Gong Xi Fa Chai 2013

Sssssnake Year is Here

As always I shall be ushering in the Year of the Snake in Sibu again this years as I have done from year to year. It is certainly a rousing welcome for the Ssssssnakey, as the fireworks lit up the Sibu skies about an hour before midnight. One good thing is that one needs not do is to go to some parade in town somewhere to watch the fireworks. The colourful event can be witnessed right at your doorsteps. This is because our neighbours light up the sky above with colourful sparks. The loud sound was traditionally known to have been used to chase away the evil spirits. So I guess I am not an evil spirit as I seem to be ready with my camera gear to capture the event in my neighbourhood. Here are some shots I manage to take which I feel can drum up the Chinese New Year mood. Just a word of caution ~ its taken without tripod and different exposure settings. Its difficult to get a perfect shot as the explosions were almost everywhere without me being ready. So its always an instant image capture as one cannot really know who will light up his first. Also the brightness of the sparks differ thus aperture control was quite challenging.

The sparks take the shape of the palm leaves below it as if to acknowledge the trees' presence

The bright sparks light up the church building behind it

As if to say to the street lamp ~ I can go higher than you buddy

Once again Happy New Year to all my friends, no matter wherever and what ethnicity we belong to. We celebrate this in the spirit of being Malaysians. Gong Xi Fa Chai to all.