CNY ’10: Day 1

Posted on February 26, 2010 by allen

A little recap on how my Chinese New Year was like for year 2010. It’s pretty much a routined day, just like the previous years.

Coincidentally, Chinese New Year Day 1 falls on the same day as Valentine’s Day this year. So, at night, you’d see couples patronizing restaurants in town, enjoying buffet dinner, which could cost as much as MYR128++ (that’s the price listed in Pullman’s cafe/restaurant). And most likely, you’d see a bouquet, if not a stalk of rose, in the girls’ hands.

Here’s a gallery for your ease of browsing through the photos.

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Ten Years After

Posted on February 23, 2010 by allen

It’s been quite a busy Chinese New Year this year. After leaving high school for a decade. We’ve decided to come up with a gathering of a larger scale. Something big. It was quite a tough task to make this happen, with most of the people in Kuching busy with their own stuff and work, and the organizer isn’t actually based in Kuching. Nevertheless, kudos to Hui-Nee whom made this possible. And thanks to those who turned up that night. There was a total of 27 people turned up, not exactly full attendance. But, it was well beyond expectation.

It was nice to meet you all again. We should do this again soon. And, hopefully, more can turn up to this gathering. Let’s make it a better one next time!

Image note: A group photo of us, ten years after leaving the school. Take 1, 2 and 3. And I wish I have a wider lens. It was even harder to take this shot, with my faulty Speedlite. I’ve sent it for repair yesterday.

Naked Flash

Posted on February 7, 2010 by allen

I was asked to covered the backdrop shoot for the guests at the Blackberry event sometime last year. It was a different experience for me. As soon as I got the job, I realized what the challenges are for me. Nevertheless, I still take on the challenge positively.

My biggest constraint that night was lighting problem. They placed the event backdrop in an open space, with little available lighting. At the same time, I only have two flash guns available, one Canon Speedlite 580EX II, and a Nikon SB-900. I don’t have lightstand, I don’t have umbrella, so, it spells trouble for me. I had to make do with what I have available. I mounted my Canon 580EX II onto my tripod (My tripod was a faulty one, it can’t stand at full height), and then placed the tripod on top of a table. The Canon 580EX II was placed to the right of this photo on a higher level. It was naked, without any diffuser. I directed the flash diagonally towards the other side of the backdrop (to the left of the photo), and set the speedlite to M mode.

To light up the left side of the photo, I could only placed the Nikon SB-900 to a lower level (compared to the Canon flash), and enabled the SU-4 mode, also setting it to M mode. The output here is lesser than the one from Canon 580EX II. I put on the diffuser onto the SB-900.

I must say, I wasn’t really pleased with the outcome of the photo, but that’s the best I could do with what I have that time. Hence, it means that I gotta invest on lightstands and umbrella pretty soon.

Last but not the least, I must thank Andy Phe for taking the photo of me and the usherettes that night. Lovely ladies, and working crew.

Getting Myself Familiarized

Posted on February 6, 2010 by allen

If you are in town, you will most probably seeing me carrying my latest lens around the town. Forgive me for flashing such a huge (though it’s smallest in its class, it’s still huge) lens around. It’s my habit and routine to get myself familiarized with the lens first, before I can really make most out of it.

I’ll share the rest in the album right after this. It’s been a while since I last use the album feature too. So, here we go:

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There are some shots which were taken with my Sigma 18-50, and they are stated in the description.

Gears Expansion

Posted on February 5, 2010 by allen

I have recently upgrading my arsenal, and bought some accessories as well. The last time I purchased a lens was in August 2008. I bought my Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 back then. So, after about 18 months, it is time to get a better tele zoom lens. Initially, I wanted to get a prime 85mm first, but after much thought, I’ve decided to go for tele zoom.

Being with Canon system, there isn’t much choice. There’s only one range to go for now, which is the 70-200mm focal length. There are 4 choices to choose from this range, f/4 with and without IS (Image Stabilization) and f/2.8 with and without IS.

EF 70-200mm f/4L USM

Ideally, I would have wanted to go for f/2.8 with IS, but that lens is way out of my budget. I can’t afford it. So, in the end, I’ve decided on getting a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM. It’s the most affordable 70-200mm on the market. Nevertheless, the lens is superb, producing excellent images. I took snapped a few of my friend’s mini Gundam at his place at high ISO. If it were to use my older lens, 90-300mm, the noise is highly visible. However, that is not the case here in the sample images below:

1/60 | f/4 | ISO3200 @ 200mm

1/60 | f/4 | ISO3200 @ 135mm

All the images above were shot at ISO3200, and without flash, without enhancement. It’s straight from the camera. I have posted some test shots in my Facebook account and my Flickr too. Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM is available at Shashinki for MYR 2,950.00 (Canon Malaysia), or MYR 2,850.00 (Import).

I have also ordered another few accessories, here I’ve added a Think Tank Photo Pixel Pocket Rocket, which is a CF card holder. Pixel Pocket Rocket can hold up to 10 pcs CF Cards. It’s pretty safe to use, as you can hook it to your clothes or bag.

Think Tank Photo Pixel Pocket Rocket

I got Think Tank Photo Pixel Pocket Rocket from Shashinki, and it is available at MYR 60.

4GB CF Sandisk Ultra

Think Tank Pixel Pocket Rocket

I also bought SanDisk Ultra CF 4GB, well as replacement to the 2 pcs I dropped recently. SanDisk is also available at Shashinki at MYR 108.00.

Also, I’ve bought myself a Lowepro lens case for my Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L lens, and Lowepro’s Lens Case 3 fits well. It only costs MYR 107.00 at Shashinki.

Lowepro Lens Case 3

EF 70-200mm f/4L USM inside the Lowepro Lens Case 3

Withe the lens case, it will be more convenient for me to swap lens when I cover wedding or events. It can be very handy.

And last but not the least, I have also acquired a Phottix Battery (for 50D), and with that additional battery, I can shoot more images with one charge. I don’t have to worry about running low on battery on critical moments. Phottix Titan series battery is available at only MYR 48.00. It proves to be a cost saving solution for me.

Phottix Battery

Lastly, I wish to thank Shashinki’s team for the fast response to attending all my order in such a prompt manner. It has been such a pleasure dealing with them. Thank you.

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Tag Archives: february

CNY ’10: Day 1

Ten Years After

Naked Flash

Getting Myself Familiarized

Gears Expansion