Sunday, March 07, 2010

Monkey business

resized_001 

Which way’s up? In case you are confused, you are looking at an upside-down image. Yea, my D70 just got a new lease of life – as a stuntman. Ever since it sprouted legs it has been trying out all sorts of weird poses at home. These legs aren’t cheap, considering that they are already OEM products, but are pretty solid, capable of handling even the d300+80-200 combo. It takes some experience to get the legs in the strongest position though, and i’ll need to find a suitable ballhead for this contraption. It isn’t easy making fine composition adjustments when u’re upside down.

I’m already considering the smaller sized models to hold up my flash, and in case i get a compact camera, provided a decent one is available.

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Sunday, February 28, 2010

好久不见

moonRiseYuanXiao

好不容易有机会遇见的景色,却在刹那间消失。。。 很遗憾,我错过了。月亮太高太亮了,四周的光线却越来越暗。。。

Hmm.. 下个月再见吧!

=)

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Sunday, February 14, 2010

The day…

resized_001-3

Conflicting interests… While I looked forward to this day, I dreaded it too.. How will today pass?

*fingers crossed*

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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Feb 2

NUS_wallpaper

Long time no blog.

Took a new route home today, just to have a look at some of the new buildings (that are not meant for undergrads obviously…) Snapped this with my E72 (inspired by a Windows 7 wallpaper).

Problem with hand-phone pictures… they are so compressed banding is very obvious once you start adjusting (take a look at the sky). Also had a hard time anti-aliasing the over-sharpened edges. In short, this picture went through quite a bit of photoshop.

Just as an update to my loyal readers: I’ll be away for Chinese New Year from 16th to 22nd Feb.

Back to mugging….

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Saturday, January 16, 2010

Pandan Reservoir will never be the same again…

Pandan_digger

Will I change too?

For better or for worse?

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Friday, January 01, 2010

010110

sunrise0110

The date is in binary again. Just an observation.

Anyway, I’m back at the same spot, with (almost) the same composition as of 2008. Dunno why i couldn’t find the spot on 2009, but heck. Things have certainly changed, with the casino almost ready, some building behind the statue, and a new double helix bridge on the extreme right.

2009merlion-sunrise09

2008 merlion-sunrise

2007 (Not on Jan 1st)

[esplanade_morning04.jpg]

These photos also show the gradual change in processing techniques I’ve developed over the years. Mind you.. the merlion (and now the IR) is still a tough job to blend with the sky.. but hopefully it’s getting less obvious over the years. 2007 was just disastrous post processing. In 2008, the image was almost 2 stops underexposed (with a GND), while the 2009 one was shot using double graduated filters. This year, I used HDR and some smart object blending. (Maybe in a few years time, there’ll be cameras that can take it all in!)

Somehow, I felt the buildings in Singapore lacked consistency and character. Soul-less towers of glass and steel.. Is it a fad of the 21st century or what? They should rebuilt the merlion with glass and steel to match the theme then…

Due to the countdown last night, the area was barricaded, and this is the closest I can get to the merlion. There also seemed to be a lot more photogs this year. (Last year had the least of all 3), and I had to book my prime spot for this shot.

Ok enough of complaints. Happy new year to my loyal readers! Treasure 2010. You never know how many more years you have ahead….

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Thursday, December 31, 2009

The last decade…

2010 is imminent. And recent news reviews made me start pondering over wad happened in my life, from 2000 to 2009. Indeed, many things happened, and i was just a sec 1 noob back in 2000. The most memorable events, in chronological order:

  1. Introduction to the internet (Singtel magix being the 1st ISP, at 256kbps)
  2. O levels
  3. Introduction to MSN
  4. 1st handphone (which eventually got stolen)
  5. 1st personal computer
  6. Started writing daily diary entries
  7. A levels
  8. 1st prosumer digital camera (Panasonic FZ30)
  9. National Service (which helped me lose weight significantly)
  10. Started taking photography seriously, with the purchase of the Nikon D70
  11. The launch of this blog
  12. Overseas exercises (including a missile launch)
  13. Introduction to SheYingDui (and TXY in general)
  14. Acquiring the D300, and several other photographic equipment
  15. University (and the lack of) Life
  16. Knowing you….

I’ve certainly grown up over the years, but my interpretation of the world around me, and my idea of life, is far from mature. What will happen in the next 10 years? Will I still be alive? Only time will tell… But the last decade have certainly been exciting =)

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The end of 2009

escalator

“Capturing more than the eyes can see” – That was the theme I set out to achieve in 2009.  Have I achieved it?

Only to a certain extent. I have almost 30% less pictures this year, and that is because i refused to post any pictures that i don’t have strong feelings for. In addition, most feelings are transient - they come and go quickly, and hence are hard to capture when my gear remains in the drybox most of the time. Luckily for me, this year also sees a lot more feelings and emotions, and I’ve managed to illustrate it with a few pictures as and when the opportunity arises. (not many are posted here though)

Photographically, what have I improved? Workflow wise, the greatest change is the switch to adobe lightroom, and shooting entirely in RAW. This allows for a much faster turnover of images, and loads of flexibility in editing.

Gear wise, I have not bought anything for my camera this year! I’ve no temptations to add anything else (perhaps only a prime, or a 2nd flash, or a softbox…oops!). The only major expenditure is the repair for a fallen tele. A lot can be accomplished with my current rig, the bottleneck being my own talent. Somehow, I felt that a good compact would see a lot more use than more DSLR gear. This blog has seen a lot more images from compacts (and even handphone) this year too. Let’s see which company can produce the ideal compact in 2010.

Composition wise, nothing much has changed. I find my composition largely predictable. I may have developed a habit of semi-defishing my images, resulting in uber wide pics like the one above, but I see no breakthrough in the way I see things. Still much room for improvement!

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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Merry Xmas to all

museumDome

Christmas (and New Year) may be holidays, but I don’t really look forward to them most of the time. They signal the imminent end of school holidays, and reminds me that it’s time to tidy up my stuff and prepare for another semester of mugging.

To my dear friends who celebrate Christmas, happy (belated) Christmas Day!

Special thanks to you for making this Christmas a different one =)

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Saturday, December 12, 2009

乱走

orchardWalk09

Somehow this year’s orchard walkabout pic is also in duo-tone. I guess I’m not someone attracted to the glitters and colours of Christmas decorations…

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Tuesday, December 01, 2009

New toy

leaf01

Apparently my E65’s camera didn’t have much chance to serve me. Hope it’s replacement will get more chance to see the light. It has proven to be able to resolve more detail and have a surprisingly acceptable dynamic range too. Meet my new… E72!

Exams are over, and my new hobby is to write some code for my new toy. Symbian anyone?

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Are you ready for the storm?

lightning storm

The storm of the semester is here! Are you up to it yet?

Click on if you are a techie..

Although Singapore have a very high occurrence of lightning storms, it’s still a rare chance to get to photograph one conveniently. Firstly, the storm took place quite a distance from my house, so it wasn’t raining at my place, allowing me to open my window wide and plant my tripod without worrying about getting wet. Secondly, the timing was just right, not too dark, yet dark enough for a long exposure of 40+ seconds (on bulb, iso200, f/16). Thirdly… the bolts came huge and fast!

Nonetheless.. the above was a merge of 3 exposures in photoshop. The file ended up over 500mb (16 bit Tiffs) and almost crashed my com. Damned.. I need an SSD and more RAM!

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Ricoh GXR? Hmm…..

This is a rant post. Ranting is a side effect of mugging… Got a few minutes to spare?

Innovation is good. I applaud Ricoh’s bold new move to come up with the GXR. Go google if you don’t know what’s special in this camera. But basically it is a system of interchangeable lens+sensor, (instead of lens only). Yea.. so for USD500+ you buy yourself a body without a lens and sensor.

Advantage?

  • A different sensor for a different application. Low light? An APS-C sensor and a fast prime (and you lose some compactness). Street? A 1/1.7 inch sensor with a useful 24-70 (which is similar in size to a G11) Travel? Probably an even smaller sensor, but a 10x zoom…
  • Still get to shoot RAW, and the same amount of control, regardless of the modules used

Disadvantage?

  • $$$. Close to USD450 for the 24-70 module, and USD800++ for the prime module. Together with the body, i might as well get a 35mm 1.8 (for my D300) and an LX3 for street use (only about SGD1K)
  • I have doubts that Ricoh will remain loyal to this product, and make more modules for it in the future

(The list will be populated with more pros and cons as and when I thought about them)

If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll probably guess that I’m one of those waiting for a perfect point and shoot. I already have a pretty good DSLR system so I know what to bring if I want real speed and quality. I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of those for something more compact and portable and less flexible, yet still produce decent images with good controls. (and at least 24mm wide coz I’m a wide junky)

How can Ricoh tempt me with this product? Make it affordable, and comparable to alternatives. Something like SGD300 body, with <SGD500 lens modules is what I’ll consider reasonable. Otherwise one might as well buy new compacts as an when better options are available, as there isn’t any incentive to remain loyal to a camera body. And keep the size down… I will wait for a year after release and see how successful this concept will turn out to be…

Ok.. back to work..

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Saturday, November 07, 2009

It’s that time of the year again…

examtime

The stress… the gloom… the deadlines…

Good luck my friends! The sun is still shining beyond the clouds!

=)

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Thursday, November 05, 2009

What is a camera?

rainfield

Isn't it frustrating every time when one sees a nice scene, and realizing that you don’t have a “camera” with you?

To me, a camera used to be something that shoots in RAW, has manual controls, responds quickly and produces decent detail up to iso 800 (for compacts), or iso 3200 (for dSLR). The problem is that while I have one that meets these requirements, it pulls my pants down if I force it to go into my pocket.

Well.. the heavy rain in the late morning today created such a different atmosphere, I was beginning to regret not bringing a “camera” with me. So I whipped out my handphone and for the first time (i think) i started using the camera function.

Whitebalance? Atrociously green. Responsiveness? Lag like siao. Noise? Plenty…

But when converted to monochrome… I thought this was a great representation to what I felt and saw at the moment…

So.. what is a camera?

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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

How many sunrises have I passed sleeping?

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I shouldn’t dread waking up early in the morning for school.. seeing how much there is to enjoy by waking up just 1 hour earlier than usual, and how much more enjoyable the walk to school seemed to be, with someone to talk to..

Ok now back to work =)

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wednesday…

droplet

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

无言

wcpIRpond

Sitting under the deep blue sky, watching the clouds roll by… singing to myself, and dreaming of yesterday…

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Light you don’t normally see…

IRneighbourhood_01

Finally gotten around to do some IR pictures. Shot this handheld while on the way to school. It takes quite a bit of estimation to compose this picture, as you can’t see through the R72 filter.

I admit this picture has nothing special, but i missed the IR tonality…

Nice blue skies today!

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Sunday, September 20, 2009

So happening, yet so boring…

MAF09 

MAF again. The bigger the crowd, the lonelier you feel. Is there any point left in going back?

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