I Want To Be Bob Dylan!

I'm no talent compared to this man who plays almost everyday on the steps up to the A' Famosa fort. And if you're there, drop him a dollar and listen.

I confess, I was stingy with my dollar so I took his photo instead!

Worth Every Penny Because Its Free!

Finally...

A spare 4GB SanDisk Ultra 2 CF card and a 4GB Kingston Data Traveler for portable storage. Worth every penny because its free!

Hilarious Muppets!

Watch it dammit! I swear if you watch it, you'll laugh your ass off!

Trust Me! You've Got To Check It Out!

Trust me! You've got to check out this link!

The Pan-Malayan Art Photography Collective (PMAPC)

Me and IK had wanted to get a group set up in Flickr for a while now considering we had the perfect idea for the group but hadn't the time to set it up which we finally did a few days back. The group is called "The Pan-Malayan Art Photography Collective". If you're ambiguous as to what the group is all about you might want to read the description below.

"The Pan-Malayan Art Photography Collective (PMAPC) was formed in 2008. It intends to provide a medium for a small group of Malaysian photographers to exhibit their photo essays.
Any subject is allowed as long as it is presented with a strong artistic direction. Importantly, we realise that the technical aspects of photography are merely secondary to creative conceptualisation."

We prefer this whole photo essays to be regulated into threads as we have yet to figure out the use of the photo pool!

Rules and regulations as stated below.

To add a photo essay, start a new thread with a post in the following format:
1. Essay title
2. Statement (this may be a few sentences describing the project)
3. Uploaded photographs (use the "small" size)

If you are interested in becoming a member, contact one of the Admins for an invite!

Photo Hunt!

It isn't hard to find good subjects as long you have the will to travel! Every Friday or Saturday is now officially photo hunt day!

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS On Floras

Promised more samples from the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS a little while back didn't I? As you may already know, the lense is definitely sharp, produces smooth silky bokeh and autofocus is decent as it tends to have problems focusing in low light. The downside, manual focusing is a little tricky since the focusing ring is a little small for the fingers. And vignetting isn't much of a problem as you can see below! Great quality EF-S lense for the price you pay!

19" LG Flatron L1953S & Photoshop Express

While I was scurrying around for a new LCD monitor on Wednesday, Adobe had decided to release it's Photoshop Express on Thursday.

First of, my brand new LG Flatron L1953S, 19 inches of 5:4 ratio goodness instead of the widescreen, 16:9 ratio. I wouldn't take widescreen on an 19 inch screen as it does not have the necessary height in resolution. It would totally suck! I would take on a widescreen though if I were to get a 22 inch monitor instead.

On another note, you should have already checked out Adobe's recently launched Photoshop Express. If you had not, read this and this! Best of all, it's free. If Photoshop Express isn't to your liking, you might want to try out Picnik. I've signed up for both and they are both excellent at getting things done!

Playing With Light

Using a variety of light torches, I create these.

Blog Design March 2008

I was bored, so this got up!

Wait! It's already 9 in the morning and I've yet to sleep! Damnit!

MMU Photography Contest 2008

Here are my contesting entries;

(A) Landscapes

Ground Level
This was taken during my early photography days with my first digital camera, the Canon Powershot A80. This scene was taken at Padang Temu during the wee hours of the morning. The ground is lit by the bright moonlight that day and light pollution gives the orange cast. The highest ISO on the Powershot A80 provides the grainy look.

Manual exposure, ISO400, 5s, f/2.8,
no flash,
manual white balance (cloudy),
no flash,
focal - 7.8mm

Serenity
Palm tress, rice fields, breezy weather, cloudy skies and power cables. Serenity!

ISO 200, 1/500s, f/5.0,
no flash,
focal - 7.8mm

Smoke By The Water
There was a small bush fire to the left of the image which was letting off a trail of smoke.

Manual exposure, ISO100, 1/200s, f/6.3,
no flash,
focal - 7.8mm

(B) People

8-57
The first photograph produced from the newly purchased Holga 120CFN. The camera is prone to vignetting and light leaks.

Manual focus, Fujicolor 160C Color Print Film (120mm ISO160) 1/250s, f/11,
B/W,
flash,
focal - 60mm

Me Streak Lights 2
Done by having the flash set to overexpose myself against a dark background and having quickly swirl the camera, a Canon Powershot A80, in different directions to the accompany of colourful lights.

Manual exposure, ISO 200, 1.6s, f/3.2,
flash, flash compensation,
focal - 7.8mm

Merdeka
Photographed during the Merdeka 2007 celebrations. Flags were given out for free and people are happy to wave it and I took the opportunity. Canon Powershot A80.

Manual exposure, ISO 200, 1s, f/3.2,
exposure compensation - -0.33EX
flash,
focal - 7.8mm

(C) Architecture

Apartments
Colourful apartments in KL and overlooking them are nice cloud formations. Canon Powershot A80.

ISO 100, 1/2000s, f/5.6,
no flash,
focal - 7.8mm

Putrajaya Bridge
A view of the Putrajaya Bridge and it's surroundings. Ambient lighting from the city's street lights gives an amazing orangy red colour cast. Canon Powershot A80.

Manual exposure & focus, ISO 50, 13s, f/4.5,
no flash,
focal - 16.2mm

Putrajaya Mosque 2
Photographed during the brief time frame when the sky is at it's bluest. The mosque reflects its light on the water. Canon Powershot A80.

Manual exposure & focus, ISO 50, 13s, f/8.0,
no flash,
focal - 9.6mm

(D) Macro

Flower 2 Fraser's Hill
Perfect lighting and weather conditions contributes much to the saturated and vivid colours of the flower. A shallow depth of field creates the smooth silky bokeh. Canon Powershot A80.

Manual focus, ISO 50, 1/125s, f/2.8,
no flash,
focal - 7.8mm

Lobster
Luck had much to do with this photo. Lighting used on the right side of the aquarium. Canon Powershot A80.

Manual focus, ISO 200, 1/8s, f/2.8,
no flash,
focal - 7.8mm

Sunflower 2 Fraser's Hill
Perfect lighting and weather conditions contributes much to the saturated and vivid colours of the flower. Canon Powershot A80.

Manual focus, ISO 50, 1/250s, f/2.8,
no flash,
focal - 7.8mm

And now I wait.

My Verdict On The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5-6 IS!

I now own the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lense. And having nothing to do at the moment, I'll do a little review for those who are in doubt to get this lense.

You have to realise that since this is an EF-S lense, it can't be used on a full frame camera and can only be attached to cameras that supports EF-S such as the digital rebel series. Furthermore, with crop factor affecting the actual range of the lense, you'll probably get an equivalent zoom range of 80-400mm. Not having the wide angle range is a bummer but I could live with that. It's lightweight too.

The samples below are photographed using the Canon EOS 400D with the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lense except the first one.

It has IS (Image Stabilizer) functionality. Incorporating a 4-Stop IS, I could clearly see the difference when I tested out the lense at the shop.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS (1/13s @ 250mm without IS)

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS (1/13s @ 250mm with IS)

Get the picture? And for around 850 Ringgit it is a good bargain!

Detail is excellent @ 55mm.

@55mm.

@79mm.

@250mm.

@250mm. Still good!

@250mm. Some vignetting appears. Not much of an issue. And at the telephoto end, backgrounds tend to be soft and smooth because of it's circular diaphram. Also not an issue.

Auto focusing is excellent as I track this eagle which flew over me. Excellent lense for the price, not to mention that it has IS.

I'm no expert at reviewing lenses but you could judge very much for yourself after having look at the images!

The next photo has nothing to do with the lense. It's just my ego. That is me with the Nikon D80 and the 70-300mm VR lense. But to come and think of it, it is photographed with my Canon EOS 400D and Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lense.

Juno

Got to watch Juno at last! One hell of a good movie. Definitely the best movie I've watched this year!

Photo Wall Is Up!

It took me six long hours to get this up! It was all down to choosing the right photographs, colours and themes. Had them pinned up on the wall using the Lomo Fotoclips I bought a while back. It took me a hundred and eighty clips to get this done! Insane amount of work!

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 lens

I would really like the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lense, considering it has a great wide angle and telephoto range I would die for but unfortunately it's a little too pricey for me! I'll be going for the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS telephoto lense instead!


No wide angle though but I guess I'll rely on the 18-55mm lense that I have at the moment until I can afford the 17-85mm lense.

It's a good deal considering what it has to offer;

• Affordable telephoto zoom lense
• 88 - 400mm equivalent focal length
• 4-stop Image Stabilizer with automatic panning detection
• UD element
• Super Spectra coatings
• Circular diaphram

The Sea Of Love

Lately, I've been so obsessed with the song, 'Sea of Love' having watch Al Pacino's 1989 movie of the same title, 'The Sea of Love'. Who the hell doesn't like an Al Pacino movie! Don't lie! You know you couldn't resist watching Scarface and the Godfather either!

Click it, the original 1959 version by John Philip!


And then you have covers made by various artistes most notably the The Honeydrippers,


Robert Plant,


Del Shannon who people purportedly said butchered the song but I like it!


And Cat Power, the best cover ever did for the movie Juno!

Some Things I Got Over The Weekend!

I was bored yesterday! So I promptly counted and arranged all the coins I had! I know I have too much time!


And I got this!


And lastly, my Canon wireless remote, the RC-1 has arrived finally and it makes photographing photographs a lot more versatile! Love it!

The Flickr Animoto Test

Have a look at one of my videos I made from my old Flickr Action Sampler set.

Paper Art

Today I stumbled on Paper Critters and made this!



If you prefer hand paper crafting instead, I think you might like Paper Forest.
Enjoy folding them colourful papers.

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year everybody, don't drink and drive!

DIY Photography

I thought I would share these articles that I've stumbled upon about DIY photography.

First off, free cardboard lens hoods. Create yourself one from the dozens of downloadable cardboard lenses that are available. Who needs the real one!

Then, create your own Bokeh. This is done by using Canon's prime 50mm f/1.8 and a lense hood which is available from the DIY website I linked above. Results are amazing and of course any lenses could be used as long as it has a big aperture.

Lastly, try creating your own light box.

By the way, it cost no more than a few pieces of paper and a roll of sticky tape.

Some Wikis For Your Amusement

I present you some wikis for your amusement.

Love small colourful fishes? Click for Tetras.

And with all those Hindraf shit going on, I guess we all forgot all about our Mat Rempits.

Hate our local censorship when you watch the idiot box? No wonder piracy prevails! Enter FUBAR. I'm pretty sure that they censors doesn't know the acronym because they let it out on Saving Private Ryan. Do you? We are all a bunch of FUBARs, so to say!

Dreamed of the ultimate camera? Empty your banks for Hasselblad.

And lastly, you might find cooties culture weird!

Old And New Toys

Here are some of the other toys in my collection.

The medium format camera, Holga also modified to shoot 35mm film.

Great fisheye photographs came out of this one, the Fisheye 2.

And my recently acquired flexible Pod. Bends on any surface and sturdy like a rock.