wish i were rich
Was looking through a number of lens reviews and, damn, how badly do I want the 100-400 and the 5D2 + 24-105!! Many times, when I have nothing to do, I find myself thinking about them. Think about it, it's the ultimate airshow setup. I would leave the 24-105 on the 5D2 for static displays, while the 100-400 would stay on my 450D for the flying displays. And that is really all I need. Well, it would be nice to have a 10-22 for landscape shots, but it's not my priority right now. Then when I go travelling, I would only bring the 5D2 + 24-105 because the focal length is more than enough for everyday shots.
5D Mark II Kit EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM: at least $4600 T____T
EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM: at least $2500 ;___;
Then a quick visit to Clubsnap's price guides brought me crashing back down into reality:
5D Mark II Kit EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM: at least $4600 T____T
EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM: at least $2500 ;___;
Total: $7100... D:
My dad says that if I get my scholarship renewed next year, he'll get me the 100-400. But this presents another problem. The 100-400 is a monster lens (to me, at least) and it's going to be hard work changing lenses at the airshow (yes, I'm already planning for 2012) and I'll also need to buy a camera backpack (which costs more than $100) and there's also the problem of storing the lens in the dry cabi because it is now overflowing with camera equipment (including my dad's).
And as for the 5D2... It's best not to think about it...
posted at 12:54 PM
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Monday, September 27, 2010
hahahaha...
Was looking at my previous, abandoned, flickr account's photos and was shocked to see that my A380 cockpit shots have got at least 200 views. The last time I checked, which was like in 2008, they only had less than 20 views or so.
Sweet! I used these two shots for my FAT presentation :D
Labels: A380, aviation, singapore airshow 2008, sony ericsson k800i
posted at 6:55 PM
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
best of: france 2008
Almost 2 years have passed since my exchange programme in France, but the memories of my time there are still fresh in my mind. It was, and still is, the best month of my life. It also introduced me to the world of photography: in one of the many emails I received from my parents, my dad said that after looking at the photos I sent them he 'really wanted to get me a good camera'. From then on I began to dream, and a year later the dream came true.
So for today's post I will show you some of my favourite shots from the trip, taken with my Samsung S630. It may be a little point-and-shoot, but it is capable of good photos.
One of my favourite photos, ever. I love the colour of the sky and the sheet of clouds below.
More window-view spam...
B&W shot of an empty park in Paris, and guess what that thing in the background is...
Ah, so it's the Eiffel Tower!
That's the, uh, Trocadéro (I googled)
Sacré Coeur de Montmartre - in black and white.
13th century architecture with 21st century transport, captured together in black and white (again).
This photo of the golden gates at the Château de Versailles could've been a classic if not for the construction work going on in the background... I love how the intricate designs stand out against the dark sky, though.
Now at first look this photo might seem like a crappy one. Well I admit it's not a brilliant photo but it's not lousy either. Because although the building is underexposed you can still make out the silhouettes of the statues on the roof. And the most in-your-face thing in the photo, the reflection of the sun in the glass, leads your eyes to the design at the top part of the window, which is perfectly exposed. And once you see that, you notice the design in the other window, and then you realise there are 2 more similar windows in the picture.
This photo isn't terribly excellent or anything but the reason I'm posting it here is to show you people how awesomely blue the skies in France are. In fact, there was nary a single cloud in the sky that afternoon in Avignon. Here in Singapore we'll be lucky to see even a bit of the sky; there are so many goddamn clouds over here, it's annoying.
One good thing about having cloudless skies is that plane contrails are clearly visible. In fact, I saw more planes in France in a day than I did back home in a month. Here you can see the contrail of an airliner painting an orange streak in the sky over the statue of Louis XIV in Place Bellecour, Lyon. (I googled the name of the statue) And in the right of the picture, glowing orange, is the Basilica of Fourvière (I googled it again, haha).
Some church in Geneva. I like how the main building and the steeple are lit but the background and foreground are in the shadows. It gives the picture a ghostly feeling, I think.
La Fête des Lumières (the festival of lights) in Lyon is a photographer's paradise. Basically, on 8 December every year, the whole town lights up in gratitude toward Mary, mother of Jesus (I totally wiki-ed that, teehee). So at night there are colourful lights all around and I imagine there are many photographers rubbing their hands together and grinning idiotically on that day. I am not kidding - the photography opportunities are amazing.
Des bougies sur les fenêtres - candles on the windows. Something the people of Lyon do on this day. And from outside, rows of buildings with their windows lined with candles is a sight to behold.
Half second exposure. It's still blurry though. Not much I could do about it.
Some fountain in central Lyon.
And now, my favourite photo EVER......
There are just so many things about this picture that make it my absolute favourite of all time. #1 - I hadn't planned to take it at all. I just happened to be by the river when they started firing. I had no tripod, I could only lean against the stone barrier to steady my hand. Sometimes the best photos are taken without planning.
#2 - The amount of fireworks in the sky. Not too much, not too little. At the last National Day, I tried shooting the fireworks but didn't get a satisfactory one. In most of my shots there was just a mass of white in the centre. But in this one, you can see the individual light trails of each burst and even those of the following bursts. They are like flower stalks, joining the 'flowers' in the sky with the ground.
#3 - The camera I used. I only had my S630, which, thank goodness, had some manual controls, albeit very limited. Still, I doubt I would've taken it with my 450D. This is a 3 second handheld exposure. Yes, there is still camera shake, but not so bad it destroys the picture.
I remember reviewing the photo afterwards and going - 'wow shit I can't believe I took that'.
So there you are. Photos that kick-started my photography hobby. And it is now 5.30pm, which means I spent almost 3 hours on this post, including editing photos. I hope you enjoyed them! Now excuse me as I go tidy up my room! See you!
Labels: france, samsung s630, travel
posted at 2:43 PM
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Friday, September 24, 2010
photo of the week #5
It's been 10 months since my first photo got accepted on A.net, and now I'm just 26 views short of 20000. To celebrate this rather insignificant occasion in the world of A.net, here's my latest shot in the database, although it was accepted many weeks ago...
One of my favourite shots so far, taken on 3 Feb this year after my second outing at the Singapore Airshow. I love this shot for many reasons. The first one is obviously the interesting shadows on the wall and their reflections in the glass and floor. The second reason is if you look closely at the left glass wall, you will be able to see the reflection of the partially-hidden control tower, but if you look to the right of the picture, where the tower actually is, you'll see it's over-exposed. This little detail I hadn't noticed until it was accepted, haha. And here's the thing - you have to be at the right place to get the tower in the shot, something that I hadn't planned for.
The third reason is the timing of the shot. One cannot take this photo at any time due to the different angles of the sun throughout the year. I believe the beginning of the year is when you'll get this kinds of reflections. I went back to the airport recently and took the same photo from about the same spot and here's what I got:
Definitely not as interesting as the shot above. Maybe the lack of shadows is due to the overcast weather. But even if it is so, not everybody can wait for the sun to come out for a good picture. I just happened to be there at the right time. ^^v
The fourth reason is that the photo made it despite containing a lot of noise (you can see it in the black part of the 'Changi Airport' sign). I shot this at ISO400 and strained lots of eye muscles removing the noise, only to have it added back when I uploaded the photo onto A.net. I took it from the queue, but a few days later I said what the hell and uploaded it again. I'm glad I went for it.
And that's the happy story behind my 15th photo on A.net. In future PotWs, I will try to describe the photo in greater detail, like why I took it, and what it means to me etc. I realise my posts have been rather short and boring and it's always nice to know a little story or two behind a photo. So I shall try to do that. In the meantime, I am going to plan my next photography outing and then dream of my 5D Mark II.
Labels: 18-55, a.net, photo of the week
posted at 8:34 PM
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
photo of the week #4
Posting a photo a week isn't as easy as I'd thought. It's a good thing I remember about this week's photo.
Another attempt at photographing my cello using the technique I call 'light painting'.
Labels: 18-55, cello, photo of the week
posted at 7:30 PM
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Monday, September 13, 2010
batam trip and a belated photo of the week
My recent trip to Batam was... boring and unfruitful. Because it was a company trip with my dad's hospital and our travel companions were middle-aged aunties and uncles and we visited boring places like temples and industrial areas. Not everything was boring though. The mini-golf was amusing. The food was great. And I got myself an Arsenal wallet and a pink purse... Don't look at me like that!
The trip was unfruitful because I took a record low number of photos. There really was nothing much to photograph... Or it's because I still haven't got that 'eye' for composition yet. Maybe I never will. There was a photographer among us and he was using a D700 with a 50mm prime and a 14-24 wide. He lent me his camera for awhile and my was it heavy! It is built like a rock. And I had no idea how to use it! There were so many knobs and buttons and dials and the stuff on the LCD screen made no sense. But I got used to it after some time and the photos it took were amazing. Especially with the kickass 14-24. All of a sudden, my 450D looked like a silly point-and-shoot, like something picked up from the dump heap at a flea market.
Sorry, camera. Didn't mean to talk about you like that. I still love you, y'know!
We didn't go parasailing at the beach, much to my dad's disappointment, no thanks to the downpour in the afternoon. So we went shopping. Then we went to our hotel and at night we had the dinner in the ballroom. Plus a lot of lame games. Don't ask.
Day 2: Played mini-golf, had lunch, bus broke down, changed bus, went shopping, went home.
That's pretty much it. Now for the pictures... (They aren't terribly good, but then neither are my photography skills.)
... You know, this trip is such a failure, photography wise, that I don't even have a single decent photo that I can show you guys. I usually have at least one photo that stands out from the rest of the batch whenever I go out photographing stuff. As for this trip... No. All I can say is... Epik failure!
Event of the day: QF 380 flying over us!!! I regretted immediately that I had left my 55-250 at home...
We couldn't take photos inside the temple but I took this one from outside so it doesn't count. It's my favourite photo from the trip. Says a lot about the quality of photos I took.
Granite (?) statues outside another temple we visited. Heard it's the biggest temple in South-East Asia built for a certain buddha.
Hopped off the bus to retake this picture when I realised my previous shot had part of the motorcycle cropped away. Don't know why I bothered though.
That bed is fooking comfortable. I could sleep in it all day...
The Sijori resort, where we played mini-golf. Oh gosh the sky has such an unnatural colour. Don't know what's wrong with my circular polariser :(
Event of the day: Finnair MD-11 flying over us!!!!!! As Finnair is no longer using MD-11s for passenger service, I believe it's a cargo plane. How awesome! I mean, how terrible that I didn't bring my telephoto lens!
Come to think of it, Batam is a good place for planespotting... Provided you have super telephoto lenses.
After lunch we had a poll to see who wanted to visit a certain bridge and who wanted to go shopping. The bridge people vastly outnumbered the shopping people. But along the way our bus broke down right in the middle of a busy road. So we had to get a replacement bus. But by then it was getting late so it was decided we only had enough time left for shopping. Off to the Megamall we went and it was where I got myself the pink purse. (For the second time, don't look at me like that! It's a really awesome purse and when I saw it from a few floors above I knew I had to get it. Stop it! It makes me nervous you know.)
The trip back to Singapore was uneventful. The seats were more comfy and the ferry was cleaner. I wished the sea were rougher though. Haha.
Back at Vivocity, I was determined to use my tripod because I didn't have a chance to use it in Batam and I didn't want to have brought it for nothing. So off to the upper level I went and sadly, out of the dozens of photos I took, I only found one satisfactory...
Oh yes. I just remembered I missed last week's Photo of the Week. Well I'm saving the second-best photo for last. (Remember the best photo was that of the lanterns)
Sunset at Harbour Bay. When we were boarding the ferry my camera was already in my bag and I couldn't take it out in time to photograph the gorgeous sunset. In the cabin, I was so miffed I kept looking out of the window and then I couldn't take it anymore so I jumped out and spent a few precious minutes photographing the scene. I was lucky the departure was delayed due to a customs cock-up.
So there you are. A report of my boring trip to Batam plus a Photo of the Week to boot. I won't be blogging for the next couple of days because I have to attend a school camp from Tuesday to Thursday. I hope it's going to be fun.
Labels: 18-55, indonesia, photo of the week, travel
posted at 11:30 PM
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Saturday, September 4, 2010
photo of the week #2
Okay... I'd planned to post the PotW every Sunday, but I figured Saturday is better, haha!
...And I realise I have to take more pictures; I have run out of new ones to upload!
Labels: 18-55, photo of the week
posted at 12:23 PM
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Wednesday, September 1, 2010
chillin' with celly
So there I was, looking at a bare wall in my house and thinkin', 'now Celly Belly (my cello, by the way) would look nice in front of that'. Out came the camera and I started shootin'. Didn't take many photos though.
In Photoshop, I dabbled with the Black and White adjustment layer thingy and found out that I liked the B&W versions much much more.
Earlier today I also took some photos of Celly Belly. Erm... Make that one.
f/5.6, 1/6s @ ISO1600, 250mm
I'm thinking of venturing into macro photography. Seems kinda interesting... Until then, see you and thanks for viewing!
Labels: 18-55, 55-250, black and white, cello
posted at 5:23 PM
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
camera kid is now on flickr!!
Having abandoned my old flickr account I think it was last year, I'm back with a new one! This time, I only upload what I think are the best, so you'll see that there are not many photos in my photostream.
(Be sure to check out my sunset project!)
I know what you're thinking now. Why the hell upload to flickr when I already have this blog, a Photobucket and also regularly upload to Facebook? Well, let me tell you that Facebook is for the everyday shots that I'll never upload here, Photobucket is for the slightly better ones that I'll showcase on this blog, while flickr is for the very few that I actually like. So although I took hundreds of photos during my trips to the bird park and the zoo, there're only a couple that are uploaded to flickr, and I plan to keep it that way.
And another thing. I just had my 15th photo - woohoo!! - accepted on A.net! I know, it's irritating of me to post something every time I have a shot accepted but the feeling's just awesome! You have to experience it to understand it!
posted at 7:30 AM
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
self gloss!!
Here's what I woke up to from a mostly-sleepless night...:
My photo made it to A.net's front page!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Considering how I got that photo... It makes it even sweeter!!! Woohoo~ *inserts A.net's champagne smiley* :D
Labels: a.net
posted at 8:39 AM
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Friday, August 27, 2010
accepted shot #14!
Wah finally!!! It's been months since my last shot got accepted! This shot is my favourite so far! I love it to bits because of the trouble I took to get it! Well if you haven't been reading my main blog (it's okay) I waited 10 hours at Marina Bay Sands for the flying display during National Day. Yeah man! 10 hours! I only ate a hotdog!
f/9, 1/125s @ ISO100, 116mm
Labels: 55-250, a.net, chinook, national day
posted at 8:52 AM
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010
i'm back... with photo of the week #1
So on my main blog I said that I'd given up on this blog. Well, not so fast! I think I'll post a random lame photo every week just for the sake of keeping this blog going... Even if no one comes here anymore (it seems to be the case for every blog/website I create :/) Ah who cares, even if no one comes, I still have something to read when I'm bored... Haha
This week's random photo:
Taken in January during a trip to the zoo. (f6.3, 1/500s @ ISO1600, 55mm)
I'm going to Batam in September. Prime photography opportunity. Till then...
Labels: 55-250, animals, photo of the week
posted at 11:19 PM
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Sunday, April 11, 2010
kukup trip
I'm back from my photography trip to Kukup! I didn't take many photos because I was very tired! And there weren't many things to photograph there, except for the sunsets, or maybe I don't have that 'eye' for good composition yet... Anyway, here are some of the photos! I hope you enjoy them!
Labels: 18-55, malaysia, travel
posted at 7:04 PM
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