Diver's Lair @ dwtk

26th March 2012

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:17:00 +0000

Man has it been awhile since I last blogged something useful. Well, guess waking up early IS a blissful thing to do everyday :)

Need to update my website, upload wedding photos, finish off unfinished albums and keep on brainstorming.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

May the force be with you!

...

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Sunday - Received a shocking news that an old friend (Chrisvirgil Lee) passed away ... R.I.P buddy ... you'll always be remembered ...

Monday - Went to Sandakan with a bus, journey was 6 hours straight ... we did stop by for 20mins break in Telupid. The fella sitting next to me was a sweet old lady, even offered me food twice :) Arrived KK town around 2pm, it was cloudy already ... Gin picked me up and the dogs were behind waiting for the photoshoot, we went for lunch before heading towards the Complex ... the weather was bad alright, as soon as we reach the venue it started drizzling ... at 1st the situation was still under controlled until Xiao Pei started playing in the puddle of mud & water. Chaos broke loose the other 3 dogs ... Mei Mei, Diamond and Mocha all went crazy. It was hilarious tho coz Gin had to handle all 4 of them. The whole outdoor session, I won't say it was a complete failure but it was fun tho. After the photoshoot was done, got back to the hotel and bath then off to dinner with Shane and Gin. Stefanie came along after that and we went to Balin for some beer. Even tho I didn't get to pay my last respect to my late friend Virgil, the least I could do was to mourn for his death with another friend (Stefanie).

Tuesday - Went breakfast with Gin, visited the Crocodile farm, had Egg Tart then off to the terminal. It was a meaningless Valentine's day. I enjoyed my stay in Sandakan even though it was short but I personally like it there, quiet, less car and peaceful. Will surely visit there again.

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:59:00 +0000

I'm gonna round Sabah in ... who knows ... planning stage.

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:18:00 +0000

Enjoy that anticipation – really – stop – take a breath – notice everything, at least for a minute. Don’t spend time trying to get to the other end of the road too fast. Where you are is just right. Even if it seems like it’s going to take a long time to come to my end of the road, don’t worry.

ART

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:46:00 +0000

How does the human perceive a photograph?
How do we accept that it's a photograph?
How do we claim that a photograph is rationally sane or otherwise?
How do we comprehend the unimaginable photograph to be sane?

Hmm ... I need to get myself wasted to be able to think straight ...

Re-Defining Everything

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:44:00 +0000

It's 2012, I'm not getting younger everyday although I look young haha but I need to achieve something this year.

Planning for dives this year, getting my specialty dives this year. Plans for Sipadan dives are on the way. Can't do things half way, at least another 20 dives this year? That should do it. In order to get myself qualified for DM (Dive Master). Hell I took this long to get to DM? What have I been doing all this time???

Re-defining my photography skills. Will be doing less on weddings and more on conceptual and composite photography. Easy as it sounds, no; hell it's tougher than I thought it would be. Won't know till I've gone through it soon. 1st composite photoshoot will be next month, hope I can make it back KK before my client flies to KL.

Story telling.

Newborns, ahh ... I just can't get enough of those toddler's twinkling nose and belly of 'em.

Need to improve along the road.

10 Things a Photographer Needs to know to Succeed in Photography

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:30:00 +0000

By scottbourne

1. Shoot with passion – you need passion for people and/or storytelling. It’s more important than gear or anything else. It drives success.

2. Stay away from bitter, unhappy, mean, angry people. Avoid trolls and bullies – in any and all aspects of your life. Whether they be partners, vendors, clients, friends, family, associates, prospects, customers, neighbors – anonymous or otherwise. Avoid them. Ignore them. Banish them from your life. Don’t spend ANY time with or on them. This is one of the single most important things you can do to succeed at ANYTHING.

3. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t worry about how many Twitter followers you have or Facebook friends you have or camera lenses you have. Your value to the world and your clients isn’t in any way dependent on how you think you stack up with those around you. Don’t worry about that. Worry about your clients. Put their needs and success ahead of your own and you’ll end up the winner.

4. Make the craft of photography something you lust over. Be on top of everything photography-related. Be proficient at all aspects of photography. Think about and pursue high quality results.

5. Care about people. Care about all of them, especially prospects, clients, vendors, staff and associates. Really care about them. When you ask them how they are doing, care enough to really listen to the answer. Think of your photo shoot as an attempt to help someone else’s life become a little better.

6. Tell stories with your camera. Make a difference everywhere you go. Have an impact everywhere you go. Live a big life. Take big bites out of life. Don’t concentrate on what you can’t do or don’t have, concentrate on what you can do and do have.

7. Use social media, new media, all media to show and sell your work. Embrace it. Become good at helping people solve problems using social and new media. You can help more people that way and make a bigger impact that way.

8. Own your own zip code. Make sure everyone in your zip code thinks of you as their local photographer. Don’t worry about taking over the world. The Beatles were rock stars in their local pub years before anyone in the USA ever heard of them. You can spend your whole life just serving your own zip code and be wealthy, successful and respected beyond your wildest dreams.

9. Honor your brand. Make sure it’s consistent with your core values. Know your own beliefs, feelings and desires and wrap them into your business/brand. Then live that. Make sure that you do what you say you will do well and with a smile. No excuses. Ever. Never. If you do make a mistake, immediately own it. Don’t wait for someone else to find out about it. Be proactive. Fix it. Fix it so things end up better than they would have been if you didn’t screw up. Don’t make excuses. Don’t get defensive. Apologize, fix and move on. Do it quickly, quietly and with a smile on your face every time.

10. Know your why. People don’t buy what you do they buy WHY you do it. Have an authentic WHY, and you’ll be rich in every way that counts. If you don’t know why you are a professional photographer or can’t articulate it, change jobs.

#100 Things To Do List - Revised

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:36:00 +0000

This list serves as a reminder to me everyday that I need to accomplish something before I stop breathing, not all but at least I must try most of it! :D

#1 To be a professional photographer - Completed 2011
#2 To be at least a dive master
#3 To get my photos published in a magazine *damn! that'll be sumthing!*
#4 To get myself an official website - Completed 2011
#5 To go bungee jumping
#6 To go skydiving from a plane
#7 To enjoy the sunrise on top of peak Mount Kinabalu
#8 To dive in Maldives
#9 To dive with Mola Molas in Bali
#10 To visit India
#11 To visit New Zealand
#12 To own a studio
#13 To settle my debts to everyone I owe
#14 To get myself a Nikon D4
#15 To go paragliding
#16 To jump from a building with only parachute attached
#17 To quit smoke totally - Completed 2011
#18 To visit Italy
#19 To visit Rome
#20 To hug everyone I care
#21 To tell the ones I care 'I love them'
#22 To contribute something for society - Completed 2011
#23 To ride on a horse
#24 To buy a beauty dish
#25 To win the lottery
#26 To get a superbike, Yamaha R6 or Ducati
#27 To ride my bike from South P. Malaysia to North P. Malaysia
#28 To take sunsets of every states in Peninsular Malaysia
#29 To buy a tripod
#30 To get myself drunk with sake
#31 To meet an alien
#32 To learn surfing in Bali
#33 To visit Australia
#34 To get myself a caravan
#35 To go fishing and drink beer while I'm at it
#36 To get certified as a wall climber
#37...

I just realized that my #100 Things To Do List is only up to #36! LOL !!! Oh well, this will do. At least I know I won't die in vain though. I'm barely even accomplish half of what I wrote here ... will need to revise a bit.

Time To Re-Define New Year's Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:28:00 +0000

New Year's Resolution:

Apart from my 100 list of things to do, these are this year's resolution. Simple & straight forward.

1) Take Family Portraits for each family in my family tree
2) Continue my 'Back to the Future' Project
3) Take more portraiture this year
4) Get new lighting gears
5) God willing, I wanna go visit New Zealand
6) Less traveling back to KK
7) Do well in business
8) Help my parents with managing the land
9) Smile more, treat myself well and do more charity
10) Finally, get myself a girlfriend haha ...

That should keep me occupied for the whole year.

Denial

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:55:00 +0000

Denial (also called abnegation) is a defence mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. The subject may use:

1. Simple denial: deny the reality of the unpleasant fact altogether.
2. Minimisation: admit the fact but deny its seriousness (a combination of denial and rationalisation).
3. Projection: admit both the fact and seriousness but deny responsibility.

Unlike some other defence mechanisms postulated by psychoanalytic theory (for instance, repression), the general existence of denial is fairly easy to verify, even for non-specialists. On the other hand, denial is one of the most controversial defence mechanisms, since it can be easily used to create unfalsifiable theories: anything the subject says or does that appears to disprove the interpreter's theory is explained, not as evidence that the interpreter's theory is wrong, but as the subject's being "in denial".

2012

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:31:00 +0000

Happy New Year 2012 everyone :) It's a Dragon year this year. how's everyone ? Hope 2011 was a great year for all of you.

Had a bad dream few days ago ... no top of the volcano and there was three people on it including me and David and another one which I forgot his name ... somehow there was a lift there waiting for us. All I remember is grabbing my gears into it. The funny thing is the lift was heading down to a pitt of lava ...

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:30:00 +0000

I feel powerless ...

Wednesday 30032011

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:54:00 +0000

It's the 5th day without my car, and was staying at home the whole time from the day I came back. Now I know how crippled feels like, not literally but technically. Luckily Balkis was free enough to bring me out with her boyfriend for dinner and bought some things for the house. Seriously going out felt soooooo damn good. Felt like I wasn't apart of the outside world ... all you see when you wake up in the morning's the ceiling, the fan ... the clock ticking ... ticking ... frogs ... basically you can hear everything here ... even the rats, not sure whether it's the next door's pet but it's nearby.

Thursday, can't wait for Monday ... the sooner the better. Lets hope for the best this year :) even though the world's coming to an end. Have you done your part of the bargain?

*Yawns* Been listening to this same old song since Tuesday, and it's been playing since then. Feels nostalgic but I like it.

Monday 12:41am

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:41:00 +0000

It's almost 1am ... got back KL last night, things were kinda hectic before I went back KK. Car couldn't start, then the car was towed when we went back to jump start it. Had to reschedule for 2 shoots. Just hope things will turn out well soon. All I can do now is sit down and stay calm. Anyway, life needs to go on. Will need to finish 1 newborn portrait, 1 family photo session and 1 prewed in KL before I fly back to KK again for another prewed shoot with Emma on the 26th April 2011. May won't be far after that, there's gonna be 2 preweds and 2 weddings. Was hoping more of newborn's portraits. Having a car in KK will come in handy, feel like driving alllllll over Sabah. That'd be cool huh? In the mean time, I'll be taking old photos for some people. By that I mean this.

Might be stuck at home until end of the month. I hope not, I might rot here til then.

Yea it's Monday again. I used to Mondays until now :)

Signing off, good night and happy working folks!

Family's loss

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:07:00 +0000

Got home around 5pm something from a job, was lazying around & Aaron my cousin called with a bad news. My heart just felt like it was crushed into million pieces...my Odu(granma) just passed away.

Got my name in Digital Camera March's 2011 Edition

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:52:00 +0000

It was Saturday yesterday, got a call from Godwin and he sounded excited on the phone ... he told me that he saw my name in the Digital Camera's latest edition as one of the participants in one of the column !!! I was of course thrilled and freak out myself, I thought one of my pix got selected haha ... well at least this time I got my name in it! Next time you'll see my photos in there :)

Updates

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 11:23:00 +0000

Been quite occupied for awhile these past few weeks. Been doing this that, been going up and down here and there ... got my website up and running :)

Need more time to progress along the way. Need to focus, focus, focus!

Reminder to Self

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:46:00 +0000

Just keep life simple.

#100 things to accomplish before I die in vain!

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:07:00 +0000

This list serves as a reminder to me everyday that I need to accomplish something before I stop breathing, not all but at least I must try most of it! :D

#1 To be a professional photographer
#2 To be at least a dive master
#3 To get my photos published in a magazine *damn! that'll be sumthing!*
#4 To get myself an official website
#5 To go bungee jumping
#6 To go skydiving from a plane
#7 To enjoy the sunrise on top of peak Mount Kinabalu
#8 To dive in Maldives
#9 To dive with Mola Molas in Bali
#10 To visit India
#11 To visit Japan
#12 To own a studio
#13 To settle my debts to everyone I owe
#14 To get myself a Nikon D3s
#15 To go paragliding
#16 To jump from a building with only parachute attached
#17 To quit smoke totally
#18 To visit Italy
#19 To visit Rome
#20 To hug everyone I care
#21 To tell the ones I care 'I love them'
#22 To contribute something for society
#23 To ride on a horse
#24 To buy a house
#25 To win the lottery
#26 To get a superbike, Yamaha R6 or Ducati
#27 To ride my bike from South P. Malaysia to North P. Malaysia
#28 To take sunsets of every states in Peninsular Malaysia
#29 To buy a tripod
#30 To get myself drunk with sake
#31 To meet an alien
#32 To learn surfing in Bali
#33 To visit Australia
#34 To get myself a caravan
#35 To go fishing and drink beer while I'm at it
#36 To get certified as a wall climber
#37

Time for some attitude overhauling this year!

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:34:00 +0000

It's 2011 and I can't keep lazying around like I used to anymore. Pffft ... I'm not getting any younger these days. I'm listing alllll the things I need changing for this year to start and I really hope it doesn't only stays on for this year.

1) Waking up early in the morning (like say 530am?)
2) Cutting down ciggies completely
3) Eating healthly (at least 3 meals a day for starters)
4) 15 minutes strecthing/workout after waking up
5) 530am, ample time to prepare myself for the long day ahead
6) Spend 1 hour of exercise, 3 days a week ( doens't sound so hard doesn't it?)
7) Spend less time sitting in front of lappy (unless your editing)
8) Be self-motivated
9) Get yourself out of bed and do something out of the routine already you cave creature!
10) Need to go for bungee jumping this year (for reaaaaaaalllll~~~)
11) Buy new socks!
11) Get a new travelling bag for crying out loud!
12) Be Happy :)
13) Be Grateful :)
14) Drink more H2O
15) Be creative
16) Get a Real website for your photos dummy!
17) Keep 'em photos coming and keep diving!
18) Work harder and stop whining already!
19) Don't stop blogging!
20) This year's all gonna be about babies and landscapes! Ditto!

21) Read more books ... or magazine, comics will do too!

Now that's ... a wholeeee list to keep me occupied this year! Seriously I need this shit.

Hello 2011

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:36:00 +0000

Although my mission to be a full time diver was a total failure but it hasn't stop me from pursuing it for a long term goal. Well you do know diving cost like hell and besides I've tendered my resignation letter yesterday. A brief sigh of relief. :)

Happy New Year 2o11 people. Hope this year will be a great year for us all!

Tendered my letter, now what?
Of course I have plenty of time to update my blogs, edit more pics, take more pics and more time for myself, I'm ma own boss now!

But for the time being I need to restructure myself so I don't go lazying around now, can I?
I'm surviving purely from part times/full time shoots nowadays :)
Can't wait for my 1st baby shot though. It's gonna be a great start.

The down side bout looking for your own models to shoot for, they always give a cold reply which is a turn off. When I'm famous, I won't be the one looking for models, you models will be the ones looking for me. By then, I'll give a cold answer as well hahaha :P

Yeehaaaa!

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:48:00 +0000

Finally! I'm back and ready to roll :D Took me quite awhile to get my hands back to the web and do some excessive hard core editting! See you guys a bit!

Thursday - 13th May 2010

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Thu, 13 May 2010 01:32:00 +0000

It's been awhile ... have been busy with somethings, will start updating again soon. Just need some time to settle things and get myself re-organize!

See you guys around ;)

regards!

Sunday 3rd of May - MINI STUDIO

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Was up early to do my very own mini studio!!!
Yeepiiiiii ... went out to buy breakfast, cutter and materials for the mini studio.

Found myself a box and start cutting here and there ... luckily I still have some Mahjong papers ...

Voila!!! Mission accomplished!!!

Had a tough time figuring out how to use the Nissin Di622 as slave flash gun ... but after 20minutes I finally found out how to use it ... hehe ... troublesome yet it was FUN!!!
Made the room into a studio instead haha ... oh well, it was worth the effort! =)

How to do your own Mini Studio
---------------------------------
1) Find a box of your own size
2) Scissors/ cutter as a cutting tool
3) Tape
4) Posters/ Mahjong paper (A1 size)

a) Cut a square shaped on both sides of the box with a scissor/ cutter, make sure you don't amputate the box while cutting it
b) Then cover it back with the Mahjong paper, this is where the slaved flash-gun will fire (either side)
c) Use the Mahjong paper again to make a carpet/ wallpaper as background (use your own creativity for this)
d) There, you're done and ready for shooting!!!

Mini Studio Results

--------------------

Why do I feel like it's nothing unusual to me haha ... hmm need to do something 'bout the lighting ... maybe soften it abit?

Friday, Labor Day for all mankind

noreply@blogger.com (dw) — Sat, 02 May 2009 07:39:00 +0000

It's a saturday!

I finally got my N D90 last week :D even got everything complete, well almost everything just need to wait my filter holder and the filter as well as the diffuser from China hehe ... I got those stuff with a reasonable cheap price compared to those from the retail shops ... I love my tripod as well :D Benro! Got it from Shashinki.com hehe ... managed to get them tested yesterday ... went photo shooting with Nelson and Balkis ...

Friday, first we went to the Look Out Point hilltop for a sunrise scene but too bad the sunrise was behind the hill haha ... we reached the hills around 4 to 5am and we weren't expecting to see there was alot of people ... mostly couples though up there! Damn cold up there but the fresh air kept us wide awake ... almost all of us haha ... after we were done, we went back to take a nap and continued our sunset session at Sepang Gold Coast.

How to go to Sepang Gold Coast without paying toll
------------------------------------------------------------------

1) From Jusco Equines, take the route to Banting/Dengkil which leads to Putrajaya highway
2) If you see a signboard to KLIA on your left hand side, don't turn in and just go straight 'till you see the Banting/Dengkil signboard
3) If you happen to notice you're in a secluded area don't worry you're on the right track ... I hope ... haha ...
4) Then you will reach the traffic light, then go straighttttt 'till you see KLIA again

Took us less than 45 minutes to reach KLIA exactly without paying any tolls and surprisingly it was faster than we expected!!! From Sepang Circuit to Sepang Gold Coast, Sungai Pelek it took us about 35minutes to reach the beach ...

Finally ... phuuu, I hate long journeys ...

Wow ... even though the place is not something like Oz's Gold Coast but this will do justttt fine ...
Huhhh ... the wind's breeze feels so nice ... alot of campers too! Kites everywhere! Just a place to relax and a great way to escape from everything ... constructions are still on going in parts of the area but it's still ok for me :D

Was there 'till 8pm since 630pm ... under the hot sun haha ... so damn tired ... can move a muscle ... headache actually from all the heat! Luckily Balkis was driving ... the we head Kajang which wasn't our plan at the first then we went for Kajang Satay! Every where was freaking crowded!!!!

We end our day by going back home after dinner ... will upload pics later ... need to get rid of some pics in my computer first ... overloaded with pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!