My Life Story..... My Passion In Photography......gadgets

Photoshop-ing Your Pictures!!

2009-08-02T21:34:00.008+08:00

It's been a week since I last posted anything. A picture is just a picture......... Well, sometimes the picture can be very nice and you really like it! But just by looking at it one by one isn't really that fun, right? What if you can combine all your favourite pictures and make it into just one picture? That'll be real cool, isn't it? That can be done using the photoshop software. I'm still learning to use the software. Bought some books on it and been reading. I'm lucky I've a few friends who are designers and they have taught me a few good tips as well...... Here are a few examples!!

This is the latest wallpaper I did.....

I tried to make the polaroid photo style......

This was my first attempt on photoshop.......

Apart from just changing the brightness or colour of pictures, the photoshop software can also rescue your pictures. Just like the example below....... the picture was taken by my sister-in-law during a wedding dinner. It was too yellow for my liking. Apart from that, the background was too complicated because everything were in focus. Using the photoshop, I could isolate the main subjects (the three of us) and make everthing else blur! Cool, huh?

This was the original photo.......

This is the final outcome......

OLD DOGS CAN'T CHANGE THEIR HABITS!!!

2009-07-25T09:22:00.003+08:00

Even after 52 years of independence, there is this stupid old man who is saying the Chinese and Indians are taking advantage of the Malays (read his stupid article here)!! It's called Kaki dalam Kasut, when it should be Kasut dalam Mulut! WTF!!! C'mon..... you got to be kidding me!!! When this stupid old man was at the helm of this country, he came out with all sorts of policies purportedly to help the Malays....... In the end, he did successfully help the Malays....... but only one certain group who are his CRONIES! I guess this stupid old man, even though he is in his eighties, CANT UNDERSTAND what the song "Man In The Mirror" means!! Pityful! But then we can't expect an OLD DOG to change his ways, can we? If the majority of the people can just make that change, then we can chuck that FOUR-LETTER-WORD (RACE) up his sorry OLD SMELLY WORN OUT ASS!! My parents were born in Malaysia. My siblings and I were born in Malaysia. Our children are born in Malaysia. Does that make us any less Malaysian just because we aren't part of a particular race? We EAT here, SHIT here, PISS here, PUKE here, SLEEP here, DIE here!!!! To this old man..... I think it's time you kick the bucket and stop bitching!!!!!! Here is to PEACE!!!

A Photographer's Best Friend....... - PHOTOSHOP SOFTWARE

2009-07-23T22:03:00.006+08:00

Picture this...... you're on your well-deserved holiday, and you're snapping pictures like there is no tomorrow. Or it's your 21st birthday and a friend is taking pictures of the moment..... or you're taking pictures of your newborn baby...... You go back, take the memory card out from the camera and upload all the pictures onto your computer and then you FAINTED!!! Oh shit..... why is the main subject so dark? Why is the picture so yellow? Why why why why??? Have these examples happened to you before? Well..... don't worry cos you're not alone!! But all is not lost...... cos the photographer's best friend is here to rescue your pictures!!! Meet the Photoshop!!! Yes Mr. Photoshop here can solve all our problems!!! Here are some examples.......

This picture was too yellow as my sister insisted on not using the flash........

After post processing (pp)........ colour is cooler

Li Zar was too dark in this picture........ no shiok rite?

Now she's brighter and the sky is blue!!!!

June-E's 1st Swim!!!! 19-7-2009

2009-07-19T20:31:00.006+08:00

After too many postponements due to work and bad weather, we decided we had to go today. We already got the ladybird's swimming costume weeks ago! The baby's float also bought weeks ago!! Wanted to go last week, but it was raining the whole Saturday and Sunday! In our eagerness, we didn't realise that at 5pm, it was TOO HOT!!! Since we already got there...... what the hell??? Just go ahead la!!! It was a great experience for June-E who was kicking furiously!! I think she enjoyed herself a lot! If not for the 2 ball bearings that got in the way under her chin, I think she would have enjoyed herself even more!! We'll go again next week, but only at 6pm to 6:30pm when the sun is about to go down!!

Cute cute ladybird and mummy..........

Back view of the swimming costume........

Before we headed to the pool, we decided to stop by the beach......

June-E's first sea water experience.......

That's the baby pool....... you can see Awana squatting there watching June-E swim!

That's the big pool...... you can see Mummy's head and Awana!!

Kick kick kick........

This is fun!!!

I'm swimming..........

Look pa...... no hands!!!

Mummy..... don't let me go!!!!

Doing the backstroke......

Am I going to sink???? Kick kick kick!!!

I'm getting tired ma!!!

Dinner at last!!!! Look..... I'm sipping water!!!!

The Bird Hotel....... - EDIBLE BIRD'S NEST

2009-07-18T19:08:00.006+08:00

Nutritional Value of Bird’s Nests

"Edible bird’s nests are actually made up of mostly saliva produced by cave-nesting swiftlets. All swiftlets construct their nests with a glutinous nest-cement produced by a pair of large, lobed salivary glands under their tongue. It is this nest-cement that constitutes the raw material of bird’s nest soup and renders the nests of A. fuciphagus and A. maximus of commercial importance.

Edible bird’s nests are glycoprotein with properties of protein as well as of carbohydrate. Its composition resembles that of salivary mucin with a high residue content of 2.5 percent. It contains 10.3 percent nitrogen and 17.4 percent carbohydrate with traces of phosphorus, asernate, sulphur and vitamin B1. The energy value per 100g edible portions is 345 kilocalories. The total protein content is about 85 percent with 0.3 percent of fat. Other minerals present are calcium and iron.

Amino acids isolated from birds` nests consist of amide, humin, arginine, cystine, histidine and lysine. The total content of mono amino acids is about 6 percent. Young Asian ladies are putting bird’s nests on their priority list in their budget to gain fair complexion and maintain youthfulness. Expecting mothers are also consuming bird’s nests for a healthy baby with perfect complexion. Bird's Nests also help to strengthen immune systems and lungs for all age groups."

I had the chance to take some pictures during the harvesting of bird's nest. It was dark inside.... I had to be careful not to fire the flash at full power so as not to scare the swiflets...... When I have the chance again, I will take pictures of the processing of bird's nest......

The 5-star hotel.....

Swiflets circling the sky.......

Up up and away..........

Checking for eggs or birdlings before scraping the nest off........

Scraping off the nest........

Another Test shot.... 5-7-2009

2009-07-18T18:29:00.003+08:00

It was a Sunday morning. Armed with new knowledge and tips in photography after last night's photoshoot with Jordan, I decided to try to take some pictures. It was time for June-E's porridge time. What great timing! Before, I used a bounce card or a DIY demb diffuser. The flash that hit the subject was too great, thus the annoying hard shadow at the back of the subject showed! Jordan told me to bounce the flash off the ceiling or walls..... That was what I did!! I used the reverse ceiling bounce mostly. Oh boy!! I was so satisfied with the outcome!!!

This picture was taken during my Mom's birthday. Notice the hard shadow at the back??

Compare to this one...... the shadow was so soft!!!

June-E looking at her porridge!!! Notice the soft shadows at the back!

Giving papa the look........ :)

Notice how evenly the flash was distributed........ June-E having some water!

June-E posing for papa......... notice how minimal the shadow was.

Great big SMILE......... happy girl!!

Happy June-E!!!!

The June-E pose.......

Another Wedding...... 4-7-2009

2009-07-18T01:03:00.005+08:00

Jordan asked me if I would like to tag along with him to photograph an actual wedding reception dinner...... I jumped at the idea. I was a bit sceptical at first.... because I know my speed is really slow!! In an actual wedding reception, if you're too slow then you're going to miss all the moments!!! He is a GREAT photographer!!! He is really artistic!!! I learnt a lot about photography from him that nite!!! He has a great flick collections! Please go and have a look!! Thanks Jordan for all the tips!!! Anyway..... here are the pictures!

Trying to be artistic........

The bridal car......

The venue.......

That's Jordan....... the one with the camera of course!!!

The groom seating the bride.......

A group picture..... I was asked by the ladies to take this picture!! Not bad, rite?? :)

Clowning around........

Popping the champagne.......

Pouring.........

Ee Chao's 3rd Birthday 23-6-2009

2009-07-18T00:40:00.004+08:00

My niece, Ee Chao, just turned 3 years old!! We celebrated her birthday at home. Ee Chao was so excited and kept jumping up and down. Before tonite, she already had her birthday bash at school. Everybody had a great time and the food was of course GREAT!!!

The birthday girl.........

The 3 siblings together.........

Singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!"

Family picture........

Everybody........ wow that's a lot of people!!! :)

FATHER'S DAY 21-6-2009

2009-07-18T00:15:00.005+08:00

It's my first time celebrating Father's Day!! Oh boy...... Suddenly promoted! Hihihihi..... We went to Trader's Hotel for the buffet. The theme was Thai food. I could safely say this is by far the worst buffet ever! Anyway, the turn out there was bad as well...... Bad for the business but good for us as we had the whole place for ourselves. I guess most people already knew it was the Thai buffet so they gave Trader's Hotel a miss which was good news for us!!

Having dinner........

See the empty tables at the back??

Yummy??? Or not yummy??

Mom and Hong Cheh posing..........

June-E In da hood.........

Making funny faces.........

Getting excited and waving hands........

Hong Cheh and June-E...........

Mom and June-E.........

Dad and June-E..........

Dad with the grandchildren..........

Mom and Dad posing.........

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!!!!!

Another Wedding...... 30-5-2009

2009-07-17T23:25:00.004+08:00

Lizar's cousin got married. We went to the wedding dinner at the Stone Bay Restaurant. As usual I kaypoh and brought my camera along..... Took some amateur pictures! So many weddings in May!! Gave angpows till broke liao!!!

Mummy and June-E........

Smiling and Happy June-E........

Say CHEEEEEEEESSEEEEE.......... What is June-E looking at??

The Bride and Groom......

Champagne pouring time........

Trying to get a little artistic.......

Yum Seng time.........

YUUUUUMMMMMMMM SEEEEENNNGGG!!!!

CHEERS.........

ANOTHER YUM SENG........

June-E's Development........

2009-07-16T19:11:00.003+08:00

I've been away from home since Monday. What I dread most is when I go back home, I won't be the first to witness June-E's new-found talent. For example, after I came back from Singapore last month, I found out that her teeth has started to come out (I've been waiting so long to see her teeth) and she started to sit. Being a father, it is sometimes hard to miss all these FIRST MOMENTS!! However, I couldn't help it as I need to be working in order to support my family and to provide a as-much-as-I-could-afford kind of comfort life. I hope June-E will understand this........

P(OLICE) D(ICK) R M(ONKEYS)

2009-07-15T19:31:00.005+08:00

What is the first thing that come to your mind when you think of the PDRM? Yes they are the biggest dickheads in the whole world!! In my opinion, anyone who joins the civil service is USELESS except for a select few such as DOCTORS, NURSES AND TEACHERS!!! These useless scums couldn't get a proper job in the private sector because they are so useless!!So in the end the government bailed them out by giving them jobs. When I was driving on the North South Highway on Monday, I came across a Police Roadblock. I was driving within the speed limit of 110km/h but I was asked to pull over. Below is the what happened.......

POLIS : IC DAN LESEN MEMANDU?

(I TOOK OUT MY WALLET AND TOOK MY IC AND DRIVING LICENSE OUT TO THE POLIS)

ME : APA KESALAHAN SAYA?

POLIS : SABAR....... BANYAK LIST KERETA

(FURIOUSLY FLIPPING HIS PAGES FILLED WITH NUMBER PLATES)

ME : WAH..... KERJA BANYAK!!! (WITH A TINGE OF SARCASM OF COURSE)

POLIS : TAK DA SINI..... OKLAH BOLEH PI

(ABOUT TO TURN AWAY)

ME : WAH..... BETUL-BETUL EFFICIENT!!!

(DROVE OFF)

WTF??!!!!!

Just piece of advice to all readers. If you ever get stopped over during a roadblock for speeding, just ask for the saman. That is what I always do and the funny thing is I've never received any on the spot..... Usually I get the "akan kirim kepada awak" excuse!!! But I never receive anything in my mailbox. So..... CHEERS to NWA for their F%@K THE POLICE SONG!!!

Serena's Wedding.... 16-5-2009

2009-07-12T23:40:00.005+08:00

And now continuing my series...... I was in Johor for a week. Our friend, Serena is getting married in a church! So I just brought my camera and anyhow shoot! My shots were no where comparable with the professional photographer, whom serena had hired! I was there to shoot for fun! Hihihihi...... Click here for the professional's shots.....

Waiting for the Bride & Groom to arrive.......

A wide angle picture of the Pulau Tikus Church.......

The Groom getting ready........

The Groom and his father.......

Here comes the Bride......

Flower girls getting ready........

In comes everybody........

Singing songs.........

Mummy...... what's going on??? I'm tired!!!!

Mummy's Birthday..... 8-5-2009

2009-07-12T23:08:00.001+08:00

Just like me, this year is Li Zar's 1st birthday as a mummy!!! We had the cake cutting first and then headed out for dinner. Since there was no one to help me take pictures (as always - can't really trust other people also - no offense :)) the picture of the 3 of us together is crooked!! Haiz!

I was lucky to get this shot!! It was so spontaneous!!

This is the problem when there is no one else to take a picture for us!!!! I got cut off! :(

Blow blow blow.......

Cut cut cut...........

June-E's 1st trip to Alor Star 3-5-2009

2009-07-12T22:59:00.000+08:00

After having her 1st solid food, we set off to Alor Star to visit my good friend, Sze How. He has just bought a new house. So we went there to see his brand new house! I didn't take pictures inside because Sze How, being the aeroplane guy, was busy and his wife was entertaining us! Anyway, here are the pictures!!

Mummy and June-E....... with the plush greenery at the back!!!

The padi field surrounding Sze How's house!!

Sze How's house......

June-E's 1st solid meal..... 3-5-2009

2009-07-12T22:29:00.000+08:00

Today is a milestone in little June-E's life!! Finally after so looooong...... she can finally start on solid food! She is not really comfortable with the baby cereal yet.... who can blame her? She was fully on breast milk before today!! And she is still on breast milk till today!!! So here are some of little June-E's facial expressions!!!

Ee Hong's 1st Birthday 5-4-2009

2009-07-12T22:20:00.001+08:00

Please forgive me for the jump in date. Since is a recollection of what has happened for the past 7months or so.... I'm bound to forget sometimes!! Anyway, there is a new guy who shares our birthday month, April...... Meet my eldest brother's youngest son, Ee Hong!!!

June-E, the ladybird - dress bought by 4th Ee, preparing for the lunch celebration of Ee Hong......

Mummy...... I'm ready!!!!

a family photo!!!

Some more test shots..... 30-4-2009

2009-07-12T21:59:00.001+08:00

These pictures are taken at the office. It was lunch time...... so we went upstairs to June-E's room. She was so happy and smiling and laughing all the time!! So sweet!!!!

say CHEEEEEEESEEEEE........

I love this picture! I entered it in the Parkson's Most adorable Baby Contest!! Still waiting for the result!

FLY FLY AWAY.......

Hok Leng's Birthday 4-4-2009

2009-07-12T21:48:00.001+08:00

Two days after my birthday is Hok Leng's birthday! 16 days later is my 2nd brother',Hong Leng's birthday. I don't know how my parents arrange that! Yup the 3 of us have our birthdays in April! Well..... here are some pictures for you guys to see!!

family photo.....

PUFF... PUFF... PUFF...

PHEW........ FINALLY BLEW OUT ALL THE CANDLES!!!

My 33rd Birthday 2-4-2009

2009-07-12T21:35:00.001+08:00

This is the first time I'm celebrating my birthday as a father! You can say that I "sudah naik pangkat" (literally means got promoted). Yup.... I'm a father to an adorable little girl! June-E is now in her 5th month. Yes time really flies! She's healthy!! She's really hyper!!! She's my little girl!

family photo........

papa blowing out the candles....... tiring!!!

Mom's Birthday 6-3-2009

2009-07-12T21:03:00.000+08:00

It's Mom's birthday. It's been awhile since there were so many people at home to celebrate with her!! This year, there were additional 4 people (Ming Leng, Arthur, Bowen and June-E) who join in the celebration. If only Hong Leng and Jessica were back, then it would be a complete family!! For that to happen would be a very difficult task as 1 is in USA and another 1 is in China! I really hope that will happen very soon!! Cos it has been quite some time since everybody is around!! The last time was during Hong Leng's wedding 31-5-2008.

The 3 Rats looking at something of interest......

a family photo..........

say CHEEEEEESEEE......

PUFF.... PUFF... PUFF....

June-E's 1st trip to Kuala Lumpur..... 1-3-2009

2009-07-12T20:41:00.000+08:00

Ming Leng and Arthur have to apply a visa for Bowen at the Chinese Embassy. So, we have to make a trip to KL. We were quite anxious as we were not sure whether if June-E can stand the 3.5hours trip by car. In the end, she was ok...... We had a great time!!! However, we didn't go to all the attractions in KL.

Mummy and June-E......

having late lunch at KFC at the Sungai Buloh Bridge Restaurant......

What is that Mummy???!!!!!!

Oh boy..... this feels so much better than the one at home!!!!

Mummy preparing June-E for her sleep.....

preparing to check out......

More test shots.......... 18-3-2009

2009-07-12T20:07:00.000+08:00

After using this lens for awhile, I felt that it is good enough for me. It is razor sharp!!! It can cut through your eyes!! Hihihihihii........ Although the max aperture is only 3.5 at 16mm and 4.5 at the long end (80mm), if you have an external flash then everything will be fine!!

June-E sleeping on her playmat......

June-E sitting on Xiao Ku's breastfeeding pillow.......

June-e putting on her best smile for papa........

Mummy and June-e posing for papa.........

Carl Zeiss 16-80 3-2-2009

2009-07-12T12:40:00.000+08:00

In photography, there is a dreaded term called poison!!! What it means is just that!! Not the kind of poison that kills you literally but the kind of poison that can KILL your pocket (or wallet in that sense)!! You see...... whenever there is a gathering between amateur photographers, there will be talks on gears!! Yes gears!!!! Then you get to see what this particular gear can do and you sort of fall in love with it (being poisoned!!) For me, I've been using the kit lens for awhile...... it is not the sharpest lens nor is it the worst lens. But I was being poisoned by the Carl Zeiss' cheapest lens. In the end, my poison shield failed me. Ordered the lens and got it today..... Here are some test shots!!!

The 16mm-80mm Carl Zeiss comes with a beautiful pouch and a petal shaped hood!

See how vibrant the color is........

The bokeh-ness isn't anything to shout about as it is only a 3.5 at its max!!

June-E, the model, sleeping peacefully.......

3RD DAY CHINESE NEW YEAR 28-1-2009

2009-07-11T16:42:00.000+08:00

By this time of the year, June-E started to smile and laugh a lot...... I managed to take some shots at her smiling and laughing!! Being a photographer has its setbacks..... namely you don't get to be in the picture most of the time, if not all!!! I brought along my tripod and set it up and there you have it - a great family photo!! Enjoy!!!!