A couple months back I was in Maldives and it was absolutely amazing. I will leave the activities and the location where I stayed for another post here. Anyway one of the key things which I realize, one, I should have planned my stay to be longer and two, I really do need a tripod especially when shooting landscape photos.

Here are some of the landscape photos I took at the various times of the day.



One thing which still mesmerizes me is that the water is so clear here. No teh tarik colours which we get from Port Dickson. You could just see the seabed through the water.



Another amazing point is how blue the sky was. Shooting during the day was an absolute joy with the exception of the heat and humidity.



Throughout my stay there, I was really fortunate to have great weather. It didn't rain a single day but the week before I arrived, it was raining almost everyday. I checked the weather forecast and was really praying for good weather when I arrived there.





Below are some of the chalets where they are built on stilts above the water. One of the best things about staying there is that you can just jump out from your room and into the water. If you could see closely at the image, you might be able to see two specks in the water, who happen to be two guests who were staying at the chalet and enjoying the water.





The next couple of shots were taken during sunset which provides a warmer feel to the images.















As mentioned earlier, because I didn't have a tripod, it was tough finding a flat rock where I could balance my camera and capture the images below at long exposure values.



Throughout my stay there, it was extremely windy and because it the winds were blowing at such a high speed, the clouds are blurred out due to it's movement.



The last photo shows the air taxi landing. Because the Maldives are made out of thousands of small islands, the only way to travel about is to travel via speedboat or air taxis.



Watch out for more posts about Maldives!

It's currently day two now here at Bangladesh and although I really wanted to write a blog post whilst I was in the airport yesterday, the internet connection at LCCT was horrendous. Anyway its the same here in Bangladesh as well, I hardly get any internet connection so it will be brief posts and updates.

Anyhow, the experience here is a real eye opener! I have never seen so many mosquitoes before in my life. My first encounter with the swarm (yes, thats how many there were) was at the airport. I could literally feel them flying onto me and hitting me whilst I was walking about. Same goes for the place I was staying as well and my left hand alone had more than 10 bites. No worries, we bought (we meaning Andrew and I) a mosquito repellant as well as a diffuser to run whilst we are sleeping. The repellant was excellent, Mortein to the rescue! I sprayed the room earlier and I already see 13 dead mosquitoes lying on the floor.

So much for those bloodsuckers!

Anyhow, the shoot is gonna start soon so I better best prepare myself :)

Registration Info 2011

Conference Dates:

17 - 20 March 2011 (Thursday morning - Sunday evening)
Conference Venue:

DUMC Dream Centre,

2 Jalan 13/1, Seksyen 13,

46200 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor, Malaysia

Click here for directions and map to conference venue on DUMC's website.

Click here to see where DUMC is located on GoogleMaps.

Streams:
A1. ADVANCED SOUND
B1. BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY

B2. INTERMEDIATE PHOTOGRAPHY

C1: VIDEO PRODUCTION

C2: VIDEO POST-PRODUCTION

D1: BASIC DESIGN (limited to 30 participants)

E1: MOTION GRAPHICS - AFTER EFFECTS (limited to 15 participants)

E2: MOTION GRAPHICS - FLASH (limited to 15 participants)

F1: 2-DAY MEDIA FOR SHEPHERDS TRACK

Conference Fees:

Regular rate:

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM400
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM450
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM500

Group rate (4 or more in a group):

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM350
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM400
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM450

Student rate:

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM300
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM350
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM400

2-Day Media for Shepherds Track:

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM100
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM100
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM150

Note:

* Conference fees include 10 meals and 1 t-shirt & does NOT include transportation or accommodation.

* Delegates from out-of-town will need to make their own accommodation arrangements.

* Delegates whose registrations are received after 17 February may not be guaranteed their shirt sizes.

* ChargeUp! Conference is being held at the end of the Malaysian school break in March, and there will not be a Bolt Youth Media Camp in 2011.

Registration & Payment Process:

1. Register online here.

2. Make your payment by depositing cash/cheque or transferring funds into the Livewire Media Sdn Bhd account, or by credit card (incurs an extra RM10 fee per registration).

3. Email your proof of payment to talk2us@livewiremedia.org with subject heading "ChargeUp! 2011 payment".

Payment by Cash/Cheque:

You can deposit cash/cheques at Maybank ATM kiosks (Acct: 514271253491), then email a digital copy of the deposit slip to talk2us@livewiremedia.org after you have registered online. Cheques should be payable to LIVEWIRE MEDIA SDN BHD.

Cheques can also be mailed by post to:
56, Jalan BM1/4, Bukit Mayang Mas, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Payment by Funds Transfer:

You can transfer funds into the Livewire Media Sdn Bhd Maybank account (514271253491) via ATM kiosks or online banking services. Then email a digital copy of the deposit slip to talk2us@livewiremedia.org after you have registered online.

Payment by Credit Card:

https://pay.integricity.com/livewire

Note: Type in "CUC - your name" when asked for Transaction Code / Invoice No.

Please include an extra RM10 fee per registration for payments by credit card.

Confirmation of registration

will be sent upon receipt of proof of payment AND submission of registration. Please note down on your fax, email or image of your transaction slip your name, mobile number & cheque/transaction number. If you're paying for a group, please also list down the names of your group members accounted for in that particular payment.

Participants below the age of 18

are required to submit a signed Parental Consent Form.

For Further Enquiries:

talk2us@livewiremedia.org

or call Goh Choon Ean (+6012-2687795) or Saw Poh Sim (+6016-4050353)

As it is now the 3rd day of the new year, I can't help but really look forward to whats to come this year. It may seem to be a busy year for me, but then again when I look at what is to come, I definitely need to take the time to start planning out what needs to be done and what I do hope to achieve.

Right now, these are some of the things that I plan to achieve and have already made plans for it.

• Submit photos for international competitions (been putting this off for way too long already). I missed out a couple of competitions already but if I want to submit them in, I want to do it properly and not submit it in for the sake of submitting them


• Travel to the US with Munz and check out Disneyland, Las Vegas and San Francisco


• Apply and get Unifi installed for the apartment!


• Get new lights for the apartment, some ceiling hanging down lights and floor lights as well.


• Print out my own wedding photos and buy frames from Ikea to hang them around the apartment


• Move my stuff (files and documents) including my computer from my parent's place to my new apartment


• Update my blog more often and complete the new design and layout for this blog (yes it is still in it's experimental design stage)


• Post up all the posts that have been in draft state since May last year! Yes, that is how much of a procastinator I have been :(


• Post more photos on my blog!


• Learn how to shoot cars! Starting with my car then hopefully start experimenting with other cars.


• Reach the Diamond league in Starcraft 2 for 1v1. Managed to reach the Diamond League for 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 already so I have one more final hurdle to overcome.


• Save more money and invest it!


• Consider upgrading the BBK kit, perhaps the Golf R kit


• Consider getting the Golf R LED rear lamps


• Consider getting the APR Stage 1 Remap


• Drive through Sepang Circuit with my Golf TSI (of course with an instructor :P)


• Sell more iPad cases


• Sell off my original Atlanta 16" Rims


• Lose some weight, I have been setting ridiculour targets for me previously so this year around, I shall be taking it easy and steadily as well.

I will be heading off to Bangladesh this coming Thursday for a week long wedding shoot there together with the Stories team. Can't wait for that as this will be my 3rd overseas shoot.

And last but not least, Happy 2011 everyone! May this year be a very fulfilling year for you all.