Through CompMac's Aperture

Phuket, Thailand

2011-06-08T14:20:00.000+08:00

The island of Phuket in Thailand, famous for being a hub of foreign holidaymakers as well as one of the hardest hit areas during the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Nonetheless, life has to go on and it was more than 6 years after the tsunami that I made a trip there with my wife and her family. It was my first time being there and in this blog entry I would like to share its beautiful landscape captured through my aperture...

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens.

Spring Is Here...

2011-05-07T17:40:00.000+08:00

Spring is the time where flowers bloom and birds chirp. Can't get any bird shots so I went to take the easier one of the two...

Took these at the public garden just opposite the flat in Southsea during Spring time...

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 35 f3.5 Macro lens.

Bishop's Palace Garden, Chichester, UK

2011-05-05T16:47:00.000+08:00

Being in an overseas assignment provides the opportunity to explore small treasure troves around that country which you are in. With time at your side, mostly weekends or holidays, you get to do exploration not able when you are with a tour group or even on a short holiday.

I had the opportunity to visit Bishop's Palace Garden in a cathedral city called Chichester in the UK.

It was the start of spring time and some of the flowers are blooming. However, it was not as colourful as I expect it to be. Maybe my timing was not ideal but I tried my best to make the most out of this visit with some pictures that I took below.

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 35 f3.5 Macro, ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II and Helios 44-2 58 f2 lenses.

Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge, UK

2011-04-15T01:04:00.001+08:00

It's been a while since my last blog entry. There was not much photoshoot being done and I was in the midst of relocating to UK temporarily. However, there is no setback in making full use of the opportunity of being in another country, which is why I grabbed the chance to visit this excellent location after getting to know of it from a colleague.

Mercedes-Benz World is basically a massive Mercs dealership like what you can find in Naza World. However, besides having all the greatest and latest Mercs cars on display for sale, it has its own tracks for racing, driving & off-road experience and as well as providing services for kids to learn how to drive.

It is also a Mercs museum. It houses the first Mercs ever built until the supercars of today. There are even a few F1 cars on display.

On the day of the visit, a special exhibition was being displayed there. It was the F1 Exhibition featuring an exploded view of a real F1 car. Basically an F1 car was dismantled to each individual part and then hung at the display area.

Besides the cars and the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to be in an AMG powered Mercs either as a passenger or a driver on the track. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is also available for hire. It is an experience not to be missed. It was great fun being swung around in an AMG S63 Saloon.

If you ever are in the UK around London and love cars, do try and drop by this location. Did I forget to mention that entrance is FREE? More information about Mercedes-Benz World can be found at its official website and its location on Google Maps here.

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lenses.

Angel T @ Thean Hou Temple

2011-02-12T03:48:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the delayed posting as I was in the transition of being posted overseas for an assignment. However, please find below the introduction of Angel T.

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lens and FL-50 external flash.

Ice T @ Thean Hou Temple

2011-01-27T18:52:00.000+08:00

As Chinese New Year (CNY) approaches, out goes the ferocious Tiger and let's welcome the cute Rabbit, I would like to post a recent portrait shoot I took at Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur with the rest of the MyChiaroscuro members. Every year during CNY, it will be lighted up with lots of lanterns and for this year some nice miniature landmarks.

There were 2 models for the photoshoot. First up I would like to introduce to you the cool Ice T (pun intended) while I will introduce the other in the next blog post. The photoshoot was conducted in the morning but the sky was cloudy and gloomy that day. Enough talk, let's get on with the pictures...

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lens and FL-50 external flash.

Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS) 2010 - The Show Part 3

2010-12-09T19:08:00.001+08:00

Lastly, let's take a look at what Hall 4 and Dewan Merdeka have offered to the visitors of KLIMS 2010. In Hall 4, there were 2 major car manufacturers which basically took up the whole hall. They are Mitsubishi and Hyundai. A small corner of the hall lies the FAKE batmobile. Sorry that there will no picture of that batmobile as it was not even worth a click.

Mitsubishi showcased 2 concept electric vehicles besides the already launched Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback and ASX crossover.

Hyundai also showcased a concept car, which ironically looks quite similar in concept, to Perodua's Bezza. Both have standard front doors with sliding back doors. Hhhhmmm...

Lastly in Dewan Merdeka, it is the heart of the green theme for this year's KLIMS. Participants are Toyota, Lexus and Honda which showcased latest hybrids alongside their already launched models.

Well, after walking like a headless chicken for 6 hours within the vicinity of PWTC, it's time to call it a day. What do I think of this installment of KLIMS? It could be better, much better. Compared to the previous show in 2006, it's only half of what it was. Luckily, the visit ended with a bang in Dewan Merdeka, which is the best part of the visit and looks international class.

It's best to visit on a weekday as the crowd during weekends and public holidays is just pure carnage. Parking facility is limited as well unless you want to risk your car being towed by our friendly DBKL tow trucks. By the way, I saw one car being towed away while waiting for the traffic lights to turn green going into Putra Bus Station.

But the main question is, will I go again in 2014? Most probably yes, but in between, I might try to take a trip up north to Thailand for the Bangkok International Motor Show.

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens and FL-50 external flash.

Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS) 2010 - The Show Part 2

2010-12-09T18:38:00.000+08:00

Within the same Hall 1 & 2, are other manufacturers as well. Most notably on display was the yellow Bumblebee Chevrolet Camaro SS just like in the Transformers movie.

Besides that, Chevrolet also displayed it's Cruze draped in rally colours.

KLIMS 2010 has the theme of promoting green technology. In the event there were on display prototypes of vehicles designed by our local university students. One caught my attention which was from UTM.

Moving on to Hall 3 was basically a showroom for Naza Group. All the manufacturer brands on that Hall are sold by them in Malaysia. However, all the exotic vehicles are at this hall.

Enough of Hall 3, the next part will showcase pictures found in Hall 4 and Dewan Merdeka. Till the next part...

All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens with FL-50 external flash.

Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS) 2010 - The Show Part 1

2010-12-09T17:18:00.001+08:00

I was fortunate enough to have a chance to attend this event. It was supposed to be held last year but somehow its frequency was changed from 3 years to 4 years. The last event was on 2009, which I had also attended. Luckily, the ticket price remained the same. However, this year's show seems to lack quite a number of continental manufacturers such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz to name a few.

The highlight of this motor show were a real size replica of Bumblebee from the Transformers movie and also the Tumbler batmobile from the Dark Knight movie. However, the batmobile was a HUGE disappointment as it's a FAKE, not even a replica. Those to purposely went to the show for it had been duped big time!

The exhibition starts at Hall 1 & 2 after a long walk from the ticketing booth and across a river. There, you will not miss Perodua's booth on the right with the display of its concept car code named Bezza.

Sharing the same location with Perodua is Proton, which I think had the biggest booth area of this year's KLIMS. Proton showcased existing, rally, upcoming as well as concept cars. Inside Proton's area is also its subsidiary, Lotus which showcased its latest sports cars.

Proton Saga EV's engine compartment

Proton Lekir

Proton Tuah

Proton Jebat

Proton EMAS

Proton Kasturi

Proton Saga EV

Lotus Esprit

It is quite a fair performance from Proton by showing off the most number of new cars in this event. Kudos to them and the design of their booth is also well done. More will be shown in the next installment of this series as I don't want to bog down the bandwidth with too many pictures in a single blog entry.

All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lens with FL-50 external flash.

Mei Yan @ The Aperture Studio

2010-11-25T15:00:00.000+08:00

Did a promotional shoot for a beautiful part-time model at The Aperture Studio. The shoot is lighted by 2 strobes with soft box on the left and right.

The Aperture Studio is located at Bandar Saujana Putra and is available for rental. Do contact me for details.

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lens.

Bali, Indonesia

2010-11-20T23:58:00.000+08:00

I took a trip to Bali, Indonesia with mom-in-law, wife and her 2 friends end of September 2010. It was my first time there and have spent 3 nights. We stayed in Ubud, away from the bustling area of Kuta to enjoy a more relaxing trip.

We got ourselves a driver for the trip and he brought us around the island and visited a few places such as Tegallalang to view the layered paddy fields, Kintamani to view the active volcanoes of Gunung Batur and Gunung Agung as well as Danau Batur, Uluwatu, Sukawati, Tanah Lot, Royal Palace and last but not least to good food around Bali.

The weather was not that good during the trip as it was very cloudy the whole day and poured heavily at night. We only got a bit of sunshine in the morning before noon. However, the atmosphere of the trip was amazing with great location, relaxed surroundings and excellent company.

I would make another trip there again in the near future...

Kuta at night

Typical road in Bali

Layered paddy fields at Tegallalang

Side view of the layered paddy fields of Tegallalang

Luwak Coffee in green pot with other types of coffee and tea

Gunung Batur and Danau Batur

Uluwatu

Uluwatu in a different perspective

Dirty Duck

Sukawati

Offerings

Babi Guling

Royal Palace

Everybody on the trip at Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot up-close

The rest of the pics can be viewed here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens.

Look Into My Eye

2010-11-02T20:02:00.001+08:00

If only looking into its eye would make you a millionaire... For your information, the image is that of a close up of a GBP20 note.

Image taken using Olympus E-510 with ZD 40-150 f4-5.6 lens and EX-25 Extension Tube.

MyChiaroscuro Hutan Lipur Gunung Ledang Outing

2010-10-28T19:49:00.002+08:00

On the 17th of October 2010, MyChiaroscuro had its biggest outing yet. The destination was Hutan Lipur Gunung Ledang at the Melaka-Johor border in Malaysia. There was about 30 of us from all parts of Malaysia and Singapore as well. We even have a member who flew in from Sabah just to join this event!

Everyone was armed and prepared for the challenge posed by the location. Weather-sealed camera bodies and lenses, tripods and macro paraphernalia. During the trip, it was a great opportunity to enjoy what 100 million year old nature had to offer. Wonderful lush green jungles with beautiful and majestic waterfalls on the side of a mountain.

The outing started early in the morning and ended in late afternoon as most need to travel back to their respective homes. Breakfast was great with ice-breaking activities and it continued during lunch as well as this outing was huge compared to previous others. Everyone had fun, which was the most important factor, as well as picking up photography skills, poisoning each other with gears and not forgetting the wonderful natural surroundings.

And one last thing, there were 2 units of E-5 on test during the trip...

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens, ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens and off shoe FL-50 flash via FL-CB05 flash cable.

2010 Shell Advance Malaysian MotoGP

2010-10-14T13:57:00.001+08:00

I managed to attend the 20th Malaysian MotoGP year at Sepang International Circuit last Sunday. It was my first time attending a MotoGP event. I missed the Japan GT this year so I told myself I shouldn't miss this one! It was a grand affair attended by the tens of thousands.

The deafening sounds from the super bikes were like classical music to the ears. Each pull of the accelerator gives out a roar of approval from the engine via the exhaust system. The acceleration, speed and maneuver from each rider executed flawlessly and gracefully on the track.

The crowd themselves were immersed into the action. Chanting, shouting and cheering the rider they supported. Some were blowing vuvuzela like devices while some were waving flags and t-shirts. And lest not forget the throngs of photographers that day, who I am one of them.

The MotoGP race was won by #46 Valentino Rossi in a Yamaha while second place went to #4 Andrea Dovisiozo in a Honda and third place went to eventual 2010 MotoGP Champion #99 Jorge Lorenzo also in a Yamaha.

One regret I had attending this event is the absence of the going to launch Olympus E-5 which I hope to have a chance to test out. However, I armed myself with the Olympus E-3, its predecessor, and am able to capture the following photos below. I wonder how the Olympus E-5 will fare if I'm able to take these kind of photos with the Olympus E-3?

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens.

Suicide of a Fair Maiden

2010-10-07T12:17:00.001+08:00

This series was actually taken more than one year ago but I can only finish processing them now. Yeah, I know, I'm a very lazy bum! Sorry about that.

This series deals with the case of being dumped by a boyfriend after being impregnated by him. Sadly, the victim chose suicide which is the easy way out. More sadly is that this type of scenario is not uncommon.

Pictorial is cut short so as not to bombard the thread with too many photos.

This series has a green cast to the pictures and there is nothing wrong with your monitor. :p It is just to add an ambiance to the sad theme, maybe a bit ghastly too. I would like to apologise should the colours don't suit your taste.

#1 Preparing the meet up

#2 He promised to come in his text

#3 What will be his reaction?

#4 This wait is killing me...

#5 I need to take a rest

#6 I've been waiting for so long

#7 Is he gonna come?

#8 This is unbearable

#9 What am I gonna do?

#10 Why is he still not here?

#11 The decision

#12 There is no turning back

#13 The anguish

#14 The end

Thanks for spending so much time and bandwidth in viewing. The full pictorial can be viewed here. All images taken using E-510 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk I and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lenses and FL-50 flash.

Pulau Pangkor, Perak

2010-10-02T23:09:00.001+08:00

Went on a family trip recently to a less known island off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Situated nearby the town of Lumut lies Pulau Pangkor in Perak. It is not as famous as the other islands such as Langkawi, Tioman or Redang but it is a very good and affordable island getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Nothing much has changed on the island as development is kept to a minimum. However, there are some upgrade works being done on some stretches of beaches on the island. You get to enjoy lots of water activities such as island hopping, snorkeling, swimming and jet skiing. The costs for these activities are lower than those found in the other more famous islands.

As it's only about 3.5 hours drive with a 30 minute speed boat ride away from KL, it is one of the nearest island getaway destination. And lest not forget, one of the most affordable...

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens.

To Smoke or Not To Smoke?

2010-09-27T14:56:00.004+08:00

Are you gonna be fined $1000 for not smoking or for smoking? Go figure...

Look Into The Lens... Lomo Styled

2010-09-21T13:58:00.003+08:00

It's interesting what you can find when you look in front of the lens and not through it via a camera body.

Taken using iPhone 3GS with MoreLomo app.

Nelly G

2010-09-15T13:40:00.001+08:00

Set in an office environment, we had the opportunity to photograph the lovely Nelly G. No studio lighting was present and lighting was handled through the external flash in a bounced setting.

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-510 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens and FL-50 flash.

MyChiaroscuro i-City Visit

2010-09-09T15:13:00.001+08:00

Recently held a night shoot outing with the members from MyChiaroscuro at i-City, located at Shah Alam, Selangor. 5 of us were there -- Robin, Scott, Kuan Ming, my wife and I. The area was full of artificial LED trees and decorations. I was surprised by the number of people visiting that place as the night grows older.

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens.

Macro @ FRIM

2010-07-27T11:50:00.001+08:00

FRIM located in Kepong, Malaysia is the location for a macro outing held recently by MyChiarosuro forum led by member Benten. It was a great outing with fellow members Benten, simplyrobin and mwky. All armed with macro lenses and off shoe flash equipment. I do not have a macro lens so I made do with an extension tube, manual focus and lots of back ache. The effort was not wasted as I was rewarded with the pictures below.

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens, EX-25 extension tube and off shoe FL-50 flash via FL-CB05 flash cable.

National Flower

2010-07-19T14:05:00.001+08:00

Come 31st August, Malaysia will be celebrating its 53rd birthday. Therefore, it would befitting to capture our national flower, the Hibiscus, in a show of patriotism. Well, sort of.

Image taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-42 f3.5-5.6 lens.

Japan Super GT Round 4 @ Sepang International Circuit

2010-05-26T15:52:00.001+08:00

I like fast cars. I enjoy cars going at high speeds. I love everyday sports cars being on a proper race track, all modded and roaring to go. That is why I enjoy attending the Japan Super GT Round 4 at Sepang International Circuit. It is the only round outside of Japan. I've been to the event in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, it was the introduction of the Nissan GT-R (R35) while 2009 saw the last season for the Honda NSX.

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

The rest for 2008 can be found here and for 2009 can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-510 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens.

Fashion on 1 @ 1U

2010-05-20T14:07:00.001+08:00

It has been awhile since I did a fashion shoot in a local shopping complex. 2 years ago I was at 1U to shoot Fashion on 1 and got the chance to do it again this year. I have always liked 1U's stage. It is brightly lit with a combination of spotlights and natural light. And the same with previous years, they are gracious to provide photographers a platform to take pictures. This year, I travel light with minimum gears on my shoulder as I didn't bring along my big backpack. My main reason being there was shopping! :P

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-510 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens.

House of Joy Orphanage Outing @ Desa Water Park

2010-04-21T19:58:00.001+08:00

I was invited for a photo shoot session with children from House of Joy Orphanage via MyChiaroscuro forum. It was set up by a fellow member who sponsored the children a day of fun and relaxation at Desa Water Park in KL. Seven MyChiaroscuro forum members (innerzen -- host, lkm51, ashley323, dr_shivan, simpsonlow, cch11, and me) turned up for this event and joined by their friends and family.

The weather was great -- bright, hot and humid -- perfect for having a splash at the water park even though it was forecast to rain but you know how Malaysian weather forecast is, right?

It was just pure joy to see the children having fun, laughing, running, playing in the water. It makes you think how lucky you are, how perfect your life is when compared to them. One orphan caught my attention the most. A young baby barely 2 years old. She was the result of being abandoned by her parents. Life is unfair so to speak. No choice given. No choice made.

It is a great feeling to offer my time and services to them. Being a part of their joy is priceless. I would like to thank innerzen again for sponsoring them and also inviting me to be a part of this great event. This definitely will not be the last that I will attend.

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-510 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 & ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lenses and FL-50 external flash.