October 5th, 2008 by Faris

Yesterday, my friend Hafiz and I were out to Central London for a “photoshoot session”. At first, we thought it would be great if we did photoshoot in “Baju Melayu” walking around London but unfortunately, I completely forgot to bring mine. When I met him at the Green Park tube station, he was ready in “Baju Melayu”. I went to him and said, “damn… you know what I’m going to say didn’t you?” Then, I got told off by him for not bringing mine. I said sorry to him. He said, yeah OK whatever. So, obviously our plan to have photoshoot in “Baju Melayu” burnt out. Because of that, Hafiz decided to go back to his accommodation in Bayswater to get changed.

The weather was not very pleasant. It was OK in the morning with the Sun shined happily for a few moment then totally changed in the afternoon until the end of the day. It started to rain by the time we arrived at Hafiz accommodation. It was a bit annoying because I was carrying my camera and did not want to keep it in my bag. If it’s raining, I had no choice but to protect it otherwise it gets wet. Nonetheless, I just beared with the weather and continued walking since the rain was not that heavy. Luckily, the camera is also weather-proof so hopefully it won’t get jammed later on!

While walking, we were thinking if there’s a nice place to hang around for some photos opportunity. We took a bus and just went to random places. We did not plan anymore. If we see something nice, we stop. It did not take long for us to decide where to go. I told Hafiz I have never been to Royal Albert Hall. He agreed and that would be our next destination. In London itself has so many places to visit. Almost everywhere you go, there will be photos opportunity. It is entirely up to you. To be honest, although I have been here for about one year and three months, this was my first time touring London! Hence, we got excited even though the weather annoyed us a little bit. Hafiz kept doing his “freezing action” when the wind blew off.

Hafiz taught me a lot about HDR photo. He is also pretty good in photo editing so, today was the perfect time for me to learn as much as I can by experimenting and taking a bunch of photos. For the very first time ever, I shot a few photos in a different exposures. For those who know about HDR, you have no doubt about it. In order to create HDR photo, you need to have a few different exposures for the same shot you take. At least three exposures. Bear in mind, you may probably need a tripod to enable you to get steady shots unless you have very sturdy hands to hold the camera from shaking. Of course, it’s not done yet. Once you have got the shots, you need to edit it in a special software to merge the HDR photos. I wish I could explain it details to you here but it’s just too complicated for me. You can google it up though.

Both of us did not plan to get masterpiece shots anyway. We just wanted to have fun and experience something we might not be able to do it anymore. I always say to myself, I’m going to miss all this when I go back to Malaysia next year. The places, weather, people, cultures - they’re all going to be history. Well, at least I have been given this opportunity by HIM the Almighty to feel how is it like to be in another place. To experience many things. To be able to see and improve myself by looking at others and realize how weak I am, how I need to change myself in terms of way of thinking. Therefore, I’m very grateful because I have been blessed with many good things in my life. Shouldn’t I sigh even if something bad happen to me because HE knows better.

By the way, after a long walk from one place to another, we both thought we needed some energy in order to continue the journey. Hafiz said his tummy was rumbling. Yeah, me too. From Royal Albert Hall, we took a bus to Oxford Circus. It was jam packed with vehicles and ocean of people. We were stuck in the bus for a couple of minutes. Even in the bus itself it was full. Hafiz got a chance to sit next to a girl at the back of the bus. He was looking at me standing near by the door and grinned. I ignored him. Then a few minutes later we jumped out of the bus and walked towards kebab shop. We had lamb doner. Man, I’m telling you it was so delicious! We did not speak until both of us finished eating. You can view a photo of me with lamb doner HERE because some of the photos are with Hafiz.

Now we were “fully charged” and ready to rock again. Our next stop will be St. Pancras International to get a train ticket because Hafiz is going to Loughborough tomorrow to meet his long lost friends. He’ll be going back to Malaysia on Monday so, this probably our last day meeting. To end our journey for that day, we headed to Tower Bridge. It was dark, raining, windy and cold when we got there. But for the sake of getting night shots of Tower Bridge, we dared to stand in the middle of the rain holding the camera and took as many shots as we can. The best part was, Hafiz did bring his tripod and he has been carrying it throughout the day but did not realize he left the plate in his apartment. He was too smart wasn’t he??!! But we managed to get a few shots using hand held though. Both of us had fun anyway. It was worth it.

If you would like to view more photos from yesterday, please logon to my Flickr. I wish him safe journey to Malaysia and thanks very much for everything. It was very pleasant to have you here buddy. We shall do it again with more adventure whenever you’re around!

Last but not least, I would like to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Happy Eid) to all out there who celebrate this season. I hope it is still valid and not too late. Hope you enjoy your stay. Thanks very much for reading and viewing. Cheers.

Faris