Just too Quick

I heard that last week, the Red Arrows were coming to Malaysia as part of a promotion tour and they would be doing a fly-by over the Twin Towers. The plan was scrapped at the last minute due to bed weather to the disappointment of many.

Last Monday, over the Twitterverse, I learned that they managed to rescheduled and would be doing a shorter fly-pass late on Tuesday afternoon. I planned that I would be at home when the time came since I couldn’t make it into town.

Armed with my zoom, I only managed a couple of frames since my views were blocked. The tiny glimpse which I had was enough to keep me happy …..

The Run Next Month

So, the registration is closed for next month's SJMC run. I was about to make an excuse that I couldn't register in time but that would be lame. I would be in JB that weekend. So, that's my alibi.

The last run was a big success. And judging from the number entering this year, it should be a big one as well. There would be a party that day!

Irfan's Project

For school this week, Irfan had to make a model of planets. But I thought Anita went overboard this time. She made a model of the entire solar system!

Nice colours though as the plants were made from polystyrene balls. Not scientifically accurate but it looked that Anita enjoyed doing them! Now, let’s hope that Irfan could remember the names of the planets in the right order …..

A New Tune

I had been contemplating going up onto medium format for quite some time. There were plenty of contenders, and the couple main ones at the moment were the Pentax 645Z and the Hasselblad X1D. They were not cheap certainly. But the one I was anticipating would be the Fuji GFX 50S. All 3 uses almost similar sensors, about 1.7 times bigger than my current full-frame gears.

But they were going to be big and heavy. And I mainly like street work. And I have fast glasses to cover 28, 35, 50 and 85mm, not to mention standard and wide-angle zooms.

In the last few months, I had been mainly doing wide-angle walks. I decided to use a 85mm 1.4 rig yesterday. The overcast weather made the decision easy. And I was able to snap both indoors and evening outdoors without much hassle.

After looking at the results, it made me think about whether it would be worth the effort, cost and hassle of upgrading and abandoning the system I built over the years to accommodate this new endeavour. Bearing in mind, I was not planning of getting any monetary return from all this.

So, as it stood at the moment I might venture into medium format in the future. The question was not if, but onto which system. Apart from the Hasselblad, I don’t think the other medium format setup had the upper hand to my current kit. When I do go medium format, I would expect the results to blow me away, similar to when I was first able to use a Leica properly and appreciate what a sharp lens really meant.

I remember the advise from one of my mentor, that when you go into the field I am in - a Haemato-Oncologist, you would need an escape. For me it had always been photography since my student years. Guess, I would need to up my game now ….

Monumen Alaf Baru

This entry was originally written in June 2015

The name could literally be translated to "The Millenium Monument", and built to mark the turn of the century. It was located at Presint 2, just 500m from Masjid Besi and across the river from Ayer@8. It had a lush green surrounding and the breeze from the lake made at a popular attraction.

I had the chance to fly my drone near it and capture a number of snaps. It looked like there was a new attraction near the monument in the form of a tethered hot air balloon ride, called the Skyrides Festivals Park. Not really to ride in one for the time being. Maybe I would do so if I had a foreign visitor with me.

It was quite fun flying there since there were plenty of landmark to see. I also flew across the lake towards Ayer@8 and also inland towards a race track for those into motor sports. That morning, there was a mini bike event taking place. I took the time to hover around the event trying not to catch too much attention.

There was also a cafe there by the lake for breakfast, but I had to rush back to the hospital to do my ward round. So, maybe next time.

What did I learn this time around? Flying at 9 am gave the best lighting for landmarks - although the shimmer won't be as brilliant as a sunset flight I took at Titiwangsa. It might also be fun to see if there are events going on at the sight when you plan to drone. You never knew that there may be things to photographs. But obviously, best to ask permission first .... Although most of the time, nobody would bother.