Oh my deer!

Today, I was driving around on assignment looking up and waiting for the right time to get a few images. I drove along the Jln Tutong area and found this turn-off that I had never been to before and drove in. This is what I saw.

Unfortunately, I didnt stop to note down the name of the place but only to catch a few pics.


What do you think these creatures are?

She-shoots

Breaking down the stigma... a new all female photoblog..

A must visit for everyone out there.
I hope to meet you out there soon.

PS. If you run into problems on your journey, drop me a line. Meanwhile, Keep it up!

The Ultimate Mouse Solution

Thinking of replacing your aging mouse? I was recently looking for a new mouse because of the inherent problems with the Mac Mighty mouse scrollball (cleaning issue) and was introduced to this.

After a month of use.. this mouse/pad system has proved to be very reliable, fast and convenient. Ideal for gamers and pro users alike. Fully programmable and extremely responsive with fully customisable response speeds and buttons. Even the aluminium track base is superb with dual speed base coatings to tailor the tracking resistance to detail work or high response gaming. Quality has never been better.

The distributor for Razerpro in Brunei is TTCO.

Empty space full potential

From the Contax G2. Biogon 28mm f2.8, Fuji NPS160.

Adam's 1st Birthday

As promised, 18th May.

New 'Social Welfare' Institution

The new rehabilitation centre situated in Kg Belimbing.

Bouncer day

Today. Adam celebrated his birthday a 2nd time.. this time at my mother-in-laws with his cousins and uncles. I've not yet processed the pics on his actual day. Will post those up later. My wife suggested we hire a bouncer for the kids to enjoy. Apparently, enjoyable to those over 18 too.
Adam seems to enjoy the company of women. hmm.. and women tend to enjoy his company too. hmm hmm.. !!!!

And balls

Everyone had fun.

Look.. no hands! (Balancing act)

Look closely at his eyes. Oh my. What kids will do...

Adam enjoying the volatile ground.

Cakes and family



Others
This picture was shot from the hips without me looking in the viewfinder. True wonders of a RF.

Big Boss of Guan Chuan enjoying his morning papers

They are relatively hard to find nowadays. Hope they dont disappear.

Can Dragons fly?

At Merimbun.. some macros.. using my digital.
Its too bad they took down the walkways.. I hope they put it back up again OR get the residents to provide boat trips around the lake..

The following images taken at the Benutan Damn. Its good to shoot macros again..

CZ Optics

So far, I've been playing around with different filters to get to know the characteristics of the lenses and camera so today I took out the G2 lenses and removed all the filters including the UV protection filter. I wanted to see the true optical character of each lens. I put in a roll of Kodak Max 400 Versatile 12 and went out to do some errands.
First off, to Telbru to pay my E-speed bills. The newly renovated place looks good. Since I was shooting daylight film under fluorescent Daylight, I put on a FL-D filter to get rid of the greenish cast usually present. The following images are uncorrected digitally and direct from the KM lab scan. Resized and not even sharpened.

After parting with a cheque and some cash, went on to collect a dvd of selected images from a bride. Saw these women walking by and I think they saw me with the camera pointed in that direction. So happens she turns round to look back. Intentional or not is anyone's guess :)

Ah, the pretty bride.

Just love the CZ optics.. brilliantly sharp and soothing colors unlike those from Canon optics.

Definitely has its own character much different to the ones we're used to seeing.

Wood, water and mortar

An outing with film. Today, I used 3 different kinds of film.. Fuji 200 Superia, Kodak BW400CN and Kodak Max 400 Versatile. Each has their own color and characteristics. Some with polariser, some without, most with 81A hence the warm tones but some without. Personally, I think i still prefer the pro films to these commercial ones. Here are some snapshots.

The people in town...

Shutter failure at Merimbun

The shutter for my 1dmk2 failed.. again! This was supposed to be a new shutter. My old shutter was changed at 87k and this first image was at 137k. That's only 50k. One of two things. Either Canon did one over me and didnt change the shutter curtain that I PAID for OR Canon's Pro series shutter sucks. The camera went back to IHC today. Lucky I have a spare body. I have a pre-wed this afternoon.

The only images I got at Tasek Merimbun. The sky was nice but I didnt get to shoot at sunset.. no mood. The following images from my Contax G2. Some are cropped due to the vignetting caused by the filters.

Benutan with Jan Shim

From various films using Contax G2 with mixed 28mm, 45mm, 90mm. Vignetting due to too many filters. Filters used: PL-CIR, 81A and UV.


(Jan on shaky makeshift jetty trying out my 180mm at the Benutan reservoir)

(Some sort of wood working machine at a timber factory)

(One of a few sampans at the Benutan reservoir)

(Timber factory workers at work)

(Another boat on the Benutan reservoir)

(View of lake, trees and skies)

(Another dying boat on the reservoir)

More to come.

Exposed? Opps!

Sitting in one of my drybox was what seemed like an unexposed roll of Kodak BW400CN. It was not in its canister and yet the film leader was out. Hmm.. ok.. lets shoot. Oops. This is one of the drawbacks of film. We just dont know if the film inside has been exposed especially if you're one of those who do not develop the entire roll just because you've only made a few exposures. This film was apparently used some two years ago.. January 2006. Hehehe. Guess whose wedding?




Hmm.. not bad.. hehe.. 'ART' ;p
Ok.. here are some that made it without double exposures. Taken today as I sent some images to be printed and walked back towards home.

Film! Fuji Superia 100

More pictures from film.
This one was taken at Hua Ho Mall. A kid storming away as other shoppers coming in.

Taken somewhere in Jerudong before a prewed. This place was revisited by a wedding couple because our last prewed was not completed due to bad weather.

Film!

All images unadjusted and unsharpened. Scanned from Lab at 400 dpi.
Fuji NPH400 on CZ45mm f2

Fuji NPH400 on CZ45mm f8

Fuji Superia 100 on EF 135mm f2 L

Kodak Max Versatile 400 on CZ 45mm f2

What camera do professional photographers use as their recreational camera?

Answer: Film cameras.
To Kodak, Fuji, Ilford etc.
Don't you dare stop producing film!!

My new old camera. No longer in production. The only rangerfinder ever made with autofocus, aperture priority and built-in auto-rewind. I actually had an option of going for either the Bessa Rs or the extravagantly expensive and probably over-rated Leicas. I did a lot of research going into this. My criteria of requirements were pretty high and this baby fitted the bill perfectly.
Autofocus so even my wife can use it with relative ease (though its still not as easy as a point and shoot). Outstanding lenses by Carl Zeiss (T* lenses are renown for outstanding sharpness, contrast and an unmistakenable CZ bokeh) with apertures as fast as f2 (yeah, I know Leicas are faster but they also cost an extra appendage). Got this set almost mint 2nd hand. Did I mention this little thing has a titanium body? Gotta give those guys at Kyocera a hand.. they design one mean camera.







Some images taken with a rangefinder camera using Fuji 100/200 35mm.







My wife asked me why I wanted a rangefinder and a film camera. I still have my old 1N. Well, the RF definitely does NOT attract attention. When I took it out to test at Jerudong Fish Market.. nobody gave two hoots what I was doing. No funny look.. no weird glances.. nothing.. the last time I was there with my 1 series cameras, all I can do was shoot with the longest reach lens because the moment I lifted up the camera, everyone around me disappear! Hehehe. The main reason why I am going film is because I've reach a point where I'm tired of looking at the lcd at the back of the cam. The thrill is no longer there. I guess when you know your pics are going to turn out fine, it loses it appeal. Hence with film.. no more lcds. Makes you think more about your shot and the wait and thrill of seeing the film develop returns. The feeling is definitely more invigorating than shooting film 10 years ago when you normally expect 50-70% of your frames either badly exposed or blur. Now, its how spot on your estimation for compensation for each scene is. Definitely enjoying going back to the past. But definitely for recreation only. I will still shoot digital for my clients. They deserve the best and cannot be worth risking common film issues like running out of film, badly developed film, dust/scratches, expired film batches etc..

Stay tuned for more film exposures.