Bena Arts Park???

I've been staying here in Kota Kinabalu for almost 6 months now and I must say I do enjoy the life here. Things here are different from KL/PJ. No kidding. When I drive around I do have time to look at my scenery and enjoy the view.







Yeah....that's when I noticed this.



Taman Seni Bena??? After consulting the sifu, Seni translates to Art in english and I'm pretty sure most of you will know that Taman means Park. So what about Bena? Hmm...the sifu has never heard of any BM meaning to the word and neither have I. However, the first thing that comes to my mind when I saw that sign was this...

Yea! Bena Expectorant for chesty coughs. Sorry about the blurry image, I got it off the XSP website and they only have a low res image. So that means Taman Seni Bena loosely translated to english would be...Bena Arts Park? The Art of Bena Park? Sounds like a very sick place to be no? A Taman filled with sick people with chesty coughs...Maybe the road was sponsored by the drug company itself?

In fact that's not a bad idea! Sometimes you know the roads in our Taman or vicinity is so poorly maintained you must wonder whether the Majlis Daerah has any $$$ or not (I'm sure they do lah)...but lets just say that they really are strapped for cash. Why not? I mean just rename the roads a bit, sign a contract... let the name of the road be chosen by the drug company.

Heheh...mali mali

MIFC: Team Global (Merdeka Day)

Ok as promised, here are the pics from Team Global. Having gained experienced from my virgin shots of fireworks the night before, I decided to 'apply' them. I got there late though and managed a couple of test shots from my locations.

Immediately after I shot this pic above, people were shouting 10, 9, 8.... So judging from the first shot I took during Team Japan's performance, it is too near. I quickly pulled back a bit and was rewarded for doing so in my next shot.

Just in time.

Overall, the performance was quite disappointing. I've heard people saying that its not worth going for Team Global's performance, but they do have the wind to their advantage compared to Team Japan. Probably because the performance was 7 mins long only too, so not much smoke generated.

Tried doing a vertical shot.

This is my favourite one though. It reminds me of rambutans.

MIFC: Team Japan (Merdeka Eve)

This year may be the 50th Merdeka for Malaysia (or 44 as many people would argue), but it is quite a hollow occasion for me with certain things going on in our country. Anyway, putting all that aside, on the eve of Merdeka I went to Putrajaya to shoot Team Japan in the Malaysia International Firworks Competition (MIFC). I also met Kwan FM and Clement there as well.

The fireworks started at midnight and lasted for half an hour. I arrived quite late, 8pm. Apparently people were already setting up their cameras and waiting at the good locations since 5pm...kiasu-nyer.

Having seen some of the previous teams photos on an online forum, I knew I had quickly take the shots before the smoke settled in. This means I have to get it right first few times. This is my first time shooting fireworks, so I set up my tripod and camera at 11pm and spend around an hour waiting and taking test shots.

In the end this was the view that I decided on. Not too high that you can't see the bridge, and not too low that you can't see the fireworks. After the fireworks started I immediately regretted it.

It was too low! Crap! This could've been quite a nice shot!

I quickly re-adjusted the camera and continued shooting. This one above reminded me of flowers.

Then the smoke started getting in the way...

Smoke again...

Yet more smoke...

A heart-shaped one.

Another heart-shaped one.

The fireworks finished at12.30am and it was jammed all the way home. I reached home at around 4 something in the morning and slept at 5am. It was really frustrating sitting in the car for 4 hours. As a photographer, I did what any other photographer will do. Go again the next day for another shoot. Heheh... Watch out for pictures of that in the next post.

Taking a break

Will be in KL from tomorrow, 29th of August till 3rd of September. Anyone want to go shooting give me a call.

Urine and Shit

Customer: Give me the pills for urine and shit.

Me: Uhhh...urine and shit?

Customer: Ya ya, one strip one. Painkiller...

Me: Did you say painkiller for urine and shit??

Customer: Yes.

Me: You remember the name of the medicine? The color maybe ...

Customer: I know its pink one for urine and shit...you know...for gout.

Me: Ooooh...URIC ACID! (Aiyo...everyone's a comedian in Sabah)

[Do check out similar post: http://tedearl.blogspot.com/2007/07/free-gift.html]

18SX: Nude photos

Was having a discussion with fellow photographer WSPang yesterday about shooting creatively with lighting and somehow the topic turned to this. Since we are young photographers who push our art to the ...er....limits of creativity, I thought of giving this a shot. Please be warned, anyone under 18, you know what to do ah. After all nude photography is a very common art practiced and appreciated by many. If you are not easily offended, carry on. If yes, you have a choice not to see ok?

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So you're still here eh...Hehe. Ok I'll give you some insight to how I construct a shot. Well obviously we'll need a subject, so I'll volunteer for it this time. Next time anyone want model for me don't hesitate to let me know. We'll also need something avantgarde...something abstract, beautiful and complicated, yet appealing to art lovers. So I've decided to go for a shot of the family jewels - ball and stick. If you have no idea what I'm talking about...maybe you shouldn't be here. Heheh

Now on to the technicalities. I want to show something, yet not too much. So I've decided to shoot in the dark (also helps a lot coz my neighbors behind can see what I do very clearly wan). Based on previous shots I've had with a strobe in the dark, I guess 1/20 seconds is a good enough shutter speed and an aperture of f/9 was chosen to give it enough details. I placed an off camera flash at 1/128th power as well 45 degrees to one side and set the timer. The first shot was underexposed so the aperture was opened up to f/7.1. Still with me?

On the next shot, I got the results I was looking for. So want to see how my nude photo turned out? Heheh...scroll down.

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You sure you want to see this?

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Not going to sue right?

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Heheh. Ok o not?

Actually its from a fruit called 'tarap' that was given to me by one of my colleagues. It looks like a jackfruit yet tastes different. So, you disappointed or relieved?

Rubbish...

The Star paper today says they will forgive student Wee Meng Chee over his Negarakuku Rap Video (LINK), but he still has to face the law for it was against the National Anthem Act 1968. According to Nazri Abdul Aziz, “...the offence was not against the Prime Minister or Ministers concerned but against the nation.”
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Very bold words...Since when have they cared for anything other than themselves? If anyone is to be tried under the law, most of the Ministers themselves will have to be accountable first for rampant corruption in the country. 'But corruption is different mah...this one is causing racial tension wor...' so you say...

In 1987, as UMNO Youth Chief, Najib defended special Malay privileges in a speech where he vowed to bathe the keris (Malay dagger) with Chinese blood. Shortly afterwards, the government launched a crackdown on extremist elements, termed Operation Lalang, although Najib was not detained. - Quote from Wikipedia

Below is another picture from not too long ago, Kerispudding as we like to call him...

The 2006 UMNO Annual General Assembly was noted for controversial statements made by several delegates, such as Hashim Suboh, who asked Hishammuddin when he would "use" the keris. - Quote from Wikipedia

'Let he who is innocent cast the first stone...'
EDIT: Seems like Uncle Lim has also blogged on this today. LINK