Night @ The Airport

Hey guys, we are currently in the airport waiting to take the bus to go to school at 6.30ish. We are tired and bored. We are very proud of everyone who helped out during prom, good job guys, BAIK AH! Woo, you guys are awesome !

We will post about prom tomorrow, now you can just see the pictures and the video we took at 4.00am. HAHA WITH MY MAC. So enjoy! :)

& we are officially addicted to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance ;]

-SA- (Shruthi Avadhani)

-

FOR QUENTIN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! LOTS OF LOVE FROM THE EXCO 09/10

THIS IS FOR YOU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfdcd2Z1GNY

:)

-Exco 09/10

My Confession

Since I am done with my exams and have less on mind, I have a confession to make.(I know you people are already salivating at the sound of a juicy gossip.)

I have got myself a mistress and she is beautiful. End of story.

I would very much like to end the post here but my "Wife" interrogate me further for fear that she would be replaced. I assured her of her place in my heart and here are the details:

Firstly, she is beautiful. A classic beauty I got to say. She is also vintage.(An alternative for calling a lady old in which I might be kicked in the groin.) She look like those who had stood the test of time but still emerged looking great. But best of all, she makes me think.

Whenever I was with her, she induced my brain which was seldom used, to think. She makes me think of stuffs like photons, trigonometry and second derivative test for finding curvatures. She is unlike those in Hollywood whose heads we can make percussion music out of. Then after all the work, she rewards with a feast for my eyes. Sadly, they are only for the eyes.

Some say she is rare and delicate enough to be put in museums for all to admire. Others say its a miracle itself that she is still going strong after all this years. But all I know she is called Konica S2.

Yes, she is a camera. A Rangefinder cam to be exact. It uses a system that is very different from the SLR system that many of you are used to. For those who are clueless on what I am talking about, I will now attempt to educate you on it.

A Rangefinder is actually a device which is used to measure the distance of the subject via triangulation. Here's when trigonometry comes into play. Assume that we have a semi-transparent mirror M1 and a reflecting mirror M2. The user will see a rectangle patch of yellow with two images on it. One from the reflecting mirror M2 and the other from the semi-transparent one M2. When the lens is being focused, M1 is rotated such that the angle L will change. The image will be focused when the two images coincident with each other and angle A will be a right angle. At that point in time, the focal range can be calculated using simple trigonometry,

D = B cot L,

where D is the focal range & B is the distance between the 2 mirrors

A is a right angle; L = convergence angle at target T.">

This simple mechanism when well designed in a camera is far more superior in accuracy than the manual focusing in a camera. In an SLR, we relie on our eyes to distinguish sharp from unsharp, the Rangefinder is more "Binary". Its either in or its out, there is no grey area.

However, her real beauty is not its technical superiority. In fact, she would be pwned by many in terms of specs. What I really like about her is that she is a fixed focal length, fixed lens film simple camera and these really makes her deep which is what excites me.

With a fixed focal length, the only zooms are your legs, and they are the best zooms in fact. Framing shots requires you to move around after which you might find better shots. Getting close also allow you to connect to your subject better and this could be another long post on its own which I don't intend to write now. Even Robert Capa, a war photographer once said:"If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough."

Using a film camera, you have no LCD screen to look at after each shot. You will only know the results when you developed them and if you miss it, then try again next time. Every frame is money and the developing of the films will cost you too, unless you develop yourself. (You can ask Eunice or Kingston about it, they have been shooting film for sometime.) You got to make every shot count.Therefore, you got to think before you squeeze the shutter. (not abt the cost of the shot though -,-)

Am I using the correct aperture ? Are there better angles to shoot from ? Is that the right moment to trigger off the shutter ? Does that frame really show what I want to show ? You should be asking these questions whenever you want to take a shot. If you do not give your shots some thoughts before you shoot it, you are going to end up with tons of pics but you are not improving. Thats because you would not learn anything and will continue shooting like the way you would which makes your level of photography very stagnant. Hence, in every good pictures, its the thoughts thats really counts.

Since all of you are having your breaks now, I pose to you a challenge. Take any camera, go out and shoot and limit yourself to only 36 frames. But every time after you take a shot, turn off the LCD screen. Only review them back home on your com. Then criticize your own shots and see what could be done better. After which,go back and shoot bearing in mind all the things you have thought of. I am sure after sometime, you will improve on your shots and develop a style of your own.

Well for now, I leave you to have fun with the challenge if you are up to it. I will go and savor the time spent with my "wife" and my "mistress".

& in case u wonder, they both get along very well ;) and I still love digital !

Oh and remember to come for the cohesion and where's my club T-shirt Elliot !

On an unrelated note...

Was flipping through the news and saw this...

SINGAPORE : For $25, a 17-year-old boy told an unemployed man that he would find the man a prostitute.

But after getting the money, Raguvaren Bala told the man that the prostitute did not want to provide any service.

Feeling cheated, 37-year-old Sng Meng Teck called the police and Raguvaren was arrested.

Raguvaren pleaded guilty in court on Monday to cheating Sng of the $25 by lying to him.

Raguvaren will next appear in court on December 28. He is expected to be sentenced then. - TODAY

LOL.

Please go fill up the Google Docs thingy, so that we can know the participating strength (yea i know very army-ish.. but wad to do?)

The Photog Gathering

INTRO

As part of the Alumni's goal, we are organising an annual gathering of ALL mjc photography members and Alumni! (ALL ARE INVITED)

Here are the details:

Location: East Coast Park BBQ Pit

Time: 1730

Costs: Approx $8-12 per person

To facilitate our planning please indicate your interest.

This is the only gathering we have within members, soon-to-be alumni and the lao jiao alumni members! Please try to make it okays!

Nikon Girl MTV

Just for Laughs...

Next Alumni Exhibition

Hi there! Especially Alumni and to-be Alumni peeps!

Yes I know it's been a long time since we did something together, but I'm in the process of getting ready for our annual Alumni exhibition! (Sorry Quent and guys, we'll make it up to you all next year.)

Anyhoo, we're aiming to have this exhibition every year from 2010, and best if we can exhibit them during College day, for all your proud parents to see. They will totally feel that the hours you've spent in photog is justified. Trust me. :D

J1s, don't worry, you're also included in the fun. (Meaning you guys can also submit photos.)

But first! We need a theme. So brainstorm and put your ideas/suggestions under the comments column!

XOXO
Eunice

HCA

The exco went down to the HCA to snap pictures for the upcoming exhibition. The theme is happiness. Just some random pictures! Soon hao, Justin and Sam went in the morning so they aren't in the pictures. We had a lot of fun interacting with the patients and snapping pictures. We couldn't resist taking pictures of ourselves while we were there :D





-Shruthi-

Did you know?

Lelong Lelong!

lai lai lai! there's a chinese saying fei shui bu liu wai ren tian "fertile waters don't let flow to other people's farm"

I have a canon 50mm f/1.8 to give out. yes, yes, GIVE. cos it's spoilt le hahaha but i believe it can be repaired, just that I was too lazy to go all the way to TCW at harbourfront -.-||| it's still under warranty, with box even. first tag first served (unless PPC grabs it for the club in which case he has priority LOL).

I also have a red crumpler bag (5000 series) to sell. $60. price negotiable.

Concentrate...

For those studying for exams or preparing for OP, if you find that you're losing concentration, you may want to try drinking milk... apparently it helps LOL



Golly, what a cool Math teacher... how i wish i have such powers LOL

Anw, all the best to those having exams and OP! ^^

Chill out...

.. and enjoy.



Study extra hard and all the best to all taking exams now!

hmm.. blog's been quiet lately, so here's something i found on FB.. credits to whoever scanned this :D so kids, study hard and smart kays!! do yourselves proud. all the best!!

MJC Farewell Assembly 2009

haha... here's the Math Dept Video for Farewell Assembly =D

For the 08/09

It's officially 10 days since there was a last post in the photog blog!

(I actually thought it was way longer than that!).

 

Anyway today is the J2 Farewell Day.

:'(

I personally don't think that it's that happy an occassion since it means it's another step closer to A's for us.

I'd rather I was still in J1, lamenting about crappy OP preparation.

Seriously, that's way more fun!

 

But anyway, I'd just like to say some stuffs to the EXCO+CC (this is the standard combination I guess (: ) and Mr Cheng and Ms Koh.

Mr Cheng: Thank you for terrorising me partially. I didn't really understand why you insisted that I find the 4 AAA batteries (if you've forgotten, it's for the studio thingy) when they were missing. But I guess it's more of being responsible and I think you've made me a more responsible person (:

Ms Koh: I think you're really very pretty and very cute! :D And I'll remember all the small (but very significant) stuffs that you've done for us because sometimes I think we (me for sure) don't really see minute details :/

Elliot: You're a wonderful president who is so not arrogant and friendly and so nice to talk to! Stay gay (happy)!

Vicky: Victoria! I'm very amazed by all the crazy ideas that you can think of for photog and your overflowing creativity plus imagination and I hope you'll always be happy with.... :D

Shirleen: You always make my day whenever I see you (actually I think this applies to all EXCO+CC (: ). And I'm really glad that we're in photog together even though we go to different classes after PAE :)

Vanessa: Van van. I think you very quiet but actually deep down you know a lot of things ah *wink wink. You're probably one of the most sane person among us but still, we really have fun together :D

Mumtaz: Hmm we don't really talk but still, I think its very fun to listen to Chinese songs together. And I think you're really amazing the way you helped us with all the CIP records. You're the first yet you did that well (:

Zheng Hui: Hello ZH who always bully the QM (both me and Sam tsk). But still, if we don't have irritating (*laughs) people like you, everything will be very different (: So everyone is useful in different way. I think GD really suits you cause you're madly in love with technology. Teach me PS!

Chin Chye: I always ask why you didn't join EXCO but I guess it doesn't matter at all because we all really are able to bond well and talk about all the weirdest, funniest, crappiest thing in the world! :D Thank you for helping me clean lenses hee hee :/

(:

For the rest of the club members: I think you all changed the club in one way or another and our club is able to thrive this well because of all the things that everyone in the club has done. All the best for A's! :D

Spectacles Spectacle

Hahaha.. I found something new today while feeling bored sitting in front of my monitor.. Did you know if you look at the edge of your monitor (the part where the white monitor image and the black screen meets) through the very corner of your spectacles lens, you'll notice some chromatic aberration. What is chromatic aberration you ask? Its the purple/red/blue/yellow fringing which appears at the border of the bright and dark areas... Reminds me of a DMZ zone.. haha.. No wonder the last time I went to change the lens on my spectacles I noticed that they were selling aspherical lenses..lols!! Well, might be useful if you like to look at things through the corner of your eyes:P

On Post Processing

If you think about it carefully, and for those who are fully aware of how a DSLR works, you'll most probably realise that striving for zero digital manipulation in photography is a fallacy.

Inside your DSLR is a digital sensor that replaced the old school film in film cameras. There are a thousand and one settings in your DSLR, including ISO, white balance and a whole lot of other things like b/w function, sepia, vibrant and so on. (In Fujifilm, you even get to choose Velvia or Sensia!)

When you make these changes in the camera, the camera will digitally manipulate the raw photo for you before it compresses into JPEG. If you are a strict purist, white balance changes should be made using filters, not just simply changing a setting in your DSLR, and b/w photos should be taken with b/w film.

That being said, how can people rule that there should be strictly no digital manipulations?

Thankfully, most of us are shooting in an environment which allows and even condones ridiculous post processing methods which I won't say it's technically wrong, but I do recognise the fact that it does allow creativity to thrive.

Even to rule out manipulation in negatives is a ludicrous idea.

Film can be pushed or pulled and cross processed, and when they are being transferred to print, the photographer may choose to do burning and dodging to enhance the beauty of the prints. There are many print methods too- cyanotype, argentotype, kallitype- just to name a few. Much of these processes are invented in the 1800s, as early as 1834. (Ware, 1991)

Perhaps the only way for a (insane) purist to get his picture is to have them taken on slides.

SGC CCA CERTIFICATE

ATTENTION ALL JC2 MEMBERS!! Regarding CCA Certificate

This is pertaining to the CCA Certificate, the part of your list of accomplishments in your SGC, not the testimonial/letter part written by your teacher which most of you should be editing now. This part should be a complete list of everything you've been involved in in MJC, listed down in one column as events and the other column with the corresponding year and role.

Remember that lecture given by the PE department about having to add activities for your contributions and everything for this? At that point of time, many of our activities were not found on the dropdown list where we were supposed to 'Add Record'. As of now, that section cannot be edited, and only your form teacher can edit it.

By right, every single one of you should have been involved in something that's not reflected in your SGC.

This is what you should do:

1) Pick out the events that you were involved in from the list below.

2) For non-exco members, label yourself for the events as Participant. For exco members, for those that are applicable label yourself as Organiser (e.g. Prom Night, but not VJC Expose)

2) Give your compiled list to your form teacher. Inform your teacher to add it in THAT PART of the SGC, not the testimonial part.

If your teacher ask why, tell him/her that it's because the ISIS portal wasn't updated with those events. If the teacher needs verification, direct him/her to Mr Cheng!

And please practice integrity.

2008

SPCA Fund Raising 2008 - February

- Participants: All J2 Photography Club members

Singapore Young Photographer Award Photography Competition 2008 - April

- Participants: All J2 Photography Club members excluding Chin Chye

VJC-Canon Photography Expose - May

- Participants: CANNOT REMEMBER

Health Promotion Board Photography Competition: Light of Life - May

- Participants: Goh Chin Chye

NUS Montage Annual Photography Competition 2008 - May

- Participants: All J2 Photography Club members except Soon Siang

- Achievement: Yip Hoi Kee School Challenge Shield.

'Naked' Exhibition - August

- Participants: All J2 Photography Club members

- Organisers: Exco

Canon Photo-marathon 2008 - October

- Participants: ?

J1 Year-End Bash Print and Sell - November

- Participants: Chin Chye

- Organisers: Exco

Prom Night Glamour Shoot 2008 - December

- Participants: Lam Kar Mun, Chng Soon Siang, Nur Syazana Bte Rahsid, Nurul Humairah Bte Abu Bakar

- Organisers: Exco

2009

Orientation Print and Sell Service - February

- Participants: ?

- Organisers: Exco

SPCA 'Love Me' Exhibition - February

- Participants: Chin Chye, Kuan Yee, Kar Mun, Syazana, Humairah

- Organisers: Exco

SPCA Fundraising - February

- Participants: Aida, Hui Yu, Soon Siang, Gina, ChinChye, Kuan Yee, Hilma, Joanna, Karishma, Yun Su, Kar Mun, Xiao Xian, Benjamin, Sin Yi, Syazana, Humairah, Xin Yi, Sharon, Phoebe

-Organisers: Exco

Student Mugshots Photography Service - March

- Participants: Chin Chye

- Organisers: Exco

Photography Camp: Camp Aperture - April

- Team Leaders: Goh Chin Chye, Goh Kuan Yee, Gina Foo, Nurul Humairah Bte Abu Bakar, Nur Syazana Bte Rahsid, Xie Xinyi Phoebe, To Zhi Wei Sharon, Hilmaniaty Bte Murtaza, Sie Xin Yi

-Organisers: Exco

NUS Montage Annual Photography Competition 2009 - May

- Participants: All J2 Photography Club members except Soon Siang

- Achievement: Yip Hoi Kee School Challenge Shield.

'Through The Lens' Exhibition - July

- Participants: All J2 Photography Club members

-Organisers: Exco

COLOURS NJC Photography Competition - July

- Participants: Angeline Tan, Victoria Joan Ong, Nurul Humairah Bte Abu Bakar, Sie Xin Yi

If you have any questions, please call or sms me or Elliot!!! I'm Vicky if you haven't forgotten.

THANK YOU!

Edit: Please check your email for sample!!! And sample email to send your teacher.

Editedit: In case you're not sure what this is for, go to ISIS portal, to Student Services, to CCA Verification (Self) and go to Step 6 to view your certificate.

These events should be added there!!!!!

Regarding King's Post

Art?

Or perception ?

On: Competitions

The blog seems to be very very quiet these days and I reckoned as much; but if you are here now, then I reckon again as much that you need a break too. :)

For those of you who don't frequent Clubsnap, you prolly would not have noticed this:

http://www.thempa.com/masterphotographyawards09_finalists/

It's essentially the Master Photography Awards 09 Finalist album. It's an outstanding selection of 70 odd photos and even though it's a British competition, you can see some local pictures in there. Some local professional photographers managed to enter the finals; hence they plastered this on the Clubsnap front page.

But that's not the point, the point is that: It's a good album and you all should take at least a quick glance to get a sense of what makes a good photo.

The other point is that while I was looking through the photos, if anything, a number of the photos were heavily edited (burning, dodging and even framing), some even composite and it really got me to start thinking, if overseas professional competitions allows for such freedom in photographic expression in competitions, then why are local amateur competitions so uptight about post processing? Some don't allow you to edit and some allow, some don't allow you to crop and some restrict you to certain specific sizes, some allow for some form of contrast enhancement but the large grey area leaves much to be desired.

Over the years, I have joined or witnessed quite a number of photographic competitions and I've noticed that a lot of our local judges tend to favour under edited photos; some WB correction or very minor contrast enhancements at most. For some reason they seems to like the raw and unadulterated flavour in photos, opposed to those heavily edited ones, seen in the album I mentioned about. Like some people prefer their vegetables blanched in water rather than stir fried in chilli. Of course to one his own taste, but the problem - from what I gather is that they tend to think that heavily edited photos are fake, over processed and unnecessary. It's almost like saying its a sin to fry kang kong with blachan because it kills the delicate flavour of the kang kong even though it might taste delicious. It may be extremely delicious but it's pointless hence it's a failure because it relies on heavy seasoning. Clearly to just brush it off as bad, is just wrong.

Is it fair to say girls who put on heavy makeup have poor fashion sense or out of their mind? If she's pretty, she's pretty, if she's ugly, she's ugly. What does having heavy, light or no makeup got to do with it?

Then again, those of you who have seen my photos would know that I like to process my photos heavily so you may think I might be biased, but I'll let you decide on what you think is best.

But personally at the end of the day, your preference in post processing really boils down to how you view photography, whether you think it's a journalistic extension of writing or a more technical form of art, hence the way you preserve the "truth" would be very different. The important thing is that you do it your way, not what others think is the right way. To me, photography is an art form and as an artist; my expression is absolute. Everyone else comes after me.

TIME's list of Top 10 Doctored Photos

Hello!!!!!

Been a long time since I've posted.. anyways, for those who are bored / frustrated with mugging, here's a link to check out: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1924226,00.html?xid=rss-photoessays.. as the title suggests, it's a series of the most famous doctored photographs in history.. try to see if you can spot the difference.. but after mugging of course ^^ and remember, this kind of photo editing is wrong ah, don't do this to your photos.. the integrity of a photographer is v v important :D

good luck for promos and a levels!! and term papers for alumni who are in uni now.. PHOTOG!!

Ops New Cat: AMBER

For all you stressed souls out there-

Here's some cute pictures of my new cat Amber, my sis picked her up at Telok Ayer street when she was only 2 weeks old... Now I think she's 2 months old le. Very naughty kitteh, loves to play with anything and everything. She practically ravaged the squeeze ball my dad gave her. Luckily for Mr Squeeze Ball, he still had his plastic packaging on it, if not I think what's left of Squeeze ball is shreds of foam. Lol.


Her little paws can be claws of terror, I know, I got a deep scratch on my belleh thanks to her.


She's posing for the camera...


The deed's done and she's demanding for a belleh rub.

View more photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152552&id=547935794&l=1cec3d3e4b

Macro

i was quite excited when i read the ST yesterday and it said that there'll be an article in digital life today on macro photography so i went to get the papers and flipped flipped until page 25 and it read, "most COMPACT cameras have a macro mode"

-______________________-|||


so anyway, even before this article, i borrowed my girlfriend's 100mm macro f/2.8 and tried some macro shots. no no no, no butterflies or dragonflies la! they zhioop here zhioop there so fast i couldn't catch =(

i think you need:
1. macro lens some people say tele also can...
2. insects/animals that are still (hummingbird that kind will be v difficult)
3. tripod
4. if shooting plants, best if there is no wind. got wind sure blur one
5. cable release if u want to minimise movement
6. a lot of patience and some luck: sometimes u wait wait wait until hair turned white also got no insect LOL
7. to open your eyes big big O.O to spot something "shoot-able"
8. i find having a spray bottle handy to create the "dew" look

here are some shots i took, editted with LR2:

this tiny froggy (about 10c size) was in a position that i can only shoot from the top (unless i got qing gong and can do the "dragonfly skips on water" kungfu) and i didn't dare to go v near cos i was scared he would jump!)



this snail (about a 5c coin size) was crawling vvvv slowly by the pond...




my best find was probably this tiny (about the size of a cooked rice grain) green grasshopper on a red leaf =) it was v guai, v co-operative, stayed there for me to shoot shoot shoot =)




k, for flowers, i cheated. i picked them and brought them indoors to shoot so that there won't be wind =P

orchid



small yellow flower



lotus bud (er, this was from a bouquet i received)



frangipani



small red flower (i didn't pluck this, i shot it on the bush)



i also did two "product shots" using a 5ml bottle of perfume (free gift, about 50c coin size). i didn't have sophisticated studio lighting (a la jin bei) and backdrop. just draped a black satin bath-robe over an arm chair and used natural lighting so the effect may not be as good.




no animals were harmed during the course of the shoot =) the frog was left alone, the snail i believe reached its destination the next day and the grasshopper... i left the leaf by the side then it hopped away lor ^^

Happy Teachers' Day!

Hello!! Vicky here!

OMG I just realised that I totally missed the midnight of Teachers' Day! :/

Haha, that's cause I typed out this Special Teachers' Day Post, and wanted to post it at midnight, but I think I fell asleep and forgot about it. Haiya ya.... Now if I post no feeling already (a la XQ).

Nevermind, here it is!:

Once again, Teachers' Day has come around! Happy Teachers' Day everyone!

And when I say everyone, I really mean it. Let's look at the definition of a teacher.

teacher |ˈtiːtʃə|

noun

a person who teaches, esp. in a school

Well then, this means that this is applicable in many levels, as long as someone has made you learn something, right?

And I've got to admit, being in the photography club I've learned a lot... Haven't we all? :)

Happy Teachers' Day to our cutest juniors! Hahaha, through teaching you guys stuff, I've learnt to be a teacher! (Though I do apologise if there were certain inaccuracies that I've passed on unknowingly.) I've learnt that teaching is not easy, and thanks guys, for not all falling asleep during photog sessions!

To our beloved beloved 2008 photog members. You guys have taught me compassion, and have given me the best memories ever! I always think of you all with fondness, with your super-enthusiasm and I've learnt to appreciate that best of all!

Happy Teachers' Day to the one and only ALUMNI!!! And I'm not being biased okayyyy I know what you all are thinking. Seriously, I've learnt most of the technicalities of photography (that is, what I can remember lah ^_^") from you guys, who never tire of repeating over and over and over again. Who always come back and help out! And organise all the outings, and studio days stuff. And the forum. And the crazy jokes. And always always blogblog! Haha, if you look at the percentage of who actually posts on the blog, I think the alumni reigns hands down. Remember the study advice posted by you all for the graduating batch chiong-ing for A levels last year? Haha, now that the A levels are coming up, I personally keep referring to them. THANKS!

Happy Teachers' Day Senior Exco! As in, Quentin's batch exco! You all taught us the ropes and everything, and we really appreciate it! Other than Photography Photography, I think what was most important was the MJC Photog spirit and CULTURE that you passed on to us, and the leadership qualities you all represented. (And also thanks ah for all the dos and don'ts when interacting with PPC, heheh the heads-ups were well appreciated). :) I really do cherish our heritage! (no pun intended :P)

Happy Teachers' Day wonderful wonderful Exco! What I will always think of fondly as MY exco! Elliot, Shirleen, Zheng Hui, Angeline, Vanessa, Mumtaz, CHINCHYE! The countless experiences we've had in the clubroom, the saikang saikang saikang gossiping gossiping gossiping youtubing youtubing youtubing and crazy crazy dancing~! I lovelovelove all you a lot and as we grew together (ahaha literally sia! I was same height as Elliot, and now I'm taller than him!!! Woo~!!!) I think we've all taught each other lifeskills, as well as what it means to work as a team, though most importantly. Cheers to our friendship!!!

Ahahaha Happy Teachers' Day Elliot! Truthfully, I've never held a REAL real leadership position before, and I was secretly observing you for how-to-be-a-good-leader-tips. In the end I found out that I was getting lessons from a retard. HAHA joking joking. In the end I found out a lot about real leadership, and... ahh that's a whole other kettle of fish and I'll leave it for another post. >_<>

HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY MS KOH KOH KOH KOH KOH!!!!!! The bubbliest happiest chioest funniest talentedest teacher eva eva eva eva!!!! Hahaha, thank you for the guidance you have given all of us throughout our two years, and for sharing all your smiles and jokes with us. You've brightened up our days in MJC photog. (And we hope you'd like the present we made for you). Thank you!

Last, but never least, HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY MR CHENG CHENG PAPACHENG!! Hahahahaha the one and only Mr Cheng who is the most unique and quirkiest teacher that I've ever met. I will always think of you and laugh. Despite a lot of bad times, there were a lot of good times you've given us. Hahaha I remember there were a series of nightmares I've gotten of getting scolded by you during a particularly busy period of time. Mr Cheng, thank you for your dedication to the club and making MJC photog such a meaningful experience to all of us.

MJC Photography Club is not MJC Photography Club without Mr Cheng and Ms Koh.

HAPPY TEACHERS DAYYYYYY!!!! ^_^ ^_^ ^_^

Top 100! ^^

Hi Hi, no more eye power liao O.O here comes a new post ^^

Kar Mun participated in the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Photo Competition and her photo was selected as the TOP 100!!! Woot! Although she didn't win, this is an international photo competition so PPC n I share her joy =D

here's her photo entitled Beyond The Lens

After a long day..

Hey everyone! Before we leave for the study break, we'll just give you brief update!

we have a mac pro!!

omgzx, so cool right!! okay ya'll

all the best for promos and a levels yoz!

we can do it you know why, 

cos we are born of a vision to be the best!!!!

I LOVE MERIDIAN PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB! 

love,

exco 09/10

Damage Policy

To all members/alumni,

Recently we have a spate of equipment failures. Basically I am going to make it simple. It will be the responsiblity of the borrower to ensure that the equipment she/he is loaning are all in working condition. So do not give the excuse that it was already malfunctioning when you took it.

There were already instances of Sigma (Nikon) 15-30, Canon EF 50 f1.4, Canon 350D which the borrowers claimed was already malfunctioning when they took hold of it.

I am not accusing anyone here but it is frustrating when we can't pinpoint who damaged it. To be honest, sometimes equipment failure can be due to wear and tear but if it fails in your hands, then it is only fair to assume some responsibility (as I would not know whether its truely due to wear n tear or there were some negligence on your part). Therefore if its a 50-50 case, the repair bills can be co-shared between the club and the borrower, this is to ensure that members treat the equipment with care. But if its due to outright negligence, then that member will have to pay for the repair.

Therefore when you loan out the equipment, make sure that the QM do not just pass you the equipment without you conducting a thorough test in front of the QM. If time is tight, then arrange for another time to loan out. Do not give me the excuse that you need to rush off.

One last point, why is the onus on the borrower to ensure that the equipment are working? Simple, we only have 1 QM. Its impossible for the QM to thoroughly check the equipment before loaning out.

PPC

A Day in a News Photographer's Life

For those who don't know who he is, he is Kelvin Tan Wei Lian, the first Project Superstar winner in 2005. He was often seen basking at MRT stations, and I have heard the man himself. He's so good that I decided to put some money in his guitar case myself.

After openly exclaiming my hatred for boring assignments to my Photo Editor, I was assigned to a few press conferences to cover. (I literally went, "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! DONT GIVE ME PROFILE SHOOTS ANYMORE!!) Firstly, it was Lady Gaga. But to my dismay, her press conference clashed with Nanyang Chronicle's welcome tea ceremony, so we didn't go. Big big big big big mistake. Sob sob sob.

Then Thursday was the Keane press conference, and yesterday, was Kelvin Tan's press conference for his new album.

Well, personally I prefer smaller press conferences like these. Members of the press- among which hail from various papers from SPH, Razor TV, Omy- some magazine reporters, and not to forget campus papers like mine, were all squeezed in a space as small as my bedroom. But the atmosphere was cosy. We were housed in a cafe called Casualpoet in Chinatown, and it felt nothing more than a few friends getting together for a gathering.

Comparing with Keane (sorry Shruthi!! Don't kill me!!), I didn't get much photo opportunities. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy a bigger venue in a nice hotel with excellent service (and food), but photo call [this is the time when photographers get a free reign of our flashes and spam our shutters, and if time allows, may ask them to pose] was limited to a mere few minutes while Keane stood like three sticks on stage. (Again, Shruthi, do not hate me. Still friends right?) I was glad I managed to get a shot with all 3 of them looking into my camera, because they were so many photographers there and they could only scan the group in that precious few minutes. But I wasn't quite pleased with my photos. Darned.

However, yesterday I had a hell of a time. At first, I was wondering how to go about shooting Kelvin Tan.

I've never shot a blind guy before. Obviously, you can't do "look here look into my camera". Neither can you say "look out of the window and imagine a bus passing by outside". But when my writer and I walked in Casualpoet, everything just fell in place for me. Because the venue of press conference was a little more casual, I felt comfortable moving away stuff that was blocking my way, and I stood arm against arm with a fellow photographer (big guy from SPH). No pressure there. No jostling. Everything's good.

Yes. You did read the word "jostling". It happens often enough. As a girl of height 166cm, sometimes I have to fight big blokes who also want the cash shot, standing in the front row of an opening ceremony. You push me, I push you back. All happening while trying to keep your camera steady in your hands.

Anyway, I got my cash shot (which, I can't post until it's published but the above one is similar enough) and the rest of the time is for food and drinks. Hahaha. My favourite part. Me and my writer had to wait around for the 1-on-1, so we also fooled around while I taught her some photography techniques.


That's me...


That's my writer trying to apply what she learnt...


And that's a piece of paper stuck to the window...

For you writers and photo enthusiasts out there passionate about journalism.... Do consider joining NTU Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. It is after all, one of the best journalism and media school in Asia.

Meridian's Next Top Model

Okayyy, shall break my posting virginity here with the final update on Meridian's Next Top Model. Not bad at a first attempt to recreate a television show for Funfestique though I must admit.

But don't underestimate the power of pop culture - we got raving reviews for our frivolous attempt to 'remodel' (pun unintended.) MJ. Surprisingly, this whole thing managed to find it's way outside of MJ. NOT KIDDING. They've been asking about it. (Anyway, by they we meant VJ. (: )

At least there's some degree of success.

Of course, we couldn't do it without everyone of you.
Well, even though you guys didn't get to involve yourselves much... and we really really apologize for not having the chance to bring you guys in as often as we could, but it was all in the experimentation stage at this moment. All for the sake of improving ourselves so that we can pass on what we learn to you guys!

But if you guys did manage to catch a glimpse of the process, maybe you guys can learn a thing or two from it. Hopefully, it will catch up with next year, seeing the response that this year's MNTM cycle brought in. (:

Anyway, here's an intro to the whole event.
Enjoy!



p.s: Oh, if you guys still has no clue who won, it's Soleil by the way. (:

Prof.

Ubin 2008

Hihi ^^

I'm guessing some of you might be thinking, "gosh, wasn't Ubin a damn long time ago?"
You're right. For those who haven't existed in the photog namelist then, Ubin was an outing organised by the Alumni back in 30th December 2008. I finally developed that roll of film from Ubin, which I would not have if it wasn't for Junsen who wanted to borrow my FM2.


On the way there...






During sunset 3 boys frolicked in the marsh... It was our lucky day to see the tide so low. Lowest ever that month, actually.


Chin Chye's flowers re-looked.


I'm so gonna print this A4 and hang it in my room.