Misanthropic And Loving It!

It so hard to say goodbye

2009-07-15T08:10:00.002+08:00

I have been on Blogger since 2003; this place has been good to me, as have all six of you who read my blog. I felt it was time to move the blog to a host that allows me to customise the look of the site without needing to learn CSS or PHP or any of that fancy stuff, and my experience with Squarespace has been great thus far. So long Blogger, and thanks for everything. As for the six of you, if

MovieWatch: Transformers 2

2009-07-13T03:48:00.002+08:00

WARNING: This being a review there will be spoilers. Do not proceed further if you do not wish to view them. But then again, reading this could spare you the agony of watching this drivel.Nearly two years ago, I raved about the first Transformers movie. Many fans would disagree, but at the very least it was a good action movie that delivered and did not have too many minutes wasted on unimportant

AWARE: The next 25 years begin now

2009-07-12T23:10:00.002+08:00

That was the core theme of AWARE's new plans, unveiled in a press conference at the AWARE Centre on Monday, July 6th, 2009. I was one of three persons from the New Media team, along with Robin and June, to cover the presser, live tweeting the proceedings as they happen "to the world", as AWARE President Dana Lam so succinctly put it. The press releases, along with some videos and photos, are up

#FollowFriday Ver. 1 - The Classic

2009-07-04T01:16:00.003+08:00

#FollowFriday is a Twitter meme where you recommend people to follow to your followers. I have not been an active participant for the past three weeks, mainly because I've been wondering about the effectiveness of the meme, and more importantly, the relevance of it. I rely more on searches and trawling the following lists of people I follow for that purpose, because after all, if that person is

Dude, where are the posts?

2009-07-03T23:47:00.002+08:00

It's been more than a month since my last post, but I'm still around. It's been a really busy time, so I figured it's time to post some updates.First off, I've been busy trying to reorganise and launch a new blog to replace this one. I've registered a couple of domains, and am playing around with a trial account on Squarespace; I'm pretty impressed with what they offer so far, since I'm a web

The only agenda being pushed is the Anti-Gay agenda

2009-05-19T02:43:00.002+08:00

This is my response to the letter written by Dr Thio Su Mien and published in The Straits Times on May 18th, 2009. The letter can be found in it's original form here and reproduced on the new We-Are-Aware forums here. Please feel free to respond to it at the forum posting, as my post will also be posted in response in the thread. I will not be sending this in to The Straits Times, simply because

No context, no credibility

2009-05-16T18:17:00.002+08:00

Still on the subject of the suspended CSE, there was an open letter penned by law undergrad Leon Ryan that truly hit the nail on the head. It is a pretty long one, so I'll suggest you pop over to the new We-Are-Aware website to have a look here: Leon Ryan's Open Letter to MOE. It is a remarkable letter, and particularly pertinent because he is still in the education system unlike most of the

The MOE Flip-Flop

2009-05-16T17:11:00.002+08:00

Singapore's Ministry of Education has always been a target of my anger, simply because of the important role they play in moulding the future leaders, and hence the future, of this country. A formal education may not be totally necessary, nor is it always relevant, to the individual receiving it; but education is so much more than exams and the paper chase. The emphasis on the quality of grades

The #sgtweetup

2009-05-16T10:15:00.002+08:00

I attended the first organised tweetup for locals a couple days back, held at Geek Terminal. There must've been about 100-odd people who turned up; it was kind of overwhelming for me. I'm not exactly a very sociable guy, nor am I dexterous in the ways of networking like a lot of these folks were. This tweetup, unlike the one we had last week with the #awaresg guys, was almost exactly what I

The first Singapore AWARE Tweetup

2009-05-10T22:17:00.009+08:00

We first made history on May 2nd, when we did our bit to make #awaresg the top trending topic on Twitter for a good 5 hours. Last night, we did it again; this time, a tweetup was quickly mooted, organised and thrown together, and attended by many of us who attended, volunteered at, tweeted about the EGM just a week ago. All this was done just over Twitter as well. This time the mood was far more

More thoughts on the AWARE fallout

2009-05-07T13:42:00.002+08:00

The EGM may have been over, and the conclusion delivered with a kind of certainty not unlike death and taxes, but the online debate rages on. More posts and opinions defending the Josie Lau EXCO has emerged, and with them, the same old, tired, rehashed, and misinformed arguments. Most of these are from the perspectives of people who did not even attend the EGM, nor were they appraised of the

The AWARE EGM: My views

2009-05-05T14:56:00.005+08:00

Last Saturday was hailed as a watershed in this country's young history. While my previous post laid out the background, May 2nd marked the day where 3000 women and men took a stand against the the values represented by Dr Thio Su Mien, Josie Lau and her comrades who took over the leadership of AWARE. Along with the "Old Guard" of AWARE, well known local women like Irene Ang and Pat Law were in

The AWARE Brouhaha - A personal view and a PSA

2009-04-27T12:48:00.003+08:00

If you have not heard about the ugly news surrounding AWARE lately, this post sums describes the first signs of the women's advocacy group subject to a leadership hijacking. I first got to know about it via Yawning Bread's post, and right after reading it my appetite for dinner was quickly replaced by outrage. I have always had great respect for the work AWARE does, and over 25 years they have

It's not about skills, it's about mindset and experience

2009-04-22T11:46:00.003+08:00

Singapore has lost more ground in the annual Customer Satisfaction Index, dropping to 67.8 out of 100 points, from 68.7 point in 2007. This should come as no surprise to people living in Singapore; the general consensus is that we have a lot to improve when it comes to providing good customer service. For a service- and export-oriented economy, Singapore is a disappointment on that front.What is

Pics from the studio session

2009-04-21T22:12:00.002+08:00

I'm pretty happy I didn't screw it up royally. Half-decent for a first try, lots of room for improvement, and I intend to get more of such shoots under my belt. Thanks again to Sharon, who was our wiling model, and Joanne and Kelsey from SLCC, and my wife for being my second shooter. Also props to Andrew for guiding me with the lighting setup for this noob. You can go to my Flickr stream for the

My first studio shoot!

2009-04-21T14:41:00.003+08:00

Last Saturday I was shooting in a studio for the very first time, and it was nerve-wracking, but extremely fun. I hope to do more studio shoots in the future, so I'm working hard at getting some ideas. SLCC's Joanne was a great help in arranging the studio and MUA, her daughter Kelsey, who did a great job. My colleague Sharon was the model for the shoot, and she acquitted herself well despite

Public Order Act of 2009: Broadening an already broad law

2009-04-20T21:50:00.003+08:00

On April 14th, Parliament passed an amendment to the Public Order Act. The latest incarnation of this overly broad law has several implications, not least of which is giving the police too much power over the public in the form of "move-on" orders; police can now "order persons deemed a threat to public order, to move on from a designated area". Police will also "be empowered to direct any person

Geez, man, where's the content?

2009-04-20T09:22:00.002+08:00

I know, I know, two QOTD posts aren't even close to real content. I'm kinda up to my neck in school assignments right now, and along with procrastination, means a dearth of posts lately. That will change soon. I am working on a couple of posts, and they should be done soon. Last Saturday's studio shoot went well, post should be done by the end of the day, and you should see pics soon. Posted via

Quote of the Day - April 16th, 2009

2009-04-16T11:11:00.003+08:00

"Journalists should only have one great mission in our career. It is not the quest for something called balance. It is the search for the truth. Period. No matter how uncomfortable that makes some people." - Will Bunch, 'Journalism's confession: Playing Twister...to the right'You can read the entire article here.

Quote of the Day - April 15th, 2009

2009-04-15T22:47:00.001+08:00

"Dignity is nothing if you can't throw it aside and make a fool of yourself once in a while." - @MariKurisato

Missing the point or clever ploy? You decide.

2009-04-07T10:07:00.002+08:00

We should not mistake a bonus as "somebody getting something extra and undeserved and out of line with the current economic situation", says Mr Lim Boon Heng. While I see this as an attempt to deflect discussion of the CDC bonuses (very clever), he brought up the bonuses at AIG as the talking point. And this is where I think he missed the point. No, I don't think there is a problem with bonuses

Farewell, World of Warcraft

2009-03-31T22:32:00.003+08:00

The last time I logged into this soul-sucking game was early-October 2008; five months later, I feel confident enough that I have really left this phase of my life behind, thus this post. Audrid told me that a blog post is unlikely to give me any closure, but that's exactly what I'm seeking, so here goes. I first started playing this game in July 2005, when my then-boss Jon took me to the

Quicky Notes - March 27th, 2009

2009-03-27T11:24:00.002+08:00

Another reason I love Twitter is the amount of interesting links people post. Here are a few that caught my attention.If it makes you happy: This is an old one (from 2002), but I think it bears repeating here that semen was found to have anti-depressant properties. I'm bookmarking that for the wife. DIY High-Speed Photography: Someone rigged up a laser-triggered shutter release to capture some

Learning dialects is NOT stupid

2009-03-26T13:24:00.002+08:00

I read about this earlier, but forgot to write about it till now. LKY's Principal Private Secretary (a term I last read in "Yes, Prime Minister"), Mr Chee Hong Tat, indicates in a press letter that it "would be stupid for any Singapore agency or the NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin". This is in response to Dr Ng Bee Chin, acting head

The Web is a convenient scapegoat

2009-03-24T22:07:00.002+08:00

Rock music, television, video games, and the Internet. What do they have in common? They have, at one time or other, probably even simultaneously, been crowned the scapegoats of the times. And this article, which came by way of Jay Rosen's Twitter feed, is just one example of how the Internet is fast becoming the most popular scapegoat. It amazes me how deeply some people like to bury their

MS Office 2007 Installation: EPIC FAIL

2009-03-24T03:21:00.002+08:00

That just about sums it up. We have had to upgrade our Office software at work, and as usual (ie, for some frakked up reason) we have to do it ourselves. Naturally the night shift got the job. And as expected it fails to install on the PC I'm using, after I uninstall the current version. This means no email at work. No software to do the paperwork we need to do at work. As much as I'd like to not

AIG Backlash

2009-03-22T13:50:00.003+08:00

I'm hoping this topic dies down quickly so everyone can focus on the real issues, but there's no accounting for human emotion or my ability to predict the future. In any case, I've got some stories to share since the last update I posted. So on we go. The reaction to the new tax bill is in, and none of it is surprising. Bankers are furious against the perceived witch hunt, which it is starting

This is the Singapore media. Again.

2009-03-20T23:09:00.002+08:00

I just blogged today about how the articles on the CDC bonuses were removed, and now Mr Brown has more news on that: namely, even the forum threads discussing this issue have been deleted. That's just bloody ridiculous. How about you numbnuts at SPH re-learn what journalism and freedom of speech actually means? Oh wait, I'm sorry. This is Singapore. We don't get that here. So our politicians

Special effects. With sheep.

2009-03-20T14:14:00.000+08:00

Courtesy of Lee Jiing.

US House of Representatives passes bill to tax bonuses

2009-03-20T12:08:00.003+08:00

Just a couple days ago I wrote about how an overreaction to the AIG bonuses could start us on the slippery slope, and today the US House of Representatives passed a bill to tax individual bonuses up to 90% if the company he works for has received TARP money of US$5 billion or more. I have yet to see the exact language of this bill, but when governments are introducing new bills as a reaction to

This is the Singapore media

2009-03-20T11:49:00.003+08:00

For those of you who didn't hear about it, the Northeast CDC gave out some really nice bonuses last year; two of their staff got 8 months' worth. Many people were angry over that, even myself, but I could care less about the money. I care more about the fact that a CDC is run on public money, but their remuneration are declared as "confidential". That's just a convenient excuse, and just plain

Linux saves lives of PCs

2009-03-19T13:52:00.002+08:00

Chanced upon this video while reading Slashdot. Enjoy. Posted via email from trapper's posterous

Quote of the Day

2009-03-19T10:21:00.002+08:00

"Only advantage I can see about getting nekked in a film is, when you're 80, looking back and showing nursing home friends how hot you were." - Felicia Day, via Twitter Posted via email from trapper's posterous

The AIG Slippery Slope

2009-03-18T20:09:00.002+08:00

Most of the tweets I received today was about AIG. There were stories of the Obama administration being in the dark about the retention bonuses until this month; of the government using creative measures to recover some of the US$165 million paid if the money is not returned by the AIG executives, including taxing all of it; of the New York Attorney-General launching an investigation into the

AIG Bonuses aka How to fail for more money

2009-03-17T11:13:00.002+08:00

American International Group (AIG), the insurance corporation at the heart of the world financial meltdown, got the US government to bail them out to the tune of about US$170 billion in taxpayer money, who paid out a large chunk of that to other financial instituions, and who just reported a US$61.7 billion fourth quarter loss, is in the news for the wrong reasons again. This time, they are

PocketWizard Flex vs Radio Popper Px

2009-03-17T04:32:00.003+08:00

I have been reading up on these two radio flash triggering systems for a bit, but this is the first time I've seen a field test and review conducted. My first impression when the new PWs were announced was that it is an RP killer; now I'm not so sure. In terms of cost, both are expensive systems, and the price is the premium you pay for TTL control. The cheaper options (discounting the Quantums

Posterous Test!

2009-03-17T01:14:00.002+08:00

Let's see if this works... Posted via email from trapper's posterous

Speak of the Devil

2009-03-16T23:00:00.004+08:00

Hot on the heels of my last post about the Internet being the core media, comes this piece of obstinate stupidity from, who else, TODAY newspaper. Don't get me wrong, I only use that rag to provide table cover for my food, but even that might be overstating its usefulness.The tidbit about "if newspapers disappear, trustworthiness of news becomes problematic" is pretty tasty, given that our local

Change or be left for dead

2009-03-16T09:51:00.003+08:00

This one came by way of MrBrown. The head of Australia’s digital media industry body has told old media: “Grow some nuts”. It may sound funny, but I still wonder how the traditional media still survive today with their stubborn refusal to evolve with the times, and get on with embracing the digital media as a core of their business.We have seen the coming of digital years ago. I personally

Now that's what I call a music video

2009-03-15T08:23:00.002+08:00

This one came by way of Twitter: Gizmodo has this "remix" of a whole lot of Youtube videos edited to form one pretty funky mix. I can't even imagine how long and tedious the whole process took, but it was a very enjoyable and fun three-and-a-half minutes. Here you go, knock yourselves out.

Quote of the Day - March 14th, 2009

2009-03-14T12:21:00.000+08:00

"If twittering is called tweeting when you do it, when it's done is it a twat?" - my old friend Reid Jutras, on Facebook.

Schneier hits it on the head

2009-03-13T11:01:00.002+08:00

Bruce Schneier has a new article out on his blog, titled IT Security: Blame the Victim. I think he nailed this one, spot on observations regarding why people simply ignore security threats, and how Microsoft's UAC is so ineffective unlike Apple's Time Machine. Worth a read.

Photo of the Week - March 11th, 2009

2009-03-12T22:33:00.003+08:00

Yeah it's a day late, but better late than never :) Here it is."Keyboard", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens. Off-camera 580EXII flash gelled with blue gel, triggered with Phottix PT-04II triggers.

Dumbass of the Day

2009-03-11T20:50:00.003+08:00

This one came by way of Mr Brown, since I refuse to read the local tripe known as STOMP. Someone actually asked if the name "Gay World Hotel" is legal in this political and cultural backwater. Surprisingly to morons, it is.Go here for the story, and Mr Brown's take on it. If this is representative of the typical intelligence of the local community, we better get the hell out of here quick.Dumbass

Unboxing photos of my new toys

2009-03-10T13:08:00.002+08:00

Finally finished these; I've included a slideshow below. You can visit my Flickr page for the slideshow in a larger format, or look at the set here.

Don't do drugs, and don't steal shit.

2009-03-09T10:58:00.003+08:00

Just a friendly reminder to all the stupid folks out there.

Quote of the Day

2009-03-08T22:31:00.003+08:00

"Risk-taking is not common among the bureaucratically controlled." - Masaru Tamamoto, in "Japan’s Crisis of the Mind", first published in The New York Times, March 1st, 2009.

New toys!

2009-03-08T16:06:00.001+08:00

A picture speaks a thousand words. Here's two thousand for you guys.Unboxing pics and more to come...

Another Barry Schwartz TED Talk

2009-03-08T01:37:00.006+08:00

And it's even better than the last one I posted. Schwartz talks about how bureaucracy has taken the place that practical wisdom used to be, how red tape, rules and regulations are increasingly being depended on instead of good old-fashioned common sense. More importantly, how rules and incentives, so often relied upon in professional and personal situations, are actually not helping us, but

"Too many choices make people miserable"

2009-03-08T00:30:00.004+08:00

A broad stroke, perhaps too broad, but even then, after watching this TED talk by Barry Schwartz, a light bulb went off in my head. Perhaps this is why Mel always wonders if what I ordered tastes better than what he ordered; or why my wife has such great difficulty deciding sometimes; or even why most people don't have an issue when their choices are limited, but there are choices.Personally, I'd

Quicky Note

2009-03-07T11:05:00.003+08:00

Got some links to share before I get some breakfast in my system and prep for the shoot later. First up, check out some outstanding photos taken by Clark Little. I'm not really a fan of surfing-related photos as I don't have the knowledge to appreciate them, but these shots are stunning.The day where we could all have Ghost In The Shell-like bionic improvements may be moving closer; someone's

This is taking some time

2009-03-05T01:08:00.004+08:00

I'm still in the process of moving my pictures to Flickr and leaving Multiply behind, and it's taking a lot more time than I thought. I'm gonna be chasing some deadlines as I have some assignments due next week, on top of some dumbass work-related stuff, so it isn't an ideal time to do this, but it has to be done.Hopefully this gets sorted out soon so I can spend some quality time with my camera

New blog on the roll

2009-03-04T22:42:00.002+08:00

I've just added my Vietnamese buddy's blog to the blog roll. Anh Hung is a very bright young man, and his blog makes for some interesting reading if you're into the tech side of things; it isn't overly technical, but he writes eloquently about the issues that many of us are concerned about. Go on and have a look.Anh Hung, the offer of a beer if and when you drop into this little island still

Photo of the Week - March 4th, 2009

2009-03-04T20:02:00.004+08:00

"Gates", Malacca, taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

I smell...my new toys

2009-03-01T06:39:00.002+08:00

That's right, I got word from my Dad that my flash gels have arrived, so I'll be meeting my folks for some lunch and they'll get the little wonderful box to me for some coloured flash fun later. I'll also be collecting my new 15" MacBook Pro with all the goodies, so this is gonna be a good day. If everything goes right I'll have some shots and start on my assignments, some due next week, by the

Photo of the Week - February 25th, 2009

2009-02-25T19:40:00.002+08:00

This is one of my favourite shots, and I just realised I took this before my POTW project. So here it is."Lines", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

Selective Standards

2009-02-24T13:50:00.001+08:00

This article over at The Online Citizen is worth a read. The POTUS is definitely making the right noises and the right moves, making the entire process of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act transparent via this website. This is in stark contrast with our own government's handling of the economic crisis, including the non-transparent way of handling dipping into the national reserves for

The recent Facebook TOS screw-up

2009-02-24T06:55:00.003+08:00

Facebook recently amended their Terms Of Service (TOS), from what was a pretty broad and dubious coverage to one that is laughably ridiculous. They have since reverted to the older TOS until they are able to sort out all the rights issues before putting up a new TOS that better reflects what they need to do.As a social network, it is extremely difficult to control the disemination of information

Bummer

2009-02-19T22:42:00.001+08:00

I just got word that the Phottix radio flash triggers that I ordered still have not come in yet. This is pretty frustrating as I have been looking forward to trying them out for a few weeks now. I have a sneaky suspicion that if I shelled out for some PocketWizards or Radio Poppers they would be in my hands by now.Oh well, that's the problem with mass orders sometimes. The prices are cheap, so

Photo of the Week - February 18th, 2009

2009-02-19T17:53:00.002+08:00

Yeah, I forgot about it totally last night. Here it is."Crates", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

Photography Notes: It's Not Personal

2009-02-17T23:49:00.002+08:00

Read this post from John Harrington's excellent blog and I could not resist finding out what the big fuss was about. So I popped over to the original source, and my word, it's almost like they were talking about a lynching rather than a portfolio review. What exactly was the problem?The portfolio review given sounds too harsh. And this was not the opinion of Lance Booth, whose portfolio was the

It's about time!

2009-02-16T22:40:00.002+08:00

PocketWizard is introducing wireless flash radio transceivers that can support E-TTL for Canon cameras. It's pretty exciting for Canon users, as we have had to suffer through the barely adequate Canon flash system (as compared to Nikon). This could be a devastating blow for the guys over at Radio Poppers, since they have been slow in shipping their own E-TTL-compatible radio triggers.The most

Some light-hearted stuff for the weekend

2009-02-13T06:28:00.001+08:00

Joe McNally is a great photographer. He also happens to be one of the funnier guys who writes blogs, and appear at ease with his own brand of photog insanity. I've always enjoyed reading his blog, but his latest post takes the cake. You don't even have to be a photographer to appreciate it.And here's a goofy video for you lot. Hope you guys have a great weekend ahead.

Heartwarming Stories

2009-02-13T00:50:00.000+08:00

There were a couple of notes posted on Facebook recent by Mel and Mat, two rather interesting stories that drew, not unexpectedly, varying reactions among different people. If you have a Facebook login, you can refer to Mat's note here and Mel's here. If you don't, the source of Mat's original story can be found here (with the requisite flowers and sunshine). I have to reproduce Mel's story here

Photo of the Week - February 11th, 2009

2009-02-11T19:29:00.002+08:00

"Stacked", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens

Quote and Funny of the Day

2009-02-09T07:04:00.001+08:00

The Law of P's: "Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance"And the funny: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5745796&postcount=142You can read the entire thread here.

This guy has no idea what he's talking about

2009-02-04T19:14:00.004+08:00

This CNA article has our Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, up to his usual tricks again with the internet community.'Mr Lui added that the internet community had not done enough to rebut some of the unhelpful comments delivered by fellow netizens.He said: "It is a squandered opportunity for a higher degree of self-regulation. It would have

Photo of the Week - February 4th, 2009

2009-02-04T13:09:00.002+08:00

"Still", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

It's sad, yet funny

2009-02-03T17:06:00.001+08:00

Sad to hear people getting swindled, but funny when they bough "Canon" vacuum cleaners. Quite literally, they suck.http://englishrussia.com/?p=2260

This is why I wanna go to Taiwan

2009-02-03T02:37:00.001+08:00

The photo below says it all.http://d.blog.xuite.net/d/8/3/7/12651524/blog_35286/txt/22100338/5.jpgAnd it isn't the landscape I'm talking about.* Go here for the full article, written by my Taiwananese colleague Joe. For those of you who diss the 18-55mm IS kit lens, take a good look at those shots, and shut it.* No, really, it isn't the landscape. Chick photogs in short skirts and boots?

Photography Notes: Evaluating Your Needs

2009-02-01T17:45:00.003+08:00

I just ran across an interesting article over at Luminous Landscape about balancing quality and value of photographic gear. It's an excellent, thought-provoking essay, as you can expect from Michael Reichmann, and especially when the subject is about evaluating two very subjective and basically unquantifiable qualities. Now read the last sentence out loud, three times, fast. As a photography

A crazy idea

2009-01-31T16:47:00.001+08:00

Had dinner with Mel last Thursday, and while talking about planning for our overseas trip we came up with a crazy idea. I think it was along the lines of "Why don't we do something healthier instead of drinking" or some crap like that. I can't be sure because it felt like an out-of-body experience.Anyway, the idea is to start preparing ourselves physically for a mountain climbing expedition.

What do you mean it's the end of the month?

2009-01-31T16:38:00.001+08:00

I'm still feeling like it's 2008, and January 2009 is already at an end. Time flies even if you're not having fun. Good thing is, it has been a pretty fun month, with the candids challenge and a good shoot at Marina Barrage, some great weekends with the gang and other old friends, and perhaps most surprisingly, no major mishaps at work.February is a short month (duh) but I'm hoping it's just as

Photo of the Week - January 28th, 2009

2009-01-29T10:43:00.002+08:00

I just realised I owe myself a POTW, so here it is, my favourite shot of my candids challenge series."Alighting", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 85mm f/1.8 lens.Most of you will probably wonder why this is my favourite; it's because it's a shot I pre-visualised, waited for and executed in one shot. While waiting for a bus I imagined taking a shot framed like that, so when the chance came I

"I look ugly in this shot"

2009-01-29T10:38:00.001+08:00

I hear this crap all the time when I show people the shots I take of them. Initially, I thought maybe my camera-fu sucks, that maybe I haven't gotten to the stage where my photos look good. I've now come to the realisation that what looks like a million bucks to me is not worth a cent to most people.Especially when they are in the photos.I cannot say I understand this phenomenon; while I do not

Something for the adults (NSFW)

2009-01-23T16:52:00.002+08:00

Edit: And here are the outtakes, straight from Superfad. (Courtesy of Lee Jiing)

Quote of the Day

2009-01-23T16:47:00.001+08:00

Haven't done one of these in a while.'If you ask me, "missing a kodak moment because my camera isn't up to par" is an old dog beaten to death, buried, exhumed, only to be beaten again.....' - Kit, Clubsnap forums

Visualising and Feeling Data

2009-01-22T02:22:00.001+08:00

This video came by way of Chase Jarvis via Facebook last night; I didn't get a chance to watch it till now, and everyone knows I'm not really a morning person, so words fail me at this point. Watch it and feel the impact yourselves, it's worth 11 minutes of your time.

Photo of the Week - January 21st, 2009

2009-01-21T14:20:00.002+08:00

"Looking Up", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.1/160s, f/8, ISO 100, FL 24mm, Centre-weighted average metering

CNY Challenge Shoot

2009-01-20T19:08:00.001+08:00

Finally, something exciting to look forward to for this horrid period of festivities. I'll be off from work for 5 days, starting Friday, so Lee Jiing came up with an idea for a little "competition". We will post up to 10 of our best street candids on Facebook and see who has the best shot. Rules are pretty simple:- All shots are to be taken at the 35mm-equivalent focal length of 135mm (ie, 85mm

I live in a country populated by idiots

2009-01-20T09:44:00.003+08:00

Apparently some bureaucrat went on some expensive French cuisine holiday and some bored forum trolls are letting him have it, and the criticism is echoed by our dear government, of which one particular MP's comment is, for lack of a better word, moronic. Make no mistake, this is a follow-up on the previous post about the Golden Rule, and it's all wayang. However, the stupidity that is stemming

The Golden Rule

2009-01-20T09:39:00.002+08:00

I've had to explain the Golden Rule of Singapore quite a bit lately, as my Japanese colleagues were having some difficulty understanding how things work around here, so I decided to write a short post about this since I'm bored and waiting for my Fishing Wrangler to finish its 15-minute cooldown.(Actually, I doubt this rule is only applicable on this God-forsaken island.)The Golden Rule states

WTB More weekends like this

2009-01-19T11:06:00.001+08:00

As I have previously mentioned, last weekend was busy but as enjoyable as it can get. The worst thing that happened was Red Cliff 2, and I blame Allan for that. The shoot at Marina Barrage went well, and I should have photos up within a couple days. I also managed to snag a Spyder 3 Pro to calibrate my monitor, so I can lay the ghost of bad colours to rest.Sunday's gathering was also pretty fun,

Red Cliff 2 Sucks

2009-01-19T08:18:00.002+08:00

That is all. I'm not even going to rationalise why it sucks, just take my word for it. You have my sympathy if you watched it, and my envy if you haven't. Don't even bother with this movie.

This weekend's gonna be great!

2009-01-16T19:50:00.001+08:00

Just like a wild bachelor's party just before a guy gets married*, this is gonna be a packed last weekend before I start my third semester. I'll be going home to collect my gear after work before meeting a colleague, who will be taking the plunge into the DSLR world; gonna bring him to my favourite shops to buy a (most likely) Canon 450D. I'll probably get my monitor calibration software too, so

Photo of the Week - January 14th, 2008

2009-01-14T14:57:00.003+08:00

"Marina @ 6.45am", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens.

Eight more days

2009-01-11T16:11:00.001+08:00

School is starting again in eight days, and I think this is going to be one boring semester. The subjects listed are Managerial Accounting, Principles of Marketing and Managing Human Resource. Read Boring, Boring and Boring. The schedule remains as Monday, Wednesday and Thursday lessons.Besides the boring classes, the class itself is probably going to be shredded in half. Willy is dropping out,

A 23-hour Friday

2009-01-11T13:06:00.001+08:00

But man, what a solid 23 hours. The day started at 5am when I started packing my gear together for the day-long shoot, and by 5.40am I was out the door, 10kg on my back and headed for Fullerton Park in a vain attempt to capture the sunrise against the overused backdrop of the city skyline and the Merlion. I was joined by Lee Jiing and Bryan at the park, and although the sky was too overcast to

Updates on my father-in-law

2009-01-11T08:56:00.002+08:00

He's still warded at CGH, but looks far better than when I first visited last Monday. Blood test results were clear, which was expected. What I was not expecting was that he still has not gotten scheduled for any scans. I'm not a doctor, but when a patient is suspected to have had a minor stroke, it appears common sense to try and find out if there are any clots.But hey, I only play a doctor in

Not a good start

2009-01-06T20:44:00.001+08:00

My father-in-law was admitted to hospital a couple days back; he is recovering now but it was quite a scare. He went through a heart angioplasty back in 2006 and he was never quite the same again. This time around he was feeling dizzy, and couple that with an existing hypertension and vomiting, warding him in the hospital was a good move. There were suspicions of a minor stroke with all the

Photo of the Week - January 7th, 2009

2009-01-06T20:28:00.003+08:00

"Tree", taken with Canon EOS 50D and EF 24-105 f/4L

Price is not the problem...

2009-01-04T14:29:00.002+08:00

...the problem is, no money. This is a pretty popular saying amongst the regulars at John 3:16, and succinctly sums up my feelings right about now. While some regard a first post of the year talking about being poor as bad luck, I'm posting about this because it serves to remind me yet again about the value of money, particularly in the apparently worsening economic situation.Hard to swallow?

Another year passes...

2008-12-31T16:52:00.002+08:00

As my wife is busy watching that overrated Channel 8 show, I find myself chatting about WW2 with Audrid and reminiscing about a momentous year that is about to pass into history. 2008 marked a number of important changes to me, both on the professional and personal front, and I look forward to yet more changes, hopefully for the better, even though the economical outlook is bleak all round.While

Photo of the Week - December 31st, 2008

2008-12-30T19:26:00.002+08:00

"Probably the best Zone in the World", 1/100s, f/5.6, ISO 250Canon EOS 50D with EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 32mm

A Different Kind of Advert for the Canon 50D

2008-12-30T18:58:00.002+08:00

Photography Notes: The Most Important Piece of Equipment

2008-12-26T06:49:00.002+08:00

Joe McNally is one of those photographers that most aspiring photographers love to be, having worked for LIFE and Time magazines among a slew of other prominent gigs. Which makes the video even more illuminating. In my short time dabbling in this hobby I have seen, and been a victim of, the "this next lens will make my shots better" mentality. No doubt photography is a gear-centric hobby, but is

Obligatory Christmas Post

2008-12-25T13:46:00.000+08:00

Nothing quite like blogging when you're bored shitless at the office. I would've chosen to play my PSP, but it ran out of juice, so here I am with some updates.I have finally posted my Taiwan vacation "review". It took quite a bit of work to get it done in a photoblog-like style, so any comments are appreciated. Speaking of photoblogs, I realise that I do owe myself a photo of the week, which

Taiwan Trip 2008 Recap

2008-12-25T11:55:00.004+08:00

Sorry for sitting on this for two months, but I have good reasons to:1. My exams were at the end of November, and I had taken ample leave to try and tackle the papers, which meant that between post-processing about 2000 shots from the trip and studying, I didn't have much time to reflect upon it.2. A lot of time was spent catching up on the crappy goings-on in the office.3. A lot of time was

To-Do List

2008-12-19T09:16:00.001+08:00

Just a list of stuff I need/want to get done by the end of this momentous year; more of a reminder for myself, but also a little preview of a few posts on the site.- Finish up and post up my Taiwan vacation "report", along with a few posts that are long overdue- Calibrate my monitor for photo editing/printing- Finish processing the photos of my cousin's wedding (which won't be posted) and the

Photography Notes: Don't Be Lazy!

2008-12-18T08:03:00.003+08:00

This is one of the first and most important lessons I've learned since picking up photography, but it took me some time to actually absorb. This is a hard one to drill into my head as it is just so convenient to zoom in or out with the kit lens and thus neglect to look for a better angle, a better view, a better perspective, and ultimately, a better shot. The proliferation of cheap zoom lenses