waterfall at tasek lama

The Tasek Lama waterfall located in the heart of Bandar Seri Begawan, the Brunei capital.

sungai besar revisited

A popular fishing spot located in Sungai Besar, Brunei.

This is an HDR image, the first I've done in quite a while so please excuse the poor workmanship. There may be a dozen things I could do to fix this up even better but I just don't relish the thought of spending that much time editing a single photo. Hehe.

evening rush

Oops, sorry for not updating last couple of days. Been busy. Anyways to make up, here's a short series of traffic trails I shot sometime back at the pedestrian crossover in Batu Satu.

Only 3 pictures here because light was running out at the time and a pitch black sky would've been rather ugly. That and I haven't had time to go back there for additional shots yet. Enjoy and C&C is welcome as always.

the onset of night

four points

From front to back: the dome of the Brunei Supreme Court building; the dome (which is undergoing renovation) and minaret of the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque; and one of the two Subok towers.

sunday bandar outing

Last Sunday, I went on an outing at Bandar Seri Begawan with the guys and girls from the BruneiForever Forum. It was actually a 50mm challenge, meaning that all shots need to be taken strictly at the 50mm focal length, using a prime lens preferably or a zoom lens as a substitute. I, for one, couldn't participate in the challenge itself - if you've been following my blog, you'll know that my 24-70mm is still MIA.

Ah well, I just joined in for the fun anyway and it was nice to finally meet some of the BFF members. Plus I really need to work on my street photography skills. To be honest, I'm not particularly satisfied with all the shots I took that day but not showing any result at all would just be sad. Hehe. So here's my meagre offering from that day. Enjoy! (or not...)

distant jewel

The Jame' Asri Hassanil Bolkiah stands out starkly against the fading daylight. This photo was taken at the same spot as the previous two posts and is also the last of that particular series.

dusk

Bandar Seri Begawan at dusk.

Heh should've made an HDR image out of this scene. Another time for that I guess.

a simple sunset

Just a plain ol' sunset I took almost two weeks ago. Yeah two weeks, it surprised me even. I've been pretty occupied with other stuff lately and hence the lead time between taking the pic and uploading it here.

Anyway, I don't want to bore you with the details. I'm just saying this is why I haven't updated for the last couple of days and until I get them over and done with, updates will not be as frequent as they have been for the past couple of weeks.

morning reflections

Damuan river in the early morning with Istana Nurul Iman in the background.

golden palace

A shot of Istana Nurul Iman, the residence of the Sultan of Brunei. Taken from Damuan, of course.

golden leaves

Okay, so this picture might not show anything remotely interesting as far as physical subjects are concerned. I just love its colors, and I guess that's the main subject here. Sure hurt my eyes trying to compose this shot.

Oh and this was taken at Damuan one fine morning so that means my pics from Serasa are more or less done (read: I'm too lazy to process anymore from that batch).

contemplation

Just a random cat I found at Serasa beach. Quite cooperative too.

three kings

Another pic from my Serasa outing. I don't really know what species of bird they are. They're a common sight at Serasa beach.

dilapidated paradise

One of the photos I took on my solo outing at Serasa beach. More yet to come over the course of the next few days.

Something really ought to be done about this place though. The shorelines are full of rubbish and then there's this. Quite a pity considering it's about the only beach in Brunei one could go to for a sunrise experience - that is assuming my geographical knowledge of Brunei's beaches is accurate. Heh.

If there is another beach in Brunei where one can see a sunrise over the horizon, do tell. I'd like to try it out.

high tide

Yes, I know I said I was going to post more on my walkabout at Serasa beach but while this picture isn't taken at Serasa, it was made while I was on my way to Serasa. I decided to stop by and take some quick shots while the sky was like that before moving on to my actual destination.

This was taken the following morning after my "low tide" shot. It's at a different location but we're still seeing the same ol' Brunei river here just like my previous shot. Again, it's not quite a sunrise but it's close enough to count.

Oh and if you're wondering who the guy you see in the foreground is, well, that's actually me. Haha. This would make it the first time I've ever actually appeared on my own blog! I guess I just needed something to 'enhance' the scene rather than leave it empty and shoot it as is. And since no one else was around, I decided to volunteer.

bright

A particularly bright morning's sunlight reflecting off of the side of a lamp post at Serasa beach.

A few more photos from my walkabout at Serasa beach that day to come soon. Well as soon as I can get off my arse and do some post-processing anyway. I'm starting off with something simple and minimalistic first.

low tide

Taken just before sunrise at the riverbank behind my house. It was quite hard getting to this spot and I nearly fell in the mud several times. I stayed at the spot for a few seconds to compose this shot and before I realized it I already sank several inches into the mud.

I wonder what my neighbors would think I was doing if they saw me walking with a camera in the muddy banks of the river that early in the morning. I sure hope they don't get any weird ideas.