Monkey business

 

Which way’s up? In case you are confused, you are looking at an upside-down image. Yea, my D70 just got a new lease of life – as a stuntman. Ever since it sprouted legs it has been trying out all sorts of weird poses at home. These legs aren’t cheap, considering that they are already OEM products, but are pretty solid, capable of handling even the d300+80-200 combo. It takes some experience to get the legs in the strongest position though, and i’ll need to find a suitable ballhead for this contraption. It isn’t easy making fine composition adjustments when u’re upside down.

I’m already considering the smaller sized models to hold up my flash, and in case i get a compact camera, provided a decent one is available.

好久不见

好不容易有机会遇见的景色，却在刹那间消失。。。 很遗憾，我错过了。月亮太高太亮了，四周的光线却越来越暗。。。

Hmm.. 下个月再见吧!

=)

The day…

Conflicting interests… While I looked forward to this day, I dreaded it too.. How will today pass?

*fingers crossed*

Feb 2

Long time no blog.

Took a new route home today, just to have a look at some of the new buildings (that are not meant for undergrads obviously…) Snapped this with my E72 (inspired by a Windows 7 wallpaper).

Problem with hand-phone pictures… they are so compressed banding is very obvious once you start adjusting (take a look at the sky). Also had a hard time anti-aliasing the over-sharpened edges. In short, this picture went through quite a bit of photoshop.

Just as an update to my loyal readers: I’ll be away for Chinese New Year from 16th to 22nd Feb.

Back to mugging….

Pandan Reservoir will never be the same again…

Will I change too?

For better or for worse?

010110

The date is in binary again. Just an observation.

Anyway, I’m back at the same spot, with (almost) the same composition as of 2008. Dunno why i couldn’t find the spot on 2009, but heck. Things have certainly changed, with the casino almost ready, some building behind the statue, and a new double helix bridge on the extreme right.

2009

2008

2007 (Not on Jan 1st)

These photos also show the gradual change in processing techniques I’ve developed over the years. Mind you.. the merlion (and now the IR) is still a tough job to blend with the sky.. but hopefully it’s getting less obvious over the years. 2007 was just disastrous post processing. In 2008, the image was almost 2 stops underexposed (with a GND), while the 2009 one was shot using double graduated filters. This year, I used HDR and some smart object blending. (Maybe in a few years time, there’ll be cameras that can take it all in!)

Somehow, I felt the buildings in Singapore lacked consistency and character. Soul-less towers of glass and steel.. Is it a fad of the 21st century or what? They should rebuilt the merlion with glass and steel to match the theme then…

Due to the countdown last night, the area was barricaded, and this is the closest I can get to the merlion. There also seemed to be a lot more photogs this year. (Last year had the least of all 3), and I had to book my prime spot for this shot.

Ok enough of complaints. Happy new year to my loyal readers! Treasure 2010. You never know how many more years you have ahead….

The last decade…

2010 is imminent. And recent news reviews made me start pondering over wad happened in my life, from 2000 to 2009. Indeed, many things happened, and i was just a sec 1 noob back in 2000. The most memorable events, in chronological order:

1. Introduction to the internet (Singtel magix being the 1st ISP, at 256kbps)
2. O levels
3. Introduction to MSN
4. 1st handphone (which eventually got stolen)
5. 1st personal computer
6. Started writing daily diary entries
7. A levels
8. 1st prosumer digital camera (Panasonic FZ30)
9. National Service (which helped me lose weight significantly)
10. Started taking photography seriously, with the purchase of the Nikon D70
11. The launch of this blog
12. Overseas exercises (including a missile launch)
13. Introduction to SheYingDui (and TXY in general)
14. Acquiring the D300, and several other photographic equipment
15. University (and the lack of) Life
16. Knowing you….

I’ve certainly grown up over the years, but my interpretation of the world around me, and my idea of life, is far from mature. What will happen in the next 10 years? Will I still be alive? Only time will tell… But the last decade have certainly been exciting =)