bowdacious-b.blogspot.com

Migration...

2011-02-13T23:39:00.000+08:00

Today marks the migration of my blog from blogspot to wordpress and having my own domain name. I believe it's a pretty good day to officiate my new website on Valentine's Day Eve. The new website project took me few days to set it up as it does not consist only a single Wordpress blog, but two! One is for my personal blog and another is for my photo gallery. Both of them are linked via the main page at www.benjaminbecktg.com.

I'd always wanted to have my own web domain for quite sometime and finally I did it. If it weren't for those awesome templates out there, probably the setup would take much longer as just tweaking and re-styling of template itself took quite substantial amount of time. Thanks to those templates, I do not have to code from scratch but to re-style it to my liking.

This will be my last post in Bowdacious-B. I will be starting to update new posting on my new blog (blog.benjaminbecktg.com) and gallery (gallery.benjaminbecktg.com). Photo Gallery is pretty much near empty as I require some time to update my stock photos. Of course, I won't be posting anything new soon as there is still minor tinkering work needs to be done on my website.

So, that's all folks. I take this opportunity to wish you guys and gals out there a Happy Valentine's Day :)

Macro Session at Bukit Tinggi

2011-01-09T11:46:00.000+08:00

8th January 2011 - Notably it's my first photography outing for the year, I had spend my time with my former colleagues on this outing. We went to Botanical Garden in Bukit Tinggi for some macro, and the weather was awesome. It was cold all the time and throughout the shoot we didn't even break a sweat!

Thanks to CJ for borrowing me his Raynox DCR-250, I was able to get a further close up to the subject on my Minolta 50mm f/1.7 lens for most of the shots. Yet, most of the pictures below are 25-50% crop for further close up. Here are some of my picks for the day. Do correct me if I got some of the bug name wrong.

Bee

Assassin Bug

Giant Ant

Green Moth

Harvestman

Ant Mimic Spider

Katydid

Ant Mimic Spider (this is about 75% crop)

Weevil

I really love the color output of the Sony Alpha 580 as these shots are shot in Jpeg and minor post processing is done mainly in cropping. However, after processing a few images... I would love to own a Macro lens to reduce the crop percentage I did for these shots. Hmm, Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 or Sony 100mm f/2.8 Macro?

Semenyih Dam and Tekala Falls

2010-12-18T17:13:00.000+08:00

18th December 2010 - After many weeks of delay, I finally make my trip to one of the waterfall in Hulu Langat. This round of trip consist only me and CJ, while the rest of the guys had their reasons for not making an appearance. We change our plan to visit the Semenyih Dam and Sg. Tekala Falls, as our initial plan was to visit either Gabai Falls or Congkak River.

Pretty chilling day for shooting

There's nothing much to shoot in Semenyih Dam but the mountain mist, and an attempt to make water reflection on the lake. The series of photos is mainly to experiment on what the Light Craft Workshop ND500 Filter can do. Needless to say, most of the pictures are taken with the aid of Manfrotto PROB190X Tripod.

I couldn't find any good foreground, only yellow flower

Non HDR Version

In camera HDR with minor post processing

The in-camera HDR functionality of Sony Alpha 580 does it's work pretty well. The photo turns out quite good with only minor adjustment of color contrast in post processing. Next stop is Sg. Tekala Falls. The entrance fee to the waterfall cost only RM 1.

At f/13, 30 seconds, ISO 100

I'm beginning to appreciate the use of ND500 Filter

My favorite shot of the day

Tree root as leading lines!

I can't say that's all for the waterfall. I had not explore deeper due to the time whereby there's too picnickers around as I wouldn't want ghosting in my photos :D For picnickers/campers, the place is quite well kept.

Consolation Roar

2010-12-12T21:23:00.002+08:00

12 December 2010 - Today I participated in the Zoo Photography Outing organized by Sony Malaysia and Studio Zaloon. The last Zoo Outing I join was the Melaka Zoo Challenge and got home empty handed. This year however, I won something :) A consolation prize together with 9 other participant, of course the better ones got on the top three which isn't me.

The event starts at 10:30am which begins with the registration, however everything didn't go on smoothly as the briefing starts about 11:30am. Our shooting begins at 12:00pm and end at 14:30pm. Unsure of what to shoot, I along with CJ and Kenneth went to look for some cats to shoot. I spend quite a lot of time shooting these cats and took quite an amount of pictures to get this Lion shot right.

My consolation prize shot

Thanks to the Sigma 170-500 APO lens that i borrowed from CJ... It's very heavy lens! I manage to get an up close shot and won myself a consolation prize Sony LCSWR1AM/B Wrapping Cloth. Both CJ and Kenneth won the same prize as well. I'm very happy as this is the first time I won something from Photography :D

One thing I learn from this outing, you don't need to have a long telephoto zoom lens to get a winning shot. Some of the guys who participated in this outing was able to capture stunning shots with just an ordinary kit lens!

Tough to be 'Good Person'

2010-12-07T10:16:00.001+08:00

6th December 2010 - Went to Ministry of Foreign Affair to get myself certify as a Person of Good Conduct. Here's the snapshot of the Certificate issued by the Government of Malaysia, who finds me to be a Person of Good Conduct based on the statutory declaration dated on 6th December 2010.

To apply as to be a good people of Malaysia, it's a tough process as you are being tested on your patience very much. Here's my guide for those who would require to apply for such certificate based on my experience.

1. Read the requirement at Malaysia Official Portal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Basically here is what you need:-

Fill in the Application Form for Certificate of Good Conduct. Best to download the form instead of having the thought in getting the form at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
Prepare 2 recent passport size photographs.
Prepare 2 certified photocopies of Identification Card (IC) both sides on the same page.
Prepare 2 certified photocopies of password contain details of you (first and last page).
Bring along your original Passport and IC.

My Lesson: I forgot to make photocopies of my passport last page and I had to run around looking for a photocopy machine. I went to the Mamak Stall inside the Immigration Office Food Court to get it photocopied.

2. Drive to Putrajaya early to the Palace of Justice to certify your documents:-

Make sure you arrive by 9:00 AM.
Go to 2nd floor to check if the counter is open, and ask if the person in charge is available to certify your documents (photocopies of Passport & IC).
If you have to wait for the person in charge to come in, just wait. Do not go elsewhere to process your document verification.
Prepare small change, each photocopies that need to be certify for it's authenticity cost RM 2. In this case, the total is RM 8.

My Lesson: I was told that I can verify the docs at MoFA; but when I reach there, I was redirect to Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN). Arrived at JPN and there's two reception says document are verified at Registrar of Marriage... What the!!? Are you serious!!? There's too many people there so not bother trying and I went to the Good Conduct (Kelakuan Baik) counter, was told by them that JPN can only do IC verification, and Passport requires you to go to Immigration for verification. I decided to go back to Palace of Justice to do the work since they can verify both document. Hence, do wait at Palace of Justice... you can't find any good help but long faces in any other place. Surprisingly, the people at Palace of Justice are friendly and provide their service with a smile :)

3. With all your required document certified. Drive to MoFA:-

Do make sure you get a visitor pass from the security guard.
Do make sure you pasted your IC on the Application Forms.
Do get your number at the reception, they will check and arrange your form.
Wait for your number, process your application, and make payment of RM 20.

My Lesson: I bypass the 1st level security guard and almost got myself kicked out by the 2nd level security guard.

There you have it... As a Good Person :) Here I share my experience in getting yourself Certified as a person of Good Conduct in a painless way.

Ends with a Rawr!

2010-11-30T16:33:00.004+08:00

30th November 2010 - Finally I ended my long streak of 4 years 5 months working in the same firm, and today is my last day. It's been a roller-coaster ride from being a staff of one of the best employer (in Malaysia) back in July 2006; 2 years later... was transitioned to a Global IT company and then being acquired by another large Global IT Company within the same year itself.

Custom Made Card and Masterpiece Grimlock as Farewell Gift

It has been fun experience working in multiple huge Multi-National Company under the same umbrella with many great colleagues. Although it feels hard to leave after being accustomed with the culture and people here, but I know I need to move to continue crafting my own future. Truly looking forward to this new challenge and start a new phase of my career.

It's been quite a while I bought myself a Toy Collectible, and this Masterpiece Grimlock is my first after more than 3 years. Thank you guys and gals for the Otaku gift:) Rawr!

Putrajaya Sun Sad

2010-11-26T00:49:00.001+08:00

25th November 2010 - Headed to Putrajaya with CJ and Loke for some sunset shots. It was a photography outing failure due to heavy down pour. Saimatkong's Apple iPhone 4 did provide a weather prediction that it will rain in the evening... We didn't believe it, and it did start to rain in the evening.

Long 30 second exposure test shot

I didn't manage to capture much but only 2 shots. First shot was a test shot without the Light Craft Workshop (LCW) ND500. This is the second shot using the LCW ND500 on the Konica Minolta AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4.0, with the settings of 30 second shutter speed, Aperture f/9.0, ISO 400, and at 17mm focal length which gave a slight barrel distortion. Didn't manage to try BULB mode due to heavy rain after my second shot :(

From Ten to Sixteen

2010-11-03T23:12:00.003+08:00

3rd November 2010 - Got myself a new camera today. Well, it's not a huge upgrade but at least there is many improvement over the previous model I had. Here I present you the Sony Alpha 580 finally in my hands. The camera cost me at the street price of RM 2350 (with free Sony High Speed Memory Stick).

The Sony Alpha 580

What I like about the Sony Alpha 580 in comparison to the Sony Alpha 300 doesn't have?

16 Megapixel
15 Auto Focus Point
ISO 25,600
Sweep Panorama / 3D Sweep Panorama
Full HD Movie recording
Accept both Memory Stick and SD Card

Of course there's two main things which I like about Alpha 300 compare to the new Alpha 580. That is the weight of Alpha 300 which makes the grip/handling more balance than the Alpha 580; and the body build of the Alpha 300 seems tougher than the Alpha 580. The feel I had when holding the Alpha 580 in hand is like holding a Canon EOS 550D but with better grip. Nevertheless, I'm very excited with this purchase and probably would only write a short review if I had the time for it :)

50mm Outing at Bangsar Night Market

2010-11-01T00:32:00.005+08:00

~~31st December 2010~~ 31st October 2010 - I had a photo outing today with Ernest and Lord Twiggie. Since we are shooting at the night market, the best lens for the job in my bag would be the Minolta 50mm f/1.7. I've restricted myself in using the 50mm throughout the whole shoot and without the aid of flash.

My favorite shot of the day

What do you expect in a typical Malaysian night market? People of course! The whole series of this photo blog contain mostly people.

Ang Moh lady

Satay seller

A failed shot, she smiled as she expected to be photographed.

Color contrast

Given the chance, I would want a Wide Angle for this shot

Dai Gao Min / Ma-Chang Koay maker

Playing with her mobile phone while on the job

Very busy uncle making Popiah

Mother and Son outing

Father and Son outing

Who says 50mm is only for close up shots?

After using the Minolta 50mm f/1.7 prime lens for many shooting occasions, I really appreciate the range, the f-stop, and the low price of the lens that offers. It's true that 50mm prime lens is a great and affordable lens to have for all DSLR owners. Some photographers would say 50mm is only meant for Full Frame cameras, however I do not concur with this statement. How you utilize the range is up to your own creativity. These pictures are fresh from camera with minor color adjustment.

Paul Camera Straps

2010-10-31T14:45:00.002+08:00

No major purchase from Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival this time but got myself a cheap yet nice looking camera strap by Octopus. Compare to the Sony Alpha camera strap which comes with my Sony Alpha 300, this is much more comfortable. It cost me only RM 10 during the fair (cost around RM 35 in local retail store).

The Octopus Flexi Neoprene Camera Strap

Yes, Paul The Octopus is announced dead few days ago. Thus, this new camera strap shall be attached to my camera as a tribute to the 8-legged creature whom stole the spotlight during the recent World Cup. Coincidentally, the strap has the word Germany on it :)

Crab Island

2010-10-17T17:03:00.004+08:00

16th October 2010 - Made my very first visit to Scab Island... I mean Crab Island (also known as Pulau Ketam in Malay). The Island is located in Selangor and accessible via Ferry services at Port Klang. Woke up pretty early, about 5:30am to meet up with the rest of the group and started our KTM ride from Sentul Station. The Fare from Sentul to Port Klang is approximately RM 4.80 per way, and the journey took about an hour to arrive.

Our ferry by the pier

Arriving at Port Klang, we had a quick breakfast and went to make our ticket purchase for the ferry. The ferry ticket with return cost RM 14 (RM 7 per direction). The pier is just beside the Port Klang KTM Station, it shouldn't be hard to find. Kevin was checking out the Ferry while the rest of us snapping away randomly around the area, we boarded the ferry once the ferry is near full.

Village at Crab Island

Arrived at Crab Island for the first time gives the impression of a typical fisherman's village. Apart from taking the ferry, we can actually opt to rent a boat/speedboat in the case we did not want to follow the scheduled ferry time. First we meet the local marketplace, it's a very small market align in a road.

Fish Skinning

Motorized Cart?

This is one of the few things that runs on motor. It's pretty creative, all he has to do is accelerate and he just steer while the cart moves. You don't see this at all in KL! There's no sign of motorcycle in the vicinity; everyone is on bicycle, which is their primary mode of transportation within the island. Pretty green, eh?

Fruit Seller via the Minolta 50mm f1.7

The villages past time activity

Common fisherman's home backyard

TM Net is here

No surprise, TM Net is here as well. Wifi services are spotted available at Hotels only from my observation. Despite lacking in computer technology (no shop sighted), I believe the youngsters here do keep up with the Internet?

Human doormat?

The people here were too carefree, up to the level that they can just sleep on their home doorstep!

Well maintained. Looks like newly painted.

That's a huge bird feeding dish on the right!

Don't play play. Even it's just a fisherman's village, most of the houses here has this Satellite dish look a like! I wonder if that's their Satellite broadband or TV Channel? Only 2 or 3 houses spotted having Astro.

Slow shutter via Light Craft Workshop ND500

I ended my photo session with my newly acquired Light Craft Workshop ND500 screwed on the lens thread with camera mounted on a tripod. It's probably the only shot on tripod, and boy oh boy the sun was very bright... thus, bringing a tripod is almost useless. Click here to view more of my crab island shots via Flickr.

Aye City

2010-09-26T22:52:00.000+08:00

25th September 2010 - I had made my second attempt to visit I-City located in Shah Alam. The first attempt was unsuccessful with my colleague due to heavy down pour, and the second attempt was with school friends Big Head and Lord Twiggie; had a little lucky as the down pour stops when we reach the place.

i-City

It seems the rumors are true that there is two entry point, one require you to pay RM10 for entrance and the other entrance require you to pay only RM5. My visit this round was to pay RM10 per vehicle.

Rows of fake trees

Many says it's a nice place to take photographs but I don't think that's the case. The huge crowd makes photography much difficult as you aren't worry about ISO noise but human noise instead! It's not a place whereby you can hang around every month but perhaps once in a long while.

It ain't autumn

There's fake fireworks

Glowing forest

Muddy reflections

Colorful walk path

Sparkling Emerald Green

The bokeh of classic Minolta 17-35 f/2.8-4.0

Overall, I-City is worth a SINGLE visit for photography. To be frank, I got bored after 30 minutes of shooting and ran out of ideas. I did took some weird funny shots experimenting with slow shutter with flash. The results were quite nice though, didn't post it up though as it's a portrait picture of my friends. Try do a random panning and zooming, it's fun experimenting :)

An Everyday Lens

2010-08-14T16:57:00.003+08:00

I recently had a new lens added to my collection. It's the Canon Zoom Lens EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM. Believe it or not, it's a very useful lens.

Canon Zoom Lens EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM

All my existing lenses rely on in-build body Image Stabilizer. For the Sony Alpha, it's called Super Steady Shot or Steady Shot Inside for the newer models. This is my first lens with the word Image Stabilizer stamp on it.

My very first lens with Image Stabilizer

The size of this lens is bigger than the Konica Minolta AF 28-75 f/2.8 lens, not to mention that it's way lighter in weight, and cheaper too!

Compared with the Konica Minolta AF 28-75 f/2.8

Of course, it's not a real lens but a mug. Although it can't be use as a daily walk around lens, but it serve as a everyday morning lens. Now, that's a lens which you have to won't worry about drowning it :)

Canon Lens Mug

You can get buy this mug at Amazon which sells two type of Canon replica lenses. My copy was obtained directly from China which can be found in local forum. I can't tell whether mine was a replica, or a replica's replica, or a replica's replica's replica, or...

Last day of Twenty Eight

2010-08-05T21:26:00.002+08:00

Today marks the final day of my age number 28th year. I taken a day of from work to rejuvenate myself due to hectic work cycle ever since I wore the brand HP. A few additional days off will probably help in recollecting my strength and enthusiasm in continue what I am currently doing now at work.

Time Bomb?

This shot was taken at a local Chinese restaurant in Kepong while having mix rice for lunch. The clock was not an interesting object to the owner, but to the eyes of certain individual... it brings attention. When I first saw this clock, I thought it looks like a Time Bomb. It reminds me of the random objects I shoot while on the street.

It's been more than two years I got myself a D-SLR. Remembering back in those days, both me and Andrew running around the streets with our gear conceiving exposures trying to improve our composition techniques. Andrew was much more experience photographer back then and I was a newbie. Now he's a Professional and has been venturing and providing services in Weddings & Portraits Photography for about a year now. Time flies...

Come to think of it, I have not been taking much picture of late. Hope on my first day of Twenty Nine onwards, I would have more opportunity to take more picture and write more as well.

What's NEX?

2010-06-06T13:46:00.010+08:00

4th June 2010 - So what's NEX? It's none other than the compact V-DSLR or mirrorless camera by Sony which was unveiled sometime last month. Without much introduction required, many photo enthusiast would have already heard of the NEX System. I was pretty excited when Sony extend the invitation to end users like me to check out the NEX Launch Event held at Teeq Brasserie, Lot 10. Obviously there are many photo enthusiast were invited besides the Press.

DSLR Quality in your hands

The tag line for the launch "Creativity changes the Everyday". NEX stands for New E-mount eXperience. Here are some pics of the NEX taken at the event itself. I didn't manage to bring an SD Card to snap several sample pics produce by the NEX for personal use, but scouring the Internet for samples is not difficult if you ever needed one :)

Here's the dismantled version of the NEX-5

The skeleton of NEX-5

The Exmor APS-C HD CMOS Sensor which brings DSLR Image Quality photos.

Structure of the NEX-5

The brain of the camera, powered by with Bionz processor.

The NEX-5

The mock up of E-mount Handycam

This is the mock up of Sony's future Handycam products which will allow you to utilize all the E-mount lenses which is currently build for the NEX system.

Mock up of the E-mount 18-200 Lens. It's larger than SAL 18-250.

E-mount 16mm Pancake Lens with Ultra Wide Angle to Fish-eye Converter.

The NEX-5 in Silver.

The NEX-3 in Red for the ladies.

The NEX-5 with E-mount to A-mount converter with SAL 70-400G SSM attached.

Currently Sony has a promotion for the Sony NEX-5 Body + 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS Lens priced at RM 2699. For the first 150 customer would get a free 8GB Card, 2 years extended warranty and workshop classes. The combo of NEX-5 + 16mm F2.8 Pancake would cost lesser, and the NEX-3 would cost even lower!

Personally, I would go for the combo Sony NEX-3 Body + 16mm F2.8 Pancake lens. Not only this combination cost the least in price, but having a wide range of 16mm is a comfortable range for group shots, street shooting and the size of the lens which comfortably allow me to slip the camera with lens attached into my pocket compared to the 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS Lens; and lowest aperture value of F2.8 helps a lot in low light condition despite the NEX having great ISO performance.

Besides, I do not need the Full 1080p HD video produced by the NEX-5, 720p HD video would suffice my needs. Click here for more pics of the NEX system.

Jarren Tham's 1st Birthday

2010-02-07T00:24:00.004+08:00

I was invited to Victoria's son 1st birthday party celebration on the 9th January 2010. The party took place at McDonalds Restaurant, Center Point Damansara. Of course, Andrew was invited as well as the photographer for the event. I was there to help out Andrew a little and also to earn some experience in shooting a party.

Jarren & Victoria

Knowing that the majority of the crowds would be parents with their child of less than two year old, I try to restrict myself from using flash. Here are some of my picks.

Give the kid a balloon, you'll get a series of nice shots.

Playing with balloon #1

Playing with balloon #2

Playing with balloon #3

Playing with balloon #4

It's a father and son moment.

In mom's comfort hands when things go wrong... why?

Because of one naughty big bully friend

Some friend isolates themselves enjoying Happy Meal

While some are shy to say 'Hi'

It's your Birthday!

Confused super hero... Ultra-Spidey?

Of course, it all happens here

One of his favorite cartoon character

The Thams

Punching the air

Reserve for party

Believe it or not, all shots are done with just the Minolta 50mm f/1.7 on a APS-C camera body throughout the event. Anything wider than a 50mm focal length, Andrew got it covered:)

Dance Charity Concert 2009 @ MaTiC

2010-01-24T00:04:00.000+08:00

About a month ago, I was invited by Andrew to join him for a children dance concert shoot. Little did I know, it turn out to be a huge production. It was conveyed to me that the dance concert is going to be the parents coming by to watch their children performed. We were wrong and surprised by the event simplicity yet professionally organized.

[ the main hall in Malaysia Tourism Center ]

There are a number of professional photographer present as well whom lend their hand to capture memories of the events. I was pretty much worried that I might be an obstacle to the pros but in the end I enjoyed myself. It pains me that I didn't have the proper equipment and my best low lighting lens (the Konica Minolta 28-75 f/2.8) gave AF focus hunting when zoomed out to 60mm and above. Tsk tsk tsk... my bad. Yet, I'm quite happy that I managed to capture some sharp shots with manual focusing.

Without much prior experience in Dance Concert Photography, here are some of my favorites; and yes, they coincidentally have a column of Belly Dancers with Traffic Light colors!

The HP mini 311-1002TU

2009-12-13T22:06:00.013+08:00

Finally got myself a Netbook after searching for the right one which took me quite sometime. For months I am looking for a suitable Netbook and decided to go with the HP mini 311-1002TU. I do not own a Notebook nor a Desktop, hence this Netbook will be my primary machine.

Those who knows me may wonder, for a power hungry person like me; why did I choose to purchase a Netbook? My answers: Size, weight, and portability.

Look at the size compare to it's sibling, the HP Compaq6910p.

Not much difference in thickness, though I wish it could be as slim as the Asus Aspire Timeline.

Why did I choose the HP mini 311-1002TU? The specification of course! If not mistaken, this is the very first Netbook in the market powered by nVidia ION, which makes graphic performance on this Netbook superior compare to the other Netbook in the market. Apart from that, this Netbook runs on DDR3 RAM while the rest still runs on DDR2 RAM. It has a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 on 11.6" HD BrightView screen, and there's a HDMI Port as well!

The package of this notebook comes with a HP External DVD Lightscribe burner. So you wouldn't need to make a separate purchase for a external drive.

Full specification :-

Intel Atom Processor N280 1.66Ghz
11.6" Diagonal LED HD BrightView
250GB 5400RPM Hard Disk
2048MB DDR3 SDRAM
802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVDRW with Double Layer Support
6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery
5-in-1 Digital Media Reader
Genuine Windows 7 Starter
nVidia ION with shared graphic memory
HP Webcam

On a Windows 7 Experience Index calculation, this Netbook scores :-

Processor - 2.4
Memory (RAM) - 4.7
Graphics - 4.8
Gaming Graphics - 5.4
Primary Hard Disk - 5.9

Hence, the base score is 2.4 due to Intel Atom Processor.

The Netbook is priced at RM 1799, which is quite costly but because it comes with 2GB DDR3 RAM, NVidia ION Graphic Chipset, and an External DVD Lightscribe Burner. I think it's quite okay, however I would prefer not to have the external drive for a RM 200 discount if possible. Too bad the sales person doesn't allow me to do so :(. Besides, it comes with few freebies on this purchase such as the Notebook Lock, Cleaning Kit, Headset, Mouse, Notebook Cooler, and a Notebook sleeve.

** Updated 4th January 2009 **
Replace some image with a better photo quality and there's a dead pixel on my screen! Luckily it's on the edge and not at the center of the screen. Not noticeable when browsing but visible when watching movies.

Abandon House @ Kampung Chokoh

2009-12-03T01:14:00.003+08:00

30th November 2009 - This abandon house @ Kampung Chokoh located in Serkat, Pontian Kecil, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The small village of Kampung Chokoh is situated in between Tanjung Piai and Tanjung Bin. Tanjung Piai is located at the southern most of Peninsular Malaysia.

The drive from Kuala Lumpur to Pontian Kecil took a rough 4 hours. My ride for this journey is a Toyota Vios, smooth drive and fuel economy. The journey to south primarily was to attend my cousin sister's wedding dinner; since there is an opportunity for me to visit around in my free time hence the visit to the abandon home.

Modern car meets old abandon home.

This humble home, belongs to my grandfather whom I never had a chance to see since birth, was abandon for years. If my memories serves me right, it would be an estimate of 10 years.

The classic wooden door with metal railings.

All locked up. Too bad that we forgot to bring the keys, access to inside the building is not possible at the moment. I and my brothers had a "Resident Evil" feel, thought of kicking the door to make a path. But, we didn't do it.

The pathway from the front to the back of the house. I remember there's plenty of greens in between, it seems that the greens gone dead with the place.

Torn down, and yet there is no access inside the home. Plenty of village dogs use to hang around this spot, now there is none.

I manage to peek through one of the windows. Here's the kitchen and dining area, but no longer.

I found my way to the store room as well. Ceiling seems to crashed down and looks unstable, I had to back out.

Old relics found and broken.

Place we store raw materials. The back pathway leads to the Durian Plantation which is now a Palm Oil Plantation.

Here's where we dry the coconuts and all related things we need to do with the furnace.

Vortex leads to the other world... *kidding* :)

Visit to this place has bring back memories and I am glad to have the chance for taking a few pics. I hope my next visit, probably next year I would be able to access inside the building...

Get 30 Life in Facebook?

2009-11-27T19:56:00.002+08:00

Remember the famous cheat for the classic game Contra? Try it now on Facebook after logging in.

The cheat code:-

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Enter

Once entered the cheat, scroll up and down with either your mouse or keypad. You'll see a cool screen flare across your browser while in Facebook. Hitting the refresh button will make it go away. I just learned about it, as this was suppose to be an Easter Egg addition by Facebook couple of months ago.

Legend:-

Up - Keypad Direction Up

Down - Keypad Direction Down

Left - Keypad Direction Left

Right - Keypad Direction Right

B - Letter B

A - Letter A

Enter - Enter/Return Key

Money Found, Money Given

2009-11-27T19:27:00.024+08:00

I was with my younger two brother at e@Curve looking for a PS3 game Uncharted 2, we found a stack of money valued RM250 lying on the floor in one of the game shop we visited (in between a Blue-ray video shop and 7 Eleven).

Shawn started the conversation.

Shawn : Look money!

Me : Yeah, why don't you pick it up?

Shawn : It's not mine.

Me : Then give it to the shop keeper, the customer might come look for it.

Shawn : Why don't you do it?

*I look at Mike*

Me : Hey Mike, pick that money up and give it to the shop keeper.

Mike : But it's just 10 cents!

Me : What? That's RM 200!

Mike : Oh, I didn't see that.

*Mike picked up the money and hand it over to the Shop Owner*

Mike : It was actually RM 250.

Me : It's RM 250... and 10 cents to be precise.

The Shop Owner was clueless, counting the money and asked his colleague if anyone drops it. One of them claim that it might be one of the customer whom hanging at that spot for quite a while. I hope the guy who dropped the money came back for it.

Money Found, Money Given. RM 250 is considered a huge amount, with that amount of cash:-

1. I can have couple of decent meals

2. Shawn can buy his Uncharted 2

3. Mike can get some accessories for his PSP.

Even we could have just keep the money, yet we didn't. Told my mom about this, she says I should have pocketed them instead as the Shop Owner might keep the money without returning them to the customer. True, but still it's not my money and I think it's wise to leave it with the Shop Owner. That's just me, if it's was you... what will you do?

Food : Honkee Porridge @ Damansara Uptown

2009-11-14T17:01:00.006+08:00

14th November 2009 - Made a visit to a newly opened Honkee Porridge outlet located at Damansara Uptown. The delicious Honkee Porridge is a legacy that has been passed down from one generation to another. The Honkee Porridge came from a long history since 1949; the name spans 3 generations, started with their late grandfather whom got the stall going six decades ago in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur.

The visit is not a coincidence but an appointment made with Jonas to check out Eric's newly opened Honkee Porridge outlet. The outlet is easy to locate but finding a parking spot is not an easy task. I didn't manage to snap much of the things we order as we immediately dig in when the dishes arrived due to hunger.

The table set up

Yu Diao (Yau Zhar Kwai)

For the first time I see "Yu Diao" in a menu, didn't knew it is "Yau Zhar Kwai". Maybe that's what they called it in Mandarin. New vocabulary added to my database:)

Century Egg Porridge

I ordered the Century Egg Porridge. The porridge texture is smooth, easy to swallow and digest. As for the eggs, there is nothing wrong with it. Which is a good thing.

Chee Cheong Fun with Sambal Curry

I tried this, found it a little dry, even Eric himself thinks it's dry and require some remediation. However, Jonas was really enjoying this dish. I believe it's a matter of personal taste. I think Eric would need to re-brand this as Dry Sambal Curry instead! :)

Jonas and his family gives a thumb up

As said not much pics to share, most were snapped in a hurry, and I am not a descriptive person when it comes to food for sharing. The other things we did ordered were Fish Porridge, Pork Innards Porridge, Honkee Nasi Lemak and etc. Check out the other dishes they had to offer at Honkee Porridge.

The Damansara Uptown outlet made it's opening just 2 days ago on the 12th November 2009; Besides this outlet, they have another stall opened at Lot 10, 2 days before this outlet. This two outlet are managed by the brothers, Eric & Herbert while the original Petaling Street stall is managed by their sister. Thus when you are tired of rich, oily and meaty food, do welcome a light taste of Honkee Porridge at one of these outlets.

Honkee Porridge
71 Jalan SS21/1,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Sony Alpha : Photography Talk By Zainal Halim

2009-11-08T23:40:00.006+08:00

8th November 2009 - I got to meet Zainal Abdul Halim whom is a seasoned photojournalist working for Reuters. Zainal, whom had been doing plenty of different photographic assignment in many places including The Afghan War was invited by John Shum (from Sony Malaysia) to give a Photography Talk for the Alpha community. The talk was held at Federal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

The talk starts from 1pm and it was 3 hours long; It tiring, but inspiring. From the talk itself, it clearly tells how far Zainal would go in taking good photographs. He shared all his past assignment photos, experiences, as well as explaining the do and don't as a photojournalist. His assignment photos can be found in his online portfolio. He shoots with mainly 17-35mm and 70-200mm lens. There's too much to share, and I don't know where to start.

The few key items I remember from this talk

Always look for a clean background when composing (background centric)
Look up high and look down low for interesting composition
Anticipate the flow, go a step ahead
Close up to the subject for impact
Rule of third!
Put everything into a single shot (photo for the news)

After the talk, it becomes clear to me that not everyone can be a photojournalist. It's a tough job and obviously there is no second chance in a shot. All shots done by a photojournalist are not suppose to be tempered; only a minimal exposure leveling and cropping is allowed. Risk is also a factor as a photojournalist put their lives in danger if they go on an assignment in a war zones. For that, I respect them on their bravery to tell story with actual graphics for the public.

Photo shooting session after the talk

Overall, it was a great knowledge sharing session given by Zainal. More importantly, thank you Sony Malaysia for the effort in organizing this with just a minimal fee of RM 10! Besides the inspiring talk, at the end of the session we have model shooting by the pool side. I wasn't much in a mood for shooting models, thus I head back home for a nap after taking a couple of shots:P

Food : Full House Lifestyle Store and Cafe @ NZX

2009-11-07T10:54:00.006+08:00

4th November 2009 - Coming close to 2 years, I finally manage to set foot at NZX (NieZeXui) for the first time. The much talk about NZX becoming a flea market with a concept of covered boulevard in providing a comfortable outdoor shopping experience was a little disappointing on my visit. The place is none other but a ghost town. Basement parking are blocked, lights are dim at most corners, and there isn't much shops there. I guess that explains why it gives me a spooks although there is CCTV installed within the premises! Although, I like the concept... too bad it's not lively enough, otherwise it easily bested Petaling Street.

Enough said, having heard of rumors that NZX is to be closed down for it's bad occupancy. I decided to make a visit. Though the place isn't lively; Yet there is one shop that is full of live, and that is Fullhouse Lifestyle Store and Cafe. I basically had made a dinner appointment here to check out the place. Btw, I manage to get here safely thanks to saimatkong's video map.

The menu was pretty comical with some artwork of it's own. Some of the dishes are visually illustrated via Artwork such as the Thomas's Favorite and Tracy's Favorite. For the record, these dishes are not meant for Thomas and Tracy only :) It's a set lunch that is valid from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. If I were there at that period of time, I would probably ordered them as they cost RM 14.90 and RM 16.90 respectively.

the menu

Flipping through the menu. We ordered Wok Sear Chicken Chop (RM 16.90), and Wasabi Fish & Wedges (RM 16.90) as our main dish; Soft Shell Crab (RM 10.90) as side dish; and Ice Blended Mocha (RM 9.90) and Red Grape Fruit Green Tea (RM 4.90) as drinks. There is a 5% Service Charge with no Government Tax on the final bill. Now, here's the food we ordered.

Soft Shell Crab

I'm a sucker for Soft Shell Crab and this dish is really to my liking. It comes with Wasabi Mayonnaise, but I prefer to eat it as it is. It's still tasted good with and without the mayo.

Wok Sear Chicken Chop

Tasted a little of it, quite good. The chicken is tender and juicy, I would have traded my Wasabi Fish & Wedges for this instead.

Wasabi Fish & Wedges, with Ice Blended Mocha

The Wasabi Fish is just a fish chip comes with Wasabi Mayonnaise, nothing special on this dish. In fact, I found it quite disappointing.

Red Grape Fruit Green Tea

Besides being a cafe, there's other things you can shop besides food. Things like clothing, beads, photo frame, candy, and many other souvenirs.

The interior decoration of lifestyle store

some clothes available for sale

some other things

for the ladies

One of the signature decoration of this store is the Mini, unfortunately you can't buy this :D

Full House's Mini

Full House Lifestyle Store and Cafe
Block C-G-11 Nui Ze Xui
Jalan PJU 14/41B, Ara Damansara,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Food : Otak-Otak Place @ Tropicana City Mall

2009-10-26T21:17:00.013+08:00

21st October 2009 - I never blog about food; this would be the first. Anyhow, it won't be a food review as I am not good at it:) Otak-Otak Place somewhat rekindles my childhood memories and thus my first blog entry on food place. The decoration & memorabilia at Otak-Otak place resembles the 80's design back in my childhood where I grew up. The old rusty bike, VCR tape, plastic toy soldier, oil lamp, candy, and etc.

Although it inherits some old items as decoration, the overall interior design of the place made a fusion between the old and the new. Food wise? I would say not bad at all, in fact it was quite good. I ordered the very common Teh 'O', and Otak-Otak Burger which is something new, while Irene ordered herself a Teh Tarik, Otak-Otak Dumpling, and Otak-Otak Chicken Rice.

It's a Teh 'O' comes with a biscuit.

Otak-Otak Dumplings. Crunchy on the outside and the fish paste inside complements the whole tasting experience. Best eaten while it's hot.

Otak-Otak Burger. A strange combination at first but at later stage, it was quite enjoyable with every bite.

Otak-Otak Chicken Rice. Irene ordered this, I believe it tasted good as she finished the dish.

All the stuff they have for sale.

Overall, I quite enjoy my dining experience and the surrounding decoration, it simply reminds me of my childhood memories. I had taken some picture of the decoration items and they can be viewed via my flickr.