Portraiture
Creating everlasting images of people looking their best.
Events
Every event deserves to have the best moments captured.
Travel
One day, we will travel the whole world.
Nature
Every little thing about nature is so beautiful.
Architecture
How amazing can buildings be made to look that they are such a sight!
Friday, 25 November 2011
Donathan & Joyce
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Kevin & Iris
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Vincent & Bonnie
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Abandoned - Forest bashthrough
Arrival at Neo Tiew at 8+ in the the morning. Greeting me is a small town that looked much bigger after stepping in. No sign of any massive human activity apart from a contractor carrying out some works nearby alone, and thereafter, leaving the premises, with the whole town to myself.
2 hours exploration and I have then completed exploring nearly every nook and cranny that's worth shooting.
Stopover for brunch at Subway, followed by the next mission to where I had not been able to find Istana Woodneuk for sometime. The right moment came and I decided it's time to go in.
Rainstorm greeted me as I bashed through the forest with my gear man-packed, and after about 10mins of forest navigation without any visible paths, I had come to a hill and there it was. Standing on a hill, carrying its lost glory, while grounds are severely pooled with water in the overgrown weeded-vegetation.
A small group of people were also inside the building when I arrived. Big halls, once grand stairways greeted me when I reached the ground floor.
It took me several rounds before I had complete coverage of the place, before another couple who came, after the sun had emerged from the clouds.
What a beautiful sight despite its ruins.
Mission accomplished. I had covered 2 places within a day and while another place was noticed in Cluny Road, will leave this to another time.
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Friday, 21 October 2011
The joy that brings self-satisfaction
What brought me great joy was that they really like what had been produced.
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Saturday, 15 October 2011
Desmond & Jessica
Monday, 29 August 2011
D2X
It's late into the night, so a quick runthrough was done with thoses lenses I have, before wrapping up the end of the week.
The weekend had been most exciting once I wield that camera in my hands and start to make great pictures.
Well, not enough time for me to run through some books I've been on for the past week, but I'll catch them up tonight. Hopefully, more coverage.
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Thursday, 25 August 2011
Equipments
I had been thinking if picking up an older version like the D2X would be a good choice since it's one of those faster models in their array. An ad for a preowned D3S was priced closed to a new set, and that definitely isn't worth considering.
Had discussed with Allen and those single digiter models are the pro series as compared to 3-digiters of semipro series; altogether a different adversary.
At this time, I'm not a publisher yet so it's not time to command a 'studio range pro model'
This morning's mind is especially clear no doubt the rest yesterday was not as full. I had done 6 hours which is still pretty within my normal range.
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Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Networking
Seems like it's been awhile since I last wrote here....
The past few days had been just busy; busy with post productions, networking with photographers. It's really great to know a couple of them like Katelyn James; she not just makes great photos, she is gorgeous in person! Someone I would like to meet up, network and hopefully collaborate with some day.
Seems like the season for weddings in Singapore is more packed towards end of the year, so I have 3 weddings to be done within 2 months. And I'm just simply excited!
I'm almost quite done with this bulk of my PP; so keep those events coming in!
Monday, 22 August 2011
Where the fatigue slips in...
Things certainly aren't as easy when you are running solo. Basically, I do EVERYTHING; from talking to people, proposing, shooting, post production. It does gets mentally and physically challenging, and I'm loving it.
Well I have to be turning in for a quick snooze; just to be fresher to complete the rest of my works.
Sunday, 21 August 2011
STGCC 2011@Suntec
It's been awhile since I attended these events to shoot. Finally done with it, almost 4 hours in the run along with Leonard. A good and quiet meal before we moved off.
The key to shooting effectively at such events are speed and precision. Having a tele lens definitely helps to get that upclose shots when faced with a multitude of shooters.
Looks like it'll be a good time for PP since there's no further events for the evening.
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Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Finetuning
What I need to do is to shoot, refine, reshoot and keep it going till quality reaches there. No doubt the photos taken now are better than how it was a year ago, it is still a build up process over time.
I have not written here for some time as the days had been packed with events; indoor shoots, backstage shoots and so on, and so forth.
Recognition is slowly being gained in modelling portals so that's one good sign for all the works I have put in.
No matter how tough the going gets or positive development gets, I still want to thank the Almighty One who has given me this gift - the ability to make great pictures.
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Saturday, 23 July 2011
A haven for used equipment
Peninsula Plaza seemed like a haven for used equipment; you name it, they have it; a great feast for the eyes if you're into this.
I didn't find what I needed so it's time to head back to base and use my regular setup for tomorrow's on-location shoot.
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Thursday, 30 June 2011
Portraiture - Endless possibilities
What I have gathered the previous night should suffice, so that I can continue to have an endless choice for on location shoots.
Portraiture, portraiture, portraiture. This never ends to thrill me with the endless possibilities.
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Brainstorming for locations
So there I went scribbling out my mindmap to have a bigger picture of the whole thing; afterall; drawing out a mindmap is more effective than doing an e-version. I get more out when I 'spread' them out.
However, it's late and I better get some rest.
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Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Updating of my portraiture site
Being away from home is a good way to keep me focused to fulfill what I needed to do. Had spent several hours at a quiet place to get it all going.
Now, home sweet home and to get something to refuel myself from all the mental works.
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Sunday, 12 June 2011
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Destined indoor activities this afternoon
http://tinyurl.com/3wecc9s
This afternoon will be destined to be fully indoor for any photoshoots to be conducted as the weather had turned gloomy after the lunch hour.
Looks like there will be little or no chance to catch a good sunset this evening as this rain will continue till late. That's how the weather had been "programmed" these days.
Landscape - Sunrise@Punggol Beach
When I arrived at the beach, it was slightly past 6:30am; sky seemed a little brighter than usual but no sign of the sunlight breaking through. I should be in time. Equipments were quickly assembled and ready for the birdie which should be out soon.
At 7:05am, the first sign of the orangey globe could be seen in a distance. Tide is also building up so my subject distance has been crippled. No matter. The shoot can still be done on tripod and for quick shots, hand-carry was the solution.
There were many little signs of life when I was there before the sky brightened up. By 8am, the sun had broken through the clouds and causing an impaling glare, which is burnt off the shadows formed by clouds before it reached full bloom.
Time to pack up at 8:15am.
Mission accomplished.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
People mass and weird photography outing signal
I saw many people in this setting as if we were all going to some national parks, however, the sky is purple in colour and trees are white, as if all of us are under the filter effect of IR photography.
The signal that was sent out were something unusual - seemingly out of this world but it sure resembled some audibles of morse code.
All these seemed short but they certainly are so vivid in my mind.
Monday, 23 May 2011
On location - the preparation
Right now, some preparation works as I need to have a sequenced flow how the shots are to be done later.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
On location: Tampines Eco Green
Our location: the new eco park in Tampines where it's about 10mins' walk from town centre. The nearest parking amenity was just across the road, so that didn't make accessibility an issue, as we have to make the best of shots while Serene's fresh.
We finally found our spot after the Forest Trial. Wind is still a little challenge, so since I haven't made my sandbags yet, a plank of wood does the trick fine so as to keep that light stand in place.
Applying what I learnt in Zack's tutorial, flash will be set to manual; including the settings on my camera - the usual manual mode.
A couple of test shot were done before we started the actual shoot.
Everything looks great so far; just some tweaking on the flash / apeture / shutter speed while applying the Inverse Square Law. Not forgetting, more guidance to Serene on posing is needed too.
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Sunday, 15 May 2011
Location shoot: Sengkang Riverside Park
With the wind still being a challenge, we managed to do some shots under shelter and at the floating platform. What a cooling evening. Although not all shots are perfect, I had managed to get the hang of it while taking at different angles, with a variety of lighting styles. However, battery had complete depleted just in time as I experimented a few self-shot lighting shots...oh well, have to review the photos another day.
The next best option is to do indoors; all I need is just a little more space and a shorter ranged lens.
Friday, 13 May 2011
Pixel Knight T-331
I got it at a good deal of $199 from Alan Photo. Seems like smaller shops like Reddotphoto, Artboxfoto and even sgcamerastore charges at a higher rate.
What's left is to test this shutter and see how effective it is. With a range of 65m, that's pretty sufficient as it has the superiority of HSS over many other wireless triggers.
If all else is good and I've mastered the strobist's way, more of this will come in useful.
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Thursday, 12 May 2011
Getting those as second nature
It's really important to have those knowledge as 2nd nature, as they will play an important role when I turn professional.
I recall how much I relied on PS when I was still in the early stages of my dSLR - the 'resurrected' shutter journey. No doubt it helps to make photos more impressive, it's not the core skills in photography. This processed, more known as PP, is now something I'm taking a hard step away from as the technical skills of getting good shots right off the camera is crucial.
Indoor Flashplay - the prelude
What we currently lack is the wireless radio trigger, in case we need the flash's sensor to be out of the camera's line-of-sight. Equipments? We have 2 flashes, 2 umbrellas and 3 cameras if Madeline's bringing her own. Our objective this round is to get the fundamentals correct, and as much as we can get perfect shots directly off our cameras.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Equipments, equipments
Since I'm into studio photography, good equipments are to be used. B&H Video is one good site that Zack had recommended in his tutorial. For example, Westcott softboxes, Pocketwizard Plus II and Alienbee strobe flash are some of the common things that are used. By far, I only have one studio umbrella, so still, a considerable amount of inventory to gather.
It's a common slang for the photographer to call this the BBB Syndrome, where a surge in massive purchases have been considered for our, described as expensive, interest.
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Enrichment of knowledge
Extensive reading has been done on books, watching tutorials by Zack Arias and Bryan Peterson. What I need now is the absolute practice to apply those I have learnt.
Had just read an article on Zack's blog, which had gave a quick runthrough of 10 tips of how one can be a professional photographer; those can be applied in steps but not required to be in order. Of all the tutorials I've watched, I found Zack's to be most interesting from his narrative approach. And yes, he has Twitter too!
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Thursday, 28 April 2011
Clik Elite series backpack
http://www.clikelite.com/
They feature Elite series, which has compartments made for camera accessories, as well as a separate compartment for basic necessities like clothes, camping equipment etc.
This will be a great investment so that I can travel far with proper equipping - Uprise 48 wasn't really made for backpacking as it doesn't have room to keep my basic necessities. In Singapore, so far, what I can source is from Manda Photo which is within walking distance from my workplace; but not going to see to day as it's dearie's birthday.
Tomorrow, probably?
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
PP after Melaka backpacking
Some pictures appear overexposed under the extremely scorching sun; more practise needed? The best I could do to correct them is via PS, which has tools to fix these flaws.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
A PP accompanied evening
I decided to start off redoing an event photo that had previously been done under the noobiest settings; poor colore management and presentation.
It was all done in a couple of hours, after a brief browse and deciding on which to start.
Dearie's dad' birthday celebration 2010.
At least now, have yet another of the portfolio of a birthday event to present on my website. Flash-based still in the making. Looking at those joyous moments does bring joy to me, especially those who are close to my heart.
Again, some people say, a photographer needn't be emotional, but these are people close to my heart; therefore, 'emotional' does not apply here.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Baby's 1st birthday and flash photography
Next destination, Fort Canning.
The weather had been hot but we managed to do some practises with flash photography, courtesy of our unofficial "master", Allen. Bounce flash had been improvised with a reflective interior of umbrella and the effects are amazingly good.
We had a little chatup after the shoot and learnt from Allen about the lost groups, which were unspoken in the news for those who ventured Mt Kinabalu, East Malaysia, which is also where he lived. The place sounds pretty attractive as a guide needed to be booked 6 months prior to commencement of trip.
Some photo reviews on the event which I need to touch up on the bounce card on my SB-900 - Allen had given me his card ever since he lost his Fuji dSLR.
Saturday, 19 March 2011
While waiting for my car to be ready, this is a good time for me to set my mind thinking about where I should go for these "short shoots". The town that I had went by this morning seem to be a good place; just that I didn't want to stay too long there as that was not the primary purpose, no doubt in the vicinity.
Guess my full day shoot shall be left till tomorrow instead.
Coming to think about it, it has been coming to a year, but my exposure through the shutter had been something which is far more than many aspiring photographers out there. While quantity are there, the more important thing will be quanlity.
From the feedbacks from most friends, they have given positive and encouraging comments which continues to spur me on to take greater pictures. PPwise, there's also alot more to learn to harnes the
Campaign shots
Marketing team is doing some outdoor campaigns and require someone to take some photos of the occurence. The good news is, they have hired a crew of pretty ladies to do the distribution, so my reply was "ain't I so lucky" to R...
Time to do some readups before the real thing.
Sunday, 13 March 2011
2 projects completion
Or could it be the bites from mosquitoes at the dilapidated bungalow shoot? I certainly hope it isn't the last option.
I have to rest early tonight since I have to work tomorrow; hopefully, will be just perfect when I awake tomorrow.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
BBQ@Nicolas' place, Grandeur 8
Being the official photographer, eating is something which can only be done periodically after each series of shoots. It had been assisted with dearie this time, as she helped me collect the food.
I'll do the processing tomorrow since event ended quite late, and dearie wanted her Koi tea.
The ruined bungalow with past glory: The Mission
I had finally found the opportunity to move into the premises after a 100% coast-clear status.
At the first sight of the dilapidated house, one can recall how it had appeared with its past glory decades ago. What had happened since it's vacation from 1991? Being a bungalow, it has its own garage and I moved into the house. Level 2 is no longer accessible the staircase up have been fully destroyed. Even the flooring across the two main halls in the front have already eroded, exposing the wooden frames that held the flooring in place.
Hanging from the ceilings are peeled off plywoods. A couch can be seen dropping halfway through the floorway in the balcony. In my attempt to secure an access to Level 2, I could only see the wiped-out flooring on the rear of the house. Only the WC system stood planted on the already massively aged wall.
The only way to reach the kitchen was to do the 'tightrope' walk by footing on the wooden frame, however, no way out from the rear as the exit had been blocked by huge wooden blocks that crumbled from the top.
The side room, which should also be their living room, has a completely destructed flooring which I could not find any possible footing on. Sunken, crashthrough in the middle of the floor appeared to be a ruined air-conditioning unit which carries the technology of yester-years.
Cupboards lined the front room just beside a balcony handrail. Still no access to the top floor after a careful search.
After searching the rear, I took a walk into the garage. A portrait of Jesus hung on the wall, citing the owner to be a Catholic. Workbenches strewn with opened containers with mechanical
junk, a pass from 1PDF in 1999, whom doesn't have any connection with Ex-Services Singapore from what I know, which was the sign placed outside the right garage door - where the owner served.
Occasional thumpings could be heard as those overgrown trees slam their branches on the already weakened roof.
I made a dash when I saw the locked gate being pushed inwards, as if someone was opening the door, but later on, realised it was a knock by some passing by punks. Phew. A close shave.
I quickly finished off the shots before finding the right time to move out, checking occasionally from the gaps of the panel. Finally moved out of the scene near around 12:20PM.
The ruined bungalow with past glory: Pre mission
Coast is quite clear now, only for the next action of moving in at the right time.
As the place is pretty uphill, the best form
of getting here is by wheels rather than by foot.
Right from the sidewalk, one can see how magnificent it stands, along with the long lost glory since inhabitance from 1991. I have never learnt about who the owner was until I did some homework online.
It seems that this place where I am carries a considerable amount of history. Wonder if properties planted along this area are of good value too?
It's good that I had moved out early this
morning to allow more time for missions like these. The nature of the mission requires me to operate on solitary basis thus it cannot be organised with extensive details. Just get it and when done, pull out.
Acquisition of another tool
Having ran a couple of test shots, the results are simply perfect; all I need now are a few rounds of practises and I'll be all set to make a good shots for events.
During my catchup with Marc, I chanced upon that he runs an events company which hosts a team of professionals, so that's where I can get opportunities to rub shoulders with people who are for real in the business.
Another good opportunity lies ahead for me...
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
A probe into the history of Eric Choa's house
The strange thing is that the house had been vacant - not a single time had I seen anyone entering or exiting the house at one time. The question is, if anyone of the family members are still holding ownership to that house?
Probably only those who lived there will know the truth; an indeed impressive view of its past glory.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Major Coupeland's house
Major Coupeland's house stands at Upper Wilkie Road, but I wonder if it is still around.
I have not seen this house with my own eyes, but stories have mentioned that it had been abandoned for 20 years...
Definitely worth a sight.
Abandoned temple
Hidden behind somw conserved shophouses, it sits comfortably on a patch of grass and yet tightly bounded by overgrown weeds, it appears to be a tiny building amongst its surroundings.
I wonder on the history behind it...
Saturday, 5 March 2011
Abandoned Places - Seletar
When I was outside one of the used car dealer's premises, I realised that I had actually arrived where I had been looking for, after many kilometres of driving.
Later on, I spotted a few colonial buildings which seemed vacated; not a single soul in those areas and I continued a digital gatherance.
Mission completed for today slightly towards late lunch. That place is getting more interesting...just wondering what that big building beside the road is used for?
Mission Seletar
No doubt I had been a little tired; it is already 10am now after tossing and turning in bed on numerous split slumber for the past 2.5 hours since I was awaken by my alarm at 7:30am.
Time to get packing before the sun starts to hit down hard.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Pre-epic adventure
Come this weekend, an uncapped adventure to cover those places which have not been fully explored. Let's hope the journey go as planned.
This, will definitely make my adventure worthwhile, and bring back an epic collection.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Abandoned Places - round up
More details to fill my itinerary for these places....
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Abandoned Places - further uncovering
http://ghostclubsg.blogspot.com
http://www.sdam.sg/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=94
Looks like there are certainly more unknown places which are abandoned to the public yet...which reminds me o the abandoned house beside Paramount Hotel in Marine Parade, opposite Parkway Parade. Locked gates without a single soul in sight from day to night, nor any of the windows had been opened once.
Another place would be the abandoned house at 25 - 26 Still Road South...
Monday, 7 February 2011
Mass reprocessing: 169 - Travelogy: Batam Trip 29.05.10 - 30.05.10
I should be relooking at how to use FluidMask since they should help me save more time with those background with lots of vegetation.
Another photowork redone!
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Reworks marathon
There are more undone works including the following:
Dinner@Hotel Rendevous 30.10.10
Hari Raya@Joo Chiat 2010
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Atbara House - 1898
Seeing those pictures in Flickr, I now have further inspiration to relive those pics by processing them into my neater, yet more professional photoframe.
The festive season may be around the corner, but I am still captivated by these abandoned places around the country. Take for example, Neo Tiew estate, which had been abandoned since 1989 or so, with it's ungazetted area, makes welcome a huge temptation. Question is how to get in and get out without being stopped by military personnel, no doubt it's now used for military training.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Planned additions
AFS 35mm F/1.4G $2130 (SLRR 12/10)
AF-S VR II 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED $3030 (cash) iPhoot 18/01/11
AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED $2580 (TK 07/10)
That would be a hefty pricetag for me but I'm looking in the long run...to cover for all distances.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Nikkor Trinity
I had done up most of the pics taken for CNY 2011, just to capture more pics from more places where the festive season can be felt. Chinatown, is one good place but I have to take time off my work to allow myself ample time to capture all the "ingredients" to add to my collection.
Man, I'm still not done with Hari Raya 2010 which had been store in my harddrive for quite a while; those were still taken under my old shooter, A500, which had served me well, now dearie's companion as it does not have the weightiness challenge.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Festivals - Chinese New Year 2011
Just wondering how I can get a definite sharp pic in manual mode especially for those shots which involve heavy movement of subject, without flash? That was what I had been known for: Flashless shooter - producing images in premium quality without the usage of flash.