So what's coming soon? Read below to find out more.



Over the past few weeks I have been shooting some cakes for a client and although it was one of my first product shoot attempts, it was very rewarding. Namely, all the sample cakes I get to bring back and eat. Trust me, they are superb, 100% better than those factory made Secret Recipe ones.

These photos are meant to be used for their website so until the website is up and running, I shall keep mum on the whole thing and slowly post some teaser photos here.

Anyway, if you are interested in ordering cakes for events or parties (I know I will be), do drop me a note and I can pass on the contact number.

It was rather fun shooting for friends. I guess from my usual group who are rather camera shy, this is a huge leap in terms of getting them to pose in front of my camera with studio strobes next to them.







Frankly, I am not too satisfied with my shots because I lack space in my house and there are just too many distractions in the pictures. Also I feel that if I weren't so rushed for time, I could have taken better photos. But for the mean time, they will have to do. Hopefully, the might be a part 2 to this post.

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being poisoned by someone who owned the legendary (well, I consider that legendary to my own standards) Nikon D3. If you must know, the Nikon D3 is a hell of a camera and its hefty price tag (RM15,000 for just the body alone) turn a lot of people away.

Image source: Dpreview.com 

Anyway back to my poisoning story, yes, the camera is an incredible feat of engineering and I was so blown away by its weight and the quality of it's images. I was busy shooting at ISO 3200 and it looks just as clean as my D200 shooting at ISO 400-500.Perhaps, if I stop spending my money on soft drinks, snacks, McDonalds and KFC, I should be able to get this baby in about 3-4 years time.

For those of you who want more info about the picture quality of the Nikon D3, you can head over here, here and here.

This week (starting from last Saturday) has definitely been a whirlwind of events for me. Time has definitely been of the essence for me and I am trying to squeeze in as much time as I can to improve my photography skills as well as keep up with my other responsibilities. Firstly I had a product shoot last Saturday which lasted the entire day, followed by some events on Sunday.

Tuesday saw the beginning of me starting my jogging sessions at Cyberjaya (preparing for the KL International Marathon) as well as shooting my friends playing badminton.

Wednesday, although it was a public holiday, I had to post process and create a DVD for Donald and Adeline in time before Chinese New Year.

Thursday was packed with another jogging stint at Cyberjaya lake (8km) and a profile shoot for a couple of CEO's. Alright, they are business partners but since they are my good friends from high school, I shouldn't hype up my shoot. Frankly, I could have done better and be a little bit more professional. Otherwise, I need to start bucking up.

But it was last night which I received some very interesting news. Will probably share it here but until its confirmed and I signed on the dotted line, I am keeping mum on this.

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me, working the entire day shooting a wedding and Sunday night will be another shooting session. This time will be my first family portrait session. Can't wait to learn and experience some new things.

On another note, Joshua will be back from the UK so I will definitely want to spend some time with him, catching up. More shoots to come? Well, my project milestones are coming up, 3 key milestones in the next 3 weeks.

I thought I would share some of the photos I took at the recent CYZ congregation last Friday night. Wasn't officially shooting the event but I just thought it would be good for me to put into practice what I learned at my recent photography workshop.

Here are some of my favourite shots.



Drum roll!


Team huddle!


Trying to portray a grunge look for the electric guitar effects pedal


Spotlight on the lead guitarist


The lone backup singer at the side where no one can see him


Candlelight shot with the lead singer behind


Candid shot of a shy singer

Anyway no shots of the food but just some shots of the activities we did during the last FLARE gathering. As Dexter did say, it has been a year since everyone from the group manage to have a get together. With half of the group studying in Australia and the other half busy working, I guess I did feel old amongst them.


Lemuel acting cool


We-Ki teaching Dex how to cross the line of normal social boundaries


Dexter must be wondering who it was as his comment was, "Wah the skin so smooth, must be a girl!"


Whose reflection is that?


Group Photo

Check out the rest of the photos at this link.

Time and time again people have been trying to measure one's level of competency, thinking and physical prowess but when it comes to photography, an area where people who did not study art as their major and yet take breathtaking shots, how would we measure them? By the quality of their photos, well, to different people, some photos may look nicer.

Well, Ken Rockwell has come up with his own method of measuring photographers and not only by the results they produce but more towards on their behaviour and styles.

What do I think about myself? I think perhaps I am at level 1. I definitely need to take more time to shoot more photos. Lately instead of taking photos, I have to balance my time between post processing photos for a cake shoot I am working on for their website, a pre-wedding shoot and finally a wedding I took in December. I really hope to have more photos up here soon so do check back.

Why bother going to the gym and going for facials when you have a nifty little tool such as photoshop?

Before


During this time period, a large amount of time was put in with energy being moved from one side to another side. Oh what the heck, I just moved my mouse, played with a bit of masks, cloning tool and of course the liquify filter and voila, smooth skin and a thinner me :P

After


Ok, frankly speaking, I need to start running as I have put on quite a bit of weight. Anyhow, its late and I got way too many photos to post process.

I finally gotten around to checking some of my folders in my PC only to find out some photos which I took but totally forgotten about them.

Ok, your friend is carrying an iPhone with its super cool and sleek interface which makes you go "ga-ga". Everyday you look at your own Windows Mobile device and wish that it could turn into an iPhone or you would have some super cool application. You try to search the web for an iPhone skin for your PDA/Phone and hope that it works.

You install the application, you try to turn it on. Nothing works! Your phone starts to overheat and smoke is coming out from your speakers. You drop your phone as the burning sensation overcomes your pain nerves. At about this point you would probably know that I am bullshitting but nevertheless; you would want your phone to burn up as it will give you an excuse to ask your cousin staying in the US to get you that super cool iPhone.

Well I can't really help you to fulfill your desire to have something sexy and sleek but this application which I found out about could perhaps give you a little something to drool over for a while. Head over to PointUI.com and you will know what I am talking about.



Yes, I am talking about an application which works with our Windows Mobile device available on the web. And the best thing about it, (definitely a pull factor for most Malaysians) it is absolutely free!

Pointui Home is Free

We're nearing launch so we decided it was time to share the good news, as you would have guessed from the heading, Home will be free. There will not be any advertising or catches attached, plain and simply free. If you see value and wish to contribute by way of a donation then you can do so through the PayPal link on the product page.

If you don't believe how smooth it is, check out the YouTube video of it.





Unless you are super patient and will be willing to wait for the upcoming Windows Mobile 7 which will focus on touch screen capabilities and motion gestures.

Check out this link to see more pictures of the new WM7 interface.

All right, I haven't been updating this blog as frequently as I would have hoped for but nevertheless; here are some of my latest updates.

• I am completely worn out


• I got a huge backlog of photos to post process


• I am taking more than I can process


• But I am totally enjoying myself in the midst of all this busyness

This new year is the year where I definitely got to get things moving whereby I don’t just sit down and do nothing but to go out and find opportunities, opportunities to create wealth, opportunities to build relationships and opportunities to move forward.

The year started slow for me, mainly because of a heavy workload as well as my own part time work. I shot a wedding on the 1^st of Jan which was part of my practical training together with Zung and over the weekend I shot Chia Yong and May Tjin for their wedding website (more of that to come).

At the mean time, I am rushing to complete two sets of photos, one for Donald and Adeline and the second set is for the couple I shot on the 1^st of Jan. To the rest of the photographers this may be a way to showcase their work and get it commented, but for me, I am actually taking this as a test and hoping to get some sort of work coming my way from Zung.

The next bit of work would be for me to process my cake shots. Its good that the client has already narrowed down the choice of photos and it is definitely better to just selectively post process 10 pictures than sorting through 300+ photos and then randomly processing them.

Tonight there will be a bonus section where I will be going with the rest of the class to the night market at SS2, where we will be honing our shooting skills under low-light conditions, constant moving of people and most importantly, being discreet so that the DVD vendors don’t come and bash us up.

Taking all my knowledge from past shoots and from the last four lessons, I aim to create a series of photos tonight that portrays a certain theme and feel. I have some ideas in mind already but tonight will definitely be tricky. My setup will be just a simple 50mm f/1.8 with no flash. Probably going to shoot at around ISO 800 – ISO 1000, but it will suit my theme.

I know I haven’t been posting up photos lately but I promise I will do that tonight once I am done with my assignment.

I want to take this time to wish everyone a very blessed new year. Another year has passed and we can usher in a new one with much hope and something to look forward to. Well, for me, I have a lot to look forward to. But before I start looking forward, let's take a step back and reflect on what happened in year 2007.

1. Missed all of my last year's resolutions :P
   
   
   
   • Losing weight = failed!
   
   
   • Run a 1/2 marathon = failed! Only achieved 10km runs :P
   
   
   • Properly save money = failed, didn't achieve target!
   
   
   • Practice my guitar = failed, I sold my guitar to fund my new passion.
   
   
   
   


2. Broke up


3. Became broke by becoming in a huge debt


4. Found God


5. Lost God in the midst of flurry


6. Halfway through SOL 1


7. Got promoted at work


8. Found new and old friends


9. Found munZ


10. Started a new hobby/passion


11. Invested in my new hobby/passion and shot 3 weddings this year


12. Joined Facebook - sounds sad isn't it?


13. Lost some sort of my passion at work and in church


14. Found out that a lot of my friends are getting married

And the list goes on and on. 2007 was definitely a year where I can reflect on but should not dwell on but to look ahead. As I begin my next ritual of writing my 2008 resolution, perhaps there is something I can plan better as 2008 promises to be good year ahead, and as Ps. Daniel said during watchnight celebration, 2008 will be a year of multiplication.

1. Multiply my relationships with God, family and friends


2. Multiply my passion for God


3. Multiply my passion for building and strengthening relationships


4. Multiply my gifts and skills which God has given me


5. Multiply my abilities and resilience at the workplace


6. Multiply my wealth

Nothing comes ever so easily from God and as many people would say that a job won't fall unto our laps but we have to take the effort to look for one believe that God will provide us with one. Therefore, in order to achieve all of that above, I have to put in the effort and believe God will be there for me.

1. Spending more fixed time with God


2. Spending more fixed time with family and friends


3. Sharing more openly with friends


4. Practicing hard with my camera until it becomes an extension of me


5. Learning to save money as well as spend it wisely


6. Be bold and have confidence in the skills and gifts which God has given us


7. Find and continue to look for ways to invest money

And the list continues on and on. But until then, HAPPY NEW YEAR. My feet is killing me, just followed Zung around today of ThePhotoz.com for a wedding shoot. Real fun and definitely a very good learning experience for me.