SiewPeng and I went to KekLokTong (one of the “cave-with-temple“) in Ipoh, Malaysia.  We found different types of hibiscus there.

My first intention was to go there and shoot the lotus, but it was not the season of lotus, therefore I switched my target to the colourful hibiscus.  While shooting the hibiscus, I have practiced the technique called backlighting.

Do you know how to prove that these photos are using the backlight?  The answer is - look at the shadows.

The light passed through the semi-transparent flower petals ( and also the leaves) created the following effects:-

First, it shows the greater details on each flower petals.

Second, the edges are highlighted.

Third, if the petals were overlapped, the flower petals which is nearer to the light source (the sun) will create shadows on the flower petals nearer to the camera.

The edges of the petals were curly, which help in creating the shadows too.

As you may know that most flowers like to  face the sun, in order to take a backlit flower, I have to position my camera to take the back side of a hibiscus.

SiewPeng said that the effect of backlighting can hardly be seen in the picture above.

Yes, it is because the light source was not a 100% backlight but more toward sidelighting.  However, I confirmed that the light has passed through the semi-transparent flower petals because the filaments and stigma appear as shadows on the 7 o’cl0ck petals.

We hope you will enjoy these photographs.

When I first saw my website up again yesterday, I was not surprised that it was back-dated to 20 Dec 2009 (because I was told earlier) and not happy about it too.

What I have done to restore my websites are:-

1.  Replace the database with my backup copy.  I really want to thank myself that I have done it on 1 Jan 2010.

2.  My website now had missing pictures, then I had to dig out photos that I have posted since 20 December 2009 until the latest.  Can you guess how many photos I had to upload?  187 photos.

3.  There were error warning messages (luckily it’s only warning but not error) because the new server is using new version of PHP 5.3.  The messages appeared on the very top of my website which make everything out of alignment.  Instead of waiting for the web host to solve it, I tried to dig out the source code of my wordpress and try to solve it.

All of the  warning messages are similar:-

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in \home\xxxx\xxxx.php on line xxx

I solved it successfully by digging out the files searching for the line number stated, and then edit the codes:-  Any syntax with & new should be change to new and the problems gone.

***  However, this morning, I noticed that the web host has change their PHP to an older version :O .  Luckily, it did not affect my website layout again.

I am faster than the web host to fix the problem, may be they were too busy, and I wanted my website to be in good condition as soon as possible.

4.  SiewPeng and I have 2 posts written on 1 Jan and 2 Jan 2010, they were not in my backup.  Therefore I have to retype copy and paste them and repost the photos again.  We always keep a copy of what we have written.  :)

5.  Next, I try to search my email to see if there is any comments from our visitors which can be restored, but cannot find any.  :(  I know there were missing comments.

Should I consider myself lucky because those were the only things that I have lost permanently?

I have also spent extra hours to fix the problems above, but I have learned something new in PHP.

Again, most importantly I have learned that BACKUP IS IMPORTANT.

I have considered to move to another host.

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I have a strange feeling when I first saw my website after a few days.

It looks strange to me, and I thought that I have taken time machine and went back to the past because the old posts are shown on the home page.

What would you feel if your blog’s homepage is showing you older posts?

ColinJong.com has just woke up from a long sleep. It has been sleeping since 02 Jan 2010 around 9:00 pm (88 hours).  It has gone into half-die mode on 03 Jan 2010 morning for a short while, but completely unconscious until noon time today.

This is because the server where ColinJong.com has been staying in, had hard disk drives failure. (Primary and Secondary spoiled at the same time.)  The worst news is the web hosting company could only restore it back-dated to 20 Dec 2009 which means we have lost our most latest posts and comments of 2 weeks!!!  Luckily I have my database backup on 01 Jan 2010, but I still lost some comments from visitors.

Sorry if you posted your comments on 1st or 2nd Jan 2010 and your comments did not appear. Please post your comments again.

Let me show you the announcements from the web host, it is very dramatic:-

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Sun 03/01/2010 10:58

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Mon 04/01/2010 08:31

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Mon 04/01/2010 14:17

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Mon 04/01/2010 15:59

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Tue 05/01/2010 10:02

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Tue 05/01/2010 14:16

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Tue 05/01/2010 20:48

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Wed 06/01/2010 06:49

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Wed 06/01/2010 13:44

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I have learned a lesson:- Prepare for the unexpected, BACKUP IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, it saves ColinJong.com’s life.

#1. Taken at 07:26:29 am - Right at the moment before the sun first appeared.

#2. Taken at 07:26:50 am - The sun first appeared.

#3. Taken at 07:27:16 am - A quarter of the sun.

#4. Taken at 07:27:54 am - A half disk sun.

#5. Taken at 07:28:51 am - Almost done.

#6. Taken at 07:29:12 am - A full disk sun.

This is the process of sunrise from below the horizon behind a hill to the sun has its full disk in the sky. The entire process takes about 2 minutes and 43 seconds.

It happens everyday. It is one of the most beautiful moments in a day. How many times have you witnessed this process?

From the observing of this process, the nature reminds me that our Earth is turning all the time, and do not waste time in achieving our goals because our life is short. The Earth would not stop and wait for us. Today is the 2nd day of a new year which means almost 0.6% of 2010 has just gone without much of our notice.

Lets keep ourselves moving towards our most important goals in our life which we cannot afford to miss.

We had to work one more week after the school holidays started. It was an emotional week. It was emotional because we had to make sure a lot of things and matters are done and settled before the end of the term. It was also because we had to bid the students farewell. It was just like the beginning of the term a few days ago and suddenly, without you knowing, it has come to the end of the term. Time flies…and it really does fly!

Elyse had her promotion test that week. She cried because she couldn’t finish the whole paper. It was three sections in two hours. I told her it’s okay because she did most of the questions. At least, she cared about the paper. Promotion tests are not to be under estimated because they are given by the school’s discretion based on the student’s performance and exam results. Some students who were given these opportunities didn’t really appreciate it and they didn’t try their best in these tests. Therefore, they have lost the chance that probably get them to a higher level this year. It is kind of a pity but that was their choice.

[Light refracted and focused by a bottle of water.]

My markers and stationery are also finally taking a break after a long year of hard work. However, the school is about to be re-opened soon so I think it’s almost time for them to wake up from their slumber and get ready to hit the long long road in the year 2010. I have just attended the school re-opening workshop. It took the whole day but it was helpful and beneficial. I think I am ready to accept the challenges ahead of me. Hope that you are too! Happy New Year 2010 to everyone!