New Year Lunch

The New Year started with a great win for United last night. Although it was only Middlesborough, the manner in which we came from behind to clinch the match in the final 5 minutes was reminiscent of the Ferguson era. And it was fitting as the great Sir was in the stands celebrating his 75th birthday.

The ward round came next after which I drove straight into town to sort my monthly credit card payment. I was surprised to see the new addition to Pavilion had already been opened. Now, you could walk straight from the new extension called "Connection" via an underground tunnel to Fahrenheit across the road. Great plan. If only another extension could be made straight to the new MRT line. That would really take the cake!

Waiting for my orderQuite and calmOn my way back to my car, I stopped for lunch at one of the Arab cafe there, watching people passing by in the great weather. Not a bad spot. Before I leave, I took the chance to explore the new extension, which I would blog about soon. Suffice to say, I did more exploration than I planned. Since I had already booked a trip for the haircut with the boys later, I couldn't hang around for too long.

I was lucky that I came to Pavilion early as the carpark was really packed at the time I was leaving with a long queue forming outside. I guessed everybody was up for some shopping ....

Christmassy Pavilion

As usually the case, Pavilion always came out with the best decorations, be it Xmas, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya or Deepavali. It looked like their effort this year was not too shabby although the constructions at the main entrance made some of the features looked rather awkward.

The new building right opposite was encroaching into their famous fountain making access from the Bukit Bintang entrance not the smoothest. Add to that the poor traffic flow, heading in and out of the mall was not a joy at all.

There were Xmas trees and crystals aplenty, again with Swarovski being one of their main sponsors. It was both stunning and crowded and being a Sunday, the place was completely packed. On the day I visited, I was forced to park at KLCC, walking across via the linked walkway to Pavilion.

The area around the fountain also had a small train taking children for a ride around a tall Xmas tree erected there for the last few weeks. The main lobby on the other hand had a stage - for Santa of course - and a ride for children.

An enjoyable day out although I wouldn’t recommend going there on a Sunday afternoon. The place was just too crowded, plus the small matter of traffic ....

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 ….

A Sunday Outing

I had to take out my camera today. I used a different one during the the photowalk last weekend but that can’t compete with my favourite mechanical gear. I had the crave.

Just you and me ...For a good causeGotta catch them all ...They need some good coachingThe selfie generationAcross the roadLooking down ....Of construct ....Indoor lighting ....Blowing bubblesTurning backSince Anita needed some air, I decided to have dinner at Bukit Bintang and since I was early, I had enough town to walk around before we settled down to eat. The weather was rather overcast, threatening to rain, but the Pavilion area was buzzing with plenty of activities.

Considering it was a dull day, I did have a few shots. At least I could go back home happy …. for another week …..

Queue into Shoopen

There was a new outlet in Bukit Bintang which caused quite a stir on its opening weekend. It had been advertised for the last couple of months and it certainly worked. There was a long line of people waiting to be let in for the opening weekend sales.

The shop was located at one end of Pavilion, where there used to be an exit. That end had been closed for a while while undergoing renovations.

They sell only shoes, but the crowd was too rowdy for my liking. The price better be good looking at the amount of buzz it was creating. Anita was not that taken aback when I told her about. Maybe she was just into shoes ....