iA (ISO Anonymous)

Facilitator: Let’s hear from Iffil. Come on now, son.

*clapping from the crowd*

Iffil: Hi there. My name is Iffil. And *pause* I’m an ISO addict. *clapping*. Ehem *clear throat* it’s hard for me to do this. But, I guess, with the economy being bad and stuff, lately, I managed to control the damage.

Participant: What got u here, bro?

Iffil: Well *pause* it all started a few years ago. It was a Minolta. I mean, like… I really loved her. But she just won’t do it. I tried to make her do it. I told her, “Babe, I need you to go higher than ISO80, my pics are all blurry”. But she… she just refused. Sometimes, she did 150, but.. yea… sometimes. Anyway, the cravings went on and on and on for years. And I’m just… *pause* I’m… well, I spent a lot money flinging.

Until I met another. Sony. She’s... she's incredible. I mean, she’s a beauty. A bit of a size, y'know, an SLR. *woooo (from the crowd)* My moments with her *big momma! (a shout from the crowd)* ...yea.. *smile*, my moments with her were marvelous. She did everything I asked for. Wonderful ISO400. Beautiful. And she could do it all day long.

Participant: Well, then you should be happy, dude.

Iffil: Well, I thought I was. Until *deep thought* ... until I saw how others were doing. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my Sony. But, dude… everyone was doing ISO800. Even 1600! So, I talked to her, asked her to do the same. She told me, “OK, but you might not love me anymore if I do it”. I said, nah. I’d love you for anything. *deep pause*

Facilitator: Then what happen, son?

Iffil: Well, she was right. I couldn’t look at her the same anymore. Her ISO800 and 1600, well… was quite bad. I could live with the 800… really... but 1600… it was hard for me to take. *pause*

And then, it happened again. I started to look at the others. Its wrong, I know. But, I did that. I just… did that. I stop coming back early. Always had a reason. And I kept looking at others. The net, magazines, shops… you name it.

Participant: Did you replace her?

Iffil: I dunno. I mean, I want to. But I just couldn’t. Deep down, I still love her. Life is good when she’s doing ISO400. So, I’m just staying put. But.. the agony. I’m still looking at others. Y’know, those Nikons, Canons… dammit. I just can’t stop looking.

Facilitator: But, you have to remember, that sometimes, ISO ain’t everything.

Iffil: Yea, I know, I know. I mean, yea, if I’m sticking to what I have, I actually have a lot. I should be happy. I know. But.. yea… I think *pause* I’m just gonna chill out with my baby. Rediscover our moments y’know. Snap a bit more with her.

Facilitator: Yes, exactly. And we’re sure that, once you could find those “moments”, something to laugh at, or share, you and your baby will be just fine. OK, everyone, that’s a wrap now. Let’s take a group photo at ISO1600.

My Photography Portfolio

In an attempt to proof that my writing skill is multi-lingual, I'm writing this one in Malay. Ehem *clear throat*.

Setelah lebih setahun saya membawa barangan SLR yang amat berat lagi bagak dan berlagak hampir ke semua pelusuk dunia, termasuklah Queensbay dan Gurney Plaza, amat sesuai masanya untuk duduk diam sekejap dan imbas kembali apakah yang sudah dicapai-kapai setakat ini.

Seni fotografi amat lah unik. Tapi, tak lah 'uni'. Cuma unik. Ianya unik kerana ianya 'uni'versal. Dan untuk mendalaminya, tak perlu pergi ke 'uni'versiti. Unik kan?

Fotografi digital, jika diimbas apa yg di baca di dalam majalah RM9 di tingkat bawah Carrefour itu, merupakan seni menangkap imej masuk ke dalam memori kad. Sedikit seperti di cerita Ben 10. Cuma seni ini, tidak memerlukan kuasa2 jahat.

Minta maaf jika saya tergelincir landasan.

Setahun telah se-sudah. Dan se-telah dilihat kembali gambar2 seni yg telah diambil, ternyata, tidak lah se-seni se-perti di se-sangka kan. Jika dirumuskan melalui 2 perkataan: Gagal Sekali! *gunakan intonasi komentutur bolasepak Melayu untuk kesan yang lebih kuasa*

Diimbasi, koleksi saya cumalah, jika tidak gambar keluarga, gambar bunga atau gambar pemandangan nusantara belantara. Gagal sekali. Dimanakah gambar2 ber-irama-kan skill seperti aksi sukan? Aksi kaku seperti dipaku? Aksi model melampau? Atau aksi lukisan cahaya kebaya? Gerakan irama ('panning')? Aksi tak sedar diri (candid)? Dan gubahan air dangdut (water sculpture)?

Ish ish... sia2 saja meletihkan otot membawa kamera SLR. Jika ditanya kaum nubi di forum, perasaan koro pasti menyelubungi. Kebaikan yang boleh diharapkan cumalah dengan memastikan bahawa nama siber yang didaftarkan di forum itu, langsung sekali tiada kaitan dengan nama sebenar. Sebagai contoh, jika bernama Abu Bakar, pastikan nama siber adalah panaz dan ganaz seperti Need4Spit atau Kukukurakuraku, dan jangan sesekali berkaitan dgn nama sebenar, seperti Ashburn.

Sekali lagi, maafkan saya kerana tergelincir landasan.

Gerak ke hadapan, azam tahun 2009, saya rasa amat sesuai jika saya mengfokuskan diri nyata ini untuk melebarkan portfolio fotografi saya. Sebagai contoh, walaupun saya tidak mengemari seni mikro, saya masih perlu mencubanya, demi untuk membaloikan pengorbanan ringgit dan hinggit terhadap barangan SLR saya. Sudah pasti, di dalam melakukan aksi yg tidak serasi pada perinsip, ini mungkin akan menyebabkan tekanan darah meningkat tetapi bak kata orang lama; Hidup untuk Makan, Bukan Makan untuk Hidup. Eh..

Namun, perjalanan ini pastinya akan menjadi menarik dan tertarik kerana ia akan menelanjangkan saya ke alam baru. Dan ianya mungkin juga akan memberikan satu realisasi baru terhadap seni fotografi yang berahi dan serba unik ini.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Marsha always come up with weird stuff. Like yesterday, I was waiting outside the Nike store in Gurney Plaza. Marsha and Sara in the store. When I turned around, I saw this:


Marsha, ON THE PLATFORM, IN THE GLASSROOM, OVERLOOKING THE PUBLIC, jadi mannequin for Nike.

So, sometimes, I wonder, where this kid get funny ideas like that. Coz I really think that we are 'good' parents. Anyway, after Gurney Plaza, we went to chill at the beach. And suddenly, my question was answered.



Conclusion: See title. Case closed.

Guan Eng: Penang has eradicated hardcore poverty

After a long spell, finally - a headline that made me happy.

Poverty has always been the Achilles' heel of Malaysia. Where most known population of Malaysia has been enjoying modern infrastructures, good paying jobs, donuts and Ikeas, it's always mind-boggling that even after 52years of political and economic stability, we still have fellow Malaysians living without electric and water supply. On that point, our leaders, no matter how smart they were or how well they've turned this country to being acceptably successful, have greatly failed.

When all around we hear billion dollar projects that will inherently make the rich richer, we rarely hear talks of genuine efforts to eradicate poverty. Until yesterday, that is.

Just after a year in power, the Penang State Goverment has boldly announced that they have devised a mechanism to eliminate hardcore poverty. And to much praise, it was learnt that this has always been one of their topmost agenda when they came in power. I guess, being freshmen, they are fundamentally strong over the objective of a goverment. Something that probably BN has forgotten, eh?

Guan Eng, fitting to his stature, said something smart too:

Even though it is difficult (on eradicating poverty), including facing bankruptcy, I am more willing to have the state becoming bankrupt to help the poor and be burdened than to be bankrupted by corruption."

This is Mandela stuff. Anyway, if you're wondering how the mechanism works, here are some links.

The Sun Newspaper
The Malaysia Insider

Which Camera Bag For Leisure Travelling?

Come this Apr’09, I’ll be celebrating my first year as a DSLR user. If you’ve seen my Flickr, I probably have nothing much to shout. But one thing that I can share after a year of lugging 3kgs of DSLR equipments around, I’ve finally found the PERFECT camera bag for leisure traveling.

But before sharing, let’s level-set the definitions. Leisure travel, for me is, going somewhere far for anything BUT a photography outing. E.g. vacation, business or visit. For these reasons, luggage space is usually limited and prioritized for the missus’ shopping runs or souvenirs. Meaning, photography equipments need to be minimized. So, the usual equipment for me is: a camera body with a lens attached to it. A mini tripod. And a flash unit (for that just-in-case moment). Since Apr’08, I’ve had 4 camera bags. Bought, tried, tested; on 4 traveling occasions.

First up is a Bagman Snapshot Trekka (I think). For my 6-day Hong Kong trip, this bag protected my gears very well. It has so much space; I could easily bring along 4 additional lenses if I had them in the first place. Side pockets meant that the tripod gets to follow me everywhere. And if I’m a workaholic, I could even slot in my laptop into it, adding a further 10kg to lug around. Fortunately, I’m not a workaholic. In short, this is one versatile bag. But it’s not perfect. The bag’s compartment config slows down the in-out camera movement. It’s big and looks like a laptop bag, which is bad, coz laptops are quite a popular among snatching-scumbags. Verdict: It fits all of your gears. And at RM250, it’s super value! But major turn-off: Taking out the camera is too much work for me. So, bye-bye Bagman.

Second bag is a Crumpler 2 Million Home; a sling bag that fits nothing else but a DLSR with a lens attached. I took this little piggy to my 5-day Krabi vacation. This is a uni-purpose destination, where most of your living moments, you’re wet. So, I had to keep my back available for a multi-purpose knapsack, for all those towels, extra baju and wet stuff. Though I was limited to be going around with just 1 lens (which is OK, coz I only have 1 lens anyway), this bag was superb. When you spend most of your time in the sea, you don’t’ really miss your tripod or flash unit. Verdict: This is a keeper.

Third bag is also a Crumpler. This time, it’s for my 20-day Oregon trip and due to the lengthy duration, I needed a bag that could fit more gears, along with my passport. So, I brought along a Crumpler 5 Million Home; a sling bag that fits a lens-attached camera with a vertical grip, a flash unit and an extra lens. It has compartments for filters and extra memory cards too. By now, I think it’s quite obvious that I’m into funky looking camera bags that DON’T look like a camera bag. And nothing is funkier than a Crumpler. Anyway, if you have a huge camera, likes to be discreet and prefers to travel light; this bag is the right one for you. So, verdict: A keeper, especially if you're into sling bags.

And lastly, the last draw. After much researching for the ‘perfect’ bag, I decided to try on Lowepro’s Fastpack 100 for my 10-day Indonesian trip. It was a tough decision between this and Fastpack 250, but I was adamant not wanting to look like I’m carrying a laptop, especially in Indonesia. So, Fastpack 100 it was. This is a very small back-pack bag that only carries a lens-attached camera and an extra lens. It has a top compartment big enough for a flash unit or a Gorilla-pod, among other stuffs like tickets, passports, hand-blower, cleaning solutions, extra batteries or memory cards. But of course, with my back occupied, I could not carry a knapsack. The biggest selling point is that, the fact that I can draw out my SLR in a matter of seconds, means I rarely miss out shooting opportunities. Verdict: A keeper.

So, there you have it. 1 year, 4 bags, tested on 4 different travels. And in the end: 2 is a keeper.

Old and New Town... and Resolution

OK. At this point, I disgust myself. One of my '09 resolution was to 'up' a level, and blog at least twice a month. That's really ambitious, considering my '08 target was once a month. We're talking about a 2x improvement here, my friend! 2x! It was a GIANT leap... which I obviously failed on the 2nd month of the year :P

Anyway, we met an old friend the other day. We were supposed to have coffee at Old Town White Coffee. He's from out of town, so we had to give him directions. Until he called and asked, "eh, you said Old Town or New Town??". I was like, "err... Old Town la. Why? Got New Town, meh???" And true enough, just a few doors away from Old Town... was a DIRECT competitor, with not much imagination...

Happy Chinese New Year!

Wishing all Chinese a wonderful prosperous new year ahead :-)