A few days ago got informed via email that I'm one of the selected bloggers to attend a photography workshop: Panasonic Inspiring Always Workshop. It is hosted by OMY website & Panasonic, in conjunction with SHINE Youth Festival . Besides the attractive grand prize of winning a newly launched Panasonic Lumix GF5 system camera, I am keen to learn from award-winning photographer ~ Bob Lee.
YES! Sat finally arrives! The skies were overcast & drizzled as I made my way to SCAPE. Upon reaching the training venue, i was given a Panasonic black tee to change. Subsequently, each of us were issued a loan set of the Lumix GF5. I was thrilled that my set is White! It's simply 'Love at 1st Sight' Keke! I like to play with new gadgets & happily explored its menu. I remembered my very first P&S was a 1st generation Lumix bought in 2003 & it is still working now!
During the one hour workshop, Bob shared with us numerous photos he had shot to illustrate some basic photography rules; such as using slow/fast shutter, utilising lines & negative space to create visual impact photos. His humour made the class burst into laughter too!
The sponsor was nice to prepare a mini-buffet tea spread for us, consisting of Soon Kuey, Puff, Chocolate Éclair & Sandwiches. The tea-break was a quick munch before OMY coordinators led us to Ngee Ann City for the launch of SHINE Youth Festival. About 30 of us had to utilise the Lumix to capture scenes of the Cosmo Youth Parade 2012. There's also another class of videographers!
Initially, I felt abit lost & chaotic as there were indeed a massive crowd there! Then, I saw a bunch of photographers flocking around a kawaii young gal dressed in Cosplay... I followed suit & being petite size, I squeezed thru & kneeled down to shoot from low angle. This was my first time doing such portrait at Orchard Road! There were both media & photography enthusiasts touting their DSLRs. Now, I got a taste of being a photo journalist for awhile, haha!
Next, I turned my attention to a group of primary school boys beating the Chinese big drums! I took numerous shots of them while also trying out a slow shutter speed. I like the serious looks of the boys!
Finally, it's time for the actual parade to kick-off... the organiser was lining up the particpants, some dressed in mascots or Cosplay outfits. Alas, photographers were being asked to move back! It's extremely challenging to get an over-head shot of the flag-off! From here, I just tried to shoot each interesting cosplay/mascot that walked past me... there were 3 dragons dance & one of which was made up of recycled cans! At one point, there was a traffic chaos as the 'dragon' was too long & 'Spiderman' went to the rescue! LoL
More photos of the Parade:
After 1.5 hours of shooting, I & my new-found blogger fren ~ Pei Ru returned to SCAPE. All sweaty & tired! We waited till 8pm before the organiser announced the 5 shortlisted bloggers (i was not chosen) & ultimately only 1 will win the Grand Prize. Famished by then & headed to dinner before I returned to Ngee Ann City. I wanted to watch Jayesslee sing LIVE! I'm not exactly their fan but curious of their vocal poweress! Managed to catch the last 20 mins of the concert & I saw they have a huge following in Sg! Pretty twins who can sing & play guitar... *thumbs UP!*
shot with Fuji Finepix F550
After trying out the camera for the afternoon, below is my 2-cents worth of this Lumix GF5:Likes:
- Light-weight & has a sturdy grip.
- High resolution/ touch screen LCD.
- Natural colour reproduction.
- Easy to use even for beginners, given its Intelligence Mode.
- Creative filters & a variety of scene modes.
- Unable to use the scroll dial to preview photos; the dial only displays the thumbnails while previewing each photo in full still need press the directional keypad.
- The camera body will heat up when you shoot or turn on for 15mins or so.
Parting shot with the GF5 (reluctant to return)!
Photographer Pass
