New Year Day Eve @ Istana

The Istana is open to public today and so I met up with Andy, Ark and Dennis to go in to Istana for a shoot. A pity the weather isn't that great when we reach there, but we just wanted to go in and see. Gotten only a few coloured shots and the IR shots that I have are not that great as the condition isn't very sunny.

While I was in Istana, I saw Jason Tey, one of our TAP trainee who joined us in US for training 2 years back, it has been quite a while since I last saw him. Great to see that he found a girlfriend. :)

After the shoot, Dennis is meeting his wife while the rest of us thought of going to Istana Woodneuk for a second round, but in the end, we ended up at TCC for some coffee and tea and chit chat for the rest of the afternoon. We parted at around 3:30pm and most of us are headed for home.

I spend the rest of my afternoon on this New Year's Day Eve doing Photoshop for Thomas and Amelia as I thought of clearing it as soon as possible.

Alrighty, here are some of the shots taken today. Enjoy.

Post Christmas and Advance New Year Celebration @ Alvin & Jamie's House

Was invited for a Post Chirstmas and Advance New Year celebration at Alvin and Jamie's house today. All our university kakis were invited but a pity Jason, Serena, Robin and Leong (Chee Wai) cannot attend.

So here is the list of attendees,
1. Alvin
2. Jamie
3. Chee Ming
4. Chye Lai
5. Lawrence
6. Ben
7. Charlotte
8. Francis (And that's me of course)

We had some chicken nuggets and log cake for starters followed by pizzas as the main course and of course, how can there be a celebration without wine and beer. :P

Capture a few shots to share with all. Enjoy. Please pardon me for the distortion as I was using a 12-24mm lens all the way.


Ben and Chye Lai showcase how tough and hard the log cake is... Maybe a chainsaw is needed.


While the rest are busy with the log cake, only Charlotte is looking in my frame.


"You talking to me?"


Lawrence trying out Chee Ming's PSP.


Our great hosts for the evening, Alvin and Jamie.


"What is that? Got to get it before it is gone."


Chee Ming on his PSP.

Death Note 2 : The Last Name Movie

Just finished watching Death Note 2 the movie with Adrian at Plaza Singapura. Finally, can watch the concluding episode of this interesting movie which showcase the battle of wits between 2 geniuses, Light and L. Very good movie but some points that are debatable.

From what I know, the movie is very different from the comics (not sure about the anime) but I guess the director got no choice as I think the comics got quite a few books and I don't think he can condense so many books of comics into just 2 movies.

Overall, it is a really good movie as I must say that I admire the plots and strategies that each character used to outsmart the other opponent. And of course with cute actress such as Toda Erika as Misa Amane , it just add on to the viewership. :)

Photos of Miss Toda Erika

Shopping Spree (Day 2)

Ok, I went on another day of shopping spree today and I really spend big time today.

First, I gotten a Nikon Soft 1 Filter at $180 from TK Foto, this filter is very hard to find and I really don't want to regret for not buying.

Next, I went to Sim Lim Square to do some laptop shopping. I just wanted to find a good laptop with no intention of buying but the Fujitsu staff is making such a good offer that I can't reject. I can get a Lifebook E8210 with dedicated 256MB ATI Graphic Card and Core Duo with 80GB Hard disk and 512MB RAM at $1988. This offer is too good to miss as the E series notebook usually cost around $3k region because of the specs. But because newer generation of the E-series are coming out, the supplier got to let go of these laptops at such a price. I am dying to get a new laptop for quite some time and this opportunity seems like God-sent.

Next, I went to Robinson at Orchard again to get the shoes I wanted to get yesterday. The staff who serves me today is more experienced and customer orientated which really make my day. The shoes cost around $115 bur because I still got a $50 voucher, it only cost me $65 to get a good pair of shoes. :)

Alrighty, time to continue my burning in of the new laptop. Good night everyone.

Shopping Spree

I guess I haven't do much shopping over the festive season as I was busy helping out with the CCIS event. So, I went on a shopping spree today. Not to worry, it is not an equipment spree as I have very much gotten what I need for my photography equipment (but maybe a couple of accessories more would be better) :P

Anyway, I have gotten $100 Robinson voucher to spend as I sign up with Starhub for a 2 years Maxoline contract. So, I went to Robinson at Orchard to do some shopping. I wanted to get a pair of shoes, but the staff there are not able to find the price and box of the shoes I wanted, so I just walked away. To admit it, I was a bit pissed as I was like waiting there and they can't find me a new pair and what is worse is that they can't even locate the box of the display pair of shoes. Geez...

I went down to the toiletries section to get some eau de toilette for myself. I never tried getting perfume for myself before as I usually share with my cousin, but I decided to get my own personal one from now on. So I gotten a Tommy Hilfiger perfume at $86 which is quite good as I only need to pay $36 because I used the $50 voucher. I might be coming back again tomorrow to get the shoes as I still got another $50 voucher to spare.

Next, I went to Cathy Picturehouse (next to Plaza Singapura) for my dinner at Starbucks Coffee as I got 2 $5 vouchers to spare and they are expiring by the end of the year. So I order a cup of Earl Grey tea (what else do you expect, hehe), a curry puff and cheesecake. The total cost is $12.70 but all I need to pay is $2.70 as I used the voucher. For $2.70, I had really a great and filling meal.

I took a MRT back to Sengkang Compasspoint and went to Cold Storage to continue with my groceries shopping. I wanted to buy some broccoli but they all looks bad. Sigh... So I didn't get any vegetables this time round expect for some KimChi which I wanted to try out. I also gotten some drumsticks as I wanted to try steaming them. Yummy...

I came home with big bags and small bags, all stuff with things. What a day of shopping spree. Alrighty, time for my shower. Good night everyone. Cheerz.

Cooking Rice, is so Fun

The rain hasn't stop since last night and it is still raining now. I can't believe it, I wanted to go out and do some shopping as I was busy for the last few days with the CCIS event and thought of going out today since I didn't go work but the rain doesn't seems to stop. Really scary.

Since I don't want to go out today, not even to buy dinner, I thought of testing out the new rice cooker that my mother gotten it for this Sengkang house. It is a very small little cooker but I am fine with it as I do not wish to eat too much rice at night.

Ever since I came back from Gurnee more than one year back, I haven't been cooking rice as I either eat outside, eat at my parent's house or eat other things such as instant noodles and such but other than rice.

So, I gotten a bit of rice and 2 sauages (I never stock up vegetables) and put them into the cooker to cook. It was my first try using this cooker and I only made a rough estimation of the water to put. After a few minutes of cooking, I anxiously look at the results after I heard the indicator sprung up to indicate that the rice is cook.

Well, the sauages sort of "exploded" as it expand in size due to the steam but the rice was just nice (to my standard). I didn't want to take photo because the sauages was in a bad shape. Hahaha. Maybe next time, I will try steaming a chicken drumstick. Sounds good.

Alrighty, Bon Appetit everyone. Cheerz.

Heavy Rain yet again, On Boxing Day

Ok, we don't celebrate Boxing day here in Singapore, but I just like to mention it as today is the 26th December, one day after Christmas celebration. :)

Anyway, it has been raining non-stop since around 11pm to 12am last night till now. I didn't report to work today as the rain is really so heavy, and besides, I gotten my work back home to do. So I thought, might as well work from home as there is no point for me to waste my travelling time and money yet getting drenched at the same time.

The weather is really cold today but yet in the comfort of my house, I can feel the coziness.

Time to continue working. Take care everyone. Cheerz.

Conpletion of my First Official Photography Assignment

Finally, it is over…

After 9 days of hard work from 17th Dec to 25th Dec (10 days to be exact, the starting date is on the 16th Dec, but I am attending Corrinne May’s concert that day and so I asked Michael aka espn to stand in), every night from 7pm to 10:30pm (sometime up to 11pm or even later), helping out along Orchard Road with the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore (CCIS) event, it is finally over. Now I can really take a breather after completing this photography assignment.

I think I should include this in my photography portfolio as this is my first official photography assignment :-
Celebrate Christmas In Singapore (CCIS) event from 16th Dec 2006 to 25th Dec 2006, representing Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS) and Nikon Singapore as Photographer.

This would look very interesting. Hmm…

Anyway, the finale of this assignment is with the arrival of the Minister of Defence RADM Teo Chee Hean. All the 5 photographers (Sykes Tang, Daniel, Kian Teck and James Wong) including me are to take photos of these VIPs as they take a short tour around the CCIS displays setup and floats and later print out the photos and give it to them.

A pity that I gave all the memory cards to the organizer as they need it for their shooting, if not I will like to keep a few photos as my portfolio. Oh well, there is always next time I believe. :)

Alrighty, after lacking sleep for so many nights, I guess I can really sleep well tonight. Good night everyone. Cheerz.

Chirstmas Eve in Gurnee, IL, US (2004)

One last post before I head out for my CCIS event shoot at 1pm.

I can still clearly recall how I spend my Christmas in Gurnee, Illinois, US, 2 years back. I remember all the rest of the TAP trainees went to the other states for a short trip while I stayed back in Pembrook Club, in my cozy George Court apartment celebrating Christmas alone. :)

I remembered that I prepared a good dinner with Calamari and Lobster Tail while I watch Dilbert DVD on my company laptop as I enjoy my meal.

After dinner, I just sit back and relax and channel surf those Comcast channel. That is life...

Alrighty, time to snap out of it and get ready for the big event shoot later. Wish me luck. :)

Nothing Like a Cold Chilled Tiger after a Good Shower

Had just finished my shower after a tiring night. After my shower, I just open up the fridge and grab a can of cold chilled Tiger to celebrate this joyous festive season of Christmas. It feel really good with the cool wind blowing while I sit here blogging and enjoying my chilled beer. :)

A toast to everyone for this Christmas. Cheerz and good night.

Christmas at Orchard Road

Just got home not long ago after finishing my CCIS shoot at 10:15pm. The situation at Orchard Road is very chaotic. People are really squeezing onto one another. I got a really hard time squeezing through the crowd. If given me a choice, I rather stay at home and watch TV than to squeeze with the people. Taken one shot of the situation.



Despite all these, just like to wish all a very Merry Christmas. Cheerz.

千里之外 - 周杰倫,费玉清 (Faraway - Jay Chou)

Thought of going out to do some electronics and computer shopping today but unexpectedly it has been raining since afternoon. Was lazing around at home and happen to see this MTV by Jay Chou on television. I manage to find it on Youtube and thought of sharing with the rest. Enjoy.



千里之外 - 周杰倫,费玉清

屋檐如悬崖
风铃如沧海
我等燕归来
时间被安排
演一场意外
你悄然走开
故事在城外
浓雾散不开
看不清对白
你听不出来
风声不存在
是我在感慨

梦醒来 是谁在窗台
把结局打开
那薄如蝉翼的未来
经不起 谁来拆
我送你离开
千里之外
你无声黑白
沉默年代
或许不该
太遥远的相爱
我送你离开
天涯之外
你是否还在
琴声何来
生死难猜
用一生 去等待

闻泪声入林 寻梨花白
只得一行 青苔
天在山之外 雨落花台
我两鬓斑白
闻泪声入林 寻梨花白
只得一行 青苔
天在山之外 雨落花台
我等你来

一身琉璃白
透明着尘埃
你无瑕的爱
你从雨中来
诗化了悲哀
我淋湿现在
芙蓉水面采
船行影犹在
你却不回来
被岁月覆盖
你说的花开
过去成空白

梦醒来 是谁在窗台
把结局打开
那薄如蝉翼的未来
经不起 谁来拆
我送你离开
千里之外
你无声黑白
沉默年代
或许不该
太遥远的相爱
我送你离开
天涯之外
你是否还在
琴声何来
生死难猜
用一生...

我送你离开
千里之外
你无声黑白
沉默年代
或许不该
太遥远的相爱
我送你离
开天涯之外
你是否还在
琴声何来
生死难猜
用一生 去等待

Merry Christmas Eve

It is a very wet Christmas Eve today. It has been raining since noon till now. Really no mood to do anything, just felt very lazy. Just thought of hiding behind my cozy blanket but still got to work later. Argh...

Merry Christmas 2006

Just like to wish all my family members, friends and everyone. A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Cheerz to all.

Best Wishes and Good Health.

Walking in the Drizzle

Tonight, we ended a bit late at the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore (CCIS) event. Kian Teck, James and I wanted to take the MRT initially but found that the MRT station is crowded with people, so we decided to take a cab instead.

As I do not have any spare cash on hand, I decided to make a withdrawal at the ATM machine while the two of them proceed back home. After checking out my watch, I think that I can still make it for the last bus 80 and so I did. Luckily enough, I caught the last bus back home to Sengkang.

As I was walking back from Compass Point, it started to drizzle. The feeling is like as if I was back in Gurnee while it was snowing, but the only different is that snowflakes are not as drenching as drizzle.

The drizzle looks so much like snowflakes falling from the sky under the orange street lights and so I decided to take a slow walk in the drizzle even though I got an umbrella with me. I really miss the feeling of the snowflakes falling onto my face back in the US. I really love those moment...

Alrighty, better get my shower before I fall sick. Good night everyone. Merry Christmas to you.

Strong Cool Wind blowing across my face

Woke up at around 9am this morning. Really had a good sleep as I know that I no need to go to work today. After washing up and having Myojo mee for breakfast, I again started to do my Photoshop editing for Thomas and Amelia.

The weather is so inviting today, so I open up my windows and grills to let in the sun. While I am in the midst of doing the editing, the strong blew so strongly and I just open up my living room windows and door so that the wind can blow right through. The feeling is so cooling and refreshing. Really love this feeling. With the soound of Jeffrey Michael's piano piece in the background, I couldn't help but to enjoy this moment. :)

Cheerz and Merry Christmas Everyone.

Edgy Edge Edginess

For no appropriate reason, I am feeling extremely edgy today. Very strange. Just not my usual self, simply edgy. Every little thing will just spark me. Maybe I am lack of proper rest or too tired.

Maybe a good shower and supper could help to ease me up a bit I hope. Good night everyone. Cheerz.

There is no magic to fix a broken heart

Happen to find another interesting and inspiring article in my CD collection, just like to share with all.

There is no magic to fix a broken heart

There is no magic "plug and play" formula but there are certainly things that you can do to speed up the healing process. We hope to explore some ways that can help you nurse that heartache.

The breaking up of a relationship forged over months or years will inevitably cause much pain for both parties when it ends. The activities that you used to do together, the places that you thronged together will rake up the old feelings. Still, what's gone is past and you must let it go and move on with your life.

Many people feel lost after exiting from a relationship they had for a long period of time. This isn't unusual but these same people must learn to relish the joys of singlehood again!

You can start by putting away all the things that remind you of your ex-lover. Get hold of a big shoe box or carton and put in all the tokens that he/she has given you previously. Put in those photos that you'd taken together too. Not forgetting those cards as well. When done, seal up the box with masking tape and keep it in a place where you are unlikely to come across it in your daily routine. It could be your attic, your store or even the dark corner in your garage.

Subsequently, redecorate your room. Start shifting things around and re-arranging the furniture where ever possible. It could mean giving your room a fresh coat of paint to brighten it up or adding a small potted plant by the window. They will all count towards you making a step in starting a new chapter of your life.

You can also choose to get a new look - a new hairdo or new dress sense. Go for a makeover. Re-style and re-invent yourself. Pamper yourself and pick up new clothes. You can get ideas from your favorite magazine or spend time hitting the shops.

Then, take this chance to re-discover your friends. When in the relationship, old friendships, undoubtedly, would have been neglected. Take this opportunity to ring up your old chums or mates. Reminiscing those good times over the phone is the first step for you to re-join their circle of singlehood.

After calling them up and catching up with them, do take the initiative to join them for their nights' out to the pub or coffee joint. This would help you to bond with them faster and also to pass your time faster. Else, you can throw a small party or have a barbeque at your place. At the end of the day, whether it is at your own party or the pub, the key is for you to really enjoy their company and have fun all over again.

Most will tell you that the key to mending the broken heart is to keep yourself really busy; especially if the first week after the breakup because the wound is still fresh. Here's a list of things that will help keep you busy and that would complement our above suggestions:

(1) Working overtime

Load yourself with work but do not overwork. Put extra effort to complete your projects and assignments fast. Let them be of high quality too. The blessing is that your manager may take notice and give you a raise.

(2) Exercising

Shed those extra kilos off and get into tip-top shape. Everyone likes to have a nice, well-toned body. It is part of healthy living and well, you could flaunt it at the local gym too.

(3) Learning something new

Have you always wanted to pick up German or learn to play golf? Well, this is an ideal opportunity for you to sign up for time-consuming classes. Attending such classes also gives you the chance to meet more people and widen your social circle.

To all those who are in the midst of mending a broken heart, hope that this article can help to lighten you up a bit.

找寻爱的过程

Happen to see a log on Theo's (aka Tall Frog) blog that is quite interesting.

Extract : You may have found the love of your life, but that doesn't mean he/she will be the one you end up with. -_-"

This sentence sparks me about a Chinese article I read some time back then. After running through my CDs collection (my hard-disk is too small, so need to back up those documents into CDs). I managed to find the document. :)

Here is the full article, in Chinese.

人生就是为了找寻爱的过程，每个人的人生都要找到四个人。

第一个是自己,
第二个是你最爱的人，
第三个是最爱你的人，
第四个是共度一生的人.
首先会遇到你最爱的人，然後体会到爱的感觉；
因为了解被爱的感觉，所以才能发现最爱你的人；
当你经历过爱人与被爱，学会了爱，才会知道什么是你需要的，
也才会找到最适合你，能够相处一辈子的人。
但很悲哀的，在现实生活中，这三个人通常不是同一个人；
你最爱的，往往没有选择你；
最爱你的，往往不是你最爱的；
而最长久的，偏偏不是你最爱也不是最爱你的，
只是在最适合的时间出现的那个人。
你，会是别人生命中的第几个人呢？
没有人是故意要变心的，他爱你的时候是真的爱你，
可是他不爱你的时候也是真的不爱你了，
他爱你的时候没有办法假装不爱你；
同样的，他不爱你的时候也没有办法假装爱你 。
当一个人不爱你要离开你，
你要问自己还爱不爱他，
如果你也不爱他了，千万别为了可怜的自尊而不肯离开；
如果你还爱他，你应该会希望他过得幸福快乐，
希望他跟真正爱的人在一起，绝不会阻止，
你要是阻止他得到真正的幸福，就表示你已经不爱他了，
而如果你不爱他，你又有什么资格指责他变心呢？
爱不是占有，
你喜欢月亮，不可能把月亮拿下来放在脸盆里，
但月亮的光芒仍可照进你的房间。
换句话说，你爱一个人，也可以用另一种方式拥有，
让爱人成为生命里的永恒回忆，
如果你真爱一个人，就要爱他原来的样子─爱他的好，也爱他的坏：
爱他的优点，也爱他的缺点，
绝不能因为爱他，就希望他变成自己所希望的样子，
万一变不成就不爱他了。
真正爱一个人是无法说出原因的，
你只知道无论何时何地、心情好坏，你都希望这个人陪著你；
真正的感情是两人能在最艰苦中相守，也就是没有丝毫要求。
毕竟，感情必须付出，而不是只想获得；
分开是一种必然的考验，
如果你们感情不够稳固，只好认输，
真爱是不会变成怨恨的。
两人在谈情说爱的时候，
最喜欢叫对方发誓，许下承诺我们为什么要对方发誓，
就是因为我们不相信对方，我们根本不相信情人，
而这些山盟海誓又很不切实际：
海枯石烂、地老天荒，都不能改变我对你的爱!
明知道海不会枯、石不会烂、地不会老、天不会荒；
就算会，也活不到那时候。
许下诺言的时候千万注意，不要许下可以实现的诺言，
最好是承诺做不到的事，
反正做不到的，随便说说也不要紧，
请记住：”不可能实现的诺言最动人”
在爱情里，说的是一套，做的是另一套；
讲的人不相信，听的人也不相信。
你呢？找到了第几个？
茫茫人海中，你遇见了谁？谁又遇见了你？
祝愿天下有情人终成眷属

Hope that you find this article meaningful.

(PS : Hey bro, sorry that it is in Chinese, maybe can ask Aeris to translate for you. :P Hehe...)

What Is Love?

Happen to see this log on HuiRong's blog and will really like to share it with my readers too.

What is love???

When you think of your past love, you may view it as a failure. But when you find a new love, you view the past as a teacher. In the game of love, it doesn't really matter who won or who lost.

What is important is you know when to hold on and when to let go! You know you really love someone when you want him or her to be happy, even if his or her happiness means that you're not part of it.

Everything happens for the best. If the person you love doesn't love you back, don't be afraid to love someone else again, for you'll never know unless you give it a try. You'll never truly love a person you love unless you RISK FOR LOVE.

Love strives in hurting. If you don't get hurt, you don't learn how to love. Love doesn't hurt all the time, though the hurting is still there to test you and to help you grow. Don't find love, let love find you. That's why it's called falling in love because you don't force yourself to fall. You just fall.

You cannot finish a book without closing its chapters. If you want to go on, then you have to leave the past as you turn the pages. Love is not destroyed by a single failure nor won by a single caress. It is a lifetime venture in which we are always learning, relearning, discovering, rediscovering, and growing.

The greatest irony of love is LETTING GO WHEN YOU WANT TO HOLD ON and HOLDING ON WHEN YOU NEED TO LET GO. We lose someone we love only when we are destined to find someone else who can love us even more than we can love ourselves. On falling out of love, take some time to heal and then get back on the horse. But don't ever make the same mistake of riding the same one that threw you the first time. Fall but do not stumble, be constant but not too persistent, share and never be unfair, understand and try not to demand, hurt but never keep the pain.

Love is like a knife.
It CAN STAB THE HEART but it also CAN CARVE WONDERFUL IMAGES INTO THE SOUL THAT LAST FOR A LIFETIME!

Love is supposed to be the most wonderful feeling. It should inspire you and give you joy and strength. But sometimes the things that give you joy can also hurt you in the end. Loving people means giving them the freedom that they choose to be and where they choose to be. For all the heartaches and the tears, for gloomy days and fruitless years, you should give thanks, for you know, that these were the things which helped you grow.

Loving someone means giving him the freedom to find his way, whether it leads towards you or away from you. When you give your heart to someone, you're also giving him or her the power to tear and break your heart into pieces. Love is a painful risk to take but the risk must be taken no matter how scary or painful, for only then you'll experience the fullness of humanity and that is LOVE. Only love can hurt your heart, fill you with desire and tear you apart. Only love can make you cry and only love knows why. If you're not ready to cry, if you're not ready to take the risk, if you're not ready to feel the pain, then you're not ready to fall in love.
There was a time in our lives when we became afraid to fall in love because every time we do, we get hurt, then I figured that's why it is called falling in love...

Thought of typing out my thoughts about this note, but very tired now. Hope to hear your thoughts about this and maybe I will share out my insight next time. :)

Busy Day, Busy Night

Sorry for not been able to update my blog regularly as I am rather busy recently even after my big presentation for my project panel review.

In the daytime, I got to do my normal job as a Project Officer and I am now rushing for the EHS website which I was tasked to undertake the job to revamp the whole website. Sounds easy but a tough job for a Mechanical trained engineer like me who knows nuts about HTML and website design. (It is not like blogging, sigh...)

In the night, I got to help out with Celebrate Christmas In Singapore (CCIS) event in Orchard where I am a photographer assigned to taken photos for those who donate to the charity fund. It starts at 7pm until 10:30pm every night until Christmas day itself. Now counting down, I still got 5 more days to go. I will try to write more details about this event next time.

Really sleepy now, still waiting for my laundry to be done. Good night everyone.

Heavy Rain

It has been really long since I experience really very heavy rain in Singapore and today seems like the heaviest that I can ever recall. It has been raining since 11pm last night and the amount of rain fall never seems to stop.

I really love raining as I can just laid on my bed and hide behind my cozy blanket while trying to sleep a little longer, if only today is a weekend, that will be excellent.

Well here I am, quite wide awake, in front of my laptop, still pondering should I go into my lab today. Sigh...

Maybe wait till the rain clear up a bit. Ok everyone, good morning and good day.

Death Note (Episode 11)

Death Note Episode 11 (1/3)



Death Note Episode 11 (2/3)



Death Note Episode 11 (3/3)

Christmas with Corrinne May @ Esplanade Concert Hall

Just attended "Christmas with Corrinne May" concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall with Joey. Really glad that she can attend the concert with me.

The concert start at 7:30pm and Corrinne came on stage with a beautiful blue dress. A pity photography is not allowed in the concert hall, but I believe that she will post some pictures on her blog or her website.

The whole concert was around 2 hours with a short encore, here is the list of songs she sang tonight.

1. Silent Night
2. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
3. O Come O Come Emmanuel
4. Be Thou My Vision
5. Away In A Manger
6. Angel In Disguse
7. Beautiful Seeds (New Song, I remembered hearing this during her last concert, she was still working on this song during that time, now I feel that it is completed already. Really looking forward to her next album and concert)
8. In the Bleak Mid-Winter (New Song)
9. What Child Is This

After the first intermission, Corrinne was joined by the choir from Singapore Youth Choir on stage. During this second half of her performance, she introduced a few more new songs which really touches everyone in the concert hall.

10. Hail Mary
11. Angels We Have Heard On High
12. O Come All Ye Faithful
13. Do you Hear What I Hear (New Song)
14. The Answer
15. On My Way (New Song)
16. Five Loaves and Two Fishes (New Song, I believe this is a part in the Bible that mentioned how Jesus perform a miracle to feed all the hungry people even though there is little food around. Pardon me for this as I am not a Christian and I am not very well verse with the Bible)
17. Joy To The World

After the last song, Joy To The World, the concert ended but the crowd applaused for an encore and Corrinne came back with 2 more Christmas songs to wrap up the wonderful evening.

18. My Chirstmas List (Encore)
19. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Encore)

Throughout the concert, Corrinne share some of her Christmas stories and crack some jokes and that really bonds with the audience. Overall, I think that the concert was a great success, will really look forward to her next concert, :)

I had really enjoyed myself today and must really thanks Joey for keeping me company even though she is tired as she had not been sleeping well due to work stress. Hope that things will work out for her. :)

Alrighty, time for bed now. Good night. Cheerz.

Jogging when Vex

Feeling rather vex today for no appropriate reasons, so just went for a night jog. Haven't really been jogging these days since I came back from Korea. Hope to be able to maintain at one time per week kind of thing.

Somehow, night jogging when vex makes me feel better especially when the night wind blow across my hair (not that I have very long hair, hehe) when I jog. I just keep going on and on with one step following the next until I am really tired. Maybe I should feel vex more often so that I can jog more and get more lean and healthier. Hahaha. :P

Alrighty, time for my shower and rest. Cheerz.

IR ROM Portrait of Thomas and Amelia

Ever since I gotten my Mod cam from Matthew (aka Deadpixel) on 7th Dec 2006 (last Thursday), I didn't really try it out to take human portrait with it yet but my first try is on Thomas and Amelia's ROM day. :P

Not sure what you all think about IR Portrait, maybe I need more practise on my mod cam to fully understand the capabilities and limitations. Hope that this shot will not disappoint the couple. As of again, I had created 2 versions, let see which one will you prefer. Cheerz.

(PS : The original looks really sharp which kind of don't suit the mood, so I apply some filters to soften it and make it blur.)

A Loving Photo

I am processing Thomas and Amelia's ROM photos when I came across this photo which is really loving. It really bring out the feeling and I can sense that loving feeling in that photo so much that I couldn't help but to post it up. Hope that you will like it too.



Update:

After seeking some opinions, I have created a warmer version of the same shot. How I wish there is a poll system in Blogger so that I can invite my viewers to vote for which version they prefer.

Here is the shot.

Last few Photography Equipment for 2006?

In the past 2 days, I spent nearly up to $2000 on photography equipment. I know I said that I gotten the last piece of lens (which is my 12-24) for this year but what I gotten is not lens but other photography equipment and accessories. :P

Sykestang had help me gotten a Quantum 2x2 Power Pack with the power cable for my SB800 which is around $1050. I met up with him yesterday to collect it before I went down to PSS to collect my certificate and photos. The Quantum Power Pack is to help the flash to achieve much faster recycling time and it can also power up my dSLR too, but that will need another type of cable.

And today, I had just gotten my Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod and short column for $930. The reason I have to get my tripod now is because Andrew (from my IR Group) had sold off his tripod to PandaOng (also from my IR Group) and he like to get my tripod, Manfrotto 190ProB, which I find it quite heavy to carry around. The other reason is that GST is going up to 7% next year, so why wait I think to myself.

Anyway, having to get these 2 items can really shorten my wishlist actually. Hahaha.
Maybe I can try writing my wishlist next time. Alrighty, time to sleep. Good night everyone.

Death Note (Episode 10)

Death Note Episode 10 (1/3)



Death Note Episode 10 (2/3)



Death Note Episode 10 (3/3)

My PSS Course Grading 2

Just drop by PSS earlier to collect my certificate grading and my photos submission for my Studio Lighting course.

Studio Lighting Course Submission

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Grade : Pass with Merit

I also gotten my certificate of participation for The Art Of Seeing Course. Currently, I still left my Wedding Photography Course submission which I still owe my instructor, I intend to use Thomas's ROM shoot for the submission, hope that it works. :P

Mike Yamashita: My life behind the lens

Mike Yamashita: My life behind the lens

By Adrian Lim - December 9, 2006
AsiaOne

IF you think National Geographic lensman Michael Yamashita has the ultimate dream job traversing the globe taking pictures, think again. In the man's own words, it is a dream job yes, but one he cannot afford to fail in.

In an industry of tough competitors, the photographer must have absolute passion and obsession for his photographic subject to keep himself ahead in the game.

This was one of the points this renowned travel cameraman made at the start of his masterclass at the Beyond 2006 summit, held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel last week.

The summit featured prominent figures from the creative industries such as fashion priestess Joanne Ooi, hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany, and renowned architect Duangrit Bunnag.

Yamashita also shared his story about about life behind the lens, and how he conceptualised the ideas behind his famous Marco Polo and Zheng He expeditions.

In 1999, Mike embarked on a two-year expedition crossing over 6,000 miles to document and retrace the silk-road journeys of famous 13th century explorer Marco Polo.

This culminated in the hugely successful book Marco Polo: A Photographer's Journey, which was also featured in an award-winning National Geographic Channel documentary.

Later, Mike reprised the journeys of another great explorer, Zheng He, by retracing the 15 th century admiral's voyages in his exploration of the Straits of Malacca and the Indian Ocean.

Full Article here.

My Warmest Congrats to Thomas and Amelia

Today is the big day for one of my good buddies, Thomas Ang (Don't mistake him for the other Thomas, Thomas Tan that is, hehe) with Amelia. I feel really honoured today to be able to be their ROM photographer today. Thomas (Tan) was also there to cover this important day which is good as he had been doing wedding photography for others recently. I am thankful that Thomas (Tan) is with me as he can get those shots that I missed. Well, I think I still need more training on my candid and natural shots.

I will like to extend my warmest congrats to them and shall await patiently for their Actual Day Wedding which is exactly one year later.

I am still downloading the photos now, but I am not sure if I want to post them as the couples reserve the rights of their privacy. Maybe I will get the best shot and post one here as my portfolio. Hmm...

Alrighty, time for a quick shower and get to work already. Cheerz.

Death Note (Episode 9)

Death Note Episode 9 (1/3)



Death Note Episode 9 (2/3)



Death Note Episode 9 (3/3)

Congrats to Mok for his promotion

Feeling rather happy now as I met up with my ex-eolleagues from Motorola earlier for a dinner and drinking session. It is to celebrate Mok's promotion and also a farewell dinner for the IA student.

I ordered a pork knuckle earlier which I really regretted as it is really so filling and oily. Geez. That really fills up my stomach and that is why I didn't drink as much today. Only managed to finish one glass of dark beer and also shared a some small portion from the rest. Actually, I am in the mood to drink today but too bad Neo is not feeling too well today, if not he and I will really stay and drink.

Time to get some early rest as I had been rather busy recently over my project and I am having a ROM shoot tomorrow for Thomas and Amelia. Feeling really excited actually as I gotten some ideas in mind and also, I gotten my IR modded D70i from Matthew yesterday. Time to unleash the power of InfraRed Photography.

Finally... Finished updating my Korea Trip Log

Hooray, finally finished updating my Korea trip log and loaded some photos too. Do check it out. Cheerz.

Time to continue my day to day blogging and also clear my backlog blog. Argh... :p

Alrighty, time to get some good rest now. Good night.

Distance Apart

I was talking about the farthest distance on Earth the other day in my previous post. Aeris posted something in my cbox that I think it is very interesting which I will like to share with all. "The furtherest distance on earth is when you stand in front of me, your heart is still not with me."

This is very true. When a pair of couples, even though they can be physically next to each other, if their heart do not have each other, that is the farthest distance on Earth. Likewise, some couples can be thousands of miles apart, if they have each other in their hearts, the warm and the beating of the heartbeat can be felt and heard as if they are in each other arms.

Some food for thought here. Cheerz.

I am Back (from Korea)

After 5 days in the land aboard, I have finally return to my homeland, Singapore. The trip to Korea is really interesting and nice. It is a whole new experience for me. I will try to backlog all my posts and pictures for the last few days as I do not have any internet connection or software to do my post-processing back then.

Anyway, I took a cab back home and is now doing my packing and washing up of my clothes and etc. Looking back, I really miss the 5 days in Korea. It is so memorable. Alrighty, that is all for now, do check back once a while to see my backdated postings. Cheerz.

A Short Tour Around Seoul (Before Flying back to Singapore)

I woke up early this morning as Prof Chen and I decided to do a quick tour around Seoul before we try to catch the 1pm Airport Limousine to the Airport as our flight is around 4:20pm. After breakfast, Prof Chen and I met at the hotel lobby with our luggage at hand, we decided to check out early so that we no need to rush back and do a room check out at 12pm. I never check out my room as Derrick is still staying in Seoul until the 7th Dec and he need to go to his new hotel which he had arranged before the trip. We deposited our luggage at the counter and left for our short tour.

Prof Chen and I decided to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace; we were joined by Gustavo, his lecturer, Dr David Serrano from University of Puerto Rico from and Ayman from Stony Brook University. The 5 of us took a subway to the Gyeongbokgung station and bought the entrance ticket which cost 3,000 won to visit the palace. We were late for the 9:30am morning tour but we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Mounting of Imperial Guards at the Palace. Ayman and the rest wanted to catch the next English guided tour at 12pm but this timing is out for me and Prof Chen and so we bid farewell to them as they were going to shop around the area first while Prof Chen and I tour around the palace.



Mounting of the Imperial Guards








After touring the palace, we decided to go to the Insa-Dong Culture Plaza to have a look. It is a very interesting street fill with activities and stuffs. Really an eye opener for me. I am very thankful that Prof Chen suggested visiting this place. We walked around and took a subway back to Cheong-Dam at around 1:30pm (yes, we are slightly behind schedule) to walk back to Hotel Prima. Same as last night, the temperature seems to be sub-zero and it is getting colder, luckily I am all prepared.



Street of Insha-Dong








After getting our luggage from the counter, we proceed over to the road opposite the hotel to take the Airport Limousine 606 to Incheon Airport. We board the bus around 2:20pm and reached the airport at around 3:15pm which is very fast. After getting my board pass, I am all set to go back to my homeland Singapore. I am going to miss Korea very much. It had been a new and fun experience for me. Looking back, it might be only a short 5 days but it is a memorable one. Alrighty, time to board the plane soon. Goodbye Korea. Cheerz.

Leaving EXCO, Goodbye Daegu.

Today is the last day of the exhibition; Shanti is leaving at 8am as he needs to rush back to West Virginia for his lesson. He had already missed one week of lesson in order to attend to this Convention. Good luck to him and have a safe trip. It had been nice knowing him.

For me, the instruction given was to pack my luggage and check out the hotel by 9am. However, since this is the last day, Brandi and I decided to go to the neighbourhood around the hotel to take a few more shots before leaving Daegu and so we meet up at 7:30am and shoot till 8:10am before going back to hotel.





After eating breakfast, I went back to my room to get my luggage as I am all packed to leave. I check out my room and proceed to the hotel lobby to wait for the bus to pick us to the Convention Center.

Today is going to be really a short day as the bus will be picking us up at 3pm before going for a 4hrs ride back to Seoul. Nothing much happening today except visitors popping by once a while to look at the Mechanical Lion. As the time ticked by, I started to miss this place. I really had great fun in the last few days and I got to know more people, those fun and crazy night at the pub ad also our very nice and helpful hosts Susan, Rachel, Yeon Hong and Mr Huang. Not forgetting those who turn up at the convention too.

At 2pm, we started to pack up out booth and I dismantle the profile structure for keeping. At 3pm, we board the bus and left the EXCO at around 3:20pm as we need to wait for some students from Seoul who are sharing the bus the bus with us. And so, this started our 4 hours long trip back to Seoul. I am really going to miss this place. Goodbye Daegu. Hope that I will be back again.

As the journey is long, I just plug on my MP3 Player and start to write my update for my blog on my notebook and occasionally taking photos of the beautiful scenery from the bus. The countryside scenery of Korea is really very beautiful and lovely. I guess I am really getting tired now, maybe time for a short nap before I update again. Cheerz.







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Time now is 5:23pm, the sky is getting darker. Our bus decided to pull over at those stop-over areas for us to get something to eat and drink. I just grab a pizzacake and cakesauage for 1,500 won each and head back to the bus. The bus moves off at 6pm share as we head towards Hotel Prima at Seoul.



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The time now is 7:30pm, we are still stuck in our bus as there is a heavy traffic jam, but the good news is that at least we are in Seoul now. Still listening to my music in my MP3 and dozing off occasionally. Will try to update again. Cheerz.

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We reached Hotel Prima at around 8:10pm, after unloading the luggage from the bus; we proceed to do our check-in. As again, the professors were assigned one to a room while the students are assigned two to a room. I was paired up with Derrick Chandra this time.

After we check-in to our room, I just put down my luggage and take what is necessary as Prof Chen wanted to go Downtown Seoul again and we were supposed to meet at 8:45pm. As I go down to the hotel lobby, there were quite a few (from the other universities) who wanted to go to Downtown too and so Prof Chen and I just lead them along as we had explored the subway and Downtown area during the first night here in Seoul. While walking to the subway station, I realized that the temperature had really dropped quite drastically as compared to the first night here. I believe it is dropped to be sub-zero region. Really freezing.

We shopped around and I gotten some souvenirs and some Ginseng Candies for my friends and colleagues. At around 11:20pm, we decided to call it a day as the last subway train leaves the station at 11:30pm. We got back to the hotel at around 12am plus.

After gotten back to our room, our hotel room neighbours Tian Jun from South China University of Technology and Ryuji from Kanazawa Institute of Technology pay me and Derrick a visit. We had tea and chatted for quite a while until 1am. This is the last night together, guess going to miss our new friends that I got to know here. Alrighty, time to sleep now. Good night.

A Boring Day, but yet, Another Crazy and Fun Night

After eating my free buffet breakfast at the hotel lobby, I am set to go to the Daegu Exhibition & Convention Centre to set up my booth and be ready for the day.

Prof Chen and the rest of the professors were invited for a heritage tour while the rest of us (the student that is) from the different universities were left behind to tend the booth. It is a rather boring day as there are lesser visitors today or maybe the excitement just kind of died down. Luckily we still have our local interpreter/host Susan, Rachel and Yeon Hong to keep us company. The day just pass by so slowly today and everyone just sort of get very restless.















Brandi with her project


Me and Rachel, our Korean interpreter/host


After a long wait, the day just sort of ended, we had dinner at the food court at Basement 1 of the Convention Hall. At around 6pm, the bus was here to pick us up and leave for the hotel.

After reaching the hotel, I made an arrangement with Brandi to meet at 6:35pm to go out to capture the night scene of the neighborhood near the hotel. I really regretted for not bringing my tripod with me as the night scene here is really beautiful even though there is quite a bit light pollution here. I did try to capture a couple of shots by using higher ISO and larger aperture; however, the results are not really up to my expectation.  We ended at 7:10pm or so and decided to come back the next morning instead as it is really getting dark and cold.









At around 8pm, the rest of the people are meeting up to go downtown again with Susan and Yeon Hong, the fun part is that 2 lecturers (one bring his spouse along too) from Cal Poly joined us too. We explore part of downtown and we ended up in a pub again. Hahaha. This time, we didn’t drink Soju but tall beer. The beer mug is very tall and there are 3 sizes, ACE – 900ml, KING – 800ml & Queen - ???ml (didn’t check how many ml as none order this). I ordered an ACE without really checking out the size but luckily it seems that my alcohol limit had reached a new level as I can finish that ACE beer and as what is left of Brandi’s Soju cocktail lemonade mix. Since our Korean host/interpreter Susan, Rachel (yes, Rachel meet us up at the pub) and Yeon Hong have been really great hosts and helping us a lot, we decided to buy them this session of booze to show our appreciation.

We drink until 12am or so and decided to call it a day, but Susan, Ryan and Jeff decided to stay for another round. After taking a cab back to the hotel, I just returned to my room and have a good rest. It is really fun, interesting and crazy night. How I wish that the night will not end…

I am going to miss this place, the people and the experience when I go back to Singapore. Sigh… Good times usually fly by without you noticing it. Alrighty, Cheerz.