Photos: Earth >> Asia >> Malaysia >> East >> Sarawak >> Kuching

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Once a Blue sky


Once a Blue sky
Photo Information
Copyright: Am moving (trekks) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2016 W: 144 N: 3390] (13589)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-03-19
Categories: Nature, Architecture
Camera: Nikon D80, Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD, RAW
Exposure: f/6.3, 30 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-05-14 0:25
Viewed: 447
Points: 108
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This was taken at crack of dawn, once a blue moon, NO, once a blue sky, at the Kuching waterfront along Sarawak River when Jusni came to visit town. Four of us stretched the tripods trying to capture the sunrise scenes although the sun was not very promising that morning. But we were early, so the blue sky was a treat. You must have already seen this new building where I flipped upside down the roof. Tomorrow Klaudio from Australia will visit this scenery for sunrise.

Kuching is the capital of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. Being the most populous city in the state of Sarawak, Kuching emerged as one of the most vibrant cities in the region and it is the largest city on the island of Borneo and the fourth largest city in Malaysia.[3][4] Kuching was elevated to city status on 1 August 1988 and carries the nick name of Cat City.

Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of Brunei 200 years ago but as a reward for help in putting down a rebellion, it was ceded to the British adventurer James Brooke who ruled it as his personal kingdom. Kuching was made his capital and headquarters. The Brooke Administration was given the status of Protectorate under Rajah Charles Brooke's rule and was placed behind the Indian Rajs and Princes. The Brooke family ruled Sarawak until the Japanese occupation in December 1941.

Kuching was surrendered to the Japanese forces on 24 December 1941, and Sarawak was part of the Japanese Imperial Empire for three years and eight months, until the official Japanese surrender on 11 September 1945 on board HMAS Kapunda at Kuching. From March 1942 the Japanese operated a POW and civilian internee camp at Batu Lintang, three miles (5 km) outside Kuching.[5]

After the end of World War II the third and last Raja, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown in 1946. Sarawak and the British Commonwealth fought an "Undeclared War" with Indonesia to keep Sarawak from being absorbed into Sukarno's Indonesia. The British gave Sarawak independence in 1963 and together with North Borneo, Sabah and Singapore, helped form Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Singapore became an independent nation in 1965.

The origins of the city's name have never been clear. "Kuching" does translate into "cat" in Malay [6] and "kuching" is an old Malay spelling. However, the new official Malay spelling today would be "kucing," but both of them are pronounced the same. There is a separate explanation whereby it may actually be a variation of the Indian name for "port" - "Cochin". Kuching was first settled by Indian traders who set up base at Santubong. Artifacts of Hindu origin can today be seen at the State Museum.

One highly unlikely explanation is a story based on miscommunication. According to the story, when Rajah James Brooke arrived in Kuching on his yacht, the Royalist, he asked his local guide what the settlement's name was. The guide, thinking that the English adventurer was pointing towards a cat, said "Kuching." However, Sarawakian Malay for cat is "pusak" and this explanation does not hold much credibility.

Another explanation is that the city was named after the "mata kucing" or "cat's eye" fruit. Trees bearing this fruit used to grow in abundance by the river banks - where the city's commercial heart, is located. There is a hill in the heart of the modern city called Bukit Mata Kuching, and was named after the fruit. Also, at the foot of the hill, there was once a stream called the Kuching River. The stream, located in front of the Tua Pek Kong temple, had large amount of silt deposit and during the 1950s, was filled in to make way for roads and the city's expansion eastwards.

Another possibility is that in those days, asking a person which river he/she came from, was quite common. As the river that flows along the Brooke's residence is known as Sg. Kuching (Kuching river), it would have been a possible that Brooke's reply was Kuching. Hence, the area which the Brookes reside which eventually became the administrative centre would be known as Kuching.

There is another more credible explanation and that Kuching actually means "Ku" - Old and "Ching" - Well or "old well" in Chinese. During the Brooke's rule, there was no proper water supply and water-borne diseases were common. In 1888, there was a Great Cholera epidemic. However, water from a well at the present day China Street in Main Bazaar area saved Kuchingites from the disease. Clean supply of water from the well helped water-borne diseases became a thing of the past. Evidence of the well is still found at China Street. As Kuching expanded and the population and demand for clean water supply increased, the well was not adequate to supply the clean water and it was replaced by clean water supply from Matang area later.

Kuching is situated at the banks of the Sarawak River on the North-Western part of the island of Borneo. The longitude and latitude of Kuching is 01°33' N, 110°25' E.

The climate in Kuching is tropical, moderately hot and receives substantial rainfall. The average annual rainfall is approximately 4,000 mm or 160 inches[7]. Kuching is the wettest city in Malaysia. The wettest times are during the North-East Monsoon months of November to February. The temperature of Kuching ranges from 20 °C (68 °F) to 36 °C (97 °F) but the average temperature is around 23 °C (73 °F) in the early hours of the morning and rises to around 32 °C (90 °F) in the mid afternoon. This temperature stays almost constant throughout the year if it is not affected by the heavy rain and strong winds during the early hours of the morning which would rarely bring the temperature down to 20 °C (68 °F). The temperature would also rise to 38 °C (100 °F) under rare cases due to the haze caused by open burning from Indonesia during the dry season. The haze occurs annually around mid year in Kuching.

2009:03:19 06:17:31, 30s, F/6.3, ISO100, FL17mm
mikolaj_cava, kanton, tedesse, Royaldevon, Fortuna, Juliet, chrisJ, werdir, milas, gnada, jan515, tanburi, dareco, azaf1, andrzej, korbee, Scharan2, suzy, pierrefonds, cunejo200, BTCozer, Athila, peppe59, kross1, mbrito, harpya, Emma, ramon, hcvvmk has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Bill! Smooth architecture. Wonderful sunset. Amazing mirror. Good contrast. Original effect. Well done!

Hello,
beautiful moody photo. I like the colors and the symmetry of reflections
regards
Ryszard

Hello Bill!
Amazing blue Bill,wonderful reflections!
interesting architecture,perspective,
and nice sunset colours.A great moody
image!
Compliments and TFS
Kostas

Hello Bill

beautiful night shot.
Very well composition with simetric reflection.
Well done
Regards

Faruk

Hello Bill!
Excellent POV,splendid blue and a fine sunset colours.
Interesting architecture and wonderful reflections!
Very well done
Greetings
Tadeusz

Hello Bill,

This is where the good photographer excels.
You have captured the intangible, the mood!
Superb composition and capture of light, of this tranquil scene.
I'm so glad your sharpening has not been too strong ... that would have ruined the effect.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

Lovely ppicture Bill. This looks so fantastic with all colours and reflections.The soft look of the picture is looking perfect.
Wonderful capture and composition!

Have a beautiful time!
Cheers,
Shubhi:)

The peace and tranquility of the morning really comes out in this shot Bill. The colors are fantastic and it is nicely composed.
Regards,
Matt

Hello Bill,

Just excellent!
The reflections, colors, lighting and contrast are perfect! The frame too!
Congratulations and TFS
Sergio

Beautiful early morning shot Bill. This was worth being out early for! yes, I'm starting to recognize this building:)
Fantastic colors in this shot .. especially the graduation of color in the sky. Just great!
Trudy

  • Great 
  • Juliet Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 867 W: 64 N: 1955] (13408)
  • [2009-05-14 5:36]

Hi Bill,
Beautiful image here. Nice colors/ excellent reflection. Your lighting is right on also. Congratulations, TFS Julie

  • Great 
  • chrisJ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4203 W: 414 N: 6578] (41791)
  • [2009-05-14 6:22]

Hello Bill

Marvellous symmetrical reflections, with a wonderful warm cold colour contrast between the red & blue. Good compositional placement of the gazebo / pagoda on the 1/3 axis. Tfs!

Hi Bill,

I really like the colors in this one. Interesting structure and great capture of its reflection in the still water. Beautiful!

TFS

Werner

Beautiful sunset landscape. Good colours and tones.

Hello Bill
Fantastic capture
Great reflection in the water.
Colours are perfect. Good details
Best regards
Sergio

  • Great 
  • milas Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2708 W: 405 N: 2948] (32537)
  • [2009-05-14 6:56]

Merhaba dear Bill...
verynice shot and reflections... A superb colors and focus...bravo..selamlar

  • Great 
  • gnada Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2662 W: 74 N: 4762] (21679)
  • [2009-05-14 7:13]

Hi Bill...

Amazing shot with nice blue sky - nice view..!
Wonderful color, sharpness and excellent reflections.
What more can I say than – bravo...
Best regards,
George

  • Great 
  • subs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 252 W: 0 N: 222] (2080)
  • [2009-05-14 7:30]

Hi Bill,
A lovely regal blue. Love the symmetrical reflection too.
Regards,
Subashini

Hi Bill..nice shot..wonderful colors and range of tones...great light...well composed.

Roger

superb contrast and reflections bill ;-)
cheers!

  • Great 
  • jan515 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2498 W: 56 N: 3862] (17484)
  • [2009-05-14 8:59]

Hello Bill,
wonderfully a picture me much pleases. The reflections , the beautiful colors are wonderful and motives distinguished you us it showed. A wonderful picture.
Kind regards.
Janusz

  • Great 
  • moli Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1405 W: 275 N: 1919] (11882)
  • [2009-05-14 9:21]

Hello Bill.
Beautiful reflection here and in nice way composed picture.
Looks very interesting with that colours.
Regards
Janek Kloss

Hello Bill,
Perfect reflections, contrast and composition...
Good title also..
TFS
Selahattin E

Hello Bill.
Very interesting story. Thanks for writing it here.
have a read it over when back in Holland.
Meri just asked me to stop, other things to do, haha
You sure had a good time together with Jusni and co.
This picture suits the note perfect.
best wishes from Jan

Ciao Bill, fantastic architecture and fascinating reflections, splendid light and colors, very well done, ciao Silvio

Ciao Bill. E' magnifico il riflesso ed il taglio diagonale della vista. Complimenti.

Roberto

  • Great 
  • ade71 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 235 W: 37 N: 206] (2812)
  • [2009-05-14 12:56]

Hi Bill, very nice picure for reflections and colours. Really well done, compliments, Adele

  • Great 
  • dareco Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1717 W: 16 N: 840] (15139)
  • [2009-05-14 14:49]

I like the composition and the lovely reflections. Amazing colors!! TFS

  • Great 
  • Dot Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1390 W: 31 N: 3028] (12222)
  • [2009-05-14 16:05]

HI Bill
The reflectionis beautiful and perfect.
The colors are awesome at that time of the morning and you most certainly made use of them.
Dot

Hi Bill,
Very good composed,beautiful reflection.
Best regards,
Ralf

  • Great 
  • azaf1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 740 W: 61 N: 1255] (6932)
  • [2009-05-15 1:31]

Hi Bill

Certainly a very attractive composition. Very well realised in its details, it features some really nice colors at the blue hour, well saturated and the reflection is just great. The building is well placed off centre and the 1/2 frame hosts this excellent view.

Have a lovely weekend and TFS
ARgiris

Hi Bill
Excellent night shot,beautiful sunset.Lovely colours,fantastic reflection.
TFS
Regards
Andrzej

Hi Bill,
Super atmosphere in this one. I like the colors and reflections very much. Exposure is great too, but the note is over the top.
greetings,
Joop!
**

  • Great 
  • korbee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1364 W: 0 N: 1663] (13507)
  • [2009-05-15 13:46]

Great atmosphere Bill,but to be honoust theres a lack of sharpness here,for the rest the presentation is superbe.

jan

Olá Bill

Lindas e mágicas cores...
Reflexos perfeitos e
um cenário encantador
que nos passa uma calma,
um bem estar ao contempla-lo.
Parabéns
GA
Vera

  • Great 
  • suzy Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 425 W: 38 N: 1261] (4336)
  • [2009-05-15 23:19]

Hi Bill

what a sight! so smooth, soft, so beautiful, georgous reflection nicer than any mirror... and this blue, I can just say: WoW... amazing colors and saturation, the light is just right and the architecture stands out perfectly against this dramatic blue sky... spot on composition and what a serene calm atmosphere! I love it!

regards and greetings
suzy

Hi Bill,

The reflections in the water are assets to the composition. The point of view leads our eyes toward the building which is giving depth to the photo. The early morning light has a good effect on the colors of the sky. Well done, have a nice day.

Pierre

Hi Bill,
Beautiful sondown shot and its sharpness
silhouettes..Mirror ecffect is perfect.tfs.
Dr.Seyfettin Güner

Hi Bill,
They say early bird gets the worm. The blue sky really enhances the composition, soothing reflection, a fantastic view to behold. I actually read everything in your well written Note. Best regards...Danilo

Hello Bill,

A beautiful reflection shot. It sounds like you were highly motivated to get up early in the morning to get the shot. I like the main building offset to the side too. It creates an interesting composition.

Keep shootin'

Ricard

Hi.

Superb Architecture with wonderful sunrise scene with contrast between dark and ligth and beautifull reflections like a mirrow.
Cheers.
Elisabete

Hi Bill
A wonderful shot with excellent colours, lights and reflections. I just wonder if you should have made the blacks richer as they seem slightly weak on my monitor. A fantastic note to accompany this capture. Very well done
Regards
Jim

  • Great 
  • Athila Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 169 W: 135 N: 398] (1773)
  • [2009-05-17 20:26]

Bonsoir Bill,

Nice night shot. Excellent exposure taken at the perfect time. Nice balanced compostion exploiting the water reflection. Excellent work and TFS.

Alain

  • Great 
  • Fons Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1299 W: 2 N: 202] (15568)
  • [2009-05-18 8:39]

beautiful sylhoutte and mirror

  • Great 
  • tracer Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 787 W: 45 N: 1578] (7870)
  • [2009-05-18 10:19]

blue hour captured on the right moment. very rewarding Bill.

tfs

i a n

Ciao Bill, great photo, optimal light and splendid glares. Master.
Giuseppe

  • Great 
  • kross1 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 569 W: 11 N: 1087] (4376)
  • [2009-05-18 18:25]

Hi Bill,
As always a beautiful shot. I love the sunrise colors and the POV that this was taken. The reflections here are amazing and the note was great. TFS
Regards,
Kevin

  • Great 
  • foozi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 592 W: 0 N: 957] (4596)
  • [2009-05-21 1:44]

Hi Bill,
this is lovely amber presentation of the scene. The composition is nice with beautiful reflection.
The sharpness is superbs.
The blue sky is very lovely.

Regards,
Foozi

NB: My Canon is used whenever Im unable to bring along my Nikon.
There are times when I can only carry along simple gadjet, the supreme of macro lens is always better.

  • Great 
  • mbrito Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1620 W: 118 N: 2791] (11262)
  • [2009-05-21 4:46]

Hello Bill
Amazing blues and reflectons capture, excellent light and sharpness. A wonderful night photo, very well composed and presented.
Wonderful image, congrats, mb

Ciao Bill


Excellent postcard of this place,
from all angles or close to your vision
see, when we visually beautiful!
the colors and details are fabulous,
superb contrast and reflections.
Greetings my friend ...

Sergio

Hi Bill
wonderful reflection and nocturnale effect of the lights
well composed in pov
amazing blue
ciao
Lucio

Splendid composition, sharp and nice timing with the light.... Maybe a touch more contrast on the left side of the photo..
Good work

David

  • Great 
  • soe Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 402 W: 0 N: 107] (2461)
  • [2009-05-25 2:27]

Hi Bill
great early morning view with reflection. nice blue color with nice composition.very nice control of light.
Tin Soe

  • Great 
  • Emma Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1403 W: 6 N: 1920] (10151)
  • [2009-06-06 6:35]

Hi Bill,
here you showed us class a picture, with very sharp details. A beautiful composition me much pleases. Very good reflections of beautiful architecture and wonderful palete color.
Regards.
Eva

  • Great 
  • ramon Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 270 W: 20 N: 668] (3239)
  • [2009-06-16 10:23]

Hi Bill,

The blue and yellow tones is the beauty of this photo.
Sharp details...beautiful composition.

Ramon

  • Great 
  • hcvvmk Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 410 W: 75 N: 308] (2405)
  • [2009-07-04 13:24]

Hie Bill,

It's been a while..how's it going there? It's very nice to look at your photos again..a beautiful dawn reflections :D
TFS and take care.

Regards,
Hong

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