Whilst plucking chilled grapes in the kitchen, a pretty damn old song was aired.
The chorus went like this:
“I do cherish you
For the rest of my life
You don’t have to think twice
I will love you still
From the depths of my soul
It’s beyond my control
I’ve waited so long to say this to you
If you’re asking do I love you this much
I do…”
From 98 degrees, a beautiful potential wedding song for the reception, would I like it?
I do!
Ever since I was 13 years old, I use to see advertisements of Ball watches at the bottom of the first page of the Singapore’s Straits Times newpaper and I’ve never understood why people would want a watch like that.
Given that, at that time, my vocabulary and knowledge of watch brands wasn’t so colorful, I didn’t really expect Ball to be a brilliant performer of a watch. The only brand I knew back then was Rolex, and even then, I use to wonder why would old men fork out tens of thousands of dollars on a watch that looks “fugly”…
I had no knowledge of Swiss movements and any of those fancy watch language back then, and even now, I don’t. But at least I do understand what the terms means.
In 2010, after the passing of my father, my heart went in search of something that could last through time, to be a momento of my father’s passing.
With the money on hand that I was willing to spend, I’ve could have gotten a wardrobe of Fred Perrys or a few silly Fossil watches.
It wasn’t long after I decided that I wanted a high quality, and well built Swiss made watch. My search went online and I found a brand called Luminox. Designed in America and Swiss made, I found it the perfect combination of “cross-breeding” yeah though some may detest the idea of an American company, designing watches, I chose to believe in the strength and integrity of the Luminox and went ahead with my first ever Swiss made watch.
What got me really interested in their watches in 2010, was that they had gas tubes and glowed a hundred times brighter than normal glow in the dark markers.
This watch was from the air family, tittled the F-117 Night Hawk 6401, it was comissioned by Lockheed Martin, and had a picture of the F-117 Night Hawk engraved on to the stainless-steel-screw-down-back, by laser.
A stainless-steel body with a PVD coating, the watch is really tough and I’ve worn it where ever I went.
Sure some do say, for that price, the watch wasn’t worth it, given that it runs on battery and that it’s only a Swiss quartz movement, for a little more, I could have gotten a simple Ball watch.
But I fell in love with this watch on sight and I’ve never gone back on my decision to buy it. It became a fitting gift, to be a momento of my father’s passing. And I’ll forever treasure it as my first ever Swiss made watch.
In 2011, on Valentines day, I went with my girl friend to buy my first ever Ball watch. Originally, I intended to buy the Ball Master Engineer Diver, but a few months back, a new Ball Master Engineer Diver World Time was released, and it had Guillaume Nery wearing a flipper engraved onto the back of the watch.
With it’s ability to tell the world time after setting the watch, I decided to buy this instead. And on Feburary 14th, 2011, I wore my first ever Ball watch. What made it even more special, was that my beloved baby was there with me to help me decided on which color to get!
Our first Valentines day turned out to be the first day she bought a watch, together with me, and that won’t be the last ;)
After wearing it for a few days, I made a vow to never buy any other watch from any brand, other than from the listed brands as follow, Ball, Panerai, Bell & Ross and Luminox.
The next on my hit list, is this Ball Master Engineer Diver Chronometer.
Following that, if this is still in stock, is the Ball Master Engineer Diver TMT. Though I do not have much hope for this as it is a limited edition watch and limited to only 2006 pieces.
I’m a big fan of the Ball Master Engineer Diver series and I love their simple designs with the colored accents. So after the Ball Master Engineer Diver TMT, is the Ball Master Engineer Diver! The original Ball I fell in love with, I simply must have it!
Sure it may look similar to the Ball Master Engineer Diver Chronometer, but it isn’t! I love detail in watches, and the Chronometer version has things the original diver doesn’t.
And there you have it, my Ball watch hit list, starting from 2011, to well… We’ll see haha!
I started getting into photography about 4 years ago, and bought my first digital SLR when I was 16, at an IT fair. I remember looking at the D40 back then, and it cost $1200 SGD.
I wasn’t paying for it, so I didn’t expect much, my mom said to get the cheapest and see where it went from there.
So I chose the D40 and was pretty happy with it. Unfortunately I didn’t inform my dad about the purchase and he wasn’t very pleased.
I remember him telling me, “You should have brought me there, I would have brought you the D200!”
Back then the D200 ran for about $2688 SGD and I went, FML.
Well then again my dad and mom both believed in different theories of how to purchase things.
My dad believed in this: “Buy one time settle already.”
My mom believed in: “Just get the cheapest and most functional.”
Given that back then I had yet to discover this little flare for photography I had, I settled for the D40, and it was a joy to use. Snapping pictures of friends and taking it along on vacations was easy!
2 Years on and as my knowledge of photography expanded with the experience I gained through classes, and practice, I thought it was time to up the ante with the “paint brush” I used.
And so I bought the D300.
This time, I brought my dad along for the purchase.
I worked 3 months at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, to save up $2688 SGD. To motivate myself to last through those 3 months, I pinned a picture of the D300 on my cubical wall, and when my boss asked me what that was for, I said, “It’s why I’m here!”
I never held something so robust, and sturdy before. It’s magnesium alloy body with weather sealing, and its weight and size, sat in my hands perfectly.
I won’t deny I’m fortunate to be blessed with a mom who loves traveling. And where for the duration I had my D300, I brought it to Phuket, Bintan, Japan, Australia twice, New Zealand, Laos, Cambodia, and through its course of travel, it’s taken quite a beating but it emerged pretty darn fine.
The weather sealing lasted through the typhoon I encountered while at the Kyomizudera temple in Kyoto, to the freezing temperatures of New Zealand’s winter.
As time went on, I acquired lenses I needed, and learnt the hard way, what was my style of photography. Eventually, I ended up selling those lenses and if anything, some would have said I down graded.
So making a transition is well… Never easy!
Some may call this the “Range finder phase.” But then again, I don’t think phases were meant to last this long.
Over the years I discovered more and more about myself and what I’d like to photograph, and the truth is, I don’t hope to win some, competition neither do I think I’m that good in the first place haha!
All I wan’t is a simple camera, that I could bring out with me and not have to cringe my teeth while carrying it.
Digital SLR’s are great, their robust, and their the best for action and precise framing. Bring them to the hottest and the coldest conditions on God’s green earth and they’ll be the ones that are still alive and kicking, while point and shoots would have long frozen over.
So then what is the point of owning a nice set up, and never use it?
There’s no point to it!
So this year, I wanna make a transition.
From a digital SLR to a range finder.
Everyday when I send you home, and I take the train home, up on this platform I’ll constantly see huge jet float by in the distance, beyond that Fujitec billboard, one day… Just wait one day I’m going to be the one flying that jet!
It’s gotta be mine!
You know it’s been bugging me awhile…
Is it just me or… Because I can’t recall the last time I shook the dust off my camera and took it out for a real shoot.
Is it just me or… Am I really loosing touch with what I love to do.
And it’s the exact same thing with the people around you.
When was the last time I really bothered to put in effort into something other than my beloved, certainly true then that I’ve gotten rather lazy.
So in 2011, let me try to do this again, or least make it right. And not be so proud of it, that I’m out of it.
God bless this year.
Like the title suggest, it has, at least for me.
Photography has become a lot more easier, portable, fun and casual for me. Packed with the full manual controls, such as white balance controls and even metering modes, the S95 may not pack the punch of a DSLR but it certainly packs the functions… well at least all of the functions I need on a DSLR.
Taken by my baby <3
Lunch at Swenson’s Bugis, bad choice! For the same price I could have had a nice lunch at Ma Maison hmmp!
The not so appetizing piece of meat above, is a salmon steak drizzled with some sauce, whose name I’ve conveniently forgotten.
Apparently the 1 for 1 promotion is no longer valid so Swenson’s menu wasn’t looking too good to me any more compared to Ma Maison.
We went on a pilgrimage to Muji at Marina Square in search of their coveted pens and found one to my baby’s liking!
She bought me a simple grey pencil box which I’ve grown to love. She complains that my current one from Mambo is way to old and warn out haha!
After the trip to Muji, we headed to Suntec Convention Center to check out the IT sale that was going on, and apparently, it was a “close-to-epix-phail.”
I can’t exactly illustrate to you how empty it was but basically it was empty enough for us to fool around with the fish eye effect under the scene mode of the Canon S95.
Dinner time came but our sweet tooth got the better of us hehe, landed up at honey mood desert where I tested out this cameras ability to accent colors.
Did a pretty decent job to me, specially with colors like blue and yellow, oddly enough the camera had a pretty tough time accenting colors such as red, maroon or brown!
This was the first shot I ever took with the Canon S95 on shutter speed priority, taken at 1/6 of a second, ISO 100 and aperture f/8.
I did notice one thing when I shot the Canon S95 at slow shutter speeds, it was incredibly easy to hold! Specially once your used to holding an DSLR up to 1/4 of a second, holding this pint size point and shoot that has absolutely no recoil when shooting, becomes incredibly easy.
At 1/6 of a second at ISO 100 and at f/8, along with the aid of Hybrid IS, canons new image stabilization system for their Power Shot series, the pictures come out razor sharp at slow shutter speeds.
Looking down at the swarm of people rushing to do their Christmas shopping, my baby took a shot in miniature mode. By blurring the fore grounds and backgrounds, and having one single focal plane, the image looks like it is really… “Miniature.”
It just rained and the air was pretty cooling so we took a short walk down Orchard road. I played around with the slow shutter speeds again, this time, this picture was taken at f/4 and notice the points of lights are turned into a six-pointed star!
Illustrating how sharp the images can get if you know what your doing, this shot was taken at 1/4 of a second, in shutter speed priority.
The pictures here are straight off the camera with no adjustments at all.
Lastly, being a point and shoot and much smaller in nature than a DSLR, taking photographs discretely has become something doable!
Overall my experience with the Canon S95?
It certainly has started to change my experience with taking photographs, or at least snapshots!
It comes as a shock to many when they hear me say: “I’ve never owned a point and shoot before.”
My journey in photography started off with a Sony Ericsson camera phone, I remember climbing a remote part of the Great Wall of China during the winter of 07, and on top of an old weathered post, I whipped out that little phone of mine, and snapped some pictures which I heavily edited in iPhoto on my sisters Macbook.
With the advice of an art teacher, I bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D40. Years down that road, I got my D300 and my lenses followed suit.
Till this year, I’ve had a “need” to get something more compact than the Nikon D40, but with full manual control, and from a review on www.kenrockwell.com; I set my eyes upon the Canon S90.
But being priced over SGD $500, it was pretty much out of my budget, and I never got about to buying it as I’ve always directed my savings to either a lens or the girl friend.
This December my mom and brother went to Hong Kong for a shopping get away and there it was, a great opportunity to get something camera related, and the Canon S95 popped right into my mind.
Using the rational that the Canon S95 is over SGD $150 cheaper than in Singapore, I asked my mom to buy back one for me. Saving the speech on the technological fluff that comes with the camera, I honestly had little hope of my mom actually buying it back for me.
On the last day of their Hong Kong trip, while eating breakfast with my baby in the living room, I got a Skype message from my brother saying they just purchased it.
^______^
Taken with the Nikon D300 and the Nikon AF-S 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VRII, at f/16 on a tripod.
The fat boy decided to disturb me during my little shoot lol.
This was taken by my brother in Hong Kong with the Canon S95. Nice little star points at the lamps at f/4. Shot at ISO 800, for a point and shoot, the images still come out really crisp and clear, with detail still retained.
These two macro shots were taken on the Canon S95 while on a tripod at it’s minimum aperture, f/8, straight from the SD card, the image is sharp with a decent depth of field, and a heck load easier to frame than my D300.
I was asked why I needed a point and shoot when I have a DSLR which lets me have full control, but what a DSLR takes away from photography… SOMETIMES… is the fun and ease of just bringing it around the full day with out complaining about the weight. Sometimes it’s kind of a turn off to lug around a DSLR and well… with that said the point and shoot is the answer to that problem.
It’s second day with me, and I’ve decided to test it’s macro ability. Sure the humble kit lens isn’t able to replicate 1:1 ratios. But then again I’ve never found a need to do that on my Nikon AF-D 60mm f/2.8 Micro.
The first picture above, was taken at f/22, focal length of 170mm.
The second shot at f/16 with a focal length of 170mm.
And here’s the set up, curtsey of the pint size D40 with a ridiculously large SB900 slapped on top of it.
I was told by a teacher once:
Retirement should be a slow and steady process. One should ease into retirement and not just jump right into it.
Because if you do, you’d start to feel “aimless” or “pointless” as previously you’d wake up to the usual morning routine of hitting the showers, having a morning shave, kissing the misses good bye and hopping into that fancy car and zooming off to work as the head honcho of some firm with a name containing four or more syllabus.
With that said, I did my research about Nikon AF-S 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VRII kit lens and on paper it looked great.
Then coincidentally, a VC member had the lens and I gave it a try while on a outing with the members, and the performance of VRII with a pair of steady hands, equals, sharp pictures all over!
So now that I’ve finally got this “cute-lil-lens” (as my girlfriend so appropriately called it, thanks baby <3) in my hands, I’ll tell you this, it’s awefully small compared to the monsters I’m used to holding like the 16-35 or the 70-200.
It took me awhile to get use to wrapping my fingers around the zoom ring and getting comfortable, holding the lens at slow shutter speeds.
After a few minutes, just like clock work, the ergonomics of the lens fits me just right. The zoom ring is nicely spaced out and has a firm but yet smooth feel as you zoom in and out.
The focusing is spot on in room lighting, and when I defocused it at the 200mm end and then tried to the focus on the row of flats opposite my house, the lens was able to pick up from being defocused to focused in a split second.
Make no mistake, for an “expansive” (subjective) kit lens, this feller is tactfully-fast.
And perversely quiet… All you hear is a little silent swivel of the Silent Wave Motor doing it’s thing.
Going back to it’s size, it took me awhile to accept that this lens was so tiny, and that even my girlfriend would call it cute! Well thats great!
It feels great on the D300 too! Previously having the 16-35 on the D300 with out the battery pack, made the combination really unstable. Now this little bugger sits perfectly on the body and even feels balanced without the battery pack.
The rear of the lens has a rubber sealing to prevent unsavory stuff from getting into your camera while in harsh conditions. A nice little touch to make this lens a little more versatile than your average kit lens.
One of the main reasons as to why I chose this 18-200 over the Nikon AF-S 16-85 f/3.5-5.6 VRII is because of it’s filter thread.
Yes… The filter thread.
I’ll admit it, I’m a cheapskate.
To purchase a brand new Hoya UV HMC filter of a 72mm (of the 18-200) or a 67mm (of the 16-85) size would run me any where from 40-50 dollars… I think.
Anyway, at least with a 72mm filter thread, all I’d need to do to utilize one of the HOYA 77mm UV HMC filters and the HOYA 77mm HD CPL Digital, is to simple buy a step-up-ring!
And all those hundreds of dollars gone into getting a brilliantly stupid CPL filter wouldn’t have gone to waste! That would naturally mean I wouldn’t be able to fit on the hood any more, but hey, it’s just a kit lens, honestly, keeping the hood on would only make your lens more prone to damaging, why? Well the main reason it might end up damaging your lens is that, the hood is attached on to the front part of the lens that zooms out, unlike pro-grade lenses where the hood is attached to the tough construct of the lens barrel. So if you were to bang your lens around, the impact of the hood be absorbed by the body of the lens instead of the sensitive part of the lens like on the 18-200!
A little lock switch located on the barrel, honestly it looks more aesthetically pleasing than having a real function really.
Even on the older 18-200, I’ve had no problem with zoom creep, so long you left the lens at the 18mm end.
So this is my retirement. Having had GAS and hauled around pro-grade lenses to do mundane and simple task of photographing something has taken the “fun” (yes when was the last time you had fun with photography) out of photography for me.
I was thoroughly pleased with the eleven times optical zoom, and having a minimum aperture of f/3.5-5.6 was not unsettling, if anything, it suited me just well, simply crank up the ISO and it works just as fine!
So to add to the list of new years resolutions, Digital Rev has given me a complimentary hint, stuffed away in their packaging. And that would be to take more awesome photographs, in the year 2011, so cheers to that, I can certainly foresee photography being a hell lot more fun, since all I’ll have to bring now is this little Nikon AF-S 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VRII and a Nikon AF-D 50mm f/1.4 around.
All pictures above were taken on the D300 with a simple AF-D 50mm f/1.4, at f/16, ISO 100, WB: K6650, on aperture priority.
Is this another one of those emotional-thought provoking tumblr post that’ll bore you half way through a bad movie?
NO
Hmm but then again I know I’ve done those emotional posts, but I doubt I’m much of a tinker to post something thought provoking.
So anyway, I just to cut the the message short, I just had an operation for an inflamed appendix. And I’m still on the road to recovery, having gone 4 weeks with out visiting the gym or running 2.4km is causing me to feel lethargic constantly.
I was fortunate enough to be given the luxury of staying in an un-subsidised B1 ward which came with air-condinitioning and my own personal Sony LCD TV! Heck they even gave me a complimentary toiletry bag stuffed with a amenities. Do I care? Not much, but thanks Mom!
Am I bragging? Nope just my way of saying thanks and sharing the experience… and “dick heads” to those who had the impression I was bragging :P
OKAY… So looks like I really didn’t cut straight to the point. So here’s the gist, I decided to make the announcement on Tumblr instead of Facebook because I’d bet I’d get a barrage of comments shooting down a kit lens.
“So then why even post it up in the first place.”
Well it’s for those who need to know, to know heh… I spent many hours contemplating this thought: “Sell the Nikon AF-S 16-35 f/4 VRII N” and make the step down and buy a “Nikon AF-S 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VRII” Back to back comparison, one’s a pro-grade lens which I’ve weather beaten and taken to several countries and the other is a mere expansive kit lens.
Specs wise, I was never really bothered with how much glass a lens packed, or what it’s MTF charts read, sure it’s great for marketing, but I couldn’t really pass off a judgement till I tried for myself.
So when I got back from the hospital, I slapped on the 18-55 VRII lens onto my D300 and photographed my bookshelf, I did the same with my 16-35, and it was… ridiculous.
Sure, I care about the sharpness of the lens and it’s ability to have tact on focusing, but at f/5.6 both lenses looked so identical, to me, there and then I made the decision to downgrade to the 18-200.
Here’s the sad truth many people don’t want to deal with, though its been said many times over and over again: “IT’S NOT YOUR CAMERA/GEAR/EQUIPMENT/ETC, IT’S YOU THAT MATTERS.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never ONCE implied I’m good or as good as any one. I’m just a mere hobbyist sharing my moment of self-actualization. I went through, what most photography hobbyist went through, the Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) period. It’s a time where usually one just starts out his or her journey into photography and the constant hunger to buy huge fat f/2.8 lenses that cost a metric ton of cash, never dies!
Did I go there? Sure I did. I slogged for months at part time jobs during holidays and bought lenses like the Nikon AF-S 28-70 f/2.8 or the Nikon AF-S 16-35 f/4 VRII N. Did I end up selling them? YES.
Why? It’s because these lenses are BIG-PROFESSIONAL-MONSTER-LENSES. Do I need them for the kinda “thing” I do?
Not at all. Sure holding a big f/2.8 lens caught the tons of attention from my peers in school, sure was one hell of an ego boost haha, maybe a self-defence weapon at best. But here’s my personal experience with them: Their so huge and fat, its a TURN OFF to take them out, to shoot with your friends.
The only time I’ve ever used the lenses seriously and to it’s maximum capability was while being overseas. Even then, it was nothing short of a, how shall I put it delicately, “pain-in-the-ass” to carry around, given I still had a backpack or luggage to haul around. Hell, it’s such a turn off to use such big pro lenses that I often found myself, simply not using them at all!
So there are those people who stare at test charts, MTF curves, and spec sheets more than actually using the lens itself, who will claim that having f/2.8 allows low light photography, blah blah blah… ba blah ba blah… And this is a fact many don’t want to face: FX is disgustingly expansive. BUT DX IS JUST AS GOOD.
I dare you(if your able to accept the truth, as some spread-sheet-geeks might get a heart attack), compare the noise/grain from an Ilford Delta 3200 film to ISO3200 on a D300. The D300 despite being DX, is much CLEANER (I never said it was better or sharper) than the picture from an Ilford Delta 3200. So what am I trying to say is: Stop whining DX doesn’t churn out good ISO performance, jack-up the ISO, and just use a kit lens. It saves you the weight and mood to even shoot. Pictures even at high ISOs like 3200 are still usable for most things.
I say all this for the general hobbyist who are into photography, for photography. Not to stroke ego’s with big fancy lenses. Because honestly, how sad can you get, if you need a big lens to stroke your ego -__-…
If your a sports fanatic and taking action is your thing or you shoot in conditions where you need to freeze your subject in low light, by all means, these expansive f/2.8 or f/1.4 lenses are your thing.
So then those who read this far might ask, what is my “thing?” Well I’m just a mere hobbyist sharing my little observations I’ve made of the people around me, and of the recently decision I’ve made to shift from a pro-grade lens to an expansive kit lens. I photograph anything in God’s green earth which catches my eye.
For those who’ve read this far, congratulations, I hope you’ve been enlightened a little.
P.S. Kudos to those still holding on faithfully to their kit lenses.
With The Script hitting on the chorus of their song “For the first time” on my iPhone, I entered my room to the sight of a sleepy iMac on a clean desk, neatly pressed sheets on my bed, and the smell of citrus hanging lightly in the air.
Then a particular sentimental feeling hit me…
It’s the exact same feeling I get, whenever I enter my room after being overseas for a long time.
Dropped my bag on the bouncy chair, pulled down a bottle of Cizano’s vermouth from the top shelf, and poured myself a glass of vermouth and coke with a wedge of lime.
Feeling’s nice, I like this, it’s comfortable, but still empty!
“But we’re gunna start by drinking old cheap bottles of wine
Sit talking up all night
Saying things we haven’t for a while, a while yeah
We’re smiling but we’re close to tears
Even after all these years
We just now got the feeling that we’re meeting
For the first time”
Eight months on, you still put a smile on my face every time…
I unlock my phone…
Read your text…
Hear your voice on the other end of the line…
<3
So here’s a little dialogue between two guys who haven’t met in awhile.
“Yeah I know it’s been awhile since I last saw you, what’s new?” Guy A sits by the edge of the bed.
“same old same old, what’s the difference, I still woke up, feeling like the alone.” Guy B shrugged as he stared blankly into the roof.
“glad you know that, dumb ass.” said Guy A with a smirk as he smacked Guy B on the back.
It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Been awhile since I last smelt the tinge of alcohol in my room, felt the stiff ruffled bed hair from a night of sleeping in an awkward position, and then… The queezy feeling in the gut, from the churning intoxicating alcohol in an empty stomach.
Rick Asley’s “together forever” song still ringing in my head after the DJ gave it his own spin at Mambo last night, well it wasn’t so bad, having an 80’s song ringing in your head is alot better than having the heavy bass blasting of lady gaga’s dance in the dark!
The only thing missing from this ironically familiar picture - a hang over.
Listening to Pathy’s story of a traumatic break got me thinking, thankfully, a new found friend of mine, Mr Glenfiddich, a friend from the valley of the deer, was near by and it got us through the night of cigarette smoke and clouded thoughts.
I told him it’s free flow of booze for ya tonight, and I meant it.
Some just sit there and shake their heads, and try to ponder the infinite depth of stupidity, youths these days would go to, to get some relief, the old timers would go, “boozing yourself isn’t the way etc etc…”
Well for a friend who’s been through that trauma I’ll say this:
“Well what the fuck would have been the better thing to do given the time and situation!”
So the sun rose and a new day dawned over the lion city, woke up to an empty bottle of Glenfiddich and a the unsavory taste of a graveyard at the back of my tongue.
Good morning Singapore!
Finally, you’ll be home today baby, tomorrow will be a day to remember, I hope your prepared ;)
