Photogroup - NATUREGRAPHER-2022

A Private trip to Kerala for photography in areas covering Kochi, Thatthekad, Idukki and Alleppey covering 8 days by a group of friends from Malaysia. The genre of photography covers Birds, Fine Art, Street, Landscape and Culture.

This was a follow-up from a previous trip in 2020 pre Covid lockdown.

Thatthekad Birding - Kerala Photographic Adventure 2022 - Episode 2

A Private trip to Kerala for photography in areas covering Kochi, Thatthekad, Idukki and Alleppey covering 8 days by a group of friends from Malaysia. The genre of photograpy covers Birds, Fine Art, Street, Landscape and Culture.

This was a follow-up from a previous trip in 2020 pre Covid lockdown.

MNS PhotoGroup Visits Allan Wong FineArt Printing Studio - Part 1

MNS PhotoGroup Selangor Branch was privileged to have the opportunity to visit Allan Wong at his FineArt Printing Studio. Allan was kind enough to share his expertise in the Science and Art of printing images and offering us prints from our recent outings Sekinchan & Beyond and Macro Photography with Kuen Cheng School Photography Club.

The insight to quality prints was explained to those in attendance and we now understand digital or painted images being converted to Prints is an art by itself.

Thanks to Allan Wong for sharing his knowledge and passion.

MNS PhotoGroup Visits Allan Wong FineArt Printing Studio - Part 2

MNS PhotoGroup Selangor Branch was privilaged to have the opportunity to visit Allan Wong at his FineArt Printing Studio. Allan was kind enough to share his expertise in the Science and Art of printing images and offering us prints from our recent outings Sekinchan & Beyond and Macro Photography with Kuen Cheng School Photography Club.

The insight to quality prints was explained to those in attendance and we now understand digital or painted images being converted to Prints is an art by itself.

Thanks to Allan Wong for sharing his knowledge and passion.

MNS PhotoGroup Macro Event with Kuen Cheng Photography Club - 2022

MNS PhotoGroup Selangor Branch organized a Macro Photography introduction event for Kuen Cheng High School Photography Club on the 17th of December 2022. We had 13 participants from the Club for the event which was held at Bandar Puteri Puchong Town Park. Members of the MNS Photogroup also joined to guide and share their knowledge in Macro Photography with the students whom most are beginners to this genre.

NOTE: There was a juvenile Bronze Back Snake which was found and photographed by the group but was handled by an experienced person who has knowledge of the snake being non venomous and kept everyone in a safe distance and later released without any harm to the snake.

Kuen Cheng School Photography Club

MNS PhotoGroup - SEKINCHAN AND BEYOND 2022

Photo Group organized a Photo Outing to Sekinchan. Besides padi fields, there's more to be discovered in and beyond Sekinchan.

Tiger Talk 2022 - Tiger Conservation Journey of Dr. Kae Kawanishi

Tiger Talk 2022 - 3 Lunar Years of Tiger Conservation with Dr. Kae Kawanishi

Dr. Kae interview with Bernie Chin of MNS Selangor Branch.

Kae Kawanishi, PhD

General Manager and Head of Conservation,

Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT)

kae@malayantiger.net

Born in Japan and studied in the USA, in pursuit of her dream to become a wildlife conservationist, Dr Kae has lived and worked in five countries. As a PhD student from University of Florida and with support from the Malaysian government, she came to Malaysia in 1998 to conduct the first scientific research on the ecology of Malayan Tigers.

That three-year research found that Taman Negara National Park had the largest known tiger population in Southeast Asia at that time. Subsequently she joined Malaysia’s Wildlife Department (locally known as PERHILITAN) as Technical Advisor for tiger research and conservation for three years and helped the government establish MYCAT to bring the government and NGOs in the spirit of Saving Tigers Together towards recovery of the Malayan Tiger population in the wild.

KLPF 2022 Photomania Seminar - MNS Photo Group's Journey - Creating Conservation Awareness

A conversation with Gau Nair and Constance Teo on MNS Photo Group’s interesting foray from photography to videography in relation to nature conservation and the birth of MNS NATUREGRAPHER on YouTube.

Armed with a vision of promoting conservation and preservation, MNS Naturegrapher sets its course to share and educate on the diverse flora and fauna found in Malaysia in a mixed media of videography and photography. In that journey, the speakers will be sharing their experience as they embark on a steep learning curve to produce engaging videos.

Bestari Jaya Wetlands PhotoWalk 2022

A recce done almost 1 year ago of this least know area called Bestari Jaya revealed a surprising number of bird life and lakes full of lotus blooms. 12 members of the MNS PhotoGroup finally decided to explore the area with binoculars and telephoto lenses to capture the beauty of flora and fauna in this least know location close to Kuala Selangor and Ijok.We were not disappointed as the weather was kind to us, cool enough to have us track through half of the 6km loop journey under cloud cover but then the Sun started beating down and we had to rush through the rest of the journey before it became unbearable. Situated next to Unisel Bestari Jaya and close to a settlement area, we found such hospitable people who were willing to transport some of us on their motorbikes back to our cars and also offered us cold bottled water. This is truly where we found Malaysian Hospitality with no cost involved.The Bird Life in the wetlands around Bestari Jaya are the highlight of the trip and not forgetting the unique landscape around an area where the only sounds of modernization are the shutters going off from our cameras and the occasional mobile phone ringing. Situated less than an hour from KL City, this is a perfect place for anyone who would like to enjoy the outdoors among the abundance of bird life and lovely landscapes.

MNS PhotoGroup - Photographic Outing at Kuala Mu, Sg. Siput

3D2N trip to Kuala Mu, Perak camping along the river by 12 members of MNS. The journey of close to 5 hours into the heart of the Temiar Orang Asli village was full of adventure every minute of the stay. Photographic opportunities at abundance, amazing waterfalls and rock formations.

Snapseed Mobile Photo-Editor - MNS PhotoGroup Coordinator, Alex Foong Shares User Experience

Alex Foong walks through with members on MNS PhotoGroup on the ease of use and how to quickly edit your photographs with Snapseed. Snapseed is a photo-editing application for iOS and Android that enables users to enhance photos and apply digital filters. It was created by Nik Software, and is now owned by Google.

Snapseed users can edit pictures using swiping gestures to select different effects and enhancements. Alternatively, users can opt for an "automatic" adjustment of color and contrast. Snapseed can save users' editing history and redirect to any of the actions before. It can also create and save filter combinations by using the default filters and editing features. The list of special effects and filters includes Drama, Grunge, Vintage, Center-focus, Frames, and a Tilt-shift (which resizes photos). Users can import RAW images as well for better quality edits. Snapseed 2.0 introduced new filters such as lens blur, glamour glow, HDR scape and noir, while also reformatting the tools section with a clearer user interface.

Post Kuala Mu Outing Photo Review Session - Part 1

A Photo review session was held at Tradisi Kopitiam in Kuala Lumpur by those participated in the trip to Kuala Mu on the 9-11 July 2022. Complimentary Prints by Mr Choy was distributed and reviewed for the benefit of others to gain some knowledge from the pointers given by Mr Choy and Mr Alex Foong.

Post Kuala Mu Outing - Mr KF Choy on Building a Photography Storyboard - Part 2

A Photography Storyboard workflow introduction by Mr KF Choy takes you from Still Photography to a Story Teller. Held at Tradisi Kopitiam in Kuala Lumpur by those participated in the trip to Kuala Mu on the 9-11 July 2022. Complimentary Prints by Mr Choy was distributed and reviewed for the benefit of others to gain some knowledge from the pointers given by Mr Choy and Mr Alex Foong.

MNS PhotoGroup - 33rd Fraser's Hill International Bird Race 2022 - Part 1

MNS PhotoGroup - 33rd Fraser's Hill International Bird Race 2022 - Part2

Finally the 33rd Fraser's Hill Bird Race is on between 23rd and 24th July 2022. After 2 years of absence, MNS Naturgrapher is taking you on a tour of the events which makes it an important activity in the Malaysian calendar. With activities such as Bird Talks, Photography Contest, Exhibitions, Guided Tours and various agencies exhibiting their awareness, modern equipments and local delicacies for all those visiting this event. We were also previlaged to have En. Muhammand Alzahri, a Panel Judge for the MNS Bird Photography Contest to give us an insight to how the judging is carried out and important criterias considered in judging the photo submissions.

MNS Members Pix Talk with guest Peter Ong on Malaysian Primates - Part 1, Episode 11

MNS Members Pix Talk with guest Peter Ong on Malaysian Primates - Part 2, Episode 11

This session of Naturegrapher Pix Talk with Peter Ong along withh host Constance Teo discuss on Peter's efforts and commitments in Photographing Malaysia's 26 species of Primates ranging from Northern Peninsular to Sabah and Sarawak. With inspiration from Dr. Jane Goodall, lets hear Peter's plans and adventures.

MNS Members Pix Talk with guest Dickson Chee on Costa Rica Birding Adventure - Part 1

MNS Members Pix Talk with guest Dickson Chee on Costa Rica Birding Adventure - Part 2

This session of Naturegrapher Pix Talk with Dickson Chee, who was in Costa Rica on a working trip and managed to get into Bird Photography. Hear how he balanced between working assignments and used his weekends to explore the rich bio diversity of Costa Rica which is very famous for it's bird life. Interestingly he was not prepared for a photographic trip but due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Costa Rica, he was forced to extend his stay for another month and again took the advantage to capture beauty of the Birds of Costa Rica. Hosted by Chan Swee Peng in Penang.

MNS PhotoGroup - Macro Photography "Up Close and Personal"

MNS Selangor Branch Photo Group organized an "UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL" macro photography event for MNS members headed by Constance Teo and Reiko Yong.

Here participants learn and discover how to photograph bugs, spiders, insects and creepy crawlies with your cameras on macro lens and handphones with macro function. Participants were also encouraged to submit their images for a contest divided between Handphone and Camera categories.

This event was open to MNS members, members' children and non-members (limited to 20 pax)

Date : 16 April 2022

Time : 9.00 a.m.

Venue : Bandar Puteri Town Park, Puchong

MNS PhotoGroup - Raptor Watch 2022, Tanjung Tuan, Melaka

Raptor Watch 2022 was flying back to the shores of Tanjung Tuan! It was held on 12-13 March 2022 (Saturday & Sunday) at the Tanjung Tuan Forest Reserve.

This year Raptor Watch was be held for 1 & 1/2 days as well. Staple favorite activities including guided walks/exhibition booths/games was featured, also the main stars of the event – our majestic raptors who were circling around the iconic Cape Rachado lighthouse at the top of the hill!

MNS Members Pix Talk with guest Mark Ng on Raptor Watch and Raptor Count - Part 1

MNS Members Pix Talk with guest Mark Ng on Raptor Watch and Raptor Count - Part 2

This session of Naturegrapher Pix Talk with Mark Ng, we will get some insight on his involvement in Raptor Watch and Raptor Count in the past 10 years. As a passionate Bird conservationist, we discuss on the past and future of Raptor Watch and Raptor Count in Tanjung Tuan, Melaka.

MNS PhotoGroup - Seremban Birding Experience 2022

This video is an exploration into the heart of Seremban town to discover the variety of bird species and they did not disappoint.

There were many species coexisting with modernization and kudos to the Seremban Council for maintaining a balance in development and nature conservation.

MNS PhotoGroup - Ulu Muda, Earth Lodge - In the Wilds of Malaysia - Part 1

MNS PhotoGroup - Ulu Muda, Earth Lodge - In the Wilds of Malaysia - Part 2

If you crave for adventure and a taste for the wild, Earth Lodge will ensure you above and beyond the wildness expectation.

This journey by the MNS Photography Special Interest Group is to capture the experience being in one of the most best kept secrets of Peninsular Malaysia.

Prepared to endure the 5 days of adventure packed itinerary, our guide Mr. Hymeir took us through the thick forest trails used by elephants and other wildlife. What we saw and photographed were above and beyond our expectations. Do watch our Series of videos on our trip in the coming weeks in the eyes of MNS Photographic team.

Thanks to Hymeir and his dedicated team of Wan, Zul and Akmal for making it an great adventure.