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

Where to buy your camera's / lenses

I had not been able to post for a while now as I have some major problem with my photo-processing software, not to mention the problem my pc is giving me.

Time to upgrade or change - mayby to a Mac?

This posting is not about the problem I am facing. Just wanted to alert fellow Malaysians who are keen to either upgrade their photography equipment at a fair price. There is a shop at KotaRaya (near to Pudu bus station) that will probably give you a price that is very reasonable. Catch is, just mention my name! Really.

The shop:
LTK Electronics
Lot 2.20, 2nd Floor
Kota Raya Complex
Jalan Cheng Lock
50000 Kuala Lumpur
03-2078 2339

Action shot

We were lucky to have seen this split-second power play. The tigers at the Taiping Zoo were all lazing around in the mid-day sun when all of a sudden these two tigers were chasing each other. Lamented the fact that I did not have the right settings for this shot. Could have been better. Then again, if I have a better, more expensive camera, I could immediately dial a high ISO without having to worry about grains.


Two tigers caught playing!



Bird Photography

I have some difficulty shooting birds in flight. Reaction too slow, lens not long enough, camera not fast enough, and a whole lot of other reasons.

So, I will start slow, shoot birds in flight later. For now, will do with birds fighting for their food. Even this is tough. Light was not very bright. Had to increase the ISO and used Aperture priority. Shutter priority might be better, in this case. Then again, feeding birds don't pose, and to capture the scene, will have to make do with whatever settings I have at that instant.

Two birds fighting over a fish

Possibilities with Weeds

I love nature. These series of photographs will probably tell you why.

I thought this might be useful for those of you who have just acquired a camera and don't know what to shoot. Again, I will let the photographs (taken with my trusty point-and-shoot Panasonic Lumix LX3) do the talking. All taken at the same place, no colour enhancements, no additional sharpening - only cropping.

Walked past this patch near to Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC)

Used flash

without flash

Different angle, with flash

Just love the colour of the sky!

Same patch, only went nearer, and used flash

Beautiful creations by mother nature

Snapped this while waiting for the wife. Was in the centre of KL, not in a jungle, as a friend thought.

French Recipe Book - Cocktail Passion:Entertaining with Love

This labour of love, by Nathalie Arbefeuille and Jaen Ang with yours truly as the photographer will soon hit the the market. In fact, I expect to carry some books starting from next week. You can place orders with me.

The food was mouth-watering good. You can either buy the book and try out your hand at making some of the cocktails, or visit 'Nathalie's Gourmet Kitchen' located at Solaris Mont Kiara.

Cocktail Passion : Entertaining with Love

ISBN 9789833317790

Author : Nathalie Arbefeuille

List Price : RM135.00

Here are some of the teasers prepared by the publisher

Front Cover

Chef's Lovely daughter

Contents Page

Preparation

Tuna Bruchetta

Gorgonzola Toasts

Pineapple and chestnut verrine

Back Cover

Writing and photography – is a picture really worth a thousand words?

Hmmm. Rather profound statement. I had always asked myself whether I should just post photographs in this blog or write about the photograph that I post, or write a long story with a couple of photographs to illustrate the writing. Well, looks like I have found my answer in this article:

http://m.guardian.co.uk/?id=102202&story=http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/aug/04/writing-about-photography-robert-adams

which was posted in Twitter recently. A good read

Photography Exhibition

Aptly called "First Exposure", I will have some photographs exhibited at the Nikon Centre in Kuala Lumpur for the duration of August and the month of September together with three other photographers - Chan Swee Meng, Paul Chan and Eunice Hau.

This is made possible by the centre manager, Alex Moh, who is already well-known in Malaysia as a photographer and curator.

Night photography

Did not realise I had been lazy. Only one posting in July? Bad, Bad

Now that I had chosen, edited, and submitted a couple of photographs for the BASF Petronas's Conscience Camera Award photo contest, I can settle down and plan for my next project. Will update once done.

Meanwhile, here's one of my favourite night shots taken at the Merdeka Square a while ago

BASF PETRONAS' "Our Children, Our Future"

Just received the following e-mail. Another year just flew by. Gosh, would not have known of this if they forgot to send me an e-mail. If you have a camera, recommend that you submit your entry. Prizes are good!

The following is extracted from the email:

Greetings from BASF PETRONAS Chemicals!


We are pleased to announce that the Conscience Camera Award 2010, organised by BASF PETRONAS Chemicals is back with the theme "Our Children, Our Future”. This national photography competition is now in its fourth year and opens from June 1 to August 15, to all residents of Malaysia.

We fully support the government's campaign for children's rights in Malaysia and therefore would like to promote the appreciation towards our children, who are indeed our future. Entrants should tell a story to interpret the theme effectively and should not just be family portraits. Capture vital stories and tell our community about the importance of children's rights and convey the "conscience" message with a image and a precise photo caption.

A panel of judges will evaluate all entries received by the closing date of August 15, 2010. BASF PETRONAS Chemicals will present a RM5,000 cash prize to the First Prize winner, along with eleven other prizes, and an exhibition of the winning entries will be held in Kuala Lumpur.

For more information about the competition and the theme, visit us at our corporate website http://www.basf-petronas.com.my/ (http://www.basf-petronas.com.my/cca/cca2010.asp) and join us at Facebook (Conscience Camera Award).

What are you waiting for? Join us now!

KL Marathon - just a quick take

I wonder if these marathoners wake up as early as 4am each day to train. Understand that weas the time the race started. I did not bother as I thought it was more meaningful to have some shots taken with the KLCC Petronas Twin Towers in the background.

Here's one pix taken using my point-and-shoot Panasonic Lumix. Waving at me is Edward.

How was this taken? Camera on the ground!

Mr Kuala Lumpur

This is not the one. Someone beat him to it. I had to leave before the winner was picked. Well, with luck and maybe quite a bit of work, will be back next year for the full coverage.

If you were at the competition site, you will realise that it is not easy to sculpt a body. With the many 'mamak stalls' that open 24 hours, it is rather difficult not to over-indulge in tons of carbohydrates and of course the often too-sweet tea that comes with your order of roti canai.

This is a sampling of the contestants before they appear and when competing on stage.

Just cannot image myself being a body builder, or as one senior body builder Mr Henry Lim puts in his card, "turn your body into a fat burning machine" - machine they look!

Last but not least, a very pretty lass who is also a body builder. Won't you like to see her ripling muscles. Did not quite get her name. Kimberly, I think. The secretary of the Kuala Lumpur Body Building Federation, Mr Vincent Ho in the picture, also did not show off his muscles as he has to make sure the event runs smoothly.

Dragonboat competition at Putrajaya

Time really waits for no man. Gosh, did not realise that I had not posted anything for such a long time.

This shot was taken in the morning.The sun was hiding, and the air was kind of hazy. Nevertheless had a couple of ok shots. Thos friends of mine who will be there tomorrow, do pay for better weather.

Wedding shoot

Had a blast covering the wedding of Edwin and Debra last week. Lovely couple, and of course, lovely wedding, reception, etc, etc. Since they have not seen the photographs, will not post until later (maybe...). But since this car, a Jag, that was used as the bridal car, was one of those that I had ever thought of buying, I cannot resist posting an image. Will write a little about wedding photography later.