Sawpo's

Monday, February 28, 2011

222 of Project 365: 倒影

ISO: 400

Exposure: 1/15 sec

Aperture: 5.0

Focal Length: 26mm

Flash Used: No

Monday, February 21, 2011

221 of Project 365: Photography Books

I bought these 3 books over the weekends at Kinokuniya:

(1) 梅問題の超質感商品攝影手法大公開

(2) DSLR 爱女生

(3) 恋上GF1

I went without anything in mind to buy but was so glad that I managed to get these 3 books, plus the 20% discount for member which was a bonus.

I came to know about books (1) & (2) via a few Taiwanese blogs while (3) was something I was looking for but only see it on the shelf now, so long after the launch of GF1, when a similar book on GF2 is already out in the market. The author of book (1) also has a website which has a trove of information related to everything photography.

ISO: 200

Exposure: 1/30 sec

Aperture: 1.7

Focal Length: 20mm

Flash Used: No

Thursday, February 17, 2011

220 of Project 365: Winning Ticket

Have you bought your winning ticket for the TOTO $10 million Hong Bao Draw on 18 February 2011?

ISO: 400

Exposure: 1/60 sec

Aperture: 5.6

Focal Length: 45mm

Flash Used: No

Monday, February 14, 2011

219 of Project 365: Tool of the Trade

Foundation & Conceal: How apt is thy name!

One end is a foundation brush to lay the groundwork of a perfect canvas & the other end is a concealer brush to hide imperfections.

ISO: 400

Exposure: 1/40 sec

Aperture: 5.0

Focal Length: 26mm

Flash Used: No

Sunday, February 13, 2011

218 of Project 365: Anchor

Warning restricted content: Continue reading only if you are above 18 years old.

My old-time favourite beer since young even before Hoegaarden. And this used to be my dad's favourite too. Well, naturally since this was dad's preferred choice, I can only follow his taste & drink whatever he ordrered.

I like this beer for the light taste which is not bitter. This is the new look, maybe with improved formula but I can hardly tell because I have not drunk this for so long. I saw an advertisement promoting this beer & decided to buy a 6-pack for reminiscent sake.

Bottoms up!

ISO: 400

Exposure: 1/15 sec

Aperture: 4.9

Focal Length: 25mm

Flash Used: No

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Rose Valley @ Cameron Highlands

Rose Galore

Taken at Rose Valley, Cameron Highlands

Goose Attack!

I was in a squatting position taking picture of this goose, while my mom was telling me not to go too close else the goose attack me, before I knew it the goose was coming after me! This goose is fiercer than the proverbial tigress, attacking people without being provoke. The way it bare it chest reminds me of Orangutan or Chimpanzee, thumping their chests as a show of prowess or excitement.

Foie gras, anyone?

Sunday, February 6, 2011

217 of Project 365: My Desire

I'm your Venus

I'm your Fire

At your Desire

Yeah, my baby! And it's an Anroid!

I received this HTC Desire HD as my birthday present (from mom, of course) a few days before Christmas in Dec 2010. Nope, my birthday is still a long way to go in March but I can't wait till then can I?

It was a breeze to synchronize all my Facebook, Twitter & email accounts, and my life has changed ever since. I swear, I'm not exaggerating! On top of taking pictures with my Xiao Bai (Panasonic GF1) for Project 365, the in-built 8 megapixel camera further exacerbate my photography frenzy to a whole new height.

Basically, I'm taking pictures of everything, anytime, anywhere & sharing them instantaneously. Those close to me would know that I'm no cam whore because watashi hate to take pictures of herself or being photographed. And why is it so hard to understand or reconcile why I don't like being photographed? If I love being photographed, I'll be standing & posing in front of the camera & not behind it right?

Notice the synthetic leather sleeve in this picture. This is a life-saver. My JC friend gave this to me & thanks to her & this protective sleeve that my handphone is still in one piece today. I fell down the stairs the very next day after I got this sleeve & my handphone flown out of my hand, down a couple of steps. So glad that nothing was damaged except for my butt & right ankle which, fingers crossed, will heal over time.

This incident also made me appreciate my friends more & truly grasp the meaning of "A friend in need, is a friend indeed". I've not seen this JC friend of mine for years yet she responded when I post my need for advise where I can buy a handphone cover on Facebook. We didn't get to see each other even when I went to her house to pick up the cover from the letter box outside her house as she was suppose to be on her way to Malaysia. I said suppose because she was actually at home with her sick son when I was there to pick up the cover, so we missed the opportunity to see each other & for me to thank her personally.

ISO: 400

Exposure: 1/60 sec

Aperture: 5.6

Focal Length: 45mm

Flash Used: No

216 of Project 365: Coffee Grinder

I bought this hand-cranked coffee grinder during my first trip to Tokyo in 2008.

I was walking around the underground shopping mall deciding what to eat for dinner when I saw a row of coffee grinders on display at a shop in a quiet corner. Sadly, the shop was already closed. I made up my mind that I'll go back to the shop the very next day to buy a coffee grinder. There were many other designs available but I find this the most practical because the grinded coffee can be stored underneath so you can use this as a grinder & storage as well.

Despite the language barrier, the owner was very patient & helpful in demonstrating the use of the grinder & show me how to adjust the granularity according to preference.

I only started using this last year in 2010 (yes, 2 years later) and found that this was "Made in Taiwan", which doesn't matter because frankly it's not easy to find something that I like & suits my need without hunting it down. My philosophy is see it, like it, buy it. Of course, cost is a consideration, and this coffee grinder cost less than S$30. And it is not heavy so no reason why I shouldn't lug it all the way back from Japan to Singapore. Even till now, I don't see such coffee grinder being sold in Singapore. Of course, you can find it at some niche coffee place or at some hard to reach corner but so far I have yet to see it conveniently available at departmental stores.

Even if I weren't a coffee drinker, I'll still buy this as an ornamental piece because I really like the rustic, retro & minimalist feel.

That's it, time to enjoy a cuppa!

ISO: 320

Exposure: 1/60 sec

Aperture: 5.6

Focal Length: 43mm

Flash Used: No

Sentosa Flowers 3 - 13 Feb 2011

Sentosa Boardwalk

I managed to kill two birds with one stone:

Check out the newly opened Sentosa Boradwalk & visit Sentosa Flowers.

215 of Project 365: One in a Million

This Project 365 is slightly different from the usual which only features one picture, here you can see the series of pictures taken (12 to be exact) and below is the chosen one.

In this case, I spent more than 5 mins squatting under the hot sun to capture these 12 shots. The best pictures are taken when there is sufficient light but the problem is I won't be able to review the pictures immediately on the LCD screen due to the glare from the sun. And to compensate for the uncertainty, I tend to take more shots to ensure that I can have a usable shot. Frankly, 12 pictures isn't alot, there are occasions where I used the multi-shot mode to capture fast moving objects & ended up with at least 30 shots. For professionals, the number can run into hundreds or thousands, as long as you have sufficient memory space & battery.

I guess luck has alot to do with getting the right picture because there were also occasions where none of the shots were nice or usable.

This picture is the 5th shot and there are a few which I also like but I can only choose one. Yes, after taking the pictures, I still have to go through the agonizing & painstaking process of reviewing them & finally settle for the one & only one. Sometimes, it can be quite a dilemma when I really want to post all the nice pictures to my blog instead of letting them reside in my hard disk & let my effort go to waste. Hence, I decided to post some of the nicer ones as well outside the confine of Project 365.

This is also the first time that I used the close-up filter outdoor. It has been really fun but tedious because I keep having to screw & unscrew the filter when I need to take different scenery. So worried that I might drop the filter or my lens will get scratch when I remove the filter.