Coming soon….

Posted on January 31, 2008 by Mark

So what’s coming soon? Read below to find out more.

Over the past few weeks I have been shooting some cakes for a client and although it was one of my first product shoot attempts, it was very rewarding. Namely, all the sample cakes I get to bring back and eat. Trust me, they are superb, 100% better than those factory made Secret Recipe ones.

These photos are meant to be used for their website so until the website is up and running, I shall keep mum on the whole thing and slowly post some teaser photos here.

Anyway, if you are interested in ordering cakes for events or parties (I know I will be), do drop me a note and I can pass on the contact number.

Guess who I shot last week at home?

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Mark

It was rather fun shooting for friends. I guess from my usual group who are rather camera shy, this is a huge leap in terms of getting them to pose in front of my camera with studio strobes next to them.

Frankly, I am not too satisfied with my shots because I lack space in my house and there are just too many distractions in the pictures. Also I feel that if I weren’t so rushed for time, I could have taken better photos. But for the mean time, they will have to do. Hopefully, the might be a part 2 to this post.

I have been poisoned

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Mark

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being poisoned by someone who owned the legendary (well, I consider that legendary to my own standards) Nikon D3. If you must know, the Nikon D3 is a hell of a camera and its hefty price tag (RM15,000 for just the body alone) turn a lot of people away.

d3front 001 I have been poisoned

Image source: Dpreview.comÂ

Anyway back to my poisoning story, yes, the camera is an incredible feat of engineering and I was so blown away by its weight and the quality of it’s images. I was busy shooting at ISO 3200 and it looks just as clean as my D200 shooting at ISO 400-500.Perhaps, if I stop spending my money on soft drinks, snacks, McDonalds and KFC, I should be able to get this baby in about 3-4 years time.

For those of you who want more info about the picture quality of the Nikon D3, you can head over here, here and here.

Busy times ahead

Posted on January 25, 2008 by Mark

This week (starting from last Saturday) has definitely been a whirlwind of events for me. Time has definitely been of the essence for me and I am trying to squeeze in as much time as I can to improve my photography skills as well as keep up with my other responsibilities. Firstly I had a product shoot last Saturday which lasted the entire day, followed by some events on Sunday.

Tuesday saw the beginning of me starting my jogging sessions at Cyberjaya (preparing for the KL International Marathon) as well as shooting my friends playing badminton.

Wednesday, although it was a public holiday, I had to post process and create a DVD for Donald and Adeline in time before Chinese New Year.

Thursday was packed with another jogging stint at Cyberjaya lake (8km) and a profile shoot for a couple of CEO’s. Alright, they are business partners but since they are my good friends from high school, I shouldn’t hype up my shoot. Frankly, I could have done better and be a little bit more professional. Otherwise, I need to start bucking up.

But it was last night which I received some very interesting news. Will probably share it here but until its confirmed and I signed on the dotted line, I am keeping mum on this.

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me, working the entire day shooting a wedding and Sunday night will be another shooting session. This time will be my first family portrait session. Can’t wait to learn and experience some new things.

On another note, Joshua will be back from the UK so I will definitely want to spend some time with him, catching up. More shoots to come? Well, my project milestones are coming up, 3 key milestones in the next 3 weeks.

Photos from CYZ

Posted on January 22, 2008 by Mark

I thought I would share some of the photos I took at the recent CYZ congregation last Friday night. Wasn’t officially shooting the event but I just thought it would be good for me to put into practice what I learned at my recent photography workshop.

Here are some of my favourite shots.

Drum roll!

Team huddle!

Trying to portray a grunge look for the electric guitar effects pedal

Spotlight on the lead guitarist

The lone backup singer at the side where no one can see him

Candlelight shot with the lead singer behind

Candid shot of a shy singer

Why do they call it potluck?

Posted on January 19, 2008 by Mark

Anyway no shots of the food but just some shots of the activities we did during the last FLARE gathering. As Dexter did say, it has been a year since everyone from the group manage to have a get together. With half of the group studying in Australia and the other half busy working, I guess I did feel old amongst them.

Lemuel acting cool

We-Ki teaching Dex how to cross the line of normal social boundaries

Dexter must be wondering who it was as his comment was, “Wah the skin so smooth, must be a girl!”

Whose reflection is that?

Group Photo

Check out the rest of the photos at this link.

The Seven Levels of Photographers

Posted on January 16, 2008 by Mark

Time and time again people have been trying to measure one’s level of competency, thinking and physical prowess but when it comes to photography, an area where people who did not study art as their major and yet take breathtaking shots, how would we measure them? By the quality of their photos, well, to different people, some photos may look nicer.

Well, Ken Rockwell has come up with his own method of measuring photographers and not only by the results they produce but more towards on their behaviour and styles.

What do I think about myself? I think perhaps I am at level 1. I definitely need to take more time to shoot more photos. Lately instead of taking photos, I have to balance my time between post processing photos for a cake shoot I am working on for their website, a pre-wedding shoot and finally a wedding I took in December. I really hope to have more photos up here soon so do check back.

I don't need no gym and facial!

Posted on January 13, 2008 by Mark

Why bother going to the gym and going for facials when you have a nifty little tool such as photoshop?

Before

During this time period, a large amount of time was put in with energy being moved from one side to another side. Oh what the heck, I just moved my mouse, played with a bit of masks, cloning tool and of course the liquify filter and voila, smooth skin and a thinner me

After

Ok, frankly speaking, I need to start running as I have put on quite a bit of weight. Anyhow, its late and I got way too many photos to post process.

I don’t need no gym and facial!