I’ve Move Here WazariWazir.Com

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Welcome to My New Blog WazariWazir.Com

Self Expression

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

“I think your picture is not sharp”, “I think your picture is a little bit dark”, I think your highlight is blown out”, ” I think you picture has too much noise”. For me this is all “funny comments” not from photographers but I would call them a “Technicgraphers” why? Simply because these kind of people who like to comments about technical aspect of photography fail to realize what photography is all about, a picture is not like an engine or a building where you can measure or judge their performance by technical aspect. Great photography or great picture will work even if they break all the rules, a blurry picture and totally blown out highlight picture will still stand a chance to win a World Press Photo Awards if the picture is GREAT regardless of their lack of technical aspect.

For me it is very simple, a GREAT picture is a GREAT picture and a BAD picture is a BAD picture even though all the technical aspect is perfect in term of composition, lighting, exposure  and etc and etc…

Istanbul | Istiklal Caddesi

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

This is among my favorite picture of Istiklal Caddesi in Istanbul, there are a lot of peoples here, you really can get lost in time here, watching people doing their business along the street or simply watching people just enjoy walking here. Definitely this is a must visit place for any traveler or tourist who come and visit Istanbul apart from most common tourist attraction like Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya at Sultanahmet. People here really doesn’t bother so much of you taking picture of them, maybe most people here are so accustomed with photographers taking their picture, after all, this is among the most popular tourist attraction in Taksim Turkey.

About the editing, I use a light texture to et a vintage kind of feel here. If you like to know a bit about my processing, here it goes, first I do my editing as usual, adjusting colors and contrast, then I choose “Blue Channel”, Red, Green and Blue Channel give different kind of monochromatic image, so in this case I like to use Blue Channel, copy that Channel and paste it on top of the layer, and start working from it. Turn it into sepia image before adding texture. The original texture are a bit hard, I just want a lightly texture, so I play around with the opacity, I mean reduce a bit the opacity of the texture until satisfied. Here I use soft light blending mode, which is always my favorite blending option. So if you have the time, play around, give your picture some artistic touch into it. If you don’t like doing heavy editing, that was fine but for me I like to try new thing, I like my picture to have “feel” when people watch it.

I don’t called this editing as a “manipulation” but an “enhancement”, the story is still there, the people are real, I did not add or remove what’s being there or what’s not being there, well, maybe I add a “texture”, that’s it. Those thing does not in anyway change the content of the picture, the people, the activity and the surrounding, it’s just that with this kind of an “enhancement” you can “feel it”…

Istanbul | Turkey | Workstation

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

This is my temporary workstation while I was in Istanbul Turkey for my assignment covering our Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin during COMCEC Economic Conference in Istanbul Turkey. This is my room in Hilton Istanbul Turkey room number 92 located not very far away from busy area of Taksim. I was sleeping alone here even though there was two beds in the room. From this room I can see clearly a Bosphorus, watching a ship coming and going their business.

On this assignment I bring alone my own 15 inch MacBook Pro, my company doesn’t provide me with a laptop so I’ve to bring my own. For back up I bring along Laciew 250GB  and Seagate 500 GB mobile hard disk and most of my image were transferred to those two disk so I can sleep peacefully. There was an internet line in my room I don’t use it simply because I’ve to pay 48 Lira to use it, almost MYR 100 or almost USD 30 for 24 hours connection, since I don’t want to spent so much of my precious times on the net so the internet connection was not necessary to me.

To those of you who are planning to travel, for a holiday or for an assignment, please make sure you bring extra storage, to keep your picture safe, anything can happen and it is not a very good idea to have just one back up, take two so if anything happen to the other hard disk, you have another back up. External hard disk is very cheap nowadays but your picture is a lot more expensive than that, just imagine, traveling for thousands of a kilometer and suddenly when you reach home and trying to access your hard disk, become a nightmare, so don’t let this happen, take extra precaution.

What Life is All About

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

While We Try to Teach Our Children All About Life, Our Children Teach Us What Life is All About | ( Angela Schwindt )

I think we can learn so much from our children, they really enjoy their present, I mean their time that they have in their hand and I think we should also enjoy our present, while we can plan for our future endeavor, we should never forget to really enjoy our times at hand, the future is not in our hand for sure. If you think there is something that can be done in the present just do it, don’t wait and don’t ever procrastinate, I’ve learn that all, I’m a victim of procrastination.

It is very heartwarming feeling watching my son playing with the leaf and with the puddle of water, everything look so interesting to him, every little-little things simply fascinate him, I wish I’ve a picture like that, a picture of me playing happily but I don’t, all I’ve is a blurry vision about my past, I grew up here in Kuala Lumpur in the late 1970, it is still “kampung” or village by today standard then, we don’t have electricity and we spent less time in front of the television, my television back then use a battery car to power it up and yes it is a black and white television and it is boring to watch. Nowadays children spent so much times in front of the idiot box and rarely have extra physical activity outdoors. To cut the story short, enjoy the present and plan for your future but do really enjoy the present first because the future is not in our hand…

Istanbul | Turkey

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

When mention about Istanbul, image of Aya Soyfa, Blue Mosque will come into mind and also all those fairy tail and love stories about Constantinople will become alive. Istanbul is a great place to be and among world favorite travel destination. You can see Europe and Asia in one place living in harmony here. Actually it is not so easy for me to reach here. There were so many procedure to follow and in fact I get the approval the very last minute before the day I depart for istanbul from Kuala Lumpur.

To cut the story short, it was a long flight from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul on 7th November 2009 at 1 am in the early morning our flight Boeng 777 MH30 take off to Istanbul, it is a direct flight, non stop from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul which take us approximately 11 hours to get there. Alhamdulillah the journey was very smooth and the hospitality of MAS crew members on board make the long haul journey seem shorter. By 7:45am local time we reach Hilton Istanbul not far away from Taksim Square. I’ve a great experience while our vehicle passing through Galata Bridge and watching magnificent mosque along the journey really get me excited.

There were few minor problem when registering for our room at the hotel and thanks to Malaysian Embassy in Turkey, the problem solve quickly and before 9:00 am I’ve already got my room key no 092. We have a brief Media briefing by Ministry of Foreign Affair regarding of coverage of our Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for the COMCEC Economic Meeting at Four Seasons Hotel Bosphorus Istanbul. After that we, a group of eleven local media are eager to tour some part of Istanbul because the very next day when our Deputy Prime Minister arrive, we don’t have so much free time on our hand.

By 2:05pm local Istanbul time we are in the compound of Aya Sofya, it was really big and with my kit lens on my camera won’t fit the grandeur structure of the Aya Sofya. Some of media members wanted to visit Grand Bazaar and for me I’m not interested to shopping but more interested for photo shooting. So we split and will meet at this area of Aya Sofya in two hours time. I was walking alone without any media members with me, from one place to another place, this area called Sultanahmet where a lot of major historical site are within a walking distance, Aya Sofya, Topkapi Museum and Blue Mosque. A lot of people here and from what I can say it is really a photographers haven. Among the place that I really want to visit is Aya Sofya, I’ve to pay 20 Lira to get here or about MYR50 but it really worth the visit since I don’t know when I will be coming here again so the amount is nothing much compare with the experience.

I wish I’ve a wide angle lens, wider than my kit lens 18-70mm, if you guys planning to visit Aya Sofya, please make sure you get a super wide lens, something like 10-20mm or 11-16mm for DX Nikon camera but if you have FX camera like D3 or D700, 24-70 mm will do just fine. It is really big, the dome is massive with great decoration, islamic and also with christian motif. Fast lens really help here since it was dimly lit and this place is pack with tourist. Since I’m alone here I don’t have my personal picture here, pity me. I did not spend much time here simply because I’m running out of time and have few other place to visit.

My next stop is Blue Mosque just a minute of walking distance from Aya Sofya, this is a mosque so you don’t need to pay anything to get inside but you need to take your shoes off and put it in the plastic bag that was made available in the entrance of the Blue Mosque. Once again super wide angle lens really help here and I just have to satisfied with my kit lens. I really enjoy shooting here inside and outside of Blue Mosque and if I’ve more time I’ll definitely looking for much higher place to shoot Blue Mosque from the distance and get the Bosphorus in the frame as well together with the Blue Mosque. By 6:00pm, we finish our tour and get back to our hotel.

About the tram picture and people walking on the street, that was taken in Taksim and the street is famously known as Istiklal Caddesi and according to wikipedia, the street is approximately 3 km long but I did not walk the whole street just part of it because the time constrain. People here are very camera friendly, they really doesn’t bother much about people taking their picture, this street is full of tourist, you might not feel like you were walking on the Turkey street but more like walking in the European country. There were shops on the left and right side of the street, only tram allowed to pass through this street, it is for pedestrian but cars only allowed to pass through to get to the other side of the road. If you guys have plan to visit Istanbul, please make sure you spend a day here in the Istiklal Avenue and have fun watching people going through their lives here, this is really busy street with people from all walk of life and from all over the world.

Photographic Expedition | Belum – Temengggor

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

Photo above taken during Belum – Temenggor Photographic Exspedition on 23rd to 25th October 2009 organize by Emkay and Institute Perak Darul Ridzuan. Thanks a lot to Azrul Affandi from Beritah Harian through Photoskool for inviting me to this event, I really have so much fun there.

My Photoshop | The Tone | eBook

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir | The Tone

Please READ This before buying my e-Book…

1. This e-Book is all about TONING, color tone, how to tone those image to get warm kind of feeling. A colors that can add mood to your image, something like Old School or Retro looking colors, vintage, classic.
2. You must have some basic Photoshop editing skills, this is not for total beginner, but I cannot stop beginners from buying it, I’m just afraid that a new person with limited photoshop skills will find it a bit difficult to understand.
3. About the editing on my e-Book, first you all must do your own basic editing like adjusting some brightness and contrast before proceed with the editing or toning. I will not show you how to do the basic editing.
4. This e-Book will not teach you about Texture, I mean this e-Book won’t show you how to do texturing editing. This is all about toning. This e-book will not teach you about Eye Sharpening or “Catchlight Enhancement”, that will be on my next e-book, insyaAllah.
5. About the figure that was given on my e-Book, it is just as a starting point to guide you through. Different camera manufacture or different picture file size will have an effect on your figure, so with the starting point figure that I  give to you, feel free to adjust it accordingly to your liking.
6. There are four ways that I will share with you in my e-book about getting your pictures tone, you are free to mix and match like I always do. I mean with mix and match is this, you can do one style of editing and finish with it or you can continue editing with your edited photos with a different style. That’s how you get different tone, mix and match, be creative, I can’t teach you to be creative, I can only show you the way.
7. My style of editing will not bring a good result for every kind of a picture, some pictures will look great and some pictures will not. So try to experiment yourself, what I can share with you is this, this kind of editing will produce good result with natural light, especially pictures taken during early morning or late afternoon where the lighting is a bit warm. It will also work great for a portraiture on an overcast day. The colors on your subject, like for an example a cloth will also effect the output of your tone.
8. This editing is only for an enhancement, so please get your pictures right on the camera, I mean you must start with a good picture to  begin with.
9. My e-Book is written in Plain ENGLISH.
10. This e-Book is 27 pages only in PDF format.
11. My e-Book file size will be 8.7 MB, so it will take times to upload and download.
12. If you need more information just Flickr Mail me or eMail me at wwalchemist@yahoo.com

My e-Book will be priced at Ringgit Malaysia RM50.00 or USD20 only. It will be in PDF format.

PAYMENT :

1. At the moment I will only accept payment through Maybank, you can bank in to my Wife Maybank Account Rujiah Binti Muhin.
2. Maybank Account :  1 6 4 0 1 7 0 9 4 7 6 4 Rujiah Binti Muhin ( My Wife ).
3. You can also pay with PAYPAL.
4. After you have made the payment please alert me with SMS through my Hp No: – +(6) 012  2 8 1 2 7 5 3
5. Please also email me with your detail transaction about your payment. My email wazariwazir@yahoo.com or you can Flickr Mail me.
6. Since I’m not available all the time online, I will try my very best to send you the files in PDF format within 24 hours of payment.
7. If you have any doubt, feel free to ask, here on my Blog…

Candid Moment

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

This picture is not in our photo shoot agenda or in our plan, actually we were just finish our shooting and take a break, having a cup of tea or coffee, so while we are having our drink, I notice that the lighting was perfect and the mode was there, so I captured it, I mean the model, shooting continuously with my camera until the model doesn’t bother anymore, so I get this shot, a quite moment in a very crowded situation, there were seven photographers and two  models at the table, so you can imagine the situation, it is quite noisy actually. This is among my favorite shot from the outing even though it is not in our original plan…

Photoshop | eBook | Getting The Tones

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

© 2009 Wazari Wazir

Some people may like it and some people may hate is especially those who are too concern about perfect skin tone. So my e-Book is not for them, my e-Book is for those who have never fear to express themselves. Colors play an important part in our life, some people doesn’t care to pay for a higher price on their cars for a specific colors and design, the car and engine is still the same but they make a big decision on colors. For me personally I’m very particular about colors, like choosing my camera bag, I’ve a Crumpler bag, and I don’t like black so I’ve to wait for a few month to get my colors, something in between Grey and Green.

My point is people can be so choosy about colors. back to my color tone and why I like to play with tone is this, very simple explanation, certain colors really can enhance a mood on a pictures, all pictures, sometimes mute or fade colors picture work great with portrait where there is some kind of emotional feeling into it, for an example a picture of an old man looking through out of a windows, longing for something, this type of a picture will work great without too many colors that will distract a viewer from “the mood”. So either convert those picture onto black and white, sepia or just fade their colors a little bit will do the job, will bring our attention straight to “the mood”, to the “feeling” of loneliness.

We should know when the colors may work and when the colors can become a distraction. For a light heart moment or some kind of a warm feeling I like to add more yellowish or orange tinted colors on my pictures to create more “warmth feeling” onto it. It is not as simple as add more yellow or just bump up the saturation, you won’t get that kind of tones, I’ve try that, so my e-Book will guide you through how to get that kind f tones. I’ll show you the way, the way that most people can understand, as simple as it can be.

Lately there is a trend where people especially here in Malaysia are more aware or starting to pay close attention to the tones, I’ve often get comments something like this, “Nice Tones”. It’s not easy to describe about “Nice Tones” you just absorb it unconsciously. People in United State or from European Country have been using the tones long time enough, from film to digital, I like their tones and it is not because I want to be something like them but I want my picture to have a “feeling”. Normal picture without any color tones into it, is just normal, maybe it is a picture of sadness but without the right combination of colors, the mood wasn’t so strong. For an example a picture of a crying with a bright colorful cloth and a picture of a crying child in black and white will have a different kind of mood, sure enough the picture in a black and white  hold much stronger emotional feeling than those in a bright colorful photograph, even though it is same kind of a picture, the feeling is not the same.

Colors can show happiness and colors also can also show sadness. Our life can be so colorful or just monochromatic…

I will update about my e-Book on the next blog update , about the price, few tips and tricks about using it and also how to get it. Stay tune…