MyChiaroscuro Hutan Lipur Gunung Ledang Outing

On the 17th of October 2010, MyChiaroscuro had its biggest outing yet. The destination was Hutan Lipur Gunung Ledang at the Melaka-Johor border in Malaysia. There was about 30 of us from all parts of Malaysia and Singapore as well. We even have a member who flew in from Sabah just to join this event!

Everyone was armed and prepared for the challenge posed by the location. Weather-sealed camera bodies and lenses, tripods and macro paraphernalia. During the trip, it was a great opportunity to enjoy what 100 million year old nature had to offer. Wonderful lush green jungles with beautiful and majestic waterfalls on the side of a mountain.

The outing started early in the morning and ended in late afternoon as most need to travel back to their respective homes. Breakfast was great with ice-breaking activities and it continued during lunch as well as this outing was huge compared to previous others. Everyone had fun, which was the most important factor, as well as picking up photography skills, poisoning each other with gears and not forgetting the wonderful natural surroundings.

And one last thing, there were 2 units of E-5 on test during the trip...

 

 

 

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II lens, ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens and off shoe FL-50 flash via FL-CB05 flash cable.

2010 Shell Advance Malaysian MotoGP

I managed to attend the 20th Malaysian MotoGP year at Sepang International Circuit last Sunday. It was my first time attending a MotoGP event. I missed the Japan GT this year so I told myself I shouldn't miss this one! It was a grand affair attended by the tens of thousands.

The deafening sounds from the super bikes were like classical music to the ears. Each pull of the accelerator gives out a roar of approval from the engine via the exhaust system. The acceleration, speed and maneuver from each rider executed flawlessly and gracefully on the track.

The crowd themselves were immersed into the action. Chanting, shouting and cheering the rider they supported. Some were blowing vuvuzela like devices while some were waving flags and t-shirts. And lest not forget the throngs of photographers that day, who I am one of them.

The MotoGP race was won by #46 Valentino Rossi in a Yamaha while second place went to #4 Andrea Dovisiozo in a Honda and third place went to eventual 2010 MotoGP Champion #99 Jorge Lorenzo also in a Yamaha.

One regret I had attending this event is the absence of the going to launch Olympus E-5 which I hope to have a chance to test out. However, I armed myself with the Olympus E-3, its predecessor, and am able to capture the following photos below. I wonder how the Olympus E-5 will fare if I'm able to take these kind of photos with the Olympus E-3?

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens.

Suicide of a Fair Maiden

This series was actually taken more than one year ago but I can only finish processing them now. Yeah, I know, I'm a very lazy bum! Sorry about that.

This series deals with the case of being dumped by a boyfriend after being impregnated by him. Sadly, the victim chose suicide which is the easy way out. More sadly is that this type of scenario is not uncommon.

Pictorial is cut short so as not to bombard the thread with too many photos.

This series has a green cast to the pictures and there is nothing wrong with your monitor. :p It is just to add an ambiance to the sad theme, maybe a bit ghastly too. I would like to apologise should the colours don't suit your taste.

#1 Preparing the meet up

#2 He promised to come in his text

#3 What will be his reaction?

#4 This wait is killing me...

#5 I need to take a rest

#6 I've been waiting for so long

#7 Is he gonna come?

#8 This is unbearable

#9 What am I gonna do?

#10 Why is he still not here?

#11 The decision

#12 There is no turning back

#13 The anguish

#14 The end

Thanks for spending so much time and bandwidth in viewing. The full pictorial can be viewed here. All images taken using E-510 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk I and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lenses and FL-50 flash.

Pulau Pangkor, Perak

Went on a family trip recently to a less known island off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Situated nearby the town of Lumut lies Pulau Pangkor in Perak. It is not as famous as the other islands such as Langkawi, Tioman or Redang but it is a very good and affordable island getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Nothing much has changed on the island as development is kept to a minimum. However, there are some upgrade works being done on some stretches of beaches on the island. You get to enjoy lots of water activities such as island hopping, snorkeling, swimming and jet skiing. The costs for these activities are lower than those found in the other more famous islands.

As it's only about 3.5 hours drive with a 30 minute speed boat ride away from KL, it is one of the nearest island getaway destination. And lest not forget, one of the most affordable...

The rest can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens.