Beautiful Melaka Archives - Page 8 of 13 - juesatta (CJ Photography)

Sep 08

Essence of Jonker night

By CJ Beautiful Melaka, Photography

fortune teller at Jonker Street for anyone

Jonker Walk night market, one of the must-go tourist attraction during the night of Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Melaka. During these nights, the street will be close for motor vehicles from 6:00 pm to midnight and traders will set up their stalls along the street and sell products associated with or reflect the cultural colors such as antique, arts and crafts, souvenirs, local and ethnic traditional food, and much more.

After getting my new gear last month, I’d decided to test the camera at Jonker Street and aimed to capture the life and essence of the street. That Sunday night I was set to Jonker Street alone after having a wonderful dinner with family nearby. On that drizzling Sunday, it was less crowded than usual.

I spent one hour on the street walking and shooting from one end to the other, enjoying a slow walk, assimilating myself into the crowd and behaving like a tourist. It was fun though, everything was like a new discovery. Having visited the street so many times, I still think that the street is full of surprises each time I go.

Sharing the shots I captured. May all beings be happy.

Malacca Teo Chew Association

goat milk and Chinese pastries

Kok Kok candy stall

uncle using a hammer and a wedge to break Kok Kok candy into small pieces

sale

beautiful lighting

hot and spicy

handmade mochi

handicrafts that glow in dark

making selection of the classics

oldies

Chinese traditional cream, to relieve itching

wooden handicafts

dolls

Chinese fans

making Tanghulu, Chinese traditional snack

Jonker Walk, spot for locals and tourists

talking to the monk

fruits flavor tea

trio

street of vibrance

shopping for ladies

"i see you"

teach

Malacca Hokkien Association

little advertisement

"one more song"

"1...2...say cheese"

no-sign

leaving the street, thanks to Hock-Hwee for the lift

Jul 10

Mirrored Melaka River at night

By CJ Beautiful Melaka, Photography

mirrored Melaka River

Few days ago, I took a slow drive around the town for relaxation on my way back after a full working day. It was midnight and I passed through the bridges in Melaka heritage city. I noticed the water of Sungai Melaka (Melaka River) was so calm and so its surface appeared mirror-like. Glad that I had my camera with me, however the bad news was I left the tripod at home.

To get steady night shots without tripod, it was challenging. I had to relax my body, hold the camera tight to solid surface and pressed the shutter softly. And it was lucky that the traffic was minimal in the middle of night which made the shooting easier, or else each time traffic came across the bridge it shook.

The night atmosphere was calm and quiet, and I was enjoy capturing the reflection.

May all beings be happy. Sharing the results,

view from Jambatan Tan Kim Seng (Tan Kim Seng Bridge)

view from the other side of Tan Kim Seng Bridge

Jambatan Chan Koon Cheng (Chan Koon Cheng Bridge) built 1908

Chan Koon Cheng Bridge

old building by the river of Melaka

Discovery Cafe of Melaka

new boutique hotel, Casa Del Rio Melaka

Jun 06

大马‧以天为被地为床

By cind@ Beautiful Melaka

（马来西亚）用5欧元游一个欧洲国家，你认为可能吗？李振城说他就做到。

很多人所认识的李振城，是一个开朗的阳光青年，也是马六甲老街两间民宿的老闆。

令人意外的是，这个表面随和、整洁的大男孩，在半年多以前却是个不折不扣的流浪汉，在欧洲各地跟街头露宿者和鸽子同眠，甚至两三个星期冲一次凉。

以每个国家只花5欧元的预算，李振城走过欧洲30个国家。

被驱赶被打抢几乎冻死

以地狱的方式流浪的同时，李振城却体会到什么是天堂。

“吵架、打架、被骚扰、被驱赶、被打抢、差点被冻死，是旅游中的家常便饭；在苦难之中遇到善心人，我发现天使就在身边。”

在盲目放任的流浪之中，李振城却感受到“地球与我同在”的自由与亲密。从此他更爱地球。

“有时没有目的地搭火车走到尽头，到达一个不知名的无人地方，却赫然发现地球就在脚下，天地无限辽阔。”

从一开始的极度沮丧、完全放弃，李振城找到小小的自己与宽阔的天地。

年轻人没真正经历过苦

“人生应该趁年轻至少疯狂一次。但不鼓励像我这样的方式，其实真的太危险。”

他发现现在的年轻人很响往旅行，其实却是非常“草莓似”的脆弱。他担心这些备受保护的年轻人日后出来社会如何面对种种的问题和挑战，如何成为社会国家的栋樑。

他相信，这也许是现今很多年轻人，动不动就因为功课、爱情等离家出走或自杀的原因，因为他们没有真正经历过什么是苦，什么是一无所有。

“当你可以放弃一切的时候，你反而更有生存能力。”李振城的故事太丰富，以下只是其中精彩的一小部份。

失恋后开始流浪两年

2008年6月，李振城去伦敦找相恋10年的女友，却发现女友移情别恋。在极度沮丧之中，李振城用间歇打工的钱，开始漫无目的在欧洲流浪两年，直到生了一场大病，再走不下去才决定回家。

大病不死回到马六甲，半年来开了两间极受欢迎的民宿，李振城把当年自己旅途中曾经最急切的需要――住、吃、玩，变成为他开民宿的贴心点。

“我现在常常会收留找不到住宿的背包客睡在客厅。我希望人人有床位，人人都可以睡。”

May 10

不一样的鸡场街

By CJ Beautiful Melaka, Photography

鸡场街的倒影

上个星期难得有空，便和Dylan到闻名的鸡场街（也叫文化街）街拍。我们已经在鸡场街街拍摄了几次，而这次又到鸡场街是给自己的挑战。一直寻找着完美，几乎忘了那不完美的存在、那不一样的感觉。

常常欣赏网上和朋友们的鸡场街照片，觉得都是很复古，很优美的马六甲老街。我和朋友们一起也拍摄过的几条街，豆腐街、打铁街、青云亭街、马车街、海山街等等，也一样追求完美的照片：大热天的蓝天白云、复古混合殖民式的建筑物、还有那满街好奇的游客。

这次和Dylan出来街拍，我们希望能随性而不追求这完美的照片。不必在乎角度、曝光，只要感觉对了就按下快门。

拿了妹妹的Panasonic傻瓜相机，我们便出发了！轻轻松松的走向那鸡场街,寻找不起眼的事物、不一样的感觉：

May 06

Feel for Jonker Street

By CJ Beautiful Melaka, Photography

moody evening of Jonker Street

Looking back of old photos sometimes gives us some clue of our development in photography. And early this week, I flashed back the old albums in juesatta and realised that the style of my photography has changed throughout the years. Something I’ve gained and that something is also missing.

I wanted to looking for something that missing…

Two days ago Dylan and I decided to do street photography again. Besides favoring the nostalgic street, we chose Jonker Street again where we did street photography a few times, so that we could know how far we could go when shooting at the same location.

That afternoon when we arrived, I told Dylan, “Let’s forget about what we’ve learnt of photography: composition, exposure, and quality. Put those lesson 101 aside and shoot only what we feel like shooting.”

And Dylan said to me, “Right! Rules are made to be broken.”

Like a wise person once said: if you intend to break a rule you should always learn it first to make sure you’re breaking of it is all the more effective! Then we’d decided to give a go.

Without relying on the decent performance DSLR camera I have, I grabbed my sister’s Panasonic compact camera and we were off searching for the ‘feel’ of street.

Thanks to Dylan for the company and we had so much fun learning together. May all beings be happy.

Outcome of the shooting session:

Dec 16

The Street of Harmony, Jalan Tokong

By CJ Beautiful Melaka, Photography

junction of Jalan Tokong

Parellel to the famous Jonker Street, there is a street which has three coexisting places of worship: Kampung Kling Mosque, Cheng Hoon Teng Chinese Temple, and Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Hindu Temple. It is Jalan Tokong (tokong means temple in Malay) and also known as the “Street of Harmony” by the locals, showing the harmony amongst the people in Malaysia.

While having a free time this Monday, Kenn-Wai and I decided to do a casual street shooting in the old town of Melaka. We just wanted to shoot for leisure and snap whatever we like on that day, even though we shoot photos always for actual events. We met in Jonker Street and setup our gear before Kenn-Wai suggested to go to Jalan Tokong.

It was drizzling in the afternoon when we started our journey in Jalan Tokong. Most of the shops were about to close then street was getting quiet and occupied with only a few tourists and locals. We spent first half of the session at the junction of Jalan Tokong and Jalan Hang Lekiu waiting for the right subject such as senior citizens and tourists to pass this intersection.

From the junction we could see the three of the places of worship. This was one of the reasons we chose to go Jalan Tokong. Not to mention that the three places of worship, Kampung Kling Mosque, Cheng Hoon Teng Chinese Temple, and Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Hindu Temple are one of the oldest temples and mosque in our country, they are also built along the same street and near to one another.

The area is now predominantly occupied by Chinese though, the presence of the mosque and the Indian temple suggests that this area was once lived by a multi ethnic community that was able to live harmoniously together. Besides, Jalan Tokong is made more thrilling by the Chinese traditional trades. We discovered some Chinese effigy makers and shops that sell red and gold lanterns, paper money and Chinese funerary necessities along the street.

We continued along the street and took a few shots outside the Kampung Kling Mosque, went into the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple to pay respect and photo-taking, and finally went to the Sri Poyyatha Vinayagar Moorthi Temple which were close for visiting during that time. After an hour of relaxing photo-taking, Kenn Wai had an appointment and had called off the shooting session.

The outing was splendid and allowed both Kenn-Wai and I to realise how far we could go comparing our currents shots with the photos from the last few street shooting in that area. Again, Kenn-Wai taught me a lot of things humbly and benefited me even more.

Thanks to Kenn-Wai for inviting me for the shooting and sharing the experience with him. I am looking for the next outing for street shooting in the near future. May all beings be happy. Share some shots which I took: