The "Great" Macro-adventure

Macro is very much like a Pokemon game; you walk around the path, Pokemon jumps out, it is all up to your patience to tame and battle them, then you reach out for your poke balls, "Gotcha!" Sure enough, you're most likely to miss them most of the time.

We tried to catch as much Pokemon as we can, to complete our Pokedex, and to expand it with new found species, Legendary Pokemon. This is fun and adventurous! Almost as soon as i got my first game-boy, the one and only game i bought was Pokemon, i began to be amazed by the daunting life of Ash Ketchum, venturing into the wild, battling Pokemon, leveling up and unlocking awesomeness! i hugged to my game-boy almost 24/7! i nearly went blind for the sake of awesomeness.

And i'd finally realizing my dream, a road trip in search of Legendary Pokemon!
We traveled almost half of a thousand miles; friendship, great foods, chats, and bugs!

++The "Great" Macro-adventure++
Gears: /heejennwei/2012/05/nikon-r1-macro-flash-system.html

Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpidae)

Pincer Beetle?

Pincer Beetle?

Fishfly, Neochauliodes dispar (van der Weele, 1906) 

Giant Red Long Horn Beetle (Cerambycidae)

Long Horn Beetle (Cerambycidae)

Indonesian Moon Moth (Actias maenas)

Stonefly (Plecoptera)

Dragonfly (Odonata)

Wasp (Apocrita)

Huntsman Spider on Tree Trunk (Sparassidae)

Rhinoceros Beetle (Dynastinae)

Mating Rhinoceros Beetle (Dynastinae)

Beautiful life of the undergrowth.

JW. 

Election Campaign with Prime Lens

Not all lenses built the same, expansion of innovations abound from prime, zoom to tele lenses. Navigating through this vast choices of options, this is bewilder. I am honored and grateful that I have a chance to cover an election campaign for a state assembly candidate, carry along 2 prime lenses. Simply because I know what I want, honest and disciplined, I want Bokehlicious, it is often trade off with decisions. Likewise, a large aperture zoom lens is extremely costly, prime lens comes relatively cheaper and usually offers larger aperture.

Election campaign is always emotional no matter who you're backing. You won't want to miss the decisive moment, triumph and emotional cheers. Technically and intellectually sophisticated to cover the horse race competently, this is history in the making. I know my frame, I'd shot long enough with prime lens knowing my position and familiar with my frame, the rest of the mystery just leave it all to fate.

If you wish to do this with prime lens, you should know what you're getting yourself into. A compromise need not to be a hard decision, marginally-tact-sharp-light-less expensive-discipline-bokehlicious over a zoom lens which serve well in covering 90% of the situations.

Time for you to pick up the bat and see what it's like to take a swing.

++ 98% of the shots covered with Nikon D700 + Nikkor 50mm f1.2, marginally on Nikkor 20mm f2.8 ++

Candidate for State Legislative Assembly (DUN Semambu), Lee Chean Chung

A grueling campaign runs for 4 months consistently in caring people

A daily morning routine, distributing newspaper and candidate's manifesto at traffic light.

No newspaper adverts, TV commercial, radio air time, but genuine care. 

Distributing newspaper and candidate's manifesto at mosque after Friday prayer.

Convoy for campaign awareness.

Delivering speech from a pick up truck. 

the People's Pact.

Thumb up for the candidate! 

Visiting poverty-stricken area. 

Strive to end poverty and injustice. 

Candidate delivering speech of awakening. 

Election day, candidate running all 55 voting channels wishing voters, "Happy Voting!" 

Stepping out from the last voting channel.

An emotional election night for the candidate and steering committee. 

Candidate roars in a rousing speech during a debate session with national front parties. 

At times, our light goes out and rekindled by a spark from a person

brightest day or darkest night, he lighted up the flame of many people. 

My last bid of crusade for General Election, a grueling fight nonetheless

Congratulation to YB Lee Chean Chung, it was a great honor working with you. 

JW. 

Masters of Nature Camouflage and Disguise- Insects

Insects dedicate camouflage and disguise, not just for a mere survival, some made it into an art form. In many instances, these disguises dwell in an animal's ability to walk with stealth, hide or remain completely still, to create an impression of invisible. These predators or preys constantly slinking around the undergrowth, gazing behind hindrances and standing motionless, await for the perfect timing to strike or flee.

Insects adopted a tailor-made camouflage pattern for a particular micro-habitat that settles in, bold tone is effective disguise in their native habitats. Perhaps what most remarkable about these camouflage and disguise  is that is it all said to be a result of the working chance.

Here we look into a few sophisticated disguises.

Face to face with green dead leaf grasshopper

(Systella rafflesii Westwood, 1841)

Green dead leaf grasshopper

(Systella rafflesii Westwood, 1841)

Face to face with brown dead leaf grasshopper

(Systella rafflesii Westwood, 1841)

Brown dead leaf grasshopper

(Systella rafflesii Westwood, 1841)

Mantis mimicking the pattern of tree trunk moss

(Majangella moultoni sp)

A jumping spider camouflage on a tree trunk perching for preys

(Phaeacius sp. Jumping Spider)

Gecko coloration of a wall in reserved forest

(Marbled Bent Toed Gecko, Cyrtodactylus quadrivirgatus)

Katydid mimicking the shape of leaf, laying flat on tree trunk

(Katydid, Pseudophyllinae, phylomimini)

Mantis mimicking dead leaf waiting to strike

(Dead leaf mantis, Deroplatys labata)

Assassin bug disguise in white sands, mosses and ant carcasses

Wearing its victoms' corpses as armor, lurking at the entrance to black ant colony

(Assassin Bug, Reduvius personatus)

Lichen Huntsman on a tree bark, ambush for prey

(Lichen Huntsman Spider with Prey)

Stick insects are extremely hard to spot, a true master of disguise

here's a stick insect disguise as tree branch fleeing themselves from predators

(Stick Insect, Phasmatodea)

DAZZLED AND DECEIVED 

"DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA"

JW. 

In the Valley of Eternal Spring

Here lies a historical land of joy and grief, a place burst forth under the form of British colonial; mourn over the outbreak of second world war, where the Japanese invasion in 1941 forced out the British troops and civilians out of the highlands. The Japanese continue to administer the highlands as foresee agriculture as a vital food source for thier troops. When the Japanese withdrew in August 1945, the place went throught a transformation- the Malayan Emergency, a guerilla war fought between Commonwealth forces and Malayan National Liberation Army, Malayan Emergency was a colonial term for the conflict. The communist guerillas operated from jungle camps in the mountains and used the network of aboriginal trails to infiltrate the Peninsula. The biggest and best known of Malaysia's hill stations lies on the northwest corner of Pahang state, bounded by Perak state to the west, and Kelantan state to the north. The jungle clad 1500m high plateau the weather is reassuringly British, unpredictable, often wet and cold; but when the sun blazes out of the sky, the Camerons are hard to beat.

It was once possibly, perhaps one of the most pictureque highlands retreat in Malaysia with lush of green forest and terraced plantation. However, the poor planning and enforcement have led to environmental degradation. Landslides, silted rivers and dams, constant water disruptions and poor water quality have become the norm. REACH!

Such rich heritage goes on waste.

++

Cameron Highlands

Terraced tea plantation blanketed in mist

Top of the terraced plantation

Dendrobium brinchangense is an endanger orchid species

endemic to Cameron Highlands

Native's settlement along Tapah to Brinchang

Most of the aborigines are from Temiah tribe

Brotherly love

Mobile market

Settlement of the Orang Asli

I'm a big fan of Tudor architecture, i can't help it but drawn to the interesting and often asymmetrical Tudor style houses. Here's place lies fronting the valley of eternal spring, The Lakehouse where it illustrate my fascination of Tudor.

In the fight of environmental activities, there're always obstacles but please be faithful that there's hope and it is a utmost importance to preserve our heritage.

something that can't be erase while assimilating development,
we embrace with pride the one thing we could not leave behind: heritage. 

Heritage should not give way.

JW.

Lunar 2013

Hoping 2013 is a year of growth, perspective and family. Spending less time worrying about the worst day of work and more time in making the things that i want. To live at present instead of longing for the next stage.

Carpe diem fan of people following through on small ideas, a friend was casually talking about barbeque, and the vision was realized in a matter of hours.

BREWED.

JW.