Archive | September, 2007

Hannah Tan Private Session for Album Launch at Mardi Gras (1-Utama) with Vince Chong

So last week a couple of friends and I headed off to the new club at 1-Utama (Mardi Gras) to check out a private live session from our local star Hannah Tan commemorating her new album launch apparently.

The place was pretty packed, and we got there a bit late, but thankfully I managed to sneak to the front and get some shots in. I started out with a wide lens (17-50mm f/2.8) but it was too wide and not fast enough even open all the way at f/2.8.

So I switched to my 50mm f/1.4 which gave me enough light at f/1.8 and was about the right focal length!

She had back-up dancers, vocalists and a full band (with Alda on bass), it was pretty cool!

Lead Guitarist

This guy was rapping too.

Rapper/Dancer

The lights were tough for photography, changing every second or so to a completely different colour…sometimes the same picture would have 2-3 colour casts. It surely made for interesting ambiance though.

Hannah Tan at Mardi Gras

I chose to use the available light rather than blasting it all away with high powered flashwork.

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Movie Review – Zodiac – Gripping!

Zodiac

As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.

This is a movie that quite a few people have been talking about, many have mentioned it’s well worth a watch. It wasn’t hyped that much over here, but it did catch my eye, especially seen as though it had a decent cast and was based on a true story. It should be interesting at the very least.

It turns out it was better than expected, it’s stormed straight into the top 250 at IMDB at #244 with a score of 8.0/10! Very rarely do movies get above 7.8 or so, I expect it will drop a little as time passes though and it’s position will stabilize.

It’s a very well made movie and although it’s long at around 2.5 hours, it doesn’t feel long. It holds the suspense, pace and interest all the way through. The direction and character buildings are excellent.

Both Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal play their somewhat obsessive characters very well.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal

I’ve been a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal since I saw Jarhead and before that Donnie Darko, I can’t say he’s disappointed me since then.

It’s a very well put together movie, which leaves you guessing as to who is who, what’s the motive, what is happening and how it’s going to end.

The inter-relationships and changing situations of various characters make it very interesting.

It’s definitely worth a watch, sorry to rate another movie highly….but there’s been a crop of great movies lately, all of which have entered the IMDB coveted top 250, which says something right? Even though I feel IMDB is a little over-rated nowdays.

Flixster is an excellent Web 2.0 alternative built with a social networking aspect…anyway that’s off topic.

Go watch Zodiac, it’s worth it.

I give it a fascinating 8.5/10.

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The Shaolin Botol Susu Diffuser (Plastic Milk Bottle) For 1:1 Macro Photography!

Someone said I should patent it so I can become a millionaire and have a massive house like Gary Fong?

Anyway rather than buy an expensive R1C1 Macro Ring Light…..I thought I’d adapt my existing SB-800 to suite my macro taking needs. I got the original idea from Lord-V over on Flickr.

He has all kinds of cool stuff he DIY’s himself, he uses mostly Coke Can diffusers now though.

Basically what I wanted is a ‘device’ that spread the light evenly and softly across the area where my Tamon SP90 focuses and extends to during 1:1 macro shooting, I scouted around for a while for bottles and found the ideal bottle. A milk bottle!

If you want to do something similar you’ll need:

1) A plastic bottle
2) Kitchen Foil
3) Kitchen Towel
4) Double sided sticky tape or glue
5) Normal Tape
6) A sharp knife

That’s all! Less than 10 bucks as you probably have some of it already.

I decided to use this bottle as I could have the top extend our further than the bottom to cast the light downwards onto my subject, so the first thing I did was hack the top out where the handle and the opening were.

Exit Point

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Hannah T

Album launch, will post properly soon.

Hannah Tan

Hmm.

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Seiko Resistance IS Futile – SNFK11K Automatic Watch

My watch has been at the service center for quite some time…much to my annoyance, and my backup watch completely packed up in Krabi leaving me watchless…which for some reason I find rather uncomfortable.

I’ve been looking around for something in my budget, then out popped some new released by Seiko! The SNFK series.

Something like the Seiko 5 series (7s26 Caliber), but quite a different look – it’s also an automatic watch.

A big face not much different from the rugged outlook of a divers watch (43mm without crown 53mm lug to lug).

Seiko SNFK11K

It has a beautifully crafted knurled fixed bezel which brings the details of the watch out along with the crown which is also knurled – it’s not screw down though.

Knurled Bezel

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Krabi Thailand Trip Day 4 – Elephant Jungle Trekking & Lunch in a Canyon!

And the last day came as quick as that, it really was fast.

We were up early again for a quick breakfast, then out to the Jungle with the owner of an outfit that does Elephant Jungle Trekking – beat that!

First up we fed the elephants with some small bananas, hmmm…nice!

Bananas

Meet the Team

Elephants

Each one of these buggers eats more than 200 tonnes of Pineapple leaves A DAY – amazing eh. Basically…they are either sleeping or eating, because eating so much makes them sleepy.

After that we climbed up a platform which put our feet level with the elephants backs, so we could get on easily. So we mounted up, 2-3 per elephant.

Mounting Up

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Krabi Thailand Trip Day 3 – Kayaking Through Crocodile Canyon, Emerald Pool (Sra Morakot) & Hot Springs Waterfall (Bang Kram)

On the third day it was up early again, a quick breakfast in the hotel and out for some kayaking in the Crocodile Canyon, sounds fun eh? It certainly was.

Although very hot, make sure you’ve packed a hat and some sun screen or sun block if you are liable to get burnt (as I am being a pale whitey).

The sea kayaks used are the surf-ski models, as opposed to the whitewater craft which are watertight/covered (making them more dangerous for beginners). This makes them more stable – although you are likely to get wet, so dress appropriately.

They do provide you with watertight bags to keep your valuables/camera so they won’t get wet in case you do fall in or just get splashed.

The price per canoe was around 900baht including a guide, each kayak can sit two people comfortably, there are some 3-seater models but they aren’t so common. The tour would generally last about an hour or 1.5 hours.

The weather was stunning as we set out.

Kayaking in Krabi

Matthew Ong from the Breakfast Show

Matthew Ong

The scenery was quite breathtaking there, especially inside the Canyon almost gorge like reminsicent of Gulin, China – it was splendidly hot though…

Kayaking

After a reasonable paddling session we reached the Canyon (known as Crocodile Canyon if I heard correctly)

Crocodile Canyon

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