Back in Malaysia

Whee~ I'm back in Malaysia. Just arrived yesterday but already miss Japan (blame the damn slow streamyx connection) Will be here until the end of September. I can shoot many beautiful things/places in Japan but those are nothing compared to what i'll be shooting here in my home sweet home.

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Candid 02 : Mother's Love

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. -Agatha Christie

To a child's ear, 'mother' is magic in any language. - Arlene Benedict

*Can't wait to go back to Malaysia to see my mother. Really miss her.

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Reflection

3 exposures HDR (handheld)

location: Hama-Rikyuu Garden, Shiodome, Tokyo

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MERDEKA 52

Merdeka day and hari raya celebration organized by MSAJ and KUJ. Prizes up to 40000 yen to be won!! For more information, go to www.msaj.net or www.kelabumnojepun.com

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70-200mm f2.8

Added to my wish list. Somebody, buy me a 70-200mm f2.8 lens. Please. I promise I'll take a lot of good photos with that lens.

*Photos taken with 35mm f1.8 lens. Credit to apiddo for lending me his.

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How to convert color photo to black and white?

There are several ways to convert a color image to a black and white one . The easiest way is to change the setting of your camera to take black and white photo. In Photoshop, the most popular way is to desaturate the photo. It is easy but we don't have control over the colors and contrast. It leaves the photo looking flat.

When converting to a black and white photo, i prefer to use channel mixer feature in PS because i have control over the colors. Here's how.

1. Open the photo you want to convert. I'll use this photo.

2. Duplicate the background layer by right clicking at the background layer and choose duplicate image or go to layer>duplicate layer. You can just use shortcut key ctrl+j for windows or cmd+j for mac. Your layers window should now looks like this.

3. Now add channel mixer adjustment layer above the duplicated layer. To do this, click on the round shape at the bottom of your layers window and choose channel mixer. You can also go to Layers>New adjustment layer>color mixer.

4. Here's the main part. A channel mixer window will appear. Select monochrome and adjust the RGB percentage until the photo looks good.

There are no rules on the percentage of the colors. Just adjust it the way you like. Some knowledge about RGB color can help you on adjusting the percentage. For example, if you have a landscape with a blue sky as its background and you want the sky to looks darker in black and white photo, just decrease the percentage of the blue channel. Make sure when you sum up those percentage, it will be equal to 100%. It is not necessary though but if the total percentage is larger than 100%, the photo will washed out. When done, click OK. Your layers window should now looks like this.

5. Here are some examples:

R:77% G:18% B:5%

R:71% G:-14% B:43%

R:18% G:65% B:17%

I personally like the first one because i love how the photo draws my eyes directly towards his face without distraction from the blue lining on his cloth. The name of the university on the degree folder also stands out. Again, this is only my personal preference. There are no exact rule on how to adjust the color percentage.

6. Done! you can stop here if you want. But if you want to add more depth to your photo, here's how. First, merge the duplicated layer and the adjustment layer by selecting both layers, right click and select merge layer, or you can use shortcut key ctrl+e or cmd+e. Your layers window should now looks like this.

7. Now duplicate the merged layer (channel mixer 1) then change the duplicated layer's blending mode from normal to color burn. Blending mode option is on the drop down menu on the upper side of your layers windows.

8. Next, change the opacity to about 10%~20% (personal preference) and you are done! You can also add vignette effect (see here) to spice up the photo. Here is the final result.

Hope this tutorial will help. Of course, the are many other ways to convert a color photo to a black and white one. Mr. google knows better ;p

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Dentsu Building

Went to Shiodome (汐留）to shoot some photos. Located near Tokyo Bay, it is one of Tokyo's most modern area, similar to Skyscraper District in Shinjuku. Its spectacular skyscrapers accommodate many Japanese famous company, most notably Dentsu Incorporated (株式会社電通). Here are some info about the building, taken from wikipedia.

The Dentsu Headquarters Building (電通本社ビル Dentsū Honsha Biru) is a high-rise building in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo,Japan. The building houses the corporate offices of Dentsu. 48 floors rise to 213.34 m (700 ft), it is the eleventh-tallest building in Tokyo and second-tallest in Shiodome. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and completed in 2002. It was built over the site of Tokyo's first train station, and sits aside the Hamarikyu Gardens, formerly the site of a Shogun's vacation home. The Dentsu building is an exemplary picture of modern architecture, featuring collectors on the roof to utilize rainwater for its plumbing system, as well as ceramic dots on the windows which, in concert with computerized window shades, control climate control expediture. The Dentsu building has 70 elevators, including a special elevator reserved only for VIPs and executive management. With the exception of sludge, all waste materials produced in the construction of the Dentsu Building were recycled.

I can say the second photo was illegal because we are not allowed to take picture around the building complex. But hey, i'm not doing this for any commercial use so i think it's not that 'illegal' :p

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