WYNG iMAGES - beautiful moments forever!

Nikon 16mm Fisheye Lens

2011-11-01T12:25:00.000+11:00

I have been wanting to get a fisheye lens for ages, finally I got the Nikon 16mm fisheye. It is not particularly expansive and I didn't have a problem about not going to be able to get enough use of it. But why did it take so long before I committed my money?

Well, it is a screw driven AF lens, no beautifully fast (and quiet) SWM motor inside. Despite at this focal length fast focusing is not that important, I struggled to think why I would get a non-motorised one if such a technology long existed and very feasible for this lens. Anyway, then I found out even the DX copy of the lens 10.5mm is also AF. My jaw just dropped to the floor. This man is not going to wait no more!

The Nikon 16mm fisheye is the only Nikon fisheye lens in its FX product line. That made the decision simple. The only other contenders were the Sigma offerings in which there are circular fisheye as well as rectangular fisheye. I think the rectangular fisheye is much more useable than the circular one. And the price difference between the Sigma and Nikon rectangular fisheye wasn't so different that made me want to steer away from Nikon.

The result? Love it! In fact I love it so much that for a while I left the wide angle at home and took out only the fisheye for my shoots. The first pic is one I took at a function room. The sides of the shelve is not curved in reality as you see in the picture. Love the effect! :)

Family/Children Portrait Photography

2011-10-22T11:34:00.002+11:00

Bought a new mattress recently and was offered a big discount voucher for family portrait deal. Shame and salesman won't give me the discount instead of the voucher. I did find out details about the deal and thought to myself, "Boy, this is really expansive!" No, I mean really worth it! :D

Did my first family portrait on location - at the family home. I didn't get the chance to be there first to examine the environment, lighting, etc so I just brought along everything I have... Sorry, couldn't show you pics of it for privacy reasons but I do want to say a few words. I should have take a pic of the set without anyone inside... Keep that thought for next time!

It was fun! My 6 foot tall collapsible backdrop worked well as the wall to block out clutter in the background bringing the focus squarely onto the subject - the family and baby girl Olivia. It is not big enough for the whole family but for the baby girl alone, it is more than sufficient. The family had specifically requested for a black background in keeping with previous studio shots taken before. So I just let Olivia lie on it, curl up the end to make a really really simple black (or white) background. That worked well and Olivia was so nice she didn't put a mark on it at all. :)

Children are impatient, they need direction. And it takes patience and perseverance to work with them. But they are really lovely subject too. They brings tremendous joy. Thank you Andrew for engaging me for this job! All the best to your lovely family.

Poker Face

2011-10-12T14:48:00.004+11:00

Poker night was an interesting shoot. All the expressions on people's faces. Don't think they are quite Poker Faces... because a poker face is a blank expression that does not reveal anything, not fear, stress, concern, lost, dismay and anxiety... Perhaps they are not happy with the paparazzi snapping at them! :P

Always shoot to the very end of the event. Despite the large number of chips the gentlemen (Michael) on the right had, he wasn't the biggest winner that night I was told later!

Adult Portraits

2011-10-09T11:48:00.007+11:00

While I was shooting the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week this year, had to do a few portraits for a client for their web site and paper publications. Preparation is the word for the day. When I had a bit of downtime between shoots, walked around and found this really nice quiet secluded place - coffee shop right behind the runway that was being set up for a fashion parade. When the clients rocked up, I was able to tell them exactly where to go, settle them down for a cuppa to relieve any nerve on all parties (including mine!). I am happy with the result. :)

New Nikon Improvements on Caps

2011-10-06T21:46:00.015+11:00

Did you know that Nikon has replaced the aged rear cap (LF-1) with a new cap design (LF-4). The new rear cap has much larger lens contact surface area thus provides much better seal than the one it replaces. It also has much bigger grooves for better grip. I should have thought of this since Nikon replaced the body cap since the introduction of D3s. It changed from BF-1A to BF-1B.

The new body cap and rear cap have matching grooves. Each also sporting a notch so you can feel where they should be coupled together even if you are working in complete darkness! More over, they (BF-1B + LF-4) form a snug fit unlike the old design (BF-1A + LF-1). Those who have the old ones would understand why I am so excited about this point. It keeps dust from entering the caps and then transferred to the lens. Of course, following Nikon's tradition, the new cap would fit on all Nikkor lens including those with or without rubber gasket. :)

However, there is a catch. I have posted here a long time ago about the front cap for Nikon teleconverters. It is called BF-3A. The old BF-1A didn't fit on the teleconverters. On the other hand, teleconverter's BF-3A does fit on the camera body. Guess what, the new BF-1B doesn't fit the teleconverters either; and teleconverter's BF-3A is a snug fit with the new LF-4 rear cap, which as said goes onto both camera body and teleconverters. So, In my humble opinion, BF-3A still wins!

Anyhow, the new rear cap LF-4 is a very nice improvement. Well done Nikon!

PS Today, (5th Oct, 2011) a remarkable man left us - Steve Jobs. What an amazing human being didn't go with the norm (as Arnold Schwarzenegger said, 'Steve Lived the California Dream') and cheated the lethal pancreatic cancer for 7 years before leaving us, without not taking his pride - Apple - back to the top of its game and revolutionalised the way we communicate and bring technology into our lives. A paper says Jobs lost his battle to cancer. There is nothing further from the truth. Consider his achievements, contributions, inspiration and influence and the prognosis for pancreatic cancer. He achieved much more in his field than what most just dream about. Thank you Steve Jobs and rest in peace.

Studio Photography

2011-08-08T00:33:00.008+10:00

Started a new line of work this year. While I have done portrait before, work has almost 100% been on location in the past. On location shoot is a good challenge given the varying lighting condition and environmental factors that must be either utilised or otherwise overcome. Studio photography is supposed to be easy in some ways - lighting is controlled and time is on my side. However, as I Have discovered, this is far from easy. In fact, the learning curve is pretty steep. To begin with, I don't even have any idea how to create a white background... Let the fun begin! :)

Waverley Meadows Pre-school

2011-08-07T16:21:00.009+10:00

Had an amazing opportunity to photograph a pre-school, the Waverley Meadows Pre-school. What I discovered is a school filled with lots of fun and warmth. It is a very colourful place with lots of teaching materials and activities for the kids. It has a large, well equipped outdoor games area, car park. It is next to a park and is a very secure aka safe environment for the kids.

Thank you so much Wendy for this job and accompanying me during the session. Thank you for the permission to photograph you and your kids. This is Wendy with her lovely kids. Love this pic! :)

This is the chicken barn intended for the chickens I believe. However, it appeared that they prefer to congregate at this colourful playhouse above instead. Who can blame them?

I couldn't resist the temptation to get into the playhouse to snap a few close ups. I liked the experience and result, but am not sure if they share my feeling. ;)

Aerial Manx performing at Southbank Melbourne

2011-07-10T13:48:00.000+10:00

My youngest cousin Wayne came over from HK for an English tour over 4 weeks. In fact, he is heading home today. It was a bit of all roller coaster ride with the course he enrolled in. But all in all, I think it was still a good experience and I hope he takes some fond memories back with him. Don't want to critic here... If you don't understand what I am talking about and you are interested or planning to go for such a tour, please write to me.

On Day 2, we went down to South Bank and saw this sword swallowing contortionist performing on the street. We stopped to look (and did the right thing to award the talented performer at the end). I little google reviewed the identity of the contortionist - Aerial Manx

WARNING: Unless you are Aerial Manx, don't do this!

Running around, I am serious, he was running, on all four up-side-down! See the girl holding on her knees, some ran away scared as he approached. :P

Fitting through 2 tennis racquets. The grommets actually put lots of marks on Aerial's back. Looked painful. And the rings... Aerial did warn us about the rings...

Thank you very much Aerial for posing to the photographer! :D

Next up is the sword swallowing act. It is a real sword. Unbelievable! With the sword all the way down the throat, he juggled three flaming torches as well.

To add to the drama, the fuel on the torches ran out and he had to bend down and refuel and light them up again. Amazing mate!

Here is Aerial Manx performing on Hey Hey It's Saturday. I reckon his ball skills rivals that of Lionel Messi of Barcelona!

Last but not least at Australia's Got Talents where he demonstrates sword swallowing and doing cartwheels. He survived. Speechless! XO

WARNING: Unless you are Aerial Manx, don't do this!

Dapper's Day Out

2011-06-07T10:21:00.000+10:00

One of the best thing about photography is the memory they capture. I am always looking forward to the Dapper's Day Out organised by the Manningham City Council. Senior citizens getting together, having loads of fun. Why not? They deserve it and I wish them all the very best and thank you for building this wonderful country that we are all enjoying.

As always, there were music performances, dancing, draw prices, and a great feast. As you can understand, for privacy reasons, I couldn't provide many pics here. One of the key focus this year is mens' health so I had to get some pics of the men at the function. Thank you very much to the men and their partners for working with the photographer and not shying away. You are fantastic! :)

The council building had an unfortunate fire incidence last year and many events had to be held somewhere else while it was being repaired and renovated. All work on the building is now complete. In fact, there is a new building coming up. Excellent!

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2011 - Trunk Shows & Sidewalks

2011-05-21T19:21:00.010+10:00

Not all the shows are held at the Central Pier in Docklands, the Trunk Shows are presented by the City of Stonnington which is a major and seasoned contributor in the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festivals. On top of that, there are free to public shows (Sidewalks) at Federation Square for all to enjoy!

Here is another menswear show by Jack London and one I did not want to miss, the Bridal runway. I was so embarrassed that I did not recognise Alannah Hill amongst the guests. In the Ready to Wear show, twin daughters of the state's premier Ted Ballieu took to the runway as models. In additional to that, Miss World Alexandria Mills, Miss World Africa Emma Wareus and Miss World 2nd Runner-Up Adriana Vasini of Venezuela also starred on the catwalk!

What can I say? :D

LMFF Trunk Show - Jack London

LMFF Trunk Show - Ready to Wear
Featuring sophisticated womenswear collections from celebrated local designers and brands from across the Stonnington precinct. Cable Melbourne, Body by Dainy Sawatzky, John Cavill, Lisa Barron, Lisa Taranto, Not Your Daughter’s Jeans and more

LMFF Trunk Show - Bridal
Featuring premium bridal designers and boutiques from High Street, Armadale.

LMFF Sidewalk – JEANSWEST
Presented by City of Melbourne and The Herald Sun

On a side note, during the fashion week, this poor photographer run lugged around his gear like madman from Docklands to Prahran (and Federation Square and Sofitel, and Royal Exhibition Building and the list goes on). It was a hectic week and I couldn't get to everywhere. I got to the Red Carpet Runway (sharing a cab with Randal) late at the Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building but thank God it didn't start exactly on time. The media stand was chocolate block as you can imagine...

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2011 - Industry Forums, Business Seminar, Beauty Workshops and L’Oréal Luncheon

2011-05-21T10:28:00.009+10:00

You might be surprised to know that talks held by industry leaders, beauty workshops and the L’Oréal Luncheon are some of the events I really look forward to in the festival.

The forums give me an appreciation that it is more than a snapshot of fashion trends. They tell me a little bit about the industry, society we live in, business, strategies, global and local economy and much more. Branding is the theme of this year's business seminar.

Loreal Luncheon is usually complemented with a runway show. This year, the catwalk was really different. It was seriously theatrical! There was no runway. Instead, a stage in the middle with sofas, dressing table, books and large picture frames on all sides hanging in the air. The models would sit in the couch, stroll around leisurely on the stage, dance, act and pose at the picture frames. I got to see how the whole set was put together and the final product which was pretty spectacular!

Well done!

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2011 - Menswear & Red Carpet Runway

2011-05-21T08:25:00.011+10:00

Something new this year is the focus on menswear and eye-wear, the latter because of the new line of eye-wear designs from Alex Perry. Alex also brought to us a fabulous high powered fashion show at the beautiful Royal Exhibition Building.

Supermodel Helena Christensen also strutted her stuff on the menswear catwalk as well as our very own supermodel Megan Gale at the Red Carpet Runway. What a very pleasant unexpected bonus. No, what two very pleasant unexpected bonuses!!

Fantastic! :)

LMFF Menswear Runway
Presented by Specsavers and Peroni supported by GQ Australia

LMFF Red Carpet Runway
Presents Alex Perry

This is what the LMFF programme says about the Red Carpet Runway and Alex Perry.

"Designer collection previews have long been the exclusive domain of fashion editors and buyers worldwide. Not anymore! This year LMFF introduces Red Carpet Runway, the first public presentation of Alex Perry’s glamorous and glorious Spring/Summer collection, which YOU can attend.

Hailed the “King of the Corset” and the “Boss of the Ball Gown”, Alex Perry is known for his dramatic couture and international success. Stride onto the red carpet to join the fashion elite under the magnificent domed ceilings of the Royal Exhibition Building."

Another thing new this year is that a section of the Central Pier was set up as a shopping mall for the many labels showcased on the catwalk to be available to guests. What a great idea.

PS Thank you Randal for sharing the cab with me and your life. Looking forward to bumping into you at MSFW.

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2011 - Yen

2011-05-21T01:40:00.008+10:00

There is always a little industrial feel to the L’Oréal fashion festival because of the use of the Central Pier. With the last two shows - Offsite Runway 1 & 2 - held at Shed 4 which I had never been before and somewhat crude in appearance, the industrial look is also several times stronger. Walking around outside which looked like an unfinished building site, you will miss the gem inside if you didn't walk in.

The organiser put in great effort transforming Shed 4 with "rings" of seats and dusting the ground with show flakes as well as the giant screen (wall) behind and snow falls at the start of the shows made a really nice show indeed. A great finish to an amazing fashion week. I can't wait til LMFF 2012! :D

There was a band playing in the back part of the shed also. I rather liked the make up and lighting. Take a look at around 00:56 to 01:10. Hope you like them. :)

Offsite Runway 1
Supported by Yen
Labels: Alexi Freeman, Jolet, Leonard Street, Livia Arena, One Fell Swoop, Metias, Thanh

Offsite Runway 2
Supported by Yen
Labels: above, Arj Selvam, Extinct, House of Baulch, Kuwaii, Trimapee

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2011 - Runway 5 - 7

2011-05-21T01:29:00.004+10:00

L’Oréal Paris Runway 5
Presented by Harper's Bazaar
Labels: Aurelio Costarella, Collette Dinnigan, Dion Lee, Jayson Brunsdon, Scanlan & Theodore, Toni Maticevski, Willow

L’Oréal Paris Runway 6
Presented by Frankie Magazine
Labels: Alice McCall, Alpha60, Dhini, Gorman, Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Limedrop, Nevenka

L’Oréal Paris Runway 7
Presented by Cosmopolitan
Labels: Alannah Hill, Bettina Liano, Joveeba, Maurie & Eve, Talulah, Wayne Cooper, White Suede

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2011 - Runway 4

2011-05-21T01:15:00.006+10:00

This is definitely one of my favorites. Instead of a plain runway, runway 4 was filled will glam and has a real retro feel to it. The theme was from Russia with love! :)

L’Oréal Paris Runway 4
Presented by Instyle,
Labels: Christine, Fernando Frisoni, Ginger and Smart, Lucette, Manning Cartell, Megan Park, Nicola Finetti, and Thurley

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2011 - Runway 1 - 3

2011-05-21T00:55:00.012+10:00

LMFF 2011 started with a bang in many ways. I had an accident with my equipment and had to rush to buy a replacement lens straight-a-way. Thank God that my equipment is insured.

Back to LMFF, really loved this year's show. The venue is great with white runway and huge amount of lights behind the media stand. There was a fair bit of glam because of Alex Perry. Not only we had shows at Docklands, we also had show at the Royal Exhibition Building and international personalities like Andie MacDowell and Helena Christensen and a local favorite Melissa George as the ambassador of this year's festival.

L’Oréal Paris Runway 1
Presented by Grazia
Labels: Carla Zampatti, Leona Edmiston, Nina Maya, Rachel Gilbert, Romance Was Born, sass & bide, and Tina Kalivas

L’Oréal Paris Runway 2
Presented by Vogue and supported by Woolmark
Labels: Arnsdorf, Bassike, Dress Up, ELLERY, From Britten, Laurence Pasquier, Lui Hon, Song for the Mute by the LMFF Designer Award 2011 winner.

Hope you enjoy the slideshows. :)

L’Oréal Paris Runway 3
Presented by Madison
Labels: Arthur Galan AG, Bianca Spender, camilla and marc, Carl Kapp, Flannel, LIFEwithBIRD, Lisa Ho, and Yeojin Bae

Australian Formula One Grand Prix 2011

2011-04-17T19:54:00.027+10:00

Excuse me for not writing in chronological order. Anyway, went to the Australian Grand Prix sponsored by my employer and AT&T Williams which gave me access to their corporate box. What a fantastic experience!

I have been to the race before, on a Friday, the Formula 1 practice day. With general admission, that is without access to grand stands and pit lane and corporate areas, tickets are fairly cheap. This time, it is a Thursday, which unfortunately is not even a practice day hence there was no F1 action on the track. Anyway, we did get to do a pit lane walk and was even able to get just into the Williams team area without actually getting into the garage. One more thing, it was a really rainy day also! -_-;

Photographically, unless you have a media pass, I think I prefer to be on the ground where I can find some higher vantage point or gaps in the walls where I can get clear view of the cars and the track. The corporate box, which right on top of the pit lane, is all behind fence and even the roof is still not high enough to get over the fence. Unless you really want pit lane actions, otherwise it won't impress.

Enjoy! :)

Here is the Williams team garage.

View of the Ferrari pit lane from the roof. They spend lots of time practising pit stop that day.

I hid in the Loreal tent for a while when it was bucketing down dogs and cats. Thank you so much for letting me in and the show bag. Apart from the Infallible range for products for women, Loreal has a strong focus on men as well this year. For example, the Loreal Hypdra-Power Skin Energizing Gel Cleanser which claims to invigorate skin and deep cleans. It does work!! I tried it myself! :D

I hope this doesn't mean I am old. I really like the second car in particular, so sleek! :)

Not sure if my judgement is influenced by Transformers.. I quite like the Chevy Camaro. May be the same applies to the trucks also.. At least I can get close to these team trucks. ...No, they did not transform on the day but I am sure they can! :D

Food & Wine Festival - The Afghan Spice Banquet

2011-03-17T17:18:00.005+11:00

Before I begin, sorry for the lack of updates lately. The bad news is that this page has getting really aged. On the other hand, the good news is that I have been really busy with photo shoots and has embarked on a new line of photo shoot recently as well. Without further ado, lets begin.

I realised just how shallow and ignorant I am about Afghanistan. All I knew was from the news and totally about wars and terrors in the poor country. This Afghan Sprice Banquet, held in the recently completed Dandenong Market was incredible, packaged with people and really helped me to get a taste of the rich Afghan culture - the sbeautiful costumes, amazing foods, flamboyant dancing, traditional and modern music and henna (hand) painting and more. There were also three camels to entertain the public on the outside. The camels had names and are dearly loved by her owners - Liz & Kerry. You can contact them by email or phone (03)-5266 1415. Here is Kerry in the picture. I do not derive any financial gain from this. Just thought they were lovely people and really loved their boys (that's how they call their camels).

The market hall looks somewhat crude but the decorations, table cloth and stage in the middle transformed the warehouse looking hall into an amazing looking and classy eat out.

I have never seen henna painting. Boy, do they look great and I never thought the paint is so thick! Wonder how it taste like.. chocolate? :P

As you can imagine, the henna painting was a big hit with the kids, so many queued up to have their hands painted, both boys and girls. I wish I could have mine done as well!!

Very impressed with their traditional music instruments and music also as well as their dancing and costumes with heavily wavved coats and dresses with lots of colours and adorned with lots of beads and what looks like mirrors. Very pretty indeed.

One of the council staff let her hair down and got a first taste of it herself, dancing in the market to the music by a modern Afghan pop group in front of shoppers in the market. Good on you!

I wish I did try the food. Mmmm, mouth watering just looking at the pics... :P

Gecko in my house!

2011-02-13T21:17:00.018+11:00

Found a giant dinosaur in my house the other day! Actually it is just a little household gecko about 16cm long (which might sound a little big for some but it is actually quite small given the length of the tail).

Gecko while very common in Asian countries is not one of my wife's favorite. Thinking that geckos live on insects and it was a rainy evening, I found a pretty long worm (over 20cm long) and put it into the container where I captured the gecko. I thought the gecko would be really happy with such a big meal, only to find out they don't feed on each other. Well, at least they were keeping each other company...

However, that combination almost got me evicted from my house! My own house!! :P

Anyway, I put them in the backyard and happy to say that no animal (or reptile or worm) was hurt in the process of taking these pictures. :)

I hope my flash didn't hurt its eyes. It was actually getting more and more comfortable (so it seems) to the camera after a few shots. Here it is saying hello and waving at the camera! :D

4WD at Marysville

2011-01-22T23:34:00.030+11:00

Several colleagues, friends and I went up to Marysville just after Christmas for a 4WD day trip and fishing. It was a fantastic warm day.

Marysville is well known being a beautiful place with amazing greens and tall trees. I am afraid I never actually went up there until now, until after much of the trees are burnt by the huge bush fire, better know as the Black Saturday, on the 7th February, 2009 (between 7th Feb and 14th March, 2009).

It is a very memorable time for me personally because that was the time my late father was in hospital before he passed away. It was a very hot summer and we followed news about the bush fire happening on TV in the hospital.

Almost two years has passed since the Black Saturday, rebuild activities are still happening. Moss looking plants are growing on some trees and there is a fair bit of ground cover, helped by the very significant amount of rainfall in recent months. Still, the trees have not grown back. In fact, the ground cover is not bush but a lot of small trees. The tall trees are still standing there, completely black, charcoal... Many have fallen. There are few signs of wildlife also.. no birds singing.. One can not help but give respect to the awesome forces of nature.

I wish I took a picture of the rocks there, I was really puzzled when I saw big rocks and boulders there, they are flaking! They really look like sheets of metal. Only later I found out that this phenomenon is caused by intense heat causing rock to split and flake off...

Hope these two pictures give you an idea just how tall the trees are. Imagine once they were all green with lots of leaves. What devastation!

OK, here is the fleet, first is a series 75 Toyota Land Cruiser Carrier, a very rugged, basic hence easy to keep it going, with great ground clearance and looks awesome. The second (black) is a series 80 40th Anniversary edition Toyota Land Cruiser, it is so well equipped it is amazing. Third is a Nissan Path Finder (red), a very 'willing' vehicle, doing jumps all day! Last but definitely not the least is the Mitsubishi Pajero (blue), a very formidable performer on and off road.

Remember the victims of the Black Saturday at Marysville. Remember also the flood victims of the recent Brisbane and Victoria floods. Lend a hand and help them get back on their feet. For more information about Queensland flood, please refer to this and this for Victorian flood information.

Fair@Square 2010 - Fashion

2010-12-12T18:58:00.003+11:00

A year after the first Fair@Square was held, in 2010, Fair@Square is bigger and better. Instead of being held by the river side walk at Federation Square, it almost took up the whole Federation Square. Instead of using BMW Edge amphitheatre, it used the main stage.

One of the highlight was definitely the fashion show. I was impressed with what they managed to achieve. This year, Cameron's Models joint forces and provided models for the fashion show. Needless to say, it was wonderful!

I got a few snaps backstage. So nice to see the models enjoying themselves.

Hey, don't forget the real message behind Fair@Square. It is a movement to provide consumer knowledge about ethical trade and products, and to inspire people to make a stand for a fairer and ethical and more sustainable future. For more information, please visit http://www.moralfairground.com.au/

MEPBS Annual Performance 2010

2010-12-09T17:49:00.002+11:00

My math must be really off. I was so completely overwhelmed by the sheer size of the ballet school on the annual performance night. Should have heeded the warning signs when the usually one annual photo day had to be split up into two photo days this year. But this is definitely a good problem to have!

Wanted to get up close and get some close ups but I also wanted to get shots of the whole cast and it was impossible to do unless I move back and change lens. Anyway, what a wonderful BIG performance! ♥

These two were guest performers. They pulled out a really fantastic performance on that evening. I was really lucky to be there just before the performance and got some close-ups like the last two (just in case you are wondering how I got them..). :)

It is so great to see many of them really having fun on the dance floor, enjoying the performance themselves. Love the expression on their faces.

So, there it is, ballet shoots for 2010. Looking forward to doing more and better in 2011. There is so much more I need to learn. Go to the bottom for one example.

Here is one department I need to improve: I am struggling with studio condition using a white muslin background. It is so hard to get the background perfectly white because it is a large backdrop with wrinkles. It is difficult to light evenly partly due to ambient light (sunlight streaming in through skylight right in the middle on the backdrop).

This bottom pic is one example, not only it needs to be photographically up to scratch, the pose needs to be technically correct as well. Sorry to say I had to photoshop to get to this perfect white background. Any tips you can give me are very much appreciated! Thank you!

The Caprice School of Ballet Gala Performance 2010

2010-12-04T15:10:00.000+11:00

Thank you so much Marilyn for letting me shoot the gala performance this year. What a fantastic performance! I absolutely loved that backdrop. So cute and theatrical.

Some of the pupils I have met before last year and it was great to see how much they have grown in a year and how far they have advanced in ballet in a year.

In particular, last year, one of the girls told me her dad calls her an angel. This is her last performance with Caprice, she is leaving the school because her family is moving to another suburb.

She is great and had a solo performance on the night. I was told she only took a short time to pick up the whole performance. Not sure what her name is but I think I will call her angel too. I hope she goes far. :)

Couldn't show you a full frontal pic of her face or of other pupils without written permission. You understand. Here is the teacher in one of her solo performance. Love the costume and face painting and of course her dances.

The school has grown significantly in the last year. Very well done to the principal, her staff and all helpers including many of the parents who helped this year. Again, thank you so much for having me. I enjoyed it so much! Did I say I love the backdrop?! I can't wait to do it all over again in 2011! :D

Here are some of the audience enjoying the performance on the evening. Not really, they are the some of the little performers on stage. Very pretty in their colourful costumes.

When do you ever see the audience getting on the stage to get a close look at the ballerinas?

Fishing at Patterson Lakes

2010-11-16T20:31:00.027+11:00

Actually this is not quite true, we just started off from Carrum and the boat went about 16km out to sea. So I guess it was really Port Melbourne. ;)

It was a very early morning for me - had to get up at 3:30am to get ready because the boat leaves on the dot at 5am. However, what made it worst was that I decided to try my new alarm clock - my mobile phone. That was very stupid of me, I should have stayed with what I am familiar with. After all, there is nothing wrong with my trusty old alarm clock!

Because of my foolishness, I woke up at 12 mid-night, then again at 1am and then at 2am and then at 3am as well. I have learnt my lesson!

Anyway, at least I got to the pier on time. Imagine how I would be fuming if I ended up late and missed the trip!

Our skipper was a funny bloke, he would shout at us when we make mistakes. Well, for one, I have no idea what I am doing because I never fished before... But I am so glad that he actually helps to collect the fish at the end of the line and unhooks the fish which was quite an operation at least once...

Last year's catch was horrible I was told, only one fish was caught, so my expectation was very well adjusted not to get disappointed. After all, I was more keen on snapping some pics than catching a big snapper. We actually did pretty well and caught six red snappers. And I thought they were pretty big, over two feet long each. Apparently they are only babies (about 3 years old) and they grow to 30 to 40 years. Amazing, they grow to 57 years according to this web site!

Took these two pics below and the one above just to see how the camera will handle low light. Result: Pretty happy. :)

Look carefully, actually you don't even have to look that hard and you would find some specks of dust in the photos. Yes, pretty crazy changing lens in that environment. Strong gusty wind, rocking vessel, salty water...

This is our skipper and the shark we caught. Yep, a shark! It was released after this photo. I think it is a bullhead shark.

This is even more crazy, extending my arm as far as possible on the side of the boat to snap a pic while we are cruising. :)

We have three boats, here is one of the other two.

And lastly, there you have it, this is the catch from my boat! Snappers! The bigger ones are at well over 70cm long.

The Caprice School of Ballet

2010-11-14T01:55:00.024+11:00

Had an amazing time at The Caprice School of Ballet last week. The kids were incredibly well behaved - they are not camera shy and they know how to pose and their costumes were beautiful. The camera absolutely loves them.

Many parents helped out this year which was really wonderful considering the large amount of materials - costumes, etc that need to be transported, for all the different acts, hair styling, make-up equipments and so on.

The pro studio photographer (Nicole) from National Images was really experienced and great with the kids. It was a wonderful watching her work. I could mistake her to be a dancer if I wasn't told she isn't!

All these put together made the job very efficient and fun. :)

The only trouble I had on the day was that I was hungry! Tried several times going to the canteen to buy a humble little Four'N Twenty pie for lunch but failing every single time. The pies were either not ready or they were sold out. Thank God at least I got some orange juice to keep me going. Must bring food next time!

Here are some rehearsal pics, I can't wait til the gala performance evening!

Pink Ribbon Day - Water Polo Match

2010-11-13T23:51:00.025+11:00

What a fantastic privilege I had to photograph at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) on Pink Ribbon Day, for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Thank you very much Stacey!

This year, several Victorian Water Polo clubs joined forces to help raise funds for breast cancer research, prevention and support services in an effort to acknowledge and support the many fine female athletes this great sport encompasses.

I don't do much sports photography. So, this was an amazing opportunity to develop skills and contribute to a very worthy and important cause.

On top of the water polo matches, one of the biggest star on the day was the Hummer limo. It is the biggest Hummer in the world and it has to be pink for Pink Ribbon Day!

Needless to say, it looked awesome outside as well as inside. Just to name a couple, it has two large flat screens, laser lights everywhere including the floor and sits 24 people. Check this out for more information.

Overlooking the city skyline, the MSAC is a pretty special place!

I was very impressed by the power and accuracy of the athletes.

It can get pretty wild out there!

Amazing how far they can leap out of the water! I had to duck several times while standing behind the goalie. :P

Collingwood Children's Farm on a Wet Day

2010-11-13T22:54:00.018+11:00

Went to the Collingwood Children's Farm and the farmer's market couple of Saturdays ago. It was a wet day and we were worried if the farm was even open altogether. Thank goodness, it was, and we made it to watch and try milking cow. Given the wet weather, there was little horse ridding like we saw last time here.

Anyway, I was excited to see what the wet weather would offer... Took some pictures of the chickens there as well as a cat amongst other animals. Some of chicken pics are already posted here. Here are some others and I hope you like them.

I love the first picture, what a funny family. One of the little sheep really liked me, it kept trying to climb up on me..

I love cats but never photographed them before. This one looks amazing and was happy to pose to the camera! It was hiding in the stable with the horses away from the rain outside. :)

Thanks to the rain, some of the chickens, like this one here, looked like rock stars with styling gel and loads of attitude! All it needs is a pair of D&G shades like these! :D

An Autumn Gray Symphony

2010-11-13T21:48:00.017+11:00

Autumn Gray joined forces with the Orchestre Nouveau for a epic performance at the BMW Edge Theatre at Federation Square.

It was their most daring effort yet, a massive classical/mainstream crossover concert at one of the most iconic venues in Melbourne.

"An Autumn Gray Symphony" takes the signature sounds of 7-piece Melbournian alternative rock indie outfit Autumn Gray, and reinforces them with the unrelenting force of a full orchestral symphonic palette for their debut album "The Diary of a Falling Man".

Original orchestrations written by Hugh Crosthwaite. Orchestra conducted by Zach Tay.

Here is a slideshow on YouTube with the track "The Diary of a Falling Man". Enjoy!

Macro Photography

2010-11-13T20:15:00.018+11:00

Went out with friends to explore the world of macro photography at the Botanical Gardens. A friend of mine (Sam) lent me his Sigma 105mm macro because I didn't have any real macro lens of my own and frankly never did macro photography. Thank you Sam, you are a generous man.

I had previously posted here result of a little macro (micro in Nikon's language) photography experiment where a 85mm prime is coupled with a 50mm prime back to front. The magnification power of that set up is approaching microscopic level (about 2.65cm diagonally in FX format). That is more than 50% more powerful than the 105mm macro lens.

Taking a macro photo of the face of a watch which is rather flat is one thing, taking a macro photo of a flower or insect is a different matter altogether, I very quickly realised.

Trying to shoot such as bees and ants, I found it extremely difficult to focus and maintain that focus handheld. Eventually, I gave up automatic focus and went manual. Using rocking motion of the body to bring the subject into focus. Boy, I felt like I was drunk! Because the depth of field was so narrow, I keep winding the aperture number up until it went all the way to f/22 (hence the dust spots) and background details.

Thanks to another friend, Bronson, a great photographer by the way, for the many tips, I think I will do better next time. Must try to catch a bee in flight!

Anyway, for the time being, this is what I have. Enjoy. :)

PS The first pic is not a macro photo, just one that is shot with a macro lens. I hear macro lens can be good for portrait, etc as well. So here you go. :)

PS Sorry, I didn't bother to remove dust spots from the pics. If you know the name of the insect on the leaf in the second pic, appreciate if you would leave a comment and let me know. Thanks a lot!

Jaslyn has a new brother - Jonah

2010-11-13T19:41:00.018+11:00

Almost two years ago, Jaslyn was born to proud parents, and good friends of mine, Chong Yau and Lynette. Two years later, God blessed the family with another bundle of joy - Jonah.

Jonah is about 4 days old here. A very pleasant baby, he didn't cry at all and was happy to be carried by me. Jonah didn't seem to mind too much of the flash either, mind you that the flash wasn't firing into his eyes. Chong Yau wasn't there but I think Jonah really looks like his dad!

Go ahead and take a look at Jaslyn when she was one day old and when she was three weeks old and see how they look like each other. Congratulations Lynette and Chong Yau!

Eric and Fen Fen's Wedding Day

2010-11-13T15:44:00.055+11:00

What a beautiful couple, Eric and Fen Fen. Congratulations and very well done for putting together such a beautiful wedding. It was beautiful not so much because of the extravagant venue, or the expansive delicacies. It was a really beautiful wedding because it was bursting with love, happiness, and friendship.

Honestly, I can't remember what we had for dinner that evening. skipping all, apart from the main course, I just gobbled it down between the shots without paying much attention. Thanks to my wife, I was kept hydrated throughout the evening.

Of all the photos taken that day and evening, this is one of the most memorable for me and definitely my favorite.

Eric carefully examining (his most precious) Fen Fen's hand for a little prick. It communicates so much love from the groom and trust and dependency from the bride, the perfect picture of the life that is to come after that (wedding) day, for the rest of their lives. It reminds me of Matthew 13, the parable of the fine pearl in the Bible. :)

Another one that I really like is this of Eric's dad, Mr Xu, the word "PROUD" was printed all caps, impact font, in bold type and size 64 on his face! I think Eric's late mom was smiling at Eric as well from above that evening.

Fen Fen's family is amazing, on the wedding morning when all are running around like mad trying to get ready. Instead, they read their Bibles. They were also constantly reminding the photographer to eat!

You have my two thumbs up! :)

Thank you very very much Eric and Fen Fen. I wish you "one" a lifetime of happiness. XOXO

Crash and burn, it wasn't pretty

2010-11-13T14:57:00.005+11:00

It is only recently that I wrote (here) about an unfortunate experience a peer had in failing to produce work the client expected. Making mistakes is part of being human and I displayed my human-ness in one of the recent event photo shoot, missing one, I thought rather important, shot.

What would you do?

Many asked me to leave it out. However, experience tells me that the client will (always) ask, "Remember that picture you took of me....?" So there is no hiding my fault. Completely embarrassed by my mistake, I wrote to the client to apologise and offered all the pics free of charge...

To my surprise, the client came back telling me all is fine and they would use me for their coming functions. I was, and still am, so completely relieved and thankful. I vow to learn from this experience and never make the same mistake again!

This experience also reminded me of the unmerited favor and love that God has poured out on me (and on you). Fully aware of my weakness and failings, Jesus still went willingly to the cross for me (and for you).

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

"How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulder
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom"

lyrics by Stuart Townend

Where did October disappear?

2010-11-13T14:00:00.012+11:00

Where did October disappear to? In fact, it is almost mid-November already. Well, I haven't lost my passion in photography. Quite the opposite, so much was happening that I couldn't find time to update this blog. Very sorry!

In that time, I did a wedding, shot a wedding, did a couple of events, did macro (or micro) photography for the first time with some friends and a great generous friend lent me a 105mm Sigma lens. I also did a charity event and reinvested the money back into charity. That was an amazing opportunity and privilege. Also did a concert and very humbled by the other photographers and video-cameramen I worked alongside. For the first time, I took my gear out to sea on a fishing trip. Had to spend lots of time cleaning and still find my gear salty after all that...

On the personal front, my mother-in-law came from overseas and stayed with us for 3 weeks. I have also been working hard in my other job. It is a challenging job but at the same time a great opportunity! :)

Today, I was supposed to photograph a large event. Unfortunately, it was canceled yesterday because torrential rain and storm is expected today. Yeah, it's been raining almost non-stop so far today. Can't complain because this great southland has been the great dry land in the last few years.

Not all is lost, I got to sleep in a little today and finally found the time to write (I know you really only want to see the pics and couldn't care less about my thoughts...). ;)

PS, these are chickens taken at the Collingwood Children's Farm.

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2010 - RMIT

2010-09-22T23:50:00.013+10:00

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2010 - Designer Series

2010-09-20T23:34:00.025+10:00

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2010 - Backstage - Styling & Make-Up

2010-09-20T22:59:00.026+10:00

Shev Kelly from Napoleon Perdis showing off her work on model Amiee. ♥

I love the backstage. In fact, I love the backstage even more than the stage.

There are so much excitement, people concentrating, working hard, emotions are running high. I love it! It is also very crowded and can often be very hot also.

One tip, restraint from firing away before make up is done. After all, models make their money being beautiful, looking their best.

Thank you so much to the team of Kevin Murphy and Napoleon Perdis and of course the models for sharing your precious space behind the stage with us. :)

Great to see the workers taking pride in their work and having fun too! :)

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2010 - FOX Fashion

2010-09-19T22:21:00.027+10:00

I have never been inside the Forum Theatre. What a beautiful building! ♥

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2010 - Summary

2010-09-19T21:32:00.045+10:00

This year's Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW 2010) was packed with challenges, new experiences, and favors.

Challenges and New Experiences

Already named the challenge of lighting in the previous post here. Here is another one:

I had an interesting challenge to prepare the slide-show / backdrop behind one of the fashion shows. They were slides for designer labels, labels of accessories and shoes and slides of performers, etc. It was a big challenge because I didn't even know the program before that - Keynote and my mac experience can only qualify at best as beginner level.

Here is one of the simplest slides, with only the design label, no labels for shoes and accessories.

This is the macbook I used to prepare the presentation. Note the run sheet next to it on the left with yellow highlights.

I was so worried about not being able to find the logos (jpegs), mis-spelling the label where I couldn't find the pic. Getting the slides in the wrong order and whether I was putting the right content in the slides.. not all were design labels, it was the backdrop for the whole show.

Anyway, with many prayers, I made it just in time. Five pages of run sheet converted to no less that 60 slides. I checked them and checked them again and again. After, no less that 4 complete check from the beginning to the end, my first Keynote slide-pack was complete! So relieved! :)

During the MSFW 2010 week, I had my laptop with me which meant I could work through the pics as the week went on. Despite being worried about losing the laptop or damaging it, it helped me to get several sets of photos ready just as the client wants them.

Sweet! :)

Favors

Nikon was a key sponsor of MSFW 2010 this year. It was fantastic! I got to know some of the cool people from Nikon professional services. In particular, Julie M. who let me work on my pics during the day in their service centre / media room.

They also lent me a Nikon D3s for the week as well as a copy of the new 70-200mm f/2.8 VR2 lens. I also had the D3x for a while, tried out the 200-400mm as well as... yep... wait... drum roll... the 600mm f/4 VR which is a really big beast! So heavy (over 5kg), so long, I played with it for a little while backstage in the make-up area where I couldn't actually focus on anything (with the minimum focus length of 5m) but boy did I feel powerful with it.. Talk about men with their toys.. :)

I didn't keep the 600mm or even the 200-400mm, just the D3s and the new 70-200mm, yeah, just the D3s and the 700-200mm... ;) Had to reconfigure the camera from scratch which wasn't a trivial task because the camera is really customisable, but I was more than happy to pay that price!

BTW, love the shorter minimum focusing distance of the new 70-200mm and lack of light fall-off at the corners!

Another big favor is from a top notch make-up artist of Napoleon Perdis, Shev Kelly. She kindly gave me two front row reserved seats at one of the shows. Thank you so very much Shev, I owe you one!

The tickets went to a photographer friend of mine, Brett and his brand new girl-friend and did well to impress. ;)

Is That Hat Too Big?

2010-09-19T20:12:00.016+10:00

Like many others, I love to take beautiful events such as weddings. However, one of the first things I read about wedding photography is not to do it. I don't believe advice like this comes from wedding photographers worried about their livelihood trying to scare amateurs like myself away.

The wedding should be the most beautiful day of one's life. Please excuse my generalisation, the main characters (bride and groom) in the event (wedding) are young, at the prime of their lives, courageous and deeply in love with one another, looking ahead to a lifetime together, choosing one another, forsaking everyone else, to facing whatever the world throws at them together from that time on, or can not imagine living the rest of their lives without each other, wanting to grow old together...

Why this long winded babbling? What is my point? Yes, there is a point to this. And it is that the wedding day should be the most beautiful it can possibly be, for the bride and for the groom, it is not the playground for a keen photographer who doesn't do wedding photography professionally for a living. One of the best thing one can do when approached by a friend to do a his/her/their wedding is to foot the bill for (probably with the financial help of other friends/family) for a professional wedding photographer.

Even if your friend/s tell you that they just want some journalistic pictures to capture the event. You want to make sure their wedding pictures are worthy of looking at by the love birds and family and friends and future family and friends for ages to come.

Having said that, like everything else, there are exceptions of course. But they ARE exceptions.

Recently I attended an event where the official photographer's pictures were deemed un-usable by the client. It was a big event and as the nature of events go, it can not be redone for the photographer's benefit. To the relief of the organiser, my pics happens to meet their requirements, hence the client took mine... I feel very sorry for the official photographer because I know what went wrong and it wasn't completely his fault! Also, I am very aware that the same could happen to me.

Just one week on, I was shooting casually at a fashion event where powerful sunlight was streaming into the room while very warm (aka yellow) and powerful spotlights were on the little platforms where models will walk to and post. I had the benefit of being able to do it twice. After learning some great tips from my good friends (photographers) who were also there, it turned out ok for the second time. What a disaster it would have been if I were contracted to shoot this fashion event.

There is so much more I need to learn!

Macro Experiment

2010-09-07T00:07:00.035+10:00

I don't have a macro lens... Mmm, not exactly true because I do have a budget Nikon 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED lens, which is a micro lens, thanks to my mother in-law. Here is a little trick a friend taught me. Thank you very much Bronson! It is done by coupling a 85mm f/1.4 with a 50mm f/1.4 together back to front.

A word of caution: The 85mm has a much larger (77mm) filter thread compared with the 50mm, which is 52mm. So, don't just put them together because that will almost guarantee to scratch your quality optics. I got a cheap (52mm to 77mm) step-up ring which make them "click" together like a perfect match made in heaven. Thank God the ring only cost about $2, not bad at all for this interesting experiment.

I was amazed of the speed this was taken. Considering it was done indoors with no special light, just dim energy efficient ceiling fluors.. no natural light (because it was almost 2am in the morning as you can see..). At ISO 3200, the shutter speed was 1/125sec at f/1.4 (on both lens). Focusing distance was no more than 2cm. Handheld and half manual focus because the 50mm is not even attached... FYI, the word CASIO is almost exactly 4mm long. No crop, sharpening or any kind of enhancements.

Hope you like it. Here is another - the back of a phone card. As you can see, the vignetting is very pronounced, but that worked like a treat with the watch which is black!

Enjoy! :D

Update 2010/09/26
I enjoyed this experiment so much that I had to try it again today... Same subject but this time with more thought about light. This is taken at iso 200, 1/100s, f/1.4 (f/2.8). Click on the pic for hi-res version.

I should have cleaned the watch first.. :P

Filming of Melbourne Awards Finalists Interview

2010-08-23T23:09:00.019+10:00

Had the incredible fortune of shooting stills during the filming of finalists for Melbourne Awards in preparation for the Gala Awards Ceremony evening on Saturday, 28th August.

It was an opportunity for all the finalists to tell of the work they have done for the community, our beautiful Melbourne city / country, our economy and the environment. Personally, I was very inspired and learned heaps from these entrepreneurs, visionaries, ordinary people believing in themselves and their ideas. The clips will be shown at the Gala Awards Ceremony.

These finalists came from many different fields! There were medical researchers, sports, moving images, government, education, Melbourne Open House, arts and museum, Melbourne Cup, Melbourne Food and Wine, humanitarian organisation, the Salvos (Salvation Army), the SEC (emergency services), green energy, youth project and more. For the full list of the finalists, look here.

I wish you all the best of luck, not only for this prestigious award but for your dream to come true!

It was filmed at the Melbourne Town Hall, a beautiful building to say the least in which Melbourne Spring Fashion Week will be held in a week's time. Filming was held in doors as well as on the balcony. The bottom picture is of one of my favorite cathedral, St Paul Cathedral, from the window in the Regent Room.

Happy Birthday Sophie

2010-08-15T00:01:00.037+10:00

What a fantastic party everybody had at Sophie's birthday party! Job well done to Sophie's mum, dad and brother! Thank God also for giving us great weather on the day!

We had Kikkii the clown to provide entertainment for the kids and that was definitely the highlight. If you are scared of clowns, click this or Back quickly now!

Kikkii the clown was fantastic with kids and she put a smile on everybody's faces - not only the kids but all the adults as well. She and her star performer, appropriately named, Star, was indeed the star of the show especially since Sophie, and all the other kids, absolutely love our canine friend.

Both Kikkii and Star were great posers for the photographer also! Thank you guys! Highly Recommended! A++++ (LOL, ebay comment...) If you want to contact them, checkout http://www.kikkii.com/. The number is in the picture also for you convenience. Note that Star is a Bichon Frise which is known to be a hypoallergenic (aka non-allergenic) dog breed because it sheds little hair.

I must clarify that I do not receive any commission for writing this and I am not affiliated to Kikkii the clown! :)

Check out the little sneakers Star wore here. She doesn't wear them on her hind paws, just front paws. I wonder what my own canine friend would say about that! May be he would actually like it because he doesn't like getting his paws wet... ;)

Check this out! Star also wear glasses! I'd love to train mine to wear sunnies to protect his eyes!

Cheeky Star sticking out her tongue at the photographer! :P

Thank you very much Stacey for the job! Thank you! Thank you!

Orchestre Nouveau 25 July 2010

2010-08-01T01:37:00.026+10:00

An ensemble of 38 musicians, conducted by Zach Tay presented two classical pieces at the Arrow on Swanston on the 25th July. They were:-

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.1 in G minor, Op.13, and
Liszt - Piano Concerto No.2 in A major, Op.23.

While the house lights were pretty dim, I was very pleased to see them staying on throughout the concert. There were no colour cans like there were last time so the amount of light was challenging, especially for this fairly large team. No problems for the audiences though, thank God, because they were nice and close to the performers.

Many of the shots were taken outside my comfort zone, aka at speeds slower than I would have preferred.

This picture of the conductor (Zach) was taken at 160mm 1/80sec, challenging to produce a sharp picture for a moving object I thought. The picture below was taken at 200mm 1/30sec. Yep, you read it right - 1/30sec... And the picture below that was taken at 200mm 1/20sec... I was really asking for trouble! Not that I am trying to keep a low iso for low noise, iso was set to 1600 for all three shots. I was determined not to use flash since my shutter noise was more than enough a distraction already! :P

Anyway, I hope the movement (motion blur) communicates positively towards the picture and not negatively...

Thank you very much Zach for the opportunity. Very well done! Love to do it all over again!!

Since I was silly enough to try 1/20sec. Lets try 1/6sec (at 70mm) for a still object. Not a great picture but I am sure people who were there were horrified to see me shooting the sound desk which was in complete darkness... May be it was so dark they didn't see me altogether... :D

Here is a slideshow of the concert. Unfortunately, I have neither of the work that were performed so the backing track will be different. It is Igor Stravinsky's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D - Capriccio. Enjoy!

Hot Air Balloon over Melbourne City

2010-08-01T00:08:00.017+10:00

Just had the pleasure of flying over Melbourne in a hot air balloon, on a cold winter morning.

It was meant to happen in a warmer month, in April, but the weather did not allow it on the day. Given the colder, wetter winter months, I thought this second attempt was likely to be canceled also. Indeed, it was a bit of a touch-and-go. Had to call the night before between 6:30pm and 7pm to confirm and then again at 5am to be sure it is going ahead.

One thing I did really like though is that we actually started much later than I anticipated giving me a couple more hours to sleep. Should have gone to bed much earlier the night before but I wasn't disciplined enough or perhaps too excited or worried about how to bring my photography gear without a backpack... :P

Thought it would be really cold up there. After all, it was a 6 degrees (celcius) morning after all. I was well rugged-up, perhaps too well.. It was actually pretty warm up there. We don't fly high enough to make a big difference in temperature in the air compared with the ground level.

In fact, I would say it is much warmer up there given how close we are to the burner, which is right over our heads. I thought of wearing a cap but settled for a beanie instead thinking the cap might fly off and beanie would be warmer. Anyway, I took the beanie in the end and wore neither.

There were actually 3 balloons that went up that morning which was fantastic! Won't like not being able to see another balloon in the air. Imagine just taking aero-shot of the city without a balloon in sight... Thank God, we didn't get just one other balloon but two balloons! :)

Oh yes, there is one other thing I really appreciated flying in the winter month - the morning sky in a cold winter day. Love the colour of the sky and warmth it creates on the ground. Love this picture. Thought it looks like a water-colour painting. Look at those smoke / steam coming out of the factory chimneys. Thank God there are not that many of them...

If you pay carefully attention to the picture, you will also find some dust spots. We are warned that the burners may drip and dirty our clothes. I didn't get dirty but I think it is somewhat dusty up there. And it is tricky changing lens in a tinny basket with ten other occupants on-board plus two pilots.

Hope you like this last pic. Very pretty I thought. No, it is not a scene from Les Miserables nor were we fighting to escape some alien contraption. We were helping to get hot air out of the balloon and folding it up after the flight. Obviously, I didn't do my share very well.. Sorry! :P

Happy Birthday Reuben

2010-07-11T20:57:00.029+10:00

Congratulations to proud father Aasheesh and mother Divya for your beautiful creation Reuben who just turned one.

With much hard work from the parents, a humble warehouse was transformed into a fantastic party hall, Pooh bear themed decorations, cup cakes, and an absolutely fabulous birthday cake, wonderful Indian foods and over 60 friends and family to share this special day with.

Thank you for having us capture this wonderful occasion for you. Hope you love the results! :)

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Reuben!
Happy birthday to you!

जन्मदिन मुबारक रूबेन

Fried Rice on Steroid

2010-07-04T21:22:00.024+10:00

A simple home meal - fried rice wrapped with eggs, a ripper of a dish wife made for dinner tonight. Taste fantastic, looks amazing, especially to me because I love eggs!

In my opinion, it is fried rice on steroid! *_*!

OK, I will throw this one in for free. It is (hot) banana pancake topped with syrup, a beautiful cold winter afternoon snack... :D

Cookies! Cookies! Cookies!

2010-06-29T22:10:00.038+10:00

We were grounded at home on the weekend (don't ask!)... Thank God that my wife is a fantastic cook, she made some green tea, black sesame, and chocolate shortbread cookies. Yep, black sesame, not mould! While most of them have gone to the stomachs of her colleagues today, I did have a couple of them when they were fresh (hot) out of the oven.. (Yum!) and found a wonderful subject to practise my food photography skills! :D

She didn't just make confectionery but also a great grilled chicken spiced with lots of wonderful herbs, just the way I like it! Decorated with corinander which does not only look great, it tastes even better!

FIFA World Cup 2010 - Theatrical

2010-06-23T00:45:00.027+10:00

Pretty disgusted with some of the theatrical soccer fakes this year in the FIFA World Cup 2010.

In particular, by the sending off of Brazilian great Kaka after Ivory Coast's Abdelkader Keita wildly exaggerated the impact of a little shove by Kaka, falling to the ground clutching his head...

Shame! Shame!! SHAME!!!

Here is my little canine friend's interpretation of the act - peeping with one eye watching what "score" the referee would award him for his performance!

Personally, I think the almost automatic yellow and sometime red card penalty to the accused is encouraging these cheats.

I suggest this new rule: The poor injured player/victim who falls to the ground, covering his face, leg, foot, whatever, crying in agony is sent off on a stretcher for a compulsory injury time of 20 minutes. The offender is given a yellow or red card or a word of caution per the referee's discretion. If the victim miraclously recovers, jumps up and lands on to his two feets, then "Carry On!" and no card is issued.

What do you think?

PMA Australia 2010 - Digital Life Expo

2010-06-06T00:53:00.046+10:00

Must say I was originally a little skeptical given the name of this year's expo is Digital Life Expo, thought it might be show-casing more of TV, entertainment systems, laptops, media centres, mobiles, i-phone/pad/tune/something.. I hesitated to sign-up. However, prompted by a friend, I decided to go.

Very pleasantly, what I found was an excellent expo and felt (what I thought would be) a consumer focused expo has matured significantly. No doubt there were digital frames, computer equipment, memory card companies, bags like Lowepro, legs, but there were also lots of lighting/studio gear, photography companies, printing companies, educational institution, book publishers and lots of cameras.

Nikon was huge compared to last year. The first picture was taken on the Nikon balcony where free sensor cleaning was given to NPS members and people can try out ultra-long lenses like 600mm, 400mm and 200-400mm. Yummy!

Like other years, there were seminars and I listened to one from NIK software about their editing products. Very impressive. There were several studio set-ups complete with models also which was definitely a hit with the public. Especially with the cheeky Hasseblad stand... There was also a large collection of photos on display. The quality of the pictures were impressive. I was glued at quite a few of them, just admiring and studying their stunning qualities.

Samsung has certainly done well in the last couple of years with highly acclaimed TVs and the world first dual LCDs camera (TL225). Even more note worthy was the NX10 robot, also from Samsung, shown here. They were guarding the Samsung stand when this paparazzi tried to snap a few frames of Samsung's top company secrets.

Within 3ns, they spotted me, their eyes turned blood red and alarms went off via the huge speakers on the side of their heads - BEEEEP! BEEEEP! BEEEEP! They stared me in the eye, assumed battle positions ready to pulverise this enemy!

Lucky for me, with only 2 fingers and a thumb on each hand, my "rock" convincingly defeated their "scissors" in the rock-paper-scissors battle. :D They spent the rest of the afternoon doing tai-chi and dancing to entertain guests...

Very happy to see also ThinkTank making their way into the Australian market. Their products are designed by photographers for photographers. You have got to check them out! Met one of their owners (Kurt Rogers! Yep, Kurt, a photographer and one of the founders of ThinkTank!) who flew in from California for the expo, a very nice guy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. :)

Mt Dandenong - Mushroom

2010-05-26T00:11:00.020+10:00

Went to Mt Dandenony with a bunch of photography enthusiastists a couple of days ago. Not really sure what the subject was but I was happy just to tag along... We ended up going to a golf course and found these really beautiful red mushrooms. I bet they are as poisonous as they are pretty! :P

It has been a long time since I have taken pics of nature. Too long! What a wonderful beautiful world that God has created for us to enjoy! How I wish we could stay there for many hours until dusk or even into the night...

Despite that it was already close to mid-day, we were still spoiled with this gorgeous rolling hills in a distance. I absolutely love it!!!

Also, I saw this really interesting looking mushroom, one that really reminds me of a sculpture at Southbank near the Crown Casino.. What a gem! You know the one I am talking about? What is it called?

Last but not least, you know it is autunn when you see red leaves like these. I want to go back again really really soon!

Fair Trade - The Big Swap

2010-05-25T22:24:00.045+10:00

A fantastic social movement aimed to promote fairness in terms of working condition and reward, also sustainability and environment conscious manufacturing standards. It is a great challenge to us the consumers in terms of value and where we will spend our hard-earned cash.

Aimed at developing countries where work force often make up of children working with no to little pay, worst still, working in poor condition and little to no reward... It is well known that the middle person reaps majority of the profit while farmers get very little money for their hard work. This is especially true in the manufacturing of teas and coco. In terms of sustainability and environment conscience, an example is the use of natural dyes in the manufacturing of textiles.

While in the process of promoting what is good, Fair Trade is not completely immune from the use of manufacturers whose standard may fall below acceptable level sometimes because of greed or other reasons. For that reason, Fair Trade certified brands and suppliers are periodically audited. This is a challenge but do not let this dither you from supporting this good cause.

It was the finale of The Big Swap, held at the famous Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. The event was supported by a number of local artists and performers and attended by a huge crowd.

There is a wealth of information at the Fair Trade website at http://www.fta.org.au/ and on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade.

We are called to look after Earth and the resources on our planet. We are also called to look after each other, the welfare and well being of all.

In the order of appearance, Paul O'Rouke, Natalie from Blue King Brown, Adam Cousens, Anna Smyrk & the Appetites and David Grant.

Genesis 1:28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

Lev 25:17 "Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God."
Matthew 19:19 "Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

Isaiah 58:6,7 God saids, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Highlights

2010-04-29T23:20:00.016+10:00

Created this slideshow a while ago, thought it would be a fitting and nice wrap up for the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it. :)

Thank you to all my friends for sharing the media stand with me - Alan, Amanda, Anthony, Brad, Brett, Christine, Daniel, David, Gaye, Kurk, Lucas, Magdalena, Marshall, Michael, Patrik, Randal, Stefen, Tanya, Tessa and videographers, Drew, Miles and many others whom I have forgotten your names. Sorry. Hope to catch you all again very soon beautiful people!

And of course, thank you also to all the lovely models; you made my job easy and the pictures great. Also, to all the make up artists and hair stylists from L’Oréal. AMPR, Austage, you are all wonderful.

Last but not least, thank you very much Darien and Pamela, you guys are wonderful to work with as well as the team. Thank you Darien in particular for all your feedback, suggestions and the lunch meeting we had which helped enormously towards the great result. Lovely to see you again Caz as well as Emma. Looking forward to working with you again!

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - GPO

2010-04-04T19:05:00.024+10:00

Simply gorgeous - beautiful building, fantastic location, great fashion and lovely models. Wish I could have attended both shows... Definitely one of my favorites in the fashion week!

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Fashion Collection - MINI ME

2010-04-04T18:00:00.026+10:00

Mini Me - children fashion parade - was a great show at the Malvern Town Hall presentd by the City of Stonnington.

Starred by lots of really cute kids (and several expecting mothers) and many popular labels - Bonds Kids, Industrie Kids, Just Jeans, Megan Park Girl, Moppit, Minihaha, Replika Revolution, and Zephire Generation.

These kids not only does the catwalk, they can dance as well! Check out the picture below! Thumbs up to the kids (and choreographer).

BTW, love those red boots. OK, love the black ones as well. In fact, love ankle boots, knee boots, all boots! :D

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Fashion Collection

2010-04-04T17:01:00.025+10:00

Held at the Malvern Town Hall, Fashion Collection always bring interesting lighting and performances. In terms of lighting, I have already posted one here.

Backed by Nicky Buckley, the shows did not disappoint. The audience responded to the performance with loud cheers. The back of the runway was a series of spot light backed by one really strong one. Used properly produced great results. :)

Nicky Buckley
Trinity in 'The Matrix'? Cool!

Thank God and to my trusty 70-200mm, despite the strong backlight, I did not have problem with lens flare. Hope you enjoy them and the rest as much as I do! :)

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - L’Oréal Official Parades

2010-04-04T16:04:00.027+10:00

Held at Central Pier, Docklands, this beautiful venue was ideal as the main stage for the fashion week. The design of the runway was very different from last year (see this) which was challenging to photograph, but done to give the patrons the best experience.

Miriam and Olivia Nervo were ambassadors of LMFF2010 and were DJs at the fashion parade. The most popular tune this year has to be "Why Don't You by Gramophonedzie". Great tune!

Thank God the Gecko on the model is knitted not live.. Like the gecko drapped on the traditional aboriginal inspired prints dress. Very Aussie!

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - SideWalks and Powder Room

2010-04-04T12:23:00.058+10:00

One of the best things about the fashion week is, on top of the VIP events and paid events, the free fashion parades at the infamous Federation Square called the SideWalks.

This year, Bonds presented one of the SideWalks which attracted a very large crowd. :)

Love the back drop of the parades which made up of historical buildings like the Flinders Street Station, St Paul's Cathedral, Forum Theatre, Young and Jackson's Pub, etc.

Combined with the ultra modern Federation Square metal architectures, and the retro look of some of this year's designs. Very nice indeed!

I must mention also the very pleasant weather we had through the whole fashion week.

It was a huge contrast to the storm we had just a week earlier, one which reportedly caused the costliest damange in 50 years(*). Here is a little footage on YouTube.

Thank God for answering our prayers!

This is L’Oréal Powder Room where many were pampered to the L’Oréal beauty treatment and make-up tips.

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Beauty Workshop, Luncheon & WGSN Seminar

2010-04-03T16:32:00.042+11:00

Another highlight of the fashion week was the Beauty Workshop presented by L’Oréal, Rae Morris, L’Oréal's make-up director and her team. I actually really enjoyed it.

Here are a couple of the tips. Please take note! :)

> 30+ sunscreen is the best skin care product that should be used daily.
> Apply shadow above the line from the corner of lips to top of ear.
> Brown is a neutral colour that goes with any eyes for highlight and shadow.
> Liquid eye-liner is not suitable for round eyes.

10 Global Issues that Counts in 2010 by Juliet Warkentin, Content Director, WGSN

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Designer Award & Forum

2010-04-03T02:04:00.028+11:00

Held at Atlantic and Sketch, Shed 14, Central Pier, Docklands were the Designer Award and Designer Forum.

This is Dion Lee who took out the Designer Award. Congrats! I chose not to be at the media stand and wander around on the side to get some action shots. Hope you like this one. Took me quite a few shots to get it right. It was worth it. ;D

At the Designer Forum were Tony Glenville, trend forecaster from London. Linlee Allen, born in Australia, now works as a fashion photojournalist and trend forcaster and lives in LA, USA. Also, Michael Angel, style director from NY.

I was really impressed by Linlee career journey and many wonderful pics she took.

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Business Seminar

2010-04-03T01:31:00.015+11:00

Not only there were fashion shows, there were also corporate events like L’Oréal Beauty Workshops, Designer Forum, Designer Award, Business Seminar, and Marketing Breakfasts as well. This is the Business Seminar held at the ballroom of Sofitel, a day long seminar with six high calibre international speakers and a packed crowd.

Just to name one of the speakers, this is Christian Blanckaert, former executive vice president of Hermes International from Paris. He spoke on the future of luxury. A fantastic speaker, humourous and I found his message very intriguing.

Other topics included such as e-commerce, the impact of technology on fashion such as facebook, twitter and blogging, focus on service over products, lifespan of a trend, and much much more.

There was also fantastic foods as well! Yummy! :P

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Backstage

2010-04-02T00:48:00.031+11:00

Hot, small and/or crowded are typical of the make-up and hair-styling area. Having plenty of water is crucial so models, and crew alike, do not dehydrate.

The enormous pressure combined with keen media crews and photographers all trying to nail a good interview and footage are enough to upset anyone inside.

Not so for Rae Morris, the Make-Up Director of L’Oréal.

She is very hands-on, instructing the team, making sure work is performed at the highest level on all the models. And still manages to accomodate the photographers for a shot, showing off the L’Oréal brand/products and even smile for the camera.

Certainly very experienced and professional and with a great attitude. :)

It was great to see the models are having fun also. Here is one playing with the L’Oréal team camera taking pics of models getting their make-up done, and another eating healthy and posing for the photographer as she does. Thank you very much! :)

Stacy is looking amazing as always...

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Behind the Scene

2010-03-31T23:34:00.019+11:00

Very large number of hardworking people are required to put together such a week long event.

Apart from the event organiser, just to name a few, there are rigging people, sound, light, video professionals who work long hours and late hours to get the venues set up for catwalks, seminars, workshops and other corporate events.

One impressive thing was that while the huge projectors were blindingly powerful, they were paired to double their strength. Very nice! The L’Oréal parade runway was markedly different from previous year and challenging for photographers. But it was fantastic for the guests which was the main thing.

There was a large number of volunteers also. They pack show bags, work backstage, ushering patrons, and much more and are spread over multiple venues and through the day. Many took time off from school and others from work to contribute to this event.

There are many many others such as choreographer, stylists, artists, PR, security, cleaners, and of course strong L’Oréal make up and hair styling teams who did an amazing job to make the models beautiful!

L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 - Opening Party

2010-03-31T22:51:00.016+11:00

Let me begin with an apology first for not updating the blog for a while. It is ironic that I am probably taking lots of pics when I am not updating this page... :P So, what have I been getting so busy with? Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010.

It was a fantastic week started with a bang at the VIP Opening Party at the Government House. The Government House does open to the public from time to time but I have never been there. Certainly a very beautiful estate. The ballroom was trasformed into a runway with a fairy tale theme. How wonderful!

There was a great ballet performance from the Ministry of Dance, Elvis ('Legend of Elvis') performing with his lovely dancers, many celebrities, lots of great foods and of course a fashion parade as well. Met Megan Gale for the first time. She is as pretty in person as in pictures. :)

Learnt something really funny. There was a brass brand and a professional mermaid model also. She wears a tail and had to be carried in and out. I never thought of that logistic detail! Well done Ruben!

Audi was the official vehicle partner for LMFF. It (TT RS) looked fantastic in front of the Government House at dusk!

Diana Krall Concert - Quiet Nights

2010-03-02T23:03:00.036+11:00

One of my favorite singers - Diana Krall, teamed up with Madeleine Peyroux and Melody Gardot and a 42-piece symphony orchestras performed at the Rod Laver Arena on the 26th February.

It has been five years since she last came to Melbourne to perform. In that time, she got married to Elvis Costello and has two children (twins).

Many of the songs performed were all time favorites from her (such as The Look of Love, Let's Fall in Love and Love Letters) with a couple of new tunes from her latest album - Quiet Nights. Her vocal and piano talents did not disappoint.

Would have loved to hear some tunes from her "Girl in the Other Room" album also because it is probably the album that tells more about the artist - featuring some of her own work and about her life, the lost of her mother. "Departure Bay" and "I am Coming Through" amongst others are extremely good.

Must also make mention that Anthony Wilson was fantastic on the guitar. He also performed with Diana Krall at the 2002, Live in Paris concert.

Having said that, another highlight of the evening was the peformance from Melody Gardot. Her voice, control, expresson and emotion that came through her songs were simply amazing! After a little research on wikipedia, my admiration of this talented singer grew even stronger. Melody, all the very best to your career and hope your body will continue to heal over time. Looking forward to hearing more work from you. :)

PS, the pic of the Quiet Nights CD cover is not taken by me, but taken from Diana Krall's website.

Sorry, couldn't get a better close-up from the back of the arena where we sat. Still, hope you enjoy them anyhow. :)

Face Painting

2010-02-05T21:56:00.025+11:00

Tanya from Let's Face It has been employed at our children function a couple of times (1) for face painting and I think she does a pretty excellent job.

I really enjoy photographing her work and the kids love it too! In fact, some adults/parents are so impressed that they want it for themselves as well! :)

Sorry, I couldn't show you her work without permission from the parents. There is a little gallery on her web site, Let's Face It, if you are interested.

Anyway, here are two that don't show the kids very clearly and yet do a decent job in demonstrating her skills. To make sure the former is true, I have photoshopped them also. Don't worry, his eyes don't naturally glow like this. ;)

Well done Tanya. All, Enjoy!

BTW, I am not affliated to her or her company and do not get any commission saying this!

Carols by Candlelights

2010-02-03T21:01:00.055+11:00

Not the Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, that would have to wait for another year... This is Carols by Candlelight at Ruffey Lake Park by the Manningham City Council.

What a fantastic event! Everything there were big - the stage, the sound system, light system, number of activities, and the support from the local churches.

But the most important of all - the huge number that turned up for a great night out. The locals obviously know this was going to be a great event (because they have done it 10 times before) so they are very well prepared. Not with brollies (thank God) but with reindeer hats, blankets, eskies, chairs, food, sunscreen, etc. In other words, much more prepared than this photographer was! :P

I was very impressed by the pre-carols programme organised by the local communities and churches. There was a worship band on a little stage singing lots of popular Hillsong songs and spreading the gospel message - the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the message of salvation. And there were face painting, fairy floss, arts and craft, aussie barbie (aka barbeque), on top of the many play areas, etc at the park.

As the name Carols by Candlelight implies, there were candle lights during the carols. Well, my readers, you might know that Victoria has been in drought for quite a few years and any risk of fire must be considered. With the lush green at the Ruffey Lake Park and many native trees there, no naked flame was allowed on the day (is it allow on any day?) so we had this immitation candlelights (torches) which had these little "flames" that actually flicker. What a great idea albeit they weren't nearly as bright as a real candle light would be.

The performances were amazing, loved the kids choir and the band and the many dancers and of course carols. There was even a brief message of hope. What a great night.

This is Alexndra Valmorbida, whom I have photographed before here. Boy, her skills and performance have developed even further! Excellent performance! Well done!

The night ended with a real bang, no, in fact many bangs - fireworks!

That was a fitting finale and also the scariest part of the whole evening for this photographer.. Why? Because I have never taken pics of fireworks before... Yep, never.. until now. Read a little before and asked two friends briefly how it is done, including everyone's friend, Google..

Armed with no more than a couple of tips, I wondered where to place the tripod? What angle will give me the best view? What shutter speed? What aperture? How high will it go? So dark I couldn't really tell... I only managed a few frames of it but thank God that the customer liked it.

Hooo.. a big sigh of relief from the photographer! :)

Thank you very much boys and girls (and your parents for giving me permission to take pics of you).

I know you want to see a few more, so here they are. Nop, Humphrey Bear did not do a double as Santa. Santa was there along with the Santa Sled he just managed to fit into after spending many hours at a gym in Manningham!

Very well done everyone and may the Lord Jesus bless you in 2010.

Lawn Bowling for Christmas Celebration

2010-01-04T21:04:00.021+11:00

We went to the Richmond Bowling Club for Lawn Bowling on a fantastic afternoon, warm, sunny (too sunny for my and my camera's liking) for our work Christmas party. Didn't play so well this time... but it was all for fun and to celebrate Christmas / another year so that didn't matter. :)

Love those sunnies on Ray. Thank you sir! I couldn't get a picture of the whole place in one shot if it wasn't for those sunnies! And you can see the photographer in what might appear to be a prisoner outfit too. Priceless. :D

I could have staged the balls to make them look much better. The rest of the balls were so far off from the jack (small orange ball) that they didn't get into the frame. Haha, that is not quite true.. Actually, not everyone have bowled twice yet. Thanks to our team captain, Jodie, we won!!

And that's all you need to know!

Look at the expression on these guys' faces! There is nothing further to what you might think is happening... I love what camera can do! ;)

2009 Corporate Dragon Boat Challenge

2009-11-26T18:53:00.056+11:00

With 10 companies participating, at the water front of Docklands, on a beautiful 27 degrees day with the hot sun shaded by light clouds and a light cool breeze, it was a wonderful day to have a dragon boat race!

I have never participated in one... not that I actually took part to row this time around, but doing my thing with the camera. It was an amazing event for me personally and ironically because I originally come from Hong Kong where dragon boat race is a seasonal event! :P

It was a short course of about 2 minutes run, 20 rowers in the boat working with a drummer in front and a steerman at the back.

The team from NAB, called the NAB P&C Pirates, was 24 people strong, most if not all first timers who knew little about dragon boat. All they had was one training lesson on Monday, by the international dragon boat commentator, Jonathan Mayne (inset with our beautiful drummer, Kate), for an hour or so and then another hour just before the actual race 2 days later (Wednesday, 25 November 2009).

Last year, NAB came last in this race... Therefore, this year, everyone turned up not expecting much, with minds set on having a good time, and a good old Aussie attitude of, having a fair go.

To everybody's surprise, the Pirates came first in the first heat! And then again, NAB came first again in the second heat coming up with a combined time good enough to be in the final! Already on cloud 9, NAB didn't lose sight of the goal and saw a glimpse of the glory, it surprised everyone, perhaps apart from the trainer Jonathan Mayne (who told me he saw something special when he met the team), the Pirates once again produced an amazingly strong final performance and came out second, just 3.16s behind the race winner BECA, proudly taking out the second prize!

What a fantastic achievement! Well done!!

(Despite the petite size of our drummer, Kate, this girl can shout! I can only hear her from the other end of the pier as all the teams sped down the course.)

This fantastic result came albeit some very strong competitors in the race, namely BECA that trains regularly and competitively in this sport.

Here are a few frames of the 4 finalists crossing the finish line. You can just see the tail of BECA on the left side of the frame. Look at how close the 2nd, 3rd and 4th were! NAB Pirates on lane 3, KBR on lane 1 came aggreesively from behind towards the end to overtake Lend Lease on lane 4 and took out 3rd place leaving Lend Lease in 4th place.

Click here to find out more about Jonnathan Mayne. FYI, he has 38 Australian Championships under his belt todate and is the corporate event director of Dragon Boats Victoria. What an incredible man!

As I research for links and information about Jonathan Mayne, I found out Jonathan is a Christian. He attributed some of his success to his patient and encouraging attitude.

“I've been Australian champion many times, been to the Olympics, travelled the world, even got taken to a church service in an aeroplane once. Being a Christian is never boring. If you know deep in your heart that God loves you and you're forgiven, it brings with it a whole new world in that God loves you just as you are.”

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 37:23, "If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm"

Manningham Spring Festival

2009-11-21T22:28:00.054+11:00

It was a marvelous day at Ruffey Lake Park.

There were huge number of activities, band performances, dancing, aerobics, horse cart, cultural performances, community groups, international food court, arts and craft, rides, jumping castle, bungy trampoline, stiltwalkers, face painting, boomerang throwing and many many more.

There was even a playground for dogs and cats from the Friends of Manningham Dogs and Cats.

How wonderful! :D

I never thought lizards can look so good! Look at these frilled lizard stiltwalkers!

Totally love the frock, the hair styling, make-up! What about the China Dolls and the Carnivale Duo. For a moment, I thought I was in Rio de Janeiro Carnival! :)

I was amazed how skilled they were, walking everywhere in the park, on all surfaces, on bridges, slopes with feets no bigger than a fifty cents coin. They participated in the parade with the large crowd as well.. Got to be careful where they were stepping on! Impressive!

The youth bands were mad! Look at the hair! To say it was loud is a grose understatement. They were screaming into the mics! I was worried about getting knocked over at times because part of the performance involved a crowd dancing in front of the stage, pushing one another and some falling to the ground (intended, not chaos). Wish I could stay there for every single performance.

Even our canine friends were having a great time at the festival. Look at this puppy. Cutest thing ever! Those big eyes and happy smile. 0_0

The dog below, aptly named Toffee, loves fetching ball. "Come on! Throw it! Throw it! Come on!"

Wish I took our own Yuski there to socialise and play with his canine relatives.
The Bungy Trampoline uncovers the "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" in any kid! Wow!!

The Caprice School of Ballet

2009-11-21T21:52:00.019+11:00

Had another wonderful shoot with The Caprice School of Ballet and picked up some new skills from a colleague there. Thank you Tim for the tips. Love your work mate.

Thank you very much Marilyn for the opportunity. All the best to the annual performance. You are a fantastic teacher and your students are absolutely wonderful.

The costumes this year are absolutely amazing, just take a look at the hair piece and the pink tutu.

I was really impressed by some of the students, by their maturity, leadership and caring attitude to one another. Even at such a young age, many showed maturity well beyond their years. Some students are actually mothers of other students and many have siblings there. It was such a warm affair. I highly recommend it!

Australian Citizenship

2009-11-21T21:05:00.024+11:00

Taking out citizenship seems to be the in-thing right now. This year, there has been a real tidal wave of people putting their hands up to become citizens of this great south land - Australia. It is not difficult to understand given the freedom we enjoy, the vast resources and how well we have survived the GFC.

Congratulations Edina and Ritchie!

Programme on the day usually include a speech from the respective city mayor (and a guest speaker), singing the national anthem, getting a little koala bear or kangaroo toy, a flag and a little bottle-brush in a pot.

The last of which is the most memorable for me reminding me or my own citizenship ceremony more than 20 years ago.

No, the bottle-brush is not a reminder from the government to keep our baby bottles clean. It is a native plant (Callistemon Linearis) in Australia nakenamed the bottle-brush because of the shape of its flowers.

Guitar Hero

2009-11-21T20:16:00.020+11:00

Undoubtedly one of the most successful video game in recent days. Guitar Hero, Band Hero and more recently DJ Hero. Just about every gamer I know have a set or planning to get it.. immediately.

Just the other day, I saw in a shop stickers you can buy to decorate the guitar also. What are they going to think of next? Violin Hero? Harmonica Hero? Trumpet Hero? or Hot Plate Hero? Can't imagine cleaning the harmonica in Harmonica Hero drenched with silva.. I used to play the harmonica.. do you flick the drool off or let it drip... Sorry for the going into the details... :P

Look at my wife here having loads of fun on the electric guitar.

Another game I played was Trauma Center: Second Opinion on the Wii... Sorry, personally, I thought it was a really boring and laborious game of basically having a time limit to repeat a series of steps from memory to remove a tumour from a patient's stomach. Makes me think I must miss having school work. LOL. But on the upside, it did help me appreciate the work of surgeons and surgical procedures more.

Look at this bunch of crazy people, oops, sorry, I mean friends! It was a fantastic evening and I still can't get this song out of my mind - The Eye of the Tiger. Here is a little trailer from the movie for the fans. :D

John 3:16

2009-10-04T18:07:00.015+11:00

Discovered this great animation tool. Here is my first attempt. Excuse me that it is not photography related but it carries a great message anyway. Enjoy! :)

Making friend with a Wasp

2009-09-23T23:12:00.014+10:00

A wasp climbed into my bathroom probably through the exhaust fan. I am not afraid of wasp, used to play with them when I was small. Yes, how stupid can I be.. :)

Captured it in a little travel toiletry case, I tried to release it into the back garden. It was then I realised that it was actually completely exhausted because it won't fly away... May be it was trapped in the roof without food for a long time before it found its way out. Being trapped in the plastic little box probably was a daunting experience also.

I decided to put a little bit of water in the box for it to drink. At first, it was afraid probably thinking I am trying to drown it, it retreated. But soon after that, it discovered how wonderful the water was and started lapping it up, I am not kidding, lapping it up like a dog! After that, with both front legs, it started wiping down its head, and then the whole mid-section (thorax). After that, it started using its hind legs to wipe down its abdomen and wings also. I never knew how far its legs can reach until now.

Wanted to capture this amazing moment on film but knew it is probably not possible. Anyway, my wife made a quick dash to get her camera. Just as she went, the wasp took off. Albeit a little disappointed, we were much more delighted that it is now recharged and able to take off!

Sorry, no picture of the wasp for you. You have to put that picture together using your imagination. It is a beautiful picture. :)

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2009Parade 2

2009-09-19T08:10:00.028+10:00

One of my favorite spot is the hair & make-up area. So much energy and excitment. Love taking the artists as much as the art (aka models)!

Kevin Murphy is a major sponsor to the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week and responisble for hair styling.

What caught my attention this year is that not only he and his team know how to make hair look great. He has a whole range of products as well, some of which were in the showbag. The range includes shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling products. For more information, take a look at this.

The Napoleon Perdis Makeup Academy was responsible for make-up.

I am sure every job has its ups and downs but these girls were having so much fun I am not sure about the latter! They are filled with energy and they do a great job on themselves (and/or for each other) also. :)

Some took close up pics of their work, such as pics of the eyes or an eye, which just goes to show how serious they take their work and again how much they love what they do!

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2009Parade 1

2009-09-19T01:22:00.017+10:00

For the fashion week to be such a great success took many people, many of them volunteers, many hours and days of work to put together, working tirelessly putting many thousands of show bags together, putting them out before and between every show, clearing and cleaning up, ushering people to their seat and many more humble and behind the scene tasks.

Well done everyone! :)

BTW, loved the Chai Latte from the Ducale guys. Yum!
The stage set up was all done before I arrive so I don't have pics of AV set up this time. Anyway, hope this pic gives you an idea how it looks. As usual Austage did a wonderful job at it.

Fantastic to catch up with many friends on the media stand and the drinks afterwards... So great to see you all and share the platform for the week. :)

Designs included Akira, Aurelio Costarella, Christine, Easton Pearson, Gwendolynne and MATERIALBYPRODUCT.

Melbourne Spring Fashion WeekFOX Fashion Parade

2009-09-19T00:45:00.013+10:00

MSFW 2009 came with a wonderful surprise this year - an extra show - the Fox FM Fashion Parade. So great to see Matt and Jo in person. Jo is pretty as on television and Matt transformed into a great model on the runway.

Jessica Mauboy as well as Cassie Davis were guest performers at the parade and their performances were impressive!

Another really impressive feature of the parade is that there were three models that one would normally not expect to see walking down the catwalk - one who is bald, another born with only one hand and the third is confined to a wheelchair. They were beautful because they were beaming on the catwalk! It was a really moving and uplifting experience. No one could wipe their smiles from their faces that evening. Well done girls!

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2009Opening Party

2009-09-19T00:21:00.010+10:00

Dispite the GFC, Melbourne has put together another fantastic fashion week - the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2009. Opening Party held at Silk Road last year was definitely one of my highlight if not the highlight of the whole fashion week. So, I went with much anticipation and excitment this time around.

Well, this year, the opening party is very different. Held at FortyFive Downstairs, a very retro looking venue. Having said that, it was put together with much love and large number of people turn up to be part of it. It was amazing to see Jessica Hart and her sister Ashley Hart, both amazing looking models and boy, they are blessed with great genes. Got to take some pics of our new city mayor Robert Doyle also. :)

I reckon you won't miss seeing my profile pic (which is not really a photo of me anyway), rather you would want to see more of the fashion show.. So, here you go! Enjoy.

PS Take advantage of the HD opton. :)

Daffodil Day

2009-08-28T21:35:00.047+10:00

Daffodil Day, run by The Cancer Council Australia raises money each year through the the sales of merchandise throughout August. This year, Daffodil Day falls on the 28th August.

Daffodil is the symbol of hope for all affected by cancer because of its reputation as a hardy annual flower, pushing its way through the frozen earth after a long winter to herald the return of Spring, new life, vitality and growth.

Money raised through Daffodil Day goes toward - research, support and education:

Funding research to discover cause, possible cures and treatments for cancer
Preventing cancer through education
Supporting cancer patients and their families with information about treatment and services
Providing support services to people affected by cancer

To find out more about how your donations will help, please visit here. You can donate online at the Daffodil Day web site. While it may be too late to get involved in the Daffodil Day this year as a volunteer, you can contact The Cancer Council to help here.

As the web site says, those with father, mother, siblings and friends are likely to have been impacted by cancer. Indeed, I know many who are impacted by cancer - family, relatives, friends and associates. How about you?

For help, please call the Cancer Helpline 13 11 20 or visit http://www.cancer.org.au.

The 100th Post

2009-08-23T12:59:00.025+10:00

Started back in March last year (23rd March, 2008) and with much hesitation I started this blog.

I was at first (and even today) doubtful over my ability as a photographer, writing skill and persistence in keeping this blog going...

It is really to the credit of you the reader and many friends who follow this blog (thus my journey), who gave me many great comments over time, correcting, encouraging and affirming me. And that's not limited to photogrphic skills alone.

Also, the great many who put their faith in me to capture your precious moments, and thus allowed me to witness and be a part of your life. Thank you very much indeed!

The one deserving the greatest thank is none other than God who gives me the eye, the strength and persistence everyday. It is through photography that I have come to appreciate Him more, and it is through Him that I appreciate photography more.
Colossians 1:15-17

This is a rock given to me in Japan, one that is fashioned by fire.

Cooking with Love

2009-08-22T14:42:00.055+10:00

Haven't posted my wife's cooking for quite a while. It's because wife has been very busy at work and had little time for this "leisurely" activity.

From the top:

1. Cassava Cake,
2. Assam Prawns,
3. Pumpkin Cake and
4. Radish Cake

Cassava Cake is my favorite! Esp when it is hot and fresh out of the oven! :)

Despite I really like Assam like Assam Laksa, Assam Prawns is my least favorite.

The problem is me, 100% me - I am too lazy to de-shell prawns. Thank God that my wife de-shells them for me. I am so lucky!

Like the Cassava Cake, I love the Pumpkin Cakes when they are really hot out of the fry pan. Shame that I had a cough when they were made so I couldn't shove them down my throat without constraints..

The Pumpkin Cakes are filled with red bean paste inside. Yum!! There is also a steamed version, you can read about it here.

The Radish Cake is not as "smooth" as what you might find in a restaurant. However, that is because it is packed with radish, not flour. It is therefore heavy in radish flavour. I love the spring onions topping also. It is not over-whelmed with pepper.. no need for that because it is the genuine article!

As said, the Cassava Cake is my favorite. Wonder when my wife will make more for me?! :P

For more information, please visit here.

Charity = Generosity - GFC

2009-08-22T10:41:00.038+10:00

Thank you Aynur for the opportunity to photograph the Charity Trivia lunch in support of Cystic Fibrosis Victoria.

There was a generous turn out and everyone gave generously toward this great cause. This is the tin with the donations inside. The photo doesn't do it justice but I shouldn't touch the money.

CFV Mission statement: "To promote research, increase awareness of Cystic Fibrosis and provide education, support and advocacy to Victoria's Cystic Fibrosis community."

Really exciting to see the spirit of charity not snuffed out by the global financial crisis (GFC)! Charity is a positive number because Generosity is always greater than GFC (or crisis).

Thank you to NAB and management for empowering its staff to contribute to the community in this way. If you would like to make a donation to CFV, please visit here.

Isaiah 58:6-7,14a, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ...The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

UBank Celebration

2009-08-22T08:07:00.056+10:00

UBank or NextGen Release 1 has take off!

UBank is the fruit of many months of hard work, of many wonderful people from different teams, departments, and vendors, working together.

I've learned a great deal and achieved much myself. Thank you all who collaborated and cooperated with me on SCM.

Praise be to God! Philippians 4:13

This is the day to celebrate, and we did that in style at a Swiss bar restaurant, Terra Rossa.

There were lots of great foods and drinks of course. Good to see so many letting their hair down for a second to have a great laugh and getting (and giving) a slap on the back for job well done. Many awards were handed out in recognition.

I really liked the decor in the bar, very retro.

Saw $13.25 on the table not far from the entrance and wondered who would leave them there? Soon I realised that it is a piece of art! The coins and notes are sealed inside a very thick layer of lacquer and is part of the table. Sorry, this is not a good pic, but it is one of those times, where the story is more important than the image. :)

Don't think my camera liked the showers half as much as I do.. The showers, combined with lights created wonderful effect of reflections on the street.. so much life and richness!

*Please take a good look at UBank and work out for yourself whether it is the right vehicle to manage and grow your hard earned money. :)

* This is not a financial advice nor an advertisement for UBank or the National Australia Bank (nab). Please consult your financial adviser for advice.

Generosity, I recommend

2009-08-09T15:48:00.022+10:00

I have a confession to make...

Been taking Robitussin Honey Cough Drops recently because of a persistent dry cough. They were great except that they are impossible to find. I have depended on them at work - for meetings, presentations, on the phone, etc, so it was terrible when we couldn't find them after going to no less than ten pharmacies...

With my one and only pack of Robitussin, I was at a friend's two days ago with lots of friends. Several were suffering from coughs also. With a little hesitation, I shared my precious Robitussin...

Today, we shopped at a grocery shop that is opposite a pharmacy, so I thought I will walk in and take a look. You guessed it, they have Robitussin Cough Drops, several packs in fact! The sales assistant was so nice that she even gave me a pack of 20 for free!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. :)

Proverbs 11:24,25 "One man gives freely, yet gains even more... A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed!"

PS, I don't work for Robitussin or get any commission from Robitussin. :)

Melbourne Open House

2009-07-26T02:26:00.051+10:00

MOH was a fantastic event!

One day in the year, 32 buildings in the CBD open to the public for free, most accompanied with guided tours. More than 50,000 people turned up for the event and God was kind and gave us amazing sunny weather on the day.

I love architecture so I wasn't going to miss this!

Yes, the queues were very long... But, my wife and her girlfriend later joined me which certainly made the day even more pleasurable. They saved a good two hours as well. To top it off, we had a fab lunch after that. Although it was kind of small. Loved the risotto and the company. I am hungry just thinking about it... :O...

This is the roof top view from MU.

I was lazy or perhaps just being realistic on the day... left my tripod at home... was going to bring it... it went as far as the door. Sorry tripod...

Tripod could have been useful at the St. Paul Cathedral. Anyway, had to do with handheld on the day. A wider angle lens would be nice too. I do love this cathedral, a wonderful house of God.

This is CH2. CH2 is the first purpose-built office building in Australia to achieve the six Green Star certified rating. A truly fasinating and innovative building albeit it took a long wait to get in also.

Love those infamous wooden louvers, yellow roof top turbines (also called wind crowls) and cooling through heat absorption into the concrete, etc... Magnificant!

After a long day of walking, met up with friends at Shanghai Village for dinner. The chicken dish was so nice! We are definitely going back again. Good choice Rumi/Yoshi. :)

A Sydney-sider told me buildings are even prettier in Sydney. Oh, I certainly love the Sydney Habour Bridge, the Opera House and I like The Circular Quay also. But this Melbourian is more than happy with what Melbourne has to offer.

Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne! =3=

The All New Mr & Mrs Bubb

2009-07-19T20:52:00.043+10:00

Congratulations to Andrew and Dharshana, the new Mr & Mrs Bubb!

Fourth of July, affectionately known as the Independence Day. However, 4th July, 2009 will always be remembered by Andrew and Dharshana as the day they pledged their love for one another in front of their family, friends and before their God; to love one another in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, so long as they both shall live.

Look at this royal wave from one very proud woman. What about the lucky fella next to her? He is so happy, no one could wipe that smile from his face on their big day.

May the Lord bless you with a lifetime of happiness and ever growing love for one another. May the Lord be the head of your household and your house be always filled with laughters and warmth.

Proverbs 18:22, "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD. "

Love each other with the same love Christ has for the church. Giving to each other, prefering one another over yourself. Giving and forgiving just as in Christ God has forgiven us and continue to bear with us.

Through God, your love will never fail.

Multiple Exposures

2009-07-11T17:24:00.020+10:00

Today is a very windy day.. even our little indoor flower is swaying in the wind.. Haha, not quite. It is a solar powered flower pot I got my wife from Malaysia originally intended for her office. You can just see the solar cell in the middle.

Taken using the built-in mutliple exposures feature of my camera. It is so much fun! Gain was set to auto.

Haven't played with custom time interval yet.. sure to be the next to explore.

Here is a single exposure. I was so lazy I didn't keep the flower from swaying before getting another frame. Thank God that the shutter speed was fast enough to freeze it. The center of the flower (stamen, pistil, etc) looks so much like the yolk of an egg. :)

It reads (on the base), "Flip Flap is a cute flower bud which moves by light. Please grow your Flip Flap in your mind and bloom your own special flower." LOL

Solar Powered Flip Flap Flower Flowerpot -Sourcingmap.com - Watch a funny movie here

Jewelry from Heaven

2009-07-05T19:30:00.027+10:00

Yes, jewelry from heaven - the morning dew.

Just as I was getting out (alright, rushing out) of the house to attend church, I saw this beauty in the backyard.

Beauty? Mmm, it is merely a lonely leaf, less than 2cm in length, that has fulfilled its purpose (to collect and process energy, to shade and protect the plant and much more). It is now lying on the concrete drying up and returning to earth. Yeah, I actually thought it is really beautiful that even for a leaf spent that God would dress it so beautifully with dew. What about us - people, we are precious in God's eyes.

Matthew 6, "...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

...Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

What about this second photograph? An unwanted plant thus called a weed (or valueless plant growing wild as the dictionary says) in a pot.

I actually thought the leaves look like wings of butterflies, many butterflies, dressed so beautifully with dew again. A truly beautiful moment captured forever! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. :)

One more thing, they were taken by my 28-200mm G lens, a humble little lens, without AF-S, given by my mother-in-law. It is a lovely little lens.

Forever Barbie - 50th Anniversary

2009-06-27T17:38:00.051+10:00

Who would not love to look their best forever? Barbie is the most popular plastic doll for girls in history and she still looks her best and trendy after 50 years.

Forever Barbie, celebrating 50th year of a pop culture icon - Barbie - is being showcased at Federation Square (top floor car park). It is the biggest Australia has ever seen. In fact, it is the biggest Barbie exhibition ever in the southern hemisphere!

With over three hundred Barbies, from the yesteryears to the new. From retail models to custom made ones, accessories - bags, glasses, shoes, more bags, houses, furnitures, automobiles (and space shuttle and horses) and pets and of course Ken (which may be classified as her pet also?)! From Barbie doll size to life-size fashion designs...

Not only Barbie fans will find it interesting. There are heaps of merchandise to purchase as well and I don't mean just dolls! Barbie is more than just a doll!

If you haven't checked it out yet. I highly recommend it, especially for this school holiday. It will be open (since Friday, 26th June) until Sunday, 12th July. Checkout the Barbie site for more details.

KEN: "To debunk all the rumour claiming that my relationship with Barbie is rocky, here is proof! We love each other and we are very happy together.

All you eligible bachelors out there, go look somewhere else!

Fans, thank you for your unwavering support to both Barbie and me! XOXO"

The King of Pop Michael Jackson has left

2009-06-26T21:00:00.034+10:00

Very sad and unbelieveable news that Michael Jackson (29/08/1958-25/06/2006) has passed away this morning at the age of 50. He was such a great performer, so talented.

His life and career was filled with so much drama and he was undoubtedly the most influential music performer in the last 30 years. On the same day, Farrah Fawcett, one of the original Charlie's Angels also died. She was one of the most beautiful during my childhood years. ;_;

Must say like many, I was somewhat turned off by Michael's look in his later years after the plastic surgeries and skin condition... when he was given the nickname Jacko.

Nevertheless, he was a significant person during my childhood. Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White are some of his songs that have permanent residence in my memory.

It was quite a moving experience at Federation Square tonight. They screened many of Michael's top hits on the giant screen. Many stopped, stood there, sat there, cuddled another and watched. There were older folks, younger people and even some kids.

While there was some technical problems here and there (the video flickered and the audio could not be heard in some songs), people patiently waited, looked on... filling in the gaps with what they remembered and remembered so well.

I wonder about all the memories that must have rushed back to each person as they saw Michael perform... I felt like everything came to a standstill for a moment...

It is so sad that he is not with us anymore. No doubt he will be remembered as a legend, a great achiever, one who won many hearts. Lets remember him for his amazing talent, wonderful songs and moon-walk. RIP Michael.

The Light in Winter

2009-06-26T20:00:00.000+10:00

Wanted to photograph the light shows at Federation Square for sometime. Tonight is the night! It was indeed very nice. Federation Square has officially became one of my favorite place! :)

The whole exhibit is called The Light in Winter which is all part an enlightenment theme. This first picture is The Gift of Light. Visit here for more details.
This exhibit is called Volume, LED light columns that reacts to human movements. I love all the colours of the exhibit and also the rich colours of the buildings near by. Beautiful!
Lets see it from ground level.

The next one, called Context, is a really interesting one. It is a real fire. You probably guessed it, it relates to the indigenous people of Australia.

Indeed, it was deigned by Vicki Couzens with the elders of the indigenous communities.

Roxanne is moving on!

2009-06-26T16:52:00.006+10:00

After 14 months in the team, one of my colleague is switching from a teammate to a customer.. Doh, I have to be nice to her from now on! Well done for enduring with us and all the best with the new position. Good to see you moving towards the direction you want to go.

Visible Air

2009-06-17T22:23:00.022+10:00

Mark Raymond Mason wrote in his photography tip, "When light is transmitted, it is simply allowed to pass through a material, such as window glass. If light is fully transmitted, the object will be totally invisible, like air. (Jun 14, 2009)"

Tonight I see air!! Not only I know air exists because it is keeping me alive and it is keeping me from running at 100,000km/h (actually, there are other factors on top of wind drag, like the lack of exercise, that contributes to it..), I CAN SEE AIR!! Well, this statement is of course not true. It is politically incorrect and scientifically unsound. :P

It is a very foggy night tonight. Flood lights on the tennis court opposite my house are lighting up the sky like it is day time! So bright I can not believe it! The picture doesn't do justice to what I saw... and they were switched off just as I was approaching... very shy! Anyway, I will leave your imagination to do the rest...

Here is another sample, taken at the foot of Mt Fuji in Japan.

Andrew and Dharshi are Engaged!

2009-06-12T16:34:00.027+10:00

Well done Andrew for putting together a fantastic surprise engagement party for your darling Dharshi! Look at how (pleasantly) surprised the bride-to-be was and a big sigh of relief for Andrew for finding the place and keeping it secret. Great job mate! Good work Jenks also!
We are so very happy for the two of you. Well done for finding each other. We wish you a life time of happiness, love and chocolate (at least Dharshi would say amen to that!).

All the girls were quick to offer Dharshi husband training advice while Andrew wasn't really sure what he is signing himself up to... Nah, he just couldn't believe his luck! :)

Sorry to all the admirers, available bachelors and single girls out there (and those looking to upgrade what they have...), Dharshi and Andrew are officially off the market!

I can't wait til your wedding day and see your new home! We love both of you! XOXO

For more pics, visit here.

Melbourne City, People and Holden Commodore

2009-06-10T18:47:00.009+10:00

I love the city of Melbourne.

Dispite earning the status as the swine (H1N1) flu capital of the world in recent days because it has the highest number of confirmed swine flu cases per capita in the world, it is a beautiful city with many cultures, many nice eateries and beautiful architectures. I also love the energy of the city created by the people.

I would love to see Melbournians being known as friendly, kind, polite and generous people as well. Will try my best to be one myself because I would like to be treated the same way. :)

Luke 6:31, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

This talented musician was playing the famous Chinese piece The Butterfly Lovers (梁祝). Very nice, thank you!

Click here to listen.

The current model of Holden Commodore, Calais, Statesman, HSV are the most beautiful todate, sporting elegant lines and defined wheel arcs. Very clean, looks good in any colour and at any angle.

Thank God that Holden is not affected by the bankruptcy of General Motors. Not sure if this is the last of the big six (6 cylinders vehicle) as Holden move towards producing more fuel efficient automobiles.

Loving family on a journey

2009-06-06T23:00:00.004+10:00

What does this picture communicate to you?

Lovely family bonding?
OMG! Where the hell are the kids' helmets?
Honda rules! (it is a Honda C70)

Zipping through the streets of Penang in the back of my mum's Toyota Avensis is quite an experience. Not sure why they bother to paint lines on the road. No one pay any attention to them anyway. People REALLY share the road over there! There are lots of motorbikes, motor vehicles of all types, tricycles and trishaws on the road not to mention pedestrians trying to cross the road. I am not sure if I would dare to get onto one of those tricycle or trishaw, aimed for tourist, as the mode of transport for sightseeing around that little island... Looks incredibly dangerous. What about the fumes from the truck in front?

I thought I hit the jackpot when I saw this - four people riding a motorbike together. A family affair, the old and the young. The young sandwiched between the old.

It was in the news in Japan that helmets are really important for kids especially because their skull are still soft needing much more protection than would an adult. Yet, they don't wear helmets.. The bike was a Honda C70, may be 25 years old (C70 was manufactured between 1970 and 1984), with a mere 72cc engine and top speed of 80km/h.

Love the flowing hair of the little kid in front, with his cute yellow shoes in the basket, and both hands on the handle bars. Most of the time, you won't see the passengers holding on to the driver / rider or any handles that might be available. They would sway to the left or to the right along with the bike. I thought that is pretty amazing and dangerous. You can tell I never rode on a motorbike. :P Boy, I wonder why the best rally drivers in the world are not from Malaysia!

What do you think this post should be titled? Send me a comment to suggest. You decide!

[2009-06-26] Thank you to all who voted on the subject of this post. The winning vote is "Loving family on a journey". You are sooo kind. Thanks!

Bamboos of Japan Penang

2009-06-06T22:00:00.006+10:00

Missed the bamboo forest in Kyoto... sob sob... so I wasn't going to miss it when another opportunity presented itself!

Saw these bamboos next to the food court (called New World I think) where we had dinner. Got stank by mosquito twice in the process... I was a little worried about catching Dengue fever from the mosquitos. Anyway, I survived and I like the result. Hope you like them too. :)

No photos? Too hot!

2009-06-06T11:23:00.024+10:00

Sorry, I didn't take many pics at all in Penang. That includes all the wonderful food that we consumed. My excuse is that it was soooo very hot while we were there it didn't take much time to zap all our energy away. -_- zzzZZZ Well, I must be fair and say thank God for this His amazing grace for giving us great sunny weather. Aparently, it was raining the whole month just prior our arrival. But when we were there, it was sunny (and hot), for all 6 days we were there. Just as we take off from Penang, it started raining and mum told us it rained heavily after we left. Thank you Jesus!

Even the monkeys would not come out because it was sooo hot. We went to the Penang Botanical Gardens that supposed to have a large population of monkeys. Well, it is nicknamed Monkey park after all... However, we saw very few of them. We bought peanuts and we even bought bananas. Still that wasn't enough to entice them to come out and meet their cousins! Rubbish, I don't believe we are related... ;]

However, we found this really amazing looking tree with flowers so amazing that I don't know how to describe it apart from calling it Exotic with the capital E! Its colours so rich and almost looks like a wallet and at the opening of the "wallet" are little arms with yellow petals at the end. Can you believe that it is actually called the "Canon-ball" tree.. You can see why.

Well, we did bump into some monkeys that day, a couple of them in a big cage (that's the only reason why we saw them because they couldn't run away... :P).

In case your parents or teachers have never educated you. They are wild animals, don't get too close because they can carry disease. They can also get aggressive (or too passionate) and grab you. One tourist tried to stand right next to the cage to take a pic with the monkeys. Both monkeys launched at the tourist grabbing his shirt and arm. Luckily their claws were not sharp.

Penang Foods

2009-06-06T10:39:00.017+10:00

Thank you mum and Linda for taking us around to sooo many places to spoil our taste buds.

All the hawker food Penang has to offer - char koay teow, nasi lamak, laksa, rojak, hokkien mee, popiah (actually I prefer the Singaporean version), chicken rice, loh bak, chu cheung fun, curry mee, nyonya dishes and many others I can't remember how to call them... Memory is a wonderful thing. I can "taste" them just trying to recall them in my mind.. :P

What about deserts, drinks, durian and mangosteen (photographed below)... Oh, desert?! What about desert?! I felt cheated by the desert. Don't laugh Linda. What they dished out looked nothing like the picture in the menu... Compare this pink soup with the picture immmediately next to it on its left.

Photographs are supposed to convey truth. People believe it when they see it in a photo.

That said, this is my only whinge out of many dozens of great food we had. It is kind of like the train that was late in one of our legs to Mt Fuji. Our short memory meant we have forgotten how not punctual or un-punctual the train system can be back home (in Melbourne), we have become accustomed to the 100% punctual trains in Japan. But on this cold morning, waiting outside at this train platform. This train was late by 3 minutes, all of us were cold (perhaps except James who was armed with his Canadian water...) and not very happy that the train was late. That said, Japan has the most amazing train system still just like Penang food are still excellent (and cheap)! :)

Oh yes, before I forget, we had Japanese, Western as well as German food also, the last of which was really good. We had lamb shanks and it was great, at a very cheap price also! It is called Ingolf’s Kneipe German Bar and Restaurant. It is situated at Jalan Sungai Kelian, off the main Jalan Tanjong Bungah. For more information and pics, check this out! I don't get no commission for this.

Congrats to the new Mr & Mrs Choo

2009-06-06T09:57:00.013+10:00

Very well done David and See Voon! David, you know your whole family - mum, your sis, myself, uncle Jason and many others are very proud of all you have accomplished. You threw a beautiful (wedding) party, sorry we couldn't be at the Ipoh one as well. The ice sculpture was fantastic and so was the reception, the band, the video presentation and of course the food. What about that 32 seconds kiss?! I wish you and See Voon a life time of happiness together. May good things continue to come to the two of you and your love for each other will grow even stronger now that you are married.

Romans 13:8 says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another..." In short, love each other like you owe it to one another.

You might ask, where is the beautiful new Mrs Choo... She is being pampered and made up by the make up artist/s.