Cheer 2005....*urk!!

Gosh.

The things I do in the name of photography.......

(Yes, finally a departure from my usual barage of bird pics. And no, Danny...I do not appreciate being called "BirdMan". *pppbbbtttt!!!)

Today I tagged along as my mom went to support her school's team in the Cheer 2005 Regional Championships. There were only seven participating teams, which was quite a low turnout. But I'm not suprised as cheerleading isnt the biggest thing in these parts.

I figured that this would be another great opportunity for me to work on my photojournalistic skills. An event based shoot with some action here and there. For those who know me, yes, I know I have let down many of my fans. But hey, I still do not in any way advocate the grooming of young girls into overly vain little things that aspire to be beauty queens someday. It's like training domestic pets. Big no no.

Well, from a photographer's point of view the shoot was a nightmare. The mixed lighting conditions in the Komtar Geodestic Dome was a challenge. There were tungsten lights, flourescent tubes, halogens...you name it. So which white balance setting do I use? Dont care lah...shoot in RAW and post process later...

Here are the better ones....


I want this one...this one and this one!



BWaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!



Cheeky Monkey....




And here's the shot of the day...


White Balance is a wild animal...you gotta learn how to tame it before you can use it.

The Tale of 3 Generations

Wow, you'd never guess who I had lunch with today....

When I first picked up photography, I knew that it would open new avenues for me. But man, I had no idea it would enrich my social life this well.

Today I met up with two other Free School graduates for some dim sum. One of them graduated from PFS in about 1987, and the other in 1970 (after Form 6!). So yes, there was a pretty big generation gap there. I left in 2000.

So how did I get to know these two people? Well, I'm pretty active in this Malaysian photographers online community. And that's where I met these guys. Both of them are even more into photography than I am. I really thought I knew a lot about the art of photography, but man...these guys are lightyears ahead of me.

The guy who left in 1970 told us a lot about his past in PFS. About how he was the official school photographer at the time. He took photos during school events and developed them himself. He then sold each print for 30 cents. Imagine how much he made considering the fact that 30 cents back then could have bought you a car (just kidding, but you get my drift).

It sure was a good feeling meeting up with people not only with similar academic backgrounds, but also with common interests. We spent most of the time talking about photography and I did catch myself getting lost a couple of times throughout the conversation. I am quite relieved that I didnt have to talk about the downward spiral PFS is experiencing right now. Really, it's a can of worms.

Fortis Atque Fidelis

Misguided Socialite....

Ok, so like two days ago there's this girl called X who sends me a message via Friendster. She wants to "get 2 know me better". I dont know who she is but all I know is that she "connected" to me by one of my friends on my list.

So X wants to "b friends" so I humor her and send her a reply to come check out my blog. (gosh wait till she sees this).

I have no interest whatsoever in this total stranger, didnt even bother to check her profile. But what I know is that she has an atrocious command of the english language. Another thing is that I have a pet peeve involving sms-style abbreviations like "gr8, b4, 2, and wil", which she apparently is very proficient in. Ah, recipe for doom.

*tabik

Kuala Gula

Today I spent the whole day together with a group of PM-ers from PhotoMalaysia on a trip to Kuala Gula. It's the largest stop for migrating birds in South East Asia. So the main focus of the trip was to capture pictures of wild birds.

I know I had some "practice" with birds in captivity during my trip to the Penang Bird Park, but this was a whole different ballgame. These birds were skittish as hell and really elusive too. Unlike the caged birds who just sit pretty for you to have their photo taken.

I was kinda lazy to put on my sunblock lotion so, "improving" on the effects from the Dragon Boat Festival, I got a second layer of reddish brown skin. Now it looks as if my arms and head were from separate origins from my body. Now all those itchy grandmas cant call me "pek pek sui loh!" anymore. Muahahah!!

So here are the best pics from the outing....


Brahminy Kite


Purple Heron


White Egret


White Throated Kingfisher


Stork-billed Kingfisher


View from the boat...

Pictures are not guaranteed to be Alvin-Proof. :(

What shall I Wear?

Your wardrobe is like a bag of tricks, having a limited one isnt much fun.

I need some new shirts....

Penang Dragon Boat Festival (Day 1)

Awesome....

It was my first day on the job as a press photographer. Got myself that ultra cool press pass too. All Access baby!

I spent the whole day at the Teluk Bahang dam shooting the event. I got involved because the company my brother is working for needed a full-fledged photographer. Maybe the fact that I was willing to work for free played a part too. The company was hired to shoot a promotional video that will be shown in the Berlin festival. So man, if my pics do get used.....that'll be real sweet.

Getting the press pass was like I mentioned before, an All Access backstage pass. I managed to get onto a police boat and ride alongside some of the dragon boats. I also got to station myself on a floating pontoon at the finishline. That was pretty scary. I feared more for my equipment than me getting wet.

Two press guys got a taste of the dam water. One was a genius videographer who wanted to get not alongside or close to the action...he wanted to be IN the action. So he got INTO a dragon boat, right in the middle of the rowers. Well, he and his thousands of dollars camera were soaked. The other guy was my colleage for the weekend. He tried to get onto a dragon boat from a police boat, slipped and fell. Found out this morning that he got pneumonia. :(

Overall, it was a very very satisfying shoot. Altough I was baked like a lobster and tired out of my mind, I think I got some pretty decent shots. I'll be going back into action today for another long day's work. I may be involved on Sunday too.

Mouse in Da House

Interesting thing happened at work today….

I saw something darting across my cubicle from the corner of my eye. I turned quickly only to realize that it was a little mouse that somehow had made its way to the 2nd story of the Motorola factory. I really wonder what the Environment, Health and Safety Department has to say about this.

I tried to catch it but it was too quick for me. Must be that work-sluggishness effect or something that slowed down my reflexes. According to my colleagues, this little guy has made several appearances before. But he’s usually around after I leave, which explains why I never got to see him until today.

Anyway, the next and final game for The Gurkhas is tomorrow. We’re having a training session this evening after work. It will be the first time we play together since our last match. Fantastic. I pray that it’ll be enough. But hey, the outcome of tomorrow’s game doesn’t matter. With two losses out of both games played, we’re out of the tournament regardless.

It’s great that a large number of friends of mine have returned to Penang for their break. I haven’t met up with all of them just yet, but it’ll be cool to hang out real soon. Gosh, it makes me regret that I’m stuck at work while they’re rotting away at home. The working life stinks. Oh, but I must take this opportunity to welcome Yew San to the working world. Have fun my friend…*pat pat.