Redemption

Radical Interchangeable

It has been a long day of meeting and I was a pleasantly surprised to read about this new camera by Ricoh-the Ricoh GXR. It's radical! You can read the hands on preview here on dpreview.

20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

An East German man raises his fist as he passes the border at the checkpoint Invaliden Strasse after the opening of the East German border was announced, November 10, 1989.
REUTERS/File

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and I was watching a documentary 'The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall' on Discovery Channel. As I watched I can't help but the admire the courage and tenacity of the East Germans. Many were forcefully separated from their loved ones (mothers, fathers, siblings, husbands, wives, etc.). They had no choice. Many hundreds were killed for attempting to get over the wall to the other side. The sense of repression was extreme. And the fall of the Wall was a tremendous victory to the spirit of freedom and courage in the hearts of the people in Germany. No one has the right to repress another human being using force and fear. Pondering on what I've watched and at same time looking at the current situation in my own country, though not as repressive as the regime of East Germany but is not exactly non-repressive either has renewed my vision for a new Malaysia. The Fall of the Berlin Wall gives me courage and hope to continue to fight the injustice and repression that is in my own beloved nation. Click here and here to view photos of the Fall.

The Cyclist

'Public' Toilet

Mei Yee & Joshua's Engagement Portrait Session

Just came back from shooting Mei Yee and Joshua's Engagement Portrait Session. The arrangement was quite last minute and we had to squeeze in the time at 4:30pm right after work. Not a very good time but we have no choice. To make matters worse, the weather wasn't very kind to us. After a good half an hour of warming up, it started to drizzle. And drizzle... and drizzle. Mei Yee, Joshua and I have been good friends for many years since their tertiary student days. None the less we had fun and I'm really looking forward to shoot their wedding day next year. By the way, Mei Yee is a talented videographer and I'm going to have the honor to have her as my videographer for my wedding day. Click here to view photos.

Awesome Compact

In the midst of entry level dslrs and the recent craze of the micro 4/3rds, it seems that the days of high end digital compacts are numbered. With entry level dslrs priced below rm2k, nobody in their right mind want to buy an inferior digital compact camera around that price range. Reaching for the jugular, there are the popular EP1 and the recently launced EP2 and the sexy GF1 from Olympus and Penasonic for those who need a compact but yet capable of producing dlsr like image quality albeit at a premium. But yet Canon chose this time to surprise the world by reviving their pro level compact Powershot S series. And it's a pleasant surprise. At least for me. Canon manages to squeeze in all the bells and whistles a discerning photographer needs. It's truly a photographer's tool with the design of the camera well thought out. The icing of the cake is the superb image quality. Bear in mind this is not an APS C camera. Even though Canon has increased the sensor size, it's still a small sensor by comparison. But it doesn't disappoint. ISO 800 is still very good with plenty of details. Besides the image quality, it's the front control ring and other external controls that I really like about this little gem. Gone are the days that the user need to dig into frustrating menus to change the setting of the camera. And not to mention the amazingly fast image stabilized 28-105mm f2-4.9 lens. Wow! This is a compact that I want. For more in depth review click here. Also check out this site for sample images. You have to view to believe. This is truly an awesome compact!

The Tree

Better Days

Memories