My Sony Alpha, the journey continues

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. Been doing a lot of thinking lately and the never ending streams of school work that I'm working on right now.

When I decided to buy the twin kit Alpha A200 last year, I said to myself that it would save me a lot because I have the short 18-70mm for my normal walkaround and the 75-300mm for zooming. Fast foward a few months and I have myself the Minolta 50mm which costs me RM500 and another Rm550 for the F42 flash. Both purchases were beneficial, exposing me to new techniques and skills.



After I covered Pan and Grace's wedding ceremony and helping Daniel with his cd album cover, I couldn't help but wondering if a fast lens would bring better photos and possibilities. The A200 twin kit lense was good, but not fast enough for dimly-lit areas. The 75-300mm was sharp mostly during sunny days.





So I decided to sell my 75-300mm lens soon. I was thinking of acquiring f2.8 lenses. Sony or Zeiss lenses are superb, but buying third party lenses can save me some money for another lens too. No wonder they say that this hobby is expensive. You can't get enough of everything. Tried a friend's 70-200mm f2.8 Sigma was a poison I couldn't resist. Might be getting a 17-50mm too, or the Tammy Sp90mm, or the Minolta beercan. Sigh! I still can't make up my mind. And lastly, the Sony F58 cobra flash. The best flash there is for the system. Hopefully I can get it all sorted out by next week. Can't wait!



By the way, I'm selling the lens for Rm500. Any takers?

Seaside Travellers Inn, Kinarut, Sabah

Located along Kota Kinabalu - Papar road, just after Kinarut town, this place offers guests a homestay-like environment, far from the jams and hustle in the city. It will take about 30 minutes from KK city to reach this place by car. The beach in front of the inn isn't the best in Sabah, but it provides a good view of the sunset and ample area for strolling along it.


The rooms facing South-China sea.


Restaurant/dining are for guests.


The beach overlooking some islands and sunset in the evenings.






More rooms downstairs.







For those who prefers fresh water than seawater, a pool is provided. Entertainment comes in the form of kayaking, satellite TVs, a tennis court, internet service(with a nomimal fee) and much more. Budget travellers would love this place as they can experience barbecuing and fun at the beach at a low fee.






Reception area.




Even cats knows where to have a good holiday. :D


Lobby/hangout area.





The inn provides 25 rooms whereby dormitories(fan with common bathroom) starts from RM29.00. Standard rooms(with aircons, bathrooms) starts from RM70.00.

Framing family

My cousin Angela previously asked me to do a photoshoot of her and my other cousin and my sis one day when I'm back for the holidays. I happily agreed as I do want to have more of these kind of shot. My compositions are still poor and I'm still looking for the perfect balance of camera settings and the usage of flash if applicable.


My cousins Nadia(left) and Angela(right) and my sis Stephanie in the middle.

Hence we picked our uncle's place at Semeba, Kuching for the session. The place was a bit hilly, overlooking Mount Serapi and Singai. All shots taken using 50mm, and F42 on top as fill(bounced flash).


On a Suzuki jeep. My uncle has three of those!




With our uncle, who is feeding his catfish(ikan keli).

Pancras and Grace second wedding reception

After covering for their first wedding reception in Lawas, I was again asked to do the same for the second one in Grace's own village, Kampung Peninjau Lama in Bau. I happily obliged as it was quite near to my home while I'm looking for more experiences in such weddings. Wedding receptions done in villages are usually more relaxed and often merrier than those in hotels or restaurants. You are bound to certain rules and time limit too.




Waiting for the guests.


Pouring liquor for 'sadong' purposes.




The lovely couple.

Pancras and Grace's reception offered more than just free flow of beers and foods. Guests come to celebrate the couple's big day and having a good time with friends and families. Apart from being entertained by the music band and karaokes, there would be an 'open floor' for guest to belt out their dance moves till morning. Others would just chat around meeting old friends or making new ones.








Delicious indeed!


Cake-cutting ceremony and the toast follows.










The entertaining moment of the night!

Again I would like to thank the couple for giving me the opportunity to cover their second reception.

Framing Daniel Ading of Ethnic Transmissions

This is my friend, my former guitarist and now the lead guitar for Ethnic Transmissions and Stoic4Life. After years of playing in and out for a band, he decided to come up with a solo album. Although a little bit skeptical about how the response would be later, nevertheless, with the great response from the fans of E.T's first album, he hoped that the reception will be encouraging.





Materials for the album is still in progress, and we decided to shoot for the cd cover and inlay first as I'm not always available in Kuching. So we drove to Damai Puri in Santubong yesterday for some inspirations. He brought along his new axe, a month-old Ibanez Prestige which cost more than RM4k.





As this is my first try on a shoot like this, we did scratch our head to find a proper scene and mood for most of the session. Daniel lost his spectrum among the stones, one of his nostalgic and prized item after years of taking up guitar.




My suggested cd cover.

You can know more about him and his bands by searching Ethnic Transmissions in Youtube or Myspace.