While we were on the tour across Asia, we ended up in Langkawi at the Ritz-Carlton where they put on a sunset mixology class for us. Man, bartenders really get into all this mixology stuff, and I have no idea what the heck is going on. They explain these esoteric mixes with such authority… I have no idea if it is total BS or if there is actually something to it. I think it’s probably a lot like healers or people like this… there are a lot of charlatans, but there are actually a few people that know what they are doing. I think this was one of those occasions!
It was fun to hang out with my friend Liz in Malaysia! We visited this mosque and they force women to cover their hair and other parts that may be enticing to men. I suppose that is the reason. I’m not a Muslim or anything, but it does seem a bit weird to suppress the human form to reinforce a mutually agreed-upon fiction. Anyway, after this, we went out with the team and had an amazing meal, sans silky self-sheeting.
Here’s a cool video I hope you like! While I was on tour across Europe a few years ago, I would give art talks at different Ritz-Carlton hotels along the way. One of the gentlemen there that helps run the show, Nick Teare, asked me if I’d be interested in making the video for the new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. It was a very fun project! I ended up with about 22 iterations before we finally ended up with what you see now. If you end up staying at some of the Marriott Luxury locations, you will probably see this video playing in your room on a loop! Also, a big thanks to Sam Mehrtens for composing the music!
Daily Photo – Visiting a Mosque in Kuala Lumpur
If you’re headed to any Muslim country, I always recommend you go visit a few mosques. They are great for photography and generally very interesting places. You don’t have to worry about dress too much (well, don’t wear shorts) because most of them have a little station in the front where you can put on the appropriate garb.
Here’s a little video I made for my friend Jose in Porto, Portugal! You can find his //photo tours here/..
Daily Photo – Amazing Kuala Lumpur
It was fun to go back to Kuala Lumpur after being gone for over seven years. You still can’t go wrong with a photo of the amazing Petronas Towers and the KLCC area. This one I tried shifting the temperature over into the Incandescent area. This is a good trick to try for a few of your cityscape shots. When you go into that area (called Tungsten in some white balance settings), you get this cool Blade Runner kind of feel.
I should do more of these! Here’s one from a few weeks ago when I went live on Facebook to stream my screen while editing some photos. (If you click through to Facebook you can read the comments.)
Daily Photo – Kuala Lumpur from the Traders Hotel Bar
I think the bar on the top of the Traders Hotel has the best view of the Petronas Towers. I tried a few other rooftop bars in the area, but this one is still the best. While I was there, you can see that dark, foreboding Four Seasons hotel on the right. Maybe it wasn’t open yet? I can only imagine that because not many lights are on and the sign on top is not lit up.
I now have five 360 Podcasts I’ve created and another four that are being edited. I’m figuring out this new format as I’m going along. Check out the new Playlist on YouTube and subscribe/hit the bell to get the newest when they come out!
Daily Photo – Chinese Lanterns in Kuala Lumpur
KL in Malaysia is one of those cool cities in the middle of worlds where they have most of the world’s main religions represented. It’s predominantly Muslim, so there are more mosques than anything, but you’ll also see Christian churches, Hindu temples, and Chinese temples like this one. I asked my driver if there was a temple for Atheists, and he said he could not think of one.
We’re doing one of these a week here on the blog and they are a mix of some stories from my life which I hope will inspire you and post-processing tips. Here’s Episode 3 for ya!
Daily Photo – Floating Market in Malaysia
I’ve been to a few of these different floating markets, but I’ve never seen them from above until this time that I visited Langkawi. Our concierge at the Ritz-Carlton there got us a boat to use for the day. This floating market was much better than my last one near Bangkok. I remember I was there and it must have been 120 degrees with no wind. I got stuck in a boat traffic jam for about three hours, trying to jam-float my way through the market. It was quite miserable, actually! So, this one in Langkawi was about one million times better!
I recommend a show called Mr. Robot. It ranks up there in the Westworld category as being somewhat confusing, but I sort of like that, I think. You really have to pay attention… but it’s a cleverly written show.
Daily Photo – Alone in the Mosque
I visited the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur between services. I would not be allowed to take photos otherwise. But, mosques are almost always open to anyone that wants to come in to pray or relax, like this gentleman is doing. Sometimes, on very hot days in these Muslim countries, I will go into mosques to relax too. They are often air-conditioned and I just sit on the floor with all my equipment and relax/meditate. Running around all day long in the heat can really get to ya.
Pop on into the Presets Area of our Store and check out the latest Festival Presets for Lightroom and Luminar!
Daily Photo – Floating in Langkawi
Hey, you just can’t go wrong with drone shots while Tane is topless, can you? It’s kind of a guaranteed photo. A lot of times, at night, I would just hover outside of Tane’s window, hoping to catch him on a midnight run to the bathroom. This plan never worked, and it may have played a small role in him recently quitting the company.
