Unplanned Party

The best parties were often the unplanned ones. The spontaneous ones. Well, Rabat as what happened when we wanted to celebrate Irfan turning 12. Initially there was no party. Then maybe it would be a quiet family dinner.

The weather was certainly inviting ...Uncle Razak getting the cakes readyWaiting for the visitorsThat expanded to his cousins and my Mum. Irfan then suggested we have a small get together with his old classmates from Sri Utama. Just the boys.

A slew of SMS and texts flew. The girls wanted to join. Or at least their parents. They wanted to come over as they haven't met Anita for a while since Irfan changed school.

Getting the tools readyHappy Birthday IrfanThe friends were here ...Before we knew it, it was a semi-proper party. With me being on call that day, everything were just ad hoc. But it turned out great. The friends had a great time and the apartment was turned upside down in the end.

The cakes were outThe found their spotA great day ...

Thaipusam Day Outing

The last of the installments I can assure you that - since I would be back at work tomorrow. I had some time to walk around town, still exploring what the GoPro could offer. As today was Thaipusam and I didn't have the stomach to follow my friends to Batu Caves, I decided to stay nearer to home.

Heading to Dataran Merdeka after lunchWhere's the water curtain?The River and the TowerWhere the rivers meet ...Following the route After a short trip to the ward, I parked my car at Suria KLCC before heading out for some biryani at Masjid India via the LRT. The weather was too nice to ignore and before it got too warm, I decided to venture out of mall and took some photos of the Twin Tower. Wide angle and blue skies was what needed for this photo op. I didn't have to be asked twice.

It certainly was sunny ...Sitting by the junctionWorking in the sun ...Into the shade ...Central Market ...Calling it the day ...Then came the LRT trip to Masjid India for lunch at Restoran Shahira, doubling back via River of Life where groups of tourists were lurking. Off through Central Market before taking the LRT back to Suria. Time for some coffee and later a quick stop at Kinokuniya before heading back home.

GoPro-ing Bukit Bintang

Still recovering from my tiring weekend, I decided to enjoy my day off in the sun. There were plenty to enjoy and over breakfast, I plotted my route.

I parked my car at Low Yat, walked towards Lot 10 exploring the famous junction before settling at Pavilion. More snaps of the decorations and the area surrounding it before making my way towards Berjaya Times Square.

By the Monorel StationNo secret here ...That famous ceiling at Fahrenheit 88On the floorIt was snapping galore in the sun. The blues sky was tinged with fluffy white clouds, perfect for architecture exploration. Drawing my experience from the walk I did in Singapore, I was able to avoid the flares and shots needing wide dynamic range. I could tell that the snaps were improving.

In-betweenUnder the shade ...That famous fountainDuring this walk, I also learned on how to use the video feature. I settled for 4K, 24 fps cinematic captures. A balance of quality and speed. The format was also easily handled by Final Cut Pro.

Using the electronic stabilisation was also a joy. It was almost as good as using a gimble although you lose up to 10% of the margin at the edge of your video.

Let's get acrossThe stalls about to open ...Street artistCycling binAt Berjaya Times Square, I mainly tested the low light performance of the camera. The conclusion was it handled low light admirably excelling more in videos than photos. That was my last port of call before heading home to do some post-processing.

Sunny Side Up

The trend in KL lately were to have pop-up stores and food truck as a way of social gathering. It was great on occasions but I noticed lately that these spots were either too crowded or too expensive.

The stalls and food at such events as Riuh could be too much of a put off to be honest. I ended up having drinks in established cafe instead when I went out as you couldn't guarantee that such stalls would offer good food at such price.

Look closely or you might miss it ...Quite cosy insideAnd the same went for the items at the pop-up stores as well. Yes, you would like to support young independent entrepreneurs but often they were charging unreasonable prices.

Slate at The Row - located at Jalan Doraisamy - in the middle of town host monthly jumble sale-like event, called Sunny Side Up, where there were pop-up aplenty. There were stalls selling paintings and leather goods. Coupled with pleasant environment, great weather and some nice restaurants around the area, it certainly was a place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

Getting there was straight forward even if you were driving since there were plenty of spots along the road. Traffic were rather light as well. I had a look at some hand-printed batik shirt as well as some paintings. But I felt that the price could have been cheaper. Everything were going at a premium.

I didn't drive this time ...As a result, I didn't hang around for too long. I would love to get an item or two of the prices were reasonable. Do, maybe next time ...

GoPro-ing Orchard

The hotel we stayed in was right at the edge of the main shopping district in Singapore, the famous Orchard Road. What better way to do the field test of the new GoPro than to take it out shopping.

With limited time on my hands, I had to plow on and learn how to use the camera practically in the fly. As I mentioned, i wasn't expecting much at the start. I got more than what I bargained for.

Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant somewhat hidden in the end of the streetWaiting for lights to turnCelebrating the Year of The DogsI spent most of the time taking photos rather than videos. I then noticed that the battery needed managing. Good thing I bought an extra battery from the off.

Weather was great. I only managed half the way down the street, turning back at the Apple Store. I also noticed that the shutter lag cost me a few shots. The learning curve was steep.

Pigeons The GoPro can't cope with the wide dynamic range and flaresAt least the weather was gorgeous

There is always time for ice-creamI really loved the wide angle fish-eye effect coming from the lens. The deep blue from the capture also caught my eye. It had problem handling the highlights though - it tended to have a blue tinge to it. The dynamic range was also limited in earnest. I had to carefully pick my angles, which could be tricky when capturing wide angles.

The lens also had issues with flares - another thing to watch out for when a opting into the sun.

A happy cellist heading for a spot on the street to buskThe architecture was a mixture of many cultural elementsMore shopping malls

Plenty to learn. And plenty to enjoy as well.