We were walking around our hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand and admiring the aesthetic decor all around us, when we came across these wall flower arrangement. Loved it!
Here are some flowers decorating the walls along the walls of the garden. So creative. Photo taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Door flower, wall flowers – so much nature and creativity all round.
We were walking around our hotel in Hua Hin, Thailand and admiring the aesthetic decor all around us.
Here are some flowers decorating the doors of some of the rooms in the garden. We loved the peacefulness just looking at the flower arrangement. Photo taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
It was really therapeutic just walking around and smelling the flowers around us.
A new day … in a new year … has begun …
A little wild yellow flower in the old city of Jakobstad (also known as Pietarsaari in Finnish) on the coast of Finland. June 2011. Taken with a Nikon D600 with 24-120mm lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Here’s wishing everyone a fantastic year ahead in 2015.
Photo of the Day: The weather in Singapore is Summer all year round. So a shower, be it in the stall or from heaven, or in this case – from a water spray in Sentosa – is always a welcome treat.
The red water jet spray stands dormant for the moment while the water sprinkler sprays cooling water droplets into the air. Photo taken using a Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with a Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS telephoto zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
We were at the “Port of Lost Wonder” in Sentosa in Singapore to enjoy the sun, sand and beach for the weekend.
The water theme park had this watery playground for little children to revel in slides and water sprays.
Photo of the Day: St Peter’s Abbey is a Benedictine monastery next to the Salzurger Dom in Salzburg, Austria. It is one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking world.
The grand interior of St Peter’s Abbey, which was raised to the status of an Archabbey in 1927. This photo was taken at ISO 1250.
* All photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The elaborate altar of St Peter’s Abbey. Photo taken at ISO 2500.
St Peter’s Abbey was founded in 696 AD by Saint Rupert, at the site of a church from the early days of Christianity.
Until 987, the abbot of the Abbey was also the Archbishop of Salzburg.
The current building was built in the Romanesque period in the 13th century, and completely renovated in the Baroque style in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The monastery also houses the oldest library in Austria, with some 800 manuscripts and 100,000 volumes.
The light within the Abbey was rather dim and I didn’t want to use any flash – so it was a good opportunity to put the reputed low-light prowess of the Sony A7 to the test.
We found this beautiful statue of the Holy Mother and Child within St Peter’s Abbey and I looked it up on the Web afterwards.
Photo of the Day: We were strolling along a path at the side of a hill one evening when we came across a peaceful lawn that the path overlooked into. Inside the lawn were these two metallic sculptures at one corner, right by the hedge.
The two dogs seemed to be frozen in time, and yet looked as if they would come to life anytime and were about to pounce onto something in the lawn. Photo taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
We had just finished visiting the Salzburg Fortress and were walking towards the Nonnberg Abbey when we came across these metallic sculptures in a quiet lawn.
Photo of the Day: The Salzburger Dom overlooks the Residenzplatz in the centre of Salzburg Altstadt (old town). It contains the baptismal font in which Mozart was baptised.
According to Wikipedia, during the second World War, single bomb crashed through the central dome over the crossing. Repairs and restoration were only completed in 1959.
* All photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
The Salzburg Cathedral – called the Salzburger Dom in German – is dedicated to Saint Rupert and Saint Vergilius.
The interior of the Salzburger Dom.
Photo of the Day: Brought my daughter back to where I had discovered this kindle of kittens last year. Lo and behold, they were all still there sans one or two who had been adopted or died.
This photo was taken just after the cat had scuttled into the safety of this drain as it eyed us warily with its dilated eyes. It was already twilight and rather dark in the drain but the A7R didn’t have any problems getting a focus on the cat, although I had to dial up the ISO to its maximum of 25,600. The result was not surprisingly grainy but it was amazing that we even got any shot at all in that dim light! Photo taken with a Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with a 55-210mm E-mount zoom lens. 184mm, f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 25,600. Photo credit: John Tan.
In particular, there was one black and white cat which I had photographed previously (see below).
We had so much fun comparing the fully grown cat with the photos that I’d taken of the kitten a year ago to affirm they were the same cat – the lines emanating from the corner of the eyes, and the stripes on the forehead.
The retirees looking after the cats confirmed that these cats were indeed those kittens all grown up.
Photo of the Day: Cliff the Golden Retriever is usually lively and enthusiastic. But why does he look so rueful today?
There’s a carnival just outside but it’s not time for Cliff to go for his walk yet. So after peering eagerly through the grills of the garden gate, he has resigned himself to the role of onlooker – resting his head on the grill to see the world go by.
* All the photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with a 55-210mm E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Cliff the Golden Retriever is a friendly fellow who loves to mix with the crowd.
Here’s Cliff looking ruefully at me while I snap his portraits from the garden.
There’s a rowdy carnival just outside and Cliff can see the kids out there.
Photo of the Day: If you’re thinking of visiting Singapore this weekend and is keen on buying IT devices and tech gadgets, check out COMEX 2014 at Suntec Singapore.
The doors had just opened for COMEX 2014 and early-bird shoppers packed the aisles of the exhibition floor on Level 4 of Suntec Singapore. Photo taken with a Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and Carl Zeiss 35mm F2.8 Lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Started yesterday, the IT trade show will be on until Sunday night.
You can check out some of the promotional discounts on offer by browsing selected flyers that I’ve compiled here.
