Amidst the Cannonball trees

In my bid to secure new perspectives within West Coast Park, I ended up feeding mozzies while this picture was taken. I find that i'm still weak at composing those messy subjects into neat images. Hmm...

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Missing my sec sch days

We had the largest track, the biggest pool, the best view, the strongest winds... those were the days

Pandan reservoir is my favourite haunt when the weather gets real hot. I'll cycle around the 6.5km track just to feel the wind in my hair, and relive the days when I had to run the gravel path just to complete my 2.4km during sec school.

RV at that time is THE value for money school. It's near my place, and I don't have to pay maintenance for a huge track (the reservoir), nor a swimming pool (pandan public pool). And yet we do use these venues for PE. Our standard of education is not that far from what is provided in independent schools, and yet our fees are govt subsidized. Shiok.

Image above is a panaromic HDR. It almost killed my com, merging 10 x 12 mpx exposures into 1 huge 20+ mpx 32bit tiff. And I only have 512mb of RAM. Jeez.

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ThinkTank Change-Up - First Impressions

A new lens changes one's shooting perspectives, but a new bag will change one's shooting experience. Read on to find out about my first impressions of the Change-Up after 2 days of assignments.

On Saturday, I wore the full load (80-200 f2.8, 12-24, 17-50, SB800, D300 + grip, 8 extra AA batteries, umbrella and 1 full water bottle) All the way from 2pm to almost 7pm. I did not bother to take them off, even as I stood through all the MRT trips. At the end of the day, I could hardly feel any strain from the load. Full marks for carrying comfort. Impressive.

Throughout the event, I get to constantly switch lenses as and when I feel like it. It is just so natural. In the past, I have to #1 shrug my shoulder to allow my hand to reach into the bag, and #2 use 1 hand to hold the flap open, #3 keep still so the bag doesn't pendulum around. Doesn't sound difficult, but try it when ur bag weighs about 5 kilos. I usually choose to leave the bag on my seat, and return to it for lens changing. I chose to risk not getting the shot I want, in return for a less shoulder strain. It is also risky as someone might go steal your stuff.

Right now the whole process is just so natural I felt WEIRD to be changing lenses as I walk around. Full marks for accessibility. No doubt about that.

And when I had to suddenly rush in front to grab spontaneous shots from low angles, I just.. do it. In the past, I'll have to crash my whole bag onto the ground doing so. No doubt the bag is thickly padded, but is it really necessary?

But before I give full marks for agility, I do noted 1 problem. With the 2 chimp cages on the sides, it can take a while to get used to the added width of your body. I can barely get through MRT gantries, if I don't rotate the pack. Something I have to get used to, but a possible disadvantage when fighting through crowds. 9/10 for agility.

Finally, I shopped for an hour in Plaza Singapura after the assignment (something i don't think i'll be able to do in the past... too shag at the end of a shoot). Nope, I don't get weird looks. Perhaps people are used to flamboyant outfits on orchard road, but I doubt looks isn't as big a problem as I initially thought. It's worth adding that I wore it "reversed", other than in front as recommended on the site, so now it really looks like an SBO, rather than a fake belly. Heck. I see people carrying large guitar cases, and they seem proud of it. I should be proud of the new look too. It's probably because as photographers, we are naturally more observant than the rest, and in return become more self conscious.

Earlier in the day, as I strolled past a guy stopped in the middle of the path trying hard to stuff a lens back into his crumpler, I can't help but flash a smile at him. I was cleaning my tokina while walking towards the MRT station. Ha!

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Walkabout #32 - NUS

Seriously, this photo doesn't deserve a place here... it's meaning less.


Just trying out my HDR technique... the composition could be better. Another day perhaps...

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Agility, Ergonomics, Protection and Image

After close to 3 years of using clones and inferior camera bags, my body is able to tahan no more. Despite being a manpacker, I've spent 100+ on sinsehs just to twist my spine back into position. I'm feeling the effects of poor ergonomics. Today I finally gave in and got myself the ultimate... the PRADA of camera bags. It's a brand I never thought i would buy. It's a thought I'd dismiss as insane a year ago. It's a ThinkTank bag!

Show me any established photographer, and I can show you his dirty closet of bags... tried, tested, and laid aside. Camera bags to photographers are like handbags to ladies... there is NEVER a perfect bag. It is always a balance of agility, capacity, speed, comfort and of course, your image (as in what people view of you)

I knew of this long before I bought myself a proper bag, and hence have always researched and researched before getting any bag. The bag must be useful, and would not go obselete. I'll never buy another shoulder bag after my Safrotto stealth reporter D400 clone, just like i'll never get another backpack after my Tamrac Adventure 7 clone. At least not in the near future. Bags don't hold their value... so you will have to leave them to rot once they lose their purpose.

There are many considerations when choosing a bag. And i've broken it down into 2 different phases, followed by priorities to be considered:

Travelling to location - Be it on the train, bus, bicycle or just plain walking down the street. Comfort being the most important, followed by gear protection. No way you want to feel tired before you get there, and no way you want to damage your gear before the shoot. Image is of great importance too... you dun want to look like a 可疑人物. Accessibility to gear is not really important here. Too accessible, and it could well be stolen.

On location - Accessibility to gear is the most important, followed closely by comfort. You have to be able to run and gun, and swap lenses in seconds. You cannot get tired too easily too... Protection is not so important since your gear is already in your hand. Image... it depends on what you are shooting, but people will first look at your camera then your bags.

See the problem? Despite the plethora of bags available on the market, none have been able to satisfy everyone. You simply can't have everything.

There are those who would go all out for image. They are almost everywhere. The richer ones would go and get brands like Billingham, Domke or Crumpler. These bags either make you look up-market, young and chic, or for Domke users, retro and pro. Problem is, these bags are usually ergonomic failures (at least for total load >4kg). I've seen people lugging Crumpler "sinking barge", an obtrusively enormous shoulder bag... and unless he has it all stuffed with newspaper, I wonder if he would have any shoulder left at the end of the shoot. But hey... the bag matches his flambouyant outfit, so at least he doesn't look nerdy/geeky when he goes out with his girlfriend(s). Maybe his gear is just there to shoot photos of himself.. who noes?

Domkes are canvas bags. They are not cheap too. People using it will probably claim that they've shot/developed film. They speak of "hey, i'm an old bird... dun play play hor..." I've never found any of their bags attractive, at least in terms of usablity. They may be softer and slightly more comfortable, but they don't distribute heavy loads well enough. Beware your spine.

For those who are not so well off (or think that money could be better spent elsewhere) they would either get clones, or lowepro bags. Lowepro offers a huge variety of bags, but they all have a common problem - too stuffed with padding. Even when your gear is out, your bag still occupies the same bulk, and you will tend to bang into people/stuff. I've knocked down glasses at a wedding before, and have also problems going through MRT gantries with their stealth reporter series. They are only great when it comes to backpacks... all the protection you'll ever need, at a reasonable price. For ergonomics... you'll have to look elsewhere.

And then there is this rare minority that are willing to sacrifice image for the ultimate in agility, accessibility and comfort. This is where Newswear, Kinesis and Thinktank bags comes in, the ultimate being Newswear. You know SBO? The tried and tested concept derived from wars, the SBO concept fully distributes loads around your body while providing unparalleled access to equipment. Journalists swear by them. Heck, you could go run SOC with your gear! The biggest drawback - Image. You simply don't belong in the civilian world. But to a real events photographer, that might just be the ONLY way to go.

A week ago, I finally found what I thought would be the best compromise. The ThinkTank Change Up. It is like the transformer of bags. It can be used as a SBO on location, a shoulder/back pack for travelling, or a belt pack for comfort. Offering near SBO accessiblity and agility, it also has adequate padding while being flexible, and when coupled with attachments, is able to contain all my gear. Last but not least, it does all these while maintaining a somewhat civilised appearance. It is the most adaptable bag i've seen so far, and hopefully, after putting it into use, is able to deliver. I don't want to buy anymore bags!

Disclaimer: I'm entitled to my own opinions. If you find that my stereotyping might have offended you, then kindly ignore this post

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Blog changes

It has been a while since I last made changes to this blog. I noticed that there is a significant increase in readership recently, and have decided to implement some new stuff to make it a more interactive experience reading the blog. Click on for the list of changes.

Ratings system - I thought this would be a great way to get feedback from readers on which are the photos that you really liked. But if you rated it "poor", do sound out what went wrong, and how to improve it. Thanks.

Summary - Being very long winded, I thank you all for patiently scrolling your way through the posts. With the implementation of a "summary" system, I can keep the posts looking short, and you can read the rest of the crap when you have time.

Tagboard - Let's try this out once again. Hopefully there would be greater interaction this time round =)

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Picture along the corridor

During the golden hour, take as many pictures as you can.

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