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I have always believed that luck plays a very important role in everything we do in life, including photography. Photography opportunities may happen at the least unexpected times, and one of them happened in my recent photowalk. It was an official Olympus Malaysia outing to Batu Caves, and we have been doing this workshop for at least half a dozen times now. However, we have never encountered this particular moment when the light shined into the dark cave in glorious looking golden rays. The newly built temple inside the cave did an extensive incense burning in that particular morning and the smoke produced from the burning was well timed with the exact moment the light ray came in, creating a dramatic effect. Coincidentally I had the Sigma 16mm f1.4 lens so I thought this could make a great sample image for the lens review, which was published recently on Ming Thein's site.  There are many things we cannot predict or control in life. Sometimes when we go out for a photowalk it ma...

Last weekend I was away to a photography trip at Sekinchan to shoot the Milky Way. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, the weather forecast indicating 80% chance of thunderstorm throughout the night. While it did not rain at all, the sky was shrouded with heavy clouds, with not a single star visible in the sky. To me, it was not always about getting the shot. What truly matters was being out there, surrounding yourself with the right people, people with similar passion and love the things that you do and support each other in this crazy journey called photography. Indeed it was possibly the largest outing for Olympus users in Malaysia! Sekinchan is situated outside the city, about 2 hours drive away from Kuala Lumpur. Sekinchan is famous for their paddy field, the one nearest to KL. In the afternoon, I was invited by some of the participants to join in their coffee session in a nearby cafe. How could I say no to coffee? Little did I expect the cafe was actually a re-purposed...

Due to the buzz surrounding Malaysia's 14th General Election several days ago, I have missed out on an important piece of camera related news: Olympus has released a new batch of firmware updates for their cameras and lenses. One particular update that stood out from the rest was the addition of RC Mode (enabling wireless TTL Flash control) into Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III. I was one of the first to voice up my dissatisfaction toward the removal of such an important feature on an Olympus OM-D camera body when I r eviewed the E-M10 Mark III on Ming Thein's site here . I am glad they have heard my feedback (as well as many other loyal Olympus fans) and enabled RC mode via the latest firmware update. To me, the RC Mode is an extremely important feature, allowing me to execute my insect macro shooting technique that requires the external flash to be triggered wirelessly. Having TTL flash control off camera is a life-saver, as I have one setting less (flash power) to worry about. I ...

Inspiration comes in different forms. While most people look up to incredibly famous, well celebrated star photographers, I find myself drawing inspiration from often lesser known people, especially those who are around us that we can actually reach out to and have real conversations with. To me, it does not matter if you have won countless list of prestigious photography competition or awards, or someone who has a million followers on Instagram. When I look at photographers I look at their work, and today the highlight is turning to a friend of mine, Amir Shariff.  Caught up with Amir on his recent trip back to KL, and that was him holding the Sigma 16mm F1.4 in his hand.  I have known Amir for a while now, and he was my travel/shooting partner during my short trip to Cambodia a few months ago. I see Amir as an extremely talented street photographer with a unique eye for drama and interesting moments, seeing things a little bit differently than most people. When I knew him i...

Today is a historical day for us Malaysians, as the post-election results favored the opposition for the first time in history kicking the ruling government out since the country's independence in 1957. The previous ruling party has been in power for over 60 years and has controlled the country for far too long. It is time for a fresh new beginning, and I am foreseeing challenging, difficult and exciting times ahead. Regardless of what will happen, for better or worse, shutter therapy goes on. On a more photography related note, today marks my first ever Sigma lens review being published in  Ming Thein's site here (click) .  I have had a blast shooting with that lens and it was nice using something other than Olympus or Panasonic on a Micro Four Thirds body for once. There were some interesting surprises shooting with the lens exceeding my initial expectations, and also some aspects of the lens performance did fall short. Nevertheless, it is a good addition to the ever expandi...

There was one particular coffee place that I came back to again and again just for one specific reason: the perfect location for all my lifestyle casual product shots. That cafe was Espressolab located right at the main entrance of Nu Sentral (KL Sentral). While the coffee and food were not really anything to write home about, I found the location had just the right background, table texture and amazing lighting that I was looking for to get my opening product shots, especially for my review blog articles. Unfortunately, that place has closed down since early April this year, much to my dismay. I acknowledge that it was probably not that difficult to replicate the similar look and outcome of the images taken there at other alternative locations or even at home, but it was so much more convenient to just be there and get my shots done. Needless to say, Espressolab Nu Sentral has a soft spot in my heart now, and I will miss having that place around. As I looked through my previous images...

If you are in Kuala Lumpur on the following weekend and you are actively involved in the world of photography, there is an exciting event that you might just find yourself being fully immersed in. Photo Symposium Asia 2.0, a two and a half days conference-styled event that consists of selected speakers from multi photo discipline and background discussing the theme "Photography As a Medium For Social Change". This will happen at KL Journal Hotel from Friday 11 May to Sunday 13 May 2018, providing a platform for photographers to gather and have an open discussion. According to Photo Symposium's official Facebook Page, they claimed to:  "look at a wide range of social change projects, from the high profile stories like the Rohingya issue, refugees, trafficking, to more ‘closer to home’ stories like domestic abuse, ageing, transgender and LGBT issues, addiction, family matters, self-identities and also including environmental issues like illegal logging, water and air ...