Olympus Pen E-Pl2.

OLYMPUS MALAYSIA

Wow !!!! every Olympus user is talking about this awesome Pen E-Pl2 & this device  come with Intelligence and Bluetooth.

Olympus introduces the PEN E-PL2, the 4th generation of the Olympus PEN family. The new camera expands your creative potential with Live Guide, new built-in creative features, new auxiliary lenses, a new Close-Up Spotlight accessory and the new Olympus PENPAL Bluetooth accessory.

I have check the price effective from 16th January 2011.

14-42mm II @ Rm2.499

17mm @ Rm2.499

14-42mm II & 40-150mm @ Rm2.999

Come with free 8GB SD (class 10).

 

As the annual Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas draws closer, more and more rumours are making their rounds across the internet. For all you Micro 4/3s camera enthusiasts, leaked pictures and specs for the new Olympus E-PL2 have surfaced thanks to the guys over at 43rumors.com. The updated "budget" m4/3s camera features the same sensor in it's predecessor the E-PL1 but has adopted a slightly curvier and more ergonomic design.
Along with the change to the aesthetics of the camera, the E-PL2 comes with a new 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 MSC (Movie and Still Compatible) kit lens as well as a dedicated movie button. Such changes were expected with the direction most cameras are going toward in the form of HD video. On top of that, the E-PL2 also features a new High-resolution 3inch LCD and has a new ISO cap of 6400, but with such a small sensor, I don't think you'll be seeing those numbers when you take photos anytime soon.
Perhaps the most interesting thing that has been leaked is the new bluetooth module which attaches to the hotshoe. Cheekily called the "Penpal", it allows you to instantly send pictures to your Android or Windows Mobile phone and share pictures via Flickr, Facebook or other social networks. There is no iPhone support off the bat, and that's not unusual because of the gimped bluetooth that iOS devices favour.

More additional views from :STEVE's DIGICAMS  .

Greeting-Happy New Year 2011 !!!.

Dear Readers,

It's was wet New Year eve in my town,i mean non stop rain until this morning.

Anyway, I WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR !!.

One of my resolutions is more photographs taken and a little more words written (my bad written English).I hope to share more with you this year 2011.

WARM WISHES !!!!!!!.

Fast Food Chain......

Fast food chains are growing in Desa Ilmu commercial centre ,  the place that just few kilo meter from my house.

My Chicken Restaurant @ Desa Ilmu Kota Samarahan.
Recently open just a walking distance from Pizza Hut & KFC and it is kind of fast food,beverage and places for children birthday party.Free WIFI too,it is great place to have a drink and surfing WIFI for the residents in Desa Ilmu housing .

The service staff are very happy to be photographed .Bigger,tastier and cheaper...yeah!!!! I'm yet to try the food  here .Well, you know its variety of chickens.

According to the staff here the ayam restaurant already obtain its Halal certificate..

My Camera built-in Art Filter.

I had a chance to play around a little bit with a couple of the E-620's built-in art filters. 

Pale light color,soft focus and Pop art.

& light tone.grainy film and Pin hole.I did  not do any post-processing at all to the above images.In my camera Art Filters entice users to be artistic by allowing them to apply stylish effects at the touch of a button.

Eco X'mas Decoration.

Welcoming Christmas, Boulevard  Shopping Mall in Kuching present eco green Christmas decoration to welcome the Christmas shoppers.

Eco green X'mas decoration at the lobby.

Go green X'mas deco is made of a series of recycle plastic bottle of drinking water.

Let's Fly With Firefly Airline to Kota Kinabalu.

My last trip to Kota Kinabalu was 20 years ago,it was my official trip then on duty so I have no chance to explore the culture and the beauty of Kota Kinabalu.How I wish I can fly to Kota Kinabalu again and this time I want to fly with Firefly Airline and have a chance to fly with the latest Boeing 737-800 series .In Kota Kinabalu i can make a short trip that may last for 5-6 days.Photography is my hobby so if i have a chance to go to Kota Kinabalu I wish to photograph the beautiful culture and the beautiful of Kota Kinabalu.I wish to photograph and the activities of the people,go to new place and spending time observing the people there experience their way of life,talking to local people or perhaps making new friends.In Kota Kinabalu I love to visit .Gaya Street Sunday Market,City Mosque,Lok Kawi Wildlife Park,Tanjung Aru Beach and Sabah State Museum Heritage and Village.

Gaya Street located in the Kota Kinabalu Central Business District has been the centre of business for over a hundred years. The wooden shops with nipah roofs are long gone but here is where generations-old family businesses are still thriving passed down from father to son. Every Sunday morning, the length of Gaya Street is closed off to traffic to make way for the Fair. Shop for anything under shady trees and over-sized umbrellas, like batik sarongs, fruits and flowers, arts and craft, footwear, antiques and souvenirs, cakes, even pets and herbs!. This is the best place to experience the cross-section of the local population when entire families enjoy a Sunday outing.

The Gaya Street Fair is on every Sunday from 6.30 am to 1.00 pm.

 

City Mosque Kota Kinabalu.
Built on a 2.47 acres site at the Likas bay, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque is exemplary of the Islamic contemporary architecture. Situated near the sea, this majestic white mosque boasts similar features to the Nabawi Mosque in Medina. This floating mosque has a prayer hall which houses three madrasahs and accommodates from 9, 000 to 12, 000 people at a time.
By far the largest mosque in Kota Kinabalu, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque is even possibly the most beautiful one in Malaysia – the man-made lagoon which surrounds it gives a serenely gorgeous and dramatic look to the mosque on a full moon night.
The Kota Kinabalu City Mosque is open for public visits daily except Fridays from 8am to 5pm. There are no fees charged on visitors

Tanjung Aru Beach Kota Kinaalu.
Located at the end of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and about 6 kilometres from KK City, this place is closest to the hearts of the locals, and just one visit to the beach will tell you why. Taking its name from the casuarinas or aru trees that fringe the fine sands, this is where one might get a ringside seat to the greatest sunset on earth every evening when the crimson sun dips slowly into the horizon, leaving the vast skies a brilliant red.. Food stalls serving local food and drinks are open till late at night. Enjoy coconut and sugarcane juice, chicken or beef satay and steamed peanuts and corn, or indulge in a full-course dinner at the seafood restaurant located there.
The Tanjung Aru beach is also home to Shangri-la's Tanjung Aru Resort, the Kinabalu Golf Club and the Kinabalu Yacht Club.

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park Kota Kinabalu.
The Lok Kawi Wildlife Park was officially open to the public on the 17th February 2007. It is located along the Penampang-Papar old road and is fully developed by the Sabah Wildlife Department.
The park consists of two components: zoological and botanical. The main objective of the park is to become a family-oriented park and the emphasis is put on the Children’s Zoo.
Among the inhabitants of the zoo (zoological component) are the Borneo Pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinoceros, Orang Utan, Proboscis monkey, Malayan tiger, as well as some different species of deer.
The botanical component, on the other hand; offers visitors the opportunity to go jungle trekking along the botanical trail. The paved trail is about 1.4 kilometers long. However, for leisurely strolls, visitors are only advised to walk halfway along the trail.
Lok Kawi Wildlife Park is open for the public daily from 9.30a.m to 5.30p.m. Entrance fees charged are as follows: adults RM10 (Malaysian) and RM20 (non-Malaysian).

The fifth place that i will visit is  Sabah State Museum & Heritage Village Kota Kinabalu.
Built in 1985, the Museum complex is sited where then British North Borneo Governor's Istana was once located. The Museum consists of the Main Building, Science and Education Centre, Heritage Village, Sabah Art Gallery and Museum of Islamic Civilization. Inside are various Galleries housing Natural History, Ceramics, Ethnography and Archaeology exhibits, among others ...
Ceramics, traditional weapons and costumes reflect the diversity of the State's culture and traces Sabah's early trade links with the neighbouring countries of Southeast Asia and China. The museum also houses musical instruments, tools and ritual paraphernalia.
There is a Heritage Village on the Museum grounds where you can enter and experience different types of traditional houses of the various indigenous groups of Sabah. Cultural activities are held here from time to time.
The Sabah State Museum is located on Jalan Bukit Istana Lama, Kota Kinabalu, 4 km or about 15 minutes from the KK City Centre.
Not only will you be amazed by the places to see and things to in Kota Kinabalu, you will also be treated with unique Sabahan hospitality. Explore the unique culture and tradition of Sabah and get ready to experience sweet memories to last a lifetime!.

If you want to win a give away ticket from Firefly Airline to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching you can join the contest and  for more information click FEEQSAYS.NETWORK

Thank You & Credit to the owner of the google image( above) and Thank You again.

Spontaneous Street Walk.

Came late Monday afternoon, my hand was itching so badly for shutter therapy session I decided to grab the camera bag and attack the streets just before sunset. Made it home from work rather early, I sped off to Petaling Street in the city, just in time to catch the dying lights. Unfortunately, it was raining rather heavily when I arrived, but that did not stop my determination to come home with enough pictures to make myself smile. I just need to be on the streets, and shoot purely for myself. Oh no, is this what we call, an obsession? Or an addiction? say Robin Wong.

Oh my goodness ..this guy really motivated me to do street photography but of course I can't be like him,this guy  simply the best.Read what he say (Above statement).Want to know him and visit his blog kindly go to his site and I'm sure those who is crazy about street attack will not regret .His name is Robin Wong so click http://robinwong.blogspot.com

Yesterday (Sunday) late afternoon I grab my entry level E-620 and go to the street.My shooting target is the old parts of Kuching City.Like Robin say "shot purely for myself "...yeah,that what I'm trying to do but to be honest I'm just an old guy who shot just like the tourist or carry DSLR but more on P & S style.Haha,,that my style .Again Robin say "to come home with enough picture to make myself smile" .Well , I liked it.

My version of street attack with my Olympus E-620  and Lens Zuiko 14-54mm f2.8-3.5.

 

This is my target India,court house and carpenter Street.

I did not photograph much on Carpenter Street, just this lonely red postal box .

I have a chance to speak with this gentleman,he is a hired van operator .I ask him,are you reading about our petrol & sugar new price in Malaysia ?

Wow !!!! this guy really count every single cents he spend.

"My car tank is 52 litter.Previously when petrol price was RM1.85 x 52 litter = RM96.20, now after increasing I  can get only RM1.90 x 52 litters = RM98.8. It only different by RM2.60". What do you think about the differences of RM2.60? Does sugar price affects you too? ..........

 

Most shoppers who do shopping around the Indian Street Mall are from middle to low income group .I meet Bujang he work as street cleaner around this area.He remark"I’m one of the small salaries workers in Malaysia. For the past 4 years our monthly expenses just for food raise 3 times. That means 300%.What kind of government that raised our expenses but failed to offer a rewards for the small salaries group?

And so are most people around me, so it doesn't really matter what I do.I smile to strangers and say hello.Every one seem happy to-day including the 'Tukang Gigi'  or shall I call it 'False teeth maker' not Dentist....he smile 24 hours .

 

Do you know how much money this street medicine-man collect from the public to-day? I saw they give him Rm10.00 for every small packed of medicine he sold.I saw him doing few trick by drinking so call poison water being prepared by himself .Actually I wanted to photograph him while he perform the trick or magic but I have to be caution other wise instead of I attack the street  for picture he attack me.I advise the people after enjoying watching his trick 'Don't do this at home".

 

To-day is a beautiful day but I cannot see it....being thoroughly entertained by blind musician this little boy put some token in a cash box.

Playing with billboards......
Another great classic of street photography is to compose with the giant billboards used for advertising to create unique pictures, micro comedies or dramas. Very often, the desired effect is obtained when a billboard either presents a feature that supports a character action, or, on the contrary, presents an element totally opposing it. In some cases, a scale effect between a character and the picture displayed in a background creates a fantastic impact on the viewer.
The easiest approach is to find a great poster having a high photogenic potential (pictorial, funny, or dramatic), and to wait before it. Then to patiently watch the moment when an a typical person comes and pass-by or make an action before the billboard. It requires a lot of luck but also a lot of time and patience, and the result is not guaranteed. Also you can lose precious time waiting that could be dedicated to other better catches.

So the most rewarding experience remains the typical street photographer approach : capturing this very fortuitous moment resulting from a combination of three major elements: 1) A billboard with a high potential, 2) a subject in complete match (or mismatch) with this billboard, and 3) the presence of a street photographer at this precise moment to observe the scene and freeze this moment, that will never happen a again.

I wanted to try playing with billboard but no many billboard here in old part of Kuching City . And again I need more practice ,practice and practice in street photography.

Cheers......

Hidden History@ Indian Mosque Lane in Kuching.

The India Street derives its name from the fact that it has always been a street occupied by the Indian Shops. Most of the Indians are from the southern and northern India. At first, it was called as the Kling Street in the 1850’s, but the Third White Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke changed the name to India Street in 1928.
In 1992, the street was closed to vehicular traffic and converted into a pedestrian mall.

 

INDIAN MOSQUE LANE

A small passageway (locally known as “Lorong Sempit”) that connects India Street Pedestrian Mall and Gambier Road.  A popular short-cut for shoppers who patronized the area. Built originally as the access to the Indian Mosque located between the Mall and Gambier Road. The doors and steps which marked the beginning of the passageway from the Mall side have been restored in their original state since early seventies.

Indian Mosque Lane is a narrow passageway locally known as "Lorong Sempit".This small lane lead to Gambier Road.The lane is so narrow that at section only one person can walk pass at anytime.

 

If you follow this passageway you'll pass a small Mosque hidden away in the middle of the city. The Mosque's structure has undergone many changes since it was originally built by Kuching's Indian Muslim community in the mid 19th century.

 

Outside view of Indian Mosque.

 

Photo Above - Masjid Bandar Kuching ( Masjid India - The Indian Mosque) is the oldest in Sarawak

 

The time for prayers is marked by the sounding of a drum, known locally as the ‘bedok’.(Photo Above) That drum has been in use for 50 over years.

The hidden history of Indian Mosque in Kuching.

Inconspicuously sandwiched between India Street Mall and Gambir Street,  the mosque covered an area of 16,004 square feet.

The mosque was built in 1837 by Indian Muslims from southern India. The originally walls and roof was made of nipah palms. In 1876, belian wood planks replaced the nipah palms walls. The name was changed to Masjid Bandar Kuching in the 1960’s from its original name Masjid India (Masjid Tambi).
Other than the Indian Muslim community, at that time when there was no road transportation yet, the

Malay Muslims from the costal villages also come to the mosque to pray and rest when they come to trade in the city.

In those days when there were no roads to the costal, the villagers travel by boats and would berth their sampans by the river beside Gambir Street wet market  and visit the mosque for prayers. Sometimes, they lodged in the mosque before returning to their villages. To this day, Masjid India provides shelter to tired travellers.

The time for prayers is marked by the sounding of a drum, known locally as the ‘bedok’. That drum has been in use for 50 over years.
Being in the heart of the city, it is a convenient place of worship for Muslims working in the area and shoppers  On a Fridays, the congregation could swells to over 1,000 while on ordinary weekdays some 400 gather for prayers.

The mosque also started the first religious school in Sarawak back in 1940’s. The Madrasah Islamiah remains in operation.

A committee Lembaga Amanah Khairat administrates the Masjid India, and whatever funds collected will be used to maintain the mosque. Funds for maintaining the mosque come from rent collected from 23 neighbouring shops owned mainly by Indian Muslims who sold groceries, spices, cloth and books. Two Chinese shopkeepers also operate their businesses in the area. These family businesses have been handed down through the generations.

www.fireflyz.com.my

 

I have been travelling not a lot but quite a few time for the past 2 years and have had a chance to see,feel and appreciate or dislike the airline that I travel with.So far,I can say that I'm quite fond of low cost carrier 'Air Asia' and her tag line 'Now everyone can fly'.To be honest I'm always travel with zero fare offer by this carrier and enjoy the smooth flight of Airbus 320 .The wonderful thing about this budget airline is that the arrival/departure terminal is in LCCT(Low Cost Carrier Terminal) and I can take a bus ride to KL Central just for Rm8.00 for one way.This is very good for backpacker like me who carry only my camera & laptop backpack which is less then 10 kg.

To travel overseas maybe many budget Malaysian still prefer AirAsia X.

 

 

Firefly’s first Boeing 737-800 arrives in December 2010 and will begin its operations on the 15th of January 2011 from the Main Terminal Building, KLIA.

Next year onward or perhaps some of you have already plan ahead your trip from East to West Malaysia ...Now you have option..Yes,yes.the community airline which is spread its wing and lovely bright orange has decided to show off their newly B737-800.Oh!!! how I wish I'm onboard to photograph this beautiful still bird

From 15th of January 2011:

• 2x daily Kuala Lumpur – Kota Kinabalu
• 2x daily Kuala Lumpur – Kuching

From 24th of January 2011:

• 3x daily Kuala Lumpur – Kota Kinabalu
• 4x daily Kuala Lumpur – Kuching

 

   Passenger reviews on Firefly SKYTRAX.

World Walking Day 2010@ Kuching Waterfront.

Kuching celebrates World Walking Day.
Thousands of peoples join the first celebration of world walking Day in Kuching .

Kuching beautiful people come as early as 5:30 am to register them self to participate in the event , as promise they give away free green colour t-shirt .

This morning I participate in the event Nestle World Walking Day.I carry my camera with me & photographing the event.

 

The weather is beautiful & every one is wearing green T-shirt .

 

The young one ........

All of us have heard  the phrase "Let us go for walk" it can do wonders for our bodies and  our relationships with people we love.Sometime event like this we meet new friends.

Our beautiful auntie and uncle....

The twin with their parent join the walk......

Everywhere is green...Do you know that each of the colours has the power to evoke certain psychological and emotional temperaments within you.

Starting point....all the green are ready :)

 

Beautiful people....The green special vibration and characteristic is relaxes and energises the heart centre.

Beautiful city of Kuching and beautiful people of Kuching.......

They say green is excellent for cooling heated emotion and fever.

Kuching peoples are very discipline people...line up "Q" for free breakfast and free goodies by Nestle.They give me free coffee & chocalate drink.

Every one & some with family members are having great fun at the events.

Perhaps next year 'World Walking Day' is wearing white T-shirt.

 

There is nothing better to look forward to at the end of walking then the lovely green milo van.

The van serving its popular chocalate drink at the World walking day.

They say the event will be held annually starting this year 2010 till we meet again next year ,INSYALLAH.

My Walking Day...

I was standing behind the exit to Gambier Street of Masjid India & I saw this young photographer.

This morning I was on the street ,There is no crowd yet,maybe I'm just too early.It was a year ago since I started to gain interest in street photography but I have a limited knowledge on photography.I would say I got the basic but compared to an immediate photographer I am way off.

Still no crowd yet ....old part of Kuching City.

I keep on saying & tell myself I need a lot of practice to catch up.But practice is nothing if you don't know what you are doing.I still have to learn how to maximise the light an use different angle to have wide options and the most important is to know your camera.

Street photographer is a style of capturing images of everyday life on the street.A good street photographer should  be capable to stand alone to tell a story even with out any text explanation needed.It shows everyday life as it is.

 

The young & old on the street. The young with golden gray hair style & the old beautiful people with natural white hair .

 

The hair style & colours attract the attention of my camera lens.

It employ straight forward shooting style.This mean that when this to young mans look at me they immediately understand what the photographer want to say about their hair style & colours.

So to be a good street photographer ,we need to practice,practice and practice.

Have a nice day.

(my next post is World Walking Day)