Fireworks at Marina Bay Singapore

The Singapore Government rehearses for the National Day Event (9th August) as early as June. I understand rehearsals will be conducted every Saturday evening/night right up to the week before the National Day. You will need a very sturdy tripod as it was and probably will be rather windy where I was positioned.

The exposure for this shot was 3 second.

Now I know why my neighbour felt they have overpaid this photographer

I should never have introduced this photographer who claims to have years of experience. My neighbour felt that his teenage son can do a much much better job.

These were given to the client (my neighbour). All these 17 pictures taken in less than 2 minutes. There is a series with more than 10 shots in 30 seconds but I cannot show them as my neighbour's face is in it.

Moral of the story. Do not believe what a photographer tells you. Take a look at his/her portfolio!!!

Running a workshop - to do or not to do

Started discussion months ago with two friends on getting getting a workshop to teach people basic photography.

Well, it was a start, stop, start, and now I have to stop, for now, due to other work commitments.

The thing is, there are so many schools, workshops, seminar, etc that are in operation in Malaysia. More often than not, I hear of complains. To me, if I were to start one, it has to be better than others, more tips and more  sharing.. Rather difficult, as basic is basic. So, back to the drawing board to ensure that the contents are right, the delivery is right, the hands-on session is right, the practical feedback is useful, etc, etc.

So, akan datang!!!

Autumn in Kuala Lumpur

Sometimes, a point and shoot camera (in this instance, it is a Panasonic LX-3) does a better job than a DSLR camera. Why? Don't feel that bad if the cheaper P&S camera were to be scratched when it is at the ground!

This is an image that works when pointed at the light source.

I waited for the guy in red to walk towards me, but since I did not use a flash, the red did not show as much as I would like to. Then the tell-tale KLCC Twin Towers. With that in the picture, need not elaborate further about where the photo was taken.

"Artist" Loses Copyright Lawsuit - Ordered to Destroy Illegally Created Works

Found this snippet presented by Liz Masoner.

"£10million worth of art to be destroyed is what some are calling it. Photographers are celebrating a victory though. Richard Prince, a man who makes his living by appropriating the works of others and "altering" them, has lost a lawsuit brought by French photographer Patrick Cariou. Prince had copied 35 photos from Cariou's book, "Yes, Rasta," and altered them by doing things such as adding cut outs of guitars. To be perfectly honest, the result looked like a kindergarten art project gone wrong. According to a quote at the Daily Mail, Prince called Cariou's pictures "mere compilations of facts ... arranged with minimum creativity ... [and were] therefore not protectable."


This is far from an isolated incident in today's art world. People such as Prince and Shepard Fairey make a living by ripping off the works of photographers and republishing the slightly changed pieces.

Hopefully lawsuits such as this one will wake up the art world to the fact that it isn't just paintings and sculptures that are protected under law and worthy of respect.

Model Helicopter @ FRIM

Happened to be at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, Selangor when we chanced upon a group of enthusiasts flying their model helicopter. A great place to practice panning or action shots.

Website "Out of Action"

I had some difficulties sorting out some technical issues with the webhosting company. As a result, not only is my website http://www.yongcs.com/ unavailable, I could not event view photographs loaded into http://www.yongcs.smugmug.com/. Must get this sorted out before the end of this week!

Jeff, thanks for pointing this out to me.

I had not been actively updating this blog either. Things do happen in three's. My computer broke down. I was down with flu and other small but disturbing ailments like cough and running nose etc for more than a month. Then the upgrading of my camera and equipments took some strain on my wallet and time. Would you believe that.

Anyway, looking forward to being back to normal by next week.

Have a fantastic 2011