My first actual studio shoot

Other than a Studio Lighting class which I attended before, this is the only actual studio shoot I have tried. Here's Marianne from Brazil.

Unusual Movie Gimmick

Yeah, where else can you find a coffin??? We found it right on the 7th floor of Plaza Singapura outside GV. I thought it was quite fun ... there's even a advertisement offering funeral services. Though I wonder if anyone will take offence?

A bit about coffee

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf it is. The quality of the ice blended is dependent on the person fixing up your drink. It can be too sweet at one outlet, bland at another or unevenly blended at some. No QC ... An interesting point of note is that all the promotional new flavours that they introduced sucks ... truly sucks, the newest being Pecan Praline Latte. It's so sweet that it made us cringed ... yucks.



Doesn't it look like a harmless Vanilla Ice-blended?


Let's turn our attention to some others. TCC is not too bad. The Iced Mocha Latte with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream a.k.a Mocha Villa is too sweet. So ask for the Iced Latte with ice-cream top-up.



The Iced Mocha at Coffee Club can almost passed off as the Mocha Villa at TCC. Don't they look the same?



The Ice Latte with Gelato at Olio Dome produced the most consistent taste. It's also not sweet, just what espresso with milk should be.



On a holiday back, we chanced upon Cafe Boheme, a French Vodka and Coffee liqueur that is lighter in taste and texture than traditional cream liqueurs.



Throw in a cupful of ice cubes, mix in a blender and you get a delicious ice-blended.

10,000 shutter count

The file numbering has reset back to zero. I have just hit the 10,000 shutter count in my D80 dSLR. Compared with last year, I can proudly say I am much more comfortable with framing and taking photos. However, photography is not rocket science. There are so many variables that each time is something new. Different lighting, different lenses, different compositions, different positions (prone, squat, kneel). And probably so that it's so addictive. To the extent I carry my camera everyday, along with my company's laptop. My shoulder aches though ...

Tried out portraits, macros, landscapes. Insect macro is the hardest ... in the first place it's difficult to approach your subject without startling them. Secondly, you may need to crouch in awkward positions ... maybe I'll stick to flowers ... hmm ...

Another interesting thing ... when I went back to in-camp training for live firing, I found my shooting on the M16 has improved. Haha, you do need to control your breathing and hold when taking photos, especially for slow shutter speeds. just a thought ...

Filtered out

It's so hard to find good and cheap filters for landscape photography ... at least in SG. Cokin filters are rather ex in the UK and totally out-of-stock in the US.

After some deliberation, I made a purchase for a Singh-Ray Reverse ND filter - the "Daryl Benson Reverse Neutral Density Graduated Filter". Singh-Rays are about the most expensive in the market at US$120 but they are the only ones with the Reverse Grad ND.

Now I got a Reverse ND for sunrise, sunset shots. Ok ... not too bad.

However, I still want to get a 2-stop and 3-stop Grad ND filter for general landscape photography. After some searching, I chanced upon Hitech filters as good and affordable. Singh-Rays are just too expensive. A search on Goggle led me to www.2filter.com.

Cool, I finally got a complete set of Grad ND filters.

Now the not so cool part ... after some more web browsing, I came upon Hitech's website. It's going at a way lower price ... suprising as the Cokin filters are more expensive in the UK ...

... Just got to forget about it. Now I'm waiting for the filters to be shipped here ... then will probably try out a sunrise or two.

A new addition to the family

Haha, it's not a baby but ... I finally couldn't resist the urge ... shelled out $710 inclusive of filter for the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 lens! Well, gotta settle for 3rd-party lens instead of Nikon. The original is too expensive. Some self-consolation, at least this is lighter than the Nikon 17-55mm F2.8 lens.



So that makes 5 lenses in the family.



1. Nikon AF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 DX
Nikon D80 kit lens, very perfect for travel due to its versatile range.

2. Tamron AF 17-50mm F2.8
Constant F2.8 aperture, value for money, good alternative to Nikon 17-55mm F2.8. Doesn't not suffer from the peeling problem affecting Sigma EX lenses

3. Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro
Telephoto lens, rather slow. Able to take macro at 1:2 magnification

4. Nikon AF-D 85mm F1.8
Superb lens for portraits. Good bokeh.

6. Tamron AF 90mm F2.8
Fantastic dedicated macro lens. 1:1 magnification.

Lunch at Garibaldi

Decided to make use of a HSBC $20 voucher to celebrate a special occasion. We had no idea that it's a posh dining place. Dress code is smart casual. Reservations is required as the place is small but it's full. Located at Purvis Street, it is situated besides a host of other seemingly delectable dining establishments.

We ordered Scallops for appetisers. Nicely seared and presented. Tender to the mouth, better than what we tried at Morton's years ago.



Main course is veal tenderloin for myself. This is about the best veal steak I have tasted. Again nicely seared to perfection, with the juices all locked in. With foie gras as accompaniment ... I really like it.



CP had Atlantic Roasted Cod for the main. I think they are really good with the grill. Again, it was nicely roasted, crispy on the outside but melting in the mouth.



Dessert was Cannolo Sicilian, an Italian dessert and Panna Cotta. It is the first time we tried a cannolo. An extract from the Internet - "Cannoli are pastry shells formed on metal tubes and fried to a golden crispiness before being filled, most typically, with ricotta cream and studded with chocolate chips or candied fruits".

Indeed, what we had were crispy on the outside, with a sweet inside, place on chocolate base. More info. can be found here.

But it was the panna cotta that we liked best. Velvety smooth but not overly creamy. This is on par with what we tasted at Pierside Kitchen at One Fullerton and beats that from Coffee Club hands-down. Looking back, it seems that we ordered similar items then. Hmm ... does that say something about our preference?


(Panna Cotta's on the left)

The restaurant has a url - http://www.garibaldi.com.sg

Pulau Ubin

Finally we decided to take a look at Chek Jawa. Little did we know that it's not that easy ... actually I should travel light ... haha, in the end, we spent some effort pushing the bicycles up the slopes.

A pity it was high tide. The cottage was quite nice. The boardwalks made for easy navigation. I doubt it will be my last time there.



Some background of the cottage.



The boardwalk.

Back from Siem Reap

Finally finished editing all the 600+ photos from Siem Reap. Majestic and grand, the temples still retain all the grandeur after all these years. You gotta to see it up close to feel it! No wonder so many tourists flock there. Go before prices go up further. Everywhere you go, you will hear "1 dollar, 1 dollar".

1 cold drink for 1 dollar, 10 postcards for 1 dollar, stamps for 1 dollar ...

The photos are up on flickr.



Some information about the trip is here, from the 1st day onwards.

My Grandma

The one whom we affectionately call "Ah Ma"...

She is 91 years old this year, still going strong and healthy, her voice loud and clear.

She is jovial, humorous, independent and most importantly, she loves us all! :)

She is someone I admire and definitely the one I would like to be when I grow old!
********************
DC's parents paid Ah Ma a visit today, something which should have been done long ago but was delayed because of DC's busy schedule. Nevertheless, I'm very glad and thankful they manage to find time for a visit. Ah Ma was very happy to have visitors at home too. Even my parents felt my in-laws were very thoughtful.

After that, my daddy treated us to Ba Ku Teh lunch at Geylang but he ordered so much food that we all couldn't finish them.

Good to meet again

It's good to meet up with ex-colleagues, especially after you are back from holiday and you have good news to share with them... :)



We haven't meet since I quit, hence there're updates from everyone:

JT: Pregnant with 2nd child, delivering anytime.
Aunty: Became a boss after quitting her job in Citibank.
KT: Getting married soon in Dec.
KK: Still the same...
Me: Back from trip and joining new company soon... still in holiday mood.

For the others who couldn't make it to the gathering, there were also news of them:

EL: Delivered her 3rd baby and is now on maternity leave.
BB: Just had her ROM
SL: Resigned and will be joining new company soon.
LC: Sick, couldn't come to the gathering
AP: Heard that he has put on weight. (MIA without informing anyone on the table.)

Seems like all is fine... we have enjoyable steamboat lunch at a Mapo Tofu Restaurant along Thomson Road. The mango pudding is very nice, everyone just kept ordering it. Till our next gathering! :)

Ma Maison

Had my farewell lunch at a Japanese Western Restaurant located at Bugis Junction. I suggested the place... I have always wanted to try the food there but because the restaurant was hidden in a corner,I always forgot about its existence until my last day of work on 8 Oct. :P Food there was actually not too bad. The set lunches come with choice of rice or bread.

I ordered the japanese rice and regretted my choice. Not that the rice was not nice but because I didn't know that the main course included noodles. The rice came separately in another plate. I couldn't finish the rice, took only one mouthful..What a waste! Should it be bread that I ordered, I probably can't finish either.

We spotted something cute! Boss' bread was heart-shaped! Can't miss this chance to take a pic!

I like the decor there. :) A bit of western country style... will be back with DC someday.

Angkor Wat - Here we come

At the airport now. Flying off in half an hour!

Last Day of work

Finally it's time to say goodbye.

Today will be the last time I cross this passageway... I'll miss my cosy seat and comfy new chair, the friendly colleagues and of course the endless supply of drinking bottles, chocolates and ice-cream in the pantry!

I think I'll also miss the fish soup shop around the corner and the fish soup stall in the nearby hawker centre and I'll definitely miss shopping during lunch...

Hanabi Japanese Restaurant

Got a free treat at Hanabi Japanese restaurant. It was an eat-all-you-can Japanese Buffet at Odean Tower. :)

The sashimi there is great. The rest, including the lobster salad that came free to celebrate the 3rd anniversary, is just passable.

Injured Bird

Saw this bird on my way to work this morning. It was bleeding profusely; one of the legs was injured. How it got hurt I don't know...probably in a fight with fellow bird mate or during escape from it's predator or even accidentally knocked onto a tree branch during its flight? When I got back to check on it, the poor bird was already gone, only its blood trail remains.

A Delightful Surprise

Opened the mailbox and found a postcard from Taipei! Sis knew that I collect postcards from countries around the world and took the effort to buy and post one to me...I'm really touched! Thanks a lot, Sis! :)

This is definitely a delightful surprise! I'm glad the postcard made it to my home and not lost in transit like the one I'm supposed to receive from Amsterdam.

Baptism Party

We attended a water baptism party yesterday at DC's uncle's place. Uncle and his family have decided to accept Christ and had a pastor from St. Andrew Cathedral to adminster the ceremony.

The whole ceremony which took around an hour was witnessed by family, close friends and colleagues. This was the second time I was invited to a water baptism party. It felt a little different this time. Besides being joyful for them, I was also touched by the family for taking the great step to accept Christ. DC played a big part in leading uncle into Christianity. *Proud*

To Uncle:
May God bless you and keep you, Amen!

Prepare for Angkor Wat

So many things to buy just for a trip to Cambodia. This should be mainly a photography trip. Hope the pics will turn out good.

Trekking shoes, camera filters, etc, etc.

Airfare: $193/ pax
Accommodation: $176/ pax

--- Additional Costs ---

Add-ons ...
Columbia Trekking Shoes: $108
Puma Cap: $16
Adidas Dri-fit t-shirts: $81

Camera ...
Cokin GND filters/ Hoya ND filter: $104

Nikon 12-24mm F4 Lens Rental: $85



--------------------

Total damage = $763