Travel Diary: Kuala Lumpur and Melaka, Malaysia
Another decision on a whim and another return back to a place I hadn’t been in years. Having not been to Kuala Lumpur outside of the airport in probably a decade, it was a nice little reacquaintance with the Malaysian capital. As per usual, I didn’t really have any agenda so lots of wandering and eating and snapping photos along the way. I also took a quick jaunt down to Melaka to check out some old colonial remnants which felt a bit like what I remembered of Georgetown in Penang except the addition of the most ridiculous bike taxis I’ve ever seen. A bit bizarro, but here we are.
Another decision on a whim and another return back to a place I hadn’t been in years. Having not been to Kuala Lumpur outside of the airport in probably a decade, it was a nice little reacquaintance with the Malaysian capital. As per usual, I didn’t really have any agenda so lots of wandering and eating and snapping photos along the way. I also took a quick jaunt down to Melaka to check out some old colonial remnants which felt a bit like what I remembered of Georgetown in Penang except the addition of the most ridiculous bike taxis I’ve ever seen. A bit bizarro, but here we are.
Kuala Lumpur got skipped over the years for other locations as I remembered it being mainly a shopping destination and I’m not that guy. I didn’t want to be that old man stuck in his opinions, though so I gave it another shot. It’s still kind of one of those destinations…. That said, it has enough good food and cool vibes these days that made it more than another shopping destination.
Wandering through the streets and alleys, the smells of the hawker stalls and tasty treats made it difficult to focus on shooting, but definitely made for some great street photography with the throngs of people gravitating to these altars of goodness.
All shot with the Fuji x100v with the 2 little lens adapters giving the equivalent of 28, 35, and 50mm in a tiny little package.
Kuala Lumpur
Melaka
Recent Work: Tolv
Over the course of the last 6 months, we’ve been shooting a whole gaggle of images for Tolv and we’re finally ready to release them out into the wild. As per usual, I kept things minimal with the lighting and tried to keep it looking like nice even sunlight while still maintaining enough directional light to give these gorgeous pieces some definition and let them shine in their form. We shot using my Sony kit with an Elinchrom lighting set up. Nothing too complicated - scrims, flags and a big ol’ softbox in some of them. Keep it simple. Keep scrolling down for some Behind the Scenes images that I’m going to try and start including in these posts. It’s a journey and takes a team to execute these images and it would be near impossible to get all of this done without such a dedicated group of like minded folks. I couldn’t begin to express the gratitude for having these incredible people surrounding me.
Over the course of the last 6 months, we’ve been shooting a whole gaggle of images for Tolv and we’re finally ready to release them out into the wild. As per usual, I kept things minimal with the lighting and tried to keep it looking like nice even sunlight while still maintaining enough directional light to give these gorgeous pieces some definition and let them shine in their form. We shot using my Sony kit with an Elinchrom lighting set up. Nothing too complicated - scrims, flags and a big ol’ softbox in some of them. Keep it simple. Keep scrolling down for some Behind the Scenes images that I’m going to try and start including in these posts. It’s a journey and takes a team to execute these images and it would be near impossible to get all of this done without such a dedicated group of like minded folks. I couldn’t begin to express the gratitude for having these incredible people surrounding me.
Behind the Scenes
Travel Diary: On the Road in Vietnam
Living overseas certainly has it’s advantages. New horizons, a diverse international group of friends, the constant sense of discovery, trying to make sense of the seemingly absurd. And then there’s the visits from friends back home. I get to put on my tour guide hat and share a bit of this incredible place with some of my favourite humans. My friend Evan came out a couple of months ago and it was his first trip to not only Vietnam, but to Asia, so I had to show him some of the good stuff. With only two weeks, we had to make some choices and with weather definitely being a factor, we chose to keep it simple, see some friends of mine and go exploring up north. We had a few days in Saigon to baptise him in fire with the frenetic energy and chaos of where I call home and then we headed off on the road to Central Vietnam, Hanoi and up into the northern mountains for a motorbike adventure.
Living overseas certainly has it’s advantages. New horizons, a diverse international group of friends, the constant sense of discovery, trying to make sense of the seemingly absurd. And then there’s the visits from friends back home. I get to put on my tour guide hat and share a bit of this incredible place with some of my favourite humans. My friend Evan came out a couple of months ago and it was his first trip to not only Vietnam, but to Asia, so I had to show him some of the good stuff. With only two weeks, we had to make some choices and with weather definitely being a factor, we chose to keep it simple, see some friends of mine and go exploring up north. We had a few days in Saigon to baptise him in fire with the frenetic energy and chaos of where I call home and then we headed off on the road to Central Vietnam, Hanoi and up into the northern mountains for a motorbike adventure.
Normally, my travel photography is absent of the people I travel with and I kind of do this out of respect for people’s privacy. That said, I think I’m going to start showing some more of these types of images. The people you travel with and sharing incredible places with them are often the best part of traveling so i want to start saving those memories too and having it a part of this whole travel diary.
Central Vietnam welcomed us with impeccable weather up until the day we left and we thought we were lucky to leave while we were ahead only to be greeted with Hanoi’s trademarked wall of grey as we touched down in the northern capital. That being said, there’s something about Hanoi and its old charm that kind of goes hand in hand with the overcast. After a quick stop over, we headed up to Sapa to make it our base for a northern motorbike trip up to Muong Hum and the surrounding little villages. Some questionable roads guided us through the fog and drizzle to the little outpost of Muong Hum. The skies cleared just as we were rolling into town, and it was such a sight for sore eyes (and asses) after the hours of jarring travel to get there. While the rice paddies weren’t electric green like in the post cards, the rugged landscape of Northern Vietnam never fails to deliver. Smooth winding roads led us through villages and epic mountain passes back down to Lao Cai on the Vietnam-Chinese border on our way back to Sapa. As we had our morning coffee on the river over looking the border, we chatted about how clutch it was that the weather cleared for our ride. I think the gods heard us. No less than maybe 10 minutes later, the heavens opened up and that 30km motorbike trip back up the mountain into Sapa was a cold and wet one. A bit grim, honestly. Apparently, these same gods have a sense of humour because the rain stopped just as we were pulling back into Sapa. Cheeky ones they are. No blue skies for the weary, however,, but some wildly Blade Runner-esque fog made for some incredible scenes as the sun went down and the neon lights cast their glow across the city.
Because the weather up north was less than ideal, l opted to lean into the mood and shoot loads of black and white seeing as there was a distinct lack of colour in the environment anyways. Everything here was shot on the trusty little Fuji x100v with the two little adapter lenses (28 and 50mm equivalent). My favourite images are probably the ones at the end so make sure you scroll all the way down!
Hoi An
Hanoi
Sapa and Muong Hum
The Journey
Saigon Punk Chronicles : Soi Dau Lang Warm up
Another chapter in the Chronicles. As the scene in Saigon keeps expanding, more venues are beginning to host punk and hardcore shows, and this was the first one at Cafe Stagiaires in District 2. With multiple floors, this venue is able to host a show while having a completely different vibe on the rooftop. Think open air laidback cocktail vibes, And then think about a DIY punk show blasting on the floor just beneath. Endlessly amusing to watch those different worlds collide. Definitely saw a few interesting looks as the suited, booted and cocktail dresses passed by kids losing their shit to breakdown after breakdown.
Another chapter in the Chronicles. As the scene in Saigon keeps expanding, more venues are beginning to host punk and hardcore shows, and this was the first one at Le Cafe Des Stagiaires in District 2. With multiple floors, this venue is able to have a show on one floor while having a completely different vibe on the rooftop. Think open air laidback cocktail vibes....And then think about a DIY punk show blasting on the floor just beneath. Endlessly amusing to watch those different worlds collide. Definitely saw a few interesting looks as the suited, booted and cocktail dresses passed by kids losing their shit to breakdown after breakdown.
On the lineup were Under Pressure, Empathize, HappyCo, and Hypertension. A good mix of heavy metallic hardcore with some mathy finger tappin’ shenanigans alongside some more post hardcore vibes between the mix of bands. It’s nice to see styles start to branch out within the whole DIY scene here and it’s just going to get better and better. Big ups to Ethos Collective, stay tuned for some fun news on this whole scenario.
Travel Diary: Bangkok - Part 2
After waxing on perhaps excessively in Part 1 on the origins of my photography journey, I’ll keep it a bit more succinct here. Wandering through the streets of Bangkok with a fresh perspective after all those years stirred up feelings of familiarity right next those of utter novelty. That notion of confluence - the brackish waters of old mixing with new, juxtapositions of the traditional colliding with the ultra-modern, familiar scenes intermingling with the altogether novel, the mundane blending with the weird. These places have a gravitational pull, always drawing me in. Transitions and the interplay between two seemingly opposing forces, that dance between the odd couple… It’s where the most interesting things happen. Influences ebb and flow back and forth, reshaping each other into a new voice and aesthetic. A new noise.
After waxing on perhaps excessively in Part 1 on the origins of my photography journey, I’ll keep it a bit more succinct here. Wandering through the streets of Bangkok with a fresh perspective after all those years stirred up feelings of familiarity right next those of utter novelty. That notion of confluence - the brackish waters of old mixing with new, juxtapositions of the traditional colliding with the ultra-modern, familiar scenes intermingling with the altogether novel, the mundane blending with the weird. These places have a gravitational pull, always drawing me in. Transitions and the interplay between two seemingly opposing forces, that dance between the odd couple… It’s where the most interesting things happen. Influences ebb and flow back and forth, reshaping each other into a new voice and aesthetic. A new noise.
For the photographers, these were all shot on the Fuji x100v as per usual for my travel stuff these days. I’m interested in how this confluence influences your work? Does it at all? Where do you find inspiration and the good stuff? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts! For more of these types of images, head on over to my socials down below.
Travel Diary: Bangkok - Part 1
In 2007, I boarded a plane to Thailand, about to take my first plunge into living overseas. I was the walking, talking version of a clueless 20-something in search of purpose. After 34 hours in airports and wildly uncomfortable plane seats, I landed in Bangkok around midnight. The city hit me like a ton of bricks— the sounds, the smells, the chaos. Tuk-tuks zipping by, street food at every turn, and the heat. It was sensory overload in the best possible way. It was like a shot of adrenaline, and I felt alive in a way in way I had never experienced. Over the coming months, I went through every emotion — excitement, confusion, loneliness, wanderlust, the lot. Though after a month, I was convinced I’d never leave despite the absolute mine field of emotions I was going through. I felt like I was on the right path even though I had no idea what that path actually was.
In 2007, I boarded a plane to Thailand, about to take my first plunge into living overseas. I was the walking, talking version of a clueless 20-something in search of purpose. After 34 hours in airports and wildly uncomfortable plane seats, I landed in Bangkok around midnight. The city hit me like a ton of bricks— the sounds, the smells, the chaos. Tuk-tuks zipping by, street food at every turn, and the heat. It was sensory overload in the best possible way. It was like a shot of adrenaline, and I felt alive in a way I had never experienced. Over the coming months, I went through every emotion — excitement, confusion, loneliness, wanderlust, the lot. Though after a month, I was convinced I’d never leave despite the absolute mine field of emotions I was going through. I felt like I was on the right path even though I had no idea what that path actually was.
From Bangkok, I made the trek to Phuket where I set up my base. I had picked up a little point-and-shoot camera and starting taking photos of my neighbourhood and everything else, really. After posting some images on the interwebs, I started receiving messages like, “Wow, this is beautiful!” and “Are you a photographer now?” I hadn’t even considered it, but hey, what the hell, why not try and make it happen? Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, I kind of wonder if my friends were just blowing smoke up my ass… but whatever, it lit a fire, and I started chasing something that ended up being that path I hadn’t had a name for. I reached out to every photographer I could find, maybe someone would take me seriously off my stellar point and shoot portfolio…… Cue crickets. Finally after a couples months or so of persistence, read badgering and repeated emails, I finally got a response and a contact at a local paper. I reached out to The Phuket Gazette and miraculously, they gave me an assignment. I panicked, flew back to Bangkok, and bought a Canon 300D. Now I was a pro, right? Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing, but I dove in headfirst. Naïve much? Totally. But here we are.
As I started shooting events, people started to ask if I could photograph interiors and exteriors. Without a clue about what that entailed, I said yes. So, off to the internet I went. I started reading everything I could and fumbled my way through my first couple of jobs. Spoiler: Photoshop doesn’t make up for inexperience, but somehow I stumbled across the line with work just good enough to where clients were happy. I was getting paid to make pictures despite my serious lack in experience. Having to execute on demand certainly made it necessary to try and learn as fast as I could. After all, that adage of “don’t write a check your ass can’t cash” was something ingrained in my head from an early age. All that being said, talk about watching a clown show. I spent countless hours trying to reverse engineer every photo I saw, and experienced what seemed like an infinite number of failures trying to replicate them. Basically a trial by fire.
A year and a half later, I thought I had a decent understanding of what I was doing. My time in Phuket was coming to an end and I was moving back to the States. So much for never leaving. I was deadset confident I’d slide right into a full-time photography gig upon touchdown back in Atlanta, and I’m sure you can see what’s coming next. Big reality check— way more competition, more developed market, and I was nowhere near the calibre photographer that what it would take to make it. I ended up taking a job in hospitality to pay the bills and started reaching out to commercial photographers. I obviously needed to level up. For months, I heard back from a grand total of no one despite casting an absurdly wide net. When I was starting to doubt why I moved back and maybe this whole thing was a flash in the pan that could only happen when I was back in Thailand, I got a call back for gig as a second assistant. The second assistant doesn’t touch cameras, have any creative input, or really anything to do with photography. Essentially, I was the guy who carried gear, built sets, did all the grunt work. Ahh.. these were the dues everyone kept talking about that I thought I had dodged. No such luck, but I was going to be damned if I didn’t take this whole thing seriously. Best believe I studied lighting, styling, camera settings…every little detail and realised I knew so very little about my chosen path.
Fast forward 16 years, and I’m a full time photographer. My craft has evolved, and I’ve been fortunate to make a living off it. The journey’s been a wild one - often times uncertain, sometimes incredible, but this is my thing. I don’t know how to live my life wth out it. The act of photography turned into a kind of therapy for me when things were getting a bit hectic. That time with the camera became time where I could be present. The process quickly superseded the end results, so the photos ended up being a reflection of that process and somehow I got better.
So… Why am I rambling about all of this? I hadn’t been back to Thailand since I left 17 years ago. When I moved back to Asia, this time Vietnam, when I had the chance to travel, I wanted to go somewhere new. Over a decade slipped by without ever really considering going back. But recently, I had the chance to swing through Bangkok again before the Sri Lanka workshop. My curiosity got the better of me. I wondered how the city had changed in nearly two decades? How had I changed? Maybe I’m still the kid with a camera, wandering and trying to figure it out, but I’ve got a few more years under my belt now so maybe I’m just an older kid still trying to figure it out.
Gone are the days of Khao San Road. No need to relive those days. I wanted to see what’s new - cocktail bars, dives, interesting places to shoot, and all the food. I still have old friends living in Bangkok, so I reached out and ended up exploring areas of the city I didn’t realise even existed. Old places and new eyes right?. Felt like a completely different city than what I remember. Whether that’s a result of it changing, me changing, likely a combination of both, but damn what a cool city and I can’t wait to get back.
For my photographers, I kept it light and fast with the Fuji X100V and the two lens adapters, covering 28-50mm. Everything is edited in Capture One though wiith Fuji’s colour science, I didn’t have to do much. It kind of made me want to shoot only jpgs, but not quite ready for that whole rabbit hole. Anyways, enough waxing on. Here’s part one and stay tuned for part two next week.
Sri Lanka Workshop Recap: Part 2 - Colombo and Negombo
From the bustling streets of Colombo to the chaotic fish markets of Negombo, these two locations are a street photographers dream. Pockets of light, lively characters you meet in the streets, fish parts flying everywhere. It’s a rush. It’s hard to know where to point the camera and when to hit the shutter. Often times, travelers spend maybe a day in Colombo and head off to other areas of the country, but as a travel photographer, the capital city provides for some incredible photo opportunities. Colombo’s Pettah market is steeped in history and is overflowing with activity. It’s not difficult to get lost in the sea of vendors surrounding you as you stroll through the streets and back alleys. Negombo’s fish market is a myriad of textures, smells, and a literal murder of crows flying in for an easy meal. Finding a clear frame sometimes is a challenge to say the least in both of these situations. That being said, as with most photography, patience is your friend and chasing light is never going to point you in the wrong direction. As I said in part one, sometimes the light is less than stellar, so we need to dig deeper, look closer, listen more. It’s similar to how I personally think travel is the most rewarding. Not observing but interacting and taking a nose dive into the deep end. The difference between traveling and being a tourist. So this wraps this years Sri Lanka workshop with Pics of Asia and we’ve got more planned for next year. We just announced dates for next year soon so head on over to the link above and sign up! We’d love to have you for the next jaunt around of my favourite places on earth.
From the bustling streets of Colombo to the chaotic fish markets of Negombo, these two locations are a street photographers dream. Pockets of light, lively characters you meet in the streets, fish parts flying everywhere. It’s a rush. It’s hard to know where to point the camera and when to hit the shutter. Often times, travelers spend maybe a day in Colombo and head off to other areas of the country, but as a travel photographer, the capital city provides for some incredible photo opportunities. Colombo’s Pettah market is steeped in history and is overflowing with activity. It’s not difficult to get lost in the sea of vendors surrounding you as you stroll through the streets and back alleys. Negombo’s fish market is a myriad of textures, smells, and a literal murder of crows flying in for an easy meal. Finding a clear frame sometimes is a challenge to say the least in both of these situations. That being said, as with most photography, patience is your friend and chasing light is never going to point you in the wrong direction. As I said in part one, sometimes the light is less than stellar, so we need to dig deeper, look closer, listen more. It’s similar to how I personally think travel is the most rewarding. Not observing but interacting and taking a nose dive into the deep end. The difference between traveling and being a tourist. So this wraps this years Sri Lanka workshop with Pics of Asia and we’ve got more planned for next year. We just announced dates for next year soon so head on over to the link above and sign up! We’d love to have you for the next jaunt around of my favourite places on earth.
Sri Lanka Workshop Recap: Part 1: Central Highlands and the Southern Coast
Travel is a funny thing. Despite due diligence and research, trying to control all the variables is often like carrying water in a sieve - a lesson in futility. This is not to say throw caution completely to the wind, but rather understand going into it that things will inherently be different than any preconceived ideas regardless if you’ve been there before. So, with that being said, this trip to Sri Lanka was a lesson in laughing at the weather when it should have been far less...moody and often grumpy. Maybe it wasn’t grumpy, but it definitely wasn’t blue skies and gorgeous sunsets. So, when these things happen, a bit of a change in perspective is necessary. It allows us to start thinking in a mindset that’s not really so much about “perfect travel conditions” but rather looking at the conditions and making images that play to the strengths of each situation. So that golden light isn’t there….. so what. Are we going to sulk around and whinge about the shitty weather or do we start looking for pools of light, reflections from the rain, indoor markets, texture, beauty in the mundane and decisive moments. Perhaps we need to start thinking more about how to create compelling with what’s in front of us rather than what is traditionally seen as beautiful. This is definitely a do as I say, not necessarily as I did because there were more than a couple of occasions that shook my fist at the sky and groaned at another overcast sky. We’re all human, but it’s not the end of the day if things go differently than we thought. If it was, oh man, I’d have been witness to about a million apocalypses at this point in my life.
Travel is a funny thing. Despite due diligence and research, trying to control all the variables is often like carrying water in a sieve - a lesson in futility. This is not to say throw caution completely to the wind, but rather understand going into it that things will inherently be different than any preconceived ideas regardless if you’ve been there before. So, with that being said, this year’s workshop I co-led with Etienne Bossot of Pics of Asia in Sri Lanka was a lesson in laughing at the weather when it should have been far less...moody and often grumpy. Maybe it wasn’t grumpy, but it definitely wasn’t blue skies and gorgeous sunsets. So, when these things happen, a bit of a change in perspective is necessary. It allows us to start thinking in a mindset that’s not really so much about “perfect travel conditions” but rather looking at the conditions and making images that play to the strengths of each situation. So that golden light isn’t there….. so what. Are we going to sulk around and whinge about the shitty weather or do we start looking for pools of light, reflections from the rain, indoor markets, texture, beauty in the mundane and decisive moments? Perhaps we need to start thinking more about how to create compelling images with what’s in front of us rather than what is traditionally seen as beautiful. This is definitely a do as I say, not necessarily as I do type situation because there were more than a couple of occasions that I shook my fist at the sky and groaned at another overcast sky. We’re all human, but it’s not the end of the day if things go differently than we thought. If it was, oh man, I’d have been witness to about a million apocalypses at this point in my life.
We started in Negombo, made our way to the mountains around Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, down to the rice paddies on the way down to the coast again and back along the southern coast through Galle and back up to Colombo. It was a whirlwind! This post will focus on the central highlands and the southern coast to Galle. Colombo and Negombo to follow. With such a varied countryside, it became impossible to narrow it down to just one post. So stay tuned for part 2.
For the photographers, I only took the Fuji x100v on this trip and while it had its ups and downs, I recently got the little adapter lenses that give me a 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm equivalent options in a tiny package, so I didn’t miss the bigger system. I did this partly because of the ease and speed of the tiny camera, but additionally to prove a point. Making compelling images doesn’t require a mountain of gear. Yeah yeah, I know everyone has heard its not the gear, and I’m a big supporter of that. But thats’s not the whole picture. It’s more of the recognition that all these magic picture boxes are tools to realise the vision in your head. Picking the right tools for the right job is far more the camp I reside in and the Fuji x100v was more than enough to shoot everything I wanted. I’m not a wildlife photographer, so I don’t need a bazooka lens, I’m not shooting massive print ads on these trips so I don’t need the bajillion megapixels. Sometimes less is more and and these trips are proof positive that you can take a small kit and create something that reflects that crazy person’s vision in your head. Speaking of gear, massive massive thanks to the folks at Think Tank. In addition to our usual program, we ran a friendly little competition for the best series of images/story and, because crows are ubiquitous in Sri Lanka, a cheeky little contest to see who could wrangle the nicest shot of a crow was thrown in last minute. We gave away their incredibly useful cable management bags to the winners.
For transparency, I am a ThinkTank affiliate and any purchase made off the link above I get a small percentage that allows us to keep these types of giveaways possible. I couldn’t speak higher of the folks over there. Not only are their bags incredible, but their customer service is world class. I’ve had nothing but over the top good experiences and only cosign things and companies that I feel are doing it the right way. Supporting them supports photographers and helps us create the images we love.
