V-Drumming

Idlan had been keen to take-up drumming for a while. He even signed up for classes at school and would be starting lessons in the next few weeks. And I had always been fascinating by drums but the main problem with them was the loud noise they generate!

As a compromise, we went for an electronic drum kit. We had been looking around for one, reading forums and review. It was quite difficult to be able to see and test one in KL. The only shop which allowed us to play around with a kit was in Mid Valley. After a few visits, we finally made up our minds.

It was a Roland rather than a Yamaha.

The set came in with a real foot pedal, as well as fabric snares and toms. This would create a real feedback and bounce so that when Idlan use the normal kit at school, it felt more natural. With your headphones on, the drums played out with minimal noise, although not completely silent.

The package also came with a dedicated speaker, from which drum noise could be generated. It was pretty clear that I would need plenty of practice to be any good at it, and at the current rate, Idlan would be teaching me a trick or two soon ….

IJN Morning

My mother-in-law an episode of breathing difficulty a couple of weeks back. Much to her reluctance, she had a check-up with her usual Cardiologist. She was told that a more thorough check-uo was needed and she was referred on to IJN.

All packed upThe main lobby at IJNThere, they found thatvshebhad been suffering from irregular heart beat which prompted further tests and change of treatment. Today, she was admitted for an angiogram.

For the last week - and next after discharge - she would be staying with us while she recovers. We were at the waiting room at the moment waiting for the procedure. An enduring wait. But no one was more nervous then her. Hopefully there would be encouraging news and she could get on with her treatment.

Sasana Kijang

Passing by Jalan Kuching everytime I travelled from Gombak to home, I noticed a modern-looking building right up the hill around Kenny Hill.

After reading about it, I found out that it was called Sasana Kijang, a museum owned and operated by Bank Negara. It showcases old money and information about economics, something which I may visit in the future. It was also then that I realised that one of my friends worked there full time as an artist.

But the modern architecture was what attracted me, and since I had some spare time in the morning, I decided to take my drone there.

It was rather tricky to get a good angle to photograph the building as the was nestled in between trees. The only way to get a decent photo would be to fly high and photograph it obliquely at an angle. I got a few decent snaps but in the end concentrated more on the city skyline. The lights were against me as I was in the West of the city. Harsh light was coming towards the drones and the contrast was too great. Best to come back here in late afternoon when the lights would be behind me.

What did I learn this time around? It was tricky to capture a building in small space, plus it was important to plan on the time of the day to go out to photograph ....

Hidden Arts

There were many surprises when I was walking around the Telawi area in Bangsar. The street arts were really coming together nicely.

Hopefully the local council would take kindly to these endeavours as instead of them being pests, they actually added colour to the side streets. Maybe some of the walls should be identified as safe for street arts.

Masjid Besi

This entry was originally written in June 2016

This mosque was one of the icon of Putrajaya, and formally named after the last Yang Dipertuan Agung, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. Due to it's metallic structure, the locals referred it as the Iron Mosque, or Masjid Besi. It was certainly a sight to behold. And in terms of photography, one hope to capture it at night.

But logistically, it was quite tricky for me to do that. Maybe on of the evenings leading up to Raya I might do just that. But for the time being, it was best to enjoy the flight whenever the weather permitting after a couple of failed runs prior to this.

The mosque was located at the edge of the lake and it was to try to capture its beauty at a height and away from the structure, hoping to catch a reflection of the beams on the lake. Luckily I managed to do that on a couple of shots but I thought for the best angle, maybe a sunset flight would have been better, while putting up base on the opposite shore of the lake - maybe Ayer@8 would be a good idea.

Perched next to it was a couple of bridges, one left incomplete while the other named Seri Saujana Bridge formed its background.

Lesson from the flight? Best to pick up your base station away from big structures such as the mosque as you would have a better luck getting a better angle while maintaining a line of sight with the drone to make sure a good radio connection with the controller unit.