Since arriving in Penang I have been aching to take some shots of Penang at night. Unfortunately, my tripod didn't make the cut at the last minute for the first trip over, so I had to wait until either Tica or I went back to Austin. So when Tica went home for work last month I begged her to find room in her heart, and our luggage for my tripod. And also mentioned that if she had additional room in her heart and our luggage, I could really use a new camera. And boy did she come through in a really big way. Not only did I get the much anticipated tripod, but also a ridiculously nice camera!
Here are some night shots with the new camera and tripod.
This first shot is from our balcony that looks south over Pulau Tikus. This shot was relatively easy to get as all I had to do was walk out the back door, jump a safety rail, ooch along a ledge with camera and tripod in hand and hope that a gust of wind didn't blow me or the camera off.
These next shots are of Gurney drive, the street out in front of our place. The Gurney area is an eclectic mix of both modern commercialism and traditional Malaysian shops. Offerings here range from high rise apartments with built in shopping malls (or vice-versa), and day spas, 4-star hotels, and movie megaplexes to small street stalls (hawker stalls) that sell local cuisine and small souvenirs. Getting these shots were a little more difficult.
I was too scared to brave the wilds of Penang alone at night, so I convinced a friend from work to meet up with me for some night photography. To get these shots, we had to jump a few fences, navigate a rocky sea wall, convince a pack of wild dogs that we weren't as tasty as we looked, trudge through some mud (I hope that is what it was anyway) all in about a mile or so. In the end we were pretty sweaty, but the obstacle course was worth it as we both came away with some pretty nice shots. Here are two of my favorites.
