BRUNEI | HM Sultan B'day | 15 July 2006 | The Fireworks

The month of July every year... especially starting on the 15th July is the much awaited time by the public in general.. because it marks the starting of the month long festivity for the celebration of His Majesty the Sultan's birthday, and this year will be the 60th birthday celebration.

Firework display or "Bunga Api" in Malay.... is one of the annual event, where by all walks of life will gather with their families and friends to watch this spectacular event... the firework can be seen from various location around the city ... e.g. the capital city (along the waterfront of Kampung Ayer) and the Damuan Recreation Park etc.

Last year we photograph the event from the verge of the waterfront ... but this year we tried a different place, which is the Damuan Recreational Park near the Istana Nurul Iman (HM's Official Palace)....

Despite the AF4 (Akademi Fantasia 4) concert live on tv .. lotsa people still prefer to gather and see the firework display ...

.. one of the difficulties was .... that bright spotlight directed towards the park ... it made setting the exposure eer.. how shall I say ... goes haywire.... run havoc... wateverlah ... you will notice it when you look at the pix....

With that.. I'll leave u with these photos .... .

... the crowds waiting for the fireworks...

.. lurus tah nya Din Beramboi ... "...kemah kemping pun ada...."






The Istana Nurul Iman ... at night ...










... some effects... playing with the zoom lens

.. children playing at the sculpture....."... awu baik jua basi.. mun inda...hmmm.."






.. close up view of the golden dome....



...some of the photographers...





... the island across the river ... it was actually pitch black .. but this was taken with a very slow shutter...

... some of the sculptures at the park ... view at nite time...
and if you ever wonder how fireworks will look like in black & white ... well here you are ... ;)

BRUNEI | Bandar Seri Begawan | July 2006 - Part II

I wanted to include all these photos into the previous post but on second thought... might as well break it up into 2 parts...... Well as I mentioned in the previous post, here are the Part II of the series, .... anyway was thinking that I'll do this differently.. won't be a single photo, but a collection of multiple single photo merge or combine together... or photo montages (collages).... due to easy uploading of the photo, rather than uploading it one by one... nevertheless I hope all of the photos can be very useful for those who wanted to know how BSB looks like at the moment... and hopefully can bring u and make u feel the ambience of it ... ;)

Note: All images are clickable i.e. larger version is available, so beware for those having slow internet connection .... btw your comments/ critiques of any kind is really appreciate... critique it as cruel as u wish.. no worry .. as long as it is a constructive one in how to make the photo better.... ;) .. either the individual photo or the montage as a whole...


60th....



Balls of light in different colours...

Light Emitting Diode a.k.a. LED in actions.... the unsung heroes in the electronic world... 3 different colours... 3 different purposes.... one is for pedestrians... one is for motorist... another is for the pedestrians & motorist to enjoy .. i.e. for decoration ... ;)

... The Royal Regallia Building .. as viewed from the Lapau Plaza ...

Now bringing you.. the very first ever.....never been seen anywhere in the world thru photography nor painting ... except perhaps thru the human eyes or unless you are there in person..... a horizontal or 180 Degree view of Jalan Sultan ... from the left ... Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD)... Taman SOAS ... Masjid SOAS .... and to the right u can go to Maktab SOAS hehe...

And another first.... even wider view ... a 270 Degree view from the junction of Jalan Sultan ... to the left will bring you to Tamu Kianggeh (Kianggeh Market) ...

... and now ... hold your breath... (but not too long... otherwise you'll be suffocated... hehe...) the very first ever in the world (if there's any please do let me know...) ... a 360 degree view (.. I wish I could bring wider but 360 degree is the max.) of Bandar Seri Begawan from the Zero kilometre, (0 KM) marker in Brunei i.e. the Clock Tower... where all the road distances to/from anywhere in Brunei start....

For ultra large images & files for the above panoramic view, click here.

BRUNEI | Bandar Seri Begawan | July 2006

A very last minute fone call, was all it takes to organise an "unorganised" photography outing by myself, David, Jason & Zul... luckily my battery was still quite full... except for one thing..... shooting without any tripod..... oh well... anyway here U can view "new" images of Bandar Seri Begawan ... few days before the celebration of HM the Sultan's 60th Birthday... taken during the "wee midnite hours" ... along Jalan Sultan ...

Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik....





Reflection from the Leica Lens ....


Trails of light from the moving traffic ...













...now folks don't follow this "stunt" .... shooting in the middle of the road....



...reflection from one of the office windows...


.. look at them... photographers ... what are they doing eh ...? hehe


... another reflection ...from the cafe's menu....

... eer nope.. this is not Bukit Bintang nor Orchard Road ... this is Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan .... 0000 Hours ... i.e. mid-nite ...

note: .. some of the images got a larger version... just try clicking them ...no worry no harm ... unless if you are using a dial-up....

To Be Continued ....