Last week a hopeful image of the so called "Nikon D700" was "leaked" and the news spread like wildfire amongst photography sites, forums and personal blogs, mine included of course. This was a picture that was posted up on Engadget on the 25th of June. It looked really real and this is something that we might have predicted or imagine that a smaller full frame sensor Nikon camera would look like (to rival Canon's 5D of course).



That was posted on the 25th of June. It took only 2 whole days before the real news was unearthed. Yup, suspicions were true, it was just a photoshopped D300. I guess this is one of the banes of Photoshop! Grrrr.



The real image was actually up on Flickr over here. Here is the image of the original shot which was actually a Nikon D300 all the while. And no, it wasn't my D300 that I shot!



Like the title says in the Flickr image, "Awwww....no D700 after all".

I had my hopes up really high, only a couple of hours more before I can call this so called rumour that Nikon will make an announcement on the 30th of June a true blown rumour. Anyway I am sure a lot of people are still expecting an announcement from Nikon soon, whether it may be the D700 or the D90 or the D3x, who knows what Nikon has in store but for sure we would find out something by September.

My fingers are still crossed though. :P

I am very excited and pleased to announce two awesome looking websites with super cool graphics and so many things which isn't in my technical vocabulary! Ok, enough of that, let me introduce to you two new and recently launched websites, Integricity Visuals and Wedding Story.

What makes these websites special? Well if you did check out my previous post on a wedding I shot, perhaps upon closer inspection of the watermark I created might give a sort of clue to all :)

Ok, that was a lame attempt to hide the fact that I am really excited to be part of the team shooting weddings and events. It is an honour to be able to work with such skilled and artistic people and at the same time, learn from them on the way. Being a part of this team is a great challenge for me as I try my best to not only improve my work and quality but to build more bridges and relationships with the people I work with.

Do check out Integricity Visuals website here to see some of the video and photo portfolios and the range of services offered. Integricity Visuals is actually owned by Integricity Corporation which is the parent company.



Not to forget, Wedding Story as well and the blog over here as well.

Wedding Story is a brand by Integricity Visuals that caters for the tender and passionate moments shared between couples as they waltz down the aisle.

The cool part about this website is that you can view both videos and photos online. Do check out the website for anything related to weddings and engagements.

Alright its back to the rat race for me, so much to do and so little time to complete it. Can't wait for the wedding this weekend where it will be my first time in a long while where I am not shooting the wedding and where I am also one of the groomsmen for the first time.

Until then, I am already late for the wedding rehearsal!

Other related links:

• Window to the Soul

Was over Jenny's and Zach's blog and I decided that I wanted to take this questionnaire as well and perhaps reveal a little bit something more about myself.

1. Four jobs/career aspirations I have had:

• Process engineer (at Motorola during my engineering internship days)


• R&D Engineer (at JVC designing video camcorders)


• SAP Consultant (on the technical side of things which is rather boring for some people :P)


• Freelance photographer (yay! I love to shoot weddings!)

* Sounds like I have very boring jobs beforehand and yes, they were boring

2. Four things I wish I had done earlier:

• Learned photography earlier so I could have taken more photos during my days in the UK/Europe area


• Took exams for my guitar classes


• Taken a motorbike license


• Studied economics and finance

3. Four places I have been (listing my favourite places):

• Czech Republic


• England


• Australia


• Phuket, Thailand

4. Four countries I would like to visit :

• New York, USA


• South Africa


• Brazil


• New Zealand

* If ever I get to go to these countries, I would have been to all of the continents in the world!

5. Four of my favorite dishes/snacks:

• Chicken rice


• Pizza (not the rubbish we get from Domino's or Pizza Hut)


• Carbonara Pasta


• Roasted pork knuckles

6. Four of fav. desserts :

• McDonald's Banana pie


• Banana chocolate smoothies


• Peanut butter smoothies


• Chocolate strawberry ice-cream

7. Four sites I visit daily:

• Gmail


• Facebook


• Blogs (photographers and friends mostly)


• TheStar.com.my

p.s. I actually visit a lot of sites, so much that I rely on Foxmarks for all my URL bookmarking needs. I have two accounts, one for work and for personal. Both have different sets of URLs :D

8. Four software applications I cannot live without:

• Firefox 3 (daily surfing and email)


• Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop (mainly for my photo editing)


• µTorrent (for all my *ahem* *ahem* needs)


• Microsoft Excel (mainly for work and church stuff)

9. Four favourite drinks

• Diet coke/Coke Light


• Ice Lemon Tea


• White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks


• Czech beer

10. Four things you may not know about me:

• I am a very shy person! (At work I am a totally different person though, confident enough to speak to a crowd of 100 and above at meetings with no problems but when meeting new people, a little shy sometimes)


• I like to read Archie comics and Asterix comics (I got all of the Asterix comic collection and about 120+ Archie comic books. GIve me a buzz if you want to borrow some of them)


• I still play the guitar, bass and a teeeny bit of drums (Although I sold my electric guitar to fund for my Nikon D200, I still have my acoustic guitar at home to play once in a while)


• I am in need of a confidence boost most of the time (I am usually very worried and nervous before any of my photography assignment)

So for all of those who are reading this post, I am tagging you to blog about yourself as well. Don't forget to link back to my site as well :)

"The Best Firefox Yet" screams the title on the page of Mozilla's latest offering to their web browser, Firefox 3. With features such as 15,000 improvements and also faster surfing, everyone is of course interested in finding out just how fast the improvements are and what are the newer features.



Being available for download a week ago, I decided to put hold on this blog post about Firefox 3 until I have tried it for a while before writing this post.

To me, its just another browser which I do hope that it is more reliable and more secure as I do plenty of online activities such as buying cinema tickets online as well as my personal banking activities. Although I haven't really had the time to test them out, there are a lot of new tips and tricks with this new version of the browser.

At the mean time, I haven't really noticed much improvement in terms of sites loading because of my erratic internet connection back home where sometimes its blazing fast and sometimes its just crawling. Also I can't really test it out at work as the connection speeds here are very fast and its not easy to just perform some tests (thought I would like but I can't install anything on my work laptop).

The one thing which I thought was an improvement is that the fact the "Back" button is bigger, hence I can easily press back faster. Other than that, the one thing I like about the new browser is that when I sort my bookmarks by name, it actually groups RSS links and normal links separately. Previously I would have a folder in my bookmark with all the RSS links and some random links here and there. Whenever I did a sort by name on that folder, it just sorts everything by name. Now it separates them which is better!



Anyway, if you are already a Firefox user, this upgrade will be worthwhile. Else if you are still using Safari on a Mac, there are reports that Java still loads faster on Safari as compared to Firefox 3. The article goes on to say that if you are already comfortable with Safari, maybe it might not be a push to migrate over to Firefox.

p.s. I just installed Firefox 3 on all my PC's at home lest for one more.

Every now and then I have been hit by ephipanies mainly in regards to photography and of course, more precisely, the whole area of wedding photography. As I sit back and sometime take stock of what I have gone through, I realised that it has only been a little over a year that I picked up my first DSLR and started in this world of shooting and capturing images, or perhaps one might say, painting with light.

My first initial thoughts at that time was that I wanted to shoot awesome and breath taking images such that I can garner praise from around but is that the underlying intent that I was seeking for? Was that the whole truth behind me shooting, trying to gain the acceptance of my peers?

Of course that kept hidden within my subconcious and I furthered my "hobby" by attending workshops, buying more equipment and volunteering my services in order to improve on my portfolio of photos. I guess the big snag now in the area of photography is the term "volunteering" or perhaps "free services". This is in relation to when a photographer gives out free services in order to practice or perhaps they would like to build their portfolio.

Debates on this topic has been going on everywhere around the world and most professional photographers feel that hobbyists and freelancers who undercharge tend to spoil the market.

• Free is Killing Me!


• Doing Free Jobs...Is it Helping our Friends or Killing the Market?


• I shoot for free coz I love photography...
  

I shall leave some of my comments at a later part of this post.

Some excerpts from one of the articles,

Next time you're in the local hardware store, ask the salesman to give you free tools and tell him in return you will tell all your friends you got your tools from his hardware store.

Or try it at the grocery store. I can see it now, standing at the check at line:

"That we be $102.85, sir."

"You don't know me but I will tell everyone I know to shop at Ralph's if I can just get my groceries for free".

"Sure Mr. Brown nobody knows about us yet, here's your food and have a nice day!"

I am sure most professional photographer will think this way and yes, people undercharging will definitely spoil the market out there. With the proliferation of cheap DSLR's, more and more people are starting to buy them and begin their photography career. The more there are hobbyists out there, the more they want to shoot and that is a good thing! Heck I started just like one of them.

Then comes another problem, well I can't really say that they are problems but more and more professional photographers out there (especially the wedding photographers), are beginning to see more and more people entering the wedding market. Of course competition is always good for the consumers but is it really true in the case of wedding photographers?

Take this for example, Grant Corban is a famous wedding photographer and he wrote an article in a forum here. Here is part of what he wrote.

I meet a lot of people at weddings who are keen amatuers who may have just bought a DSLR and think a friends wedding is the ideal place to test out their skills. This is prompted because two weeks ago two fools nearly ruined a mutual friends wedding coverage, and when I saw their photos posted on flickr I nearly choked. These guys had, after being told by the couple to stay out of our way, jeopardised our coverage in order to not only shoot but to publish snap shots so bad that if I had shot them I would be selling my camera equipment immediately.

So being on both ends before, I do know that there are some photographers who take situations like this as a part of their job. I mean, you definitely can't go up to one of the relatives to stop shooting or perhaps (God forbid) that you start scolding them and pushing them away.

Of course after a while it slowly becomes a norm and you tend to get used to situations like these, well, I am to be frank and I take it as another challenge.

A lot of times, questions do pop-up in my head. One of them is that I always wondered if I will ever cover the cost of the money spent on equipment and workshops. The problem is that I keep wanting more lenses but at the same time not caring about the ROI (return on invesment). Until now I have been controlling myself, refraining from buying excessively. That on the other hand has stemmed another thought within me.

Part of my other job is to constantly look out for potential areas of risks and then figure out how to overcome them. The habit of finding ways to overcome obstacles has indeed been mentally implanted in me thanks to my company's training and all but this lead to me thinking on how to overcome my need for more camera equipment. So out of this scenario, I came up with some ideas such as charging for shoots and finding more paid jobs online.

Slowly this has led to me being in a loop where I shoot for money rather than passion. This really didn't hit me until I read this awesome article, written by David Ziser.

It’s Friday and a quick check of the calendar reminds you of what you already knew - you have a big wedding on Saturday. How do you react to the calendar reminder - is it just another darn wedding, or is it news that fires you up with the photographic possibilities of the day. Many photographers I meet are pretty excited about being involved in wedding photography. But too many other photographers I have met over the years answer with a negative attitude, and that is just too bad. Too bad for them and too bad for the client who has hired someone who may not put their heart and soul into the job.

What makes a good wedding photographer, or better yet, what makes a complete wedding photographer? What do I mean by complete wedding photographer? I mean a photographer who is involved enthusiastically from the first consultation till final delivery of the product with his/her client. I mean a photographer that’s on top of their form both artistically and creatively. I mean a photographer who understands the craft of the profession as much as the art. I mean a photographer who brings their heartfelt passion to the profession, to the event and to the client - they love what they do.

Read the full article here

This really spoke right straight to me and yes, sometimes I do admit that my attitude determines my altitude no matter where I may be or what I may do.

Now I feel that I have so much more to work on and I got so much more to learn. I can't wait for my next shoot!

As much I would love to keep all of my own desires deep within my heart, slowly trying to bury it in such a way that it takes forever to claw its way out into my nervous system, especially the ones that make me buy impulsively, sooner or later, they keep clawing free! I need something new to release all that built up tension of cravings!

Of course it doesn't help that I read gadget and tech news daily but there are these few things that keep haunting me to purchase. But so far, I have been able to resist well enough and saved a little bit of cash as well (even after spending in my last trip). Anyway here are some of the items that constantly get shot about my brains.

#1 - A spiffing new Nikkor zoom lens (Nikon Nikkor 70-200mm AF-S VR F/2.8 lens)

This baby costs a whopping RM5,900 and I still can't justify it's cost yet. I need to get at least 6 confirmed wedding shoots first before getting one of these bad boys.

#2 - iPhone 3G

This baby was recently released by Apple and being a new Apple fan and having tested out the hyped-up HTC Touch Diamond yesterday (I wasn't impressed at all by the lousy touch interface and slow moving graphics), this is the phone to be lusting over. It's interface is to die for and it is still slim and sleek. No news of it being officially released yet in Malaysia but priced at USD$199, it is so cheap for a phone packed with so much features.

#3 - Nikon D700

The last craving I had for a camera body was the awesome Nikon D3. Now this camera cost RM14,500 alone just for the body but it was one of the best high ISO performer in the market. The latest round of rumours appeared to be the upcoming Nikon D700 and it is supposedly the cheaper variant of the D3. Still in the rumourmills, I am awaiting for Photokina in September for Nikon to either say that its just another hoax or something they would launch to rival that of Canon's 5D Mark II. Expected price for this baby is RM9,000 and its still within reach!

#4 - Drobo (My own storage robot)

I have been contemplating about getting Western Digital's Mybook and setting up a backup storage device for all of my work and photos until I set my eyes on Drobo. It is meant to be a highly intelligent backup device which checks the integrity of the physical hard disks inside it. Priced at USD$449, its not something cheap but how can you put a price on all the work that you have worked on, right?

Anyway I think I have had enough of my gadget lustings, looks like its time to get back to the real world and where money doesn't come in easily. Hopefully one day I might be able to afford these beauties but realistically, when that time comes, it will already be obsolete!

I wanted to post these photos up on Tuesday initially but a high fever got the better of me. So instead of working and getting my changes into production this weekend, I ended up lying in bed, resting and resorting to loads of medicine to cure my fever and flu and headaches.

The few days I was in Perth was really good. Weather-wise it was near perfect except for the 2 days where it rained but other than that, the sky was just so awesome. The air was so fresh and the temperature was perfect!

Thanks Munz who brought me around and became my tourist guide, I headed over to Fremantle on my first day to see the sea and also the markets about.



Over there I tasted some of their famous "fish and chips" at Cicerello's and it did taste nice but honestly, I thought the ones in the UK were nicer. It was about the same as the ones that I had in Sydney previously though.



The sea seemed so calming and there were so much activity about the pier with loads of people lining up to get their food and they had this fantastic system where once you ordered your food they hand you a buzzer. Once your food was ready, the buzzer would buzz and prompt you to collect your food. I guess you can't really have it here in Malaysia because everyone would just nick it.



The one thing I admired about Perth was that the public transport system was so efficient and we travelled about easily without a hitch except for that one occassion where I had drive a friend's car down south to find this secluded macadamia nut factory. Wait, was it walnut? Can't really remember because the ones that I brought back was quickly gobbled up by my dad who thoroughly enjoyed them.



One interesting point I would like to make was that I saw this street basker who was rather unique. First of all, he is playing the bagpipes. Scotland is way off but here is this guy playing it with his lung's full capacity but not only that, he plays it to the background of ROCK music.





Of course after looking at those photos above, it makes a lot more sense now, right?





For more photos from my Perth trip, do visit my Flickr set for higher resolution photos as well.

Yes I am back from Perth. I learned a lot of things about Western Australia and how kangaroo meat tastes like beef if cooked correctly. I also learned not to listen to vet students when they talk about how scary some animal's meat can be and all the diseases that come with it. Will blog more about my trip over the weekend but its back to work for me. Hundreds of emails to catch up on and plenty of post processing to finish.

Heading off to KLGCC later today for a meeting, Boon thinks I am going there to play golf.

Hah, gotcha!

Yes I am in Perth at the moment enjoying the great food and the amazing company. Will definitely blog more about it but at the mean time, here is a shot I took from the plane on the way to Perth. Managed to get some cheap flights on Tiger Airways. Thank goodness that Air Asia now flies to Perth as well.



No, its not a HDR shot. Just tweaked the photo in Lightroom and added the watermark in CS3.

Food onboard Tiger Airways are slightly cheaper compared to Air Asia and if you are comparing dollar to dollar, it is rather affordable for Singaporeans. Anyway the stark contrast between Singapore's Budget Terminal and Changi Airport is just the same between our own LCCT and KLIA.

I need to sleep soon, early day tomorrow with expected showers.

I shot Albert and Serina's wedding together with Grace as the second photographer a month ago under the banner of Integricity Visuals. It was my first wedding I shot after Louis' workshop in Penang and also after the recent Charge Up conference. Raring to try something new, although it was only a wedding dinner, I tried to remember what I learned and apply it to this wedding.

And boy, did I really enjoy myself together with Kareem and Choon Ean who were the videographers that night. Its such a blessing for me to be able to work with Grace, Kareem and Choon Ean who are all so talented.

Here are some my favourite pictures from that night.








High key shot of the lovely couple



















Wonderful dance performance by one of their good friends



Bride's sister's band who performed for the guest during dinner. The band is seriously good!





Aerial shot from the upper floor

Overall, I had a fantastic night. Although some might say it was a half day shoot but shooting from 5pm till about 2am is not exactly a half day if you asked me. Tiring? Yes. Was it totally worth it? Yes!

I think I managed to put in at least 5% of what I have learned. Looking forward to applying another 5% more in my next shoot. Will be posting up the next series real soon! I got a wedding and a pre-wedding to post process.

More photos of this wedding can be seen here on my Flickr page.

Ok, so I don't have a Ferrari to sell. Not even those small little ones which were being sold like hotcakes at Shell petrol stations. What I am about to sell could be a piece of my mind about the recent petrol hike announced yesterday.

I am sure there are plenty of blogs, newspapers and other media sources screaming the headlines of RM2.70 (which is the new 40% increased price of petrol), and in tandem, I shall be screaming that as well. Frankly, an increase like this is expected to happen. If you ever thought that petrol prices will not rise then you really do live in a dream world.

Part of the increase in petrol prices, our local Government hope to save billions of dollars. The previous petrol hike was to save the government billions of dollars. The same reason was given again that this increase in prices will help the Government save money.

Abdullah said that although the restructuring would result in consumers having to pay more, prices were still lower compared with Singapore and Thailand.

He said the Government would save RM13.7bil through the restructuring.

Quote: The Star - Petrol price up by 78 sen - and will be reviewed monthly

Since the last increase, I don't seem to see any improvement in our local transport system. The LRT is still jammed and crammed as ever. I don't see new routes or even construction on new routes. More and more complaints have risen from delayed busses and the traffic gets worse everyday.

So what happened to the money saved from the previous petrol price hike? I don't see anyone cheering about more efficient bus routes or less errant cabbies.

Conspiracy theorists have predicted that by September, the government would face a challenging trial. I wonder if this whole saga of a petrol price hike could be part of a larger overall plan. Who knows? Only time will tell.

Anyway, I pumped petrol this morning. Price paid for 34 litres, RM90+. Man this sucks.