Photos from the Science Symposium - Cultural colours

During the Chief Minister's visit, people of all races in Lawas flocked at SMK Merapok to greet him. They all came in interesting attires, some adopt the modern look while others came in colourful traditional costumes. Some even brought along traditional musical instruments.






Opps...sorry. :D
























I like this pattern.






Wonder what it's made of...

Photos from the Science Symposium - Damages

What a weekend. No doubt that the a700, Tamron 70200 and the F58 are a heavy combo but that didn't deter me to lug it around just to snap some interesting shots. And after that nasty fall which left the body and the lens physically defect a bit, I would have been more cautious.

But, I was careless. When I tried to take out the other camera from my bag, the body,lens and flash slipped from my shoulders straight to the tiles. Using the wider and gripper Optech Pro Strap didn't help much either.


A broken hotshoe at the left side.



The flash carried the weight over to the side, and prevented from falling lens first, which is a great relief. The flash foot suffered more than the hotshoe.


F58 loses both teeth.

How about the body? From the first fall, there was a small crack at the side of the body, near the battery cover.



After the second fall, a small part near the cover broke apart from the body. And it's the only missing piece that I couldn't find. Might be swept away by the VIP's shoes when they passed the area.



Lucky for me, apart from the broken pieces, everything on the body, lens and flash worked like charm. Wireless flash still available, and the lens performance wasn't affected. The helicopter photos before this post were taken after the fall.

And that lies the good thing about the plastic flash mount of the body and flash on Alpha system than the standard iso hotshoe on other systems. It has its problems mainly the wobbly flash when mounted on the body, but still can be rectified using a small piece of paper. The plastic hotshoe was used so that in an event of impact, the hotshoe areas and the flash foot will be the easiest to break.



On the standard iso hotshoe, because of the tight metal grip and lock, the flash body or the top part of the camera is prone to break apart, and that's even worse. The plastic parts however, are easier to replace. Besides, I like the way to attach and detached the flash onto the body. Press the button to detach, and simply slot in to attach.



Right now, I'm in the process of putting the broken pieces together and if it does not work, then I'll send it to Sony for replacement when I have the time. My guess, the a700 doesn't want to part with me. And with the growing number of visible defects on the body, I wouldn't get a good price in case I'm upgrading.


My previous A200 never had any fall and visible marks.

Whatever the reasons, I love to have it with me anytime.

Photos from the Science Symposium - Helis

On the second day of the symposium, the Chief Minister of Sarawak was there to officiate the event. Upon seeing the football field being laid out with red carpet the other day, I was ready with my gears to capture him coming using helicopters. This is my first time shooting a moving one, so I thought freezing the movement (blades) is a good idea. All shots taken with a700 and Tamron 70200 f2.8. Some croppings applied.

Eurocopter EC-135













This Bell 430 brought the Chief Minister. Looks longer and wider than the other three helis present.





There he is!

My school's 2009 Prize Giving Day

Phew! It has been a while since I last updating this blog. It was a busy week for me, and I just attended a Science Symposium at SMK Merapok since Friday night till Sunday evening with my students. I'm tired and both cameras had another mishap(again!!!). Severity 40% more than the previous misfortune I had at Kpg. Taburan. What a weekend. Hopefully I can strike something at Cashsweep. :D


Guess who came to the Science Symposium today?

Will blog about it soon. For now, enjoy the photos I took during the prize-giving day.


Our school hall.


Waiting for the VIP guest.


Our District Education Officer, Mr. Matzinan should be coming, but his assistant, Mr. Sim Abdullah came instead.






The parents and students waiting to receive their prize and certificate.


Our head-prefect, and role model of 2009, Mohazrina.


My Principal Mr. Suleiman.




Students lining up.


Ninjas in disguise?


High Sundar musical.


1 Malaysia dance.