Just 10-days after returning from Japan, I am off to the east coast of Australia on an unexpected trip. Back in Bangkok on the 12th of July 2010.

Expect some posts later in the week.

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I am back on deck after an amazing trip in Japan. Going through my emails this week, I received news that Wonderful Machine recently did a promo mailer, promoting some of my work along with various other photographers on the roster at Wonderful Machine.

Wonderful Machine mailers are pretty cool, in part because they have such a diverse pool of talented photographers to draw on. Every time I visit Wonderful Machine, I come across great imagery from all genres of photography. It is the sort of site where you just flick through the various photographers’ photos and just enjoy the experience of looking at quality imagery.

Hit the link to see the mailer, promoting animal photographers’ at Wonderful Machine. (My favourite is the first image, top left, showing gorillas on holiday.)

Wonderful Machine Animal Photography Mailer

See more mailers and great photography at the Wonderful Machine Archive page.

Thanks to the crew at Wonderful Machine.

Expect more regular posts in the coming weeks, as I get back into the posting groove.

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If there was a silver lining to the trouble in Bangkok in April, it was that I spent an unexpected 10-days in Kuala Lumpur.

I love wandering around new locations with my cameras, meeting new people and discovering what makes a place tick. KL was no different and despite the mid-afternoon monsoon downpours, I still managed to put together a good selection of travel photographs of Kuala Lumpur.

For PE’s and AD’s, I have uploaded 58 selects at Thomas Pickard Stock Archive. See all 58 photos at this link:

Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur Photos

Below are a few favourites.

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Off to Japan in the early hours of Thursday morning for 3 1/2 weeks.

The trip will be a mix of travel and some assignment work.

Despite Japan being known for telecommunications and digital everything, I’ll be dropping off the internet grid for most of my trip. This means no blog posts until July (sorry) and probably only once a week email checks.

Can’t wait to wander through the culture, colour and people of Japan.

Expect loads of high quality travel imagery upon my return.

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Photograph from a walk I did around Kuala Lumpur last night, taking night shots.

I covered the iconic Petronas Twin Towers on my first night, so I was looking for the aesthetic, but not often photographed parts of KL.

The Convention Centre near the Twin Towers – which were right behind me – is just one example of a building you just don’t see photographs of.

While I never got into photography for building architecture, I must admit that I enjoy rounding out my photographic coverage of an area by finding the most aesthetic and interesting buildings to photograph.

[Credit where credit is due. I have to thank the good folks over at Luceo Images for the idea of the From the Archive weekly post. Something they have been doing for a while now with the Luceo Image Archive.]

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Embed and share at your own site by clicking the triangle in the lower right hand corner

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There was something about the way I used the camera when I was 8 that I appreciated all of these years later. Something that came naturally. I believe it is imperfection. At 8 you don’t care if your horizons are crooked, if your exposure is off, if the time of day is right or about the rule of thirds. You simply point the camera because you like it. My goal now is to unlearn so much of what I have been taught, or been told about photography. Knowledge, politics, responsibility, your editors, it all plays a part in the way in which you approach your subjects.

Brown Cannon III | Intersection Photos via this blog post

If you are into travel photography or just beautiful photography full stop, then make sure you check out Intersection Photos, which has just opened it’s doors. Well worth a look.

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Portrait of a Chinese Medicine Man, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Chinese herbal medicine, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This was the second portrait I took yesterday, not far from where I photographed Mr Keong, which I discussed in my previous post below.

Mr Bin is a Chinese Medicine man and he has this incredible shop with one wall complete with these beautifully hand crafted wooden drawers that look like they had been made back in the day when things were actually made by a craftsman. Talking with Mr Bin, I learnt that the shop had been in his family for 50-years. Wow. Those beautiful drawers have been around for a long time!

Initially Mr Bin didn’t seem that enthused about me taking his portraits, but after I showed him the results on the back of my camera, he became more interested. While the first couple of photos were okay, I really needed something to connect him to what he does for a living.

Initially I envisaged a shot of him against the wall of drawers, but not only were they black holes for light (I was already in the ISO 1600 realm), he would just look like a guy standing next to some, well…old wooden drawers. Not much going on in terms of connecting him with being a practitioner of Chinese medicine.

Having him hold a drawer did the trick and the portrait above is the result.

Apart from the 10 to 15-minutes of conversation, the actual portraits we took lasted no longer than about 8 to 10-minutes. Not long, but then again, people don’t have all day for a total stranger to photograph them.

And in case you were wondering, the photo on the right is a remedy Mr Bin made up for a sore back that I have had for part of this week. Initially he reached for a packet of Panadol, to which I responded:

“Mr Bin, I’m in a Chinese medicine shop – I would like a Chinese remedy!”

As for what I do with my Chinese remedy, Mr Bins’ instructions were:

Take 3-cups of water and bring to the boil.

Add the contents (photo right).

Simmer until only 1-cup of liquid remains.

Let cool for about 1-hour, then strain and drink.

I guess there is a first time for everything.

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Photograph of a shop owner, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Today was portrait day for me.

A day where I went out into a foreign city, filled with people and tried to find interesting people, in aesthetic settings with good light. You need all three to produce good travel portraits, and honestly, it is harder to find than you may think.

Of course, you need one last thing too – the person in question to agree to your portrait request.

A lot of people said no to me today, but four individuals said yes.

Thank you Mr Keong. There are some prints coming your way next week!

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Despite the 37 degree heat, I enjoyed a productive late afternoon taking photographs around Kuala Lumpur. A few favourites below.

Aerial view of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

On the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

China Town, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Late afternoon shadows, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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