Meridian Leaders' and College Reps Appreciation Tea

This was held yesterday afternoon and I think some of my students had been starving themselves cos they heard "got BUFFET"!!!

As i approached the hall, i saw the crowds eyeing the food like vultures.


They kinda lingered there, pointing pointing, "i want to eat this!!" "wa!" and so, didn't move quickly into the hall. even those who entered were just standing around stoning so Mr EC said into the mic, "Those still standing will get no food!" HWA then you see them zhioop here zhioop there and within seconds everyone was seated. of cos, ellie they all guai guai seated le la... vicky with her pretty hairstyle (don't know whether she purposely style for the special occasion one). there was an announcement for the captains of various CCAs to "register" and ellie was one of them... he hehehe at "Captain" of Photography club LOL

here's ellie receiving the certificates on behalf of the exco and i'm sure the exco screamed but i was not fast enough to turn around to shoot them.


ellie showing hao lian face


after the ceremony, the students bolted out of the hall at the speed of light and attacked the food like they've been starving for months... for a moment, i thought it was Chinese 7th month kakakakaka! golly... i didn't know food had such magnetic ability... we should so serve food during lectures... LOL my colleagues were peering from the staffroom window and were stunned.... it was really people mountain people sea, water no entry outside the hall. when taking food, your sit and reach comes into practice cos you have to squeeze near the table then stretch out to reach for the tongs otherwise just slowly Q long long LOL


it was a short but heartwarming event =) JC2s, thanks for all that you've done!

Something to share about...

Kuan Yee's photo made it to the top 50 of the Youth category for the Heritage Fest Competition.

If you think that her entry merits your vote, please register at heritagefest.org.sg and vote for her.

'Extensions'

Kuan Yee, even if you do not win, we will still be proud of you... :)

PPC.

The Day I Bought a Compact Camera

The day I buy a compact camera would be the day I die. Then again tomorrow never dies and so, I will live to see another day; and yes, I did buy a used compact camera. But knowing me, I would not just buy just any plain jane compact camera, so of course there had to be some catch to it. Would you like to make a guess?


No, I didn't get a Panasonic GH1 or a G1 which seems to functions like a miniaturized DSLR; *dramatic pause* NOT! It is however a compact with a DSLR like look that can change lenses compatible with the micro four thirds system; like canon has their EF system and Nikon their Nikkor system.


Nor did I get the new Olympus EP-1 which also uses the micro four thirds system and honestly looks very decent, really! It just might pass off as a low end Leica to the starting amateur photographer who have heard about the wonders of Leica but have not actually seen one.

But come to think of it, the micro four thirds system isn't very bad either. At the rate it's going, it might jolly well change the way people use their compact cameras. No one is going to upgrade their compact because they want that new camera with that crazy million times zoom that will allow you to see aliens residing on Mars. People will just buy new lenses for their compacts; unless of course they are looking to get the latest 50 MP compact camera.

However the problem with the micro four thirds system is that the sensor is the size of a ant! So I got this instead:


A Sigma DP1 of 2006 vintage. It is a compact camera made by Sigma, the very same brand that made the much abused 70-200s you are using now. It has an advertised 14.6 MP sensor which only effectively produce a measly 4.8 MP picture. It has 28mm f/4 (35mm equiv.) prime lens which is miserably slow for a 28mm lens. And should the ambient light get too dim, you get a dog's eye view of the world! Now you must be wondering what on earth was I thinking when I got that camera!


But lo and behold, beneath that wretched plastic sheath lies a Foveon X3 1.7x crop factor DSLR sensor! It's like Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla. Now, what so special about this sensor is that it is only that tinny little bit smaller than the sensor in your Canon 20D so image quality is about as good as your 20D.

The other thing about the Foveon X3 sensor is this:


While your normal compact or DSLR sensors have this:


It's ok if you didn't understand those geeky diagrams above but to sum it up, the colours and sharpness produced by a Foveon X3 sensor is unbeatable. I would love to show you some pictures taken using the DP1 but my house and the local vicinity isn't very photogenic so when I finally get some photos worthy of showing, I'll write a new post.

Personally though, using one isn't quite a breeze. It's a little like coercing the Stig to drive through Langley village below the speed limit. It takes forever to turn on and when it does it makes this croaking sound when the lens start to protrude out of its belly like it ate too much for dinner. It takes as long as an entry level compact to get an AF lock and has the ISO control of a Nikon D100. So using it needs a lot of time, care and patience. But I’m sure with enough time, care and patience, it can take photos that will be better than my D3; or at least that what the seller told me when he asked me what camera I'm using. I wonder if he knows what a D3 is… Hmm…

Sadly though, very soon it's not going to be mine anymore. That’s because it’s a present I got for my mum's birthday and the reason I got it for her was because I utterly refused to buy additional Memory Sticks for my old Sony compact and wanted to get a camera which used SD cards instead.

And on that bombshell, I shall end off this review with a final picture.


*Pictures of the DP1 were taken with a Nikon D3 using a Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 on a backdrop of what is essentially my working desk and post processed using Abobe Lightroom 2.

College Day 2009

It seemed like only yesterday that Eunice, King and Pres received their awards during College Day 2008 which was also when the inaugural exhibition by the alumni was showcased. I remember Ms Lai taking time to view it and looking impressed. She even took a photo with them ^^

read Eunice's entry here

Then I remember in 2007, Quentin and gang were shooting for college day. They felt that the mango pudding for the reception was very nice so they buay paiseh-ly (unembarassed-ly) lugged many tubs and stocked them up in the clubroom fridge LOL then then then Xiuqi was very cute... people shoot the guest la, food la, she was shooting the fire from the food warmer hahaha... i took a photo of her doing that but i can't find it =( and i heard Jun Sen was supposed to receive award that day too but he kena sign extra because something happened to his rifle wife... he should have hugged her to sleep or something hahaha

So on Sat when Quentin, Cherish, Yong En, Ayreus, Mountain Mountain, QTPL and boobytail came back to receive their awards, I felt very proud of them ^^ and made sure i paparazzi-ed them...




you all neh pose properly!!! shan^2! why u do orang utan impersonation??? en closed eyes!!!! GAH!

Golly, time really flies, first it's JS they all, then blink eye, it's Eunice they all, then blink eye again, JS they all ORD le, now it's Quentin's gang and boy are PPC and I proud proud proud! we stood in front (OK, me w my 18-200mm f/3.6-5.6, PPC with his tok kong (impressive) 135mm f/2) and kachak kachak kachak non stop... especially when Quentin was presented the OUTSTANDING leader award ^^ and not say i want to say but Quentin's mum is cool de lor... she is the only parent who shot w a DSLR. woot!








suerya zhiooped past too fast didn't catch -.-


Yong En dao me *grumble grumble* LOL i thought i deleted this pic but i actually kept it haha...


Quent looked like he struck gold hahaha


Ms Lai pat Quentin's shoulder neh! ^^


OUR OUTSTANDING LEADER ^^

some random stuff...

Saw Anna kekeke (if u don't know who Anna is, ask Quentin)... talking about anna, lemme digress a bit. it's a cool palindromic name neh i.e. read from left and read from right are the same one. the other palindromic name i know is HANNAH (of cos, ANNA is a proper subset of HANNAH LOL). actually hor, not many people know this but i was supposed to be called ANNA one... but my chinese ed dad who went to register my name... forgot how to spell -_______-||| so i didn't have an english name. Ann is my baptism name and i had to pay $50+ to add it into my IC er...

quentin: eh ms koh, why u neh upgrade your lens? =D
me: -.- no moneh
quentin: *don't believe*
me: i went to europe, bought 2 handbags, where got money to upgrade lens???

saw shruthi, soon hao, erfi, chin yee and ivan... and GOH. CHIN. CHAI! i nagged at chin chai

me: oei! why u never go and study??!
CC: ^^
me: pls don't say u go SRP then shun bian (might as well) come here hor...!
CC: =DD

i rmb during the ceremony i told him...

me: eh, u go shoot the award-winners on stage later...
CC: er... not that i don't want... i can't... (showed me his camera)

-.-||| he was using film... so cannot shoot award-winners cos if shoot 300+ award winners, he has to change film like what? 10 times? LOL

nothing spectacular happened... except during reception when CC and i were chatting then got one guy v cham (poor thing)... he eat eat eat, drop chicken nugget then eat eat eat drop satay and soon kueh (steamed dumpling with shredded turnip filling) -.- since the blog has been v quiet, quentin says i can blog about this funny guy LOL

i go blink eye again hope to see Ellie they all back in 2010 ^^

oh btw, this is our new noticeboard. got external flash on top one neh... kekeke

You're not my real mom!

Ever wondered why your pets don't listen to you?


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

(PS: Haha... "you're not my real dad!" would be more apt in this context.)

Wash Your Hands!

Hahaha, watch this just for laughs...

Nice Studio Shots ^^

some nice studio shots i found on the internet ^^ so cute so cute!!! shooting animals is really difficult (i know because i try to paparazzi my pets all the time -.-) those who shot for SPCA will know too =) the challenge is always: how do you get them to stay still?






cos sometimes they'd move and it becomes like this, the kitteh is a bit not sharp...


this one is quite ultimate... how do you ask the kitteh to "er, excuse me, can put your paw on the bunneh? give him a pat on the back... ah ah like that... ya ya correct... stay there ha... ah both look here, ya!" i guess it's just a lot of waiting then they suddenly do something cute =)


how do you tell the bunny on the left to raise left ear, bunny on the right to raise right ear ha? teach me leh...


props helps sometimes i guess


bunneh: er oei, gib me the cawwot.
puppeh: my mummy says cannot talk to strangers neh...

awww... you'd know when you click at the right moment =)


kitteh: eh... you trying to impersonate me isit?
bunneh: *act blur live longer*

or how about an outdoor shoot? ^^

V for...

Vanessa's birthday...

this morning i received an SMS from Ellie No. 35:

"Hi ms koh! today is van's birthday. we'll be celebrating it at 1.45 at the same place we celebrated angeline's birthday if you wanna come. Free cake too! Thanks!"

so at 1:40pm i walked out of my office... then i suddenly realised their lesson ends at 1.45 so i gostan went back... periodically look see look see from my window to check if they're there... saw zheng hui...

1.56pm... SMS ellie

me: cutting already?
ellie: not yet. almost

so i went down and i saw PPC on the phone, van's back facing me... PPC made a face. he tried to wink but made it look like got something blow into his eyes... he was trying to say "don't blow the cover!" cos i guess van doesn't know...

PPC: *holler into the phone* oei! you better quickly come now and settle with vanessa! is it $180 or $200!!! her dad is here to pick her up already....

hehehe... he is such a good actor...

i secretly SMSed ellie...

me: vanessa here already neh....

PPC made another face to say "act normal, small talk small talk"

me: oh... er... later you meeting erfi right? seeing college day video... i also want to see =D
PPC: ok lah come lah...

then suddenly from behind....

happy birthday to you! happy birthday to you.... hehehe... the cake arrived with ellie, Zheng hui, vicky, shirleen and chin chai...

ellie: DURIAN cake!!! =DDD
me: AAAAHHHHHH!!!! -.- no need cut for me
vicky: me too, i can't eat...
me: you CAN'T, or you DON'T WANT?
vicky: don't want ^^
me: hehehe... i am allergic to durian
someone: ha? what will happen?
me: i will get upset -.-
someone: like that also can call allergy ah...

van proceeds to cut cake...

me: oh oh... camera camera take photo take photo!! got camera???
angeline: don't have...

-.- we are MJC photog club but always like that one... shoot for other people that time all the tua tua liap (tua tua liap means "big big liap" ah ya i don't know how to translate liap la...) lens come out, then when we need to shoot for ourselves, no camera LOL so bo pian, shoot w my lousy i-phone camera...




it's my first time seeing people use A4 paper fold in half for the cake =P

PPC: eh... if the ink melts ah, it's carcinogenic you know?
me: *gasp*
PPC: =DDDDDD kidding kidding =DDDDDD

vicky made a really cute card for van... i think it looks like a superhero logo... i'm sure if van wore a matching-coloured outfit and stuck the card on the front, she can totally fly... on it are little triangles/quadrilaterals (ah, you all don't laugh... how else would u describe the geometrical shapes on the card???) for us to each write our birthday wishes...

vicky looked perplexed... she count count count the shapes on the card, count count count the number of people... eh... correct what but how come got one empty triangle...? who haven't write???? >.<




me: mumtaz?
vicky: *point* neh
me: hm...
vicky: AAHH!!! VA.... *whisper* i counted vanessa... >.<|||

ROFLMAO

while eating the cake, we teased angie cos someone did very sweet thing for her... again... AAAAWWWWWWWW... sho shweet...

PPC had to zhiooop back to club room to meet erfi...


group shot. from shirleen's expression, you can tell that the durian cake is probably v nice if u like durians =)
(can u see the A4 paper holding the cake? =P)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VANESSA =)

A Photo A Week

In case u haven notice, there is a button on the top of our blog called A Photo a Week. Its is a forum thread which was started on Nov 1 2008, 02:06 PM by Eunice Chan on suggestion by Angeline. Now that you people have ended your Mid-Years, u will have more time to shoot already right ? What do u do to your shots after u have taken them ? Do you post it online or keep it secretly in some random hardisk? Or do you post it on facebook where some random friends who know nuts about photography comment ooh ahh which in actual fact all they care is whether their faces are on the pics or not ? ( I post also lah, sometimes the ooh ahh quite nice to hear also...)

Now you have another place to exibit your works where viewers are no other than your peers and wonderful Alumni who can give you invaluable comments on how you can improve your pictures. Thats the A Photo a Week forum thread ! Last check on the photos on the thread was a pic post by Cheng Boon on Jul 3 2009, 01:06 AM !


Anyway its very easy to post the photos de. Don't be scared by the complicated looking forum. Those who uses Clubsnap will find the Interface very silmilar those who don't fred not. With my guide, you will be posting pictures in no time.


1) First when u click the button, you will be ask to log in. This is to prevent weird people who are selling performance enhancing pills on our forum and there are. Don't worry if u haven register before. Just click on the register button on the top left hand corner of the page. After which, u are good to go.

2) You might find yourself standing in rows of forums which are growing cobwebs. Yes u can discuss which ever forum u fancy( we actually use it to gossip once hehe), but take note of the galleries subforum for now.

3) When u are there, you will see are the aging posts and comments we had made. Then when u have pluck up your courage and decide to post your first post, click .

4) There u can write any comments or even better post your pic. To post pic, refer to this manual I have written ages ago:

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

Heres the Guide to posting image on forum as promised:

1) Upload your image to any photohosting site( I am using flickr for my case)







2) Then get the URL of the picture that you upload. There is 2 way, one is using the site(for Flickr case they provide the URL).







the other is to :
i) Go to all sizes
ii) Right click on your pic
iii) Go to properties







3) Copy the location of the pic







4) Next log into the MJC forum and add a reply.







5) Click on the IMG button on the reply interface







6) Paste the URL of the pic that you copied just now into the box then click ok.







7) You have just finish the 7 easy steps to upload photos on forum

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


3) Finally click Add Reply and you are Done :) Easy right ? Comfirm easier than the GP essays you have to write :)

Enjoy :)