Portrait Photography Workshop by Mr Ejun Low (6 & 8 August 2010)

Although my favorite subjects have always been food and landscapes, it is also one of my wishes to learn portrait photography. I have truly benefited from the 2-day workshop; I now understand the importance of posture work. Posing is one of the key components in portrait photography as it helps to accentuate the lighting, composition and makes a 2D looks like a 3D.

Ejun gave us many guidelines on posture. In fact, we spent the entire first day mainly on this. Examples of posture works include:-

1) Ensure hands and fists are stepped. I never realized how much this could make such a big difference in a picture until Ejun did a demonstration.

2) Avoid resting on the chin as this distorts the jaw line.

3) Avoid the ‘alien eyes’ by understanding the maximum angle of shoot. I myself have always been making this mistake!

4) Avoid blocking the chin and jaw with shoulders.

5) Avoid cropping directly on joints as it gives an amputated effect.

Besides the theory session, we also spent 2 hours on practical. (Refer to my practise works below!) Kudos to the model, Christine. Can you recognise her from the Koka noodles commercial?

The five general levels of shooting portraits

(1) Head and shoulders

(2) The 1/2 body

(3) The 2/3 body

(4) The 3/4 Body

(5) The full length 

Quote from Ejun : Portrait Photography is about focus, not the sharpness.

If the subject just stand with his hands by his sides, this probably will not make up a good picture.

Some suggestions on striking a pose

1) Have the subject tilt his/her head slightly.

2) Talk to the subject while you are taking his/her portraits to create natural expression.

3) Have the subject fold his/her arms or cross his/her legs

4) Have a subject bend a knee and put more weight on the back leg when standing up.

5) Place the subject off center in the frame

My new baby - Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8

This is an ultra-wide angle lens with a fast f/2.8 aperture for better photography in low-light situations. This is best used for landscape photography. Also, we can make use of the lens distortion in our advantage to create artistic or mild fish eye effects. This will definitely be one of the must-bring lenses in my camera bag when I travel.

The only downside is the shorter zoom length (11-16mm). As my current walk-around lens is 24-105mm, there is a gap of 17-23mm, which after much deliberation; I decided it should not be a hindrance to get this f/2.8 lens. Well, I guess I can always try to take a few steps forward or backwards?

I was further convinced to get the Hoya HD ultra-thin UV filter which the shop assistant claims this is best for a wide angle lens and it also consists of 8 layers of anti reflective multi coating; is water and oil repellent/ scratch and stain resistant.

I can't wait to try out my new lens!

Photo Credits : http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm

Singapore Botanic Garden

We were looking forward to a day of fresh air, greenery and photography! Unfortunately, it started to rain barely 1.5hours later. What a damper! We have to go back again! And these are the few photos which I took (and like most).

Any closer, I will have to climb up the tree.

Not exactly a beautiful sight of the snail but I love the bokeh and the colours of the leaves.

201006 @ Cebu, Philippines

IMG_4395, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Cebu City is the capital city of Cebu and the second city in the Philippines, also known as the oldest city in the country.

Cebu is the Philippines' main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country's domestic shipping companies. Cebu also holds the second largest international flights in the Philippines

Father's Day 2010

IMG_4239, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

*Brushes cobwebs off my blog* This is a long overdue post!

We celebrated Father's Day over Sunday Brunch at M Hotel. They were playing latin song throughout! I like! The service was prompt as they cleared our used plates very quickly. But I will say the food tastes only average. I barely took any photos this time. And this is one of the few photos that I took. Yeah, cakes again. The family loves cakes!

Marina Sands

Lens : EF-24-105mm f/4 IS USM 
Settings : f/5.6, 2.5 Sec, ISO200, 35MM, AWB

I love how the moon looks in this photo!

IMG_3160A, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

A stroll along Arab Street

I enjoy strolling leisurely and exploring new places with my chum-chums. This photo was taken from a building. I like the difference in its perspective.

IMG_2810A, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Epicure

Out of curiosity, I submitted this photo to Epicure - Food Hunting May's gallery.

I had the cod fish soup at Silk road Restaurant (@ Amara Hotel) a few months ago. They use a generous serving of fresh fish slices, complemented with greens. This is a very refreshing dish.

www://epicureasia.com/food-hunting-gallery/attachment/cod-fish-soup/

20100206 Chinatown, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Fried Carrot Cake STICKS

Few days ago, I had breakfast with my family at Whampoa Market. Grandmother went to buy this for us. All of a sudden, it just dawned on me - I used to eat this fried carrot cake sticks when I was a child!  

It is soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. I love the crispy parts to bits and secretly wish that the perimeters have more crispy bits!

Tip to enjoy the food: ignore the oil that is seeping through the paper bag!

IMG_2880, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Canon EF 24-105 4L IS USM

I bought a new lens to replace my kit lens!
Canon EF 24-105 4L IS USM
*dances around*

Photo Credits : http://www.the-digital-picture.com/

What happened to you, Bangkok?

It has been more than two months since I returned from Bangkok but the protest is still not over.

When I watched the news today, I got a shock. The Reds had set buildings on fire, including the Central Bank, some local media companies and the Central World Mall. Even my favorite shopping mall, Siam Paragon was not spared either.

Bangkok holds fond memories for me - my first overseas trip with the school and my first overseas trip with my colleagues. Bangkok is also one of my favorite destinations for a weekend getaway. I actually had made plans to visit Bangkok in this July. I had to give the Wat Arun a miss during the last trip as my colleague in Thailand had strongly advised me not to go near the Chao Phraya River because the protesters were travelling along this river to Bangkok.

Bangkok is the Land of Smiles; when has it become the Land for Battleground?

20100314 Streets of Bangkok, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Photo of the day

Symmetry greens, reflections of the clouds and Pooh Bear having a "tan"!

General Purpose Lens

Yours truly wants to buy another lens to replace the current kit lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. (I have to use 'want' because after much consideration, I realized this does not quite justify to a 'need' *shrugs*).

I want a new general purpose lens because :-

1) I need to cover the gap for focal length 55 to 70mm

2) I need the lens to work better in low light

After much homework, the choice is narrowed down to Canon EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. I may also consider third party lenses to take advantage of a bigger aperture at a lower price.

The other Canon lenses that were in my top considerations

EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM

Who wouldn’t love a lens with a f/2.8 aperture? But they involve bigger pieces of glass which makes them heavier and much more expensive. However, this lens does not come with an image stabilizer (IS). IS in the lens gives up to four-stop advantage and in my humble opinion, 4 stops is significant and it is a must to have an IS for a "walk around” lens.

EF-S17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

This will defeat my initial purpose of getting the new lens. I need to close the gap between focal length 55 to 70mm.

It is important to know why we want to buy another lens. If my friends were to tell me about their dilemma on choosing lenses, I will also throw back the same question, "WHY do you need a new lens?"

Food Photography

I have a penchant to take photographs of food! When food arrives, the first thing I pick up is the camera, not the chopsticks. I can only do this when I am in the company of good friends; this is definitely a 'no no' for business lunches and company dinners.
While I understand that the best lighting for food photography is natural light because it reproduces the colors of the subject most faithfully blah blah blah. But more often than not, we are unable to get natural light. In restaurants that are dimly lit, I have no choice but to abuse the ISO in order to get a faster shuttle speed and we always ended up with grainy photos (who will actually bring along a tripod to dinner?)

Useful tips that I have picked up from the workshop
1) Positioning the light
One of the best places to photograph food is by a window where there is a lot of natural light (but not direct light)! Natural light is best in the morning or late afternoon.

NEVER use a direct flash.

2) Composition, "Rules of third" and Focus Point.
It is not necessary to capture a full shot of the dish. Try to free the background from clutters. Be creative, try out new ideas and shoot from different angles.

3) Color Temperature
Avoid fluorescent lights as they cast a blue color on the subject. Quote from Dr Leslie – nobody likes to eat blue food!

Lens : EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Settings : f/5.0, 1/25 Sec, ISO3200, 45MM, WB Auto, Flash Off

IMG_2330, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

The best encouragement is when friends tell me that they have a craving for this dish after seeing my food photos!

Happy Mummy Day!

Lens : EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Settings : f/3.5, 1/10 Sec, ISO1600, 21MM

 

Singapore River

If it hasn't been photographed, it doesn't really exist.

IMG_2424, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Simply Peranakan

We needed a quick dinner before watching “Chicago”. We walked past this Peranakan restaurant at level two of Esplanade and there was no queue. It was 5.45pm and we were the only customers in the restaurant. There was another couple; they were waiting for their take-away. I was slightly surprised when I saw the menu. Although the name of the restaurant is "Simply Peranakan", they also have other cuisines like Thai pineapple fried rice and cereal prawns. Are these dishes considered Peranakan? The waitress did not give us any recommendations and she looked dazed. We ordered the Peranakan fried rice, Nyonya Ngo Hiang and sambal prawns. This serves well for two persons.  

We gave a thumbs up for the ambience and exquisite decor.

The crackers were deep fried and a tad too oily!

Peranakan fried rice - The two of us only managed to finish 75% of it.

Costs : SGD 12/-

Nyonya Ngo Hiang - dried beancurd skin filled with minced pork, prawns, carrot and big chunks of water chestnuts. This goes well with the sweet sauce.

Costs : SGD8.80

Sambal Prawn - de~shelled prawns stir-fried with chilli, lemon grass, ginger bud and sambal sauce.

Costs : SGD20/- for 4 medium sized prawns. (* "Medium-sized" is defined as one big mouthful or two bites). Given the high rental rates in the city, perhaps some of you may feel this price is reasonable. But we felt that this is over priced because the taste was only average.

I will recommend this restaurant to those who are looking for a quick meal. We did not have to wait long for the food to be served. We finished our dinner at about 6.30pm and the restaurant was then only 70% filled.

First of May

One of my favourite days in the calendar - First of May
One of my favourite songs from Bee Gees - First of May

Another nice video of First of May LIVE! performed by Robin Gibb http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcojIeORo3o

The Lyrics written by Barry Gibb; Maurice Ernest Gibb; Robin Hugh Gibb

When I was small and Christmas trees were tall

We used to love while others used to play

Don't ask me why, but time has passed us by,

Someone else moved in from far away.

Now we are tall and Christmas trees are small,

And you don't ask the time of day.

But you and I, our love will never die,

But guess who'll cry come first of May.

The apple tree that grew for you and me,

I watched the apples falling one by one.

And as I recall the moment of them all,

The day I kissed your cheek and you were gone.

................................

My love hate relationship with White Balance

My second attempt at capturing sunset. This time I used "Cloudy" for the White Balance. This is the closest to the actual sky.

IMG_2061A, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Jurong Bird Park

IMG_1606A, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

The light painters were at the Jurong Bird Park on Saturday. With the exception of the ferocious mosquitoes bites and a sudden downpour during the late afternoon, I had a good photography trip. (Updated - Lest that we get an overdosage of aviary, only the top 32 favourite pictures had been uploaded !)

Hoover Rojak

Whampoa -  a place that holds my childhood memories. Nothing is more therapeutic than my favorite rojak (and braised duck) stalls. And there is always a queue!!

Sun Moon Lake

I have uploaded 262 photos on Flickr! Just merely less than 3 hours at Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village and one morning at Sun Moon Lake. Click click click!!! Snap snap snap!!!

Sun Moon Lake, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Sun Moon Lake is located in the center of Taiwan and is the island's largest lake. It is a beautiful alpine lake, divided by the Lalu Island; the eastern of the lake is round like the sun and the western of the lake is shaped like a cresent moon, hence the name.

Live Life Light

Since touching down in Singapore on Friday midnight, I have been working non-stop from Saturday. And this evening, as I was working hard in the office, I badly needed a sugar fix for a booster! There! Sipping on a Coke Light, I noticed these words "Live Life Light" on the can which so resembles KK's blog title "Life, Love and Light" :D

And I am dedicating this post to Light Painter KK. Happy Birthday!

Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village, Taiwan

One of the performers selling CDs to the audience after a performance of an Aboriginal dance and song.

Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village was founded in 1986 by its president, Jung-i Chang. Mr.Chang’s vision was to establish a place to both preserve and teach about Taiwan’s aboriginal heritage while, at the same time, provide a spacious venue for people to spend and enjoy their leisure time. His family's history has long been intertwined with those of Taiwan's native aborigine cultures. It was his own ancestor, Da-ching Chang, who negotiated with local tribal representatives to open to cultivation the area around modern Feng-Yuan for Chinese settlers.

We reached Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village at about 2pm and missed quite a number of performances. Nonetheless, I managed to take quite a number of photos which I like very much. 50% of the photos were taken at the European Palace Garden. The European Garden area is a well-manicured feast for the senses. Sprawling over 150 acres, the gardens invite visitors to enjoy a profusion of flowers and plants.

Sensitivity V Backpack

I have found a bag that I can use for travelling. It can carry my laptop or netbook, DSLR, (at least) two lenses, external flash, Ipod Nano, PSP and camera accessories. And most importantly, it is not too bulky and is suitable on the lady.

27th March 2010 8.30pm to 9.30pm

The hour the world unites in a stand against climate change

Food Photography by Dr Leslie Tay

I AM attending!

Date: 8 May 2010, Saturday

Time: 2.30pm to 5.30pm

Venue: Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant

Fee: SGD 40

Calling all food photography lovers!!

Back by popular demand, our Food & Makan Photography Workshop with renowned food blogger Dr. Leslie Tay from his famed blog - http://ieatishootipost.sg/ is back! Dr. Tay will share with you his food & photography passion during this 3-hour session. He will be using a DSLR set-up and also a digital compact camera like the Canon PowerShot to demonstrate his skills. In addition, you get to eat what you shoot, and we’ve prepared Chinese Tim Sum (non Halal) cuisine for this workshop.

(Nice..... I love Tim Sum)

Singapore’s First Bloggers’ Symposium

Yours truly is feeling 'emo' now. I have been selected to attend the Symposium organised by Nuffnang. But I have to travel to Taiwan on 3rd April and it is a 8AM flight! So, I can't attend the Symposium anymore.

Dear Registrant,

Congratulations! You have been selected to attend Singapore’s First Bloggers’ Symposium sponsored by Canon and you have earned your place in….. *drum rolls*…. IEATISHOOTIPOST’s workshop!This is your chance to meet them in flesh as these top bloggers gather together to share with you their experience in blogging and photography! So gear up and you’re ready to go! Do note that this RSVP system is based on a first come first serve basis, so don’t miss it!

The Symposium will be held on 3rd April 2010, Saturday at Singapore Management University, School of Accountancy, Level 2, Kong Si Auditorium from 12.30pm to 5.30pm.

Canvas

Early celebration of KK's birthday, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Shadows

Elliott Erwitt says : Nothing happens when you sit at home. I always make it a point to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment.

I say : I always TRY to carry a camera with me at all times…I just shoot at what interests me at that moment.

Light Painter KK says : I always make it a point to keep my tripods in my car boot.........................

Light Painter KK's (birthday?) wish - to take one night photo of Singapore Flyer from Esplanade. Meanwhile, I noticed our shadows and thought they looked interesting. Unexpectedly, the snapshots of the shadows came out well.  

Early celebration of KK's birthday, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Baan Khanitha Thai Cusine, Bangkok

Lens : EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Settings : f/4.5, 1/10 Sec, ISO6400, 18MM
 
One of my favourite pictures from the trip. I took it while waiting for food to be served and I am very pleased with the composition. The picture looks noisy as I have abused the ISO. The place was too dimly lit!

20100312 Baan Khanitha Thai Cusine, Bangkok, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Finally! All 131 photos had been uploaded to Flickr. This is also the biggest set I have created till date.

20100312 Streets of Bangkok

Lens : EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Settings : f/5.6, 1/500 Sec, ISO400, 55MM

20100312 Streets of Bangkok, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

The painful part - uploading photos! 34 photos and counting.

Grand Millennium Sukhumvit Bangkok

Address : 30, Sukhumvit 21 (Asoke) Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand

Date of stay : 12th to 14th March 2010

The Grand Millennium Sukhumvit Hotel is located in one of Bangkok’s prime area. It is only a 5-minute walk to the BTS, Asoke Sky Station and 30-minutes drive away from Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport. Just around the hotel, are pubs (Soi Cowboy), restaurants and massage parlors. The Baan Khanitha Thai Cusine which has won the Bangkok best dining and entertainment award for 'best thai restaurant' for more than 10 years is only a ten minutes walk.

The main entrance of the hotel

The main lobby and the In-blu Jazz Lounge

The room is stylishly decorated in contemporary Thai

The hotel provides a set of stationery in the room

View from the room (18th Floor)

Glass facade

My two cents worth: We thoroughly enjoyed our 3D2N stay. The room was spacious and comfortable. The hotel staffs are friendly and helpful. And most importantly, it is conveniently located to the BTS Sky Station.