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When I just started my photography journey, I realized it could be very challenging for finding a good location for photo shooting.
To ease my fellow photographers in shooting, I have compiled some of the easy access locations into this article.
Hopefully, this will help you all with better planning.
On top of that, I also encourage the beginner to connect with other photographers via social media. It is more enjoyable to take photos with those who share the same passion, and it is safer too.
You can find me on my Facebook Page or join my Facebook group. :)
1. Bukit Tunku
GPS Coordinate: 3.162867, 101.677252
Bukit Tunku is a place where you can get the Kuala Lumpur Skyline view. It is good for sunrise but you can come here for the evening Blue hour too. There’s a small car park beside the shooting spot where you can park your car. It is an upper-class residential area in Kuala Lumpur, so try to keep your volume down and not disturb the residence here. Overall, a safe and quiet place for photography.
2. Federal Territory Mosque
GPS Coordinate: 3.171407, 101.667579
To photograph the Federal Territory Mosque, you will have to photograph it from Publika Shopping Gallery. Using the above GPS Coordinate will bring you to a street of the mall, where there are a police station and a Japanese restaurant Senya (nice foods!) at the corner. After parking your car, take the stair beside the Senya restaurant to go up a level and that’s the place where you can set up your tripod for the photo. This angle is good for sunrise.
Alternatively, you can also enter the mosque to photograph its interior. Please ensure that you wear proper attire, e.g. long pants, scarf, etc, it is a religious place and you don’t want to be disrespectful there. This angle is good for sunset
GPS Coordinate: 3.171201, 101.670335
P.s. As I know there’s a tour guide service here from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. but I am not so sure is there a visiting hour restriction. My friends and I have been taking photos here several times and have no issue with that, but I do have a few friends that stopped by the security here. You can try your luck but be minded with that. 😛
3. Putra Mosque a.k.a Pink Mosque
GPS Coordinate: 2.937243, 101.686290
The pink mosque is one of my favourite subjects in Selangor. There are several angles for the mosque, but this is where I would recommend it. Not only you can capture the mosque with a beautiful sunrise, but you can also have a clear reflection of the mosque itself too. Reflection is usually easier to get in the morning compared to the evening time because the water is calmer and most likely, no boat is passing by. In this area, if you spend some time scouting along the lakeside, there are another few more angles other than the photo that I posted here. You can plan your shooting to pick the right angle base on the sun’s position for better composition purposes. (Yes, the sun’s position changes throughout the year)
Map view of the shooting location, the dropped pin is where you park your car.
4. Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque a.k.a Iron mosque
Unlike other mosques that we usually know, the Iron mosque has a uniquely modern appearance without a minaret. As far as I know, there’s only another mosque in Malaysia without the minaret, which is As Syakirin mosque that is right beside the Petronas Twin Towers. Similar to the Putra Mosque, the shooting location here is good for sunrise, you can get the reflection of the mosque too. Both mosques are in Putrajaya, the federal administrative centre of Malaysia, and the Prime Minister’s office is not too far away, which is why it is quite safe here. 😛
GPS Coordinate: 2.917709, 101.676782
Map view of the location, a bit of walking from the parking place to the shooting location.
5. Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque a.k.a Blue mosque
This photo of the Blue Mosque with reflection is taken from a park beside the Mosque. The GPS coordinate will bring you to the park, where’s there are some parking lots. (very limited) The shooting location is near there. The sunrise is not in this direction, but if you are lucky enough for an epic sunrise, you may still be able to get some colours on the sky here.
GPS Coordinate: 3.075322, 101.519334
Other than getting a reflection, you can also include light trails in your frame from this viewpoint. Unlike the previous location, here you can have the sun in your composition.
GPS Coordinate: 3.078794, 101.517427
6. Batu Caves
GPS Coordinate: 3.236364, 101.682817
Another favourite location of mine. Batu Caves is a Hindu temple that worships Lord Murugan. It is a popular tourist spot, where you can see a giant golden statue of Lord Murugan standing in front of the cave’s entrance. To get to this shooting location, you will have to climb 272 staircases up to the cave’s entrance and then further to the last shrine. The best time to take photos here is in the noon, the sunlight will fall from the top of the cave, and with some smokes from the praying, the lights will form light rays. You can also include the flying pigeons into your composition but be minded that you need to be very patient for that.
7. Masjid Diraja Tengku Ampuan Jemaah mosque
GPS Coordinate: 3.099109, 101.536643
Here’s another mosque in Selangor, this is the Masjid Diraja Tengku Ampuan Jemaah mosque. The shooting spot is very near to the car park, and you will be able to get the reflection of the mosque here too. If you want to include lotus as your foreground subject, it can be tricky. You will need to climb over the fence and down to the lower ground to get close to the lotus. The wall is tall and you may need a rope to help you get back up. Previously, when I was there, the area was under construction, and there was a wooden stair for us to climb down.
Map view of the location. The shooting spot is near to the car park.
8. Puchong LRT station
GPS Coordinate: 3.033300, 101.616915
If you want to photograph light trails, one of the easiest locations will be on a pedestrian bridge that connects the Puchong LRT station. The bridge is right above a busy highway, and you can get nice light trails at around 10 seconds instead of 30 seconds. The only challenge here is the bridge can be very shaky when someone is passing by, you just need to give a little bit of patient for that. 🙂
You can park at the dropped pin area (Where the GPS coordinate will bring you to) and walk to the pedestrian bridge.
9. KLCC area
Including the park, there are plenty of shooting locations in the area. Here are some of my favourite spots.
I took the above photo of the twin towers with light trails from the drop point on the below map. It is nearby the Public Bank building.
The next location is in the KLCC park. From here you can get a clear reflection of the twin towers. You will need a wide-angle lens or taking a panorama photo to capture the scene.
The below map showed the exact location where I took the photo.
Another location is right at the KLCC Suria mall entrance to the park, it is where you will see a fountain on the lake.
Instead of the twin towers, this composition focus on the commercial buildings and the reflection during the sunrise. P.s. you can't get the reflection when the fountain is on during the sunset.
Below is the map of the location.
Other than the above-mentioned locations, I encourage you to spend some time exploring the area. There are many other possible angles here. Who knows you may find one that's unique and creative.
10. Kampung Baru Flat
If you want to photograph the Saloma link bridge with the KL Twin Towers in the background, you may want to try out this location. I took the photo from a flat that's next to the Kampung Baru LRT station.
You can take the LRT train there, walk to the flat and took the lift to the highest floor. The exact shooting location is at the staircase at the corner.
11. Tabur Hill (Bukit Tabur)
For me, Tabur Hill is considered the nearest natural landscape location in Kuala Lumpur. It is a famous location for local hikers, and if you are lucky, you can see the sea of clouds under the beautiful sunrise.
However, note that this place can also be fatal if you don't close attention to where you land your foot. There have been several cases that happened in the past in which people died from the fall.
12. As-Salam Puchong Perdana Mosque
Another beautiful mosque in Selangor where you can photograph the sunrise with a clear reflection. The shooting location is at a small park in a residential area.
GPS Coordinates: 3.008761, 101.605985
13. National Monument
The National Monument is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, principally against the Japanese occupation during World War II and the Malayan Emergency, which lasted from 1948 until 1960. (From Wikipedia)
GPS Coordinates: 3.150505, 101.683709
You can park your car at the drop point location and walk to the National Monument for photo shooting.
14. Bukit Bintang
If you want to photograph some light trails, you can try out this location at Bukit Bintang. To get the shot, you will need to take the photo from the Bukit Bintang monorail station.
There's also a new "Shibuya Crossing" at the intersection now, which I may want to find a time to re-shoot the place again. :) If you want to know how I captured and edited the photo, you can check out the below LIVE sharing session from my Facebook Page.
15. Bandar Diraja Klang Mosque
Other than going to Klang for some delicious local foods, you may want to include your photo shooting in your future itinerary now.
GPS Coordinates: 3.046701, 101.444444
16. Broga Hill
One of the most famous hiking trails in Selangor, and the place can be very crowded during the weekend.
GPS Coordinates: 2.938385, 101.901266
17. Sky bar @ Traders hotel
GPS Coordinate: 3.153858, 101.714738
Save the best for the last. This location has the best Petronas Twin Towers view that you can still photograph and access easily! 😀
P.s. I mentioned “can still photograph” because plenty of views were gone due to the rapid development of high rise buildings, sigh…
There’s no entrance fee to enter the Sky bar, but to be supportive and show respect, I suggest ordering a drink there while taking up their space for photo shooting.
It is a comfortable place with nice music, and you can photograph the Twin Towers while enjoying your drink. I like the place a lot!
However, tripods are not allowed (same for many other rooftop bars/restaurants). It can be challenging but not really an issue, as you can stable your camera on the window border to get a sharp photo.
Map view of the Traders Hotel, it is just right beside the KLCC park.
That’s all for now. I hope you enjoy the article. If you think it is helpful, feel free to share it with your friends.
Also, you can drop me a message too if you found out some of the mentioned information is outdated so that I can update the information here.
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