In Love With San Francisco

San Francisco - the first US city I stepped foot on. Was there for 2 days on my transit to Oregon last October. I love everything about this city. The weather's lovely, the sky's blue, the people are ever so friendly, the buildings are mostly architecture masterpieces, and the attractions are aplenty!

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To simply put it.. it's picturesque & lovely. I wished I had more photography worthy shots to share but most of them are rather "touristy" - the kind you pose in front of a landmark, etc.. Anyhow, here are the few I really like. [Click here]

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There's Something About Fluffy

There must be something about Fluffy that makes me adore him so much. For those who didn't know, Fluffy is my pet dog, a Shih Tzu which I brought home 2 years ago. I always think that he's the best looking dog.. you just have to see his pics and you'll get what I mean. Now he's very much a part of the family.. everyone just loves him!

Shooting Fluffy is a great challenge as he is never at still. If only he understood what I told him to do. I've always wanted to bring him out for a shoot at a park or somewhere nice. One thing about Fluffy though, is that he's such a homely dog! He's not the type that enjoys going out.. trust me. Sometimes I wonder, does he ever get bored staying home everyday?

Well, let's see when I can finally get him out.. Until then, here are some shots done during the CNY holidays at home..
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View album >>

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Of D90 & Little Jenelle

I've been toying with the idea of upgrading my beloved D40 for some time... weeks to be exact, ever since the day we went shooting during the Chinese Heritage & Cultural Celebration downtown early this month. I'm always attracted to a bigger, bulkier, longer (lens I mean) camera. It gives some sort of satisfaction owning one. So 2 weeks ago, I decided to put my D40 up for sale with an asking price of 1.1k. I figured losing 300 bucks after 4 months of usage is reasonable. The replacement? The brand new Nikon D90!

Offers came in but the highest it could fetch was RM950. Finally on Thursday, I decided I'll let it go for that price. Arrangement was made with the buyer to handover the cam the next day. Somehow that day however, I decided to check out on the trade-in value from another store (previous store offered RM900). To my surprise this shop offered 1.1k(!) plus RM400 for my old Canon EF 75-300mm lens. Cool! The D90 costs 3.9k and that's a pretty standard price on all 3 stores that I've checked - which means.. a balance of only 2.5k more to pay! Needless to say, I called up the buyer and cancelled the deal ;)

I purchased my D90 on Saturday at the shop Keith recommended (Mega Star). The camera definitely felt sturdy - bulkier & heavier. Total price was slightly over 4k with a CPL filter. I'm finally the proud owner of a brand new Nikon D90!! Feeling ecstatic, I headed to G Hotel to try out my new toy... and it must be a lucky day for little Jenelle to have the priviledge for being the very first model shot on this cam. Isn't she lovely?

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Images of the G

Last Wednesday, we were off to G Hotel after work as Gerard was temporarily staying there having just returned from his relocation at the States. The initial plan was to do a photoshoot,.. but do we have a model??

The guys, instead of meeting at the pool as earlier planned has decided to go for a dinner. I ended up waiting & even managed to complete a few laps at the pool! By the time they came, the sky has turned into total darkness. It might seems like there are little to shoot but with a little touch of creativity, we can turn nothing into something!

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[Click on the image below to view the full album]

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A Celebration of Love - Pang Gyee & Jenny

To start it off, it's a little disappointing that the photos didn't turn out the way I wanted them to be. I had earlier borrowed my camera to a friend and somehow the setting for the metering was changed to "spot". Being new to metering, I didn't notice or understood what metering does to the photo. The positive thing is, I now learned metering, white balance, as well as colour setting!

Anyway, this event has been planned for a long time. Great effort from Pang Gyee to ensure he is able to close the deal in one go ;) Chiang Leng even came all the way from KL to share this joyous moment. Jenny, obviously did not know what was going on as we told her this would be a normal get-together dinner.

I reached E&O after getting the SB800 speedlite from Keith. Got kinda nervy but we proceeded with a few shots outside the hotel. It could be much better (for sure!), but hey I'm still learning. The night went as planned. The food was awesome! After the meal, came the moment we've been waiting for. Pang Gyee played the piano much to Jenny's amazement! There was minor flaw, but it perfectly touched Jenny's heart :) The proposal followed thru with Jenny saying yes right away!! It was simply a great night in the end. Mission accomplished and here's waiting for the big night!

[Click on the image below to view the full album]. Enjoy!
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Photography & I

So here it is, my very first try at blogging on a Valentine's Day.. I can assure you, blogging is a talent! Writing is never easy, what more keeping the blog interesting & entertaining.. Everyone seems to be blogging these days.., well almost.. Not wanting to be left out and having revived my passion on one of my hobbies, I decided to start one of my own.. at this very day!

As an introduction, this blog is aimed to share my thoughts & works on photography... Yes, PHOTOGRAPHY! For a start, I'm not new in the world of photography.. I picked up my first SLR 12yrs back, at the age of 16. It was a Canon EOS 500N. Film photography was expensive, you never know what you've shot and ended with a bunch of below-par shots after you got the film developed.. such a pain to the wallet! When DSLR first came out, the price was amazingly high. I didn't have that much money to afford one so I gave up the hobby I loved so much.
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Until a couple of years back, entry level DSLR started to retail at below RM2k. Definitely much affordable now but the thought of owning one and pursuing this hobby didn't cross my mind. Perhaps, work was taking up most of my time and I was rather focussed on my career.

Towards the end of last year, I was on a 2-month company trip to the States. I figured out I need a good camera to shoot the memories of my first ever trip out of the country! A friend of mine was telling that the Nikon D40 was selling at only RM1.4k - that's a really great bargain! A quick research on the internet and I made up my mind. The 6.2 MP spec was not a concern., as I don't intend to do any large print anyway. I purchased my D40 days before flying off and there I was... happily snapping away in the States ;)

It's been more than 2 months since I returned home. The decision to get a DSLR was right. No regret! Got to know a bunch of Nikonians.. and I'm so hooked! Tonight I'll be shooting the marriage proposal of a close friend. This will be a good practice for me.. and I shall post some pics soon...

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And oh BTW, it's my 4th anniversary today working at Intel.. yet another milestone ;)

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