Rawa Belong Flower Market

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:40:11 +0700

Quite busy time in the last months here in Jakarta. Nevertheless today I visited the Rawa Belong Flower Market.
Here you can find flower products such as orchids, subtropical flowers, roses, bouquets, decorative leaves brought in from farmers in Jakarta, and rest of Java, and then distributed to various places to meet the demands of consumers, both within Jakarta itself and elsewhere in the country, and even for export.
The real action is actually early in the morning (around 2am), but a big selection was still available at the time of visiting and good enough to get some decent colorful shots.

Kathmandu Slideshow

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:43:10 +0700

If you missed it on my Facebook profile, here is a short slideshow with my favorite images from my last March trip to Kathmandu.

PX3 2011 Official Selection

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:15:50 +0700

Following the honorable mentions of 2009 with images from Hanoi, in the 2011 edition of PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris my portrait series from Nepal has been chosen has Official Selection for 2011 competition!
These are the five images!

Nepal Gallery....Finally Ready

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:25:07 +0700

It was a tough selection but finally my “overdue” image gallery from Nepal is ready. A subset of the images can be seen on this website HERE. The complete gallery has been uploaded in my Photoshelter Archive.
Looking forward to Bhutan.......next year!

Nepal

Tue, 5 Apr 2011 22:17:39 +0700

It was a great trip with a great company. Now the hard work start: going through 2,500 images during the spare time. I hope to complete it quickly.
Meanwhile I share some random colorful shots from Katmandu and around.

Something in Jakarta

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:18:10 +0700

I spent this saturday morning in Kota, the old town of Jakarta, and the port. Beside skyscrapers and mega shopping malls, there is something else....Just need time to find it out!
I will be leaving for Nepal in few days and this was also a chance to check my gear before the trip. I cannot miss a shot there!

Italy Break

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:25:42 +0700

Just back from a ten days trip to Italy. A short break but very relaxing in Sappada (Dolomites), a town located about 130 km north of Venice.
For more information on Sappada visit www.sappada.info.

Here we are.....

Sun, 9 Jan 2011 22:00:32 +0700

Finally we are settled here in Jakarta....Our things including my Mac Pro and other computer stuff arrived only last January 4th.
While Jakarta is a more convenient place to live, this megacity definitely does not offer the same photographic inspiration of Hanoi. Nevertheless time will tell..
Indonesia will be for sure an exciting country to explore. For the moment I want to share few images taken in Kota (Jakarta old town), Bogor botanical garden and tea plantations of Puncak pass.

Moving.....Jakarta!

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:22:34 +0700

After five and half year in Hanoi, the time to move has arrived. Starting from mid of November we will be in Jakarta.
It will be definitely a different experience....as I say: from the village to the megalopolis!!!! A lot of things to prepare and to pack including my camera equipment and computer stuff....
There will be not so much photography in the next month, but I am confident I will be back with new inspirations!!!
Thank you to Hanoi, one day exciting, the other day frustrating.....thank you for all of you following me.....I will be back soon!

Early Morning

Sat, 18 Sep 2010 18:00:09 +0700

The most interesting time to visit Hoan Kiem lake is definitely early morning. Hundreds of people come here to take their morning exercise; older people practice Tai Chi, youngest exercise or play badminton.
Today I had a much better fortune than some weeks ago, wonderful weather.
Few old images a new images from today here:

Portraits

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:50:03 +0700

My Photoshelter Archive has been updated with a new gallery titled Portraits. No new images, just grouped all the “Asian” portraits in one gallery.
Enjoy the slide show!

Hoan Kiem Turtle

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:00:49 +0700

Early wakeup today with the idea to take some pictures. Unfortunately it started to rain as soon as arrived in Hoan Kiem Lake.
Anyway I was repaid of my efforts. I saw several people along the shore of the lake and immediately joined them and.....I saw it , the Hoan Kiem Turtle! First time in more than five years! Unfortunately I did not have my 200mm lens and the above image represent the best I can get today.
This is quite an unusual event. The Hoam Kiem Turtle, Rafetus leloii (Wikipedia), is a distinct species. Only one specimen is still existing and living in the Hanoi lake. For all Hanoians, Hoan Kiem’s turtle is a supernatural animal, and is a living treasure of the city. The appearance of the turtle is considered an exceptional event, and today I was there!
Some more images from my archive.

Myanmar, is there any hope?

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:13:14 +0700

During our second visit to Myanmar in September 2009 my wife and I could perceive a certain excitement from the burmese people since the time for the long-awaited elections, part of Myanmar junta's "roadmap to democracy", was coming. All the hope was for her, the so called “the lady”. That’s the nickname for the “house-locked” democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Even her name cannot be mentioned in public.
Few days ago the junta set the date. It will be November 7, but an election law that bars “the lady” from taking part in the race.
After reading these news I prepared an 8 min video with images and some clips taken with a DV camera using Apple iMovie.
A wide selection of image from Myanmar can be found HERE.

Children

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:32:16 +0700

Yesterday I add to prepare some images for a magazine submission. The theme is “Children” and all images have to be black and white only.
I re-edited with Apple Aperture twelve of my available photos from Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Philippines and included in a new gallery in Photoshelter. Click here to access the gallery or enjoy the slide show down here.

Vietnam Railway

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 10:07:49 +0700

Last week I was quite interested to learn that the National Assembly gave finally, after several rounds of discussion, the thumbs down to the proposed US$56-billion express railroad project connecting Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
The interesting thing of all this story is that the proposed solution based on the Japanese so called “bullet train” is best suited to cover middle-distance spans (about 500 Km) and would probably never be competitive with air travel for 1,600 km between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City!!!
There is no doubt that the Vietnamese railways system, inherit from the French colonial era, need substantial upgrade. To give you an idea I enclose some images taken two weeks along the railway running in the city. Houses are built just few meters from the rail tracks that become part of the daily life.

Hello Hanoi!

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:53:27 +0700

Yes, Hello Hanoi! I am still here!!! I have been too quite in the last month. No inspiration and motivation, but this morning I prepared my camera bag I went out for a walk in Dong Da district and the usual old quarters.
The image above is not “photoshopped” as you may think, but a close up of a nice wall painting I discovered in Dong Da (actually not so far from my office!).
Some images from today down here and some more to come in the next days!

Website Modifications (Flash, but iPhone Friendly)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:19:55 +0700

I spent few hours of today afternoon to refresh the website adding a new “Cover” as entry page and updating the old Welcome page. The new two flash banners have been created using BannerZest Pro from Aquafadas (available also for Windows). The interesting thing of the new release of BannerZest is the capability to create alternative non-flash banners that can be displayed also on the iPhone.
When in the Welcome page move your mouse above the images grid!
Also the various images flash galleries have been updated taking advantage of the new features introduced by Photoshelter. It is now possible to see the images on full screen and to share the gallery via email and they are also iPhone friendly!
Clicking on the image the corresponding image is opened in the Photoshelter Archive.

At the Market

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:45:06 +0700

Walking in the Hanoi markets is a visual and “olfactory“ experience.
There are covered markets and street markets. They sell wide range of products, and tend to be somewhat smelly, especially around the fresh meat and fish sections.
Hygienic conditions are very poor and, unfortunately, serious cases of intoxications happen from time to time. In Vietnam there is no strict control on the locally produced meat.
Yesterday I had walk in Don Xuan market, in the old quarters, and in the market located at the western end of Long Bien Bridge to get some fresh images.

HDR Imaging

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:10:09 +0700

High Dynamic Range Imaging is a technique that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas (definition from Wikipedia!) by merging different images taken at different exposure settings.
I am not really into it, but it is definitely useful in various situations like sunset/sunrise and night photography.
The image above ,from my last trip to Philippines ,was obtained by merging the three images showed hereunder. As you can see also with the direct sunlight facing the camera the image is properly exposed (sky, sea and mainly the boat). The image was obtained using the HDR merging function in Photoshop, some “layer/masking works” and enhancing the resulting image with the Color Efex Pro plugin.
The other two images are other two cases where HDR is useful. For the Kaohsiung (Taiwan) cityscape the technique was useful to reduce the contrast between the sky and lights of the buildings.
The last image is a tall tetrameles nudiflora tree outside the famous Ta Prohm temple is Siem Reap (Cambodia). The bottom part of the tree was in a dark shadow while the branches were in direct sunlight.

Hanoi 1000

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:06:23 +0700

It was 1983 when my hometown (Udine) celebrated 1000 years. On 10-10-10 it will be the turn of Hanoi.
It was 1010 when King Ly Thai To decided to move the capital from Hoa Lu (100 km South of Hanoi) to the North. When his boat landed at Nhi Ha River (former name of the Red River), the king saw a large dragon-shaped cloud rising from the water. The king relied on that good omen and decided to settle the new capital in the place that he named Thanh Long (Ascending Dragon).
A nice initiative to celebrate this event is the Hanoi Dike Mural Project. The urban section of the concrete dike, protecting the city from floods, has been covered by colorful ceramic murals realized by different artists.

Invision Images

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:12:20 +0700

Short announcement.
Since few weeks my Myanmar and Bohol images are also represented by Invision Images, an independent photo agency located in Athens.

Jeepneys

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:28:16 +0700

If you go to the Philippines you will never forget that overloaded and colorful jeepneys! and if you don’t suffer of claustrophobia you should try to have a ride!
I do really like that vibrant colors and every time I go to Bohol I enjoy to take picture of them.
Jeepneys are the most common mean of transportation in the country. The first jeepneys appeared after the second WWII when the Filipinos had the idea to modify the jeeps left or sold by the Americans before leaving the country.
Modern jeepneys are now supplied by independent manufactures within the country.

Bohol and Aperture 3

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:20:15 +0700

Just back from two weeks holiday in Bohol (Philippines). I took not so many pictures, but some good ones!
Timing was quite good since Apple just released Aperture 3, the new version of their pro photo management, image editing and RAW photo conversion application.
I received it at my return on Monday and, beside some few bugs, I am positively impressed. With the addition of new features like presets and brushes Aperture is now a so powerful tools that no other photo editing softwares are required.
Some results are shown here!

Tet is here

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 16:51:06 +0700

Tet (Lunar New Year) is almost here. The Year of the Tiger will start on February 14, 2010. As every year traffic in Hanoi is more chaotic than usual and motorbikes carrying the traditional Kumquats trees, pink peach blossoms trees, apricot blossoms trees are everywhere.
This is the most important holiday in Vietnam and the city, after these frenetic days, will “switch off” for a week. It is traditional to spend these days in home with family and close friends.
It is a good occasion also for me (and the blog) to have a break. Leaving to the Philippines tomorrow!

Wandering around

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 20:46:56 +0700

Wonderful weather here in Hanoi in the last days! I took the chance to walk around with my camera. I believe Hanoi is still a “Photographer Paradise”. There is always the right shot waiting for you!
By the way, Tet, the lunar new year, is very close. I will post some pictures soon!

Safety First!

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:58:00 +0700

.................or “Safety Fist” as I read in a construction site banner now so far from my home.
Well, it is funny, but give an idea of the “importance” that, unfortunately, the Vietnamese give to this issue. Hanoi, and surrounding is a “huge construction site” and it is practically impossible to find workers equipped with working clothes, safety shoes and any other kind of protection as required.
The law is there, but nobody follows it. People need to work and construction companies do not invest in safety equipment.
Why writing this today? I just learnt that in the neighbor building two worked lost their life while repairing the AC units. The AC exploded, no safety equipment, a fall of almost 50m.

One year....12 Images

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:10:43 +0700

Another year is gone! I selected 12 images from 2009, each taken on each month of the year.
Maybe I could put together a nice calendar!
No more to say....just....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Smile......it’s Christmas!

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:10:39 +0700

It is Christmas again.....but the warm feeling and the excitements typical of the western world are miles away..
Except for the Christmas trees and decorations of five stars hotels and office buildings, everything is like an ordinary day. Christmas is a working day here in Vietnam except for foreign organizations (offices, banks) that more and more every year started to close.
Walking around Hanoi in this days there is no substantial difference except for the Santa Claus hats and dresses sold like carnival costumes, sometimes mixed with local items.
Nevertheless Vietnam remains the second Catholic country in South-East Asia (10% of the population) and mass is celebrated on Christmas Eve in few churches.
Hereafter there are few images taken in the last days depicting what I just described you but.....what give a more warm feeling are these smiling masks above!

Hanoi old quarters on ASIAN Geographic Magazine

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:31:31 +0700

This image taken in the Hanoi old quarters has been included in the latest issue of the ASIAN Geographic Magazine, the Photo Annual 2009, titled “My Asia - Portrait edition”.
For who is not familiar, ASIAN Geographic is a geographic magazine, published in Singapore, that focuses on stories about Asia. It contains articles on geography, culture, heritage, society, environment, exploration, conservation and art.
It is normally available around Asia, but, unfortunately, I was not able to find in Hanoi yet. Luckily they recently introduced the possibility to purchase copy online, even if I would prefer to enjoy reading it on my sofa!!!!

Back in the Cold......

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:35:00 +0700

After a short break in Europe, I am back in Hanoi. In the last week Vietnam has been affected by cold air coming down from China and temperature dropped to generally unusual values in particular for this time of year, similar to those I had in Europe! We had a series of windy days with 10-12C early in the morning!
Of course this creates a big discomfort for the Hanoians, in particular for the elders, considering that the majority does not own any heater.
This morning I had a short walk downtown around Hoan Kiam lake and the old quarters with my camera trying to capture some significant image to show how people is living this situation.