Alex’s Blog

Finally, I’ve got the approval from my buddy to post their wedding pictures and use them as my “portfolio”. So without further adue…enjoy.

Daniel & Wai Mung

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Last weekend I shot my first ever wedding for my good buddy. I haven’t got his permission to post pictures of the bride and groom yet, so here are some of the other “non bride and groom” shots from the event…

Keep your fingers crossed for Part 2

Was just about to go out for dinner just now when I noticed this beautiful rainbow, with its tail right on Komtar…

It vanished 30 seconds after I took this shot.

This morning I woke up and noticed the sky was quite nice and the sun was almost up. So I quickly grabed my camera, rushed down to the lobby, changed some settings and snapped a few pics…I ended up with this…

Hohoho…my cousin was in US for a month for a job assignment, so I took the opportunity to buy some stuff from Amazon so he could bring it back for me (Thanks again man! :)). After a month of waiting, I finally got my hands on them.

Sandisk Extreme III 4GB Compact Flash card. Yea baby! This is the new version that reads AND writes at a sustained 30MB/sec! And it comes with some Rescue software (like I’m going to install that…) and a cute mini pouch that stores and protects 2 CF cards. I know the packaging looks a bit dodgy, but it came from Amazon itself, so there is very little reason to doubt it’s authenticity. Now I’ll be able to take over 1000 shots with just this 4GB card alone, with my previous 2GB Ultra II as a backup. Whaohohoho!

UltraLast Canon NB-2L compatible battery for my 400D dSLR. Yup, I’m too cheap to buy the original Canon part that costs 5 times as much as this UltraLast compatible battery. Furthermore, this UltraLast is rated at 850mAh while the Canon original only packs 720mAh. And I personally do not believe that other 3rd party NB-2L(H) compatible batteries are able to pack 1200mAh, 1500mAh and there is even 1 that claims to be 1700mAh!!! This UltraLast is made by North American Battery Company, so I guess it should be ok.

Playtex VentAire Silicone Nipple Natural Shape, Fast Flow in packs of 2. If U think they were for me, please go get your head checked These are for my baby. Hopefully these with the addition to the ones I currently have on hand will be able to last him until he permanently gives up his bottle for a cup.

And finally, saving the best for last…

MediaGate Certified Windows Vista MCE 2 Channel IR Remote Control in black. I’ve always wanted to build a HTPC for myself, but without this extremely important piece of component, I was left out in the cold and had to resort to the old fashion DVD player. I can’t actually imagine a HTPC without the remote, or actually I can…it would be like playing Doom or Quake III using just the keyboard without the mouse. LOL.

Anyway, back to the remote, the whole “kit” comes with the remote control (doh!), the IR receiver that connects to the PC via the supplied USB cable, an IR emitter which connects to the IR receiver that can be used to control your set-top box (Astro for U and me unfortunate Malaysians), 2 AAA batteries, a 3M double-sided tape and a user manual that has a guide on what each button does.

The remote itself is pretty lightweight, even with the batteries installed and is actually a fingerprint magnet because of the glossy black finish. That’s the only complain I have so far, as I’ve had the opportunity to test it this morning on Vista Home Premium with Media Center running and everything works as expected. And if I ever decide that I don’t want to run Windows for my HTPC, I can also download the Linux drivers off the Internet and it will work with any Linux distribution. Oh and in case U are interested, there is a chapter in the user manual that describes the remote’s learning function.

Now if U will excuse me, I’m going to watch Transformers in 1080p on that Media Center PC.

I had initially planned to go to the Bon Odori festival in Esplanade, but there was some last minute changes I had to make to my Saturday evening plans. If there’s any consolation, I made it back to my apartment before the fireworks started. Mounted on my 55-250 IS lens and below was the results…

Someone commented that my HDR pictures of the Twin Towers look fake, so I’ve decided to post the non-HDR version of the Twin Towers and also a shot of the water fountain in KLCC park. Don’t U just love them twinkling lights? Somehow, I can’t manage to make those glittering lights in HDR. If someone knows the trick or technique to achieve that, please let me know

I promise these will be the last set of pictures from my KL trip…yes I know they are getting boring.

My good friend and photography sifu once told me, “Make sure U take 3 shots of your subject from different angles.” Now everytime I go out shooting, I always try to remember his advise. So…