The Bunga Raya...

The national flower of Malaysia is the five-petal Bunga Raya, or commonly known as hibiscus (bunga in Malay means grand and raya means flower). The Bunga Raya can be found in abundance throughout Malaysia, and in 1960 was chosen as the national flower by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's first Prime Minister. Symbolically, Bunga Raya's red color represents courage, and the each of the five petals of the Bunga Raya represents the Five Principles of Nationhood of Malaysia. This information is extracted from http://www.travelmalaysiaguide.com/.

These 2 photoshots above were shot by me, using the Nikon D80, armed with the Prime 50mm lens. My fellow camera Khaki, Oon Thong (also known as OOI) uses the Canon and this was how he snapped his shot.

This stance is called ... "SQUAT".

Antz Collection...

I have always been fascinated by the ants. There is a saying in the Malay language "RAJIN SEBAGAI SEMUT" or translated into English means, "AS HARDWORKING AS ANTS". Indeed, when you look at the colony of ants, you will see how cooperative and harworking they are. They are a model of TEAMWORK. Humans have to learn this from the ants.

The Wikipedia explains that ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related families of wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoprera. Today, more than 12,000 species are classified with upper estimates of about 14,000 species. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few tens of predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies which may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals that are mostly sterile females forming castes of "workers", "soldiers", or other specialised groups. Ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called Queens. The colonies are sometimes described as superorganism because ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.

This ANTZ collection photos were taken as an animal enthusiast pointed out the colony to me as I was passing by.

United we stand!

Going home...

The New Saint Anne's Church...

The Cross - the light of the world.

The Saint Anne's Church, one of the most magnificent Church buildings I have photoshot in Malaysia. I am truly impressed with the resulting photos that I have taken here, which are still inadequate to describe the beauty and serenity here. The glory of God prevails throughout the grounds of this magnificent church.

The magnificent roof structure of the new cathedral.

The magnificent bell tower.

The magnificent walkway leading from the old cathedral to the new cathedral.

Angels surround the Cathedral...

The magnificent altar at the new cathedral...

Beautiful backdrop...

and... The Last Supper at the front of the altar...

I have decided to follow Jesus... Amen!

Saint Anne's Church - and The Stations of the Cross...

Today's photography expedition took me to a Church which celebrated its 120th Anniversary recently. Many have visited this church and found it to be one of the beautiful churches in Malaysia. Finally, today the moment has come for me to visit this beautiful church for a photography session.

The Saint Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam - Built in Year 1888.

The altar at the historical church sanctuary.

The following photos feature the Stations of the Cross, leading to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

There is a path through the hill behind Saint Anne's Church going through the stations of the Cross.

The first Station of the Cross.

Jesus said - "I am the way, the truth and the life."
The walkway up the Stations of the Cross.

The Crucifixion.

For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Candles..

On the third day, Christ defeated death and rose from the dead.

Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer. Amen.

The Cock....Another Majestic Bird...

The Rooster is a famous bird associated with the year I was born. About a year ago, I sat across the table from an acquaintance and somehow when we spoke, we found out that we were both born in the year of the Rooster. But he thought I was 12 years older! HA!

This Rooster is also a Kuala Muda bird.

Cock-a-doodle-doo.

Birds at the Seas....Action Photos of Crows...

At Kuala Muda, the birds caught my attention (including Chicken and Crows). These are such fast animals, and I really like to shoot them in action. This collection is about the Black Bird... Crows. I am particularly proud of this collection because I have managed to use photography to make the Crow such a majestic bird.

Shot this photo from the Fish Auction Market @ Kuala Muda.
The crow has been looked upon as more of a nuisance bird. The information from Wikipedia explained that the true crows are large passerine birds that comprise the genus Corvus in the family. In the United States, the word "crow" is used to refer to the American Crow. In Malaysia, we call the crow Burung Gagak @ Malaysian Crow. The 5 photo shots below were taken using the multishot mode of the Nikon D80.

This photo below shows the Crow making an approach to land... how nice!

At The High Seas & Low Seas....

This is a continuation of the previous blogpost Khakis. The Khakis went to Kuala Muda for a photo shooting trip and these are some of the photos...

This photo was shot from the beach of Kuala Muda fishing village, using the 70 - 300mm lens. Zoomed to the maximum, it looks close to the shore. The photo is named Coastal Fishing.

This photo was taken from the same spot where I shot the photo Coastal Fishing. This photo is named Very Coastal Fishing.

This was the ground where I was standing on to shoot the coastal fishing photos. This reminded me of my childhood days going to the beach. This hole is called Lubang Ketam (Crab Hole). Dig in, and you might find a Ketam (Crab).

The scenery there is so beautiful. This photo scene is similar to those oil paintings made by our Malaysian artistes.

Scenic Kuala Muda...

The Kuala Muda Jetty...

Fishing boat...

Fishermen's market...

The Classic Photo...