The Strobist Collection
I finally bit the bullet and got myself some correction gels for my strobe.
All I have to do now is figure out when to use which gel... =S
Splash
My lil' cousins paid me a visit over the weekend and went about emptying the pool in my house! Fished out my camera and got my uncle (who is also a shutter bug) to become my VAL (Voice Activated Lighstand). Shot over 160 frames, whittled it down to 60 and selected three of them to be posted here.
Although the hit rate is low, but I deem it as a success as the kids were too fast to adjust the strobe. Rules such as angle, power and distance gets thrown out of the window the minute they start to hit the water. Half the challenge is getting close and while staying dry!
Cupcakes
Nothing much to blog about. Just some cupcakes which were too pretty to eat. These were for charity and all the proceeds from the sales would go to them.
Lightning pt.II
So there I was sitting at home figuring out what to do when suddenly I saw flashes of light outside of my window. Grabbed my tripod which was leaning against the wall and threw the camera in bulb mode. Went crazy with the shutter and I managed to get some pretty decent shots without waiting for too long.
Assembling the pictures were a pain as it wasn't the typical 'round 'em up and shove them into photoshop' technique. I wanted something that was both panoramic but also showed that it was composed of several different photos. An hour or so later I managed to get the pseudo panoramic shot I wanted. It wasn't perfect as you can't really see all 7 images which made up the picture but its as close as it gets with my current set of skills. :)
Not too bad right?
Broga Hills
I've always wanted to capture the sunrise on top of a hill with the mist rolling down the valley and the sun just peaking from the clouds. So I tagged along a bunch of friends who wanted to climb Broga on the first day of Hari Raya.
The early bird catches the worm or so they say. Unfortunately they didn't say how difficult it is to get up early. Since the hills were quite far from my place, I had to get up at 3 in the morning. I'd bet not even the most industrious worm was wriggling about in the soil. Anyway, with bleary eyes and a half-awake conscious, I roused myself from slumber and got going.
The drive there was about an hour or so while the climbing took another 45 minutes. Hiking is easy; only if its with visible light. Trying to climb a 45 degree slope with a small torch whilst lugging a tripod and your dslr, is no small feat. But its probably isn't so bad if you compare it to caving because at least you can't bump your head on the ceiling as you're out in the open.
So we reached the first peak after 45 minutes of hiking and there was a sense of accomplishment being able to reach there as I was the most 'unfit' person of the group. I could have yelled 'I'm the king of the world' if it was not for the crowd that had already gathered before we reached. Until it started to rain.
Ever packed something in your bag in case there was an emergency like extra batteries or an extra shirt? You know the odds of using it are a million to one but you just stow it away just for fun even though it adds extra weight to your bag.
So yeah, out came the umbrella and with the rain, went my morale. Now I was cold, wet and miserable. Nobody gets up in the wee hours of the morning to get stuck in the rain several hundred metres above sea level. And if I got lucky, I'd be taken out of my misery with a lightning bolt from above.
Fortunately the rain did let up but because of the rain, we couldn't see the sun which was obscured by the clouds. Damn. That earthworm must be laughing to itself in its tunnel. But wanting to make the best of things, I fished out the camera and made some exposures. Although they aren't much but it beats not having anything to show after coming all this way.
iShoot flash trigger
Been lurking about for a flash trigger ever since I bought my flash. After going through so many types of triggers, from bargain bin types (optical) to the golden standard (pocketwizzards), I finally settled on the PT-04 CNII triggers. They're the second iteration of the PT-04 triggers which were fine but received a lot of flak for having an upright receiver which causes the flash to be prone to falling over. Since the reviews were promising and they were less than RM100 (inlcluding shipping!), it wouldn't break the bank if it disappoints.
Build quality is what you'd expect for the amount you're paying for so no surprises there. After several shots with the triggers, there have been no misfires so far although one minor niggle is that the receivers won't take rechargeable AAA batteries due to their low voltage compared to alkaline batteries.
The only thing I've yet to test is the range. So far everything triggers within a 5m range. I've got to find me a large open space to see how far out I can go...
Jack Daniel's
Had Billy's Nissin Di622 over for the few days so I decided to mess with its optical trigger. Unfortunately the optical trigger would only respond to my inbuilt camera flash. So in the end I ended up doing some light painting instead.
Zap!
Saw some flashes of light outside my windows and instinctively grabbed the camera.
Admittedly its not the best I've seen but its the first I've managed to capture so far. :)
DIY Bounce Card
Not much of a DIY person but since my flash didn't come up with a pull out bounce card, I thought I'd make my own. It's relatively cheap to make.
All you need are foam sheets, some double sided tape, a rubber band and a cutter.
Just cut them out to whatever shape you want, stick them together and 30 mins later and voila!
A bounce card!
If double sided tape doesn't work for you, get a spray on adhesive. I kept the cost down and sewed the sides instead.
If you rather have a more polished one, check out A better bounce card!
A i r
One of my favourite photos.
Alvin trying to perform a dunk in a nearby park.
Shot with my trusty lil' PnS and converted it into B&W to accentuate the shadows.
The Street Cafe
Was wondering about SS15 again today. Since we've already memorised Uncle Seng's menu like the back of our hands we decided to try something thing different. Bob suggested we try out korean food instead instead of the usual local fare. So we popped by a nondescript shop called The Street Cafe which was sandwiched along a row of shophouses.
Can't remembered what I ordered but I dare say the food had exceeded my initial impression of the shop. Apart from the overplayed Nobody but You song (who can fault them, its a shop serving korean food), the food was great.
The salad was crisp, the chicken was well seasoned and tender while the rice was just nice and fluffy. Washed it down with a glass of dragon fruit juice. Total damage to bank was only about RM15.
Who said you can't get anything cheep and cheerful these days? :D
I'm definitely heading there next time if I get tired of the usual eating spots.
Btw, there's also another branch in Sunway Pyramid.
Earth Hour BBQ
So David had a bright spark of organising a BBQ cum get together at his place on Saturday which coincidently fell on Earth Hour day. Ironically, instead of doing our part by switching off the lights for an hour, we went and did opposite by leaving the lights on and contributed towards air pollution. lol
Starting up the fire
Raiding the drinks cabinet
Lethal combination; mei with skewered chicken operating a tripod
Chris going bonkers with the tripod
Plan B at Putrajaya
So a few months back, I was surfing the net and I came across pictures taken from the Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and I thought, "Man, I wished I had that big snazzy camera to capture those fantastic looking pictures" and then I left it at that. Few months down the line, I became the lucky owner of one.
It was around a month ago when the idea came back to me. This time was different as I had everything I needed;
DSLR - check
own transport - check
free time to snap pics - check!
research on the location, itinerary etc - check!
friends to drag bring along for company - check!
Perfect! Everything's in order. All I needed to do now was to mark my calender.
So at 3p.m., I reconfirmed everything and made sure all preparations were complete.
After planning the outing for months, how's a slight drizzle at 5p.m. going to affect the outcome right? Boy was I wrong! That drizzle turned out to be a torrential rain... for a full 30 minutes. With the sun peeking out of the clouds, I headed to pick up my friends and head for the venue.
On the way there, we missed a turning and ended up heading to Holland. Thankfully we took the nearest exit but got stuck in a bumper to bumper crawl somewhere in PJ. When we finally got to Putrajaya, it was already night and the hot air balloons were long gone. What rotten luck huh? 3 months of planning went up in smoke.
It didn't help that there was a slight drizzle by the time we got there which persisted throughout pretty much of the night.
Even so, we were determined to make the best of it and immediately went looking for the scenic spots in Putrajaya. Looking for the Seri Wawasan bridge wasn't difficult. Finding a good location to capture the bridge was.
Initial spot.
So being adventurous, we continued exploring Putrajaya despite the rain although on hindsight it would've been better to have worn slippers that night as it was so dark, we were basically stepping into every puddle of water on the ground.
The Seri Wawasan Bridge taken from another vantage point.
Putra Mosque.
Although we had intended to travel around Putrajaya further, our plans were cut short due to the sudden heavy rain. Since it was getting late, we decided to head back to KL for dinner.
Dinner was at Murni's in SS2. Determined to have their signature XXL curry puff for dinner, I ordered their Dragon Pizza (its a misnomer if you ask me) which took 30 mins to arrive. :( But the wait was well worth it as I've been longing to order/eat it.
Dragon Pizza
The XXL curry puff wasn't too bad although it was a tad salty. It was stuffed with meat and scrambled eggs topped with some pasta sauce. Be warned that the XXL curry puff is larger than it looks and can easily substitute your dinner especially when you've downed half a glass of their laichee special beforehand while waiting for the food to arrive. :D
Laichee Special
Pizzas!
Pizza Hut's online delivery system works like a charm. There's no need to ring them up either. All you need is a pc and a credit card/ maybank2u and 30 minutes later, your pizza is served right at your doorstep. Talk about convenience!
Ordered the perennial favourite, the Super supreme; hardly ever fails to deliver and when it does, you know never to visit that outlet again. :P
Hawaiian chicken on the so called thin crust. Wasn't too my liking as it felt like eating brittle bread. :/
Rain
Bah, I hate the rain. More so since its raining almost every evening. The rain just makes everything dark, dull, dreary and not to mention wet. =(
On the 9th day of CNY...
According to a folklore, many moons ago, hokkiens in Fujian province sought refuge in a sugar cane plantation when they were attacked during the Sung Dynasty. They emerged unharmed nine days later and offered sugar cane to the Jade Emperor God as thanksgiving. (Source: The Star) Further information can be found from Wikipedia .
As for me, I took it as an opportunity to practice capturing fireworks. They're notoriously difficult to capture; requiring both patience, timing and a little bit of luck. My first try was a failed attempt. This time however, I had a slightly more preparation and lady luck was on my side.
Determined capture that magical shot, I feverishly jabbed my pointy fingers at the remote release cable which on hindsight wasn't the smartest thing to do. All I did was increase the shutter count further. By how much? Lets say I went berserk and took over 100 photos in the span of 30 minutes. Fast and furious eh?
The keeper rate was a measly ~15% which serves me right. In my haste in capturing the moment, I forgot rule no 1; compose before you expose. Still the haul that night didn't turn out too bad if I might say so myself. :D
Went mad in photoshop with these two...
Radioactive green.
Red frenzy.
And the fireworks sans photoshop:
Ipoh Yong Too Foo
Lunch today was at a restaurant named Ipoh Yong Too Foo which is situated along Jalan Ipoh. I've always patronised the place but this is the first time I've actually brought my DSLR along with me. As usual, the food was superb; the tofu was firm while retaining its melt in your mouth texture, the lady fingers were young and soft while the 'sui kow' was just right as it was crispy on the outside while retaining its moisture on the inside. Add a dollop of chilli sauce and a dab of plum sauce for that extra 'kick' and we're all set. :D
Have I whetted your appetite yet? ;P
CNY 2010
Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year ahead!
The obligatory yee sang.
Calculating the odds.
Subway
Dinner at Subway + camera in hand = an increase in shutter count! =P
Sub of the day: Tuna (something... the name escapes me)
D5000 in action!
Harith & Alyana
First off, congrats to both of them as they recently tied the knot.
Everything was amazing from the food to the traditional performance. The only letdown was probably the photos. The exposures were thrown off most of the time and if it wasn't for shooting in RAW, my bacon would have been toast. Composition was nowhere near as good as it could be as everything happened very fast and I didn't have much time to prepare for the shot nor position myself. Blame it on not scouting the area first. =S
Overall I made a complete hash of my first wedding outing but at least I wasn't the official photographer for that event. *phew* It also felt pretty embarrassing to be known as 'the photographer from the wedding' by some of the guests whom I bumped into after the wedding especially when the pictures were half baked. Its probably my ego working overtime lol.
Something decent that came out that day.
On an unrelated note, I've went past the 10k shutter count. Yipee! =P
