOGRAPHY ETHICS

RESPECT

I try to be respectful of people and their desire to be photographed. For example when I’m shooting candid portraits without the persons permission, I’m watchful for body language. A body stiffening / hiding the face / angry hand gestures and harsh words is a signal to me of their discomfort and I move on.

People eating – do you want to be photographed chewing your food? I think not. This is a no-go zone for me.

A final note on respect, if I take a photo that is awkward or unflattering I won’t produce it, and will delete the file.

STREET PEOPLE

I learned a very valuable lesson many years ago, arriving in Paris there was a group of street people camped out. I lifted my cell-phone to take a photo, and one of the group started cursing and threw an empty bottle (I imagine he’d not waste a drop of good liquor on a stranger) toward me.

I try to keep my lens away from Street People.

HONEST ENGAGEMENT

When asking for permission from a person I’ll start a dialogue, enquire about what it is they’re doing, where they’re from, their name etc.. However, this can be a challenge when we don’t share a common language. Gesturing sometimes gets us through.

GIVING BACK

When communication works and I’m able to get a contact – phone number or email address I’m very grateful. It makes me happy to be able to send through a digital copy of their photo.

I will also print photos and deliver them should I know the person’s regular hang out space.

CHILDREN

Generally I don’t take photographs of children, unless I have the permission from a caregiver to take the photograph. However, I don’t seek out children to photograph.

FUN

The street is full of characters, a good laugh is easy to find.

The post Street Photography Ethics appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

Luang Prabang’s climate is different from Kuala Lumpur’s, it is much cooler in the mornings and evenings.

Unfortunately, my packing lent on the side of summer ensembles. Due to low cloud hanging in the valley the sun often didn’t appear until about 11 am and its enveloping warmth feels like a visit from a dear friend.

My packing choices meant I wore the same jeans, puffer jacket and long sleeve shirt twice daily for ten days. Once home, I swore never to wear these items of clothing again, and stored them deep in the recesses of my wardrobe.

The people I met in Luang Prabang were genuinely lovely. Hawking, an aspect of travel I least enjoy isn’t disruptive or uncomfortable, and I found to be very low key.

The tuk-tuk drivers are plentiful, there’s always a ride available. In my experience, I found them not aggressive in their mannerisms, and they use a gentle ‘tuk – tuk’ chirp singsong sound to attract your attention. And when you refuse a ride it isn’t a war and the drivers I encountered were quite playful.

Hospitality service was of a very good standard, the staff work hard to try and understand English. I enjoyed all my dining experiences and the food was good quality. As a vegetarian, I located enough restaurants to enjoy a variety of dishes.

Luang Prabang has plenty of very beautiful temples worth visiting and I didn’t find them too crowded.

There’s plenty to do if you enjoy crafting, I made a nice anklet and bracelet at “Garden of Eden” in a jewelry workshop across the Nam Khan river.

A trip to Luang Prabang is not complete if you haven’t been on a sunset cruise on the Mekong River and it was one of my highlights, together with a trip to Chomphet a short boat ride across the Mekong on my last day.

Photos from my visit to Chompet.

Please see below some links to websites that might be useful should you be planning to visit beautiful Luang Prabang – Laos.

Enjoy ♡

Tourism

Free the Bears

Garden of Eden

The post Christmas in Luang Prabang, Laos appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

The park was crowded which was a lovely surprise, usually I visit early morning when it is more quiet, and today it was almost shoulder to shoulder in some parts, the children’s play areas in particular.

People were attempting selfies with the Petronas Towers as a backdrop and some looking like pretzels in their attempt to capture the twins in their photograph.

Tourists thumbing through guide books, families having their evening meal together, and couples sitting and enjoying each other’s company.

Children laughing, birds chirping, construction building sounds filtering through as background noise — the hammering, pounding and drilling seems never to rest in this city. Adding to the cacophony, security staff blowing their whistles at adults trying to sneak in a swing or two at the playground.

Following are the people I met today and shared conversation with.

These are the questions I ask:

What makes you happy?

What is your gift to the world?

Kusumah and her family were having dinner together in the park.

She mentioned that being with her family makes her happy, she has four children, three daughters and one son. Although Kusumah and family speak some English, I speak less Bahasa Malay however, we managed to get through with the help of a translation app.

If she could, she’d bring peace and harmony to the world ‘aman dan damai’.

Aizat and Akmal

Akmal is happiest sleeping and spending time with her family, and at 22 she believes she’s too young to know what her gift to the world is.

Aizat is happiest when eating food ‘all types of food’ and hanging out with friends. He laughs a lot and believes his gift to the world is making people laugh.

Chie and Arga

Arga didn’t want to have his photo taken, however he was happy to assist with translation and be interviewed. This was their last night in Kuala Lumpur, they’re here on holiday from Japan.

Chie is happiest when with family and when traveling.

Their gift to the world is a joint mission, Arga is a pump engineer and Chie is involved with marketing the product. Their combined skills and knowledge help people connect with each other around the world. They sell pumps to international markets for example the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia, and their gift to the world is clean water.

Selfie and group photo combo, at Kuala Lumpur City Park with Kusumah and family – thank you 

The post Evening Portraits Kuala Lumpur City Park appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

My aim was ten portraits, and to photograph people using natural light only. My desire was to approach strangers and ask for their portrait, and then ask them for a few minutes to ask a couple of questions.

In reality ten portraits was too ambitious. I was at the park for ninety minutes and spent time with people enjoying conversations, listening to their stories and sharing some details from my own story. Having this exchange is far better, and more interesting than speed shooting and collecting random portraits of strangers.

The questions I posed were influenced by a recent ‘Chase Jarvis 30 Days of Genius’ interview I watched with Michael Meade – storyteller and author of The Genius Myth.

QUESTIONS:

What makes you happy?

What is your gift to the world?

Everyone I approached was open to having their portrait taken and answering my questions.

Intan – from Kedah – Northern Malaysia.

Finds happiness when spending time with her husband, and caring for her family.

With a family of five boys and four grandchildren she has lots of opportunity to be happy, and her caregiving is the gift she gives to the world.

Almadira believes happiness is a state of mind, she likes being with friends and family, especially her mum and this is when she feels happiest.

She is studying law and is close to graduating. Her gift to the world is to contribute to the betterment of the condition of people by using her career based skills and training.

Sarasvathi – from India

Being with her first grandchild gives her a lot of happiness. She’s recently joined a Brahma Kumaris Meditation Yoga group and wants to love the world more, and be more loving to people – this is her gift.

I’m grateful to Intan, her husband and son, Almadira, Sarasvathi and her family for spending time with me today.

Thank you.

The post Portraits Kuala Lumpur City Centre Park appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.

He sprung to National and international attention in 2006 when his painting “Portrait of Hans” –  Hans Kellet pen name of playwright Ryan McFayden – won the prestigious Adam Portraiture Award  at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery – Te Pukenga Whakaata.

I met with him at his Wellington based studio in September 2010 and captured this series of portraits.

For more about Freeman visit his site and Saatchi Art profile.

The post Freeman White Landscape and Portrait Artist appeared first on The 10 Sons Of Manu.