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Here is a recent photograph of me taken days ago by the awesome Jo Quah. Looking at the photograph, you can tell that: 1) I have a new camera bag. It is a Manfrotto shoulder bag, a smaller version just enough to fit one small DSLR sized camera (such as the OM-D E-M1 Mark II) and one or two more small prime lenses. 2) We had a photowalk. It was in the morning and what a fun and productive shutter therapy session! 3) I always stop when cats appear. I immediately drop what I do and pet the cats. They always gravitate to me. This time, I gave the cat a command to "sit" and the stranger cat actually obeyed! I was shocked myself. There is just something about playing with cats that I find on the streets to be fun, therapeutic and relaxing all at the same time. 4) I don't always wear shirts with prints or patterns. I prefer plain, basic shirts with no logo or any details. Just simple and blank, with different muted colors. I do explore brighter color options these days. Wearing

During the recent long weekend I had some time to catch up with some friends. We initially wanted to hang out at a audio library cafe where we can sit down and sip overpriced coffee and sample some incredibly expensive headphones that I know I will not be able to afford ever. I found out that the audio cafe was closed on the day we wanted to go so we had to find an alternative location. Bean Brothers was just a few minutes drive away and this was my first visit. When I first entered the venue I knew I have fallen in love with the interiors immediately. It has an unfinished construction look with modern industrial appearance. The slab from the first floor has a huge opening. I took some shots and sent them to other friends, and one of them commented how the opening looked like as if a meteor has run through the cafe! I can imagine how amazing this place would have been to test out a new camera or a new wide angle lens. The uneven lighting added interesting characteristics to the images.

Today I experienced a horror I have not since 2008, I unintentionally left the camera battery in the charging dock at home without carrying out any spares! Not letting that push my shooting enthusiasm back even the slightest, I whipped out the ever-ready budget friendly entry level smartphone, Motorola G5S Plus that I have grown to like so much and decided to do something with it on the street with my friends today. You see, the cool thing about the dual camera module setup of the Moto G5S Plus is that one of the cameras has a true black and white (monochrome) image sensor, stripping off the traditional RGB filters. Having a "true B&W" mode itself is an exciting feature for a photographer like myself who does love black and white photography, and I have not had the much needed nudge to test this feature out extensively. Now that my main camera was battery-less (and basically useless), I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see what the "true B&W" m

I rarely talk about gear when I meet my photography friends, we usually hang out and catch up on the happenings of our lives or just go out have fun shooting together on the street. Therefore, when people start conversations about which camera is better or what lens is sharper I tend to shy away from the topic. You see, I need to know first how do the person I am speaking to view the camera? Is it: a) a photographer's tool that is used to create images and work of art or b) a modern gadget that pleases the craving for something newer and better. Image by Raja Indra Putra I have no issue with people wanting to upgrade cameras and lenses or if they are absolutely dominated by Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). I also have GAS to a certain degree, I am sure everyone who is a photographer has GAS, at different levels.  There is a difference between discussing about gear productively versus endless obsession on the best of the best.  I like to listen to photographers talk about their work

Have you ever wondered where I took my casual product shots and also some of the food shots I did during review of cameras and lenses? My usual haunt was the Espressolab at Nu Sentral which has been recently shut down, but I have a few other locations that I went to for my shooting needs. Of the these venues was Wizards at Tribeca situated in Imbi, downtown Kuala Lumpur, The main reason I love Wizards so, so much besides the incredibly amazing coffee they made there was the fact that the place is always extremely well lit. The ceiling high glass panels allow abundant natural sun light to illuminate the very plain and white themed cafe. I would usually ask to sit near the windows for better light, and the white table surface is just perfect to isolate whatever subject that I plan to shoot. Lighting and background management are everything in shooting good product shots, whether they are shot professionally, or just for a lifestyle casual experimentation like what I always do. I have not