Some updates

Hey guys!

So yea... Basically didn't do much on Tuesday and Wednesday since I was working.

On Thursday, I went out to sell my Spyder 2 Express (as I'm upgrading to X-rite iDisplay 2) and my BOSS distortion pedal. After that, I went down to Bras Plaza Arts Friend to get a piece of foam board to DIY photo mat my pictures. I then went back to Queensway Secondary school to have lunch as well as pass to the school the CD with the photos of sports day. I also donated all my drum sticks to the school's military band!

After that, I went back home and took a shower before I went out to meet Melanie to go to Switchfoot's concert!

One of the best photos taken during their first concert in Singapore!


Didn't get any pictures this time. I wasn't in the best position nor do I have the right gear. Even if I did, I can't shoot anyway. Man... Switchfoot's concert this time was much better than their first one. Considering their first one was already amazing, this was beyond any words that I can think of to explain! It was just... Wow... Seriously!

So yea... Today I woke up waking for my package, while waiting, I cut out the foam board to do my photo mat.

The big piece


My final pieces cut out!


So basically, I cut out for 1 4X6 print and 2 5X7 prints! It was surprisingly easy to cut out foam board so I might not be getting a mat cutter afterall! Then my package came!





So yea! My 3 shirts and my 2 books! I really love my 3 shirts! I left in the afternoon for Singapore Arts Museum as we were having our thank you dinner there. It was great seeing everyone again! And I got this!

Noritsu lens brush


Well... It sorta worked... But I guess it won't be seeing much action as I usually use a micro fiber cloth speaking of which, I washed mine today. Hopefully it still can be used. So yea... That's all for now. Oh! Just to share a song, "Your Love Is A Song". Its acoustic by Jon and Tim Foreman, Enjoy and good night world!

Quick update

Hey guys!

So yea... Nothing much happened... Last Thursday was Queensway Secondary School's sports day 2011. Shot it mainly with E-3 and 14-54. Good Friday didn't do much. Spent most of my Saturday trying to get Rizal's Macbook working with sound but failed until I installed Windows 7 which today I tried and I got Call Of Duty Black Ops to work! XD

So what else... Today my packages came!





Quite straight forward. I watched finished the DVD by the way, not long after I got it. Surprised DHL actually sent it today since they said they'll bring it over on Monday :/ But yea... I'm actually wondering what happened to my other package containing my other books and shirts. Don't think it'll coon so gotta wait... Again... What else... Oh! I sold my VA-1. Sad... I really miss using it. Still considering if I should get the Nikon one though... Oh! I also did the video for Eddie of his daughter dancing. I also did the video for Ganbatte Japan. Currently waiting for opinions before I render the final one.

Anyway! That's all for today! Good night world!

My first Nikkor lens!

Hey guys!

So yea... I'm currently in the office right now (though the time probably listed is off since I created this entry last night :S its 9:14am on Tuesday 20th April 2011). Too tired to blog last night... Anyway! Yesterday I didn't do much. Basically went to work then I left late for Kovan to pick up my new item after which I raced home to get my 35mm macro lens to sell to a guy at Redhill. So yea... I miss my 50-200 more than my 35mm, seeing how I hardly used it.

Left with my trusty old E-3 (:(), 50mm macro and 7-14. Sad to see them go really... But seriously have to move on, I'm halfway there! Someone please buy my stuff! Continuing from my last post about changing my gear. If I were shooting as a hobby or my family, I'd be happy to stay with it until its probably gone and migrate to he PENs but sadly... That isn't the case since as said, I intend to try and turn pro. Sadly... :/

So anyway! My new item is this!




Yup!!! Nikkor 50mm f1.4D lens!

Look at it!


The front element was huge! f1.4! The last time I handled this lens was years ago. Now I own one :D. There was a little dust inside, pretty normal. In relatively good condition, it can pass off as mint in fact! Except the lens cap is wrong... Its not the center pinch one, but well... Since I ain't using a hood, it doesn't matter.

The guy had the box and the bubble wrap (the bubble wrap didn't feel very inflated though :/) and said he lost the Styrofoam, but after opening and seeing and trying to take it out to take a picture for you guys to see, its a bit hard to believe but not of any importance actually. Its a 50mm lens, but look at the styrofoam's "engraving"!



Yep! It says AF28mm f2.8! It seems a little bigger than the 50mm f1.4D though... Oh well! The picture below shows the 2 50mm I own, the 50mm f1.4D from Nikon and the 50mm f2 macro from Olympus. Funny how the Olympus one is bigger and only f2 though they've always pride themselves as making things smaller... Then again, a little unfair since the 50mm f2 is meant to be similar in view to the 100mm but then again... both are 50mm... And then again... The focusing motor is built into the lens for the Olympus one and the 50mm from Nikon is screw driven by the body.



So that's all for now! Will update tonight if there's anything else I wanna say... OH! This morning on the bus, I was reading The Amazing Spider-Man issues 635, the comic ended in quite a lame manner, with Kraven the hunter rising from the dead and Spider-man apparently dying. He dies, with blood pouring from his body, in a 8 legged fashion. Not really accurate, but what I meant was the blood like flows in 8 directions, looking like spider legs. Anyway... GOOD DAY EVERYONE!

Change is abound

Hey guys!!

So yea... I'm tying this entry in the dark with limited power to my laptop. I actually typed out a chunk and I accidentally hit the refresh key in the dark! So now its all gone because there wasn't any draft saved!

Anyway... Thursday I worked so nothing special.

On Friday, I met my friend inn the morning for breakfast before we went to MDIS as she wanted to enroll into that school but end up didn't enrolling as she still hasn't made up her mind.

So I went home after that, packed and left for Queenstown Library to return books and paid the fine before going back to Queensway Secondary for speech day. In 9 years of being with Queensway, I've never see it rain on speech day before. So the parade was canceled. Overall... It ended early... I was kinda ticked as the principal asked the school photogs and myself not to block the way for the guest of honor. I've done my fair share of events to know how to move after shooting. So all but the official hired photographer was allowed to wonder. I even heard that the principal expects photos from the school photogs, but in chasing us away, you can't expect much or anything right? Besides... The guest of honor didn't walked to the meeting room for reception immediately. He came, signed the guest book (at least I think its a guest book), was saluted and then walked in. Plus... From what I heard, the guests were not really supposed to be standing but they had to stand, reducing the number of spaces us as photographers who are meant to be "invisible" to stand.

It was quite a boring affair and somewhat more crowded than I remember... Didn't get much good shots nor much shots actually. I did have 200 plus, but was reduced to 70 plus as most of them weren't good and I didn't shoot much different shots, most are repeated cause it was unglam, plus there wasn't much to shoot since the parade was canceled.

Also! I was ticked off by the reply from Singapore poly. Apparently that when they said that my "GPA was beyond the cut off point", they meant that my GPA is lower than the cut off point, I've asked people with english from A2 to D7, being a B3 myself, my understanding isn't much different from everyone except the only person who got D7 who argues that beyond can also mean bad, which after a while of reflecting, it is true, but not in most cases. One such example I can think of is "you're beyond hope" meaning you're hopeless, however... Based on context, it doesn't seem to be the case. Even people with A2 down to C6 think the same as me...

Honestly... If they had no space, just tell me straight like Ngee Ann did, I'll accept that fact. I heard 2 different cases that one got 2.9 got into some IT course in SP. Another person whom I used as an example in my e-mail to SP, got a place in Republic Poly doing common engineering but was later offered a place in IT in SP. The problem? That person who got a place in RP, like me, is an ex poly student, who has GPA 3.2. I have 3.3! Seriously, what is wrong. SP asked me who that person was, I said I don't know his name but frankly... Even if I did, I wouldn't tell them for fear that they will create trouble for him.

Decided to apply for Ngee Ann Poly next year. Really really ticked off with SP... So yea... Saturday morning my package came from Adorama! It contains my Flashpoint snoot and my "The Language Of Light DVD"! I was excited! I watched the first DVD for about 58 minutes before I left my house to meet a guy as I'm selling my Olympus stuff (more about it in a minute). So I met the guy at Jurong East MRT and then went home after completing the transaction. I went back to watch the remaining of disc one and then proceeded to watching disc 2. It wasn't really education as I knew most of the things, but it was interesting to see the set up and everything.

So yea... I'm selling all my Olympus stuff except my FL-36R, FL-50R, 14-54mm, E-1 and my Olympus E-P1 with the pancake lens and of course my MMF1 adapter. I was talking to my mentor about being left on the shelf if Olympus quits the DSLR race and concentrates solely on PEN and being left with a bunch of gear which if any break down, could affect me badly. So he agreed that I should change to Nikon D300 or D700.

So I've decided to go with Nikon D3 first and probably after getting the needed lenses, I'd get a D700 or D800 with grip as a backup. I'm so excited and hope I can sell off all my Olympus gear. I'll miss them as they helped me learn a lot as well as they delivered great images, but at the end of the day, I'll have to move on... Even though I tell people that its often the photographer that makes the picture rather than the camera, fact is, if I want to turn pro, I cannot afford to depend on a company that is 50/50 kind of future.

Nice eh?



Today Sunday... I didn't do much, I took a nap and woke up and saw the light. Went out with my E-1 and 14-54 mounted on tripod and did another HDR panoramic image. Nothing special though...



Also... I wrapped my 14-54 focusing ring with gaffer tape as the rubber is deteriorating. I also watched "The Suite Life Movie"! It wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad either seriously. Now its officially Monday and quite a number of people I know are starting school. I miss school... That's all for today! Good night world!

Poly results, enlistment, rehearsals

Hey guys!

So yea... Nothing much happened, or rather a lot happened :/ Lets see... Sunday was the last day of fund raising and it was a good day. Though a little bit of problem due to lack of power in the batteries as well as bad weather, but that didn't destroy our spirits! Ganbatte Japan!

After the event, I came home to edit the photos before sleeping. On Monday, I woke up and edited the last picture which was the boys brigade. Bunch of jokers seriously, a lot of photoshop work was put into some especially boys brigade cause they were all not well disciplined. I took 5 images and 1 guy, in all 5 images, looked in 5 different directions! So yea... The images are below, groups in order


National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) 3 shots with the first being the image for colour calibration



Girl Guides, quite well disciplined though a little slow to get everyone together, shot 2 shots



National Cadet Corps (NCC) Girls, about the same as the Girl Guides, they surprised me by having a more girly attitude than the Girl Guides. Also shot 2 shots



National Cadet Corps (NCC) Boys, a little slow but all in all ok. Some jokes wore the wrong hat, in the photo, you can see one obvious joker smiling with the rest all looking pretty serious. Shot 2 frames?



Saint John Ambulance Brigade (SJAB), at least, that's the name I think. Not too bad as well, this shot only of those wearing the uniforms, don't get why their sir say they, being in uniform, cannot sit down for the photo -.-"




Saint John Ambulance Brigade (SJAB), everyone inside now, all the juniors without their uniforms, looks kinda weird to me :/



Boys Brigade, the only group to make me shout at them, sadly... :/


The lighting setup was as so, of course there were more than 3 subjects




So yea... After I settled the images, I went back to Queensway for rehearsals, which was cut short due to the rain. I came home to found out I wasn't accepted into SP nor NP. I've gone through the denial and acceptance phase. My sister's boyfriend said might be because I haven't serve NS. So while I'm pissed, I have to serve NS giving me some to reapply again. But just in case, I'm currently still planning a back up plans to take up private diplomas.

Today, I went to work, then went down to Funan with my family to get my sister a new ASUS laptop, speaking of ASUS, here are some of mine!







Nothing special, so I helped to settle a bit of the setup before being where I am now. Since she was pretty busy earlier on. That's all for today! I'm getting sleepy! Good night world!

Nothing much...

Hey guys!

Lets see... Monday was the last day I blogged... I don't remember much actually... But what I do remember is that there is still no results of my poly applications... I met one of the moderators to pass him my Macbook to copy the photos from the charity event.

What else... I also got an ASUS F8Sn. Its an old model.

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz
Nvidia 9500M GS 512mb graphics card

I bought RAM and upgraded it to 3 and bought an 500GB external hard disk and swapped the 2. In total, I spent like $568. Not too bad, but at the same time, you could probably get a new laptop with the newer processors today for $999? Kinda wasted, but I do like this laptop, so doesn't matter! It can more or less match up to my desktop! The initial specs for my desktop before the RAM upgrade was:

Intel Core 2 Quad Core 2.66GHz
4 GB RAM
1.25 TB hard disk
Palit GTS 250 512MB

Not too much diff, performs pretty good too! So yea... Also! My buddy Malathi came for interview! Hope she gets the job! Most likely I'll be going back to work everyday for a few months till I enter NS to earn some money. Speaking of NS, some of my classmates got their enlistment letter. Nothing has come for me, not my poly results, not some money coming into my bank, not my bursary, not my enlistment letter. Nothing. Zilch.

So yea... That's pretty much all actually. Today I went back to my secondary school to shoot the uniform groups for the school magazine! Pretty cool and interesting to actually shoot pretty big groups! I had to shout at the Boys Brigade cause they weren't really co-operating :/

That's all for tonight! Pictures to come soon! Of my laptop as well as the uniform groups! I'm also doing a 3D model of my company's new office and I gotta complete the video before I go back to the office :S. Good night world!

PS. Just to share with you, Jon Foreman singing Resurrect Me! Enjoy!

Really ticked off...

Hey guys...

So yea... I'm pretty much ticked off because my poly application results are still not out. Everyone has gotten theirs but me. And worse still... I cannot appeal to Ngee Ann Poly due to the fact that appeal date is over, there isn't any space and my results are not out yet! If I want to appeal, I can try, but I'm advised to appeal in December for next year's April intake.

Having chat with my secondary school classmate, I'm worried I'll enter NS the same time he did since both he and I are PES C9L3. He entered in November and if I enter at the same time, how do I appeal for transfer? Seriously ticked off... But as what my friend said, nothing much I can do. So until I actually start schooling, I shall keep on trying to appeal to Ngee Ann poly's diploma in IT. Hope I get in now to make it all easier!

So what else... Didn't do much the past few days... Been fretting over the poly results mainly. Oh ya! Don't watch Sucker Punch, waste of my time and money. Seriously... It was a little confusing and it had a crappy ending...

What else... Oh ya! I was so bored the other day I shot the SB900 for nothing.

Front


Back


Also... My package came today!

My boxes!


My Switchfoot DVDs and collectors photobook with CD and DVD!


My new books!


So yea, I went through all my Switchfoot stuff but the "The Best Yet" DVD. The books I have not gone through yet :D

Joe Mcnally updated his blog about his tour on the flashbus located here. I found it funny. This part here

it’s very tempting to grab his computer while he’s not looking and tweet, you know, “TTL rules!” or “Manual Sucks!” or something pithy like that to his network.

sure made me laugh! And

My morning salutations to Jeff have ranged from “Good morning, sunshine” to “Fuck off.”

reminds me of my brother and I. I sure do miss my brother. That's all for today, got work tomorrow. Good night world!

PS. I thank God for the important people in my life. My mother, my mentor/friend/bro Clifford, my "brother" Hong Yao, my buddy Malathi, my friends Rizal, Hilwah, Justina, my "sister" Jia Zhen,my good friend Vivian. These are the people who have been constant in my life the past few years. I pray that they'll be happy. Amen!

April's Fool Indeed...

Hey guys...

Bad news... Not that I didn't get into poly, but rather, my results aren't out yet because I'm an ex polytechnic student. Seriously what the... How does that make me less deserving? Less important? Something along that line. Other than the fact I've lived poly life before. No idea when will I know mine. I've decided to go to Ngee Ann Poly Diploma in IT if I cannot get into Singapore Poly Diploma in It. Cool eh? DIT. Add a to and you get Ditto! XD Ok... Lame...

Anyway! So today I went back to the office to test some stuff before I went back to Queensway. By the time I got there, the bookshop was closed and so were many of the food stalls. So I actually missed breakfast and had a late lunch. Walked around and waited for my poly results to be out which sadly weren't out again. So I went downstairs while talking to Singapore Poly about the release of results (weren't really helpful by the way). I also called Ngee Ann and they said that it would probably be out on 4th of April after 9am.

So I went outside the office to set up and test the lighting conditions which weren't too bad. 2 locations opposite each other, one for small group, the other for larger group. 3 flashes, 2 light stands, 3 tranceivers, 2 tripods, 2 cameras, 2 lenses. I borrowed my boss's Nikon SB900 to try since I need powerful flashes with wide coverage other than my Olympus FL-50R. It was quite successful and I'm pretty confident of doing at least a decent job now :)

Packed up and came home. I forgot what else I did though... Nothing much actually. I test the SB 900 on my E-1 and well... The results were similar to my Metz, which required some compensation every now and then.

This is how it looks like (front)


(Back) Slow sync flash used in this to achieve the details on the LCD screen of the camera and flash, painted the background black in both, slip shot work


Shot it with Olympus FL-36R in beauty box behind me on the left. Not too bad really the look. Performance? Look below!


SB 900 in Beauty box, it fits! No idea why the LCD is blueish instead of greenish...


Shot with the SB 900 in beauty box, really powerful! Solid too! Made in Japan o.O


Auto mode, direct flash


Auto mode bounced off ceiling, not sure about the colour cast :/


Direct flash auto mode



Bounce flash off ceiling


Bounce flash off ceiling (compensated)


Bounce flash off built in bounce card


The ability to zoom to 200mm is a huge plus! I'm really tempted to get one. I'd probably will after a few months in NS when I got spare cash and when the prices go down a little. Learned to enjoy auto mode rather than TTL auto hahah. I was thinking of getting a Nikon D2x just now. But decided to scrap the idea due to the price. I'd probably get one later this year if I have like 1.2k? And I can find one around that price in relatively good condition. Gotta think of a lens to match it as well.

That's all for today! Going to visit my student's grad show tomorrow! Good night world! Thank God for all his grace!