ROBIN WONG

One of the many reasons I have stopped consuming content on Instagram is the similarities of all the images being showcased - it was as if everyone was trying to outdo everyone by copying what everyone else was doing. That is the unhealthy side of social media, it shows you certain expectations, and if you want to play the game you have no choice but to participate and do the same thing - shoot the same kind of images, with the same style and composition and finishing off with exact same post-editing approaches. The typical "film-like" look, or cinematic colors with orange vs teal tinge within a frame, or the expired film look, you get the idea. It is getting increasingly difficult to find original ideas to get inspiration from. Instead of trying to be authentic, many people just chose the easy way out - if you can't beat them, join them!

I brought the old dinosaur, Nikon D50 with merely 6MP CCD image sensor out for some shutter therapy. I did it to prove an important point - more megapixels won't make you a better photographer. The chase for the latest and greatest and the megapixel war have gone a little ridiculous, with "everyday carry" casual camera made to have medium format 102MP, I thought was counter-productive in many ways. If you can't shoot good images with an old, 6MP camera, you won't be able to shoot good images with a 102MP camera either. More megapixels don't make better photographs - composition, lighting, story-telling, decisive moment, the emotion and idea in your images will make or break the quality of your photographs, not the megapixel count. I shared my thoughts in my latest video here (click). 

For the past 2 weeks or so, there has been no rain (almost) in Kuala Lumpur, and the weather has been unbearably hot. Staying indoors is fine, though I do not have air conditioning in my room, with the ceiling fan going full blast, it is somewhat tolerable. However, doing anything outdoors in the harsh, burning sun while being drenched in sweat is not the most fun thing to do. I love street photography, but I also love my skin, and I really don't want it to be roasted to crisp. I really hope the heat spell will be over soon, and we get some intermittent rain to cool things down. I want to do some shutter therapy, but the thought of being barbequed alive out there stopped anything from happening. 

Viltrox sent me their latest 28mm F4.5 chip lens for Nikon Z mirrorless full frame cameras, and I had such a blast testing it on my Nikon Z5 shooting on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. I did not intend to do a full blown review of this lens, because the first version (for Sony FE) was already launch one year ago, so there are already many reviews and content about the lens available everywhere. I did however, enjoy the lens so much, there is something fun about using such a tiny lens that can deliver beautiful results. It is also really cheap - at USD99, the lens is sharp, manages most flaws really well, and has fast and reliable AF! I mean, it isn't perfect, there are small issues there and here (heavy vignetting, fixed F4.5 aperture) but come on, for such a low price tag, I'd easily forgive the issues. I am sharing my first set of images here in this blog entry. For my detailed breakdown of what I liked and disliked about the lens, you can go to my latest video here (click). 

Fujifilm launched their latest camera, the X Half that mimicked the film half frame shooting experience. If you know you know that it was Olympus who popularized the film half frame format back in the 1960s. Therefore, it was not surprising to find out that Olympus had some tricks up the sleeves on their newer cameras, particularly the Olympus PEN E-PL7 from more than 10 years ago. I am recreating the magic of shooting with X Half in the E-PL7, but applying a few tweaks and settings. For simulating vertical sensor, I applied 3:4 aspect ratio, to match the film simulations, I used Art Filters (Vintage I. II III and Grainy Film II), to replicate similar field of view, I chose the Olympus 17mm F1.8 lens. I shot in JPEG only, and all images were in portrait orientation, and you can find these and more tips in my latest video here (click). I am just sharing my images from this session in this blog entry, which I thought came out interestingly well!

I see too many friends and photographer peers obsessing about what other people are doing - worrying they are not doing enough or being good enough. They constantly stalk Instagram posts and stories, spy on each other's activities online, measuring how many more likes and engagements one has against another. I find this quite daunting, and honestly pointless. I have been off Instagram for more than a year, and I could not have been happier. Sure, my main IG account is still live, but I seldom post, and I follow no one, not even a single person. I think photography is about your own process of finding your stories and visual expression, it should not be about how people around you influence or dictate your actions and directions in your creative pursuit. Unfortunately, this is of course, easier said than done, and I have seen so many people being sucked into the never-ending void of depressing "why does he get more likes than me" disease. 

My friends Azul and Grace had their latest exhibition "Under The Shadows of Merdeka" at GMBB, Bukit Bintang, and I was there at the official launch event. I did not plan to do much, since I was a guest and I wanted to show my support just by being there. I brought along the Olympus PEN E-PL7, keeping things as small and minimalist as I can. I only had a few lenses, the humble kit lens Panasonic 12-32mm, Olympus 45mm F1.8 and 75mm F1.8. What started as casually snapping away had mutated into something more official - though I was never the appointed photographer, but my images were requested to be submitted to different parties at the event for social media use. I did what I can, with what I was working with, and here are the images!

I have been following the progress of Azul and Grace's photography project (Under The Shadows of Merdeka) for a while now, it took them a year to shoot the images for their book and exhibition, and the finale exhibition is finally happening now! If you are in Kuala Lumpur, you can check out the photography exhibition happening at Level 3A in GMBB building, Bukit Bintang from 9th to 18th May 2025, 11am to 8pm. Either Azul or Grace (sometimes both) will be there so if you drop by, do say hi and tell them that Robin sent you! I went to the official launch event last Saturday, I did take some images which I shall share soon in another separate coming blog entry, but for this one, I shall post images from the exhibition floor. All images shot with Olympus PEN E-PL7, Panasonic 12-32mm kit lens, Olympus 25mm and 45mm F1.8 lenses. All images are mine, unless otherwise mentioned. 

Earlier this year, I found a used Panasonic GX7 in great condition and I could not resist the temptation. Many people have suggested me trying the GX7, many have spoken very highly of the camera. I brought the camera to Kuching, Borneo for Chinese New Year holidays (3 months ago) and did some shutter therapy sessions there. I got to say, I love the look and design of the GX7, it has flat-top rangefinser styled, silver retro appeal which is quite inspiring. I also like the tilt LCD screen which was convenient for shooting street, and the built in image stabilization was a plus. To my surprise, I do like the color rendering of this camera - unlike other Panasonic cameras I have complained about. However, there are just too many dislikes with the GX7 too - the camera has poor handling and ergonomics, it has the worst EVF I have ever used in my life and I particularly hated the loud shutter sound. I can see how the GX7 has gained a cult following, why some people love it so much, but I must admit this is one camera that I don't regret not owning sooner. I shared my full shooting experience in my latest video here (click). 

Merdeka 118 is the second tallest building in the world at the moment, and it is right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was quite surreal seeing Yelena jumping off from the top of that building in the opening sequence of the latest Marvel superhero movie, Thunderbolts. Though the scenes in Malaysia were brief, there was another one involving the explosion of the old HSBC building at Masjid Jamek area, I was giggling silly in the cinema recognizing all the filming locations, and I got to say I have been doing my own street shooting at those same spots many, many times. It is sad that the Merdeka 118 building is not yet open to the public at the time of the movie screening, else it would have been more epic! I thought it would be fun to dig through some of my own pool of images and put together a short series of the Merdeka 118 images I have taken!

I love doing Live Streams. It was one of my latest projects that I got obsessed with, and I have been live streaming for more than a year consistently now. One of the feedback that I have received about my Live Streams - from people who watched it after the stream has ended - they are too long. They questioned if a topic of discussion needed 2 hours or more, and they even said these can be done in 5 minutes. I find it strange how in the world where free speech is encouraged, and everyone has an opinion, people can say all kinds of strange things.

Special thanks to OM System Malaysia, I managed to get a loan of the new OM System 100-400mm F5-6.3 Mark II for testing. I brought it along with my OM System OM-1 camera to the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park and did some bird shooting. I was particularly interested in the effectiveness of the 5-Axis Sync IS, which was the new update, or upgrade to the Mark II version of 100-400mm lens over the original Mark I version. Spoilers alert - the 5-Axis Sync IS was incredible! I can hand-hold down to 1/25 second shutter speed at 400mm full telephoto end of the lens with no issues, getting away with sharp images! I recorded my stabilization test as well as some bird shooting action in my latest video here (click). Not sure why in the video I made a mistake of confusing between yaw and pitch movements! Note to self: have enough coffee before making any talking head video in the morning. 

Kirk Tuck has an on-going inside joke on his blog about him shooting mannequins and how his readers gave some interesting reactions. I personally think mannequins are awesome and always make for interesting street shooting subjects. I don't usually seek them out but if they appear right in front of me normally, I will point my lens at the mannequin's direction and grab a few clicks. I may not have showcased that many images because they do become redundant after a few iterations (much like my cat shots) but I still shoot them, nonetheless. There is this stretch along Jalan Masjid India downtown KL where you can find all kinds of exotic mannequins in various state of brokenness and undress that just beg the camera to be used! I probably can do a mini project or series on mannequins and publish a zine or something out of this! 

I have been shooting more and more on the streets recently, and the camera of choice has been the Olympus OM-D E-M1 original. I have mentioned several times before here in this blog as well as on my YouTube channel why I love the E-M1 original, and I think it is still a fantastic camera even for today, after 12 years since its launch in 2013. The E-M1 was a legendary camera that paved the way to mirrorless camera revolution, and I have to say, it was a great camera back then, it still is a camera that I will confidently pick up and nail my critical shots on the streets any time. It has been a while but recently I made a POV street shooting video, showing you what was around me and in front of me moments before I clicked my shutter button, so please do check it out here (click). I am sharing plenty of fresh images from the streets of KL in this entry!

Two days ago, I attended the Sigma BF launch event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a guest. I wanted to see the much hyped new camera in person, Sigma being bold and daring in creating something radically different from what the other big boys in the market were doing. The event was held inside a restaurant, housing about 40 guests. Since I was just a guest I did not go overzealous with my shutter clicking, and only captured a few moments during the event. I had with me the Panasonic GM1, which was perfect since it was tiny and did not draw much attention. The Sigma BF definitely was quite a refreshing new product in the current camera industry overcrowded with everyone trying to fight the paper specifications war. Being minimalist and stripping away the features bloat, I thought the BF can appeal to those who don't necessarily need to shoot 120fps, or have the highest pixel count, or the most advanced computational features. As the saying goes, less is more. Maybe, if Sigma Malaysia loaned me a review unit (I'd probably have a higher chance of winning a lottery at this point), I may say more about the BF. For now, let's just dump the images I have taken at the event here. 

I appreciate both color photography as well as black and white. I do admit I do more color photography - it is not fair to compare really, as the bulk of my photography work I shoot for clients, and my jobs demand everything in color. Or at least I have not found a client that specifically requests anything in black and white delivery. As for personal projects, yes color photography is dominant, I am not going to lie, I do celebrate the bold, loud, bombastic colors that I can easily find on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, so it is no secret that maybe 90% of my personal photography is done in full glorious colors. I love colors, but this year, for street photography so far, the ratio has been shifting to maybe 70% color and 30% black and white, and I do want to do more black and white, which will be a topic for another day. I cannot resist good color minimalist framing! 

I have been asked many times what my favorite lenses for street photography are, and I have given several answers over the past years. My answers have always been consistent, the lens I use the most is Olympus 25mm F1.8, but I also use the 45mm F1.8 a lot for my street portraits. Recently, I am warming up to wider angle shooting for my street photography and the Panasonic 15mm F1.7 fills in that gap. I talked about all these lenses and how I use them for my street shooting in my latest video here (click). 

Fujifilm Malaysia had an event last weekend at Starhill. Bukit Bintang where they showcased the latest GFX100RF. The camera sample units were available for anyone to walk in and have a quick hands on experience. As a curious photographer of course, I went in and have a brief look. The cameras were chained and fixed in position, so we could not bring it around to do any testing on our own. Also, considering there were so many people around that space, it was not a great idea to do a video either. With limited time with the camera, I thought it wouldn't be wise to say anything and make a video - what can I know about a camera in 5-10 minutes time, really? Besides the AF being so slower than the now 12 years old E-M1 I had with me (which I used to take the images for this blog), and overall operation of the camera seem sluggish and unpolished. Oh, I better stop, before people accuse me of bashing Fuji. I don't know, for such a high asking price (close to USD5000) I'd expect a little more!

Of course, I went out more than once with the OM System OM-3 and 25mm F1.8 II for even more shutter therapy actions. This time I was at Chow Kit, and together with some friends we attacked the streets there. I must say I am glad that OM Digital Solutions is making a camera that isn't entirely biased toward nature/wildlife genre. The OM-3 feels like a modernized, retro-classic design camera that is aimed for street photographers. It is the kind of camera that urban photographers would be attracted to - beautiful looking camera that inspires you to pick it up, go out and shoot more. It isn't perfect of course, I have discussed some minor flaws and shortcomings of the OM-3, none are dealbreakers in my opinion, but hey, for street photography, don't think too much, just go out with the camera in hand and start making magic happen!

The local distributor of OM Digital Solutions contacted me and asked if I was interested in checking out the latest OM-3. I immediately said yes. Special thanks to the people in OM Systems Malaysia, I had the OM-3 and 25mm F1.8 II for about 2 weeks with no strings attached. They did not expect anything in return, and I was free to do anything, and say anything in my blog and YouTube channel. At this rate, a review is already too late, the Internet is already flooded with all kinds of reviews everywhere in the world, and I did not intend to add to that digital noise. Therefore, I thought of only one thing I really wanted to do with the camera - just bring it out and have fun with it! I brought the OM-3 and 25mm F1.8 II and did some shutter therapy in downtown, Kuala Lumpur. I talked about why the OM System OM-3 is an awesome camera for street photography (if you don't mind the glaring retail price at USD2000) in my latest video (click here). I am just dumping the images I have taken from that session!

This blog entry is a continuation from recent post about my short trip to Perth, Western Australia. Every time I made a visit back to Perth (5 visits now, since I left in 2008), I cannot help but feel a tinge of regret. What if I have done things a little differently back then, what if I took more chances, what if I was more courageous and braved my way through all the challenges. Perth will always have a special place in my heart, and as much as I would love to cling onto the awesomeness of the place and people, I have decided long ago to move on. We argue that everything that happened would not have happened otherwise, and the events in our lives led us to exactly where we are now, and I am not complaining about my life, but hey, we are also creatures of habit - we always look back and reflect and think of the million alternate possibilities which have come and gone. All that remains, are memories. At least, I can revisit that. 

It has been a while since I last caught up with my friends Jackie and Jaslyn and we made a last minute deicision to have a Sunday Brunch. We went to the new (well, new to me, it was my first time here after the relocation from Publika Shopping Mall) Red Bean Bag, which was renowned for their good coffee and Aussie-styled brunch menu. The new location looked much bigger and the menu has mutated since the last time I ate there. All in all, we had good food, really good coffee and even better conversations. I brought along the Nikon Z5 for casual snapshots, I thought why not? Images captured with the Nikon Z 40mm F2 lens. We went to another location after that since Red Bean Bag imposed a 2 hours dining limit, and after so long 2 hours was not sufficient to gush out all the life happenings. We went to Hetam for second round of coffee. Sundays are for brunches and coffee with friends!

For the longest time I have been complaining about how the newer budget 50mm prime options (from many third-party manufacturers) are made unnecessarily large in size. Kudos to Viltrox for breaking this mold, finally, we have a compact sized, yet highly capable 50mm prime priced in the budget category! Viltrox sent me their latest 50mm F2 Air, and I brought this lens along with my Nikon Z5 on a short holiday to Perth, Western Australia. Based on my experience using this combo for snapshots in this trip, I am sharing my thoughts on why I think this Viltrox 50mm F2 Air is the new best budget 50mm prime for full frame mirrorless cameras. You can check out my mini review in video form here (click). 

I went on a short holiday to Perth, Western Australia last week, mainly just to have a quick break and an escape from my non-stop work schedule. This was a much-needed relaxation and recharge session, so no video-making/YouTube was on the agenda, and certainly photography was not a priority. I spent most of the time revisiting old stomping grounds, places I used to hang out at Perth, my Uni, familiar eateries, and of course, lots and lots of good coffee. I also spent some time catching up with good old friends who were still residing in Perth, and boy oh boy there were plenty to talk about since my last visit was in 2019. These images are just a brief visual journey of where I have been and what I have eaten, mostly snapshots, and they were not complete because many times I wanted to just immerse myself with my surroundings and could not be bothered to turn the camera on. I miss Perth already!

I have just returned from a short holiday trip to Perth, Western Australia, and man I have not felt this exhausted in a long time. I feel physically and mentally drained, and I suspect something else could be happening. One day after returning from the trip, I tried making a full video for the YouTube channel. I finished filming the video, and as I was about to start editing the video I was so tired I could not even open my eyes anymore, I decided to lie down for a short nap. That nap mutated into a 4-hour sleep! I felt sluggish in the gym in the past 2 days, which was not normal at all. I shall give myself a few more days of rest to fully recover, and if I still feel the same way, I may seek medical help. 

This blog entry showcases the last of the series of portraits taken during the test of Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 on OM System OM-3. The model was the ever-amazing Lily (IG @lilyayumiii). For the final look, she changed to a more casual looking outfit, and we contrast that faded, pale overall colors against bold, bombastic rainbow themed stairs! Of all the locations we were shooting Lily, this was the most fun to me personally, I enjoy the loud, bright and vivid backgrounds. Lily did such an incredible job posing and exuding the youthful energy, being cheerful and playful at the same time. 

Continuing directly from the previous blog entry, this is the second series of portraits taken during the test of Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 on the OM System OM-3 camera. The awesome model Lily (IG @lilyayumiii) was on her second outfit of the day. All images were shot with available, natural light, and it was a cloudy day with the sun light diffused heavily through the clouds, creating soft overall look which was working on our favor for this portrait session. I love the rendering of the Brightin Star 50mm F0.95, not only it can render pleasing bokeh, smooth creamy out of focus area, but there is a realistic, natural look to the human shots taken with this lens. The lens is sharp, but not being clinically sharp and the characters, or shall I say the flaws of the lens added much required depth and organic look to the images. If you have not done so, you can check out the video I have done on the Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 lens.

Brightin Star sent me their latest 50mm F0.95 lens for Micro Four Thirds mount, and I had the opportunity to test it on the OM System OM-3 camera which was on loan from OM System Malaysia. I had the wonderful privilege to shoot the beautiful model Lily (IG @lilyayumiii) who was such a pleasure to work with. The Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 was so fun to shot with - it was so sharp wide open at F0.95 and can create razor thin shallow depth of field effect to maximize background blur, effectively isolating your subject from the background. If you are on a tight budget on lenses yet you want to produce super bokeh shots for your portraits, the Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 is a strong contender, but you do have to work a bit harder to get your shots using manual focus. Besides, there are no F0.95 lenses with AF for Micro Four Thirds yet. I have shared my mini review of the lens and my experience using it on the OM-3 in my latest video here (click). For this blog entry, I am sharing the first look of Lily during the portrait shooting sessions. More images to come in following blog entries soon. 

I have had the Tamron 90mm F2.8 Di III Macro lens on loan from Futuromic Malaysia for quite some time now, and I must return it soon. However, I managed to squeeze one last insect macro session at the park nearby. Since I did not spend that much time in this session, I was not expecting to get many exotic shots, but there were some really cute and pretty jumping spiders that made my day. I mounted the Tamron 90mm Macro lens on my own Nikon Z5, then added my old Olympus FL-50R flash on top of it, diffused through AK diffuser (thanks to Emilie Talpin), and hunted some little creatures. I got to say, the results are not too bad at all!

I have been asked many times if I get creative burnout, and if I do, how do I circumvent it and is there any good solutions I have tried? Well, the answer isn't very straightforward, depending on several factors like - who is asking, the burnout happening on which front, whether it is the photographer side of me shooting images, or the writing and content creating side? There is no one answer that fits all. I personally admit that I have not experienced any severe burnout yet, in my years of running this blog, or dabbling in the universe of photography, but I do have a lot to say in this topic. 

This is a continuation from yesterday's blog entry on the TTArtisan 35mm F1.8 II lens. The lens gives an approximately 50mm focal length when mounted on Sony APS-C (E-Mount) Mirrorless camera body. In this case, I used the TTArtisan 35mm on my old Sony NEX-6. It is just so incredible to see how third-party lens makers can do so much with so little. Retailing new for just USD125, the lens can deliver really impressive results. I am pleased with the rendering of the lens - the sharpness is excellent, the bokeh is smooth and creamy, the flaws are well managed, overall, the images come out looking natural and realistic. Is the lens better than Sony's native 35mm F1.8 lens for APS-C? I would not know, as I do not have one to make a direct comparison, but for such a low price point, and seeing what the TTArtisan 35mm F1.8 II can do, I got to say, I don't wish it to be any better, it is as good as it gets! Cheap China-made lenses are getting so good these days, why pay more? Just grab one and start shooting already. No more excuses on lenses being expensive. 

What a time to be alive and enjoying photography today, we do not lack options when it comes to budget-friendly, yet high performing capable lenses. Case in point - TTArtisan's latest 35mm F1.8 II lens exceeded my expectations of what I can get from a USD125 lens. It is compact and light, the sharpness is very good wide open at F1.8, and the sharpness is consistent from edge to edge and corner to corner of the frame, the lens produces beautiful bokeh, manages lens flaws reasonably well, and honestly there isn't anything much to complain about the lens. The only issue I had was some purple fringing, which was not a deal-breaker, considering the budget price tag. I attached the lens on my old Sony NEX-6 and went about doing some shutter therapy sessions. I am sharing these fresh images from streets of Kuala Lumpur in this blog entry. If you want my opinion on the TTArtisan 35mm F1.8 II in video format, you can check it out here (click). 

Merely a quarter into 2025, I have found myself collecting a wider range of images than usual. For my personal photography, I do mostly street shooting, as I have often called them shutter therapy sessions. However, the year 2025 proved to be interesting, it is moving me out of my comfort zone, and I have been taking more images that I would not have taken, unless they were required for specific content on my YouTube channel. I have been accepting more lenses from third-party manufacturers for reviews: anything from ultra wide-angle lens to cheap standard primes and add some accessories like close up lens and ND filter into the mix, my gallery of images expanded considerably over the past months. It is nice to see a growing variety of photographs generated on this blog (or YouTube, well they are all from me). Here is a quick compilation of some of my favorite recent images from the first few months of 2025. 

OM Digital Solutions may have made some questionable decisions in their product strategy and marketing activities lately, but one thing for sure that never went wrong since the days of Olympus - the weather-sealing capabilities of their cameras and lenses. I have to say, the reliability of the camera's sealing against harsh environment - splash, dust and freeze, is second to none. Almost all cameras that I have reviewed from Olympus and more recently OM System, I have run them through vigorous running water test. The OM System OM-3 was no exception, and as expected, no surprise here really, the camera survived and had no issues after the water splash. I even made a video to show the water running onto the camera and lens, OM System 25mm F1.8 II, which was also weather-resistant. You can watch the shorts here (click). The confidence of having such robustly built camera is something that I do appreciate a lot. 

The biggest factor that holds many photographers back from achieving greatness is time. In order to climb to the next level, time is the most important thing that you can spend that can bear significant results. You can't just expect to spend an hour or two doing photography in your spare time in the weekend and expect your skills to improve dramatically. To get to the standards of National Geographic photographers, someone once said (I forgot who) you need to eat, breathe and sleep thinking about photography. Your passion must burn so bright that you will want to shoot more and more to get that next best shot. Without spending enough time, you can only get so far. This is the case with my own macro photography, I admit it isn't my priority, and I did not spend enough time out there, looking for interesting bugs and dramatic shots to be captured. It is very simple really, the more time I spend out there shooting and looking for bugs, the more chances I am giving myself to discover greater shots. With the limited time that I have with the Tamron 90mm F2.8 DI III Macro lens (special thanks to Futuromic Malaysia), and even less time that I allocated to actually do macro photography in local parks, these are the few decent that's I managed to capture. Nothing award-winning worthy, but hey, it is work in progress. And I must remind myself to spend more time if I want to get better.