From my perspective

Blackberry images

2011-09-03T04:10:00.000+08:00

As the title suggests, photos are all taken with my Bold. With sufficient updates, I'll try turning this into a series.

Postcard from Stansted

2011-07-30T04:24:00.002+08:00

While waiting for my flight home. AirAsia's A340 arrived from Malaysia just over one hour before my departure time. Eventually, I departed London on time. This isn't a flight service; it's a goddamn flying bus.

Postcard from London 6

2011-07-19T19:29:00.003+08:00

St. Ali @ Clerkenwell Road

I loved London and all that she has to offer. This is my final Postcard from London for now as I'm flying back to Malaysia tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to come back in the future.

Postcard from London 5

2011-06-19T04:26:00.001+08:00

Monmouth Coffee @ Borough Market

Borough market with The Squeaky One near Southwark St.

Natural History Museum @ Cromwell Rd.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 15

2011-06-09T10:08:00.002+08:00

Postcard from Aberystwyth 14

2011-06-06T00:40:00.001+08:00

2011-05-24T18:35:00.006+08:00

Exam season is upon us.

Postcard from Bath

2011-04-16T22:23:00.000+08:00

* this one's taken by The Squeaky One.

Sally Lunn's

The photog with his wtf-does-that-sign-say face

Postcard from Bristol

2011-04-14T06:09:00.003+08:00

Since there's no Postcard despite me being here a few times, I have made amends.

The Squeaky one and her Keds

Postcard from Aberystwyth 13

2011-03-29T11:19:00.001+08:00

Ms. Lyiana Ruslan, this is what you're missing out on.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 12

2011-03-26T09:39:00.001+08:00

Twas a foggy night.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 11

2011-03-24T04:43:00.003+08:00

Twas a good day for groceries.

Twas also a good day for wieners and beaches.

Flashback

2011-03-21T09:48:00.000+08:00

Random selection from my old albums.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 10

2011-03-14T02:54:00.000+08:00

There's a graveyard behind Penglais overlooking Llangawsai. On a clear sunny day, this is part of the view.

Cake on a pan

2011-03-09T23:58:00.002+08:00

'Twas Pancake day.

My workhorse

2011-03-05T06:41:00.003+08:00

1:1

2011-03-03T08:14:00.003+08:00

New 1:1 aspect ratio as an experiment for my pending future acquisition. We shall see.

From London with love

2011-02-28T09:15:00.004+08:00

Fuckyeahsatchel

2011-02-16T21:17:00.003+08:00

2011-02-15T10:16:00.003+08:00

Postcard from Aberystwyth 9

2011-02-13T04:00:00.002+08:00

My original file looks nothing like this; It's more vibrant and the colour balance is spot on. For some reason, Flickr downgraded the quality of my upload. Bad Flickr, bad. Also, I have another long-shutter photo of the pier but the pixels are too damaged even in RAW form for me to do anything about it. I guess it's quite true that a point-and-shoot can never stack up to a DSLR.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 8

2011-02-09T07:28:00.001+08:00

On an unrelated note, someone must talk the f*ck out of me from this TLR madness.

Random Kitchen Stuffs 1

2011-02-04T14:00:00.001+08:00

One knows he's running low on muse when one's taking photos of a pine cone and a discarded capsicum. It won't be as bad if it's fresh and whole. But a discarded one? Fail.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 7

2011-02-03T10:28:00.000+08:00

Twas a cold night.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 6

2011-01-15T15:16:00.003+08:00

Sometimes, Aberystwyth comes up with beautiful surprises like this.

Postcard from London 4

2011-01-13T11:07:00.000+08:00

This concludes my 2010 UK haul.

Monmouth Coffee Company near Covent Garden

Red Velvet cupcakes @ Wardour Street #2

Big Ben @ Westminster bridge

British Museum @ Great Russell Street

2011-01-09T16:45:00.000+08:00

The Squeaky One and the Marble Arch. After this, one last postcard from London to conclude my 2010 haul.

Postcard from London 3

2011-01-08T16:38:00.004+08:00

My first and last trip to London for Christmas.

Tower of London
*note to Sherri: told you it's important to get the symmetry right.

British Museum

British Museum

Red Velvet cupcakes @ Wardour Street

Hyde Park gave me a chance to hone my duck-stalking skills

Train photography

2011-01-04T08:37:00.000+08:00

Something different this time. Instead of me, the train's the photographer. Camera's stationery and the train composes the shot. All I do is press the shutter whenever the train comes to a stop.

London postcards coming next.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 5

2011-01-02T00:00:00.000+08:00

Photos taken on the train en route to Bristol.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 4

2010-12-21T12:27:00.001+08:00

A dose of warm bacon and eggs in winter. Jizz.

Will be away till the 29th. More postcards in due time.

Postcard from Aberystwyth 3

2010-11-27T20:42:00.000+08:00

Postcard from London 2

2010-11-19T04:16:00.000+08:00

Horse Guards Av.

Trafalgar Square

Strand

Oxford St.

Postcard from London 1

2010-11-15T06:32:00.000+08:00

Eye of London, River Thames

Oxford St.

Oxford St.

A local

Postcard from Aberystwyth 2

2010-11-02T11:43:00.003+08:00

"Guaranteed awesome"

"Sil vous plait moi!"

Postcard from Aberystwyth 1

2010-10-18T10:49:00.003+08:00

Aberystwyth is a peculiar place. Unlike Melbourne, I am having a very hard time looking for images that's capable of describing what Aberystwyth is about. I've been here for a good 3 weeks now and the town is immensely difficult to photograph. And you wouldn't expect me to post run-off-the-mill tourist photos would you?

My bowl of Jordan's. Pretty much the most epic cereal I've ever had.

Contrary to what I've been told, good coffee over here is (as of now) nonexistent. I am yet to encounter a decent cuppa joe.

At least the beef here is epic. "even the shittiest slab of beef here is comparable to good beef in Malaysia"

The broadband here is the real deal.

2010-09-30T05:04:00.001+08:00

The Man Cave

Camera: Canon S90

2010-09-29T23:47:00.001+08:00

Since I'm here; might as well

2010-09-21T19:29:00.006+08:00

Gotta jump on the bandwagon eventually.

Postcard from Melbourne 3

2010-09-02T12:56:00.003+08:00

Final postcard from Melbourne. A couple of hours left before I head off to the airport.

Camera: Nokia N95

Postcard from Melbourne 2

2010-08-30T10:33:00.002+08:00

Camera: Nokia N95

Postcard from Melbourne 1

2010-08-23T23:39:00.004+08:00

Camera: Nokia N95

2010-08-19T23:56:00.001+08:00

Fresh lemon and honey. Doesn't get any better than this.

The ubiquitous aeroplane window photo

2010-08-16T23:59:00.001+08:00

Melaka '10

2010-07-01T04:48:00.002+08:00

Credit where credit's due: both photos are originally from Syafiq's camera but I'd like to point out that Lana was the photographer of photo #1.

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p/s: my apologies; due to unprecedented limitations on equipment, posting will be duly affected till further notice.

Gambar-gambar dari Nokia E71

2010-05-10T04:52:00.003+08:00

p/s: am liking the photos from the E71 as they somehow have an 'old school' feel to them. All that needs to be done is to give them some mild Photoshopping to accentuate the said feel. Brilliant stuff.

2010-05-09T18:49:00.003+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, "my awesome bestie".

p/s: I'm supposed to look like a Hershey's Kisses. Oh, here's another one.

2010-04-04T12:41:00.002+08:00

Will be leaving this blog for a couple of weeks at most. Projects in Ongoings are halted till my entire life is less stressful. Thanks for your support.

Reasons to love the night 6

2010-04-03T20:45:00.000+08:00

X: "Why do you like shooting at night?"

TT: "It's much cooler at night."

Instant Gods Out of The Box

2010-03-29T19:59:00.002+08:00

The first installment of the series is pretty much technical rather than conceptual. I'll probably work on this series again when I have the inspiration and time to.

About the title, inspiration came from one of Arovane's song with the exact same title. Admittedly, the song has no relevance at all but the title alone really is responsible for the gestation of this series, and I believe the credit's due where it's due.

p/s: credits to Syafiq, the "floating potato"

Windows 7

2010-03-26T00:49:00.003+08:00

Am finally running on Windows 7 after 2 years with that ~~bastard child~~ dreaded Vista. Customizing it to run properly on my XPS was quite a hassle but it's so rewarding now that everything's 99% compatible (unable to utilize some small hardware features but it doesn't matter). Just to highlight a few reasons why I am in love with Win7;

The speed of this thing is absolutely mindblasting. I knew "spec'ing up" my XPS would pay off someday.
Win7 will easily handle areas where Vista will just freak out and not do anything.
There are many small features that I absolutely adore; the system will automatically adjust the volume to my preferences when I plug in my earphones. Sweet.
Did I mention about the speed?
Cleaner interface; the taskbar's features are making my life so much easier.
Oh and not forgetting that mindblasting speed.

2010-03-25T18:04:00.002+08:00

Since there's already a red Ferrari, why not include a yellow Lamborghini in the mix just to balance things out?

2010-03-24T21:13:00.002+08:00

"When I grow up, I'm gonna be a Ferrari", says the little Kancil.

Test shot

2010-03-21T21:35:00.002+08:00

A test shot during the shoot for my upcoming Project #1 which yielded satisfactory results despite being ambushed by mosquitoes throughout the session. Will publish the full series soon.

Bukit Cahaya

2010-03-07T03:58:00.005+08:00

Bukit Cahaya again. Went cycling for 3 hours straight and came home with an aching shoulder. Hmm. Photos are from YE's camera (thanks!). I only gave them some post-processing.

Reasons to love the night 5 + bonus

2010-03-06T00:00:00.000+08:00

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Beforehand, I must remind you that this whole "bonus" thing is just a test-run. Was merely taking the opportunity to judge boring technical nerdy stuff such as the exposure, ISO and f-stop levels suitable for this shoot. The first attempt resulted in a huge co*k-up as you can see here. I tried a different orientation on my second attempt but the result was similarly disappointing. Eventually my third attempt was somewhat acceptable so that's the only one I'll properly publish in this entry. Sadly however, subsequent attempts were a huge failure due to a couple of technical difficulties.

Noise is a huge huge problem here. Due to the limited time I have with the camera, I am yet to effectively judge how long I can keep the exposure going before the camera introduces noise. But then again it's to be expected as I am working on a trial-and-error basis. More next time when I can find the spare time to further work on this.

p/s: editing on the 1st photo resulted in a very different look of the park at night but it was a highly destructive method. Probably my first and last attempt with this method. Hmm why am I being so technical in this entry?

2010-03-02T02:23:00.006+08:00

To the one who would reward me with RM10k for answering your questions. To the one with the red backpack in a sea of poncy briefcases, leather files and the lot. To the one who made studying law so much easier. It was an honor to have been your student, sir. Rest in peace Mr.Ananth.

The "newscaster"

CNY '10

2010-03-01T05:07:00.008+08:00

This photo accurately sums up half of my 2010 Chinese New Year experience; solemnly buzzing with activity in the afternoon with the occasional furball trotting in to liven things up a bit. The other half at night is pretty much the same. Minus the "solemn" part, that is.

p/s: was gatal so I added the Formspring bit. Will leave it there for a week or two then I'll move it into my one of my navigation tabs. And oh March you're here. Welcome.

Furball

2010-02-26T18:09:00.001+08:00

four legs + lots of fur + a bit of drool + even more fur = the most difficult thing to photograph.

Dear dog. My crotch =/= your bed.

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So here I am with yet another one of my weekly conundrums; to 50mm f/1.8 or not? One thing that's frustrating me to no end is the fact that I am severely limited with what I can do and cannot do with photography. Despite my best efforts to negate the said limitations, the lack of equipment is one impossible factor to negate.

Every time my eyes come across an interesting subject or something that's worth photographing, I can't help but let out a depressing sigh knowing that this image has nowhere to go but to remain stuck in my memory. Conundrums like this makes my day a bit harder to live with. I believe an understated "meh" is in order.

p/s: this is neither a plea nor a subtle hint for a camera. I am merely frustrated with a f*ckload of things lately and I need to at least vent a little bit to scoop out some proverbial shit before it hits the fan.

This one won't squeak

2010-02-23T17:49:00.007+08:00

For years I've been waiting for my Targus mouse to die so I can get my hands on (yes, literally) a new one. The Targus mouse, which came bundled with my laptop, was the epitome of useless as it hogged two of my laptop's USB ports and provided nothing more but sluggish and unpredictable movements. No right-thinking mouse in this world would hog two USB ports just to function normally. And not to mention, the wireless receiver looked somewhat like a swollen pe**s.

Forgive me for the quality of this shot. I was using the IXUS for this photo.

This one looks like a grey potato you've just sat on but apart from that, it's perfect. By far, I think it's the best thing I've ever laid my right hand on (for the over-imaginative few; head, gutter, out, thank you).

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p/s: I don't usually do this whole embedding thing but this merits an exception; was going through one of my regular web haunts and i found Nuit Blanche. I love it.

There's also a making of, to double your pleasure

Bukit Cahaya

2010-02-21T17:01:00.005+08:00

Was cycling at Bukit Cahaya with my classmates (lo and behold, Sarah Pang was there as well!) some weeks ago. With all the lush greeneries, it was a nice and serene place to be in. Till we arrived, that is.

2010-02-18T03:07:00.002+08:00

Am beating myself up over lost opportunities. I could have shot a whole set of images but somehow that didn't happen. Woe be me.

With this image, I've added a layer of artificial graduated ND filter (gotta get myself one of those) and did some colour corrections on Photoshop. I don't give a rat's ass about any other calibrations as the entire calibration is dictated by the angle of my laptop's screen.

Which makes me wonder; is there a variable in my consistency? What if the next set is 5% darker no thanks to an extra 5% tilt on my screen? Such is the bane of working on a laptop.

2010-02-09T21:23:00.001+08:00

I have to admit, I’ve grown tired of photography. All the photos I’ve been taking lately feel like they’re a product of globalization and commercialization – the killer of childhood dreams. Okay maybe not globalization and commercialization but they don’t really give me the ‘feel’ anymore. This is hard to explain so I’ll leave you with the word ‘hebetudinous’ in hopes that you can understand me better than me explaining to you with this load of text on my blog.

Photography feels so vapid at the moment. Maybe this is the start of my gradual decline down Insanity Avenue where I burn my laptop and claim that I can complete my assignments with some coal and a kettle. I would like to see the face on my lecturer when he hears this. Maybe he’ll give me an award of sorts? You never know.

Anyway I’ll sign off with a ‘Happy Chinese New Year’ wish to all readers. Be safe and don’t run into cement mixers and shit. This message should be taken seriously if you go by the name of Broccoli C.

Cheers.

Reasons to love the night 4

2010-01-24T16:16:00.000+08:00

2010-01-19T13:39:00.007+08:00

New year's eve

I've seen many jokes in my life but this is up there.

On another note, I've done many things in my life but this is up there as well. I'll think of a way to embed it onto my blog when I have more free time to burn.

Won't be updating anytime soon as I'm bogged down at the moment. Am planning a mini getaway this weekend and hopefully I can get a camera to accompany me. So no more updates for this week. We'll see about next week.

p/s: I swear I was THIS close to buying myself a lehpit and I'd like to formally blame Soo Xingyi for all my lehpit woes and the psychological harm caused hereinafter.

p/p/s: does the fact that I am using "lehpit" instead of "rabbit" tells you how much this is affecting me??

2010-01-17T15:39:00.007+08:00

"I'll take a 2 hour nap. Let's see how this goes."

*5+ hours later*

"Bollocks"

2010-01-05T19:53:00.002+08:00

Just a random selection of 6 photos that "almost made the cut". I tend to spend a whole load of time with my post processing and I figure it'll be a waste of time and effort to not publish photos like these.

p/s: speaking of waste of time and effort...............nah never mind.

Last of 2009

2009-12-31T12:05:00.006+08:00

There's this sense of renewed determination that comes with every passing year. A very faint determination which gestates from all the new year hype; eventually after a week or so it'll annoyingly dissipate. Every year I'll cling onto that said determination, hoping to obtain something out of it before it dies off. Makes me wonder what 2010 has in store for me. And I have to admit, I am somewhat excited.

I'd like you all to understand that this is not a declaration of renewed spirits but a measly attempt by yours truly to type out a decent entry (also to sneak in an update while I'm at it) whilst highlighting how monotonic I am and can be. Furthermore, I feel obligated to end this year with an entry that only a select few would actually bother reading (thanks for reading btw). Hence I consider this a job well done.

I have nothing left to say. I don't even have a photo to publish. But I do have some parting words; here's to 2010. Cheers.

Melaka

2009-12-19T18:34:00.001+08:00

p/s: am not discounting the possibly of me migrating to Tumblr soon.

Reasons to love the night 3

2009-12-16T23:06:00.003+08:00

Was by myself hunting UFOs a few nights ago. Sadly, no UFOs in sight but this is what I've got. People say the night's just a void filled with darkness. I disagree.

Shall we go hunt for UFOs alone? Just you and me, sans-camera.

2009-12-14T04:00:00.002+08:00

Have I ever told you how much I love strawberries?

2009-11-30T19:48:00.005+08:00

Man I never liked making these announcements but for the sake of clearing off some dust bunnies and conspiracy theories that I am well and truly dead, here goes; due to equipment and time limitations, there will be no updates for the next 3 weeks (approx.).

My sincere apologies for the lack of dedication. I admit that I am not up to snuff when it comes to multitasking. But hey, I promise that I shall remedy this issue in due time. Till then, cheers.

TikTsin

p/s: in the spirit of Christmas, I've added a little Santa on my header. And in furtherance of the jolly spirit, I shall leave you with this. Happy Christmas in advance =)

Cauliflower Moment

2009-11-09T21:09:00.004+08:00

Melaka was nice. Apart from the scorching weather and the slight neck ache I've acquired from from sleeping on the couch. It wasn't a very extravagant trip but it was nice to be somewhere else for a change. And not to mention, that little yellow box of half-dozen freshly baked Seremban siew pau is the bomb.

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Reformatted my laptop about a week ago (after a whole year and a half of usage) and my goodness I actually forgot she's capable of such blistering performance. However, the moment I first ran my Windows Update, Vista just had to throw a total of 99 updates in one shot, resulting in a slight loss of performance. Nevertheless she's running as smooth as a baby's bum now. Yay.

p/s: title's an inside joke if you're wondering

2009-11-04T04:57:00.006+08:00

Will be touring Melaka during the weekend. Therefore, lets all hope for 2 things to happen; I'll be able to secure a camera for the trip and for my order to arrive in time (bought a set of goodies, you'll know soon enough). If they both happen, I might come back with some pretty pictures.

p/s: check out my new toy. Getting them to work properly is a bitch as I lose the E-TTL function of the flashgun which requires me to shoot in full manual mode. This is going to be interesting.

Morir Visiones

2009-10-19T23:07:00.001+08:00

Cinco fotografías de mi Nokia N95

2009-10-12T15:25:00.008+08:00

p/s: for some reason, my phone and laptop didnt seem to recognize photo #5 hence the re-update. All is well now.

2009-09-28T05:38:00.003+08:00

I had the camera for 5 days and all I did was stare at it hoping for it to magically provide me with some muse. It didn't.

Damn.

Melbourne

2009-09-14T01:41:00.004+08:00

I have a plethora of complaints for Melbourne. From the dry cold air to the price of every single darn thing up for sale; a decent cup of coffee would burn RM12 off my wallet and to think that I am used to paying RM1.50 for a cup, this is definitely recipe for a good old Malaysian outrage.

But I guess this is just me applying the Malaysian bitter sauce all over Melbourne. In fact, Melbourne is a great place to be if I were to look at it from a fresh and neutral perspective. Screw what I'm used to in Malaysia and most definitely screw the conversion rate, this place is awesome and I am saying this because of one simple reason; they have brilliant coffee. And I am not saying brilliant. What I mean to say is the coffee here are pinch-yourself-to make-sure-you-are-not-asleep brilliant.

Call me shallow or crazy but my first trip overseas had left me with a craving so bad, I have to either get myself a full-blown coffee machine or fly over for another cuppa joe. I guess it's the addictive mixture of honest coffee brewing plus the laid back atmosphere. It is simply unbeatable.

With that said, I have a feeling that I will be seeing Melbourne again sooner or later.

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The photo above pretty much sums up my view on how I feel towards Melbourne. The coffee paired with my increasingly hectic student life was all that I had in mind. There are definitely more happenings in my life but these aren't what I'll be blogging about.

I will be quiet for a while, almost everything in my life is going wrong and I am still in the midst of finding the solution. Till then, cheers everyone.

Reasons to love the night 2

2009-08-31T00:55:00.005+08:00

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On a different note, happy 52nd Merdeka to all. I notice that this year's Merdeka celebrations are somewhat subdued, for a good reason of course, but nevertheless it is still a special day for us Malaysians. Am not going to dwell any deeper hence I shall end here with a quote we all should be constantly reminded of amidst all the celebrations and patriotism;

"Always love your country, but never trust your government"
- Robert Novak

Reasons to love the night

2009-08-27T20:01:00.003+08:00

Why I like waking up early in the morning

2009-08-23T23:21:00.001+08:00

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p/s: did a bit of housekeeping here. Like what you see?

OFP

2009-08-06T19:24:00.005+08:00

I have a confession to make. I have been very dishonest with some of you. But if you're reading this after being redirected from Nuffnang’s Innit then it only goes to prove that my dishonesty is working quite well I’m afraid. So yeah, I don’t have anything you initially thought I would have to offer but you’re most welcome to read on.

As I have mentioned previously, we (we as in, me, P and GM) were at KLIA to send Fei off. Rewind back a few months, she flew down for a brief holiday from her student life in Canada and now that her break’s over, she would be back in Canada for the next 3 years or so. Imagine 3 years of sans-nasi lemak diet. I happen to think it’s a cruel 3 years to live with. But anyway it’s not all that bad I’m sure, she’ll survive somehow.

And yes I was unanimously appointed as the ‘Official Farewell Photographer’ (Hence the title. Have I told you how shitty I am when it comes to titles?) for the day. Right, enough babbling, photo time.

Back in high school we were constantly touted as ‘the couple’ ever since the first time we met. We were even featured in a small parody in our school magazine no thanks to this certain artist in our class. But eventually ~~and thankfully~~ nothing happened between us and so here we are today, as genuine friends. And even I have to admit; not being able to see her for the next 3 years is quite a load to stomach. ~~And I also happen to miss this certain pork who is happily porking away in Australia at the moment.~~

Well, I have nothing left to say but all the best to you, Fei.

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p/s: blogging is becoming quite a challenge for me. I guess it’s not that easy to balance between working, studying and blogging (talk as if blogging damn susah wtf). And lastly, work has made me appreciate my weekends like never before wtf.

p/p/s: am not that pathetic to only have a total of 3 photos. Considering GM's speed, I'm sure the rest would be uploaded in Facebook in no time.

Blue because there is no blue

2009-08-04T19:54:00.004+08:00

Was in KLIA last weekend to send Fei off and this is what it looked like.

Crappy AirAsia stories aside, it's clear that the haze is still lingering around and look at what it has done to the sky. What must a photographer do to get decent clear blue skies around here? Such disappointment.

Anyway this is just a teaser, more to follow soon.

Awful...

2009-07-25T13:38:00.007+08:00

I know it's yet another Honey photo but heck isn't she the cutest? Okay okay I promise, no more Honey photos after this. I hope.

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Come let me share with you all a very interesting conversation I had today with Miss Suedenim.

W: So how is work?
T: Awful...
W: Really??
T: ...awful lot of money! ha-ha :D
W: What! *proceeds to abuse me mercilessly*

p/s: payday is near, which is a much-welcomed piece of good news to help me get through the week.

2009-07-24T17:25:00.002+08:00

At the rate I'm going, this screenshot is possibly the most accurate way to illustrate the best 20+ minutes of my day.

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Apologies for the lack of updates. Am slowly being consumed by the big colourful carousel that is my job. Am calling it a carousel because of its repetitive nature, like duh (wtf). And finally, I fully realise what a grey world most of us live in. How very sad. Till then.

July has been alright

2009-07-12T19:49:00.000+08:00

Relaxing, I can has it (had too much lolcat for one night). I don't know why but Honey loves lying down like that. Speaking of which, I'll try to get a photo of her sleeping on her back. Major cuteness.

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My first week at work was quite steady I’d say. The environment's great*, the people there are great and the food's cheap (albeit the food court’s less than stellar condition). Training has been a real bore though (photo above explains it all, go figure). Our training is ending real soon and we'll be thrown right into the 'arm-pits of doom' but heck it is still way better than being bored, bring it on.

Moving on to the least appreciated side of my work, the parking and the travelling part isn’t as great as the parking’s horribly difficult and expensive while the traffic around the area is equally horrible as well. I guess one can’t have too many plus points in one go. Well I guess that's all the updates I have, we shall see how the rest of the month goes.

*p/s - ah yes, the environment, my workplace is one of a kind as the whole interior is painted with colours which resemble a kindergarten or some day care centre. I had the confusion of my life when I first went into the office (considering the bland greyness of my previous workplace). But it was a welcoming sight nonetheless.

The DSLR

2009-07-09T00:07:00.006+08:00

I guess it's high time to properly feature the DSLR I normally use for my photos ~~while gloating with some of my photos~~. Contrary to popular belief, it's not new and it's not mine hence the slightly worn out look, (which I think makes the camera look even better) which makes me a photographer without a camera (irony much). Warning; entry may appear ‘nerdy’ or ‘techy’ to some.

Equipment: IXUS 950 IS (yes, it's a compact)

This is the body - the Canon EOS 5D MkI. Worry not for I shall not be a major nerd and bore you all with a complete list of the specs. The MKI is actually an old model as Canon had launched the newer MkII some time ago but then again, I don't do HD video (for now) so this one's perfect. I admit it's overkill to use the 5D at times (eg; for simple, everyday shooting purposes) but heck like I care, am already a victim of the escalation*.

This is the lens I prefer using - the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L. A larger aperture is always a bonus for me as it helps with low-light shooting while producing a better depth of field compared to the standard EF 24-105mm f/4 L with its bigger aperture. Best part is, this one doubles as a macro lens (albeit the not-so-stellar macro performance, but still).

Overall, I absolutely love love love using this combination. Plus, it’s even better when coupled with a flash gun; it’s a proper awesome photography kit with proper awesome photo capturing abilities. But it’s also mighty expensive. I don’t know the exact cost but I’m sure it’s a number with 5 figures. Now do you know why I’m a photographer without a camera?

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*p/s: escalation – now that I’m so used to the 5D, I feel inferior when using an inferior camera. This is the escalation many photographer are suffering from.

Genting again

2009-07-04T18:28:00.006+08:00

Was up in Genting yet again. This time I was with a group of friends and we stayed for a night, proper fun it was. Me and the girl got conked out big time thanks to some silly drinking game. It was a killer of a game as we’ve managed to empty half the bottle in less than 30 minutes. Scary stuff.

On another note, I have to say, spending 2 days there isn't the best thing one can do as there is a limited amount of things to see and do. How much entertainment can one find while up on a hill anyway? (to the nitpickers; I know Genting’s not on a hill, shut it) Furthermore, eating isn't a smart option as the food up there is plainly mediocre and priced to match the altitude. Best to not spend too much time up there. City of Entertainment my foot.

p/s: girl left for Aussie today.

Honey

2009-07-04T02:53:00.005+08:00

As promised, here's a photo of pooch #2; Honey the Schnauzer. She doesn't look much like a Schnauzer but I promise she is as Schnauzer-y as she can get (according to what my girl says). Every time I come across the ubiquitous line, "honey I'm home", I can only imagine being greeted by this little one. It should be a federal offence to not fall for such adorableness.

I have to admit that this photo is laden with some major distracting elements but I also like how The Curly One blends into the much "distracting" background. What say you?

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On another note, my McAfee SecurityCenter is expiring really soon and the reminders are horrifyingly disturbing as they tend to pop out almost every hour or so. And I expect the reminders to be even more annoying after the expiry date. Will be switching to Kaspersky soon (just as a precaution; a Windows OS without a proper antivirus is like wearing a skirt without an underwear beneath it) and ultimately, a Mac by the end of this year. All fingers crossed.

Wang Wang

2009-06-30T20:50:00.004+08:00

One of the most 'manja' (in constant need of pampering) pooch I've ever seen. I swear, she has this whole multitude of sly tactics in order to get your attention. My girl's other pooch is coming up in my next entry.

Megan Fox-ified

2009-06-27T04:50:00.006+08:00

This is the main reason why my money goes to Starbucks. Mmmmm caffeine and theanine...

On to more recent stuff; am back from watching Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen and I have to say, it was superbly awesome. However, as a proud member of the nitpicking society, I happen to think the title is rubbish. My next few lines might contain spoilers so you've been warned.

You see, the "Revenge Of The Fallen" doesn't go with the whole story at all considering that the Fallen only had a short screen-time and he wasn't even a key character to begin with (the whole storyline can work with or without him). Not to mention, The Fallen fell yet again at the end of the movie (just in case you didn't catch that, he died). And that's hardly a revenge by any standards. Perhaps, "Failed Revenge Of The Fallen" or "Megan Fox Is The Bomb" would be more befitting, no?

p/s: it's astonishing how much publicity can be garnered from a celebrity's death. remember how Heath Ledger's death gave Batman that extra bit of publicity? mind you, that's the kind of publicity movie makers can't buy. anyway, R.I.P. MJ

Woke up at 4am

2009-06-19T05:37:00.004+08:00

Now what could be possibly worse than going to bed at 3+am and waking up at 4am? Oh right, being unable to bloody go back to sleep. I tell you, my sleep pattern's going to murder me one fine day.

...ugh I'll probably just go down some cereal.

It's been a while

2009-06-17T15:10:00.006+08:00

Briefly met up with these bunch of people last week at this place serving some weird-ass desserts (It's a place called Snowflake located in SS15). It's been a while since I last saw some of them and I have to say, some things just wont change no matter how much time has gone past by. It's nice to see you all after so long though.

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p/s: fixed my archives and added some 'Older posts' thing down below. However, I'm only allowing access to 2009's entries and the 'Older posts' thingo is quite the con job as it'll only display 33 of my latest posts. I don't have access to Blogger's actual function as I'm not using their new template.

p/p/s: special mini-section for SmellyJelly

CF card - a type of memory card I use for the Canon EOS 5D.
Write speed - was referring to the 'speed' of the memory card.
RAW - like JPEG, it's a format the camera uses to save your photos. Will be using that format from now onwards.

Just married

2009-06-14T00:23:00.002+08:00

Apologies for the minor disappearing act I've pulled off. Been busy with a few things lately and not to mention, am also distracted by a few unfortunate happenings. Nonetheless, all is still well and everything will be back to normal in good time. Chillings. Furthermore, dad helped me score a cheap 4GB CF card. Write speed is decent but who needs blazing write speed when one can slowly enjoy creating them pretty photos? (am making my situation sound better, shut it) Plus, I don't have to work with only 512MB of memory anymore. Which means I'm capable of going full RAW from now onwards, yay me.

Equipment: N95

One of my high school friends' getting married. This would be my first friend's wedding I've attended. Quite a weird experience I have to say as the gravity of the whole situation didn't really hit me until after the lunch. To think that we are all so far from where we were, I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic with a hint of excitement (honestly, who wouldn't be excited when there's buffet?).

Perhaps it'll be trite but necessary to add that I would like to wish the newlyweds all the best and be nice to each other (hahaha). Wonder who's up next...

Irked

2009-06-07T14:30:00.007+08:00

"I prefer taking photos of people because shooting cars are damn easy. Just shoot the front, side and back. What's so hard?"
- Brendan Lee

Perhaps it's paramount to point out that the phrase above wasn't directed at me (I hope so), just heard of it from someone. One should not so openly talk big when one has only achieved so little. So easy huh? I challenge you to top this Mr.Brendan Lee. I know, it's a lame pun but I intended none.

Mmm sugar

2009-06-06T03:30:00.007+08:00

Equipment: EOS 5D MkI, EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L, Speedlite 580EX and last but not least, my Nokia armed with Python for S60 (more on this later).

I'm writing this with obscenely high sugar levels in my system and I have a feeling it's going to be a loooooooong night. What better way to kill the night than to sit here and type and type and type gibberish. Ok that killed 23 seconds. What now?

Anyway moving on, this is not how you do proper food photography. My results aren't exactly satisfying but I don't have much of a choice anyway as I had to return the 5D in due time. Additionally, my lack of tripod is an even bigger bit*h than I've previously thought. So the lack of time and tripod both adds up to these;

Kinder Bueno by Ferrero. Smooth nutty cream filling in crispy wafers coated with milk chocolate. Was nuts for these ever since I was a kid. Can finish a whole pack in seconds. Proper proper awesome this is (yes, you have no frigging idea where Kinder Boenos stand in my Awesome Chart).

I see so many faults with this shot. Like how the front M&M's are blurred out and how the red M&M somewhere in middle is deformed and how the M&M's are not smooth enough and how the M&M's are not shiny enough and the way they taste....mmm M&M's

Oreos with milk, lots and lots of milk = yet another childhood craze.

Anyway notice the background. It's actually my N95. Used some Python for S60 thingamajig to make the whole screen go white. Stupid programme it is as the screen goes dark after being idle for a few moments. Hence, brownie points goes to a similar programme found in the iPhone as the iPhone is brighter and the screen doesn't go off till the battery's flat (hate it when iPhone wins).

p/s: would be great if I could have more time with the 5D *sigh* :( *munches on remaining Kinder Bueno to soothe my aching soul*

2009-06-03T04:42:00.003+08:00

Frozen can of Cola. Light from the flash too harsh. No good. Rectify it I shall. (didn't have a chance to rectify the issue due to the contents' um, 'sudden' disappearance)

My watch. Been wearing this for about 2 years now and I have to say, it's an absolute delight. It's a Fossil watch (not too sure on the model name though) and it has a leather strap with some printing on the inner sides. Tiny details, I like.

Both were shot on a plain surface against a plain background with emphasis to lighting. Do take note that lighting has the priority this time, not the subject nor background. Am not exactly happy with the narrow depth of field but it's not that big of a bother.

Anyway, these are just test runs for my new set. Going to be trying something new and I'm really looking forward to it. New set will be ready and uploaded by the end of this week, I hope. So stay tuned! I like it when I'm so darn full of ideas. Now where's that Moleskine I need...

Redang

2009-05-30T19:47:00.009+08:00

Note: photo was taken using Lee Quin's camera.

The Redang trip was great (despite a few minor grievances). However, there are no photos as I didn't bring along a camera. The plan was to go on a vacation, not lug around some sh*t expensive (and not to mention, dead heavy) camera and babysit it throughout the trip.

Here are the highlights from my Redang trip composed by yours truly;

Anyone familiar with the likes of ostentatious rainbow leggings and F.I.R. would undoubtedly enjoy the "open air seafood disco" at Long Beach. Endless loop of China songs and a China DJ for you to dance your night away. Epic fail. On a related note, have a gander at this Friendster club. Oh the irony.
Saw a couple of turtles, a butt-ugly moray eel and a shark while snorkeling in the clear blue ocean. Proper awesome.
For the first time in my life, I was well acquainted with seasickness. Though I'm not the biggest loser in the group. Honestly it was a bad bad decision on my part to down 4 half boiled eggs right before a snorkeling trip.
The ocean's absurdly clear. Can even see my toes even when the water level is up to my neck. Definitely a new experience from the usual "teh tarik" Port Dickson and Penang waters. More proper awesomes.
And finally, sunburn on your back can be real nasty especially if you have wonderful friends who suddenly discovers their love for patting your back. My back's burnt to a crisp and I an now an Indian according to this loser.

Krispy Kreme Malaysia

2009-05-24T19:21:00.006+08:00

Kirspy Kreme. Overrated to a certain extent but still good nontheless. Best part is the fact that it's quite cheap over here (still quite expensive for our local standards, I know) considering the amount this idiot paid for 2 dozens of KK in Japan.

P/S: The blogger will be away in Redang till the 28th of May. Too bad you won't be able to feel the sand in between your toes while having the sea breeze ruffle up your hair nyahaha sucks to be you. *ahem* Yeah, it's going to be a blast.

Porks and dogs

2009-05-23T21:40:00.003+08:00

EDIT: I've realised that postscripts are supposed to be POST-scripts. My bad.

Drove down to Klang for some good ol' pork in a claypot.

Subsequently, was acquainted with Goldie the labrador whom I believe is a chicken in her past life. She was terrified of me most of the time despite my repeated attempts to be all nice and harmless. (the other dog was busy being even more terrified of me)

Another photo of goldie just because she's so cute. (no that's not my leg)

P/S: Photos were taken with a 5D and omg I so frickking love shooting in RAW!