Author Archives: 2konbla

Photogreekphy

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I got myself a mint boxed Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D). Sweet! Now my Minolta Dynax 7 has its proper, official kit lens. Not the Minolta 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 Silver edition kit lens that Malaysians love because they can’t afford the good kit lenses. Well my Dynax 7 came with such a silver lens anyway.

Ironically, the box is from Japan, but I’m putting it on a Minolta Dynax 7 (in the US they’d call it a Minolta Maxxum 7, and in Japan they’d call it a Minolta Alpha 7). So it’s kinda mismatched.


And so that brings my zooms to a new lineup, from left to right:
Sigma 17-35mm F2.8-4 EX, Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5 (D), Cosina 70-210mm F2.8-4 1:2.5x Macro, Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan, Sigma 70-210mm F4-5.6, Tamron 200-400mm F5.6.


And then I have my primes in a new lineup, from left to right:
Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye with chipped M42 to Alpha mount adapter (reads as a 50mm F1.7), Vivitar 24mm F2.0 DIY tilt-shift, Minolta 50mm F1.4 Original, Kenko Teleplus 1.5x teleconverter, Kenko Teleplus 2x teleconverter.


I wouldn’t mind this lineup for travelling though – the only thing missing is a Minolta 24mm F2.8. Left to right:
Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye in M42, Minolta 50mm F1.4 Original, Jupiter-9 85mm F2.0 in M42.

I’d pocket 2 primes and put the other on the camera. Or maybe the 8mm would be better a Zenitar 16mm F2.8 diagonal fisheye, on full-frame.


I had the chance to reassess the Jupiter-9, thanks to this dealer of classics…


Soft glowy look wide-open, with nice creamy bokeh in the back.


And this is what happens with a manually-focused 50mm F1.4 when you get too close.


Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5 (D) at 30mm F4 1/20s ISO1600 (the markings said 35mm but what the heck.)


Sigma 17-35mm F2.8-4 EX at 35mm F4 1/20s ISO1600. Despite having identical settings, the light transmission of the Sigma is weaker and has less contrast. There’s also a less glowy look in the bokeh.

Initially I wasn’t sure about the 24-105mm but after doing a side-by-side comparison, I am seeing a bit more of the Minolta heritage in it. It doesn’t come close to the look of the beercan or the other classics of that era (28-135mm F4-4.5 tank, 24-50mm F4, 28-85mm F3.5-4.5) but this’ll do.


And this is what reassured me even further. Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5 (D) at 85mm F6.3 1/25s ISO400. With the 100% image you can spot some detail.


What if we brightened up the center part? This is a 100% crop, boosted up (hence the noise.)


Ever tried to count the rain?

Minolta 50mm F1.4 at F1.4 and ISO6400 with noise reduction turned off. This is a JPG, but RAW should give better results.


100% crop. Well, you could count the rain in the tiny plane of focus…


And then, for some lens box spotting! What initially caught my eye was the Sony 500mm F8 Reflex box – it had the new design, with lens design on the box, and white trims.

Older boxes had shiny silver trims. This was deemed not environmentally friendly, so Sony changed their boxes to have white trims. You can see if something is old or unmoved stock by the shiny silver trims!

The second thing that really caught my attention was the Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG for Alpha mount! There was also the venerable Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 Macro in A-mount, a great lens that never is too close to the subject. I also spied a Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro in A-mount!

What an interesting turn of events to see A-mount lenses being stocked, what more the rarer ones.


Testing the Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG’s minimum focus distance of 28cm at 12mm F4.5. Pretty decent, though I think the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC enlarged the face more because of its minimum focusing distance of 24cm!


Compare this to the Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 at 14mm F2.8 and minimum focus distance of 28cm.

Despite both lenses having a MFD of 28cm, why does the Sigma enlarge more? Possibly due to differing focus mechanisms.


12mm. There’s definitely more around, and above, than the average ultra wideangle lens!


15mm (which is what the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC gives you on a 1.5x crop body.)


17mm (which is what the Sony 11-18mm F4.5-5.6 DT gives you.) As you can see, framing has changed between shots, so don’t look at it based on framing alone.


Anyway, on to other brands. The Pentax K-m has a nice glow and trims, and it focuses pretty darn fast!

The Canon Powershot SX10IS is big, the size of a small dSLR. It has a whopping 28-560mm equivalent zoom. Amazing! But the buttons and the button layout feels weird compared to its predecessor the S5IS.


Oh, and the Canon 5D MkII. I tried to shoot a video with the tiny CF card they inserted (I was not allowed to put in my own CF card.) After it stopped because it was full, I pressed the Play button.

And that is how I got the famous Err 99, which means “any error that does not have a specific error code“. So it could be anything, really! A common one would be a lens that has sticky aperture blades or a malfunctioning aperture blade actuator.

Oh, of course I compared viewfinders – the A900 was bigger by a large margin. The 100% coverage and 0.74x magnification really helps! I haven’t compared it to a Canon 1Ds MkIII, though, which should beat it at 100% coverage and 0.76x magnification. But the Canon is loads more expensive!

Yep, the Canon 5D MkII and Nikon D700 had about the same viewfinder surface area.

I then compared the A900 to the Nikon FM-2, and found the FM-2 to be bigger – it had 93% coverage and 0.86x magnification. The Olympus OM-1 is even more stellar, at 97% coverage and 0.92x magnification. Of course, both are manual focus SLRs and have dimmer ground glass screens so it’s not as bright, but they sure are large.

Maitani knew what he was doing when he designed the OM-1. Whatever happened to Olympus now, I don’t know really.

There is a downside to larger surface areas of viewfinders – you really need to press your eye socket against the camera to see the whole frame.

Thus, the A900 had a pretty good compromise. I like 100% coverage anytime – it makes your lenses look as wide as they should be, and disciplines your framing. The 50mm feels much wider in angle than a 35mm on the A700 with 95% coverage only.

How to make low-contrast black-and-white from digital color photos

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First, download this image. This is so you can see the same effect I see when you’re editing.

In Photoshop, go Image – Adjustments – Channel Mixer. I’m using Photoshop 7 so don’t worry, this feature has been around a long time!

Tick Monochrome.

Set the Red to 0.

Now drag each slider to +100 and back to 0, to see which one has the least contrast. In my tungsten-ful shots, it’s always Green. So I leave the Green at +120.

Then, drag Blue down to negative and you will see the highlights fade into grey. I left it at -35.

At this point, you may want to bring the Green up to say +150 (so that the shirt is in the middle) while bringing the Blue down to -70. Adjust as you like.

Finally, add as much Red as you like.

I won’t show you how the final picture ended up, so you can tweak it as you like! The numbers will be different for every picture so please don’t go “oh I need to set this slider to this number and this slider…”

You will notice that boosting channels will increase noise. Big deal, it’s black-and-white, it looks better! 😀

This is how I processed the pictures in Netto From The Ghetto, Live From Section Five.

Old Uncle Rant

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So me and 4 other colleagues have been sent back to school for this week. In Subang Square, right next to the sights and sounds of Taylors Business School!

My class was to start at 9am, but I got off the Subang Jaya KTM station a bit too early. 7:15am to be exact. However, knowing that I would reward myself to a classic kopitiam breakfast at Uncle Lim’s (teh susu panas and roti bakar dua – hot tea with condensed milk and two pairs of toast with kaya and butter), I looked forward to it, and waltzed in through the doors of Subang Parade.

There were workers there, but it was obvious that they had not opened. So I sat on one of the chairs and closed my eyes for a bit, thinking they’d open soon…

A lady walked by a while later and asked what time they open. 8:30am, they said.

It was 7:30am! What was I to do? I could wait till 8:30am but I wouldn’t know how long the walk to Subang Square would be. It seemed near.

And so, I figured, I’ll see you later Uncle. Walked past the mosque and the McDonalds (which was 24 hours and was open for breakfast.)

Who the heck will get to have their breakfast at 8:30am? The workers who open the shops at Subang Parade at 10am? The rest of us have to work or go to class at 9am yo!

Well, I had class at 9am. Uncle Lim’s Subang Parade, have you hardly any time for the 9-5er? Not quite the reliable place to get a fix in the morning.

And so I walked towards Subang Square. Passed this van which sold yow char quai. I grabbed 2 pairs of that instead. Sizzling in the morning and a market-walking delight. It was brilliant. I would have taken a picture of it, but I ate it already.

Subang is a dirty place in the morning. Fresh falls instead of the black stains that adorn Chow Kit.

I then passed an Old Town Kopitiam in one of those shophouses. It was open! The sign outside said that it opens at 7:30am.

For once, I tip my hat to Old Town Kopitiam, they opened at the right time! Though, I still think their food and drinks are crap and deviant and taste a bit odd compared to what you’d expect if you ordered it from any normal uncommercialized kopitiam. It’s not real.

Their version of teh susu panas does not use condensed milk! Every single kopitiam I’ve been to, commercialized or not, uses condensed milk. That’s just how it is! But no, not them, there is no condensed milk in the teh susu panas at Old Town Kopitiam. Sure it may be healthy. But I say it’s a pussified version of it.

Normally, you get a spoon with teh susu panas so that you can scoop into the layer of (normally) condensed milk at the bottom of the cup, pull it up, and sip some tea while having that (normally) condensed goodness. That is the whole point of teh susu panas! You can then stir it in, or drink only the tea and leave the condensed milk behind (though I doubt you would.)

Don’t let me get started on their strange tasting roti bakar. I try a lot of commercialized kopitiams and to be fair, a lot of them don’t do it very well, often having hardened strips of butter and little kaya and overly hard toast. But Old Town Kopitiam adds to that by having this extra kick of flavor in their bread. Which, really, tastes weird.

Oh, and their hot lemon honey tea is horrid compared to their cold lemon honey tea. And traditional dishes are given untraditional touches. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something done differently in each dish. Go ahead mess around with the formula, just don’t label yourself Old Town and imply some form of authencity. Pussy teh susu panas and warped hot chocolate is not authentic!

That said, I did not patronize Old Town Kopitiam this time. (I don’t like Starbucks or Secret Recipe either but social obligations sometimes lead me there.) Yes, I’ve landed in Old Town Kopitiam enough times to try different dishes in hopes of finding something that doesn’t taste funky.

And so, I ended up in Subang Square, at a mamak I’d never been to, where I ordered a teh tarik. It tasted exactly as I had imagined it would be. Because they don’t and won’t screw it up.

Later for lunch I had a teh o ais at a different stall. It tasted exactly as I had imagined it to be. Because they don’t and won’t screw it up.

So what is it with me and Secret Recipe then? I tend to order Iced Lemon Tea whenever I’m at an establishment of such class. And theirs has indeed a secret recipe – liquid sugar, loads of it! You will not get an Iced Lemon Tea sweeter in any other joint. Now when I go there, I drink pussy tea from pussy cups.

Yeah, I like condensed milk, but not liquid sugar.

I like watching college students and their antics too, before I get my cloak and axe. Well no I don’t have a cloak or an axe. So who’s from around there, give me a buzz for lunch yo! I really don’t remember who goes to Taylor’s. I don’t know what degree you’re doing, I never remember these things. I’m a terrible friend, sorry.

1 June Day

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So David came down to town and we snapped some shots at a Sony dance competition in Berjaya Times Square!


Yep, Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan goodness. 😀


Judges, my goodness!


“Pick me I turned my shirt logo the right way up!”


And she looks on. 1.1 meters minimum focus distance, for the win!

The beercan renders me invisible.


I kena crept behind this uncle for this shot.


I did not creep in front of Suzanne Lee for this shot. Wah damn famous now got gallery in KLCC! (Okay, fine, there was another in Avenue K a long time ago…)

“I tell you ah, last time ah, I went to eat by the roadside with her ah, she just modelled for an ad ah, and then now I know that money ah, went to buy a camera ah!”

Pardon my uncle moment.


Oh, I crept again. Heh heh.


No creeping required for the most photographed building in Malaysia.


Though not so commonly, from the inside, I think.

Twenty Ate

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There’s a big gig!

What: Moonshine 3rd Anniversary
Where: Laundry Bar, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara
When: 9:30pm Thursday, 13th November 2008
Who: Tempered Mental, Reza Salleh, Rendra Zawawi, 40 Winks
How Much: Free but hey, buy one of them funky Laundry Bar drinks!

Yes I’m going.

Now on to more gig pictures!


20th August 2008 – Timeout KL: On The Up at No Black Tie!


Touchess, for some smooth R&B.


Silent Scenery, for the exact opposite – spacy interludes and post-rock.


This just looks like the hypnotic, delicate bit before it goes into destructive mayhem. And boy, can these boys go into destructive mayhem!


Sundae, a joyful interlude of acoustica.


Then there was Tokyo Blue. Sorry Ywenna this has to be the best angle I can get which has any light on you!


“Haha you guys set me up to do a drum solo again!”


But drum solos are only expected of a band full of accomplished virtuosos who have played with local legends like Jerry Felix, the Longest Playing Drummer in the Malaysian music industry. Here’s Hiro!

I knew him only as the bassist of Throne Away. Who’d have known!


Poova was the vocalist after Jaclyn Victor left Jerry’s band.


She has incredible vocal power and stage presence!

Interestingly, Tokyo Blue is kinda… bipolar. On songs with Poova they take on a soulful sound, but during the instrumentals you get dramatic jazz.


So, after which, we took some band shots.


A700 with Sigma 17-35mm F2.8-4 EX on tripod, long exposure, and I popped the flash two times for each shot, to expose the front two and the back two band members.


Most of these shots are combined from two or more shots.

The R-Word

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Here we have something from Lukas Rossi’s new band, Stars Down – a track named Bleeding The Dream:

Now compare that to Rock Star Supernova‘s first video, Headspin:

Man, what happened to Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Gilby Clarke (Guns N Roses) and Jason Newsted (Metallica)? Did they all decide to get together in the name of Mark Burnett, king of reality TV, and make pussy music?

I could think of some local bands I see who make pussy music. But I’m too pussy to name them.

I’d also say that the one song I heard from Stars Down was impressive enough for me to say that they have a bit of dynamics ala A Perfect Circle. But I’m too pussy to say this, in case the real A Perfect Circle fans tell me otherwise, which would be legit since I really don’t know much about A Perfect Circle. I’d be more likely to buy a Tool album (but I didn’t, only because I rarely buy albums.)

I finally watched Airheads. When else will you see Adam Sandler as a rocker? I salute the movie’s capability to develop sympathy and the Stockholm Syndrome. You end up really liking Joe Montegna. And disliking Michael McKean as Milo, who turns KPPX Rebel Radio into an easy-listening station. But I loved him in This Is Spinal Tap as David St. Hubbard! Who would have thought until the credits roll and you head over to IMDB!

I caught Tropic Thunder too. Explosive action of the funniest degree. You’d know damn right that Jack Black wrote that scene in where he bites a bat’s head in tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. You just know it’s his idea. And woohoo to Edgar Winter Group – Frankenstein making it in the movie at one point. And boohoo to people who think Simple Jack was a bad joke – the joke isn’t in the m-m-m-movie itself, but in the lines that follow:

“Check it out. Dustin Hoffman, ‘Rain Man

Sixteen Eight, Oh Eight!

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Moonshine: A Homemade Acoustic Show, one 16th of August 2008, at The Apartment, KLCC. These run on the 3rd Saturday of every month.


I wonder what goes on in every performer’s mind – is it “I hate the lights.”

I love the lights, though sometimes they could be pointed at them heh.

Here’s a random transcription from a rare track. Tell me where you’ve heard this before!

“Like I said, if I could only see your faces. The like, the hate, I don’t know, but just enjoy the music. I hate the lights. I hate the lights. It makes me a star. I’m no better than anybody else.”


“Arrreee yooouuu readddy to perform?”


Jasemaine Gan, long time no see. Acoustic with a kick of a trilingual ballad!


I somehow really like the geometric cuts in this shot. She has been taking some nice shots too so head over to her blog!

I am jealous of the innate ability of females to automatically take better pictures to begin with.


Cassandra Chong. Found this interesting angle by accident!


Spoiler. This jazz diva is wearing a flowing dress.


Sue on violins!


Izzy Mohd!

She introduced me to Indomee. For that, I am eternally grateful.


Nick Davis and a violinist. Not the same violinist.

I am beginning to wonder if violinists and saxophonists are more common than bassists and drummers. After all, we see the same bassists and drummers in many bands!


Oh, the Audacity!


Oh, the audacity!

Nick is angsty. He rocks while doing so.

Mellow Without The Yellow

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6th August 2008 – Awesomely Mellow at Cloth & Clef, with Ben Rynjah.


And then there was Youtube sensation Kokokaina!


Imma trying out a new gritty post-processin’ style.


Cloth & Clef is the domain of the F1.4. Anything darker and you will suffer.

Something tells me I should’ve aimed lower and cropped her face out. Then you’d know it was the same girl in those videos.


Her trademark ukulele. There is no way you can hear Just You And Me and not go, “bumbum bumbum bum. Ba da da ba da ba!”

I sold my ukulele ages ago. I miss the feeling of fretting across an entire octave with one hand!


Bo’s Bedroom Sanctuary.


Mellow with the xylo!


Funniest dude ever! Okay, Bo’s funny too, with the right amount of alcohol (that is, not too much.)


Double the bass.

Rubik Hero

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I went for the Indie Youth Fest 2008 at 1 Utama New Wing a certain 5th of July 2008, only because there was a Rubik’s Cube competition!

I asked around. It was 2pm already, inside and outside there was no booth for Rubik’s Cubes or anything. So I asked around, got directed outside, then inside, outside, and inside and uh, outside again. Until I found somebody who took another entry form and cancelled out the title, writing “Rubik’s Cube Competition”.

And so I was the first on the list. 20 minutes later, a gamer clan had joined! I was afraid. These guys looked serious. I thought I could walk away with a prize seeing how little publicity this event got.


Then I saw the cubes. Cheap plastic ones! Not the official ones. I tested one of them. Two of the cubies (that’s what you call the parts) were superglued together! So that was a disqualified cube.

And so, we convened to the stage. There were 9 of us, so we split into 2 groups. The person with the most colors on a face solved after 5 minutes would win!

(Well, you’re supposed to solve the entire thing, but I guess the organizers had more realistic expectations.)


I finished my cube, all 54 colors on a face correct, and then I took pictures.

The poor guy on the left did not know that he finished an entire face, as it was not facing him. Hehe!

So after 5 minutes, two of them handed in cubes with 8 colors on a face, and the other two, 6 I think.


During the next round, this girl suddenly walked into the scene. Ooo, she said. “Can I try?” And she knew her stuff! She finished everything but she could not remember how to swap and orient corners.

Because she did not put her name on the participant list, I guess she didn’t win anything. 🙁

The second round finished with two dudes getting 7 colors on a face. And then they had a showdown. Well I don’t remember the exact details, this happened four months ago!


Third prize winner wins a game.


Second prize winner wins a game.


First prize winner wins Guitar Hero II for the XBox 360!


And so I hung out backstage with my new plastic guitar. Finally, an electric (or rather, electronic) guitar I can call my own!


The black pants are the closest I have to skinny black leather pants.


And now, for some real rockers…


Darren Teh of An Honest Mistake!


They had a legion of supporting fans!


Yes, I shot them all with my Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan.


Gotta love what it did to the flowers!


Ambient bits and then hard bits. Straight out, solid emo.


Challenging backlight, so I cranked up DRO on my A700. After some minor mucking in Photoshop there is just a bit of cross-processing.

So back to the Rubik’s Cube. Nobody knew, and those that were good at it were over in Subang. Some yo-yo event. You’d have a high chance of getting a yo-yo player to solve a Rubik’s Cube, apparently! (With the exception of the exceptional KJ.)

So back to Guitar Hero II. I contemplated getting an Xbox 360 just for the game – after all, this is the kind of game I’d buy a console for. And I’d never had a console.

Of course, Uncle Google and Uncle Syefri told me that I could just plug my electronic Gibson Explorer via USB cable to my PC, and download Frets On Fire, a PC emulator. It could even rip tracks from the Playstation 2 version (which, thankfully, Amir had, and I must thank him for lending it to me.) Each song took about 2-3 hours to rip, with over 50 songs.

And, just like Dave Mustaine, although I could play guitar, I totally sucked at Guitar Hero the first time I played it.

Dave Mustaine playing Guitar Hero II on Game One

Anthrax Guitarist Scott Ian Sucks at Guitar Hero

The guitar controller eletronic Gibson Explorer is pretty much like a joypad – I even tried to play Quake 3 on it. There weren’t enough buttons to bind to all the movements, even!

For Teens Ate

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Moonshine: A Homemade Music Show, a certain 14th of August 2008, with your host Reza Salleh.


Rashdan Harith the rocker!


“Dude don’t break my guitar!”


Yep, them hot chicks got them all on camera.


And there was Seven, one of my favorite funk-R&B-jazz-rock bands.


I love it when the drummers use colorful drumsticks!


I also loved my Vivitar Series 1 28-105mm F2.8-3.8 for what it would let me do – a smooth push-pull zoom effect like this.


Pesawat.


Velan returns on drums…


…with grunge crusaders Stonebay!

Can somebody say Lion-O?


The Vivitar 24mm F2 DIY tilt-shift can be hard to use, but gotten right it can be pretty sweet.