My 2010 Photography Collage 。。。

I've been going thru' my past year portfolio.... organised them properly & do the necc back-up to my hdd. Never did I realised that I had created 44 albums for the last one year! Well, quantity is not an issue, i'm concern about the quality & whether i've shown some baby steps in improving my skills. Had been really active & tried to cover more or less the free events happening in my homeland... hoping to share the sights wif family & frens both here & abroad. Besides this, i realised i've some blog visitors fr far-flung places across the globe, hopefully they have learnt abit more abt this sunny island called Singapore!  

Hopefully I can carry-out all the ideas sitting at the back of my brain in 2011... now is juz waiting for some nice weather instead of dull grey skies! I also wana get a better tripod as my own bday pressie... any sponsors to chip in? keke! Okie, below is a collage that i created which is a representive of stuff i had shot in 2010.

Bugis Street Shots + Canele's Desserts 。。。

Another rainy afternoon as I made my way to Bugis area... after the downpour stopped, I walked to the chinese temple's area to play wif the 50mm lens. Asides fr the sound made during the auto focusing, this compact lens is very sharp & able to produce a nice bokeh effect. So here's a few of the shots gathered:

Fresh Lotus, Fortune Reading, Ice-cream Uncle

While walking, i stumbled upon the back alleys & if not for photography, I also din notice the colourful stairways...despite always walking past! At that time, the clouds & sky colours formed a nice backdrop...which was a rare sight during this monsoon season!

After numerous shots at the back alley, realised it's time to proceed to Raffles City to meet my frens for dinner. JS was first to reach, so we had some time to racee around the basement of Raffles City to decide on dining venue. As we walked past Osaka Town, JS kept singing praises for the food she tried bef at IMM's branch. Since i never tried bef, dun mind giving it a try... when Joycelyn joined us later, JS ordered quite a few items... there's a combo wif steak, chix & salmon set, prawn mayonnaise, gyoza & an okonomiyaki + fried mushrooms set.

The gyoza was first to arrive & oh boy, all the 5 pieces r drowned in oil! The only saver for the evening was the prawn mayo...but i was stunned by its small portion! There's only like 6 small prawns or so... however the sauce was tasty, such that we kept scooping the sauce to go wif the rice! Thanks to JS who pushed my expectations (since she's also picky abt food), the steak combo was so-so only, nothing fantastic. Thou the okonomiyaki's presentation was nice, but it definately didn't suit my palates... Joyce grumbled that the dinner yielded no sense of satisfaction, haha! So JS decided to give us a treat at Canele later, yeah!

When we popped over to Canele, there's a waiting list of 2 ppl in front... so we were number 3! Hence, we window-shopped around the mall... JS was getting impatient, but Joyce & I pyscho her to wait till 8.30pm! The Coffee Club was also packed, so we were destined to wait for Canele to ring us. At 8.30pm, we went back to Canele & I saw a table was juz cleared... the server was making a phone call. Suddenly, JS shouted veri loud at the server (wif his back facing us), "I'M BEHIND YOU!''. The guy turned around wif a shocked look & we juz couldn't help to bust into laughter...poor him, kana 'shocked' for nothing!

As we were ushered to the table, I still couldn't stop laughing when i tink of that guy's shock expression & my fren's fierceness! We ordered the Strawberry Crepes, New York Cheesecake to share & JS had her dosage of caffine.  Woo! How i love the crepe here... the ice-cream was also not too sweet (vs Marche's). The NY Cheesecake was nice too. The desserts were a great way to round up the dinner & the gals laughed at my jokes till tears, hehe! Towards the last part, Joyce asked, "so when's my turn to give u hong pao?'' (hinting us to get marry soon!) The quick-witted me replied cheekily, "Chinese New Year!'' JS quickly seconded me, keke! Seriously, i will welcome addtional red packet for the lunar new year. I'm the most eligible since i'm the youngest ma! ^o^

1st Time doing Baby's Photoshoot。。。

My fren had booked me to take pics for her baby months before her little bundle of joy arrives... Without hesistation, i agreed & remembered this promised made. I borrowed a 50mm lens from Wei, hoping to create some nice shots, as this lens has an aperture of F1.8.  Today shall be another milestone in my 1 year of continuous practice & experimenting wif different genres.

When i arrived at YP's house, baby Yu Xuan was sound asleep... So we spent the time catching up on our lives since we had not met up for a year! Finally Yu Xuan woke up & the confinement lady brought her out to say hello! haha! YP told her daugh, this is 'jie jie'... i turned to look at my fren, ''eh... i'm not jie jie, i'm yi yi lah!", wahaha! Even the aunty dun believe me & YP are same age LOL.

Woo! Better quickly grab the opportunity to take pics now, before baby goes back to LaLa Land... As the house was pretty dim, i suggested to make use of the natural light from the door... so we layed a mattress in the living room for the shoot. Baby have nice long fingers & feet... so i tried to take a few close-up shots. Baby has veri strong legs too & when she was layed on the mattress, she started to kick her little feets! haha! Tricky shots...  Then, i got YP to sit on a stool & let baby's little fingers hold on to her hand... As the saying, " a picture speaks a thousand words", I like how such shots evokes emotions... displaying the bond between mom & baby.

At the point of photoshoot, baby Yu Xuan is only 3 weeks old! Shall wish her Happy 1st Month in advance & may she grow up healthily!

In fact, i still have many ideas but need the right natural lighting & some props + space. Space was indeed a constraint today. Besides wildlife, i tink taking pics of babies & kids are the hardest as they would not be able to keep still! But there's alot of joy in doing such photos & it really makes my day ^o^

P.S: Thanks again buddy! Without the 50mm lens, i doubt i can create such nice shots!

Christmas Light-Ups Around Singapore 。。。

Vivo City

It's the Christmas season hovering again... previous years, I would do casual shots wif my compact camera. This year will be different as I decided to give myself the challenge of taking pics of the various Christmas light-ups around Sg to form my project titled: The Christmas Series 2010. For about 3 weeks since 22 Nov, I went around wif my cam to photograph the x'mas decor... Started off at Vivo City's Sky Garden, a spot I rarely miss! Then, had dinner wif Denise at Bugis Junction, so had some interior shots of the mall's decor + a short stroll to Raffles City. Then, of course need to hop to Orchard Road to capture its x'mas light-ups.

Get Starry @ Bugis Junction

City Hall ~ Marina Area

Orchard Road

A frosty x'mas @ Orchard Central

The 1st sight of Orchard Rd's decor happened to be a rainy day when i met up wif Michelle for dinner at Wendy's... First try at Wendy's @ Liat Towers, its double beef burger was not too bad, but Carl Jr's was definately better, haha! Since i did not bring my dslr, this outing was more like raceeing for photography spots. Not too impressed wif this year's decor, wif red, blue & purple star-shaped decor lighting up the streets. The theme is 'Star on Orchard'.

I like this angle discovered wif my zoom lens

Lots of Gold & Glitter @ Paragon

My 2nd trip was wif Wei as we had met up to buy her new dslr, hence i suggested head to orchard for some test shots. So, I brought along my Canon EF-S 55 - 250mm lens to try out as well, since I had yet to get familiarise wif it. Wif a zoom lens, I needed to adjust to the focusing distance since I'm used to a wide angle...but also due to this, I was 'forced' to excercise some creativity! Thou' the sense of satisfaction was not there yet, i do pretty like a few of the shots achieved by this little neat fellow! My arms did ache pretty fast despite its light weight!

My finale trip to complete the project was a mit up wif my poly frens to post-celebrate Qy's bday at Marche... For this, I used my wide angle, so we could do close-up shots & to get those shots i missed out. Finally, i felt more satisfaction when i preview my photos!

Wide angle view of ION

One of my Fav shots taken inside ION X'mas Tree

My brilliant idea too, wohoho!

In a nutshell, I personally love the theme at Takashimaya best, using simple cuddly bears to stack as x'mas bears trees & they did a gd job by adapting their theme fr the movie [Eat. Pray. Love], into [Live. Laugh. Love].  I really wish everyone could ''Live, Laugh, Love''... Live well, Laugh alot & spread your Love.  As for my fav X'mas tree, it goes to Vivo City! That's all folks, Merry Christmas!

Fireworks @ Vivo City's 4th Birthday!

Tonite Vivo City celebrated it's birthday following its tradition of setting off fireworks! When i arrived at 8pm & looked up at the 2nd level, the deck was filled wif rows of tripods & dslr aiming at the skies! As if it's a warfare, luckily this is 'shooting' digitally! The sky garden was closed to privileged shoppers/staff only. Hence, I juz randomly found a centralise position near to the waterfront... on hindsight, i should had position myself abit further.

After 1hr of waiting & listening to christmas jingles played over the PA system... the brilliant fireworks finally started off wif a loud bang rite in front of me! Ah! Din expect those pillars in front of me had dazzling sparks too! Sei, juz seconds only, smoke filled the air... hence it's quite hard to capture the further-off fireworks. The fireworks display was better than previous years, this time choreographed by a Portuguese team... hmm, shows that the mall is ringing in big $, haha! The spectacular show lasted for 10mins!

Upon reviewing my shots, i realised i shld had set a slightly longer shutter speed, perhaps that will be better. Finally, i gotta test out the multiple bursts in 1 frame done wif the bulb mode & shutter release ~ not too bad for a 1st attempt! Haha! Okie, I'm all ready for the New Year Day's fireworks!

Floral & Fauna @ HortPark 。。。

It's the year end rainy season in Singapore again... ever since i completed my HK posts, I have been waiting for a good weather to bring my cam out! Finally, today is sunny & have no signs of stormy outlook... hence impromptu decided to visit the HortPark nearby. The Nparks website indicated there's a Butterfly enclosure there! The last time i went was 2yrs ago wif my frens but we were there briefly & did not explore the whole HortPark.

Clouds Reflections



          We Need Each Other                                       Autumn In Singapore?

As it's a weekday late afternoon, the park did not have many visitors... caught sight of a couple taking wedding shots.... groups of children playing & students exploring the place. As Sg is a tropical country, unlike countries wif 4 distinct seasons, there's no opportunity to capture my fav autumn colours! HortPark is also part of the Southern Ridge Park Connectors & as i walked around, i realised the end of the park leads to the Kent Ridge Park.

Then, i noticed an uncle wif a super zoom L lens trying to 'shoot' birds! That's really tough! Juz when i tot it's impossible for my kit lens to shoot birds in the wild... i stumbled upon this area & noticed 2 birds searching for food! Shh....i slowly creeped up, but saw the one i targeting moved further, hence i target his partner. Then, CLICK! my shutter sound immediately scared the bird away! Phew, i'm damm lucky to obtain a sharp shot... this marked my 1st time photographing a wild bird in Sg! Yippie!

Like a Star

Circle of Frens

Finally, i chanced upon the Butterflies enclosure & alas, it's locked! Then, i realised it only open to guided tours on the last sat of each mth....it's a veri small enclosure anyway. Hmm, i started wondering if i would be 2nd time lucky to shoot a butterfly nectaring.... But none was in sight. As i made my way out, i saw a black butterfly sipping nectar on a flowering tree! Aiya! When i turned on my cam, it flew higher & higher UP! Generally, the flowers variety are not that exciting & those pretty ones r locked up in the research greenhouses.... As such, these r  the best i got during my 1.5 hr stroll ^_^

Centre of Attraction

Dreamer's Guide to BULB Mode & Remote Shutter Release 。。。

I have been learning how to do long exposure shots & decided to write a dummy's guide abt it based solely on my personal experience...

Remember not too long ago, I decided to experiment wif this function ~ "Bulb" mode in my canon dslr. Wat the hell is this, u may ask? Well, our normal shutter speed usually can only go to 30 seconds, hence if u wana do an exposure longer than 30 seconds, you need to set your cam on Manual first, then push the dial 1 step down fr the 30s, it will show BULB on your LCD. When u see pros' shots of brilliant fireworks, they tend to utilise this Bulb mode to capture the fireworks. I had yet test that on fireworks as i previously do not have a remote shutter release.

BULB Mode Setting

Canon Remote Shutter Release

Now, let me explain about this wonderful gadget, which is a small & light-weight remote control that you use together wif the Bulb mode. Pls chk your user manual for the remote's model number as it may varies across models. Generally, the manufacturer's brand is more costly, ard twice the price of a 3rd party brand (in sg). Basically, the remote functions exactly like your shutter button, but you could lock it, while the shutter remains opens....more light from the surroundings will get into the sensor. So far, i practiced it mainly on night scenary & it had made a difference to my photos. The remote will also help to reduce the slight shake that happen when u press the shutter button. Also ensure that you had set your dslr on a stable tripod.

Attach the remote here!

With the above jargons explained, the next time you are on a outdoor shooting....you can experiment wif the Bulb mode. In the Manual mode, you need to set the aperture first, can try to start at F11,  ISO 100. The shutter exposure time will need to play around wif it & see which effect you prefer... if you r not too sure as your LCD tends to be brightly lit at night, take your pics in RAW format too. This will allow you to adjust the exposure & white balance in the canon's software. Below are 2 examples I just took over the weekend:

@ F8, ISO 100, 24 seconds

Does this pic gives you an island feel? Day or Night abit confusing rite? I like how the full moon shone thru the clouds & due to the long exposure, it looks like sunlight too!

@ F11, ISO 100, 20 seconds

A shot of the Star Cruise, see how the water became more smooth & reflective like a mirror. The streaks of light off the water was created unintenionally as a boat moved off during the exposure time....but i felt it created more interest to the foreground. In the sky, the slow movement of the cable cars created a streak of smokey feel!

Hope you had enjoy reading this short article & happy shooting! 

HK Day 6: Exploring Diamond Hill （鑽石山）

I've came to the last day of my trip & the places I wana visit were mostly done, except for this final stop... Prior to setting off, gotta visit the HK cafe downstairs for the last time. Today's breakfast would be  菠蘿油 + 熱檸蜜 ~ simply impossible to find the exact taste in Sg!  菠蘿 means pineapple but the bun does not contain any pineapple at all, juz a name given to its outlook, haha! This bun is also a staple in any HK cafe & ppl can eat it for breakfast or tea =)

Done wif breakfast, i did a chk out of my room & left my luggage wif the 9th floor reception. I only had 1 destination in mind ~ Diamond Hill (鑽石山). Usually I would go to Wong Tai Sin, but I wanted to find some new place for photography... Judging from my street directory, the Chi Lin Nunnery (志蓮淨苑) is pretty near to the MTR. Before spotting Chi Lin, there's also a Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池) sighted. Took me awhile to find Chi Lin's main temple area, which u had to walk up the stairs. The lotus pond provided a nice landscape for the temple grounds. Saw a few shutterbugs too & i started snapping shots of the lotus flowers & surroundings.

Juz when I was enjoying my shots, my hp buzz....shit! Sms fr Jetstar that my flight had been delayed till 10.25pm! How to spend the rest of my day & there's no room to return....damm! Hence, I took even a slower pace & walked over to the 南蓮園池, a nicely landscape park...wif neatly trimmed trees, pavilions & fat carps swimming gladily... I like the details, such as a wooden recycle bin & creative toilet signage....haha! One good thing coming to Diamond Hill was the better air & definately lesser tourists... which put one in a relaxing mood.

Lush landscaping

Can enjoy veg meal wif waterfall gushing down the glass

The nearest lunch venue would be Hollywood Plaza, situated next to the MTR. Lunch at the Food Republic food court & my 雙拼 of 叉燒+燒鵝飯 was huge & yummy! Since i dun wish to return to the touristy areas, I decided to catch a jap movie ~ Time Traveller. Sei, only me & another gal in the whole cinema! Wat a weird feeling! The leg-room was narrow too & it turned out that tis movie was the adaption of The Girl who Leapt thru' Time & I like its animation... this version was great too!

        Diff Pespective                             Cultural vs Modern Buildings

It's 5pm+ when i took a stroll along the Goldfish Street at Prince Edward. Then went over to Causeway Bay's SOGO to buy 老婆餅. I expected to be quite fast & shld return to Mong Kok by 6.30pm. Got a shock when I alighted at Admiralty station to transfer train... the platform was filled wif a humongous crowd I never encountered bef! There were MTR staff doing crowd control & ppl were whipping out hp to take pics of the situation! Siao! Only squeeze onto the 3rd train & luckily their train svc was speedy at 1min each.  By the time i got back to hostel was abt 7pm.... Had planned to take a cab to TST MTR, however no cab was in sight despite walking the hostel's area wif my heavy luggage! Damm! Worried that I wouldn't make it to airport in time, my last resort was take the MTR, which was extremely crowded.

Had never experienced such nitemare bef as I usually use the airport bus previously. But i had no choice since already purchased a 2-way Airport Express for Kowloon Station. Hence, I had to wait for the airport shuttle opp TST's Kowloon Hotel. I wonder how the drivers manage in tis city as it's forever jamming & ppl would simply ignore traffic lights... The shuttle bus was caught in a jam too...thou such a short distance away. At the Kowloon MTR, I wanted to check-in first & Jetstar's counter couldn't even be found! Luckily, a friendly svc staff led me to the last counter & told me that JS usually uses this. Haiz, this counter actually was a shared-svc counter wif philippines airline etc... Best part was the gal told me that boarding gate still unknown! Huh! I had never exp this!

Upon reaching the airport, the display board still showed old info of my flight & a tentative time at mid-nite, so confusing! It's 9pm liao, only managed to grab a BK burger in the bustling airport. Went over to T2 & duno which direction to go...was told to go thru' Immigrations first ... T2 was like a ghost-town, wif few passengers. Since no info & no one to turn to, I could only wait...the only console was there's TV here showing my tvb serial's final ep! Only at 10.30pm, the boarding gate no. showed up!  As i was chking the screen, a lady came up to me & asked if i'm taking JS. I told her ya & we shld be heading to xx Gate. While at the boarding gate, met another 2 aunties who chatted wif me. Turned out that they stayed in same hostel as me but on diff level! Finally, we had to Q up to take the connecting bus to the plane. Wow lau, felt so pathetic as we had to climb the stairs up the plane in extreme cold & darkness! Only at 12.30am, the flight departed for Sg....Wat a way to end my trip!