Weekh Blog

OCBC Cycling

2010-03-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

Chingay 2010

2010-02-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

Went to watch the Chingay with my family and the kids really enjoyed the parade.

Happy CNY 2010

2010-02-14T01:01:00.000-08:00

Wishing all a prosperous Chinese New Year!

Thaipusum

2010-01-30T22:38:00.000-08:00

Thaipusum is an interesting colourful event for photographers. I started shooting near midnight. Went home to catch a few hours of sleep before returning again in the morning.
And since I bought the 24mm L MK II on impulse in the late afternoon, I returned a thrid time in the evening to test drive the new lens.

CNY Performance

2010-01-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Many shopping centres are bringing in performance artistes from China to pump up the Chinese New Year mood. Here's one from Raffles City:

Lions!

2010-01-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

With the new IR almost completing, we will soon have 3 icons of Singapore in one photo frame.

And with the Chinese New Year fast approaching, there will be more lion dances to catch.

Happy New Year 2010 !!!

2010-01-01T03:29:00.000-08:00

Happy new year to all!
Went to the countdown celebration and it was extremely crowded. When I arrived by 10pm, I was already late and was unable to gain access to the merlion and areas by the edge of the bay.
And after the fireworks, it took me almost 2 hours to leave the jam-packed area to catch the crowded MRT home.

Sea Games Photo

2009-12-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here's some of the photos from the Games. Spent most of the time shooting indoor events. Wished that I had more time to photograph the track and field events.

Laos Trip

2009-12-18T05:05:00.000-08:00

Returned from the Sea Games trip in Laos a couple of days ago. It was a short trip but the coverage of the games was very intense. There's hardly any free time to do any travel photography. It was a rare trip whereby I did not get to visit any of the tourist attraction in a country I had visited.

Nonetheless I managed to take some pictures around my hotel on the first and last day morning:

New Toys!!!

2009-12-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

There are many negative feedbacks with regard to the new EOS 7D. They are all about focusing issues and the camera producing soft images. But I finally took the plunge and bought the EOS 7D yesterday as I was not too satisfied with the noise from the 50D. Used the 7D together with the new 200mm f2 (bought several weeks ago but have not been using it) for a test drive this morning to shoot the marathon. Put the cam on 8fps, AI servo with AF point expansion and shooting wide open. Focus was fast and accurate. Of course there are many cases of mis-focus but I wouldn't blame it on the camera. The blazing speed of 8fps nearly filled my 8GB card within 30 mins. But as the shooting rate increases, so does the trashing rate.

My initial impression of the 7D is very positive. Together with the 200 f2, it will probably be my workhorse for the coming SEA games in Laos. And I've to seriously consider getting a few pieces of 32GB for the action.

BornFire

2009-11-29T04:36:00.000-08:00

Bornfire is a street fire performance. The performing artists danced and performed tricks with fire. Upon arrival, I was shocked that the mini outdoor theater was exclusively filled with photographers rather than genuine audience! It was as if it was a photo shot organised by a camera club.

I used a 135mm L lens to shoot throughout the event:

Shortlisted for SEA Games Photo Shoot

2009-11-06T03:35:00.001-08:00

Received a call from Straits Times / Canon that I was shortlisted to join the Straits Times team to shoot the SEA Games in Laos during December. This was a happy and sad news. I was happy that my 2 shots had won the favour of the judging team to win myself a Canon EOS 50D with 18-200mm lens, as well as a free trip to Laos to shoot the SEA games. I was sad as this will disrupt my vacation plan with my family.

Should I forgo my prize and once in a life opportunity to shoot with the press or to spend time with my family? Or arrange to have a family vacation in Laos?

I shot both pics during the Great Eastern Women 10k run last Sunday with the Olympus E-P1 with Lumix 7-14mm and 14-45mm lenses.

Another sad news was that my entries in the Vivocity Photo Contest didn't win me any prize.

Not 1 But 2

2009-10-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

Received a call from VivoCity again and was told that one of my other photo was also short listed under the professional category of the photo contest. So it was not one but two! The 2nd photo was one of my favourite:

The short listed photos will be on display at Vivocity from next Monday onwards before they announce the winners. I'm keen to see the work of the other short listed entries.

Vivocity Photo Contest

2009-10-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Received a call from Vivocity this evening informing me that one of my photo submission has been short listed in their photo contest. Considering that the closing date of the contest was just 2 days ago, they are really efficient in the short listing process!

20 photos will be short listed and only 3 will get to win prizes. And I'm not too optimistic with my selected entry as it is not my favourite.

My favourites are these 2:

Canon Photomarathon 2009

2009-10-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

I went ahead to register and shoot the first theme despite my wife disallowing me to take part. She was complaining that I had been out shooting too often recently such as the 3 days F1 event and she thought I had slim chance of winning any thing from the event.

I rushed home immediately after the first theme Togetherness was announced. I detoured a little and spent about 20 mins shooting the first theme.

I thought it was a pretty good photo and showed it to my wife. She must have thought it was not bad too and hence allowed me to return later for submission and proceed with the 2nd theme MOTION.

I returned home again to shoot and when I showed her the photo and she immediately complained and scolded me for taking such a junk and inappropriate photo.

But by then, I was already half day into the race and decided to continue. To my delight, I was short listed for the first theme. When the third theme ENGERY was announced, I decided to switch my gear from E-P1 to the Canon EOS system. The reason was simply horse for courses.

After I had my ENERGY shot, I returned happily to Suntec for submission. On the way, I suddenly realised that I had shot the photo in RAW. At the same time, I realised that I was also short listed for the 2nd theme! My chance of winning the grand prize for a 8 days Japan trip was high but I need to submit a good pic for the 3rd theme in order to stand a chance. I asked around for a notebook to convert the RAW file to JPG but none was available. Time was running out and I had to call my wife to rush down to Suntec in a cab to pass me my Mac Book to do the JPG file conversion.

While she was rushing down, there was a dragon dance next door. I quickly shot some photos in JPG as insurance. I thought the shots are OK (though not as good as my original shot) and decided to submit it before they close the counter for submission.

My wife arrived and scolded me for submitting such a junk photo for the ENERGY theme instead of waiting for her and using the original intended photo.

True enough, I flopped my 3rd theme. This could have also flopped my chance for a free holiday in Japan!

The consolation was that I won the 1st prize for the Motion theme. :)

Neglected Lenses

2009-10-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

There was an on-going possession in a temple around my neighborhood. Was using the E-P1 initially but decided to use my trusty DSLR gear when I returned later to shoot in the evening. Took the fast primes 35L, 85L and the Zeiss 50 Makkro for a workout. These are some of the finest lens around but have been neglected by me. They are razor sharp even at their widest aperture!

EF 35L

EF 85L

Zeiss 50 Makkro

F1 Nite Race

2009-09-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Had a good time shooting the F1 over the last 3 nights. It was so tiring that I've to take a day off to recouperate and to sort out hundreds of images I had taken.

Used the E-P1 to cover the event on Friday night. It is certainly better than any compact cam. However, it is just not as robust and responsive as a regular DSLR for the fast pace and fast action event like the F1.

EOS 5D MK II:

E-P1:

Canon Photographer of the Year

2009-07-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Got a call from Canon and was told that I had won the contest for the month of June. I submitted the following photo taken during my trip to Vietnam last year, for the June's theme Happiness.

I was also lucky to have won in the month of Mar under the theme Colour:

I've been shooting my new toy Olympus E-P1 for the last 3 weeks and had left my Canon gear in the shelf. So I finally took out my Canon again today to shoot for the July's theme Nostalgia:

The prize for the monthly contest is a Canon digicam. At the end of the year, the photographer with the most points will win the jewel 5D2 + 24-105mm lens! I'm certainly going for it!

Olympus E-P1

2009-07-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Bought the E-P1 as soon as it reached the retailer shelf. So glad that I got it in time as a birthday gift for myself. :)
I've always liked the small form factor. It is not small enough to replace a LX3 but the E-P1 system is significantly small and light enough to differentiate itself from the DSLR.

I've yet to examine the raw files but the JPG are pretty good. I also liked the Art-Filter, an in-camera processing software, to alter images with saturated colours, soft-focus and pin-hole effects etc.

I'm currently shooting in RAW with JPG and find that the camera can be pretty slow in clearing the buffer after firing several shots continuously. And with the Art-Filter in use, continuous shooting is disabled and all the CPU resources are utilised to process the filter effect. And at times, the LCD screen can appear to be jerky with very bad refresh rate, which may result in missing the critical moment.

Overall, I liked the camera. Its has an cult status appeal and inspires me to make photographs.

LX3 & IR

2009-06-18T05:52:00.000-07:00

Tried Infra Red photography for the first time using an IR filter on the LX3. IR photography seems to go against the usual norm. You shoot IR in the middle of day where the sun shines with hard contrast. The IR filter is so dark that exposure can be several seconds under the blazing midday sun!

LX3

2009-06-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

I was enamored with the LX1 while the world was struggling with the noise issue associated with the camera. For almost a year, the LX1 had replaced my bulky Canon EOS 1Ds system. That's how much I liked about the LX1.

Panasonic finally hits the jackpot with LX3 but I am now not so keen with it any more. I'm looking forward to a similarly sized digicam with a 1.6x crop sensor or a micro 4/3 system with inter-changeable lens.

Neverthelss, I do like the LX3. To be realistic, image quality is not as good as a DSLR. But it is sufficiently good enough. Images u see here are taken in RAW and post processed slightly with Lightroom.

9 Stop ND Filter

2009-04-12T00:39:00.000-07:00

Used the Hoya 9 stop ND filter for long exposure during bright sunny day:

Old Lens, New Mount

2009-03-29T01:05:00.000-07:00

Loved the Contax G 90mm f2.8 lens during the film days. Bought the little Contax G system to Shanghai when my eldest son was only 10 months old. Had since given up the system due to focus issue with the 90mm and subsequently moved on to digital.

I've just acquired the Sonnar 90mm lens again. This time, it comes converted in EF mount which can readily be mounted on my Canon digital body, giving it new life again in the digital era.

Mirror Sunset

2009-03-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

Brought the 500mm mirror lens out for an evening workout:

Street Shot with 500mm

2009-03-21T02:49:00.000-07:00

Ever consider using a 500mm lens for street shots? You can be in for a fresh perspective:

Mirotar Lotus

2009-03-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Acquired the Mirotar reflex lens, commonly know as mirror lens.
This lens is very sharp with vibrant and saturated colour. Worth the premium over the previous Tamron mirror lens which I tried recently.

Auto Focus Beyond f5.6

2009-03-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

AF usually stops working with f stop smaller than f5.6, or f8 on high-end camera models.
However,I just discovered that with live-view, AF continues to work beyond f8.
Here, I stacked 1.4X and 2X on a f4 lens. Framing and autofocus are done using live-view:

Sleeping on a Bed of Lotus Leave

2009-03-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

I was looking for birds when this image popped right in front of my eyes.

Gloomy Day

2009-02-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

What a gloomy day. Just like the current economy.

Cheap and Good Lens

2009-02-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

Is there such a thing as cheap and good for photo equipment?

Yes!

Recently I got the Olympus OM 28mm f3.5 lens for less than $100. This is the price of a piece of a UV filter!

This lens is very sharp even at wide open and right into the corners!

Cycling Event

2009-02-22T00:08:00.000-08:00

There's a cycling event held over at the Singapore Flyer:

Fisheyes

2009-02-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

Been trying and changing fisheyes recently. The Zeiss F-Distagon couldn't fit properly due to the thickness of adapters. The cheap Russia Zenitar couldn't focus to infinity. The Canon has too much of CA. My latest is now a Sigma. Surprised that the price of the Sigma has gone up so much in recent years. Used to mass order it for about $600 some five years ago. The price is now around $1k.

Valetine=Rose

2009-02-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

Thaipusum 2009

2009-02-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

Punggol

2009-02-06T21:27:00.000-08:00

Ventured to Punggol this morning and saw dozens of photographers already packing up after their sunrise shots. I must be late!

New Year Prayer

2009-02-01T02:06:00.000-08:00

My relative invited the lama monks to his house to chant and be blessed. This service was done only during the chinese new year.

Early start for the flower sellers outside 观音 temple.

Labrador

2009-01-28T04:43:00.001-08:00

Lelong Sales

2009-01-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

On the 2nd day of Chinese New Year, these unsold flowers meant for the festive are having deep discount.

Happy 牛 Year !!!

2009-01-25T16:06:00.001-08:00

God of Fortune

2009-01-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

Dressing up for Chinese New Year

2009-01-23T18:51:00.000-08:00

Building structures in Clark Quay dressed up in red to welcome the Chinese New Year.

Bicycle City?

2009-01-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

One day we might be calling ourselves a bicycle city: there are actually many bicycles on our road.

Mirror Lens goes Swimming

2009-01-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

Images taken with mirror lens are distinguished by the dougnut shaped highlights / out of focus area.

Laterns in Chinatown

2009-01-15T19:01:00.001-08:00

Laterns in Chinatown taken with 500mm mirror lens.

Lazy Sunday Morning

2009-01-10T22:52:00.000-08:00

Mid Week Shots

2009-01-08T05:55:00.000-08:00

Couple having panic at West Coast Park:

Alexandra Arch at night:

Shooting for Photo Contest

2009-01-05T04:51:00.000-08:00

Spend the day shooting with various zeiss lenses to be used for photo contest:

ZF25

F-distagon 16mm

ZF100

Sunrise Shots

2009-01-04T03:56:00.000-08:00

Been trying to catch some beautiful sunrise shots. Catching an interesting and beautiful sky is all luck. It is a gamble whether to continue my sleep or drag myself out of bed.

First Day in P1

2009-01-02T04:54:00.000-08:00

The kids are back to school. Jingwen is obviously enjoying her first day in P1.

2008 Parting Shots

2009-01-01T01:39:00.000-08:00

This image above was taken with the Contax Carl Zeiss 35-70mm wide open at f3.4. Precision focus was achieved using the live-view on the Canon 5D MK2.
While reviewing this photo on the LCD, it immediately reminded me of the photo below taken exactly 3 years ago, on 31 Dec 2005 with the Lumix LX1. How time flies!!

Went down to Boat Quay at night to catch the Samba dancers. Decided to give the EF 85L lens a good workout as it was hardly ever used. Despite being an ultra fast f1.2 lens, it could hardly get its focus under the dim lighting condition. Managed to have 2 keepers of the Samba dance and I must admit that this lens was indeed razor sharp!