Church #8: Nacka Church, Stockholm

Nacka Church is located in the Nacka Municipality, which is part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. Nacka was established as an industrial area since 16th century, although the industry has declined significantly today and being dominated by service sectors.

Nacka Church was built in 1891. The church was designed by Gustaf Wickman and it is in Gothic Revival style. Despite the church was built in 19th century, the pulpit can dated back to 1600s, which was used in the chapel before the church was built. The pulpit has four sculpted evangelical figures and a Christ figure. Interestingly, there is also a votive ships (Dutch fifty-gun ship model) from the 1500s, which was donated to the township in 1697.

If you are interested to see the VR tour of Nacka Church, please visit: http://www.360cities.net/image/nacka-church-1

Free eBook "Exploring Canyon X"

I have compose my photos taken in the Canyon X into an ebook and it is now available for free at Kah-Wai Lin Photography: eBook. The ebook also included some useful tips for photographing slot canyon. Feel free to download your copy and if you like it, please share it.

Enjoy reading! Let me know what you think - what you like and what you don't, so that I can make a better one next time:)

Hong Kong International Airport

This picture was taken in the Terminal 2 of Hong Kong International Airport. The impressive wavy ceiling is one of the most beautiful airport architecture I ever seen. Under the ceiling, it houses the check-in and processing facility for departing passengers, as well as the SkyPlaze, a large entertainment center with stores and restaurants. This is a great place to hang around while waiting for the flight.

It is a joy to stand on the upper floor and see the flow of people passing by the hallway in this 12th busiest airport in the world. This picture freezes the moment when the people are moving toward the vanishing point, as well as the spectacular wavy ceiling. These combined add the perspective and depth to the picture. The 2nd picture below is black-and-white conversion, which is another way to enjoy such a beautiful scene without distraction of color.

Chasing the Light at Badwater Basin

These photos were taken in Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park. We walked about a mile from the parking lot into the polygonal salt flats to find a place that hasn't been trampled by the visitors. Once we were there, we scouted the area, searched for the interesting patterns, setting up the camera and tripod and wait for the best light.

These 2 photos were taken just about 30 minutes interval. The first photos were taken about 10 minutes before sunset - the golden hour. We often refer the first and last hour of sunlight during the day as golden hour or magic hour. At this time, the contrast is significantly reduced so the shadow and highlight are less likely to be underexposed and overexposed, respectively. In addition, the warm color of low angle sun heavily enhance the color and vibrancy of the scene. In this particular shot, the low angle sun cast a rim of warm light at the edge of protruded salt formations and also on the background mountain. The quality of light at this time is amazing although it doesn't last long.

The second photo were taken about 20 minutes after sunset - the blue hour. We often refer the period of twilight in the morning and evening as blue hour, where there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. We also call it sweet light because the quality of light is a gift for photographers. As a result, the bluish ambiance evokes a sense of peace and serenity.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Exhibition in Millstone River Gallery

I will be exhibiting my work "Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park" at the Millstone River Gallery on Jan 30, 2014. I will be present for the grand opening and I would love to meet you there to show you my work. More information can be found on the website of Princeton Photography Club.

Hope to see you soon in Millstone River Gallery!

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving Byzantine architecture in Istanbul, Turkey. From its construction in 537 to 1453, it was an Eastern Orthodox cathedral under the Byzantine Empire, except from 1204 to 1261, it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. From 1453 to 1931, the building was converted to a mosque under the Ottoman Empire. In 1935, the first Turkish President and founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, transformed the Haghia Sophia into a museum. Hagia Sophia was once the largest cathedral for 1,000 years until the completion of the cathedral in Seville in Spain.

The spectacular interior has a complex structure, with a central dome surrounded with extended half domes of identical diameter. The interior of Hagia Sophia is richly decorated with both Christian and Islamic elements, notably the mosaics and marble pillars with great artistic value. The mosaics either depicted the Jesus, St. Mary, saints, or emperors and empresses. While one the of most prominent Islamic element are the gigantic circular-framed disks with Islamic Calligraphy hung on columns which were added in 1800s. Hagia Sophia's long history as both a church and a mosque render it as one of the most unique architecture in the world.

Seeing Abstractly - Valley of Fire State Park

This picture was taken in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. Over the last 150 million years, compression, uplifting and erosion of sand dunes form the park fiery red sandstone that we seen today. Although the color is awesome, the wavy and swirling patterns of the sandstone stand out very well, and these combined provide endless creative opportunities. I decided to go for black-and-white conversion, which is the best way to see these shapes and patterns without much distraction of color.

Ok, what's next? The composition. I recalled a very useful composition strategy from Visual Flow by Ian Plant (it's a great ebook!!) - to create a better compositions, you must learn to see the scene abstractly. Instead of seeing rocks, mountains, and trees, you see the shapes, lines, and pattern. Importantly, organize them into the frame is the key.

This is the corresponding abstract diagram of the picture above:

The lines form by the sandstone and clouds point toward the triangular rock in the background (red). Perhaps, you may seen as the interplay between the five triangles formed by the sandstone and sky (green). All these lines and shapes guide you to go deeper into the scene.

Sometime we can be distracted by the beautiful scene. To get a great shot, we have to learn to see the scene in different ways. The lesson is, sit back and think before firing the shutter.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Artist's Palette, Death Valley National Park

Artist's Drive are located in the Black Mountains in Death Valley National Park. It is a one-way 9 miles scenic drive that can be accessed from 8.55 miles south of Badwater Road and Route 190 intersection. The Artist's Drive itself is like a roller coaster as you wind through the narrow cliffs. The geological formation of Artist's Drive is awesome. It's also an evidence that the area has gone through a very active volcanic period in the past.

Artist's Palette is among the most spectacular view along Artist Drive, which is famous with its colorful rock. The colors is a result of the oxidation of different elements - red, pink and yellow is from iron salts, green is from decomposing tuff-derived mica, and purple is from manganese.

These colorful rock formations are very photogenic at anytime of the day, although the soft light during the dusk and dawn would be the best. To add the sense of scale, it is good to include a figure in the picture. If you look carefully at my first picture, you may find a little kid squats on the rock at the right edge of the picture. Interestingly, I didn't notice that until my photography buddy told me!

Interview by Bokeh Magazine

Recently I was interview by Bokeh Magazine (Vol 14, 2014). It is about my journey in photography since I first grab the camera, almost 15 years ago. I was just introduce to this magazine when the editor contact me about the interview. Bokeh Magazine is exclusively publish for iPad. This is a great magazine, with many feature articles on established and successful photographers that share their success stories. I highly recommend it to everyone interested in photography.

To read the full interview and photos (8 pages), please visit: http://bokehonline.com/blog/2014/01/bokeh-mag-vol-14-is-now-available-for-download-in-your-bokeh-apple-newsstand-app/

Enjoy reading and Happy Saturday!

Church #7: St. Clara Church, Stockholm

St. Clara Church is located in the central of Stockholm, Sweden. It was a St. Clara Convent and monestery church at the original sites in 1280s, and it was demolished in 1527. The current church building was originally built during the second half of 1500s. Since then many changes were made over the years. Currently, the church tower is the second tallest in Scandinavian Countries, with the height of 116 meters.

Inside of the church, the altarpiece was painted by Jonas Hoffman in 1766. The altarpiece is flanked by two kneeling angels, which were carved by Johan Tobias Sergel in 1904. The pulpit was probably made ​​in 1753 by Carl Harlemans drawings.

Today, in addition to worshiping, St. Clara Church is active in charity works in the downtown Stockholm, e.g. providing food and cloth to the homeless, drug addicts and refugees; supporting prostitutes, stressed and sick people with conversation and pray; as well as visiting prisons.

My Pictures on Light & Landscape Magazine

My pictures is featured on Reader's Showcase in Light & Landscape Magazine (Issue 3, 2013). Light & Landscape Magazine is a new digital magazine dedicated to landscape photography. The magazine is free-of-charge and aims to become a community driven resource for landscape and outdoor photographers. This magazine is a big surprise, with great pack of information written by professional and amateur photographer. I would highly recommend it to everyone who love photography.

You may download the magazine in PDF format from: http://www.lightandlandscapemagazine.com/

Alternatively, iPad version is available through iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/light-landscape-magazine-enjoy/id680385551?mt=8

Enjoy and happy reading!

Golden Canyon, Death Valley National Park

Golden Canyon Trail is a short and easy hiking trail located 2 miles south of Highway 190 on Badwater Road in the Death Valley National Park, California. A short walk in the Golden Canyon trail gives an awesome montage of various geologic events in Death Valley's natural history. Looking closely at the rock formation and you will notice the layers that are composed of sediment of various size. Once upon a time, Golden Canyon was covered by lake. Over 5 million years of geological evolution, these rock formation transformed from the loose material into solid conglomerate, the uplift and erosion, and flash flooding exposed these formations that we seen today.

Golden Canyon is best visited and photographed at dawn and dusk. Nevertheless, the mid-day provide unlimited photography opportunities, particularly close-up and black-and-white photography. The geological formation is so diverse that you will be amazed with the patterns, textures and lines of the rock formation. This is a great place to photograph beyond the magic hour.

Exploring California/Nevada/Utah

We just return from the trip to California/Nevada/Utah (12/24/2013-1/1/2014). It was total of 1690 miles (2720 km) of driving, 2 National Park (Death Valley National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park) and 1 State Park (Valley of Fire State Park) visited. It was a fruitful trip, and I came back with 64GB of photos and wonderful memories and experience.

Here is the summary of our itinerary:

12/24/2013 (Tue)

Flight: Newark, NJ - Las Vegas, NV

12/25/2013 (Wed)

Death Valley National Park, CA (Golden Canyon, Badwater Basin)

12/26/2013 (Thu)

Death Valley National Park, CA (Dante's View, Furnace Creek, Artist Drive)

12/27/2013 (Fri)

Death Valley National Park, CA (Zabriskie Point, Stovepipe Wells, Mesquite Flat Dunes)

12/28/2013 (Sat)

Death Valley National Park, CA (Zabriskie Point)

Valley of Fire State Park (White Domes Slot Canyon, Fire Wave)

Las Vegas, NV

12/29/2013 (Sun)

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT (Bryce Point)

12/30/2013 (Mon)

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT (Inspiration Point, Mossy Cave, Farview Point, Agua Canyon, Natural Bridge, Sunset Point)

12/31/2013 (Tue)

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT (Inspiration Point)

Flight: Las Vegas, NV - Phoenix, AZ - Newark, NJ

1/1/2013 (Wed)

Arrived in Newark, NJ

Stay tuned for more photos and stories of the trip:)