Saturday, July 21, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Blue and Barren
LifeAn illusionary light rests on the horizon,
Promising warmth and joy.
But those who tries to reach for it,
Will just drown and die.
Tea Time
The golden sun climbs over hills,carefully baking rolls of lush greenery.
Cool wind peels away stress and sorrow
and freshens one up for the day ahead.
What better way to embrace the moment,
than savoring a cuppa rich English Tea?
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Lightpainting
Lightpaint
I'm very sad to say that most of the photos were blurred, due to poor judgment of manual focusing. (with the exception of the group shot, which i uploaded at full res) I've resized them for web use.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Starry Sky
This has to be one of my favourite pictures. The big bright moon was behind the observatory, creating the glow in the sky. The observatory was lit by streetlamps though, making it obsessively red i had to adjust saturation levels.
The night sky is crystal clear in SA. Galaxies are clearly visible, and the place is so deserted light pollution is minimal (unless the moon comes out) Apparently that's why there are 2 observatories in a village the population of 300.
Snapped this picture with a tokina 12-24mm, with the setup dangerously propped by stones (maybe bones) i picked up around me. The camera dropped once (no serious injuries though). The picture had better be good.
Lights at dusk
There is always one important advice when it comes to landscape photography: Patience. Wait for the golden moment, which is usually during dawn and dusk. This is the moment when the colours of the sky are most intense.
It struck me how contrasting the sunset in South Australia seemed. One side of the sky was red with fury, blazing as if a phoenix just made a crash landing. The other was a moody purple, with a rainbow of red, yellow and blue. It was a wonderful sight, and well worth the dinner i missed for the photographs.
Shot through an 80-200mm f4. Colours straight out of camera!
This looks pretty much like a rainbow...
This is the part of the sky in between the red and blue. Wonderful colours i must say!
Monday, May 14, 2007
Outback in SA
Shan't mention what i've been doing in this bone-dry, fly infested land, with hardly any soul 129000 sq km around me. Any Singaporean male (or their girlfriends) would have guessed.
Nonetheless, i took the risk and brought out my full kit of photographic toys. No regrets... even though my d70's on/off switch came back faulty. The scenery was simply stunning. Never would one find such lighting conditions in this wretched island of Singapore. The strong sunshine made the "ray-of-light" phenomenon almost an everyday matter. On other occasions, the sky could be so blue i wondered why i needed a polariser. Its a totally different land.
The above is the first picture i processed when i returned. Granted it may not be the best picture yet, but it sure got a seat in the "best shots" folder on my hard disk. Watch this space as i bring more and better photos taken from South Australia.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Wedding in Kuantan
Wedding #2 Coffee Table Layout
Another special opportunity for me to learn, a wedding of my relative. Unpaid... of course, given the amatuerish pics i took. Anyway, i decided to make a quick debrief to myself.
Biggest mistakes:
- overuse of wide-angle, resulting in obvious distortions
- Constant underexposure resulted in obsessive noise during PP. May be due to underpowered flash though
- Lack of focus on capture of expressions and mood
- More accurate white balancing
- Better lighting for group shots
Friday, March 23, 2007
Somebody kill me!
I burnt a hole in my pocket, splurging on the most advanced flash unit nikon has ever made: the SB-800. It's hell ex... at $520 (a new one costs $620) for a xenon tube people will think you are SIAO. Some time i will make my equipment pay for themselves.
I figured i will be shooting more events, and realised the weakness of the SB-600 after the previous wedding shoot. It just isn't powerful/accurate enough. I have to levels up almost every pic and ended up with a whole lot of noise. Hopefully the new flash will solve the problem.
The worst part of this purchase is... i want more stuff! I'm now awaiting the new 55-200mm VR, and eventually i should go for the tamron/tokina 16/17-50mm f2.8.... and eventually i will be begging on the streets with a sign that reads "will shoot for food"
Overseas wedding shoot
My second wedding shoot ever since i bought my d70. Taken in Kuantan, Malaysia, for my relative who isn't really particular about AD wedding pictures. I tried my best, but results aren't as good as i thought.
Biggest problem is lens changing. Taking my tokina out in the field for the first time, i sort of overused it and had much more "overview" shots compared to closeups. This is directly opposite to the first wedding shoot back in december. I also had a hard time anticipating when to change lens... i missed a lot of smiles and potentially nice portraits when my tokina was on. This is a major failing factor. (and that's why pros have 2 bodies)
Have to be thankful for the tokina though, as i couldn't possibly catch the grandeur of the wedding (held in a huge temple) without the wide FOV. I also managed to "widen up" the small room where the bride was making up, with the wide angle's optical characteristics. I'm not going to post those pics yet as i've yet to obtain permission.
To sum it all up, the shoot got all the necessary pictures, but nothing really spectacular.
A casual shot with the tokina at the beach:
Thursday, March 01, 2007
A new member of the family
On the first day of Lunar New Year, there came a new addition to my lens lineup. It's called the tokina 12-24mm f/4. Weighed in at 570g, and setting me back by $720, it's the most expensive lens i've bought so far. (this gives you an idea how newbie i still am)
Haven't really tried it out yet, but 12mm isn't as wide as i thought. Could have gone with a sigma 10-20mm, but anyway... I post this entry without a photo, just to keep it alive.
I guess my first outing with the tokina should come this weekend, provided it doesn't rain. I should be roaming the CBD area for some HDR architecture shots. Watch this space.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Back from CT07
My first overseas exercise, a 16 day experience in Lopburi, Thailand. I regretted not bringing my d70... but come to think of it, i may not have the luxury of time to snap keepers. Anyway, my olympus c200z spoilt along the way. Here are the pics taken by the dying camera. None of them were keepers by pro standards, but they are precious memories to me.
Edit: Photos have been removed for security reasons.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
manpAcker hits the streets again
I've not been snapping for weeks. Bad weather? Heavy commitments? I dunno... thought they were just excuses for the lack of motivation.
Enough of the crapping. Here's the stuff:
The above image is the favourite from this trip. What strikes me most is the blend of both ancient and modern architecture.
I was freaking reluctant to wake up as the morning was so cool and comfy. Eventually i took the first bus down to marina bay just in time to catch the sun rise.
Its nothing spectacular. I've always wanted to catch a sunrise that has rays of light streaking across the sky. Guess its just another unlucky morning.
Nonetheless, there were quite a no. of photogs at the merlion park. Some even slept overnight! That's wad i call hardcore.
Darn sian lately. If anyone's interested in going out for a snap, feel free to let me know. (kindof lame to put this here... given the low viewership. heck) Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
a Burst of Christmas lights
A very belated visit to orchard road, i missed most performances. Couldn't think of anything spectacular to snap, i tried playing around with long shutter speeds. By chance, i found this angle pleasing.
Nothing special... the same old Christmas tree sitting in ngee ann city.
Yes, it has been a really long time since i posted a photo. Very busy processing the pictures taken during Lt Ken's wedding, and hopefully he will allow me to share them online.
Be patient.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
IR @ marina south - Finally
Made it a point to visit this place during the weekend. I've noticed that it always rains in the afternoon, so i got there in the late morning.
The above picture is a composite of IR (background) and normal (sundial) pictures. The angle was inspired by a fellow CSer (forgot the name liao), but i lack the super wide lens he had. I decided to create an illusion by increasing the width of the picture, but fading out the sides... at least it worked for me.
I was quite shagged already when i shot this second picture. The weather was getting really hot.
The algae around the water didn't look special to me, until i converted it to IR. It now looks as if there were ice floating... haha. Now i know what picture to use for christmas cards this coming season.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Baby small, Baby cute!
New born babies change extremely fast, be it size, colour or weight. Their behaviour are also very erratic. To catch these fleeting moments, one has to be very patient and gentle. Creativity is also required to come up with ways to attract their attention. At least these are tips i got from today's photoshoot.
Went to visit a relative who just had their first child. It was also the first time i'm using the classic nikkor AIs 50mm f1.4. Coupled together with an Emoblitz 328 flash and "a better bounce card" combo, i was impressed by the lighting, colour and resolution of the set up. One BIG problem though... it's really very HARD to manual focus on a d70.
Conclusion: I'm going to hunt for an AFD 50mm f1.8 now.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Photo Retouching
Raining every other afternoon... soiled the plans for IR shoot. Have to postpone them for the weekends i guess.
Opened up photoshop and retouched some acceptable pics taken by a trip to china sometime ago. Credits go to my dad for taking them. (while i dangle from chinup bars in camp)
This photo a bit fake. Too much photoshop liao.
A critic would comment that the pic on the right lacks focus... What the hell... Anyway these pictures are not really my favs, so i resized them smaller.
This one might look a little better... but lacks life in the scene. Very "documentary" like. For reader's info, this is a section of a stone bridge built across the sea. Quite a feat considering the technology they had in the past. The whole bridge spanned 2.5km. I've included the last picture as a reference.
Enjoy!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Red November Sunset
Whole afternoon raining, nowhere to go. My plans for shooting IR @ marina south park gone down the drain. Thought it would be just another stoning day at home.
Looking out of the window, i suddenly see this big RED sun pop out among the clouds... I was stunned. I was a bit hesitant in taking a pic, coz i dunno how to compose.
Setting up my tripod takes 45sec (still slower than an RBS70 system haha), and the sun is going DOWN! Its really fast... time is short.
Snapping on the old AIS 80-200 f4 again, and calculating (should be aggarating) the manual exposure, i whacked this pic just in time before the glow fades. Lucky to get it in the "rule of thirds" position.
Enjoy!
Friday, November 24, 2006
Lowzy
Bet this is the worst picture i posted here so far. Nothing spectacular.
Curse and swear that my tripod doesn't allow me to shoot at low angles. Out of 5 shots, only this turned out sharp enough.
Taken in a park just after a heavy rain. I thought i could catch droplets of water sparkling in the sun... none like that.
This is my first proper picture taken from an antique Nikkor AIs 80-200mm lens. Manual exposure, manual focus. I was surprised my estimation was spot on at the first try.
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