Last Sunday

Ramadhan was coming soon. And I was running out of weekend since doing photowalks during Ramadhan could be a bit of a struggle.

Sunday came and it was a beautiful one. I decided to have a quick walk around town - Anita was out with one of her friends attending a workshop.

Quite a nice outing it turned out to be, although I could have taken more photos. I spent much of the time just sitting at cafe as well as settling a few stuff on the net. A nice walk none the less ...

GoPro Blue Hour

After a day of meeting, I was ready to have some chill out time. Anita asked if I can drive her out. Sure. And that gave me the chance to bring my GoPro out since it had been such a clear sunny day that day.

I reached Bukit Bintang at around sunset after negotiating some heavy traffic. Many people were doing their preparations for Chinese New Year and the road had been busy. I immediately noticed that the blue light after sunset that day would be gorgeous.

There were definitely plenty to snap at Bukit Bintang with people mingling about. GoPro jpg rendition definitely favours blue sky. The blue just popped, contrasting the neon lights on the ground.

My walk took me to the famous Bukit Bintang intersection by the monorail station. There were live street musician playing which I recorded of course. I also had the chance to do a bit of time lapse - which in the end turned out to be too short.

I then doubled back to Pavilion to join Anita for dinner, again taking some photos of the famous fountain. All in all, the GoPro coped well with the high ISO needed to capture evening scenes after sunset. Captures up to ISO 1600 seems to still be useable. I didn't dare to leave the setting above that.

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.

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.