@mick's

Macro DIY Ring Diffuser

2012-01-02T20:19:00.004+08:00

I ventured into macro and made a diffuser based on the ring flash effects. It is a very simple set up comprising of a 270EX1 flash, a PE bowl and some aluminium foil.

This is what my set up with the 100mm LIS looks like

The results :

Hope you like my cheapman's setup for macro lighting ;)

Pesta Tanglung USJ and Hari Malaysia Celebration

2011-09-17T12:32:00.008+08:00

The 2011 Malaysia Day and Mid-Autumn festival were celebrated auspiciously in USJ.

The lions welcoming the guests

Some of the performers for the night

goodie bags give away

Singing Neagaraku with Subang Jaya ADUN YB hannah Yeoh

and then raising of the Malaysian and selangor flags

The guests braving the drizzle to watch the performances and celebrate the festival

The drummers kick off the performance

There is also a riddle competition

Preparing for the lantern parade

the YBs taking the lead in the lantern parade

while some stayed back to play

The YBs cutting of the mooncake to mark the Mid-Autumn festival

A colourfully decorated trishaw giving free fun rides to the kids

It was a colourful event and kudos to the organisers. Looking forward to next year's celebration.

Faces Magazine at @ALIVE KL

2011-09-09T20:35:00.003+08:00

Was the OP for the Faces Magazines appreciation nightout at @ALIVE, KL.

The venue with a band from Thailand entertaning the crowd.

Reserved for the guests.

Filling in the lucky draw forms.

Funny posings with the sponsor

the beautiful angels.

try to beat that

hey, cool dude

I'm a Virgin :p

a sporting couple

Lay Min & Meng Wai

2011-05-14T14:16:00.002+08:00

Kian Lee & Kelly Feb2011

2011-03-19T17:11:00.003+08:00

Thaipusam at Batu Caves

2011-01-25T19:17:00.008+08:00

had the oppportunity to join in the Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves. this year was more chocablock with people than last year. it was really bumper to bumper of people.

here are some pics to share.

Devotees carrying milk for offering

Up the flight of 272 steps

A view from up there

and it's just chocablock of people inside the cave

A devotee shaving her head

A cigar and some black doggie

The hooks fit for fishing of 50kg fish

A Kavadi bearer spinning and dancing away

Can you please pass me another one of those hooks?

Even the Monkey God came to town
Can you get a good shot of me?

Getting too close for comfort

ala Superman.......ouch!
Agony

and some cheeky onlookers

All in all, it was a very interesting event and will be there again next year for some more shooting :)

cheers!

Promoting Breastfeeding - The Best Milk In The World

2011-01-06T07:29:00.004+08:00

Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and infants. It gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy development. It contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses.

Breastfeeding also benefits mothers. It reduces risks of breast and ovarian cancer later in life, helps women return to their pre-pregnancy weight faster, and lowers rates of obesity.

Happy Breastfeeding :)

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

2010-12-25T13:05:00.005+08:00

Witnessed a wonderful sunrise at Angkor Wat.

At 5:23am, Mr. Moon was shining through from the west side.

At 5.40am, the camera captures a blue sky and some reddish spots.

At 6.01am, the blueish sky is gone and turned dull grey.

At 6.04am, the red sky brigthens up.

At 6.07am, the red sky becomes apparent with some yellow light shining through.

At 6.08am, a very beautiful reddish with yellowish sky.

Cheers!

Oktoberfest 2010

2010-12-14T19:38:00.006+08:00

This year Oktoberfest enters its 200th year celebration. To many of my friends, Oktoberfest is about beer and only beer but as I saw it, there is more to it :)

The main entrance.............

A bird's eye view of the venue. It registered 1 million visitors in the first 3 days and I contributed to that statistics :)

Ok, it's about the beer.......

.....but there is also the fantastically delicious bratwurst.

One of the beer tents.

Don't know what you call this but it's serving lots of beer and paddling.

Of course got souveniers on sale.

And it's a theme park in there with rides that will make you puke all the beers and bratwursts out.........:o:o

Just look at how high that thing is?!!

and not forgetting the beauties :D
Until next time..............

Cheers!

Sponsor A Child To School 2011

2010-12-13T21:17:00.008+08:00

Thanks to the many many generous donors and volunteers for making these kids so happy. Here are some pics of the kids that we sponsored from the Orang Asli Village in Port Klang and also from Sepang.

A) Orang Asli kids from Port Klang

Trying out the shoe size

Happy faces :)

B) At Sepang

Setting up and arranging the goodies - school uniforms, shoes&socks, bags etc

Sepang councillor (middle)

some more happy faces :)

passing the drinks around

Thankx again to all donors and volunteers.

Cheers!

Volkswagen Street Party - Changkat Bukit Bintang Oct10

2010-11-03T05:28:00.005+08:00

Covered the VW Street Party celebration recently at Changkat Bukit Bintang in conjuction of the launch of 3 new models.

There were performances by the local artists and also from The Veronicas and Leona Lewis. Some photos to share here ;)

My photog pass :)

Here comes the first of the 3 models.

The MCs playing to the crowd.

Party revellers dressed up to celebrate Halloween night as well.

Leona Lewis giving a magnificent performance.

The Veronicas with a lively performance.

Cheers!

Dachau Concentration Camp

2010-10-28T07:04:00.007+08:00

The Dachau concentration camp was the first regulator camp set up and served as the prototype and model for the others that followed.

The Arbeit Macht Frei gate welcomes you!

Looking out from one of the windows inside the building

The bullwhip bench with the original bull whip

The arrival hall where prisoners are given a shower.

A view of the prisoner cells from the outside.....and the inside

with everything kept to the bare minimum.

A special prayers cell for the VIPs.

One of the watch tower at the perimeters

with electric fencing.

One of the chapels

The Jewish memorial site

This part is the most grimmish of the whole camp.

The crematorium.

The gas chamber or better known as the gas shower room.

All this are just a fence away from the lush and green forest.

Cheers!

Europe Trip Part 1 - Paris

2010-10-06T06:54:00.013+08:00

spent a few days in Europe, Paris, Munich and Salzburg in particular. was lucky as the skies turned for the better during that week with blue skies and cooling weather.

sharing some photos of this part 1 of the series.

travelling on Lufthansa with message chair.

it was the start of autumn with nice weather.

the first place that i went was the LV flagship store in Champs Elysee..........queue was like 30 people 15 minutes to closing time!! The reason - well, it is cheaper, much cheaper due to the currency exchange and VAT refund for tourists.

walking further down the road was Arc de Triumph. May be this was what NYY had in mind when she signed to built the arcs in Botanical garden in Penang :p

the city is so diversed that it makes very interesting street photography

this was cropped then painted and framed from an original shot of an apartment

the original Statue of Liberty on the Seine River

and the magnificient Eiffel tower

with the light show on. the lights will flicker for 5 minutes every hour.

with the moon shining on Eiffel

took some shots of the Louvre with its reflection

next was the Notre Dame.

from the back

love the details so much

hope you've enjoyed this short virtual trip and Part 2 - Munich coming up.

Cheers!

Dog Obedient Event PJ 2010

2010-09-14T07:28:00.007+08:00

took some snap shots of the event recently. it is amazing to see how much TLC given to these cuties.

one of the challenges...................to see how well they can follow instructions.

..........stay

some of the beauties

and cuties

some grooming before the fashion show parade

.......one happy family

"yeap, that's right. i'm cuter than you"taking a well deserved rest after a long day's work
and a must have

Cheers!

Poh Toh Festival 2010

2010-09-13T07:32:00.009+08:00

The Poh Toh festival also known as the Hungry Ghost festival is celebrated on the 7th lunar month. During this month, the gates of hell are opened up and ghosts are free to roam the earth where they seek food and entertainment.

This event was taken at the celebration in USJ1.

The God of Hades

some interest and creative decorated offerings

the performances of the festival includes skimpily claded singers........
.......and fire breathing acts

organising for the burning of the offerrings .........and with a nice fireworks finale.

after all the performances and burning, everyone gets to have a piece of roasted pork and duck.

Cheers!

Sekinchan

2010-07-06T08:11:00.003+08:00

Sekinchan is a small town located in Selangor, Malaysia. IT is the one of the major rice producing areas of Malaysia and is no doubt one of the most productive paddy field in the universe.

A typical hut in the middle of the paddy field

Blue skies, green fields

Some ripening paddy

The stable of many

A nearby fishing village

cheers!

Shawn's Wedding

2010-07-02T08:03:00.011+08:00

Covered a wedding recently to share.

The dinner reception

The tea ceremony

It was a happy and merry wedding ceremony with free flow of whisky and cordon bleu :D:D.

cheers!

Model Shoot - Dreamy

2010-06-18T06:53:00.008+08:00

sometimes it's good to shoot some models.

cheers!

Happy Wesak

2010-06-05T23:18:00.008+08:00

Some photos to share on the 2010 Wesak celebration at Subang Jaya Buddhist Association.

and the aspirations............

cheers!

Thaipusam Batu Caves - 2010

2010-02-12T07:07:00.009+08:00

Went to enjoy the occasion with a few kakis and to capture the moment at the same time.

Fong & Cheryl's Wedding

2009-12-12T18:14:00.007+08:00

Presenting the lovely couple, Fong and Cheryl

at the wedding dinner

and in typical Chinese culture, the newly wed's traditional tea ceremony.

Hope you all enjoyed the slides as much as I did on the occasion.

Cheers!

10 Courts Of Hell

2009-08-29T21:45:00.004+08:00

There are 18 levels of hell but there are 10 courts of hell in which a sentence is passed to determine which level of hell one goes to...

1. the First

2. the Second

3. the Third

4. the Fourth

5. the Fifth

6. the Sixth

7. the Seventh

8. the Eigth

9. the Nineth

10. the Tenth

After going through the courts of hell, they will drink the magic tea and leave the courts to reincarnation.

Bon Odori Shah Alam 09

2009-08-28T17:42:00.009+08:00

This is a festival celebrated by Japanese with traditional dances and food. Some pics of the event to share.

A panaromic view of the event's venue.

Food stalls doing brisk business....

Yeap, that's right, mountains of unagi....

Having a cuppa while waiting for the event to start.

Come on, let mummy do up your kimono nicely

Strike a pose..
Some interesting outfit...

Finally, the event started with the drum performance.
then followed by traditional dances..

Even the crowd joined in....pretty delightful event

A sniper got sniped...

Hmmmm yummy.......after a long night, time to fill up the tummy....

......that's my daddy's girl....

Cheers!

KL Butterfly Farm

2009-08-25T16:52:00.005+08:00

This is my first time to the KL Butterfly farm. It was an interesting trip but sad seeing those lovely butterflies being manhandled by tourists. Hope that the farm authorities does something about it.

Some butterflies.......wished I had a macro lens.....
1. ok ok started off with a dragonfly

4. this one is busy drinking pineapple juice.

9. one of the many with broken wings :(

10. this one is literally paralysed:(

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Cheers!

KL Orchid Farm

2009-08-22T19:40:00.011+08:00

First time been after so many years staying in KL. I didn't know there were so many species of orchids

1. this one looks like a bird

2. and this one too

3.

4. ok this is not a orchid :D

10.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

Cheers!

KLPF09

2009-08-22T19:13:00.007+08:00

This is the first time I shoot stage modellling during the KLPF09.

Start from young.

Must bring ladder otherwise have to shoot through armpits and split legs.

Then have to hold up my camera for a high shot.

This is the only pic of the model that I managed to get...some nice paintings on the arm :D

The rest are of the Ms Chinese 09 in no particular order
1.

Cheers!

Wesak and Street Prossesion 09

2009-07-13T22:18:00.008+08:00

This is the first time I went to Vihara temple in Bricksfield for Wesak and also saw the street prossession through the road of KL. Some to share....

The Vihara temple.

Saw this reflection from the police bus's window.

The main character..

It was a starry starry night..

with the Sri Langkans dancers providing the entertainment.

Officialising of the event by lighting up of the lattern wheel.

The devotees making offerings.

Saying prayers.

Liquid gold..

The pose..Lighting up the oil lamps

Then we went to the street prossession. In the clouds..

Some on wheels..

Some on legs...it is definitely a very very long walk...

It's really hot..

Band on wheels..

The Palace..The Pagoda on wheels.
Another decor..

Wet, wet, wet..

and fnally took a walk around the area and saw this scene....

Hope you all enjoy the coverage. Cheers!

We Ate For Charity 2

2009-07-06T22:55:00.008+08:00

The "We Ate for Charity 2" event, which was a durian feast, was here again and amazingly, 4 tons of durian were gone in just a little over an hour. This showed just how much Malaysians like the King of Fruits.

The registration started at 11am.

...and people were flocking in. But the durians only arrived at 1pm. Make way, please. Some mangosteen to counter the heatiness of the durians.

Meanwhile, people were already queueing up for the durians at 12pm. There were people sea and people mountain there.
The line dancing group provided some entertainment while people waited for their durians.
Even the YBs were having a go at it.

Some family members and friends occupy the tables while their members went to grab the durians.

The volunteers posing with the durians :)Of course, not forgetting our pretty volunteer.
And so let the mad rush begin. ....I've got my durians, what about you? No time to waste, it's chow time.

Hmmm...yummmy...

No more place, so on the floor also can lah. Just a bit over an hour, all the durians were gone.....and people with satisfied tummy making their way out.

Cheers!

Trip To Tokyo

2009-06-30T07:44:00.021+08:00

Tokyo is an interesting place and is definitely worth a visit albeit the high cost. The first impression that I got after landing was the high level of efficiency and service level befitting a developed country.

At the KLIA customs, looked up and saw this. Malaysia the home of hospitality.

Took the A380 and just in case you get lost on the plane, here is the seating plan....

Woke up and saw a beatiful sky but missed the rising sun due to the direction of the flight..:(

Finally, after hours in the A380, landed at NRT airport.

The very first sight of Tokyo was the skyline. Taken at the lobby of the hotel where I stayed.

and the night view of it....
The main mode of getting around was on feet and trains......

Inside the train station, there seems to be kilometres after kilometres of tunnels leading to different lines!
Took a walk around the Shimbashi train station, which is near the hotel, can see some interesting stuffs...
Food is everywhere.......I don't think one can get starved here in Tokyo....
........and can find the famous Singaporean Hainan chicken rice!
But I had this tempura set as my very first meal in Japan.
I just love their fashion statements...

Even the school uniform is xxxx.....................

This is what people do while waiting for the train.
It is pretty jam packed all the time in the train.....and with a lot of advertisements....

Went to this restaurant to have my first dinner in Japan:)
The authentic salmon sushi......my all time favourite :)

and the ocha to down the food... Took a walk around Ginza area.....and this is one of the landmarks..... ...apart from the branded stores occupying one whole block each......this place has got the be the Beverly Hills of the East.

Even the fire hydrant system is so well thought out.
........no parking for bicycles?

I visited the Japanese Garden but unfortunately the sakura was not in season....but nonetheless some breathtaking views and building....

....with some bamboo forest
and some paintings dated back in the 1600s......
I also had the original green tea at the tea house....
Next was going to the underwater tunnel (pretty much similar to the SMART tunnel) across Tokyo Bay. It is quite an engineering feat with the 10km tunnel going 60-70meters below sea level. Some pretty good view but unfortunately was foggy and couldn't get a shot at the Tokyo skyline.
....the bit that did it all
This is what I had for lunch at the midspan....but not quite the Kobe variety
Went to Shinjuku area with a lot of lights, people, eating places and all that you can find under the sky.....

lights lights everywhere
there are just so many people...a girl's bar?
a couple having a chat

not too sure how much they are worth but this guy has got a lot of balls....

hmmmm wonder what are they looking for.....

.....home delivery perhaps?
I guess there is a Chinatown at every corner of the world.
with a nice temple too
Had dinner there and served by a pretty lady :)
Visited a shrine popular among businessmen as it brings better business for the following year.
A typical packed restaurant................
........that serves this up........yummmy

My trip to Japan came to an end and with only a few days it is really not sufficient.......

Dragon Boat Race in Putrajaya

2009-06-15T13:37:00.006+08:00

This is the first sports event that I took pics of. Now I know why people need a longer range......

Some shots to share.

Enter the dragons...
The race course with the newly built watch tower.
The watch tower.
Team work works wonders.
Eh, where are the boat and paddles?
Don't mess with us.
Tools of the trade.
Sheer strength, speed and determination.
A close race but some are left behind.
This is what I was talking about on short of range....
The flags are flying high and strong on Agong's birthday.

Cheers!

Memorial Park - "DON'T Continue if you are superstitious!"

2009-06-15T13:04:00.012+08:00

Took some pics of ching meng and a memorial park. Never thought they have been commercialised to such a scale.

The traditional ways.

The more modernised ones. The entrance with a fortress.
A pano view of part of the park.
With man made water fall.
And the "Pat Sin" crossing the river.
Also highlighting the 24 good deeds of a child.
Can either choose a bungalow lot or....
...a high class condo.
More real estate available....
Did manage to capture the sunset.
The natural lamp.

Trip to Bali

2009-06-07T23:27:00.015+08:00

Wifey and myself were scratching our heads which country to visit which are suitable for young kids. We finally settled for a family vacation to Bali. The kids enjoyed the beach and some places and we enjoyed the sceneries and culture.

We took a 4days-3nights free and easy package holiday and stayed at a hotel in Kuta.

Some clouds looking out from the plane.

We got there quite late in the evening and went straight to the hotel and to bed. The view from our hotel room.

Taking a short walk is the lovely Kuta beach.

We hired a car with a driver for the whole trip. The cost was RP400,000 for roughly a 12-hour day. The driver also doubled up as our tour guide and recommended us the places of attractions and also planned the journey for us. There were some better rates, just need to bargain around but with that high level of service, we had no complaints. In fact, this was cheaper than getting an all-in guided tour from the travel agencies. Furthermore, it was also more leisurely.

Some of the places of attractions that we went to were the Goa Gajah, Lord Vishnu statue, Kintamani, Lake Bedugul, Ubud, Nusa Dua, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, Monkey Forest and of course the beautiful beaches.

Firstly, the driver took us to watch some traditional dances.

We went to Lake Bedugul where the majestic floating temple is.

Then we went to Ubud. Some interesting art crafts.

and also where the King's Palace is (not too sure about this but that's what the signage said)

We also went to Uluwatu. There were numerous offers for guides for safety reasons - to prevent monkey attacks so they say, but they were really not needed. A wonderful place to enjoy sunset.

We then went to the Monkey Forest. There were some ruins and a lot of monkeys.

and visited Lord Vishnu
........but still imcomplete at that time...

...and a sculpture of the Garuda

Next on the list was Nusa Dua where we just took a quick pit stop.

.....a Chinese temple in Nusa Dua
We also visited the ruins of Goa Gajah

We went up the highlands to Kintamani. It was like being on an alien mothership.

Visiting Bali is never complete without going to Tanah Lot but unfortunately, missed the sunset:(

Got the sunset at Kuta beach though :)

All in all, it was a very nice holiday and looking forward to going back again for the great environment and also there were many other places that we missed this trip.

Cheers!

Trip To Pulau Pangkor

2009-05-29T15:00:00.005+08:00

This was my first trip to Pulau Pangkor for almost 30 years and the first for my family.

Leaving the Lumut jetty

to an island of living at the beach front, of keropok,
of dried seafood, of seashells,

and beaches.

We rented a car during the trip and drove around the island. It only took 4 hours for a round island tour. There are aplenty pink taxis around town though. I thought it was more convenient and leisurely for the family with young kids if we have a car.

Some of the places of attractions that we went to are the Fu Ling Kong, the Lin Je Kong, the Dutch Fort, the Jambatan Gantung, dried seafood stalls and of course the beaches. Even though we were not familiar with these places, we just followed our instinct, well not exactly, we actually followed where the taxis with loads of people in them go to.

Our first stop was to the Fu Ling Kong

where we can find the miniature great wall...

Then we proceeded to the dried seafood stall to buy some dried sotong, salted fish etc....

After that, we went to the Lin Je Kongwhere you can find the smoking dragon........which I heard gives pretty good tips on 4D

and the lovely mermaid

From there we went back to the hotel to enjoy the pool and beautiful sunset by the beach.

We went to Teluk Nipah for dinner and had ikan bakar, sotong bakar and nasi goreng pattaya.

and our cook for the night

The next day we went to the Dutch Fort

Then we took a walk through a forest to the Jambatan Gantung (Suspended Bridge)

All in all, we had a very lazy 3 days holiday and we were ready to go home

and our captain was all set.

Bye bye Pulau Pangkor.....til we meet again next time....