photography – Page 44 – Wolfgang Lonien

August 18, 2016

Malaysia, the last half week

After returning to paklong and maklong (my brother-in-law and his family) on Wednesday, the first thing I noticed was how fast these workers outside were building that new “Elmina Valley” – the first of the roofs were about to get ready:

Our adik and family also joined us again, and together we visited iCity:

Aqilah and her mum Zu on a train carousel:

On Saturday, Mitchie was invited to visit some of her former classmates and alumni and friends/husbands, but I didn’t take the camera there. It was nonetheless very interesting, and for the second time in my life I also ate Durian, this time in form of a cake. Nice, but not that easy to digest.

In the evening, both our families brought us back to KLIA – the header image is from a short stop on the motorway, not too far off the airport. At 2am on Sunday morning, our plane was to leave, so we had to say goodbye and terima kasih (= thanks) at around 1 o’clock. It was great to see them all again, and 6 years in between was way too long – so we hope to meet them again soon. My joke from yesterday: for my next birthday I said I’d wish for nothing special – just a cake, like the one maklong had. Available at Secret Recipe (in Malaysia only) 😉

Other things to try, should you visit Malaysia: Nasi Lemak and/or Roti Canai for breakfast, and Laksa, like Zu made it. Delicious like the whole Malaysian cuisine. One request of my brother was to write down the recipe of my favourite dish there – we bought him a book instead…

Thanks for reading, and for viewing.

August 17, 2016

Malaysia, the second week (plus a few days)

On Monday, 25th of July, our abang gave us his Perodua Alza to visit my father-in-law’s. And one of the first photos I took there was this one of “Belang” (= striped):

Suadi, my father-in-law, had hired some people to help him harvesting some of his palm oil, so this time my help wasn’t required, except to take some photos of it:

Each of these fruits weighs approximately 20kg, so considered the Malaysian sun and temperatures, this is really hard work:

Here’s another of Suadi’s cats, “Tompok” (= patches):

Except cats, I mainly took portraits and snapshots of Mitchie’s greater family, often on request – Malaysians are mostly not camera shy, and willingly group and pose together as soon as they see a camera, or a smart phone (which everyone has). Here for instance are Comel (= cute) with her son and her husband:

Her sister Siti is also married by now, but her husband was involved in an accident and broke his leg, so he couldn’t come. Here’s Siti with Zuleikha instead (both smiling for a smart phone beside me):

Last not least, my father-in-law again, together with his wife Sakdiah:

I have a lot more of these family snapshots and group photos, some of which Zuleikha took with my camera. To see some more, please check my “Malaysia 2016” album on Flickr.

During our time there, we’ve got both Suadi’s Honda EX5 and Skadiah’s Yamaha SS110 (formerly Mitchie’s) motorcycles repaired and maintained a bit. Here are Zuleikha and her atuk (= grandfather in Javanese) coming back from a short test ride (and another visit to some relatives):

These motorcycles with 100 to about 150ccm are very popular in Malaysia, and make about 50% of all registered vehicles in the country. And for the kampungs (= villages) they are really all you’d need, and also really useful in denser areas with heavier traffic – our abang takes his 135cc Yamaha to work and back each day. Dangerous, yes, but also a lot faster than using the car and being stuck in those traffic jams. Means: while driving in Malaysia (and I drove at least 1.500 km again this time), be careful and very alert – these will overtake you on each side, no matter which lane you’re in.

Oh, some last ones for our dad’s neighbour. Here’s his youngest son Aimee:

And that neighbour is also a smoker, and like me he rolls his own cigarettes. So he tried my tobacco, and I tried his local “Domingo” brand, available at the 7/11 shops which are around everywhere:

Nice, tho only half as strong as mine. With about RM17 (= Ringgit, the current exchange rate is about 4.5/1), it’s not that much cheaper than what we have here.

After about 9 days, we had to go back North to Shah Alam. I’ll write about that next time.

Thanks for reading, and for viewing.

August 16, 2016August 16, 2016

Malaysia, the first week

We’ve had 3 weeks in Malaysia this year, and we started on Sunday, July 17th with a route taking us from FRA (Frankfurt) over DXB (Dubai) to KUL (Kuala Lumpur), where we arrived late Monday evening. Our abang (the older one of my brothers-in-law) and his youngest daughter Aleesa picked us up and drove us all the way to their home at Bukit Subang, near Subang airport and Shah Alam, which is some 56km North-Northwest of KL International Airport, close to the capitol Kuala Lumpur:

And Aleesa was also amongst the first of whom I took a photograph on the following evening:

Our adik (the younger one of my brothers-in-law) and his family also joined us the next day, and here’s a photo of his youngest daughter, Aqilah:

I also tried one photo using my compact flash off-camera and bounced over the ceiling – so here’s the result, showing Aleesa and Zuleikha:

Zuleikha told a joke, asking why a cow wants to cross a road (“Because she’s going to the mooohviiiees”), so that became one of the running gags – and the kids really wanted to go and see a film afterwards. So this is what we did, except Aqilah who stayed with us instead:

She looked pretty cool even outside in the sun on her Mama’s arms:

During the following days, we did a lot and also ate out, like at this restaurant on the sea. This is the Straits of Malacca, famous shipping route from Asia to Europe (and with pirates around as I’ve heard):

For all you travellers who want to find that, it’s here:

After eating, the kids went to collect some sea shells, some of which they still have:

Except Aqilah, here on the arms of her kakak (= older sister) Aisya, who is about Zuleikha’s age:

We also visited Putrajaya, the seat of the government and also the king’s residence. Here’s a view from one of the bridges which lead there:

Aiman and Aleesa on that same bridge:

Except of the palaces and government buildings, Putrajaya looks like a giant amusement/recreational park, and you can do lots of stuff there – even try yourself on your cross-country motorcycle like this guy did:

On Sunday, our adik and his family as well as our abang’s eldest son Fariz had to go back – there were no public school holidays in Malaysia during the time we were there. The plan was that we’d take one of our abang’s cars to visit my father-in-law for a bit over a week, and to come back and meet everyone again afterwards, so that is what we did. I’ll write about that next time.

Thanks for reading and viewing.

August 10, 2016August 10, 2016

Back from Malaysia

We’re back from a 3 week trip to Malaysia, which is where Mitchie comes from, so it’s kind of home for us. And we’ve visited almost all of the family and friends’ houses; after 6 years it was about time to do this.

I selected a few images which were taken with my camera, either by Zuleikha or by myself, but I still have to consult Mitchie about how to write some of the names. So for today I’ll show you just one “featured image” here, of my father-in-law, En. Suadi bin Sumadi. He allowed me to take this photo at his home, close to two windows.

I converted this one to black and white with the film simulation built into RawTherapee, using Tri-X as the simulated film. Looks better than with using Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 which gives more artificial grain. As usual, the image comes from Flickr where you can see or download a bigger version for prints.

More to come, but I still need a bit of time for them.

Thanks for reading.

July 9, 2016

Busy times

We’ve been doing a lot during the last weeks, and then again, not so much. First it was Ramadan, so we slept during daytime (with times like 21:40 to 2:50 for eating and drinking approximately, you don’t have much time left to sleep during those nights).

I also didn’t take many photos. Some of colleagues, some of friends, and lately of our new office (we’ve moved within the same building). So here are a few:

Working during lunch break

The heavens above

Three girls and a dog

Dog

Sebastian and friends

A new place to sit and to work

We also got Tuna vaccinated, but we don’t have to give her to some cat “hotel” during our upcoming holidays – we’ve found someone who will care for her here.

Thanks for reading and viewing.

May 31, 2016May 31, 2016

Using (and trying) another motorcycle

Here in Germany, cars, motorcycles and so on have to get checked each two years. Normally I did this on Saturdays, but I don’t like the nearest service station that much, so this time I decided to have it done at a dealer’s place. And the nearest Honda motorcycle dealer is in Groß-Gerau, where Zuleikha also goes to school.

Since they have these checks only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I asked the dealer for a replacement, because this way I could do it in two steps: bring my machine there on Monday, go home and to work next day with whatever he would give me, and change back on Tuesday. That would have the additional advantage to try something new, change of perspective and so on. And this is exactly how we did it, yesterday and today.

I was lucky with the weather – while we’ve had severe storms, damage, and even loss of lives in Germany yesterday, I didn’t even get really wet. A few drops of rain around the airport and the following 5 kilometers, that was about it. And without having asked the dealer for a specific model, he took my machine and gave me almost exactly what I would have liked to test anyway: a brand new (less than 1100km on the clock) Honda NC750S.

I would have loved to try the version with Honda’s new DCT (double clutch transmission), but he gave me the manual one which is 10kgs lighter, so I didn’t complain.

First impression: the fuel gauge showed only 1 bar in the instruments, so I’d have to go just around one left corner to get some more. Engine on, and wow – I loved that sound instantly. It’s a twin cylinder engine with 750cc, which is about 100cc more than mine, and tho it’s no V-Twin like mine, the pistons are on 270 degrees, so it almost sounds like a V engine. A bit deeper because it’s bigger, and very very nice. Ok, first gear in, let the clutch come carefully without much gas, and wow again – this feels light and easy! Tho the machine weighs some 7kgs more than mine, it handles actually easier – everything felt smooth and just cool.

After fueling her up I just went home like I would have done with my own one. And I was very impressed. This machine had some grunt and torque which just felt right. Honda started this NC family with 700cc a few years ago, which is about half the engine of a Honda Jazz, one of their cute and very practical cars. Which means that this isn’t a high-rev firefly, but it has lots of torque at low revs. Perfect for country roads, where riding is fun anyway (motorways aren’t fun but just fast connections between nicer roads). I loved that motorcycle instantly, and also showed it to wife & kid after dinner.

So today I just went to work like usual, except with more fun than usual. And because I wanted to take a few photos for you, for me, and for this article I parked the machine outside at work, where the light is much better than in the garage. So here are a few photos of it:

Honda NC750S 2016, left side

Honda NC750S 2016, Instruments

As you can see, I was still in first gear when taking this photo, the tank is full, and average fuel consumption is 3.8 liters on 100km (about 74mpg).

Honda NC750S 2016, trunk (with my helmet in it)

And yes, what looks like a fuel tank is in fact a trunk, and it fits my helmet (with a few corpses on it) 😉 The real tank is under the seat, which allowed Honda to design some kind of family out of this series, with another higher version called NC750X (a “tallrounder” like some people name them), and even a scooter. All with the same frame and engine, and because parts of that engine came from an automobile they’re even relatively cheap (around 6k€ for this one including ABS brakes. The DCT is an extra 1k€ and comes as standard in the scooter).

Honda NC750S 2016, right side

Honda NC750S 2016, front

So would I buy one? If I were looking for a brand new motorcycle at this moment, then probably yes, tho I would also have a closer look onto the Yamaha MT-07 which is both stronger and lighter, and costs about the same. This Honda oozes quality like every Honda, so as a daily commuter it would probably be the better choice – especially so with the DCT. The Yamaha could be more fun, light *and* strong is always fun when riding motorcycles. Is it as good as this Honda? Who knows, only time will tell. But Honda has a long history of building machines which are most reliable, and designed with the user in mind.

Is it better than my own one? Well, it’s 22 years younger, and that you feel instantly. But like I said above, this is 7kgs more than mine, a DCT would add another 10kgs, and mine comes with a cardan drive shaft! Which basically means that it’s maintenance-free, just fuel her up and go. Like a car.

But you can always invest in an automatic oiling system for the chain – these cost around 200€ or so. You’ll save that on the first chain alone, which will then survive 3 times as long as usual. It’s just install and forget, mostly (well you should check that oil reservoir once a year or so, but otherwise this will come much closer to a motorcycle like mine).

So for a new and kind of do-it-all machine this is probably one of the best you could get; for my friend (and motorcycle journalist) Clemens it *is* the best, as he writes here or here (in German). Hint: he calls himself a “weight Nazi”, so this is what he bought for himself. But asked his opinion about this Honda vs. the Yamaha he answered that you can’t really compare them. You have to check and to think about what you need and want.

While I was outside of the company this morning, I saw both a NC750X (the “tallrounder”), and an “Integra” scooter passing by. That scooter sounded exactly like the motorcycle, that’s why I looked. And it was a colleague, riding it into the garage of our next building, so during my lunch break I went to have a look. And there it was, right in between lots of other bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, and cars:

Honda Integra Scooter

Thanks for reading.

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016

Using my motorcycle

I showed you some black & white photos of my motorcycle lately, explaining what makes it so special. And since it has to go through its bi-annual inspection/surveillance this month, I decided to first use it a bit of course. The weather is slowly getting better – which it should, considering that it’s end of May already – and riding a motorbike is just plain fun.

So I took it to work, where I also parked it inside of the garage when the weather was uncertain:

My motorcycle. In my employers’ garage.

Last Saturday, I visited our local Honda dealer and made appointments for its checkup, and I also said that if it has to stay overnight, then I’d need a replacement to go to work next day. The dealer said “Sure”, so I’ll ride something new soon. Let’s see what he’ll give me.

But I also wanted to look at some motorcycle from another brand and vendor, so I went to the next dealer, not far away. I couldn’t test ride that specific model, but only sit on it in the store:

Sitting on a bicycle with 75hp

This is a Yamaha MT-07, and right after the Beamer “Big Bird” (1200GS), it’s at the moment the most sold motorcycle in Germany. And just climbing onto its seat is enough to explain that success: this is some 30kg less than mine, tho it is also some 25hp stronger. It’s also a twin cylinder engine and should be real fun to ride.

Someone who saw that photo on Flickr asked whether I plan to get this, and I said no, not at the moment. If I’d have 6k€ spare change laying around, I certainly would. But I have a very nice motorcycle, and there are other things to pay.

My helmet is kind of dissolving from the inside – the pad right above the center of my head is falling apart, a well-known issue with older Arai helmets (and mine is almost as old as my motorbike, so…). Because of this, I started to always wear a storm hood under the helmet, and I decided that this is no fun with my long hair – so that had to go.

So on Sunday, both Mitchie and Zuleikha gave me a haircut (thanks ladies!), and after that, Zuleikha also took my portrait:

Wolfgang Lonien, Mörfelden-Walldorf 2016, by Hanna Zuleikha Lonien

And with the beginning of this week, the rain came. Plus it was rather cold for May. But the prediction for today was better, so I took another chance to ride to work, this time parking the motorcycle outside again:

Honda NTV, 1994

I took the first two photos using my 14mm Panasonic wide angle lens, but both the portrait and this last one were taken with the 45mm Olympus short telephoto lens (the portrait with f/6.3 and a studio strobe, the motorcycle with the lens wide open at f/1.8).

Tomorrow is a public holiday around here, so it’s a day off. On Friday I’ll have to take the car to transport something, but next week will begin with early shifts, and with the exchange of motorcycles at the Honda dealer. So I’ll report about that of course. With photos.

Thanks for reading.

May 16, 2016

First short ride (for 2016)

Tho the prediction was rain, I took out my motorcycle today. Checked tyre pressure at a local gas station (so, not this one), and then went to Groß-Gerau, where Zuleikha goes to school and where the nearest Honda dealer is.

And indeed I caught a few drops of rain while having a smoke there, but nothing special, so I went back to the same gas station to fill it up again after its long break. And here it is beside our car, after my short ride:

Honda NTV (1994)

What is so special about this motorcycle? It’s this:

Cardan shaft (Honda NTV from 1994)

It has no chain and no belt, but is shaft-driven. And still it isn’t much above 200kg. Plus it’s a Honda – it’s rather young (just barely 22), but it runs like on its first day. Purrs like a kitten, as we say here.

Thanks for viewing.

May 8, 2016

Some photos I took since Friday

Friday morning in the office. First way after starting my computer is to the coffee machine, where it always looks like this:

Some things will never change…

Before returning to our – or her – flat, Tuna likes to sit on my shoes:

To look at the world from someone else’s shoes…

Yesterday evening I was out after the news, something I haven’t done since a while. I’m actually boycotting this gas station since they started to even charge for air (or for even checking your tire pressure), but still I liked the red/blue colour contrast during that hour:

Gas station, and prices (in Euro per litre). Mörfelden-Walldorf, 2016

And during a walk today I took this one:

Wood, marked and cut

Technical info: the first one was taken with the 14mm lens on my E-PL5 camera, the second with the 25mm on the E-M10, and the other two with the 45mm lens on the same E-M10 camera. All hand-held, tho at night I carried my tripod.

Thanks for viewing.

May 5, 2016May 5, 2016

Ascension, and Father’s Day

Here in Germany, we celebrate Father’s Day each year on Ascension Day. You can read all about it if you follow the links, but I decided not to join a tour with friends, but to do something with my family instead. And of course I took some pictures during the day.

In the morning, one of the first photos I took was one of Mitchie’s tulips, which are now open – even the ones who stand in the shade most of their time:

Mitchie’s tulips, now open

Later, we drove to the nearby airport, which lots of other people also did, especially if you visit the public viewing places:

Frankfurt airport, one of the visitors’ platforms

You can see that some of these “plane spotters” even take ladders – they know the territory, and how to get good closeups of those airplanes.

On the way back to our car, I took a photo of an airplane short before its touchdown, and I included a tree in my photo:

Airplane at Franfurt airport, short before touchdown

What we also saw was a departing Airbus A380 from Emirates, the same one which will take us to Malaysia via Dubai (and back) later this year. Very interesting to see that huge airplane taking off.

I also got some presents for this Father’s Day, and guess what – one of them was a camera. But I guess no one else except maybe the Flintstone family had one of these:

Stone camera, back side

Stone camera, front and top

Very cool and minimalistic; it has just what you need to take a photo, nothing more, nothing less. Explains maybe why the Flintstones were camera collectors instead of photographers, and why we don’t have many pictures of them. And no, this is not for sale.

The blackbirds got their young ones already, and in the morning we saw one of them. But during most of the day, the parents are still feeding their breed – and protecting them. They get really loud if they see a cat, even if she’s still inside. Parental instinct…

Blackbird, complaining

We’re lucky with the weather as you can see – and it’s still 21° Celsius outside while I write this.

My lens for the day was the older Four Thirds Olympus 40-150mm zoom lens which can be adapted to Micro Four Thirds cameras and still provides autofocus, tho it’s not as fast as newer ones.

For the airport I could have brought some wider one – I have enough photos of airplanes, so I wasn’t particularly interested in a long zoom.

And for the stone camera photos I swapped my lens with my Four Thirds 50mm macro lens which lives on Mitchie’s camera most of the time now.

Thanks for reading, and for viewing.