Saturday, March 31, 2007

Study in Abstract - River of Light

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Stepping through time.

I had a chance to test of slow shutter techniques in low light condition during the last Flickr Meetup. We found this great place in Starhill. It was a corridor connecting the shopping mall to JWW Marriot hotel. It was a wall to wall glass panelling with constantly changing lights. Made a great spot to try some real whacky photo shooting. Here's the best of the lot that came out was quite satisfied as this was my first try with my Canon in such a shooting condition.

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Sine wave wall.

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The Ferris Wheel.

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Bad hair day.

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Circular storm.

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Multicolour waterfall.

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Meteor shower.

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Thaipusam Journey Part 3

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Closeup of a decorated kavadi with the idol at the center of a floral design.

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Small containers of milk hangs off the chest of a devotee.

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A helping hand in inserting the hooked oranges on the devotees back for preparation of the kavadi.

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Brotherhood and a friendly reassurance from a fellow kavadi bearer prepares the devotee for the trials ahead.

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Devotee in a trance and weilding a wooden club.

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The onset of a trance after the priest has blown the blessed ash onto the devotee, he readies his tongue willingly for it to be pierced with a spear as part of the kavadi.

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The person looked on and ready himself before the pierced lime are to be inserted onto his back, each and every one of them.

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Portrait of a kavadi bearer with pierced tongue.

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Pierced lime are slowly hung onto the devotee's back.

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The priest steadies the devotee as he enters a trance which can be violent as it is suddenly brought upon the person.

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A father and his kid who's head has been shaved as part of the blessing, the balloon seems to console him and he looked as if he was excited and having fun.

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Offerings laid out at the makeshift altar in front of the kavadi as the priest offers prayers and blessings.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

1000th Post - Looking Back Looking Forward

Photo courtesy of Visithra taken during last weeks 1st anniversary KL FLickr Meetup bash.

This will be my 1000th post after nearly 2 and a half years of blogging, a slow pace but a nice pace nonetheless. I'm quite happy with my blog and how it has evolved through the ages, it might not garner as much following as some of the other more popular blogs but its my own personal space in the vast cyberspace and its an endeavour of love. I don't really know what to say to mark this milestone, just thank you to all who have patronise this blog.

Things have been good these past few months, work has stabilised somewhat after the hectic honeymoon first 2 months where I felt like an idiot for not knowing a single thing (I still feel like that at times but I'm learning to cope and pick up the pieces as I go). I'm enjoying life in KL tremendously, there's so much to do and see and the people I meet here are some of the greatest. The KL FLickr meetup has been the greatest social group I've ever had the privelage of joining, they're fun loving, crazy yet lovable beings all and everyone of them and I can say that many of them have turn from strangers to friends over the various meetups.

Coming to KL has put me in touch with some long lost acquaintences, being here somehow makes it seem like the world is a much smaller place than it seems, else everyone who's anyone is concentrated here. I've met university friends whom I've lost touch through acidental meetings in malls, my old friends especially those from form 6 have all moved along with their family to KL or nearby, most of those I know are here as well.

Things have not been easy though, at times it does get lonely being here alone in this apartment. There are things I regret, hurting certain people i know which I truly am sorry. Other times I'm angry that I do not dare pursue certain courses in life, risking things a bit in what I believe to be true without fear or doubts. Sometimes the past seems so far and so hard to let go of or to even chart a new course into the future and see what it brings. I'm still lost even at my age and still taking these baby steps along the journey called life. Am I afraid? Yes. Do I know where it will lead me to? No. And that what scares me, whether I'm doing the right thing, of having neither doubt nor regrets in the actions I take. I keep telling myself as I get older things would be clearer and fall into place, yet it seems even more murky and confusing at times.

Well guess I sidetracked it a bit. Again this blog will go on, in whatever form as it will and as I move on it will continue to follow me on, acting as a mirror to my own life. Towards the next post and the next and the next......

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Palm Shadows

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A palm frond backlit by the sun lays out intricate patterns and facinating shadow play.

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Fiery Bloom

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The blooming red ixoras are a sight to behold, Kota Kinabalu, 2006.

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Icon of a Past Era

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Standing tall and proud as if the Chairman himself was there in person, even as a figure the visage is unmistakable and imposing. Seena mong the trappings of antiques of a bygone era in an antique shop in Melaka, Malaysia, 2004.

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Green Birdie

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Not sure what type of bird this is but its sad that it's kept in the tiny wire cages for hours as the stall owner tries to get it sold to prospective buyers, even it looks not to well, I still think that birds should fly free and not caged, but thats me. Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, 2006.

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Burning Faith

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Candles set alight for prayers at the Bolinao Church, Pangasingan, Philippines, 2004.

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The Clocktower

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Clocktower near State Assembly Building, Penang, 2004.

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Bajau Horsemen

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The Bajaus were decked in the best finery and so were their precious companion, their mounts. The next generation was not left out, training since young to inherit the tradition and skills so famed by their forefathers and continued till this day. Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia, 2005.

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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Creepy Eyes for You

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A caterpillar crawling up the stem of a lime tree with its false eyes looking up, KL, 2004.

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Water World, Semporna Sabah

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A kid looking out from the steps of his kampung house which lies just at the water's edge. The coraline islands of Semporna is home to various villagers who often ply the seas as their trade, living off its bounty. Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia, 2005.

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Where's Mommy and Daddy?

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Sometimes I wonder what parents are thinking or if they're fit to be parents. Spotted these two little kids waiting alone with the shopping carts with no sign of any adult nearby. If they value shopping over their own children I think it's heartbreaking. 1 Utama, KL, 2006.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Syberia 2 Mania for Pocket PC














Syberia has always been one of the better adventure games out there combining quarky automatons and industrial age era design styles and witty characters that make it worthwhile to explore the intricate locations fleshed out in great detail in the game. The first two games appeared in PC format and now it is available for the Pocket PC as well for gamers to enjoy with Syberia 2.


Kate Walker is an interesting protoganist, she was suppose to look for Hans Voralberg for an inheritance claim in the first game. After visiting this eccentric genious, who has a knack of making the most wonderful mechanical gadgets, including a talking train conductor, a megalomaniac Russian factory robot and many others, Kate gets even more entangled in his world as she travels in search of Hans' dream. Syberia two, the sequel to a satisfying original game, finally brings their quest to a conclusion and gamers would finally learn what all the intrigue was about in the end.

The storyline while linear is never boring and the well fleshed out vistas that represents each stopover in her train journey are as exotic as any. The premis of the story is loosely based on a fictional stone age culture who worships the mammoth, which for Hans has been an obsession since his early childhood when he found a mammoth toy in a cave. Kate soon gets enmesh and their goal leads them to find if this was ever true or not. Graphic wise it is great as none of the translation into the Pocket PC seem to have lost the richness as the PC version and should be a great point for gamers. In fact it must be one of the best graphic seen on the Pocket PC up to now.

If you have played the first game then this follow up is a must if you ever wish to know the ending. For newbies, there is enough back story conveyed along the way to enable you to follow the game without actually playing the first, though you'd be sore to miss out on it was great as well. Go get it now

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- Compensating bloggers for their unbiased opinions, reviews, and analysis. View the LoudLaunch campaign release this post was based on.

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Mini Flickr Meetup - TTDI Park

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Camping out in what little shade there was while waiting for everyone to gather.

The Flickr group was up to its antics again this time thanks to Cuddly and Family. Not one of the usual monthly meetups, the show of hands was quite a number for this one at TTDI Park. As usual the goal was just a friendly get together with avid photographers doing what they do best, snapping away at anything that tickles their fancy and the day was just splendid for a shoot, especially since Cuddly brought her entire brood along. Surprising even when we arrive at around 9, the sun was already out in full blast and was threatening to become a scorcher.

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Marwan, Harris's little kid.

Of course today one of the main shoots were on the kids and what a bunch they were. I always like taking picture of kids, they are never as camera shy as some of the adults out there that just gives you a stare that could freeze your blood as you point your camera at them, kids they are always amicable and not afraid to show the various different sides of their personality, playful, naughty, incourageable, carefree, innocent and much more. So with Cuddly's 3 kids, Joshua, Jamie and Keanan as well as Marwan, Harris's little darling it was a bundle of fun there at the park.

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Johan brought over his reflector for some portrait shots for the meetup

It's always a pleasure when Johan and gang are there, there is never a single dull moment about in their presence. Johan even brought along his reflector for portraiture shots today for everyone's benefit. This is the first time I've been here and to find such a great green space in the middle of the hustle and bustle of KL is just amazing. I have heard of it but never thought it was this nice, perfect for joggers, walkers, skaters and just generally anyone. I seriously have to tell more people about it.

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Unwitting model for photogs

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Joshua and Jamie

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This scene just begs to be captioned and I'm sure many creative souls out there can come up with some preety serious dialogues.

We all gathered at the waterfall area while awaiting some of the others to arrive. Meanwhile none of us wasted much time in photographing Cuddly's kids especially of Joshua and Jamie who were sporting about it and even breaking into poses though at first they were a bit shy. As with Johan sometime it harder to imagine which is the bigger kid, Cuddly's or Johan himself as he just spews with ethuism and just keep on going and going and going as if perpetually on adrenaline.

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I am the Sun God RA!

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Joshua in hyper mode

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Joshua again

The place was great for a shoot, I even spotted a couple of wedding party going about having their wedding pictures taken here so it must be a popular spot. The meandering streams, large lakes, greenery lined paths, exercise areas and idylic spots for resting just makes it so beautiful to be here. The boys were having a ball running about the greens and splashing on the shallow river amidst reeds and shrubs.

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A nice group moment with Shafina and the kids

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Johan's tips on external flash photography really gave amazing results.

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I like Johan, this must be the umpth time I'm saying this. He's never shy to help out an amateur photographer whereas others might just brush you off. He brings alongs tons of lenses and freely lets people try them out and he takes the greatest shots you've seen. A session with him explaining on flash photography got me some great results, some of which I never knew my camera had the capacity to achieve.

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Kenmin 'wet' his pants, after he slipped and fell into the small stream. Life is never boring when he's around, things seems just to happen.

Kenmin is another one of those people that anything that can happen, will. After the scene with his motorbike breaking down on his way to Thaipusam, today while walking he somehow manages to slip and fall into the side of the lake and got himself soaked. Luckily his camera which shared his fate was protected by the bag and wasn't damaged but we all had quite the laugh at how it could've happened. Johan suggested a group photo and somehow managed to suggest everyone lie on the grass for a group shot. In the end all the girls were on their backs on the wet grass but the guys chickened out. Still it was a great shots and we had a ball. Sadly I couldn't make it to join them for lunch since I had an appointment to have my car fixed so I had to be farewell to the lot. Well there's always the 12th anniversary KL FLickr bash coming this 24th March and I can't wait for it.

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Laughing out loud

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The girls were more of a sport when Johan suggested everyone get down on the grass for a shot. P.s. still wondering why so many people touching their chins in this shot, explanaition from you gals?

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Head shot of the gals. P.s. I call this joining of minds. All also slumber here hehe.

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Lia and kid

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Kenmin having oodles of fun trying out this little cam

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