Food, Friends and Conversations

I always allocated some time in the weekends to catch up with my wonderful friends. Me being a freelance photographer, my timetable is quite unpredictable, I can get shoots at any day of the week. Most of my recent jobs have been concentrated on weekdays, which was a good thing, as most of my friends work the normal 9-5 jobs, and the only time they have is in the weekends to hang out. My friends Jojo and Van wanted to explore a few new cafes and join the on-going Fujifilm Malaysia photo contest that requires them to shoot on these specific locations. I merely tagged along for the delicious food, and of course, I brought my camera long for some clicking action. Van actually vlogged this particular session, you can check out his video of us having too much fun with food, coffee and conversations here (click). 

Jojo attacking a cup of coffee

Pentax K-01 In Kuching!

During my recent trip back to Kuching, Borneo during the Chinese New Year festivities earlier this year, I managed to squeeze a bit of time for shutter therapy action. I went out with my friend Kieron Long to the streets of Kuching and had a casual street shooting session. The local folks were really friendly, I got some very nice portraits of Kuching strangers, and you know what, we even got invited to have coffee with them! All that and more in my latest POV style video here (click). I brought home the Pentax K-01 and I thought it was quite a fun camera to use - I love its quirky design, the challenges to operate and oh, the super awesome colors the camera renders! The 40mm pancake that came with the camera was not too shabby either, producing sharp enough results, and the unusual 60mm equivalent focal length was a joy to use. I had an issue, I brought back the wrong charger, not sure how that happened (not even sure how I got two Pentax chargers, since I only have one Pentax camera) and I had limited battery charge left, but it lasted the entire session and I had so much fun, shooting on the streets of Kuching! I know I have been receiving some unreasonable complains about my images showing too many males, well, you know what, here are some females this time. 

Thank goodness for the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 - making POV video is so much easier now. 

The Mysterious Missing Charger & Battery For Nikon Z5

If you have been following this space, or my YouTube channel, you would know that I have recently added a Nikon Z5 into my arsenal. I have explained my reasons why I did so, you can find it in my previous blog entry here (click). There was something unusual that happened during the acquisition of that camera. Long story short, I brought the camera home without the charger and battery, a mystery which I have not solved until today. I thought this incident was quite interesting and worth sharing here. 

Back to Blogging

Blogging was where it all started for me. I started this blog all the way back in 2005, sharing stories and adventures as a university student in Perth, Australia. Little did I know the blog would go this far, as I dived deeper into the world of photography, and it has opened so many doors for me over the years. As I got involved with Olympus on an official capacity, and subsequently left, and then started my YouTube channel, the attention was taken away from the blog. It is no secret that YouTube pays a lot more than blogger, when it comes to ad money, and it has become a sustainable source of income during the dark times of Covid/Lockdown. YouTube was the sole reason I survived the pandemic. It was no coincidence that I poured my heart and soul into growing my channel in the past 4 years, and only recently I have surpassed 75k subscriber count on YouTube, which was no small feat for this Kuching boy. Nevertheless, the blogger in me is yet to give up on blogging!

Weekend Catching Up With Friends

Most of my friends work normal 9-5 jobs on weekdays, and the only time I get to catch up with them would be in the weekends. A lot of my friends already have their own families and usually are tied down with their commitments, which I can fully understand, family first always, I would have made the same decisions. However, the close friends which remains a few, would always make time to catch up, no matter how busy life gets, and I appreciate them doing so. Last weekend, I had brunch with Jackie and Jaslyn (I think we have been friends for almost 12 years at this point?) and boy oh boy, did we feast! I brought out the Nikon Z5 and 40mm prime just for a few quick shots. It was nice seeing everyone again and hearing individual life stories and dramas. Indeed, real life is more exciting than fiction. 

Pouring Kombucha into my Salmon Chazuke

Experimenting With Budget Macro Setup - Olympus 12-50mm Kit Lens With Extension Tubes

Insect macro is so fun, and I can spend the entire afternoon hunting for bugs and spiders. Besides the thrill of discovering new insects that I have not seen before; part of the excitement was also experimenting with different lighting alternatives and gear setup to boost magnification. The quickest way to do macro is to get the rather expensive dedicated macro lens, but if you are not shooting macro a lot, and it is not what you do 90% of the time, yet you want to achieve some high magnification shots, there are many options for you to do so. The Olympus M.Zuiko 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 has a dedicated macro function, once enabled can give you about 0.72x (equivalent to 35mm format) magnification, which is quite incredible on its own. I decided to amplify the magnification further by adding extension tubes, and this was quite an interesting trial, with really decent results. The image quality, especially sharpness and flaw controls (spherical aberrations, purple fringing, corner softness, etc) are far from the level of a true macro lens, but on a pure budget standpoint, the images are satisfactory. In my latest YouTube video, I also demonstrated my gear setup which includes wireless flash and all my camera settings, you can find it here (click). 

Summary of gear setup: 

OM System OM-1 with 12-50mm kit lens with Meike Extension Tubes

Olympus FL-50R external flash fired wirelessly, triggered by on camera flash FL-LM2

Softbox attached to the wireless flash, and flash power controlled manually. 

Camera settings: 1/250, F8-11 (adjusted as necessary), ISO200

My Friend Azul's Exhibition ILLUMINED at Bubble Bee Cafe, KL

My friend Azul Adnan is currently having an exhibition in Bubble Bee Cafe at Petaling Street area, downtown Kuala Lumpur. It was a mini exhibition showcasing some of his recent work, especially taken in Kuala Lumpur urban areas during the night, with plenty of lights reflecting off glass and wet surfaces due to rain, hence the name play "Illumined". If you are in KL and have some free time, do drop by the cafe and have a sip of coffee while enjoying Azul's work in glorious prints! I highly encourage photographers to print their work, whether to be hung up on the wall, or simply making a photobook/zine, there is a certain satisfaction that comes with seeing the final prints. Also, you get to dive deeper into the curation process which includes selection and sequencing of your photographs into a series. You gain a lot out of the whole process of printing, and it will make you a better photographer!

Azul's exhibition "Illumined" runs from 15 April to 15 May 2024 at Bubble Bee Cafe. 

Azul's exhibition at Bubble Bee Cafe, KL

Life Is Getting Busier & Some Thoughts About Compartmentalizing

I have been getting an influx of paid shoots recently, and the calendar is getting filled fast, at least for the coming several months. Thankfully I have also piled up on my content buffer for YouTube, with some free time I had previously, I had as many as 8 videos stacked in the pipeline to be released one by one for the coming weeks. It is not easy being a YouTuber, as we adhere to consistency, we do need to continue pumping up comments to please the algorithm. Being a freelance photographer, honestly I cannot predict my work schedule, I can be free for the entire two week stretch, or I will be fully booked with back to back shoots. Either way, having more jobs is better than none at all, so I should not be complaining. 

VILTROX 40MM F2.5 REVIEW

Viltrox is releasing their 40mm F2.5 soon (I am not sure when the exact date is at the moment) at the price of USD158. This is the second lens in their budget primes line up, after the first Viltrox 20mm F2.8. They both look very similar, and have similar price tag too. I am privileged to get an advanced copy for review purposes, and I took the lens out for some street photography action. I have made a video review if you prefer to watch in video format (here). I am sharing my thoughts after having used the Viltrox 40mm F2.5 on the streets quite extensively. 

VIltrox 40mm F2.5 for Nikon Z

More Thoughts On Live Streaming On YouTube

I have started doing Live Streaming on YouTube about more than half a year ago, regularly on my channel, typically on Thursday night 10pm, Malaysian time. I have written before about my intentions why I started Live Streaming, the challenges that I faced and how I worked around them, you can find my previous articles here and here. Since my last update more than 3 months ago, there has been some small changes which I do want to explore and talk about in this blog. It has been quite fulfilling being able to reach about 150-200 people concurrently during a live session, and throughout the entire stream, thousands of people. My Live Stream is definitely a work in progress, so from time to time it is important to sit down, reelect and make adjustments for further improvements. 

Kampung Baru Raya Evening Easy Stroll

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all my Muslim friends who are celebrating this incredibly beautiful festival. Maaf Zahir dan Batin. 

My friends and I decided to take a short evening walk along Kampung Baru, a Malay village settlement located right smacked in the middle of the city, just adjacent to the metropolitan Kuala Lumpur City Center. This is also my frequent street hunting grounds. Our primary objective was just to observe the festive celebrations by the residents there and document whatever we can, without being intrusive. Everyone in Kampung Baru was super joyous. I brought along the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8, which is the perfect combo for this photowalk. I captured a mix of the surrounding environment, with human elements in the frames. The cloudy weather added to the overall atmosphere, and made the walk a little more bearable, as we have had quite a bad heat wave hitting Malaysia in the past several weeks. 

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is the largest festive celebration in Malaysia. Though Eid is a Muslim celebration, we do it with our own style here. Everyone dressed up in traditional costumes and looked their best for the festive days. They will visit each other's houses, all prepared with scrumptious feasts. We even got invited to one of the houses for a feast! Unfortunately, the invite came at the start of our walk, so we wanted to explore the area and have some shutter action first before sitting down for dinner. It was a pleasant walk, and definitely invoked some nostalgia in me, as me and my friends back in my high school days, used to visit Malay Muslim friends during Raya too. Such good, old times. 

Here are some of my curated shots (cut down to 10), Raya at Kampung Baru 2024. 

Typical scene in Kampung Baru, with tall gigantic KLCC towering over the village 

Food Indulgence

I have been on a self-induced calorie-deficit for the past 2 months and I gotta tell you, eating healthy is not fun. But hey, I am not getting any younger, so staying in shape, or doing my best to improve my fitness is as important as shutter therapy (almost). When I do get to indulge, oh, my, goodness, I love love love food so much. I am one of those people who live to eat and I am not ashamed to admit it. Gluttony could be my sin, but how can anyone not love food? 

A funny story - My friend Matti Sulanto asked my other friend, Charmaine "which do you prefer, to cook the food or to take pictures of them?" No one asked my opinion and I chimed in "I prefer to EAT THEM of course". 

Omellete with Waffles

The WOW Camera - Olympus OM-D E-M5 Original

I remember when the Olympus OM-D E-M5 original was launched in 2012, I thought there was no other camera like it. The E-M5 Original showed the world that a compact sized mirrorless camera can be used in a professional shooting environment - the camera was solidly built with magnesium alloy construction, sealed against splash and dust, has ultra-fast and reliable AF system, has a viewfinder built in, featured new 16MP image sensor that has dramatically improved resolution, dynamic range and high ISO performance in comparison to predecessors, and the camera also introduced 5-Axis Image Stabilization, which is staple in every single flagship camera from any brand today. The E-M5 original was ahead of its time, it became the default blueprint of how to make a good mirrorless camera for everyone. I revisited the E-M5 original, took it out for some shutter therapy action, and I shared my thoughts on how OM Digital Solutions can recapture the magic of the E-M5 original in my latest video (click here). Micro Four Thirds was the pioneer and leader that spearheaded the mirrorless revolution, I think they can do it again. 

The Nikon Z5 - Experimenting With Z System

If you have followed the April Fool's crossover between myself and my friend Matti, you would have come across the Nikon Z5, which I claimed to have purchased myself. That was not part of the April Fool's joke, it was true, I bought a Nikon Z5. I found one unit in the used market in excellent condition at a very good price, in fact it costs about 20% of the full retail price of the new OM System OM-1 II, and I figured I had nothing to lose getting the Z5. After all, if I, for whatever reasons do not like the Z5, I can always re-sell it in the used marketplace. So far, I have not that many issues with the Z5, and have been very impressed with its overall performance, and what you can get out of so little money spent! For my full thoughts, I have shared my opinion on the Z5 on Matti' channel here (click). 

I have fixed the danggling rubber cover at the side of the camera. I bought replacements and attached them on the camera. The Z5 now looks like new. 

The Nikon Z5's size and weight are about the same with the OM System OM-1 that I have, it is slightly heavier, but the difference in weight is negligigle. Small cameras like Micro Four Thirds system are getting bigger, and big cameras like Full Frame Mirrorless are getting smaller. While the Nikon Z5 was designed for beginners, as the lowest level, entry level full frame mirrorless option from Nikon's latest Z format, I find a lot of features packed into the humble camera, which can make a huge difference in real world shooting conditions. 

The Z5 features dual card slots, which I truly appreciate! While the camera is budget friendly, it is built with magnesium alloy construction, hence the body is robust. Also, the Z5 is weather-sealed against dust and splash! I also appreciate the inclusion of 5 Axis Image Stabilization, rated at respectable 5 EV stops compensation. I really like the tilt up and down LCD screen, as opposed to swivel articulated screens from Olympus/Panasonic bodies. The Z5 also features some modern tech, including the AI human face and eye tracking, which I have found to work extremely well, even better and more reliable than OM System's implementation in OM-1.

The Z5 isn't perfect, it was made as an entry level camera, and that shows. The electronic shutter/silent mode is completely useless, having too much rolling shutter issues. The burst rate is unimpressive at 4.5 frames per second. Most disappointingly, the video recording is restricted to 1.7x crop if you go 4K, which made this quite useless for any vlogging or video work. Most people these days would gravitate toward a proper hybrid camera that can do both video and stills reasonably well. If you need to do some video, I'd say the Z5 is definitely out of your list of considerations. 

If video is not your thing, like myself, though I have a YouTube channel, I am primarily a photographer, the Z5 is truly an impressive camera. I cannot deny that the Z5, being a full frame camera, produces image quality beyond what a smaller format Micro Four Thirds is capable of. Outside of that, there is a lot in Z5 that made it truly a remarkable entry point to full frame. Considering the low price point, it is a no brainer beginner camera alternative that can compete very well in the market. 

I cannot make my full conclusion on the Z5 yet, during my short shooting sessions with it, I do have some issues, all of them minor, perhaps I shall talk about them in the future. More to come!

Stay tuned for more Nikon Z system content!

Don't worry, I have not abandoned Micro Four Thirds, for those of you wondering. As a photographer, I am infinitely curious about other camera systems, and I do love all cameras in every brand and shape! 

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The Camera Died, But I Kept On Shooting

It was in December 2023 that I went on a weekend out of Kuala Lumpur with a few friends, and I brought along the Fujifilm XF1. I intended to do some street shooting with the XF1, and the camera died on me halfway through the session. There was the infamous "Lens Error" and after about 2 hours of troubleshooting to get the camera to work again, I gave up. Instead, for the rest of the session, I whipped out my smartphone (then, I was using Asus Zenfone 8) and continued with my shutter clicking action. Of course the smartphone was not as good as a dedicated camera, no comparison here, but it was still alive and was able to shoot images. Instead of whining and feeling dejected for the rest of my trip, I decided to take up the challenge of using the inferior phone, and enjoyed the walk and shoot session with my friends. Here are just a handful of shots from that session. Chase Jarvis was right, the best camera is indeed the one you have with you. 

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Join My YouTube Membership!

I have enabled YouTube membership, and you can join it here (click). 

The perks that you get from just spending the price of a cup of coffee for a month include:

1. 24 hours early access to my new videos

2. Exclusive members only Live Stream sessions, once a month (date to be decided, and will start after 20 or more members have joined). 

3. Priority replies to comments. 

Everything else about the channel remains the same, I will still release new videos every single week without fail, and I will still do my weekly live streams. So as a member, you get to see the videos one day earlier than everyone else, you get to chat to me more directly through members only streams. 

Since I have put so much effort and time into YouTube, more and more recently, I thought it would be prudent to explore their native membership options, that can enhance the experience of subscribers. I look forward to making more videos and interact with all you awesome people! 

LET'S DO THIS!

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Robin X Matti Crossover Was So Fun!

I probably had too much fun making the crossover videos on Matti's and my YouTube channels. If you have not seen the videos, I think it is definitely worth spending a bit of your time checking them out, here and here. You know the movies and TV shows that have crossovers? Much like Superman appearing on Batman's film, we thought we would do something really cheeky for April Fool's day. Matti arrived in KL just one week before 1st April, and we had too much exceitement drafting ideas and filming our prank videos, and this was the time when we could let loose and just say about anything that we wanted to say!