I wrote about my wife's Grandpa twice in my blog. Here and here. Because he is such a good friend and wonderful character.
Got the news from my wife that his time is coming. We have been waiting for it, so wify and girl girl is heading back first. My trip to Thailand is on the 21st.. So I guess I might be in Myanmar for this trip too.
*Updates. Grandpa passed away today at 3am. Guess I won't be in Myanmar as my wife will settle everything before I return.
Recently looked into my photography dry cabinet and decided to downsize the things i have in it. The main reasons are because I no longer used these lenses as often as I used to.
First to go is my 28mm f2.8 prime. I am still wondering should I keep it for my A100 IR but it just not the correct focal length for landscapes (not wide enough and not tele at 1.5 crop.) And I am using the kit lens 18-70mm which is cheap and good as my main lens for IR nowadays. Already posted an ad on the local forums and see how.
Second to go is the 85mm f1.4 G. Beautiful lens and optics but since I bought the A900 and the 135mm. This gem was in the cabinet for sometime. I don't do studio shots as often nowadays and I have the 24-70mm Zeiss too, which almost cover my studio work. I rather get the 100 Macro if I really need a studio product lens.
The third item is in a dilemma. Its my 70-200mm SSM G. I have a plan to sell this and downgrade to the 75-300 G SSM instead. First, I don't shoot events as often as I used too, so i dun need a 2.8. Second, I am more into landscapes and this lens is good but too heavy to be carried around (I noticed i carried my 135mm more often then this). And thirdly, the amount I could sell could save me some money on other things I wished to buy. Especially if Sony came out some TS lenses next time.
But the dilemma is that I loved this lens. Its has its own characters. hehe. So I think I will keep it for a while.
Other things to go is the Voigtlander VC 35mm Color-Skopar 2.5 Not using this since I got the 40mm Nokton...
I am not attached to most of my gears as others would. (I know some would never sell their camera equipment) But I tend to have this feeling. If the lens is good and I am just hoarding it for the sake of it (and not using it to make good photos). I am not doing justice to the lens or equipment. I rather sell it a cheaper price so people could enjoy it rather then let it rot (grow fungus or dust) in my cabinet. If I need it again.. I just get it from the Internet but for the time being... I guess not :P
I bought some slide films and want to try them out. Never really seriously shoot slides before but I plan to take a few rolls back to Thailand to get some nice landscapes. So I decided to practice a bit before my trip.
I bought various but decided to try the cheapest. Kodak Elite Chrome. Not really that cheap ($7 per roll leh). I packed my Dynax 7 and my A900 (digital) with 2 lenses. The Zeiss 24-70mm and 135mm. Woke up this morning at 5am and cycled to the "6 pipes" at East Coast Park. Reached there a bit early and it was totally dark. Quite surprised to see there were some people fishing at the other end though as its was a weekday.
Waited and was a bit disappointed with the overcast. I was planning to pack my bags when I noticed the sun breaking the cloudy sky. Immediately took a few test shots with my a900 (slides need to be correctly exposed as its latitude is very thin) and fired away with my film camera on a tripod. Took almost 20 shots on the scene before me (mostly brackets to get the exposure correct). After that while cycling back. Saw some pretty flowers at the roofless garden and shot some closeups with the 135mm.
Finished my roll and went home to rest a bit before hitting out to develop the slides. Bloody $20 for developing and 16 Base scan (and dun even have mounting!). Wat lau. Slides really expensive. Waited until 6pm and was blasted by the results. Just plain gorgeous!! You have to see it to believe it. It seems that the lens really plays a big roll in getting good colours in slides. (My old slides were shot with 28-85mm and the 50mm 1.4). The contrast and sharpness of Zeiss is truly astounding!! Above is just the scan of the slide and it cannot compare to the richness in colour of the original slide.
Expensive, Yes. Will I shoot again? Definitely since now I got the lens to do the correct job! :)
I bought some slide films and want to try them out. Never really seriously shoot slides before but I plan to take a few rolls back to Thailand to get some nice landscapes. So I decided to practice a bit before my trip.Last night went for the Qin Gong Yan Dinner at Ling Zhi restaurant with my Lion Dance pals... Just a movie here to show th occasion....
I'm into photography for 8 years and started with film cameras. Till now, I still miss film. Some of my friends and students I have taught has asked me why I still use this inconvenient media. Especially if we are shooting colour photos.
Thats because you have not shot pro-grade film yet.
If you have time, just check out this site.
http://www.trekearth.com/photos.php?cat=film&id=245
All shots were done with Fuji Reala 100. Be prepared to be awed. :)
Try to mimic that type of colours (tonality) with your digital camera....
Just noticed I have not really wish all a CNY greeting for this year. I was going through my old blog in NAAPL and found this entry by me 4 years ago. Its so good, i decided to post a copy here.
Ok.. its late at night and got nothing to do. So just post this for fun....
1. Go to any Mac Outlet.
2. Depending on your preference. If you prefer a sesame bread. Buy a Mac Chicken. If you prefer a softer bread, you shoud buy a Filet-O-Fish. If you want something really tough and chewy, try a Mac Muffin. Another burger on the menu would do. Especially those with melted cheese. (Hamburger is out though)
3. After the purchase, unwrap the packagin to reveal the burger.
4. Take out the top slice of bread of your burger
5. You can eat the meat or egg or whatever in between. Or you can set it aside for later stage.
6. Roll up your shirt sleeves. (If possible, wear a singlet to cut this step)
7. Raise one of your arm. (Either one would do. Preference is the non master hand)
8. Take the bottom half of the burger (one with the melted cheese) and place it over your armpit.
9. Squeeze and Pull as many "Fak Choi" as possible. REPEAT process if not enough "Fak Choi "
10. If still not enough. Switch arms and repear process 9.
11. Put back the burger on the wrapping.
12. Place the meat or egg (the one on stage 5 above) back on. If not skip this step.
13. Place the top of the bun back.
14. Viola.... You have Mac Fak ChoiThanks for reading and Gong Xi "Fak Choi" to all.
( Monday, 21 February 2005 )
Ok.. its late at night and got nothing to do. So just post this for fun....
1. Go to any Mac Outlet.
2. Depending on your preference. If you prefer a sesame bread. Buy a Mac Chicken. If you prefer a softer bread, you shoud buy a Filet-O-Fish. If you want something really tough and chewy, try a Mac Muffin. Another burger on the menu would do. Especially those with melted cheese. (Hamburger is out though)
3. After the purchase, unwrap the packagin to reveal the burger.
4. Take out the top slice of bread of your burger
5. You can eat the meat or egg or whatever in between. Or you can set it aside for later stage.
6. Roll up your shirt sleeves. (If possible, wear a singlet to cut this step)
7. Raise one of your arm. (Either one would do. Preference is the non master hand)
8. Take the bottom half of the burger (one with the melted cheese) and place it over your armpit.
9. Squeeze and Pull as many "Fak Choi" as possible. REPEAT process if not enough "Fak Choi "
10. If still not enough. Switch arms and repear process 9.
11. Put back the burger on the wrapping.
12. Place the meat or egg (the one on stage 5 above) back on. If not skip this step.
13. Place the top of the bun back.
14. Viola.... You have Mac Fak Choi
Thanks for reading and Gong Xi "Fak Choi" to all.
( Monday, 21 February 2005 )
I invested mainly in equities (stocks if you called it). And sorry to sound boastful but I am also proud to say so far my investments are still reaping returns. That is why a lot of my friends or acquaintances look for me for tips and advise at the current situation.
This current economic crisis had took a toll on some of my friends investment portfolios. Some of the stocks in my portfolio also suffered, especially those penny stocks. (I'm so glad!)None of them blames me, but one or two did approached me and asked what they should do. Especially with their banking stocks.
My advise is the given title of this piece. Just HOLD it as long as you can. Remember those investment tips I gave out last time? If you have been following my rules of engaging the stock market and had enough cash on hand. Then just HOLD it. The storm will pass and you will back what you have.
If you have even more cash and you are able to invest more. Then its the time to buy more. Hell, I just bought 2 more lots of DBS last week. You can wait for it to drop further but to me the price is right and there is a supply of seller. And I always do long term. Not short term investments. If it drops further, no one will let go and the price will go up again...
All in all, be confident in what you have bought or researched. If the stocks you have bought were overpriced when you bought it (like SGX at $15!!! why would anybody buy at that price I figure) Then you really really need to buy more at the current price to bring down your average cost.
If not. Just HOLD it and wait till the economy recovers a bit and sell it. And don't get involved in equities again as its not suitable for you. Go buy 4D or toto instead.
These two are all old cartoon music that I loved when I was a kid (teenager). The first one is Ironman
The second one might not be familiar to most as its a theme in the Japanese Anime Southern Cross. The theme of the Red Bioroid! Bloody hard to find this. Took me years to get such a lousy copy..
