Silver-winged Butterfly - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A silver-winged butterfly perched on a blade of hairy grass. 

The butterfly's wing was shimmering in the sunlight, it looked as though it was dusted with some silver dust.

If anyone knows what species or name of this butterfly is, do let me know.

Red ladybird (Coccinellidae) - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Did you know that a ladybird (or ladybug in US) is in fact not a true bug? It is from the family of beetles, Coccinellidae and scientists prefer to call them ladybird beetle or lady beetle.

A common myth is that the number of spots on the insect's back indicates its age. Many cultures also believe that the sighting of a ladybug indicates that good luck is coming their way.

Here's a popular children's nursery rhyme, Ladybird, Ladybird:
                               
                                      Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home

                                      Your house is on fire and your children are gone

                                      All except one, and that's Little Anne
                                      For she has crept under the warming pan.

I personally like ladybirds cos I find them very cute

Birds Flying High - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Birds flying high

You know how I feel

Sun in the sky

You know how I feel

Breeze driftin' on by

You know how I feel

It's a new dawn

It's a new day

It's a new life

For me

And I'm feeling good

This evening, the sky was beautiful and blue. A different sight greeted us each time we looked up, the clouds moving around and forming beautiful lines and patterns in the sky. We managed to capture quite a few shots with flying birds in them, and while going through them on the computer, I instantly thought of this song "Feeling Good" by Michael Buble. 

And the sky this evening made me feel VERY good indeed.

No bird in this one, but love the sky and clouds

Watching the Sunset - Port Dickson, Malaysia

A few months ago, we took our children and their grandparents to Port Dickson. After our dinner, we went for a stroll on the beach since it was a beautiful evening. We watched the sun set together; it was magical. Was also lovely to see our children enjoying this special moment with their grandparents. We snapped many photos to commemorate the evening but unfortunately most of them were lost when our HDD corrupted, except for the few you see here.

 Our daughter watching the sunset with her grandad

Carefree child

I love the sand between my toes

Majestic Butterfly on a Fiddlehead Fern - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

For me personally, butterflies are one of the most difficult insects to capture. Some mornings, I find myself chasing after a single butterfly all over the garden just to get a good shot. Very rarely do they cooperate and stay still in one place long enough, but on good days like these, they just perch on a plant and say "Hey, wanna take a photo of me today?"

I love this photo because the butterfly looks so majestic sitting atop the Fiddlehead Ferns. Glad I was at the right place at the right time.

Simply Majestic

Night View of Pudong from HuangPu River Cruise - Shanghai, China

Pudong, officially known as Pudong New Area is a district in Shanghai, China. It is named "Pudong" because of its location on the East side of the Huangpo River ("Dong" means East), on the opposite of Puxi, the West side.

A night cruise on HuangPo River is very popular amongst tourists since you can see both old and new Shanghai. The night view is breathtaking. The steel and glass skyscrapers of Pudong are beautifully illuminated and constantly changing colours.

The Oriental Pearl Tower is unmissable. It is the second tallest structure in China. 

Pudong Skyline

Night cruise boat

Fiddlehead Fern, Just Keep on Rolling - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Fiddlehead or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a young fern. They remind me very much of a curled-up milipede. Most fiddleheads are edible, for example paku pakis which we Malaysians are quite familiar with. Not sure about this specific species though since it grows wild near our garden. Anyway they're such a pretty sight when they're tightly curled up like this.

Fiddlehead Fern, Just Keep on Rolling

Frangipani, Togetherness - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Frangipani, also known as plumeria is one of my favorite flowers. It comes in pretty shades of white, red, or pink. Put your nose close enough and you will get a whiff of its light, lovely fragrance.

It is said that frangipani is most fragrant at night, in order to lure sphinx moths to polinate them. Since it has no pollen, it dupes the pollinators with its fragrance. Do avoid getting in contact with the sap since it may irritate the eyes and the skin.

An interesting fact which I found out while researching about this flower: In modern Polynesian culture, women wear the plumeria flower to indicate their relationship - over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken.

Frangipani, together forever

Do you prefer the Black & White or the Colour shot?

Morning Dew - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

One of my favorite things to photograph is morning dew. There is something very serene and relaxing about them. I always hunt for the roundest, 3-D-ish droplets since they look the prettiest when photographed. These ones in particular look a little like frog spawn, don't you think?

Morning dew on a blade of grass

Beautiful pearls of water.
Big ones, little ones,

Equally nice,
Beautiful pearls of water.

Hairy-Legged Lynx Spider (Oxyopes quadrifasciatus) - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Spidey spidey,

I hope you're a boy,

Cos it's not very girly,
To have legs so hairy,

It makes you wanna cry.

This little spider was resting on a leaf in our garden one fine morning. I've never seen a spider with legs so hairy before... (long hair at that as well). If I'm not mistaken, this spider is from the Oxyopidae family, from the Oxyopes species. It is known as Oxyopes quadritasciatus or the Lynx spider. This is a male species, since it has enlarged pedipalps (the boxing-glove like things) for transferring sperm to the female seminal receptacles during mating.  They have very long, translucent legs with spines and orange-brown stripes on their body. The name "lynx" is derived from the way they hunt ie. slowly approaching their prey and suddenly jumping on it.

Stink Bug Nymph (Tessaratomid Pycanum rubens) - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We first encountered this bug when we moved into our new home. At first, I thought it was a leaf bug since the back resembles the leaf of the plant in the photograph. Turns out I was wrong as this is in fact a Stink (or shield) Bug Nymph from the Tessaratomidae family.

Tessaratomidae is a family of true bugs with over 240 species. The nymph of the Pycanum rubens bear little resemblance to the adult counterpart (a photo which I will post later). This particular nymph was a dull red, I have captured many others which are bright red, and orange. It measures approximately 15mm to 20mm. The head is triangular with very distinctive eyes. The tarsi (the final segment of the legs) have 2 segments.

If you look close enough, you will see four dots on its back; these are actually stink glands which act as a defensive mechanism. They can squirt a strong jet of caustic liquid of up to 27cm! I'll have to be more careful when I'm taking photos next time, as apparently these can cause damage to human skin and temporary blindness if squirted in the eyes.

Stink Bug Nymph (Pycanum rubens)

The Lightning Strikes - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

"Point your camera towards that direction and try to get a lightning shot".

My body jumped everytime I saw a flash of lightning, followed by a rumbling thunderous sound. Can't blame me for feeling scared; according to the National Geographic, about 2000 people are killed worldwide by lightning each year. Lightnings are quite fascinating to watch, but being outdoors was a little too close for comfort.

So, the lightning shot I am posting today is taken by my Hubby since I ran indoors as soon as I got the chance.

Now you see it...

Now you don't..

So, do you LIKE or DISLIKE lightnings? Do share your thoughts with us.

Hey Little Green Grasshopper - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Insects do not like it when the weather is too dry. But after the rain, we always find lots of insects to photograph around our garden. We found this wee fella perched on a blade of grass dotted with tiny raindrops - makes a lovely photo don't you think?

Hop away, little green grasshopper... 

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog.

Some of you may know me from my other blog, Eat Your Heart Out (http://goodyfoodies.blogspot.com). Why create another blog? Eat Your Heart Out is mainly a food blog, concentrating on restaurant reviews, recipes, and hotel reviews.

Other than food photography, I also enjoy taking photographs of nature, architecture, and just about everything which is eye-catching and beautiful. I recently lost a large amount of photos due to a corrupted HDD, and it really saddened me. Hence, this blog is created as a platform for me to share and also a place for me to "store" my photos and memories.

I will be posting photos here on this site on a daily basis. I do hope that you will enjoy viewing the photos and thank you for your support! :)