<wonglp> Traveling with my mirrorless pen

[wonglp]

Had a morning to be in Beijing, decided to go to Tian Tan, Temple of Heaven. It's advisable to start the walk from the south gate and walk towards the north gate where the Hall of prayer for good harvests is - i.e. saving the best for last. Built in 1420, during the Ming dynasty. There are 3 main attractions here, the circular mound altar (south), imperial vault of heaven (central), hall of prayer for good harvests (north). Apart from that, there is a huge park pretty much surrounding the last attraction. And you will find many aged Pekinese here exercising, dancing, and all sorts of games never seen in my life.

#53 - Circular mound altar.

It's used to worship Heaven during the winter solstice. Made on marble. Circular Mound, represent Heaven and surrounded by the square, representing Earth. E-PL1+9-18mm


Circular Mound Altar by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

#54 Imperial Vault of Heaven (&#30343;&#31353;&#23431

In the past, the vault contained memorial tablets of the emperor's ancestors. E-PL1+9-18mm


Imperial Vault of Heaven by wonglpnn, on Flickr

#55 Danbi Bridge (&#20025;&#38491;&#26725

It's called a bridge, however, more of a raised walkway to symbolizing the ascension from earth to heaven. Far view is the hall of prayers for good harvest. At the side are old cypress trees as old as 400-500 years old...E-PL1+45/1.8


Danbi Bridge (&#20025;&#38491;&#26725 by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

#56 &#31048;&#24180;&#27583; - Hall of the prayers for good harvest

An impressive 3-tiered wooden structure that sits on a 3-tiered marbled plinth. Remarkably, not a single nail was used in its construction. Unfortunately, it was burnt down in 1889, and was rebuilt soon after again. As the name implies, emperors used this hall to pray to Heaven for bumper crops. E-PL1+9-18mm



&#31048;&#24180;&#27583; - Hall of the prayers for good harvest by wonglpnn, on Flickr

#57 Another shot - with the northern gateway


&#22825;&#22363; &#65293; &#31048;&#24180;&#27583; by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

A few more to share taken in the park of Temple of Heaven, Beijing:

#58 Old Cypress Trees

The temple of Heaven is such a large place and has so much greenery and park with lotsa interesting activities. One of the unique sight here are the banks of cypress trees, few hundred old typically. The early morning fog and the age of the trees gives a spiritual feel. Not sure my shot successfully capture that. Would recommend one to go early, it's open from 6. E-PL1 + 45/1.8


Untitled by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

#59 Chinese Chaptek (&#27645;&#23376

Early morning at the Temple of Heaven park, many old folks come to exercise, one of the popular ones is &#36386;&#27645;&#23376;, chinese chaptek. It is much bigger, and heavier than local one. Caught in action is an old uncle who had the skills of a young man. He probably know Kung Fu? Apart from bicycle kick, he pretty much execute all possible kick i can think of. E-PL1+45/1.8


&#36386;&#27645;&#23376; by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[supmylo]

Beautiful photos . Your EPL1 is producing very nice and colourful photos .
Of course , the photographer is equally important , keep it up .
May I ask , are the photos PP ? .
Thanks for sharing .

 

[wonglp]

Beautiful photos . Your EPL1 is producing very nice and colourful photos .
Of course , the photographer is equally important , keep it up .
May I ask , are the photos PP ? .
Thanks for sharing .

Thanks for encouragement! To a certain extent, most have a little - from crop, straighten the simplest to some tonal adjustment, contrast, as the morning was foggy. Nothing that would take me more than half a min...here's one that took 2 steps to convert to B&W. I use iphoto mainly, freeware on my iMac, suit my lazy needs, lousy skills;p Have a nice weekend!

#60. Inhale

At Tian Tan, there are many old folks, here's one relaxing with a smoke. A little tight shot, but i like the feel in this shot. E-PL1+45/1.8


Inhale by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[trelch]

Thank you for all the inspirational pictures taken with your mirrorless. Now i am so inspired to travel and take photos with a camera of that size !!!
I am very very tempted to get the 9-14mm lens or the new 12mm to take some streets and landscape shots too !
Which one do you recommend? lol

 

[wonglp]

Thank you for all the inspirational pictures taken with your mirrorless. Now i am so inspired to travel and take photos with a camera of that size !!!
I am very very tempted to get the 9-14mm lens or the new 12mm to take some streets and landscape shots too !
Which one do you recommend? lol

Hi Trelch, thanks for the kind words!

I actually have both 9-18 & 12. It's a struggle at first to decide which to bring out, but I find myself still bringing the 9-18 more.
9-18 is very versatile lens, and 3mm more wide is a lot difference, the perspective is also very different. Its is not as sharp as 12mm to the edges certainly and not as bright, however, it's good enough for me as I'm just amateur and still learning to shoot better. And if i do landscapes, tripod is with me so not as bright no issue.
At 18mm (36mm), It can be good for streets too at this long end.

12mm on other hand is metal body, has distance marker, the only lens that has that feature among all m43 lens, so it's really useful for street shooting, however, 24mm perspective can be too wide for me personally.

So i suppose it still depends on what focal length suits you and whether you need F2 glass and distance markers.
My 2 cts

Here's one shot taken with the 9-18mm:


#61 Learning is a lifelong process



Learning is a lifelong process by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[MichaelLee]

#61 Learning is a lifelong process



Learning is a lifelong process by wonglpnn, on Flickr

i like this. the motion works for me.

 

[wonglp]

i like this. the motion works for me.

Thanks for stopping by bro! Hope to use Ricoh long enough to have a similar thread :bsmilie:

 

[wonglp]

Haven't posted in a while...I went to Bali this week with wife and 2 young kids, would like to share a few moments. Stayed at grand hyatt nusa dua, the beach here are really nice. Missed the ASEAN summit which is also in Nusa Dua which is great, coz the traffic jam was totally messed up last week.

#62 Nusa Dua beach surfers

Taken with EPL1 + 9-18mm. A little level and exposure adjustment.


Nusa Dua beach, good wave for surfing by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

#62 Hair Braider by the beach

E-PL1 + 45/1.8, level adjustment.


The hair braider by the beach by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

Time is always limited for photography, with one kid sleeping and the other at kids' club, it's nice to have alone time for it, though it's still wandering around the hotel.

#63 Grand Hyatt landscape is nice.

E-PL1+9-18mm, CPL+GND shot. OOC jpg


Landscaping around hotel is really nice by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

#64 Lily-Pop!

E-PL1+45/1.8, ooc jpg.


Lily-Pop! by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

#64 Baby Monkey at Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali

The monkeys here are generally not aggressive, however, if you have food/bananas, they do get a little zealous. Monkey Forest is near the center of Ubud. Taken with E-PL1+45/1.8, level adjustment and crop.


Baby monkey in monkey forest, Ubud by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

Planned for the following sightseeing trips, departed at 10am:

- Ubud for lunch
- Monkey Forest at Ubud
- Tegallalang rice fields
- Kintamani
- Lake Batur
- Bersakih

Turn out that the traffic was quite bad so had to scrap Bersakih.

#65 A shot from Lake Batur

EPL1+9-18mm.


Bali, Lake Batur by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[TWmilkteaTW]

i love the monkey shot. its amazing

 

[wonglp]

i love the monkey shot. its amazing

Thanks TWmilkteaTW, glad you like it

Here's a food shot for you, hope you like it.

#66 Bebek Bengil, Ubud.


This is probably the most enjoyable and satisfying food throughout the trip, skin is crispy, comes with sliced onion and vinegar and chili pad, i can have it anytime of the day! Very much recommended.

Here's a link for anyone who's interested, Ubud Restaurants : Bebek Bengil dirty duck diner located at Ubud bali
The ambience here is really great too. A pity it was raining heavy, had a small plantation within the dining compound which is nice for photoshooting. Taken with E-PL1+20mm/1.7



Bebek bengil, the roasted duck specialty here. The western dessert was not good though. Very nice ambience. by wonglpnn, on Flickr

 

[wonglp]

#67 Kintamani family with their transportation

Taken with EPL1+45/1.8


Bali Kintamani family and their transportation by wonglpnn, on Flickr