Curtain Call

My View Of An Island Paradise

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Sometimes, adverse light conditions can be used to good effect. I shot this image last month, on the day we arrived in Langkawi, Malaysia. Our flight from Kuala Lumpur to the island was slightly delayed because of a storm over Langkawi and when we landed there was little more than a drizzle. Nonetheless, as we left the plane for the short walk across the tarmac in the tropical air, there was a veritable army of red-white-and-blue umbrellas for the passengers to use.

After we had checked in to our hotel and road-tested the pool, the pool bar, the a la carte menu and the amazing hillside villas, it was time to start taking some photographs. The chill of Melbourne’s winter long behind us, we began soaking up the heat.

The clouds were still grey, late on that first evening. But the weather gave me the perfect opportunity to frame an unusual shot. We were sitting in a quiet cabana near the restaurants, overlooking the pool, the beach and the great view of the Andaman Sea.

I left the family for a few seconds, confident in their ability to order the long, tall, dewy drinks - while I made the best use of the sky and the soft arcs formed by the transparent drapes of the cabana.

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