Ever needed something critical but you're nowhere in the world near it? No, we're not talking about food here. One can crave for a solid plate of Kungfoo-chow in America and still find a reasonably good rendition of it. Likewise Japanese ramen in Paris. Neither are we talking about medicinal pills for these are either well distributed globally, or at the very least, have alternatives of similar chemical compositions.
We are talking about something critical and yet so unique that just cracks up one's brain finding it. Something as singular as the Malaysian passport photo with blue background. BLUE. Not white like Singapore and Japan. Not white like America and the UK. Certainly not white like France. So what does one do to take a passport photo with ~blue~ background in countryside France, five in the evening, and needed urgently? Or rather, what can one do?
We are talking about something critical and yet so unique that just cracks up one's brain finding it. Something as singular as the Malaysian passport photo with blue background. BLUE. Not white like Singapore and Japan. Not white like America and the UK. Certainly not white like France. So what does one do to take a passport photo with ~blue~ background in countryside France, five in the evening, and needed urgently? Or rather, what can one do?
I have JL's passport photo in JPEG but with white background and can try to photoshop it. Only to be reminded, half an hour later, why I never made a living using Photoshop like my friends L , E and A. Then I looked around the house: any blue wall? Yes! Two bedrooms in fact! But upon inspection, the walls was painted blue with parchment finish. So they looked like light cloudy blue skies. Harap maaf. No can do.
Then I remembered how some photo shops did it: they hang thick cardboards of different colours overlapping each other on the same spot to cater to everyone's needs. White for the majority, blue for the many Malaysians and Filipinos there, light grey (German? New Zealander?) and so on. So if I could just land my hands on some art paper or cardboard in that Malaysian blue, we can move on with our lives.
"You think we can find it at LeClerc?"
"I think so... just look at the stationery or art and craft section."
"But there's no art and craft section at LeClerc..."
"Oh well... let's just go and see lah..."
And off we went with the MIL's little Citroën to the large supermarket nearby. But as JL drove, I started looking out for blue walls among the houses that we passed by. What is it that we do with our lives to get into this? Rhetorical question. And when we reached LeClerc, my eyes grew bigger realizing the ultimate backup: there were large concrete pillars about every ten meters at the checkout row. Good lighting. Look at LeClerc's corporate blue - not bad eh?
Then I remembered how some photo shops did it: they hang thick cardboards of different colours overlapping each other on the same spot to cater to everyone's needs. White for the majority, blue for the many Malaysians and Filipinos there, light grey (German? New Zealander?) and so on. So if I could just land my hands on some art paper or cardboard in that Malaysian blue, we can move on with our lives.
"You think we can find it at LeClerc?"
"I think so... just look at the stationery or art and craft section."
"But there's no art and craft section at LeClerc..."
"Oh well... let's just go and see lah..."
And off we went with the MIL's little Citroën to the large supermarket nearby. But as JL drove, I started looking out for blue walls among the houses that we passed by. What is it that we do with our lives to get into this? Rhetorical question. And when we reached LeClerc, my eyes grew bigger realizing the ultimate backup: there were large concrete pillars about every ten meters at the checkout row. Good lighting. Look at LeClerc's corporate blue - not bad eh?
It also got me thinking: IKEA - if only there were an IKEA here we'll be done. We went straight for the stationery section right at the far end. LeClerc is like Carrefour, Géant or any other supermarket in France. Super. Market. JL was right in that there's no art and craft stuff here. But we found some rolls of wrapping paper, much like the usual brown wrapping paper which is thicker, about 100 gsm, in b-l-u-e!! Alright man! Now we can go home!
Once back home, JL cleaned up a little and put on a shirt while I taped a portion of the wrapping paper onto the garage door. Good thing it was still bright daylight at seven. The wind didn't help though. It blew off the tape for a minute and caused some creases on the paper. I used the G12 for convenience, took a few shots - the husband had difficulty keeping his eyes open against the strong wind.
That's JL's shoulder but just look at the very "homemade" setup. I still can't figure why the Malaysian government insisted on a blue background. Why hah???
It took me a while to select the best shot, crop it to a reasonable size, and upload it onto www.epassportphoto.com for further sizing and cropping - in the right proportion - to 5 by 3.5 cm. This website has helped me a lot when we were preparing for our US visa application back in Singapore. As long as you have a decent mugshot against the desired background colour, you can size it to dimensions required by different countries.
So there you go. Just glad we were able to cook up something like this halfway across the world.
It took me a while to select the best shot, crop it to a reasonable size, and upload it onto www.epassportphoto.com for further sizing and cropping - in the right proportion - to 5 by 3.5 cm. This website has helped me a lot when we were preparing for our US visa application back in Singapore. As long as you have a decent mugshot against the desired background colour, you can size it to dimensions required by different countries.
So there you go. Just glad we were able to cook up something like this halfway across the world.
