Panasonic Lumix GF-1

I still love my 450D but this camera caught my eyes when launched. Went through the photos captured by others using this camera and so far I'm pretty impressed but not enough to sell my 450D and go out and buy it...yet.

Nevertheless, it's a lovely camera with good image quality.

Busy months and bubbles

Has been a while since I updated my photos over here. Have been really caught up with work and social gatherings (weddings, drinking sessions etc) that I've not had much time to upload the photos I took since late August. I wish I could take more photos and I think I really need a photo printer because I just don't feel "safe" having all my photos in digitized format only. I do back them up but I just can't help feeling paranoid and somehow it just feels different to hold and feel the photographs than just viewing it on the screen.

I was looking through some images by other photographers and it never fails to inspire me to aim for that shot. (Of course, it made me itch for that lens)

Anyhow, I was in JB in September for a wedding dinner and also for a BBQ at my cousin's place. Before going over, we went to this temple, famed for granting people's wishes. Love the whole rustic and countryside feel of the place which was a pretty loooong drive from the checkpoint. Started snapping pictures of the temple and surroundings. Generally satisfied with the picture quality coming out from the kit lens but did feel the limitations of the kit lens as I felt a wider aperture could help especially in lower light situations when I don't have time to switch to my 50mm f1.8.

After the trip to the temple, we proceeded back for the BBQ. Swopped to my favourite 50mm f1.8. I just love the lens. The quality never fails me. I still have loads more pictures but enjoy these shots first.

#01 - The old temple

#02 - Dogs lazing around

#03 - Hello!

#04 - Lucky turtles

#05 - Another attempt at the spiral shaped incense

#06 - Patterns on the furnace

#07 - The temple itself

#08 - Praying

#09 - The little notes to decipher your "qian"

#10 - Spot the uncle

#11 - Old uncle at temple

#12 - A puppy

#13 - Exterior of temple

#14 - Half a signboard

#15 - BBQ starts!

#16 - Welcome to baby paradise JB

#17 - Mamy Poko baby lookalike

#18 - Gotcha!

#19 - Not meant to be eaten

#20 - BBQ scallops

There's really something about blowing bubbles for kids. For myself, I'm always fascinated by bubbles. And I can have endless fun just crafting bigger bubbles with each breath.

Their innocent nature just bursts out together with that intense and sincere laughter that follows each time they successfully crafted a big round bubble from their little bubble scoops. It really makes me happy to see kids as kids, happy and having fun.

Comparatively when I look at some (not all) kids in SG, they are like an army of robot drones. They lack that innocence that every kid should have. As much as I wish my kids to do well next time, I will always remember to give them lots of time to just be kids. I really dread the idea of them being stuck in the tuition centres day in, day out and the only thing they remember about their childhood is the stone cold walls of the shopping malls where some tuition centres are located.

#21 - Blowing bubbles

#22 - Blowing bubbles

#23 - The girly one

#24 - She was really having fun playing with the bubbles :D

Cousin's wedding

Last Saturday, I attended my cousin's wedding at Raffles Hotel. It was an excellent buffet spread and a very relaxing and fun wedding!

I wished I had a 50mm f1.2 with me. I didn't bring the flash out as I didn't want the bulk. I'm totally in love with prime lens for that excellent depth of field. I had to switch my ISO to 1600 to achieve a faster shutter speed, otherwise the images would be a blur. Well, I just need to convince myself the grainy images gave a different kind of feel.

#01 - Yummy desserts galore

#02 - Sponge fingers

#03 - More desserts...

#04 - They were rehearsing for the entry

#05 - Group pic

#06 - I thought this picture was funny. She was tying her hair in preparation for her entry

#07 - The entrance

#08 - She was throwing the flowers with her full might

#09 - Done deal.

#10 - I love this shot. If only I got closer.

#11 - Cheers!

#12 - With family.

Weddings...and lenses

These few months, I am not spared from the onslaught of wedding events of friends and families. I've attended too many weddings that I've lost count of it.

I've not been playing with my 450D for a while ever since the exhibition ended. Was super busy during the past 4-6 weeks! So for my primary school friend Joel's wedding, I brought along only a 50mm f1.8 lens and 450D. The 50mm lens is the best (and cheapest) portrait lens that a novice can buy. It's image quality is pretty good for that price. It will give novices (like me) that thrill of producing an SLR quality image! But somehow, I feel that the quality is not enough for me now after using it for a while. I wanted something better. Sharper and more "life like" images. I want my images to "pop" out!

I've tried several other lenses, IMO it seems that prime lenses seem to give one of the better qualities as compared to a normal zoom lens. I don't know, just what I obeserved so far. This POV may change once I try more lenses. So far, prime lenses work for me. Anyway I'll play with more lenses and take more pictures before I decide if I want to upgrade the current lenses. There is no doubt about the phrase "Lens first, body last".

Anyhow, I was the "brother" and these are a sample of some of the shots I took:

#01 - Getting ready in the morning

#02 - Always a happy and joyous event

#03 - Nervous. You can see by the way he holds the flowers

#04 - Knock! knock! Open!!

#05 - Good luck Joel

#06 - :)

#07 - The bride

#08 - I love this shot!!!


#09 - Through the looking glass

#10 - Church

#11 - Deal is sealed

#12 - The sound from the PA was a little too loud for him

#13 - Entering a new life together

Have a blissful marriage!

NDP Rehearsal 4-7-2009

We happened to get tickets to watch the Combined Rehearsals 3 for the NDP parade. So I thought, why not rent some lenses and play with them. Generally pleased with the image quality and I have a better idea of what lenses I may want to get in the near future. Decided that the 70-200mm is way too bulky at the moment and I'm considering somewhere around 135mm.

The wide angle I borrowed was a little too wide my liking (don't know, just don't feel right) but nonetheless the images produced was pretty crisp.

The show was enjoyable and quite frankly, I'm looking forward to watching the actual show. Think this NDP is directed by Ivan Heng. Loads of colour and modern elements that the current generation can relate to. I also like this year's NDP song performed by Electrico titled "What do you see?", rock but not over the top. I think we've come a long way from those songs that sounded more like it belonged inside the army while you march along.

Here are the shots:

#1 - Test out the wide angle from inside the car

#2 - Throngs of people

#3 - Orderly manner

#4 - The host Gurmit Singh

#5 - The paratroopers

#6 - Drink more Mr Bean tau huay zui

#7 - I wonder how his image looks like. Very curious.

#8 - Not an easy job. Boy is wiping away perspiration

#9 - Enjoying the show on stage

#10 - The chinook attempts to displace more water than the merlion can replace.

#11 - Too bad. blocked by yellow box. Very cute plump boy.

#12 - Ready to strike!

#13 - Majulah Singapura


#14 - Majulah Singapura again!

#15 - Sun is setting. What do you see?

#16 - Night falls.

#17 - Up goes the fireworks.

#18 - Happy birthday Singapore! (in advance)

My arsenal

I rented a f2.8, 70-200mm and f3.5-4.5, 10-22mm to take some photos at the NDP Combined Rehearsal 3 last week. It was my first time playing with these 2 lenses and it was really fun to try different things with the new lens acquired.

I rented the lenses from Camera Rental Biz (www.camerarental.biz). Incidentally, it was started by a friend from reservist. When he told me about this biz, I don't even have an idea how it could work because I had no idea that lenses were so damn expensive! Now, I'm so glad that there's this service around!

The lenses were all in good condition and generally well maintained. The process was fuss free too. Just call and ask for your lens and collect. Return on the date you require. Next time I'm going to borrow the wireless flash trigger and play with it.

I think renting a lens makes perfect sense. Instead of buying that blardy expensive piece of lens when you aren't even sure what kind of images you enjoy taking, this is an option to try them out and then decide what other stuff you need in your arsenal.

Ever since I took an extra step towards this hobby of mine, I can never stop finding things to learn and it always intrigue me further. Just for this simple outing, I had to think about what I may be shooting (people? scenery? fireworks? etc) and what lenses would be suitable for what I want to shoot. I guess this is one of the fun part of this hobby that includes capturing a great image.

As cameras become cheaper and its related technology becoming more advanced, more people can enjoy this as a hobby. Now, there isn't a reason for you to not capture the moment.

I've been really busy these 2 weeks, I will post the NDP photos soon.

My (failed) attempt at photoshoot

I have to admit that my first photoshoot is a failed effort. Not what I wanted. Anyhow I've learnt how to adjust from there. Think my DIY studio and lighting wasn't up to standard. I t

It was a fun session on a Saturday morning and I got my good buddy to help me out. It's always great to see youngsters taking that first step to doing their business. As much as I would like to pass some experience, I guess for now the best way for them to learn is through experience.

By the way this was done for ImpactWear, they sell mainly men's t-shirt (impactwear.livejournal.com)