dollies!

Yes yes, the staring syndrome is back again.. ^_^ll

so here's something to stare at until someone else posts again! :D copy and paste the link:

http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbId=1456372

This is a project I've started with a friend..Every month we'll take a series of shots based on the theme of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, with each month's photographs depicting whatever significant holiday or event that happens to take place at that time :D Enjoy! :D

Some dreams are indeed coming true...

I happened to chance upon this 'not so old' post by Grouch...

We have come a long way.....

PPC

Roy Of York Gained Battle In Vain

If you were one of those who stayed back in college until 7pm today, you would have witnessed a very rare phenomenon. I was on my way from the photog room to G.O. when I saw students at the study bench whipping out their phone cams shooting at donno what. Instinctively, I turned to look and BOY! was I excited!!!

THERE. WAS. A. RAINBOW!!!!!!!!!!

So I AHHHHH!!! AAAAHHH! AAAHH!!!!!! went hysterical, threw my handbag and My Melody lunchbox on one of the benches and bolted up at the speed of light to grab my cam.

But it was still drizzling so I didn't really dare to walk out to shoot. Got two boys...

boys: Ms Koh!! Go nearer go nearer =DDD

I did a superman pose and pretended to fly up to the sky LOL can't go any nearer la! the rainbow is in the sky neh!!! -.-

then Mr Conrad Lee came up beside me..

he: better quickly take. wait i ask azhar to switch off the projector then no more already! =D

funneh...

then i saw a familiar silhouette zoom across. PPC is out with his cam too ^^

PPC: WA!! got rainbow!!

so we paparazzi paparazzi... and I flew up the ramp and shot from outside the hall...



Sighs... =) it's so nice to see a rainbow... everyone stopped what they were doing and just took time off to admire the simple beauty of the rainbow. Actually, there were TWO rainbows but the bigger arc is v faint so unless you look closely, you can't see it.


I went home humming the song with a smile on my face =)

Somewhere over the rainbow
way up high
in the land
that I heard of once
Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow
skies are blue
and the dreams
that you dare to dream
really do come true

Someday I'll wish upon a star
and wake up
where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
away above the chimney tops
that's where you'll find me

Someday I'll wish upon a star
and wake up
where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
away above the chimney tops
that's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
skies are blue
and the dreams...that you dare to dream
really do come true
If happy little bluebirds fly
above the rainbow, why
Oh, why can't I?

What a wonderful way to end my tired day (^^)V

The pictures selected by SGH to be framed on their walls...

Natural Kaleidoscope by Yong En

Bead-you-tiful by Shirleen

To know more, read http://mjcphotog.blogspot.com/2009/02/some-things-that-made-me-proud.html

PPC

Haha, let me make some clarifications before anyone is conned... again.

The article on mypaper of course wasn't about me. You need to click in to the picture to see the words. My name is only in the by line of the photographs. Yes, I took the photos. And they happened to be on the cover page.

And to share my story in another writing style, I took on the newspaper article style, and boy I am quite surprised few of you kena conned.... Hahahaha....

Next time see properly, k? Lols.

"No such thing as travelling light" for photographer

The cover page of today's my paper, a local free sheeter, with Eunice Chan's photos on the cover.

A young aspiring photographer is back for more back breaking work, walking all over suburban malls taking pictures of tenants who have chosen to open their retail shops at the heartlands.

Her name is Eunice Chan, 20, an undergraduate student at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information of Nanyang Technological University, a top journalism and media school in Asia.

News photography has proven to be challenging. For every shoot she covers, there is much thinking process of which sort of photo would qualify for the article. Communication is needed between the photographer and the writer in order for Ms Chan to find out what angle the writer is working on so that the cover photo would suit the article as much as possible.

Apart from brain juice, much physical strength is needed in a news photographer.

"Photography isn't as easy as it seems. For this cover, I have travelled all over the west of Singapore until my feet and back were so sore, but the gratification upon seeing my work on the cover made it all worthwhile," said Ms Chan.

Ms Chan mentioned that her full gear could weigh up between 6 to 8kg, and that there's really nothing called "travelling light" for a photographer like her.

Ms Chan also shoots for Nanyang Chronicle, a school publication for the NTU student body, and also the president for the Alumni Society of Meridian Junior College Photography Club.

Kua Zhang-ness

you know you've attained a certain level of greatness when you have THREE canoeists holding your ladder while you shoot with 1D and fisheye lens... and the masses have to part like the red sea to avoid you...

angie: *looks up* mr cheng very qiang jing tou leh!!

and here's my fav photo at the road race =) she's Joy, Mr Jimmy Sim's dog. after a while, i got really tired of shooting people -.-

Irashaimasu!

Welcome to all the J1s who got through the interview and made it through the selection process into the Photography Club!

I think we're the first photography club in all the junior colleges in Singapore which is so popular that an interview is needed! PHOTOG!

Anyways, I just want to say that photography requires most importantly the passion, perseverence and heart.

Passion > to loan out camera and shootshootshoot!

Perseverance > to understand the jargon first (which I initially disliked but got used to! ^_^v)

Heart > to derive a higher purpose and deeper meaning in your photos.

I think one of my turning points after joining the club was when I consciously forced myself before taking each photo to consider what I wanted to show in it. And I found talking to seniors, alumni, and Chin Chye (ahaha the jin zai in our batch :D) very helpful.

I remember picking up various styles of shooting because I was quite blur about how to shoot. Yeah, lame right? But true, I even tried out Robert's take-glance-slickdeletemotion and when I first learned how the histogram worked, I'd take-analyse-the-graph-retake-analysethegraphandpicturedifference and so on and so forth. Eventually, I developed a 'style' I was comfortable with.

To get there, most importantly deardeardear juniors, practice. It's the only way.

I remember realising this after I asked the senior exco members [and Eunice (who had to explain x 100, arigato x 100) and Kingston and Chin Chye and Jun Sen ^_^] spamming technical FAQ a lot. Then I realised that my brain had lots of holes and the only way I could process the information, even the simplest ones, was to slow the process down. This I did by taking the learning very slowly, and experimenting with the camera each time I learnt something new.

[Come to think of it, despite being able to use Manual on the camera (relatively slowly), I keep forgetting whether the + and - of exposure compensation = lighter/darker! Haha, then everytime need to trial and error first :P]

So yep, this is my supposed-to-be-one-paragraph welcoming post to the J1s! I hope you all learn from the club, and though you may love photography now, I hope you would come to love it even more. I hope you will also eventually develop a very BIGBIGHUGEHUGE love for the MJC Photography Club...

...as I have. <3

P.s. To all J1s reading this (non-members cause I know our members are all responsible people) please be puntual for your mugshots class slot. Thank you!

Just a reminder

In addition to what QM ange has said, this is just a gentle reminder to our new kiddos

(With update punishments and offence) 

Offence	Punishment
Dropping a lens	Replace the lens followed by Torture, then Death
Mounting a canon lens on a nikon body	Torture, then Death
Throwing litter in the Clubroom	Sweep the floor then followed by  Torture, then Death
Eating in the Clubroom	Death
Lending photog equipment to non-photography club members	Death
Criticizing photography club's equipment	Death
Criticizing Deimos Rising	Death
Criticizing the greatness of the Alumni	OMGUDIENOW!!!

A Word from the QM

hello to all!

mainly to the J1s lah :D

& guess what?

from this post i know which j1 reads our blog ^^

 

actually its just some boring equipment stuffs and digression here & there.

(mainly because i'm lazy to do my DE tutorial,sorry ms koh!i still love math!)

 

1. please,please,pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee do not lend the club equipment to non-photog members!

even if they're your BFF,or your gf/bf blah blah.

cause if it spoils,you'll have to pay for it,literally.

 

2.if you happen to drop the club equipment by accident *touch wood,call me.

or ell.

or vicky.

or zh.

or shir.

or van.

or mumtaz.

any exco members.

do not try to attempt to fix the broken lens (i hope its just the filter) yourself.

dropping a lens in the photog club is equivalent to committing an unforgivable crime in the society.

so please,take care of my children like they are your children.

as you can see,they're like my children :D

 

3.please believe that the club equipments are more impt than your life.

this may sound pathetic,or like..wth,you think my life is less impt than some stupid lens?

the truth is..

nope then lens are not stupid.

nope your life is priceless.

but...in the photog club,you'll know that this is very true.

 

4.if you do not know how to operate the cam,pls do not attempt trial & error.

some things just dont work in that manner.

though i think the first time i fixed the lens to the body was like 30mins of trial & error.

& i really freaked out when i cant remove the lens from the body blah blah.

a note to myself:teach juniors how to fix lens,and unfix them.

 

5.place the lens cap over the lens when not in use :D

 

6.the cam has a significant weight thus it has momentum.

do not swing it here & there,its no fun esp if mr cheng sees you doing that!

 

7.this is admin stuffs,i think i'll reiterate (i cant spell this word i think T_T but you get my point lah!) this in the next club mtg cause..

i forgot to mention this the previous time sorry!

to all photog members,please get your own cf cards & card reader.

the cf card part is more impt.

if you're totally clueless abt what it is,approach us.

i think its best to get a min 2GB one but if you have too much $$$,go for a bigger number.

the bigger the num,the larger the cost :D

we honestly dont need you to have a 16.0GB one really!

my cf card :D but maybe you can consider a 4.0GB one.

qm's note:pls get your cf card soon err but maybe you can really ask us first before you get one.

and if you're intending to get a DSLR too,check if it uses a CF card of SD card.

(:

for those under FA,fear not!

the club has cf cards to loan too :D

 

err...i guess thats pretty much all.

hope all the lucky j1s have fun in the road race,photographer or not :D

& learn some skills from your seniors!

though i abit blur one lah hee.

 

pretty much like this.

kk i think i just said so in the previous paragraph -.-

bye bye juniors,members,seniors,alumni,PPC,KOH :D

 

*photog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

angeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

All Salute the Chee!!!

Permission to carry on! Sir!

Photography Withdrawal Syndrome

I think I am sick. Down with a serious illness. I don't know when it hit me but I am feeling the syndromes ever since this morning. I hope there is a quick cure cos I don't know how long more I can hold. I think it could be the stress piling upon my busy schedule and many commitments. But I need a fix quick  ! 

Yes, I am down with Photography Withdrawal Syndrome. Lets leave the details of the syndrome to the doctors but all I know is that I have been framing images I am seeing with my eyes all day. I see a window, I start drawing lines to frame it. I see a corner of a table, I shift my eyes so that I can frame it on the power point according to the famous Rule-of-Third ( for those who are clueless about what is Rule-of-Third check this out -Link- . I see a small ant crawling by, I quickly defocuse my eye so that my eyes can go macro and focus on the ant. It is as though the view through my cornea is like this:

 

 

 

 Let me guess. How did all this happen ? Why did I contract a illness so rarely heard of ? It could be because I have not been shooting lately. Well Monday to Friday working at a "Zoo" taking care of bunch of monkeys leaving the weekends to do things that I need to do like driving, birthday parties, helping with the house keeping and recovering from the abuse accumulated from the weekdays. No wonder I have not been in touch with my camera. I think its coming from its dry box to haunt me now. Sorry S3IS ! I would very much go out with you but I really had no time. ( If u don't know who S3IS is, U better check this out, its a long story...). I think my eyes are begining to mimic the familiar view that it have seen through my camera. It is as though it is taking its own subotex

in place of the heroin.
 

Arh I can't stand it any longer ! Its driving me crazy ! All this are happening sub-consciously in my mind. It is not that I don't enjoy it but this is absurb. I am rip of my rights to see the world properly. I love the world cos the world is awesome. But the syndrome is constricting my vision to a mere peek down the tunnel like viewfinder. It could have been a full-frame viewfinder but still, I am blinded at the sides. Even if I am shooting, I would have not been very comfortable cos when I shoot, I want to see real life in the viewfinder and not the artificial image on the EVF or a reflection through the lens. I want to be able to keep an eye on what is happening outside the viewfinder frame and what is happening around me. It is then I can capture the decisive moment instead of taking a good picture by chance. I want to be at the heart of action.

I want to be there to shoot. I want my audience to be where I shoot. I want him to feel that he is at the exact same spot where I was seeing what I saw or at least what I want him to see. Thats why I can't stand this withdrawal syndrome. The camera can restrict its  vision but I can't be restricting my own. I need to be in the situation to be able to capture the atmosphere. I need to know my situation so that I can anticipate what's going to happen and be ready to shoot when it comes. 



Lets hope I get better soon. Meanwhile, I think I need a walk with my beloved S3 IS. So see ya 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some more positive comments

Stephanie Ho wroteat 1:03am
Been there yesterday. The pictures were great. But i feel that they should add the names of the animals in the description instead of the camera they used.


Yuen Ling wroteat 4:55pm
Hi, been there.Wonderful presentation.Hope there message stays on even though the exhibit comes to an end.Will you consider posting the photos online so that we can continue to share this important and meaningful message to people around us?

Live telecast and some digression.

helloooooooooooo :D

 

today is the once in a year recruitment day and so...

*busy busy*

we've so so so many ppl who expressed their interest in our cca.

kingston was desperately hoping for ppl to ask qns.

other than....

girl:err...what is a dslr?

or...

boy:what do you mean by any experience in photography?

which are actually the FAQ hence for the juniors next year:

have a FAQ paper that explains what our qn means ^^

the queue was really,really long that at times i wonder if the queue cause...

"many many ppl queue so i queue lorxzxz",typical singaporean attitude mah D:

& i realised no one is interested in what equipment we've got ):

but oh well...........

i wasnt interested in them last year this time too mah :D

 

the weird thing that happened today.

everyone suddenly felt proud cause they're in photog!

like,omg i didnt know photog was so popular blah blah.

& those smiling faces when they know they're the few who got into photog.

*feeling really proud at this moment*

except for our anomaly who said SLC is btr *angry.

quote from ell,you're not supposed to say bad things of your cca on cca recruitment day marh.

 

but anyway,its pretty fun :D

we've more than a hundred names on the list,and if all puts us as first choice....

imagine the no of interviews we have to have O:

 

at this very moment,chin chye who's behind me made this comment.

chin:woa angeline.... tsk tsk *disapproval tone* slacking.

and then...

sharon:she blogging *laughs*

*turns my head and feels a bit...weird :/ *

  

but cca recruitment day is a really really busy day.

but its fun looking at your potential juniors walk here & there.

then kingston scaring them by asking if they really  wanna join photog & why.

poor girls ):

 

anyway,i went to the SPCA exhibition with my parents last night :D

my papa went "eh this look like your photo" every now & then -.-

then i told him its the same dog/cat/rabbit but its not mine.

there're good & bad things seen lah.

like ppl getting to the other side by walking below our pretty photos *shakes head in disapproval*

and the photos were turning here & there and i almost unscrew the whole pole omgzzzzz.

but its nice to see ppl admiring,looking or at least pretending to look at our photos! :D

 

aft that i saw quent at popular.

*wonders why he goes to ws every day*

he says he's proud of us.

^^

very proud of us too.

:D

 

PHOTOGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!

 

XOXO,

angeeeeee :D

Love Is Raining Like Cats & Dogs In Here

Okay, so here goes what I think is my first ever solo post on the blog. Embarrassing, yes, but somehow I feel this is a perfect time for me to write something. In fact, I think that fate is so humorous at times - choosing someone like me to account for this experience. Here it goes.

My personal story begins 10 years back. If you need a visual of me, just imagine Golem from Lord of the Rings except much cuter. An innocent looking boy of a good height among his peers. Off course, this post isn't about me. It has to do with where I come from.

Number 10, Mount Vernon Road.
Ever since I was young, the SPCA has always been close to me. It was next to my school and I had to walk by it everyday just to get to the bus stop which would signal my journey home. From time to time, I would walk in and look at the dogs. I was afraid of cats (until the day my best friend adopted a cat and I was forced to like them but that's a story best saved for when I'm old in a rocking chair and trying my best to entertain my grandchildren.) You could say that the SPCA was a place which I was familiar with.

But that made me take what it stood for for granted. More on this later.

My first ever pet was adopted from the SPCA. Sadly, that pet is gone now. She was a beautiful Siberian Husky and I loved her so. Sure, she was stubborn at times but she had the child-like innocence which made me love her so much. Needless to say, having her around was like drugs - it was plain difficult to be sad when she was around. When she left me, it really did hurt like mad.

I realised though that, even though I was sad in that moment, the moments of joy I shared with my lovely Husky were moments forever cherished.

As time drifted by, the heartache subsided and life went on as per normal. That was until Quentin embarked on his SPCA project which sought of woke me up again. The impact wasn't full blown at that time yet. It was only till Mr. Cheng told our exco that it was time to bring the SPCA project further, and off course with the beautiful hearts of Shirleen, Vanessa, Angeline, Mumtaz, Vicky, Zheng Hui, Chin Chye and all the other photographers who contributed to this project, that it awoke this feeling inside of me.

The feeling that the SPCA did stand for a greater good here. They were giving a voice to animals whom could not speak directly to us humans. They were providing a temporary home to these lives which searched for loving protection. They were nurturing life where life was previously abandoned. If anyone did that for another human, they would be called saints. And this made me realise that the SPCA could use our help.

I'm glad that after months of hard work placed in by the people mentioned in this post, that the exhibition is finally live in Pasir Ris NLB. The only hope I have for this exhibition, if it fails to do anything else, at least it can touch the lives of the people who read it so that they themselves can be moved to feel some love for the animals. It's not that hard to love an animal whom only wants your companionship (and some food, water, shelter and a nice walk).

Whenever I think of my long-gone dog and see that panting face in my mind, it's almost as if I can hear her barking at me. Yet, the words that I hear, not by her words but actions, tell me:

"Thank you for loving me"

And even as a guy, I admit, sometimes I cry.
So show your support by coming down to Pasir Ris NLB located in White Sands Shopping Mall from 9th to 15th of February. The exhibition will be up during the libraries opening hours. It's located on the 4th floor of the shopping center.

On behalf of the 08'-09' exco, we thank everyone who has given support for this project and would specially like to thank those who have gone out of their way to view the exhibition. We hope the pictures move you as much as it did to us. Loving doesn't just happen on special days like these - loving lasts a lifetime.

This is my part of my SPCA Love Story. God Bless.

Signing off,
Elliot Lucas Marcell Tan (my name doesn't really end here, I do it for simplicity sake)

Ra Bu Mi!!

That's my Japo way of pronouncing the title of our SPCA exhibition "LOVE ME" =DDD

we were to set up our exhibition at whitesands library this morning so immediately after morning assembly the exco members gathered in the clubroom and booked two cabs to cart our 15 bases, 15 poles, 3 boxes of clips, 1 box of prints, 2 easels and 2 mounted posters there...

our heroes take cab no need bring money one -_______- so i became their ATM. passed $10 to elliot

me: enough anot?
angie: sure enough la! more than enough er! here to whitesands v near ^^
me: -.- you'll be surprised... it's peak hour hor (tsk tsk tsk, these people must be hardly take taxi one...)

$11.05

i was right...

angie: *angelic eyes* WA! so expensive!

-______-

upon arrival, we had to go by the backdoor through a super chao *pinch nose* walkway and the busy bees got down to work...

vicky set up one example and announced...

vicky: ok, make everything eye level...
shirleen: *very seriously* whose eye??
everyone: LOLLL
me: quentin's eye n shirleen's eye v different neh...
everyone: LOLLLLLL














Scandal No. 1a

Scandal No. 1b

shirleen: oh no, [use your imagination, fill in name] will be abused, abandoned dot dot dot heartbroken

Scandal No. 2

All they want to say to you is, "Ai Ra Bu Yu!"

Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today...


eh, sorry, salah expression... we're unveiling the poster so we should do: "The sampat look!"


We wanted to take a group shot...

me: use my fisheye la!
someone: who has the longest arm??

then they started MEASURING (yes, like REALLY measure... put arms side by side) -________- and concurred that Zhenghui has the longest arm so here you go!




we admired our exhibition again then went back to college...


on the way back on 109, we saw a v funky auntie with GOLDEN hair, PURPLE fringe and according to shirleen, PURPLE eyeliner. vanessa, shirleen n i were like O.O, >.< and =PP i didn't see the purple eyeliner and was v tempted to pretend to forget to tap my card so i can see it... n also v tempted to shoot her since i had the 18-200mm w me LOL

SPCA

not say i want to say er... our banner is nice de lor...

Make It MINE!

I wanna dedicate this song to our hardworking J2 exco...

MAKE IT MINE by Jason Mraz

Make It Mine - Jason Mraz


Wake up everyone
How can you sleep at a time like this
Unless the dreamer is the real you
Listen to your voice
The one that tells you to taste past the tip of your tongue
Leap and the net will appear

I don't wanna wake before
The dream is over
I'm gonna make it mine
Yes i... i will own it
I'm gonna make it mine
Yes i'll make it all mine

I keep my life on a heavy rotation
Requesting that it's lifting you up
Up up and away
And over to a table at the graditude cafe

And i am finally there
And all the angels they'll be singing
Ah la la la ah la la la I la la la la love this

I don't wanna wake before
The tour is over
I'm gonna make it mine
yes i... i will own it
I'm gonna make it mine
Yes i'll make it all mine...

Yes I'll make it all mine

And timing's everything
and this time there's plenty
I am balancing
Careful and steady
And reveling in energy that everyone's emitting

well I don't wanna wait no more
No i wanna celebrate the whole world
I'm gonna make it mine
Because i'm following your joy
I'm gonna make it mine
Because i... i am open
I'm gonna make it mine
Thats why... i wanna show it
i'm gonna make it it mine
gotta make gotta make gotta make gotta make gotta make
gotta make it all mine
It's mine...
Yes i will make it all
make it all mine

-----

My dear children, go out and realise your dreams... make the dream yours. Don't let your responsibilities weigh you down. Leap and a net will appear! The rest of us will always support you guys and be your "net"...

With love,
Grandma Eunice