New month, new layout, new plans

Hey guys,

So finally, it's May. Its been a while since I last updated my blog as I've been busy shooting at work due to the fact that suddenly, everyone is explaining their plans for the new year. And it seems that blogger has a new interface for the user. Not used to it, but I quite like its simple design though.

So... Lets start off with what I've gotten recently, actually, last month.

So 3 packages came.


My stuff

One thing were the slippers I were waiting for to bring to the office when my boots are soaked or when I want to take a shower and well... Length wise they did fit nicely, but it isn't easy sliding in, no idea why they made it so short for size 13 which is what I'd usually wear, so I've made a note that if I'm to buy the same slippers again, I'd have to get size 14.


My slippers with my feet

I also got my book which is written by students of Dean Collins which show cases images and explanation about it by Dean Collins and students. After watching some videos by him, I'm intrigued by his teaching. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago, before I even heard of him... But his work will live on.


Photographic Global Notes

Also. my forth light stand is here. Interestingly, despite being the same model, the errmmm... Locking pin or something, is different, the stud is also different.


My current light stands

My new light stand

Regardless, it works fine and just the same since I'll be using either an umbrella head or justin clamp on it. So yea... I've recently changed my laptop battery and am now testing it, its not a lot better, but at least I've got mobility to move from one spot to another though I don't have mobile computing capability anymore. Not what my ASUS G73 was designed for anyway.


Yesterday, I made scrambled eggs for the first time. It wasn't fantastic but it ain't bad either, I quite liked it, provided I had more black pepper though...


First time making scrambled eggs

Next week, I'm going to catch The Avengers with my ITE classmates, so excited to see them again and watch Avengers. We're going to be a little bit slow though but no matter. What else... Oh! Just the other day, I dropped my D3 on the floor when it was resting on my bag. Stupid mistake but well, the extra money spent on the D3 over the D700 was well spent, nothing happened to the D3 and its working just fine! In about a week, I'll finally have enough to get my Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII lens! Like finally! I can't wait! Also, seems like more photography jobs are coming in which is fantastic! I can't wait to share my work here. I'm also thinking of shooting dancers from my secondary school. I got to speak to the respective teachers of the different dance group though...


I also finally found a place to get PVC pipes and pretty much in the final stages of doing my modular light panel. This year would certainly be another interesting year. Also, as of today, I officially have 1 year, 3 months and 1 day till ORD. Can't wait for freedom!


A few weeks ago, I installed a new hardware in my comptuer and my computer crashed again... So I restored everything, and a few days ago, I took time to dismantle my computer and completely cleaned it. Removing dust from fans, components and heatsink. It was a tiring job. I also reapplied thermal compound on my CPU. My CPU temperatures were about 50 over degrees and it has now dropped back to 45 degrees. And now my PC is quiet too! Unfortunately, I dropped my graphics card. Fortunately, it works fine! I also rewired my entire PC especially the power cable and now, it looks so much neater when you look inside it through the side view window. I've updated the caching software for the Crucial Adrenaline and for about a week plus, its been running smoothly withou any issues. I'm very pleased with the way my computer is running now.


Recently, Google released Google Drive which is similar to Dropbox, which I find is pretty interesting and good, they give 5gb starter for free, and its quite affordable for more storage. What else... I guess that's all actually... Will update more when I have more and seriously hoping I can pull off what I want to do (photographically). Have a good day everyone!

Some Updates

Hey guys!

So some updates since my last entry. My Crucial Adrenaline caused my computer to crash. All my data cannot be accessed because boot mgr cannot be found. Reformatted, reinstalled and recopy all my data, so this time, I backed up using Acronis Backup & Recovery. Lucky for me! Before I continue, some stuff. Some packages came the other day, irritated this time because DHL was slow to update and when I got home, they apparently had tried to deliver but failed. Then the next day then they updated. So irritating...

So well, here it is.

My packages as it is



What's inside



PCIe expansion card



Manfrotto Umbrella head



So anyway... back to the story, it worked fine for some time until my package came, and I inserted the PCIe expansion card, start up and it was fine, shut down a few hours later. The next day boot up since it was early and watched Kung Fu Panda Legends Of Awesomeness, then shut down. At night came home and watched another episode of Kung Fu Panda. Halfway through, blue screen came out, tried to restart and I got cache drive issues, disable and the same problem came up, boot manager missing and cannot be repaired. So I tried to rescue some videos but it couldn't be read, so had to reinstall and then copy the backed up image and back it up. So now I'm trying to find the videos again but at least everything is more or less there, albeit some stuff missing and in the midst of reclaiming.

Will be getting a 1 or 2 TB hard drive to act solely as backup and a new Manfrotto ballhead in June. Excited for it! The Manfrotto umbrella head was surprisingly heavy. but it was pleasantly solid. I attached it to my lightstand and the super clamp to it and imaging using a boom arm and will, it should work for the light panel is the 3x3, 3x6 and 6x6 configuration. After a while, I realized I put on the umbrella head upside down... Silly me... Anyway, that's all for now, hope I can get done with some crap in the office soon, feeling extremely unmotivated. I should do something to relax... Have a good weekend everyone!

Been far too long

Hey guys!


So yea... Its been quite some time, mainly because I haven't had much of a social life recently. Didn't get anything, didn't do anything, didn't shoot anything (for personal enjoyment) so I've been quiet lately. Also been planning my finances to get stuff and for the future and well, a month and a half more and I'll have my Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII lens! So excited! Then very soon, I'll have my final theory test and then start my driving lessons, hopefully I'll be able to get my driver's license at the end of the year, that would be the best Christmas present to myself! And I might travel overseas, but that remains to be decided though.


So anyway! Yesterday some of my packages came, I ordered quite a bit of stuff mainly because I need them. I'll update as they come but yea, on to this group of stuff!


My packages



What's inside



So yea... First things first! I got a replacement Seal Lead Acid Battery (SLAB) for my Quantum Turbo Battery pack since the cell inside is pretty old and needs to be replaced. That's what I was told anyway. I've replaced it and now it works! In fact, as I'm typing this entry, its charging at home!


Basically unscrewed the thing, shake it a little and out it came, I opened it 3 times when changing the battery and a small plastic piece came out each time, I still have no idea what that plastic piece is for or which part it came from, but it didn't affect the usage of my battery pack so I don't really bother. As long as it works without any issues

The internals from the front



The internals from the top, look at that battery! IT'S HUGE!



The wire connecting to the battery, not really easy to slide onto the new battery, and a little hard to pull on one of the connectors on the old battery



Top view of the new and old batteries side by side



Front View of the new and old batteries side by side, looks exactly the same! Other than the sticker of course




So... Next thing... The Crucial Adrenaline Cache SSD. I backed up my desktop the moment I got home, I didn't even take photos and etc, I just backed up first as I've read some stuff that the cache SSD can cause corruption. So anyway... I backed up, then at the same time I changed the battery pack and took photos of everything in this entry, and well, I was reading the box and the contents as well, very interesting and awesome!



Top of the box



Back of the box, idea of cache SSDs, pair an SSD with a hard drive and use aoftware like Dataplex and some other stuff is printed on the back



One side of the box, I find it interesting cause I thought it was going to be like, a lid or open from the side, but nope. Its pretty much like Apple, so you slide it out then open it, I quite like it cause it makes packing neater, but unnecessary but really nice of Crucial to do that



Bottom of the box, I blacked out some stuff as I've no idea if its important but I just did it in case it was



Smaller boxes slid out, nice eh?



Crucial Adrenaline Cache SSD box, inside its anti static bag, in one of the box



SATA Cable, bracket and screws, located in the other box, one thing about the bracket, I remember Linus on NCIX Tech Tips on Youtube saying that some are flimsy, so I tried this, it isn't, it's solid!



Out of the anti static bag, nice looking SSD I must say, though I think I like Corsair's Accelerator design a little more, but for the same price, the Crucial called out louder with SATA III standard (a little more future proof for me, coupled with good reps for SSD though Corsair ain't bad either)



Closeup of the SSD, interestingly, its a product of Singapore, so if that were the case, it made a round trip



In its bracket ready for installation using the 2.5" bracket that came with my computer case




After backing up, I had to shut down, opened my computer and navigate through a mess of wires (not exaggerating) and plug in the power and data. I had to sacrifice my optical disc drive temporarily until my PCIe card comes. My new computer is planned such that it will be bigger and use a higher end mainboard to support the technology at that point int time. After everything was plugged in, I turn on, initialize the SSD, install the Dataplex and restart. I know that it supposedly starts caching the moment it restarts after installing the Dataplex software, so I timed it using my watch and put into a tablet below.

Hard Drive	1st Boot	2nd Boot	3rd Boot	4th Boot
Without Cache SSD	8 mins 30 secs	Not tested	Not tested	Not tested
With Crucial Adrenaline Cache SSD	Approx 3 mins 35 secs	Approx 1 mins 02 secs	Approx 1 mins 03 secs	Approx 1 mins 34 secs
Laptop's Corsair Force 3	Approx 40-45	Not tested	Not tested	Not tested

Its timed from the time I see the boot logo (Gigabyte and ASUS) until MSN Messenger, Firefox, iTunes and Outlook were loaded up which is what I normally do when I start my computer up. I didn't use the Corsair in my desktop simply because it was in my laptop, I don't have a test work bench and I'm not required to do reviews to that extent. But I digress so back to the matter at hand! 1 boot after everything has been installed for my ASUS G73jh, it took approx 40-45 secs to bootup, type my password, login and start up. One factor could be that my laptop might be using SATA 3 but I'm unsure. For my desktop just based on hard disk alone, with a Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 64mb cache, it took about 8mins 30 secs to be able to scroll in a useable manner, and it isn't even smooth. With the Crucial Adrenaline, it was cut down to approx 3mins 35 secs, 2nd and 3rd boot slightly over a min. Not sure why 4th boot is slower but I did leave it on over night for about 7 hours? Shut down and plug in my cables and drives because my mother spilled some water last night and hence I cannot plug in the cables after installing the Crucial Adrenaline in. I rebooted by shutting down, waiting a few seconds and turning it on again. Regardless, its still extremely fast! One thing though, they say about power outage will cause issues. I did that unintentionally because I accidentally turned off the main power, but its still working fine! One thing I really have to say, good job on providing the Dataplex key on a separate card, apparently, OCZ prints the key on the drive itself, if I copied wrongly, I'll have to remove, check and reinsert in that case, but Cruicial provided an external one so yay!


Anyway, moving on! I also got a Manfrotto Super clamp for my DIY light panel as well as Joe McNally and David Hobby's Flash Bus Tour DVD which I couldn't attend because they only toured within the U.S.


Manfrotto Super Clamp, looks cheap in its original packaging



Apparently the real deal according to the design of the sticker, beats the Justin Clamp, it came in a box and doesn't have anything else, looked like someone just took theirs, threw it in a box and mailed it, no matter!




The Flash Bus DVD



So yea, that's all the stuff for now, I'm still waiting for some stuff to arrive at the forwarding service and will have them shipped over ASAP. Also, I recently did this in the office, a 3D rendering of the light panel I'm planning on building, still sourcing the materials though...





It's suppose to be somewhat modular, by using different joins and lengths of PVC pipes, can make 1m by 1m, 1m by 2m or 2m by 2m. I've seen some DIYs but theirs are mainly one fixed size or meant to be very fast to setup, I've got time so I'm more concern with expandability. Since I'm most likely the only person using, it doesn't really have to be simple, in fact, anyone with common sense will be able to assemble the one I'm planning on assembling. Only the 1m by 1m and 1m by 2m will have a cross bar to be used in conjunction with a boom arm and I noticed the 2m by 2m is so big, no one uses 2 boom arm to support it. If you have space to set a 2 by, most likely will have space to just just straight up light stands so no point getting boom arms for it. I'm still deciding how many boom arms to get though. Decided to get C stands if I ever use monolights, else, the boom arms will work fine with my current light stands and Speedlights though I do need sand bags... So that's all for now! Will try to update more often but due to the lack of a proper social life, might be a little difficult, have a good day everyone!

Got some new stuff!

Hey guys!

So its been a while and well... I've been rather busy recently. Nevertheless! Here's an update on what have I gotten and or been up too, Depends on what I remember. So recently I got my SSD from Amazon and well... A picture is worth a thousand words?


Package from DHL



Whats inside



The contents



So yea, its a Corsair Force 3 180GB SSD. The guy who sold it on Amazon didn't format it and I could see his files, I don't know what to say about that but I just let it be. Sadly... A piece of the drive broke up, it still can be used, just that I have to be more careful when I insert it.


Broken piece



Also, I've decided to upgrade my laptop and I got myself an ASUS G73JH! So I removed the Western Digital Caviar Black from my ASUS F8Sn and used it as a secondary drive for my G73. I used the Corsair SSD as my main hard drive.

Installing the hard drive



Installing the OS



So my laptop's battery is completely dead and I read that to revive the battery, put it in the freezer, so its been in there for a couple of days, will take it out next week and hopefully it works! I love the G73, its been pretty good. Pretty fast with huge screen! I got a new bag to go with the laptop since my Lowepro Compurover is falling apart and apparently it doesn't hold the G73 very well.


My new laptop bag



Targus Citygear Backpack



Will write my review for both the SSD and the bag on Amazon soon. Also, recently my previous office got 4 foam boards, kinda sad since on all 4 of them, both sides are white. But I guess I hardly ever really need to flag light so it'll do for now, else I'd probably just paste black paper or something on it.

V-flats (poorly taped, I know, but it works!)



My colleague as my test model



As can be seen, it works pretty darn good. Most likely will be sticking to it for full body shots since we used hot shoe flashes and I've decided not to get studio lights for now since I have to study and I hardly use it, will use more hot shoe flashes first.


So recently I've been shooting with the Nikkor 80-200mm AFD with the D3 and wondered why it was out of focus quite often. I did a test last night and determined that there is focus misalignment when the lens is paired with my D3 but since I'm getting a 70-200mm f2.8 VRII in May (for sure!), it doesn't matter whether the 80-200 works well in the futre.


So Corsair recently just released the Accelerator series and I'm waiting for June to arrive so I can get it provided there are good reviews for it. I just saw that the software also had some updates which claim to solve problems that the OCZ Synpase had but since I don't have any, I can't verify. I can only base on the experience of others and review sites before I decide if I should get the Corsair Accelerator SSD. I can't wait as my desktop is seriously slow in starting up as compared to my laptop now though my laptop has the best technologies in my home at the moment. I seriously hope all will go well and I can boost the speed of my desktop! =D


That's all for now, will post another entry when I have more stuff to talk about as I don't remember what else has gone on so far. Have a good day everyone!

Been awhile

Hey guys!

So yea... What can I say? Nothing much has been going on recently. I bought a Targus bag recently to replace my Lowepro bag which shows sign of wear and tear and I fear for the life of my stuff inside, so it's going to be used strictly to carry camera gear when I have to, otherwise my laptop and daily life will fall on the new Targus bag. Still waiting for my Corsair SSD to reach my U.S address so I can ship both together.

I'm still waiting for Corsair to release the Accelerator series so that I can give a speed boost to my desktop. Damn them! Why can't they release any earlier? They say in Feb will be out and it nearly the end of Feburary. Any way, Very soon, I'll be able to afford a Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII! I'm so excited for it! Looking forward to getting the D800 probably next year or in 2014 so I can shoot stuff that would require a higher megapixel count as well as videos (if needed). Not so keen on the video part.

So recently, my brother got a puppy, a black Labrador to be specific. She's so adorable! But very chompy? She likes to bite, and I recently got a scratch looking mark on my left hand because of her hahaha. She's grown up since I last saw her a couple of weeks ago. This is her



Adorable and very energetic. I can't imagine how would she be like when she's full grown though =/

So yea, recently been feeling unmotivated, and well... I guess I've gotta find motivation in what I do, probably get started on those personal shoots I've been aiming for. I was at the library yesterday and I saw a book on shooting with available light and I realize that I've completely forgotten about shooting available light, since I've been shooting so much with flash, flash has become my available light. So I've decided to find a day to go out after getting my 70-200 with my F5 and D3 to shoot available light only, as little post processing as I can.

Last Saturday I also went for this event, invited by my old classmate Dylis, its called Boot To Aid. Its an event where people go for exercise and like, I guess one can call it pay? But its more of donate and all the proceeds go to SPCA. I went there to shoot since I can't really exercise and well... Its tough shooting without a telephoto lens, but I made do with my 24-70. Will see if I can upload some pictures here as well as my website after I'm done processing them.

I also aim to do a little more photo projects this year, or series rather following a book I borrowed from the library. Along with my portfolio shoot. Would be interesting to see what will I have this year. I hope that the number of photos shot a year would increase from last year. I've been given a project in my NS office and I'm quite excited to see where I can go and what I can do since some of the places are well... Not really accessible to most folks. Will link if I can!

I was recently listening to Switchfoot's "Where I Belong" and the following lyrics made me think:

Until I die I'll sing these songs
On the shores of Babylon
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong

Where the weak are finally strong
Where the righteous right the wrongs
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong

I thought about those lyrics, and I find that it holds true for me, and I want to see the world change for the better. Too much crap going on and if we're to survive, we have to change what we think, let go of anger and hatred, hold on to respect for each other and kindness will follow. Some food for thought





Till the next time, have a good day everyone!

Some Updates

Hey guys!

So yea... Nothing much to say since nothing much happened recently. I've decided to get a SSD for my laptop as the final upgrade for my aging ASUS F8 which should last me until 2014 when I get my new laptop. Also, I just got a new bag from Targus as my Lowepro looks like it cannot handle my daily usage soon, so I'll just use my Lowepro when I need to carry photographic gear with laptop. The SSD I got is a Corsair Force 3 180GB SSD. I also looked into SSD caching technology which apparently, only OCZ has it and Seagate with its momentus. And I learnt that Corsair is coming up with its own SSD caching set to come out in February. Its February now and still nothing, hope it comes out soon so I can get everything one shot and upgrade my desktop as well! In about a month plus, I'll be able to get my Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII. Will post my thoughts on it after I get it. And recently, my stuff came.


All my stuff



My Outdoor Research Crocodile gaiters



My new poncho, have yet to open to use yet



So interesting, Equinox printed a drawing of a terrapin



My new belt, tough like my SCDF belt, but softer in that it can bend



Those stuff were opened but my mother, then a few days later, I got my paper trimmer.


In the box


Opened



The paper trimmer not really easy to use, not sure why can't I get straight lines, but I'm sure I'll get it sooner or later. That's all for now, will update more once I have more stuff to talk about. Good day everyone!

My thoughts on the Olympus OM-D E-M5

Hey guys!

This post is about my thoughts on the new Olympus OM-D E-M5. Phew! That's a mouthful to say. Its supposedly the pro PEN despite its name being from the Olympus OM film SLRs.


What can I say... It bears a resemblance to the Olympus E-5 as well as its ancestry in the OM series. The front looks ok but I personally hate the back. Too much screen and too little buttons. I have operated the OM cameras before, while they're light and great to use, I can't see myself using them for long periods of time due to their small size which makes operation a little bit tough.



Credits to Imaging Resource


The camera has and OLED tilt screen which isn't too bad, its touch screen as well from what I've seen. It has an EVF, no built in flash (bummer, as I like to use it for wireless flash). It's not much bigger than the OM cameras and with the grip, it looks like I can hold it quite nicely. However, I feel that it won't give the same feeling as using a bigger DSLR and shoot. This camera is weather sealed and probably will be the ultimate upgrade for a hobbyist if I were shooting my family. But as an aspiring professional, there's nothing wrong with it, its just not my cup of tea.


I don't foresee myself getting this anytime soon since my old E-P1 still works just fine, though when the E-P1 is beyond repair and if this camera is going cheap, I may just get it to replace the E-P1, but just as a for fun camera when I hang out with friends, it'll never be able to replace my workhorse at the moment, but whether it will in the future, remains to be seen. I don't have much to say except that this camera is pretty similar to the flagships from Olympus DSLR line except in a smaller package. Whether I'll get it again depends on what goes on in the future. But at the moment, I'll concentrate more on photography rather than camera equipment. Good day everyone!