ROBIN WONG

Last Friday, for the first time in my life, after doing YouTube for so many years, I was hosting guests remotely and have them on my Live Stream. It was a nerve-racking experience. I knew I was a bad multi-tasker, doing solo Live Streams was already stressful enough, and this time I had to bring in not one, but two important guests, all being broadcasted Live on YouTube. So many things could have gone wrong, me dealing with new software, and having to keep the conversations going was not an easy feat, at least not for me. All things considered, minus the small hiccups there and here, I think the Live Stream went as well as can be, and I was grateful as things could have been a lot worse. I call this achievement unlocked!

In some Olympus cameras, there is a hidden feature called HandHeld Starlight, which technically is a multishot noise reducton composite technique that can effectively get rid of high ISO noise, producing clean low light images. I tested the Handheld Starlight mode of my Olympus PEN E-PL7, shooting images ranging from ISO1600-12800, and the results are very impressive - though JPEG only, the images retain very good amount of details, yet suppressing high ISO noise. I went out to test this around the streets of Kuala Lumpur, and made a video (you can watch it here) to explain the mechanics behind the Handheld Starlight mode. I am sharing the images in this blog entry. I wish OM System includes this feature in their higher level flagship camera, like the OM-1 series. 

I was asked by Jason a few weeks ago to deliver a best man's speech during his wedding dinner, and I said yes. It was indeed a privilege as Jason is an incredible friend I have known for over 20 years. I have nothing but amazing things to say about him. However, my mum passed away and I initially pulled out from attending the wedding dinner, as Chinese traditions and customs would normally prevent guests with recently deceased family members from attending. Jason insisted that I attend and after getting necessary checks and approvals from all relevant parties, I finally made it to the wedding. The Best Man's speech was delivered, it was the second speech I had to do in the same week, after my mum's eulogy at the Memorial Service, just a few days before. To Jason, thanks for having me at the wedding dinner, thanks for having me as a friend, and thanks for always believing in me, when I did not even see anything in myself. Thanks for bringing out the best version of myself, and I owe you so much, for being such an incredible friend that I honestly feel I don't deserve. To Jason & Gan, congratulations to both of you, may your lives be filled with everlasting blessings and happiness! All images taken by Justin Hee (IG @jh.pixels), used with permission. 

Mum's Memorial Service was held at St Thomas Cathedral in Kuching, Borneo, which is our home church, on 16 July 2025. Mum's family came, along with many relatives, my aunties and uncles, as well as my cousins, some really amazing friends (you know who you are) and an unexpectedly large crowd of church members who new mum from bible study groups and the Kuching Anglican Senior Fellowship. It was a beautiful memorial service, with the priest in charge a family friend, Reverend John Sim. I am extremely thankful to have all the kind support, help and generous contributions from so many people at such challenging times, and the memorial service went as well as can be expected. I gave a eulogy for mum, with snippets of it can be heard at the end of my video on YouTube here (click). Special thanks to Jason Lioh for flying in all the way from Kuala Lumpur and helped with capturing some of these precious moments. All images taken by Jason Lioh, used with permission. 

My beloved mum, Annie Chan has passed away peacefully by my side on 9 July 2025, just one day before her birthday. It was a shock to me, everything happened so suddenly, and I am still processing everything. We managed to cremate her and brought back the remains to Kuching, Borneo, our hometown. We have held a beautiful Memorial Service for her on 16 July 2025 at St Thomas Cathedral, Kuching, our chuch, and everything went as well as possibly can. I am deeply saddened by the passing of my mum, it will be a long and painful grieving process for me. I made a video to share what happened in China (how mum passed away) and how I am dealing with things, with some complications I am currently facing, you can watch the video here (click). I will do a separate blog to share some images taken during the Memorial Service later. Mum, I love you so much. Goodbye for now, I am sure, we will meet again. 

Special thanks to many who have sent their heartfelt messages and condolences, your words of comfort meant a whole world to me. Also, super thanks to many who have contributed to the bereavement fund, man I had no idea how expensive deaths can cost, it is insane! Your contribution helped a great deal during these difficult times. I appreciate each and every one of you, thanks for being here, and thanks for the support. 

This is a continuation from the previous post I shared about the amazing pancake lens, TTArtisan 27mm F2.8 AF, and how we should have more of similar lenses made by camera manufacturers. While the lens is not the best at any single feat, it is a well-rounded lens, being so compact in form factor made it a super minimalist setup. Just pair it with a small camera body like NEX-6, and you have an excellent street shooting combo. I thought the image quality came out really good, considering the fact that I paid well below USD100 for a used unit of the lens. Sometimes, it isn't about using the best available equipment, or the sharpest lens, it is about finding the right lens that can be so enjoyable every time you use it on your camera. This TTArtsan represents the spirit of that - super fun to shoot with!

I have a surprise news! Together with Matti Sulanto and Peter Forsgard, I will be conducting a photography workshop here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next year, from 30 March to 3 April 2026! I am so honored to be conducting this workshop alongside extremely talented photographers, amazing content creators on YouTube and awesome people I have come to call as good friends, both Matti and Peter. This 5-days intensive workshop will cover plenty of sharing sessions from all of us and also guided photowalks around the beautiful streets of Kuala Lumpur, I will bring you guys out to my favorite hunting grounds to help you get some awesome shots! There is more - if you sign up before 31 July 2025, you will get a special early bird promo discount! I am really excited about this workshop, I hope to see some of you awesome people here in KL next year, we can hang out together, and of course have some shutter therapy sessions together. For more information, and to sign up, go to the official website here: Urban Street Narratives – The Best Photo Workshops. I have also made a short video to talk about this upcoming photography workshop, you can watch my video here (click). 

TTArtisan 27mm F2.8 AF may not be sharpest lens, or the fastest autofocusing performing lens, but it is sure one fun lens to use. I believe camera manufacturers should pay attention to this and make similar pancakes for varying focal lengths prime lenses. I acknowledge the TTArtisan 27mm F2.8 is not a new lens, it has been around for several years now, but it pairs so well with smaller camera bodies like the Sony NEX-6 that I have. For the asking price of about USD100 new (I actually got it much cheaper used), there is a lot to love about the lens - not only being so compact and slim, it has metal build, very decent image quality and admirable lens flaw controls. Seriously, for so little money, I don't think it is possible to make anything better! I brought the TTArtisan 27mm F2.8 fitted on my Sony NEX-6 to the beautiful city of Malacca, and had some shutter therapy sessions there!

I woke up to a heartbreaking news yesterday morning, on my YouTube notification I saw Ben's latest video on his The Narrowband Channel, titled "I May Have Only 3 Month Left to Live, Astrophotographer Fights On!". He has been battling stage 4 cancer for years now, and it has been really inspiring to see how Ben has stayed positive, doing his best to even churn out useful content on his YouTube for the community. The latest news was not so great, I shall leave it at that, if you want more information, you can always check out Ben's video yourself, he explained everything in great length there. The wife has started a GoFundMe page, so if you are able, please do consider contributing to Ben in support of his fight against cancer. Ben, if you are reading this, I am rooting for you mate! Stay strong, and I know you got this. 

This is a continuation from previous Part 1 (click), more images taken with the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 Macro lens on OM System OM-5 Mark II camera, while I was doing my test run at Fraser's Hill, Pahang recently. The two popular spiders found there are Trapdoor Spider and Malayan Tarantula, both I did not encounter any during my brief time hunting for the tiny bugs. These spiders are known to hide and burrow in holes, so spotting them may require a bit more effort and time, both I did not have while I needed to shoot as many sample images as I can with the OM-5 Mark II. While I did not have these Trapdoor Spider and Malayan Tarantula this time, I did not leave disappointed, I found a wide variety of spiders and insects that I normally would not encounter in more common urban parks.