Exhibition in Guild of Creative Art

Three of my images was selected for the 11th Annual "EyeSights" Open Juried Photography Show at Guild of Creative Art (New Jersey, USA) from March 1 to April 1, 2014. I will be present for the opening reception on March 2, 2014, 3-5 pm and I would love to meet you there to show you my works. More information can be found on the website of Guild of Creative Art.

Hope to see you soon in Guild of Creative Art!

Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park, NJ

Valley of Fire State Park, NV

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, UT

Love from Valley

This picture was taken at the Dante's View, Death Valley National Park. Dante's View offer a magnificent panoramic view of various geological formation. Particularly to the west, Dante’s View offers the best view of the Panamint Range, as shown in this picture.

When the sun gradually rising from the horizon, the Panamint Range is bathed with the warm light. While scouting around for abstract artwork, a heart-shaped shadow cast by the elevated ground was spotted. I carefully frame the burning heart in my viewfinder and freeze the beautiful moment by pressing the shutter. What's a great way to start a day!

Love is everywhere! I wish you all a Happy Valentine!

White Domes Trail, Valley of Fire State Park

Valley of Fire State Park is the oldest state park in Nevada. The name is derived from red sandstone formations which appear to be on fire when reflecting the sunshine. The park is located just 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. It is a place with full of surprise, regardless whether you are a nature lover or a photographer!

This picture was taken at the trail head of White Domes Trail. The trail leads the way to a beautiful White Domes slot canyon. The trail itself is extremely photogenic, thereby provide endless creative opportunities particularly for intimate landscape photography. This picture is one of my favorite creation, where I spotted the tree and glass lie on the beautiful stripe-patterned cliff. What's a perfect combination!

Noteworthy, White Domes area was the location for the 1966 movie "The Professionals", a typical 1960s western genre starred by Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale.

Dante's View, Death Valley National Park

Dante's View is a viewpoint terrace located about 25km (16 miles) south of Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park. At the height of 1,669m (5,476 feet), Dante's View offer a magnificent panoramic view of various Death Valley geological formation. Particularly to the west, as shown in this picutre, Dante’s View offers the best panoramic view of Badwater Basin and the Panamint Range. From here, the highest and lowest points in the park - Telescope Peak 3,367m (11,047 feet) high and Badwater Basin −86m (−282 feet) can be seen. Badwater Basin is also the lowest point in North America. 

To capture the best light of Dante's View, we woke up at 4am and start driving from Amargosa Opera House & Hotel at Death Valley Junction. Despite the road toward Dante's View is paved, extra cautious is needed because it is narrow and winding. It took us about an hour to reach the peak of Dante's View. The view is breathtaking despite the bitter cold and windy due to the high elevation. This is a fantastic location for wide-angle landscape, as well as telephoto abstract photography. When the sun gradually rising from the horizon, the Panamint Range in the West is bathed with the warm alpenglow - it was when I press the shutter while enjoying the beauty of our mother nature.

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.