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Category Archives: Photography
Stealing Photographs
This issue caught my attention early this morning mainly because a friend had to go through a horrible experience like this.
Then after checking about, I came across a link to Chase Jarvis’ blog which he talked about this issue as well.
Saw this video on the entry and this totally came out to be a real shocker for me.
What do you think about the video?
I am just amazed how viral the whole image went. Look at the impact it has done across the globe!
Review: Mikan Japanese Restaurant
I had the opportunity over the weekend to taste some absolutely scrumptious Japanese food, thanks to my old friend Darren. His company recently purchased this restaurant over and he thought, why not get some folks over to review some of the food. This was definitely one of the highlights of my weekend.
Located in Maju Junction mall, directly opposite Tune Hotel located on Jalan Sultan Ismail, this restaurant is definitely very easy to spot from the road. Best thing of all is that if you are going to dine there, give them a call and you can get a free parking spot in front of the restaurant. No need to find a parking in the basement.
The restaurant offers a wide variety of seating choices, from your normal rectangular tables, to a sushi bar, to a teppanyaki counter (located upstairs) as well as a lounge area and a bar! It also has a private function room to boot as well.
So let’s begin with the food. We were given a variety of dishes and the operations manager, Mr. Fauzi, explained about each dish and gave us some very insightful tips about the dish and what makes them unique.
First off, we were given green tea and even that was different from the usual green tea. The ones served at Mikan has been blended together with roasted rice so the taste is quite distinct as well as also very tasty. I definitely drank more than 7 cups of green tea throughout the entire lunch session!
(Above) Sashimi Moriawase – Assorted Slice Raw Fish
The first dish was a shashimi dish where there were a good variety of raw fish available. Served with very fresh salmon sashimi flown in from Norway, this dish was a very refreshing dish with a good blend of flavourful fishes imported in from Japan.
We were thought the right way to eat sashimi as well. Frankly, I really never knew there was a right way to eat them! Most of the time, I am usually quite the pig so I just scoff everything down in my mouth. Anyway, here is the proper way!
Step 1: Put the piece of shashimi on your plate
I wanted to use a better subject but as I said earlier, I scoffed the pieces of salmon into my mouth already by the time Mr. Fauzi explained.
Step 2: Take some wasabi and spread it on your shashimi
The wasabi they served was extremely fresh and potent!
Step 3: Dip your piece of shashimi into the soy sauce and eat it!
Sweet and simple as that!
Next on the menu is the Chawan Mushi.
(Above) Chawan Mushi – Steamed egg custard
So how different can a chawan mushi actually be? Well I learned that it can definitely be very very different, taste wise and texture wise. This chawan mushi served here at Mikan is made with a blend of starchy sauce and together with high quality ingredients such as high quality mushrooms and eggs, the taste of this dish was simply delicious.
After this, we were treated to some fish.
(Above) Gindara Teriyaki – Grilled Cod with teriyaki sauce
I love cod fish and I love teriyaki sauce. Put them together and this becomes an awesome dish served together with black seaweed and renkon lotus root. The fish portions served at Mikan are usually around 120grams. Cooked perfectly and served on top of a bamboo leaf brought in from Japan, this dish was not only tasty but I wished I had more of it. The secret to this dish is that the teriyaki sauce is mixed with a secret blend created specially by head Chef Machi himself. You have to eat the cod fish together with the seaweed to get the real taste of the entire dish.
(Above) Chicken Teriyaki – Pan Fried Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce
As compared with other restaurants, this dish is served with pan fried chicken. By pan frying the chicken, you keep the meat moist and juicy (versus grilling which makes the meat a little dry at times). Accompanied by the teriyaki sauce, this dish is also served with a small side potato salad topped with Japanese mayonaise. An absolutely lovely dish. Normal portion for this is about a 150 grams of chicken and its not frozen chicken.
(Above) Teppanyaki Gyuniku – Beef Teppanyaki
Stocked with an open teppanyaki counter, here we have a beef teppanyaki (150grams). The meat is flown in from the US and it is cooked teppanyaki style together with some assorted vegetables and fried slices of garlic. They have a teppanyaki chef available and you can see him cook the dishes. When you order the dish, you can choose to have your meat to your liking. Me, I prefer it medium rare usually but in this case, well done would be fine as well.
They also have other teppanyaki dishes available as well, one of their more popular ones would be the four mushrooms teppanyaki.
(Above) Tori Katsu Curry – Breadcrumb Chicken with Japanese Curry
I am a real big fan of chicken katsu don and ask Munz and she will tell you that I love Japanese curry a lot. This one however was very very different, and I found out why. Different in a very good and unique way because the taste is just so addictive! Frankly, after eating this dish, I just ate up all of the curry left in the bowl. What makes this unique is the blend of coffee, local curry and Japanese curry to create this scrumptious concoction which really left me wanting more. The base of the curry is beef so you definitely can taste the distinctive beefy taste.
(Above) Kaisen Korokke – Seafood Croquette
With every restaurant experience, one would expect to be served first with a menu and that was exactly what us bloggers were presented with before the start of lunch. A list of all the dishes that will be served in order for us to expect. This time around, the chef decided to surprise us with a dish that wasn’t on the menu. A fried croquette stuff with lots of seafood which included scallops, prawns crab meat, green soya bean and topped with home made thousand island. You definitely can’t go wrong with this dish!
(Above) Nigiri Sushi and Soft Kani Maki – Assorted sushi with soft shell crab roll
Mr. Fauzi and head chef Machi was very kind to ensure that we don’t get too many fried dishes back to back so after tasting and gorging on the croquette, we were then served with two dishes, soft shell crab roll as well as a dish of assorted sushi. Frankly, I wished that I could have eaten the entire dish myself to be able to savour all the different kinds of sushis but since we were sharing, I had to control myself. Although that didn’t stop me from taking the salmon sushi first 
The soft shell crab roll was topped with not ordinary fish roe but flying fish roe. Gives it a more unique and tastier kick. Mr. Fauzi also then explained that good sushi chefs are so used to handling sushi rice that the perfect sushi roll has about 100 grains of rice. How in the world they count it, I guess it comes with experience.
(Above) Jumbo Ebi Tempura – Deep fried big prawn tempura
The name of the dish explains it all, its tempura and the prawns are ginormous. Seriously, I kid you not. Perhaps the image above doesn’t really justify the size. So let’s put it into scale.
See how large those prawns are right next to my iPhone 4! These prawns were my highlight of the day. Originally sized at 8 inches before being fried, this is definitely a dish you should try and the prawns were very fresh as well.
Mikan is also introducing a new teppanyaki dish in April, so to give you all a sneak peak of what is to come, here is the head chef Machi with the main ingredient of that teppanyaki dish.
No that is not a lobster.
Its a friggin 12 inch long prawn! I am definitely heading over there in April to try out this new dish. The chef was kind enough to show us a fresh sample that he had just ordered in. I wished that we could have sampled that but of course it would mean us having our cake and eating it too.
(Above) Tori Tama Toji – Breadcrumbs Chicken with Egg
The last dish was very controversial. Back when I was in university, I got a lot of smack when I told people I made a chicken ommelette and they asked me why was I cooking mother and child in a single dish. Personally I don’t know what makes it controversial in the first place. Its not like we don’t eat them at all so I didn’t see any wrong in that. Back to last weekend, it was the same discussion again but of course not as heated as the one that I had. Served on a hot plate, it was really nice and warm and definitely a great end to the long list of food.
(Above) Goma Ice Cream – Black Sesame Ice Cream
Last but not the least, dessert! Both the black sesame ice cream and the red bean paste on top is fully imported in from Japan. Both of these were of very high quality and it definitely meets my personal sweet tooth taste test!
By the end of lunch, I was completely blown away by the food and extremely satisfied with not just the food but the overall experience. I just love how each dish is explained whilst it’s being presented by the server. I think this is how most restaurants should do especially those who pride in their food. I guess even after watching seasons and seasons of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen, I would definitely say that Mikan is top notch.
Location:
Mikan restaurant is located in Maju Junction Mall along Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 50250
You can also find Mikan on Facebook here!
Photography Note:
Just to note in regards to the photos above, all were taken with natural light and available restaurant lights with my Canon 5D MkII. I swapped between either the 50mm prime lens and the 35mm prime lens on several occasions. All of the photos were taken on top of a normal dining table.
Disclaimer: All of the above mentioned review is purely based on my own personal tastebuds. The actual tasting of the food was done in March 2011. Also to note that I did not get paid at all to write this review nor was I paid to take those photos above.
Maldives – Male Town
During my recent travels to the Maldivian islands (read my earlier post here about where I was), I took a tour around the main city of Male. The city is extremely small but it is the most populous city in the Republic of Maldives and it is also it’s capital.
We were provided with a personal guide to walk us through the city and explain to us about it’s rich culture.
Male itself seemed to be a nice and quiet city, filled mainly with motorbikes and a couple of cars about. The streets were busy with children coming back from school and people just going about their daily lives.
One of the cars that I first saw in the city was this little Toyota IQ or what Aston Martin would have called a Cygnet. Was rather surprised that they had a car there in the middle of the ocean.
The citizens of Male are mainly muslims and hence we were brought about to the many mosques here on this island.
I think this was the president’s house or home or home office. Can’t remember exactly but yeah, these are one of those places that we were guided through.
Then there is the Sultan’s Gardens which was a nice patch of garden in the middle of Male.
Last place of visit was the mosque, the largest mosque in Male located very close to the sea front. Then again, because Male is so small, everything is close to the seafront.
Center square located right next to the harbour. One thing about Maldives is that, the country is made up of thousands of islands. Because of that, you can pretty much guess that the fishery industry should be one of it’s key. And you aren’t wrong.
The harbour was filled with huge boats like these. They aren’t the type that trawls along the sea with huge nets behind. No, they are actually huge fishing boats with 20-30 crew members on board who fish using fishing rods. That’s right, FISHING RODS!
Apparently fishing with fishing rods are a better way to sustain the environment and to also prevent them from catching the young fishes hence sustaining the cycle of man catching fish. But according to my guide, they catch fishes with rods almost as effectively as catching with nets.
From the fishes above, I can really believe him. Look at the size of the TUNA! It’s almost as large as the guy squatting by them. If in a weird bizarre world, I would have guessed the guy was bait for the fish instead.
Right next to the harbour was the market which was filled with fruits. So you must be thinking, where do they plant their fruits or are these imported? Well since Maldives is made up of a gazillion islands, some of these islands are used to be agriculture islands where just fruits and vegetables are grown there.
Well lots of bananas and mangoes though. There were these little chilli stuff as well sold there.
And right outside the fruit market was the fish market. Boy, you could actually smell it a mile away.
It was packed, surprisingly with people just staring at the fishes that were sold there. Heck even the guy above was carrying a fish around like his pet.
But the one thing I wasn’t prepared for is that they sold all their fishes on the floors. Huge tunas and marlins were displayed on the floors which I can say doesn’t look too clean but then again they cut the fishes and descale them all on the floor.
Notice the guy wearing his shoes on the same floor where the fishes are sold? 
Still, fish there was extremely fresh and I ate raw fish and fresh steamed fish on a daily basis. It was absolutely the bomb.
The guy selling fish above looked like a bouncer, probably pissed off that I was there just taking photos and not buying any fish.
This guy decided to sell his stuff by the entrance of the market instead of being in the market. I could say that is a smart choice considering the stench coming from within the market.
After the whole guided tour, we decided to walk around the place to check out some stores about. Nothing really special, sundry shops and coffee houses littered the place. Till I chanced upon the shop below.
Yes it was a shop selling the iPad! This was the time when the iPad wasn’t even launched in Malaysia. Speaking of which, most of the stuff that we saw at Male was imported from Malaysia. Furniture, computers and heck, even souveniers. If you are there, just look at the souveniers and you can see a price tag behind them in RM.
Anyhow, it was a great 4 hours spent at the capital city of Male. Lovely place and I would say the fish market was one of the highlights of the tour for me. Never seen such huge fishes up close before.
Engagement Shoot – Elliot & Charlotte
In keeping with my New Year’s resolution, here is another blog post on Elliot and Charlotte’s engagement shoot.
I knew both of them through church and Elliot is a fantastic drummer and Charlotte’s a fantastic dancer. The two of them looked so sweet and they got married recently! Congratulations to both Elliot and Charlotte. I have a lot to thank Elliot by especially since he was one of the emcees for my own personal wedding, I knew I had to photograph the two of them.
Here are some of my favourite shots below
The first guy I photographed who had hair longer than his wife’s.
All the best to both Elliot and Charlotte in their new journey in life!
Maldives – Travel Photos
A couple months back I was in Maldives and it was absolutely amazing. I will leave the activities and the location where I stayed for another post here. Anyway one of the key things which I realize, one, I should have planned my stay to be longer and two, I really do need a tripod especially when shooting landscape photos.
Here are some of the landscape photos I took at the various times of the day.
One thing which still mesmerizes me is that the water is so clear here. No teh tarik colours which we get from Port Dickson. You could just see the seabed through the water.
Another amazing point is how blue the sky was. Shooting during the day was an absolute joy with the exception of the heat and humidity.
Throughout my stay there, I was really fortunate to have great weather. It didn’t rain a single day but the week before I arrived, it was raining almost everyday. I checked the weather forecast and was really praying for good weather when I arrived there.
Below are some of the chalets where they are built on stilts above the water. One of the best things about staying there is that you can just jump out from your room and into the water. If you could see closely at the image, you might be able to see two specks in the water, who happen to be two guests who were staying at the chalet and enjoying the water.
The next couple of shots were taken during sunset which provides a warmer feel to the images.
As mentioned earlier, because I didn’t have a tripod, it was tough finding a flat rock where I could balance my camera and capture the images below at long exposure values.
Throughout my stay there, it was extremely windy and because it the winds were blowing at such a high speed, the clouds are blurred out due to it’s movement.
The last photo shows the air taxi landing. Because the Maldives are made out of thousands of small islands, the only way to travel about is to travel via speedboat or air taxis.
Watch out for more posts about Maldives!
Greetings from Bangladesh!
It’s currently day two now here at Bangladesh and although I really wanted to write a blog post whilst I was in the airport yesterday, the internet connection at LCCT was horrendous. Anyway its the same here in Bangladesh as well, I hardly get any internet connection so it will be brief posts and updates.
Anyhow, the experience here is a real eye opener! I have never seen so many mosquitoes before in my life. My first encounter with the swarm (yes, thats how many there were) was at the airport. I could literally feel them flying onto me and hitting me whilst I was walking about. Same goes for the place I was staying as well and my left hand alone had more than 10 bites. No worries, we bought (we meaning Andrew and I) a mosquito repellant as well as a diffuser to run whilst we are sleeping. The repellant was excellent, Mortein to the rescue! I sprayed the room earlier and I already see 13 dead mosquitoes lying on the floor.
So much for those bloodsuckers!
Anyhow, the shoot is gonna start soon so I better best prepare myself
Charge Up 2011
Registration Info 2011
Conference Dates:
17 – 20 March 2011 (Thursday morning – Sunday evening)
Conference Venue:
2 Jalan 13/1, Seksyen 13,
46200 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
Click here for directions and map to conference venue on DUMC’s website.
Click here to see where DUMC is located on GoogleMaps.
Streams:
A1. ADVANCED SOUND
B1. BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY
C1: VIDEO PRODUCTION
D1: BASIC DESIGN (limited to 30 participants)
E1: MOTION GRAPHICS – AFTER EFFECTS (limited to 15 participants)
E2: MOTION GRAPHICS – FLASH (limited to 15 participants)
F1: 2-DAY MEDIA FOR SHEPHERDS TRACK
Conference Fees:
Regular rate:
Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM400
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM450
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM500
Group rate (4 or more in a group):
Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM350
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM400
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM450
Student rate:
Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM300
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM350
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM400
2-Day Media for Shepherds Track:
Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM100
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM100
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM150
Note:
* Conference fees include 10 meals and 1 t-shirt & does NOT include transportation or accommodation.
* Delegates from out-of-town will need to make their own accommodation arrangements.
* Delegates whose registrations are received after 17 February may not be guaranteed their shirt sizes.
* ChargeUp! Conference is being held at the end of the Malaysian school break in March, and there will not be a Bolt Youth Media Camp in 2011.
Registration & Payment Process:
2. Make your payment by depositing cash/cheque or transferring funds into the Livewire Media Sdn Bhd account, or by credit card (incurs an extra RM10 fee per registration).
3. Email your proof of payment to [email protected] with subject heading “ChargeUp! 2011 payment”.
Payment by Cash/Cheque:
You can deposit cash/cheques at Maybank ATM kiosks (Acct: 514271253491), then email a digital copy of the deposit slip to [email protected] after you have registered online. Cheques should be payable to LIVEWIRE MEDIA SDN BHD.
Cheques can also be mailed by post to:
56, Jalan BM1/4, Bukit Mayang Mas, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Payment by Funds Transfer:
You can transfer funds into the Livewire Media Sdn Bhd Maybank account (514271253491) via ATM kiosks or online banking services. Then email a digital copy of the deposit slip to [email protected] after you have registered online.
Payment by Credit Card:
https://pay.integricity.com/livewire
Note: Type in “CUC – your name” when asked for Transaction Code / Invoice No.
Please include an extra RM10 fee per registration for payments by credit card.
Confirmation of registration
will be sent upon receipt of proof of payment AND submission of registration. Please note down on your fax, email or image of your transaction slip your name, mobile number & cheque/transaction number. If you’re paying for a group, please also list down the names of your group members accounted for in that particular payment.
Participants below the age of 18
are required to submit a signed Parental Consent Form.
For Further Enquiries:
or call Goh Choon Ean (+6012-2687795) or Saw Poh Sim (+6016-4050353)
What I have learned from a recent wedding shoot!
Not to stand too close to the bride and groom when they are about to pop the champaign!
Ok the image was a little blur as I think I sort of self consciously tried to move away.
Seriously, I could have sworn that he was aiming it at a totally different direction.
Well, at least I can tick this off my to-do wedding list.
Visual Depiction – A Photography Workshop
Click here to download the pdf version of the image above.
Organized by Models Inc., this exclusive workshop gives you the opportunity to work with models one on one. If you are looking to expand your portfolio, experience, learn how to ’see’ the light, and network with other photographers, PLUS get an opportunity to go on live shoots after the training, this event is for you! If you are an aspiring model, this is also an event for you! I am excited to share my experiences with all of you during this workshop.
Day 1, learn how to make a good portrait even better by learning different lighting & posing techniques. You will be utilizing different lighting techniques from available light to off camera flash and also video light to create your portraits. From theory, we will move on to a practical on-location shoot as the photographers will have the opportunity to photograph the different models. Each photographer will be assigned to one model so you have maximum control, and the ability to build your own personal portfolio!
For models, an up and coming stylist will coach you on hair and make-up application and will be giving tips on how to spruce up and keep looking fresh even on a hot day out on set.
Day 2, learn about how to create a good workflow after your shoot. You will be learning some cool post processing skills using Lightroom and Photoshop. A panel of renowned photographers will be invited to review the images so that you can maximize your learning experience. After the review, one photographer will be chosen to go through an apprenticeship period with myself (T&C apply) – to learn from live shoots! Models will be given a professional portfolio worth RM 200 within two weeks of the end of the workshop, including a fashion show line up in October.
Limited to only 10 photographers and 10 models – you are guaranteed a personalized experience.
If you wish to sign up, please email [email protected] with the following subject and body.
Subject : Re: Visual Depiction
Body : Full name, contact number, alternate contact number (if any), e-mail address, IC number/ passport number, photographer/model.
