» Photography

Portrait of a Stranger

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:10:20 +0000

I’m having a super busy 2 weeks lately and thus, the lack of updates. Here’s one of the portrait from my “Portraits of Strangers” series…

I wish to know you more.

Red

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:14:32 +0000

Shot with Leica M9, Nokton 50mm F1.1.

Cheap Photography

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:40:52 +0000

Photography NEED not be complicated and expensive. I just need a plastic toy camera and some basic knowledge in exposure. Total investment: less than RM300. These are from my simplest camera. Just 2 apertures, 1 shutter speed, zone-focusing. No digital fiddly menus!

Photography is MORE than just expensive equipment, cracking-sharpness, F1.4 bokeh, high digital ISO, 9 frames per sec… I am taking a break from them all!

Garlands Seller

Fortune Teller

Bloody Torn Arms

A Biker's Stare

No Haggling!

Taxi Driver

Old Bus

The Street-shooters

Heaven's Cat

My Simplest Camera… …

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:49:38 +0000

also my MOST favourite camera, the Holga. This is no NEW Holga, it’s been with me for more than 8 years.

Sometimes, All you ever NEED is a plastic lens on a black plastic box loaded with film. This IS the BEST Therapy ever! Shutter Therapy, as my blogger friend Robin calls it.

Have you ever thought of quitting photography? Yes, I do, in some ways… …

Sometimes I just feel so tired of looking at tons of digital images everywhere, especially online, and ONLY FEW can make me look at it for longer than a quick glance. For example, it makes me wonder why some bothers to shoot 10 shots of the same cat in a similar pose and post them all in flickr!?

In the current wedding industry, it’s common for couples to receive 12 sequential shots of a groom wearing his bow tie, and another 12 sequential shots of the parents covering the bride with her veil… … the list goes on and on…

I ever hired an assistant photographer who gave me just that! And editing his shots after the wedding is a real pain in the ass!

I wanna throw a question to all you guys out there… Do you seriously think photography standards have improved TODAY as compared to film days? Or to be MORE specific, do you seriously think wedding photography standards have improved in recent years due to the latest technology, the MOST intelligent cameras, the Nikon D3S, Canon 5Dmk2, etc. and etc… …???

So what if we can shoot smooth and silky jpegs at ISO25600 at 9 frames per sec?

My First Experience with Urbanscapes 2010

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:21:32 +0000

I have had a busy week so this post is kinda 2 weeks late… so sorry… here are my E-PL1 ART FILTER shots of the event. For those who missed this event, remember to look out for it next year! If you are a ART lover, you would definitely love it!

It’s an annual BIG gathering of Artistic Talents! We have had great music, great Art Works and even Tribute Screening of the late Yasmin Ahmad’s films! I did not have the time to really enjoy the event as I was “working” with Olympus… … so these are the limited shots I did for the day. All images are either done in Pinhole, Grainy Film B&W or Diorama Art Filter. No further post-processing has been done. Enjoy…

Urbanscapes 2010, Olympus Photo Walkabouts

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 06:51:21 +0000

Can everyone shoot artistic images??? With a camera like the PEN, almost!

Though I have been teaching photography for a while now, I find that there’s just one thing that can’t really be imparted: how to see artistically!

But with the latest technology, digital cameras like the Olympus PEN series which produces fantastic jpegs straight out of camera, and with the additional in-camera Art Filters… … shooting ARTS straight out of a small and portable interchangeable lens camera has never been so easy before!

I have the images to prove you here. Not all are excellent but most are impressive! These are ALL the images from the participants of the 3 sessions of Olympus Photo Walkabouts on Sat, 26 June, Urbanscapes at KLPAC!

The shots are mostly shot with E-P1, some brought their own PEN, and only Art Filters are used.

Guess who are the 6 winners? (if you do not already know…) Click and enlarge the individual images, put in your comment if you wish.

Judging was based on the public’s votes and 3 judges: the Urbanscape organiser, our Olympus GM Kee Nyap and myself. (Not all the winners’ shots are among my personal 6 favourites… so judging was fair… :p)

Lowlight Shooting with Olympus E-PL1

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:58:34 +0000

The following shots are done at the last Olympus workshop which I conducted. Location is Chow Yang Pasar Malam. Many of us are impressed with the high ISO performance by the Olympus E-PL1. Shots are all done in P mode with auto ISO and many of the shots are at ISO1600. It’s a truly enjoyable camera to use! These are some of my favourite shots:

Best Mode of Transport

Medicine Man

Pink Theme

Resting

Underaged Drivers?

DVD Seller

Cheap Wardrobe

Look Out for our next workshop! Join us and have fun while learning something valuable!

My Olympus E-PL1 Workflow and Re-Review

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:09:10 +0000

Okay, as promised in my previous post, you shall see my crappy shots in this post. Again, I seriously think my shots aren’t half as good as some of those Olympus Brand Store Guys. But, still I really enjoyed the shooting session with the whole bunch of them. Join me for photography workshop in future. It’s fun!

I have been getting quite a number of questions emailed to me regarding the use of the Olympus digital PEN E-P1/2/L1… so I’ve decided to list down here how I usually “manage” the camera.

1. I shoot in P mode when I just wanna concentrate on getting the shot, the expression, the action, irregardless of the depth-of-field. In fact, I want a deeper depth-of-field in order to quickly capture a moment, minimizing the risk of getting things out-of-focus. “F8 and be there.” Like Weegee said.

2. Using the camera in P mode when there’s sufficient light, i.e. when ISO does not automatically go up to 1600 with corresponding aperture of F3.5-5.6 for the kit lens is fine for the “F8 and be there concept”. Yes, I use Auto-ISO too. Sometimes, when I want more control, I will set the ISO manually.

But for lowlight usage, WATCH your shutter speed. Even with the Image Stabilization (IS) ON, a slow shutter speed CANNOT freeze action. Image Stabilization helps to capture non-moving subjects in sharpness when shutter speed is slow.

3. To speed up the camera, I always TURN OFF the automatic preview on my LCD and use my camera in Sequential Shooting Mode. To capture a certain action, I usually shoot 2-3 frames to get the best shapes and forms. I also hardly “chimp”, i.e. look at previews when I shoot. I don’t wanna lose a moment while “chimping”!

4. In my personal opinion and experience with different brands of digital cameras, I found out that Olympus’s RAW files are not all that “tweakable” as compared to the other brands. I figured out that since I am not getting a whole lot more from it’s RAW files, unlike the Canons or Nikons where the tolerance can go as far as 3-4 stops, I’d rather shoot Olympus JPEGs. I also figured out that the Normal JPEGs are good enough for me for general usage as I find no visible difference comparing them to the Fine JPEGs.

However, if I need to use the camera to shoot any stuff that’s exceptionally important, I will still shoot RAW, more for my mental and emotional consolation. Olympus’s JPEGs are about the BEST you can find in the world. The only other brands which I think can come close to it are Leica and maybe Pentax. Okay, I know I may sound subjective, but look at the skin tones! Any colors on any inanimate objects can lie BUT skin colors DON’T LIE! (If you still disagree with me, okay.. it’s my personal taste, alright?)

5. The E-PL1 has much lesser noise at high ISOs as compared to the E-P1 and E-P2, so I am more confident using it at ISO1600-3200.

6. According to Steve Huff’s review, he complained that the movie-record button on the E-PL1′s back can be easily and accidentally depressed BUT I have since found out that it only takes less than 5 steps to OFF the switch permanently in the menu system! No Issue At All! Just OFF it and use the same shutter button for recording video and stills. (Menu-Button-oFunction-Off)

7. I shoot in A mode when I wanna shoot at specific apertures to achieve the depth-of-field I want.

8. I prefer P mode over the E-PL1′s i-auto mode as I don’t like the i-enhance to be always ON as it does in the i-auto mode. Personal preference.

9. Generally, Olympus JPEGs can be a little under-exposed. So some brightening is usually necessary at post-processing. Or for the E-PL1 users, you can choose to use it’s Live Guide, which is “idiot-proof”. If you know digital cameras, a little under-exposed is definitely better than over-exposed as burnt highlights in digital files can never be restored.

10. When using the Pin-hole Art Filter, images may seem a little under-exposed too, so some brightening at post-processing stage will be good.

11. When using the Grainy B&W Art Filter, avoid high contrast scenes as highlights can easily be washed out!

12. If you are a fervent Art Filter Fan, I suggest you shoot RAW and choose your desired Art Filter in Olympus Software afterwards so you can enjoy shooting without having to wait for the “almost forever” in-camera Art Filter processing. Those few seconds can mean eternity when you are out there.

Okay, finally, there’s ONE THING I hate about the E-PL1!

It DOES NOT HAVE AN ORIENTATION SENSOR! Which means, I have to manually rotate all my vertical shots! Olympus, is it that expensive to have this included in the E-PL1? This should already be the norm among all digital cameras of year 2010!

Here are my shots from the street shoot, constructive comments are welcomed!

Drying her hair by the roadside, hip shot.

Pinhole Art Filter Effect

Prostitute outside motel entrance, hip shot. I forgot to watch my shutter speed!

panned shot of man walking past

HOT!

Fierce! Hip Shot.

Pin Hole Art Filter

Travelling

My small reflection in-between.

Beggar

Security Guard

Summon!

Diorama Art Filter

Pop Art Filter, shot by manually focusing till patterns appear

The following are two shots by the NEW 9-18mm M-Zuiko Lens. This is such a small, compact and sharp lens with good close focusing distance! It’s in stock!

Shot with NEW 9-18mm M-Zuiko Lens

Another shot by the NEW 9-18mm M-Zuiko Lens

Lastly, the bunch of Olympus PEN Street Shooters! Shot by a stranger. Isn’t it great to have an “idiot-proof” camera for a stranger to hold? I’m sure the in-camera IS helped. LOL…

Malaysia Olympus Brand Store Street Shooters!

Related Posts:

1. BEST Street Photography Machine

2. Photo-enthusiasts ROCKS!

3. The Power of Small Cameras

4. E-PL1 Review

5. More about the E-PL1

The (one of the) “BEST” Street Photography Machine Ever Made!

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:41:50 +0000

I am very sorry for the overdue updates to this site due to my busy schedule lately. I actually have the images of the “Mom and Baby Fair” photo kiosk shoots that are yet to be posted… followed by some of the images of last week’s workshop’s night street shoot… and etc..

Not too long ago at Olympus, we had a workshop training with the staff of the newly setup Olympus Brand Store at Mid Valley Shopping Centre Unit #LG068. There were a total of 8 participants and we had a street shooting session at Petaling Street, each holding a Olympus PEN E-P1 with the 14-42mm kit lens. I was using the Olympus PEN E-PL1 with the kit lens.

As I have always said, Images That Speak! Let the images do the talking. Now, let’s see some of these amazing shots and you tell me, is the Olympus digital PEN one of the BEST street photography machine ever made?

Yes, I know… the person behind the camera plays the Major Role in seeing and capturing the images, but we absolutely can’t deny that the Olympus PEN indeed helped us so much in getting what we want! It was a truly enjoyable and memorable street shooting session we had with the digital PEN!

And do you know? It’s not the first time I encounter in my teaching that a student with the least knowledge in photography actually produces the best shots! This is enlightening! If you have been a photographer for many years and if you call yourself a “PRO”, you really ought to think along with me, why does this actually happen, I am saying, a person who knows nuts about photography, takes up a camera and produces a higher amount of keeper shots as compared to someone who’s actually trained in aperture and shutter speed.

The question is, “Are we all too bothered with what white balance to set, which shutter speed to use, which focal length is best, what aperture is better… etc… OR are we more concerned of getting that expression, getting that “look” we saw, getting the moment?”

The following are the selected shots by the 8 participants.

NONE of the pictures are cropped. Only slight brightening is applied to some of the color shots. If you are a PRO who often crops your own shots during post-processing, you ought to be ashamed. All of them are staff in the Olympus Brand Store and they are not PROs. They are not even frequent shooters! Due to the large amount of pics in this post, I shall feature my own shots in a separate post. I seriously don’t think I got better shots than some of these here.

Enjoy!

Grainy B&W Art Filter in E-P1

Pinhole Art Filter in E-P1

Grainy B&W Art Filter in E-P1

Sleeping Guard

Foreign Worker

Asking directions from a monk?

Grainy B&W Art Filter in E-P1

Grainy B&W Art Filter in E-P1, same sleeping guard from another point of view.

Grainy B&W Art Filter in E-P1, I like the tension in this shot.

Pop Art Filter in E-P1

Related Posts:

1. Photo-enthusiasts ROCKS!

2. The Power of Small Cameras

3. Olympus E-P1 Review

4. Olympus E-P2 Review

5. Olympus E-PL1 Review

1st Photography Workshop 2010

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 10:09:31 +0000

In partnership with Olympus Malaysia, I’ll be conducting my 1st workshop on 27 May 2010, Thursday evening. This is a comprehensive workshop organized by Olympus Malaysia and it’s open to both Olympus users and Non-Olympus users. Location will be at my studio in Petaling Jaya. The exciting thing about this workshop is we’ll all be going out for a Pasar Malam Night Shoot together and review the pictures after that! (If weather permits) This short 4-hour workshop is gonna cover the basic handling of your camera, practical shooting tips, basic artistic expressions and going beyond making ordinary pictures. I will also be answering all your questions and doing a photo critique. Charges are made very much affordable by Olympus. Please CLICK HERE for more information and to register.