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.

Malaysia Truly Asia 2009

I've made separate trips to Malaysia this year and I am glad to share some of my pics with you guys. Despite many trips to Malaysia, I still find new things to shoot everytime. A photographer's eye should be keen to keep looking. Officer Horse would have been overlooked if I didn't open my eyes to look at the roads I am so familiar with!

Ok here's the pictures-

Melaka

A handsome police horse in his carrier.


The grungy, weathered look gives the old letterbox such flavour.






A breath of life.


2 singers in an old abandoned church built by the dutch atop a hill.


Penang


Pinang Peranakan Museum




Well, this restaurant used to belong to my maternal grandfather.




Fort Cornwallis kept 2 wild horses


Penang Hill


Penang Hill


Penang Street market. There were a lot of beggars there.

Ipoh

Panda ze dog


Sheer beauty.


Overlooking main range on a rainy day

Shot with:
Nikon D300, Nikkor 28-80mm f3.3-5.6, Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-5.6, Nikkor 70-210mm f4-5.6, Nikkor 85mm f/2.

Photography Duties : Funfestique

Photography Duties : Funfestique

Please note the people shooting the day before you and the day after you so that you can collect and pass the cameras. Call any exco member if you have problem passing the camera or if you need someone's handphone number.

If you are assigned to that day, take note of the games happening on that day so you can move around school and cover all the games happening that day.

Please delete the photos which you feel are not good enough, and submit it anytime by informing any exco member.

Have fun taking pictures.
:)

3rd August, Monday (Aida, Abigail)
•Canoeing : So you think you can run? (Track)
•Chinese orchestra : bomber man (basketball court)
•Dance society : GH (AVA room)
•Drama : Meridian all star (basketball court)
•Netball : Captain’s ball (Netball court)
•Wushu : Hide cat cat : revenge of the rat (field)

4th august, Tuesday(Ayesha, Kushboo)
•Chinese orchestra : bomber man (basketball court)
•Netball : Captain’s ball (Netball court)
•CDDS : Happy spelling (assembly plaza)
•Health & Fitness : Do you know the song? (AVA room)

5th august, Wednesday (Sarthak)
•Basketball: 3 on 3 match (basketball court)
•Photogclub : MNTM (studio)
-Shruthi / Marissa Weiting
-SH/ Pearlene
-Errfee/ Aida
-Chin Yee/ Aditi
•Rockcliming (MJC rockwall)
•Soccer (Field)
•Squash (squash courts)
•Tennis: Tennis (Tennis Courts)
•Volleyball: Volleyball (Volleyball Court)

*6th August: Thursday(Cheryl, Wan Yeng)
1. Basketball: Basketball 3-on-3 Match (Basketball Courts)
2. Malay Cultural / Dance Society: Banana Choc Eating Contest (Canteen)
3. Soccer (Field)
4. Tennis (Tennis Courts)
5. Volleyball (Volleyball Court)

*11th August: Tuesday (Aditi, Cheng boon)
1. Debates Society: Caza Del Tesoro Treasure Hunt (School)
2. ODAC: Starch Football (D’ Area-Field)
3. Photog Club / College Publication: Meridian’s Next Top Model (Hall)
Priya
Cally
KayLing
Weiting
Yimin
Paul
4. Table Tennis: Wii Mini Games (AVA Room)

12th August: Wednesday(Justin, Chin Yee)
1. Badminton (Hall)
2. Floorball (Basketball Courts)
3. Guitar Ensemble: Obstacle Course (Field)

13th August, Thursday ( Ashwanee, Stephanie, Ivan)
1)Floorball(Basketball court)
2)Intellectual Games Club: Villa Paleffi(Com lab 3)
3)Library Council : Stare! Don’t blink! (Library)
4)Sailing: Lord of Waters (Field)
5)Tenpin Bowling: Roll the coconut! (field)

14th August, Friday(Samantha, Gillian, Soon Hao)
1)Choir : Don’t forget the lyrics ( Atrium)
2)Fencing : Smack That!( Basketball Court)
3)Library Council : Stare! Don’t Blink (Library)
4)Squash(Court)
5)Taekwondo(Field)

PPC's Birthday ^^

This is a little belated...

for once, someone (ellie) brought a camera!!! so the pics were taken by him.

We celebrated PPC's birthday on Fri. in the morning Ivan and Shruthi came to pass me the cake for storing in the fridge...

S: Ms Koh, so you will bring Mr Cheng there at around 2 ok?
me: ha? i bring him? too obvious la! he will know!
S, I and me: hm....
me: kk, Ivan pretend to ask him for consultation then lure him there, say your stuff are there...
I: OKOK ^^

so at about 1:50 Shruthi came to get the cake and I went down at about 2...

me (to Ivan): so? go get Mr Cheng la!
Ivan: I SMSed him he has not replied me...
everyone: *don't know what to do...*
someone: Ms Koh, you have room key? *i shake head* you call him la... ask him for room key! =D
me: -.-||| he will tell me to go and take...

anyway, i called him... tru tru tru...

me: oei royston, you have room key?
PPC: =DDDD want to celebrate my birthday isit? =DDDD
me: -.-|||||| er... no... the room air con not working and it's full of cockroaches! quickly come! *immediately feel ashamed of my own lame excuse... if i didn't have room key... how i know air con not working and room full of cockroaches????!!!!!*
PPC: kk, i will act surprised... =D

me (to the group): he knows la!

so we devised another plan... everyone hid in the hall, only Ellie and me outside... we pretended to be v hack-care... sit on the bench like v relak like that...



PPC walking down the stairs...

PPC: where's everyone?
me: everyone not free la, only the two of us..
PPC: *glance left glance right glance up glance down*

he glance up for what??? he thinks they all are spiderman isit????

so ellie and i tried to make small talk... then suddenly... PPC spoted the cake box which they tried to HIDE behind a PILLAR...

PPC: *points at box* where's the cake? =DDD
ellie and me: >.<

shruthi and gang came out singing birthday song...


PPC: here come the cockroaches!!! =DDDD




PPC: =DDDDD... eh! how come got FOUR candles???
ellie: happy FORTIETH birthday Mr Cheng!!! ^^
PPC: i'm not 40 k! international standard for youth is 17-35. i'm still a youth! =DDDDD... and Ms Koh... *glance at me* is also still a youth =DDDDD

shruthi: blow the candles!!
PPC: *looks suspicious* is this that kind of candle???
everyone: NO! (we where got so wu liao... -.-)
PPC: you know the human body has 4 holes that can expel gas? so one for each candle is it?
everyone: -.-|||
PPC: in order to prove that methane can make the flame... you know =DDD
everyone: -____________-|||


i suspect PPC's dream is to blow out candles that way, cos he said something similar last year LOL the proof is here.
but heng ah, he blew out the candles with his mouth...

PPC tried to remove the chocolate disks but broke all of them LOL


PPC: you know how to cut cake anot? *STAB cake with knife* hehehe =DD





Royston, since you didn't get to blow out your candles the way you wanted, hope the following makes up for it ROFLMAO

Who is your Favourite Photographer

Today my sis asked me a question, "So kor, who is your favourite photographer?"

"Well," I said, "Me".

^^

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.