Merry Christmas!

Baubles
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Wishing all my friends and loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Ayutthaya was the former capital city of Thailand until the 18th century when it was completely destroyed by the Burmese. These are the temple ruins which remained. Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Bang Pa-In Palace

Summer palace
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

A couple of buildings in the summer palace in Ayutthaya. Restored for ceremonial use nowadays, it used to be a summer retreat for the royal family of Thailand.

Sawadeekap!

Royal Palace
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

And so we were in Bangkok, Thailand for a short break last week. The Novotel Siam Square was smack in the heart of the city making getting around quite a breeze. Temperature was KL-like in the higher 30s....Four days of shopping, tomyams, massages and cool beers. You can never get enough of those. Taxi drivers were a mixed bunch some not preferring to use the meter but still you can find an honest cabbie if you're patient enough. The people are generally friendly but be careful of overly-friendly chaps who's out to milk the tourist dollar. Overall quite a satisfying trip. We could be back soon...

A Christmas concert

Violins
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Fresh from the wedding reception later in the evening we attended an early Christmas concert by the Ann Perreau Music School in Petaling Jaya. One of the music teachers, Hoay Wen had extended us an invitation to the concert and also to take some photos for them. Lighting was pretty uneven & probably deemed extremely challenging to get some decent shots. Most of the stage shots went awry but I did manage some better ones using the Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 which proved handy in low-light situations.

Shah & Fatin's Wedding

Shah & Fatin
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Over the weekend attended colleague Abu Hassan's daughter's wedding reception which was held in Taman Tun Dr Ismail KL which is only some 10 minutes drive from my residence. It was a reunion of sorts for most of us especially for those who have left the company. Being the self-appointed busybody photographer, I tested the Nikon D200 with the 18-70mm so-called kit lens. I'm quite happy with the result, photos appear sharp & colour was pleasing.

More of the shots can be seen here in my Flickr gallery.

Nikon D200

New toy
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Claimed my belated birthday present from Lai Ping last week & got hold of the Nikon D200! A hefty chunk of metal compared to the D70s. I'll be developing stronger biceps soon! Initial test shots revealed better resolution & color rendering even with the trusty kit lens of the D70s. Some of the cool features that I like are the setting of WB in Kelvin measurements, CLS with control over 2 groups of flash, ISO lowered to 100. Will be discovering more features in the days to come...

VR replaces tripod?

Blue sky
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

This shot was taken hand-held at 1/5 sec (?!). Well, normal hand-heldable shutter speed is about 1/60 sec so probably this proves that the VR function really works in the Nikkor 18-200mm lens. But will this capability replaces a tripod? At 100% magnification, the image is soft & not pin-sharp. So, bottom line is that the VR will help to some extent when proper support is not readily available. You'll get a usable shot rather than a no shot scenario...

Big zoom lens

Nikon 18-200 VR
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

After having to wait 2 weeks I finally got my hands on the Nikkor 18-200VR lens! Regarded as a wonder do-it-all lens, I just had to get it although it's not in the "constant F/2.8" category of so called pro lens. Ken Rockwell had sung praises about this lens replacing some 4-5 lens in his bag & this had lightened his gear considerably, which incidentally, is crucial especially for travel. The VR function allows you up to 4 stops lower shutter speed and that would help in low-light situations. Minimum shooting distance is 0.5m at all focal lengths, so you can practically do some macro shots! This will definitely be a lens that stays on your camera all the time...

Wedding bells!

Justin & Evelyn
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Congrats to Justin & Evelyn, the groom was a former colleague who ventured out a couple of years ago into a family business. The reception was held at the Palace of the Golden Horses. A grand affair it was, and tastefully done....

Congrats to Sing & Vivian!

Sing Chee Han & Vivian Tan
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

And one more bachelor bit the dust! Sing is my colleague now based in Ipoh. Best wishes & congrats on your big day....

Canon & Sammy

Canon & Sammy
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

It's the season for weddings! Attended Lai Ping's cousin's wedding last Saturday evening at the Ah Yat Abalone Restaurant in Sec 13, PJ which is right next door to Unique Seafood. I thought the groom had a rather unique name! Aptly enough, the official photoman used a Canon. But Canon's pic here was shot with a Nikon.... Congratulations to the newly-weds !

Farewell lunch

Farewell lunch
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Had a farewell lunch for Liew Kee Lin among a small group of colleagues at the Ozeki Bistro in Menara TA. Superb Japanese food! Liew will be retiring at the end of the month. He has been a great colleague to work with. A man of many interests, I think he will definitely treasure the freedom retirement brings to pursue those things put off due to work commitments. All our best wishes to him!

Happy Deepavali & Selamat Hari Raya

Raya at the Curve
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Happy Deepavali & Selamat Hari Raya to all my Hindu & Muslim friends. This year the almost back-to-back festivals meant a five-day break for most of us. But all that haze which showed no signs of receding kind of dampened the mood...

Ms Read

Grilled vegetables sandwich
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

A boutique for larger frame ladies, this outlet at 1 Utama has also branched out into serving food. We had this grilled vegetable sandwich for brunch. Capsicum, eggplant, zucchini, asparagus & mushrooms were grilled & overflowed onto a piece of toast and topped with a dollop of pesto sauce. Great for vegetarians or just to have a less meaty toxin-laden meal....

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to the tropical and subtropical regions of South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The name comes from Louis Antoine de Bougainville, an admiral in the French Navy who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768.

They are thorny, woody, vines growing to 1-12 m tall, scrambling over other plants with their hooked thorns. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, 4-13 cm long and 2-6 cm broad. The actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea glabra is sometimes referred to as "paper flower" because the bracts are thin and papery. The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene. (Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Photo taken with a Nikkor 50mm/f1.8mm lens attached with a Hoya +4 Close-Up filter

Taiping weekend

Lake gardens
Originally uploaded by Lye Hock.

Was back home over the weekend for my mum's anniversary prayers at the buddhist temple. Pretty hazy too but not as bad as in the Klang Valley. It was fifteen years ago she left us. I remember the last time I saw her was during the mooncake festival in 1991. These festivals are not the same anymore.

Tigers meet-up at Decanter

Had a nice gathering of old Edwardians at the Decanter in Bukit Damansara last Thursday night. Nic Ong was in town from Singapore. Eddie Fong & Ching Pin skipped classes to join in. And Fabian Lai thought it was on Friday but finally showed up too. Great time we had with Mike Naser & Keat Swee in their element....

Mike & Nic



Azmi, Eddie, Ronnie, Keat Swee & Lye Hock

Fabian & Eddie

Eddie, Mike & Ching Pin

Azmi, Keat Swee & Ronnie

Eddie, Keat Swee, Suet Fun, Eusie & Azmi

Suet Fun & Shekar

Early lantern festival

An early start to the lantern festival due on the 15th of the 8th lunar month. It was only the 2nd last night. Shots taken using candlelight at high ISO 1000 & aperture 1.8 with the 50mm/f1.8 lens.

Light source

Power ranger, Spiderman & Power-puff girl (what happened to the old days when we had ships, airplanes...?)

Shall I blow them candles?

Portraits by candlelight

Get-together at Armanee

My sister Beng Choo was in town over the weekend and we took the opportunity to have a rare family get-together at my place. First time visit for Peter since we moved in June. Wen Jia is still skinny and showed up with his cousin Ah How, both looking cool for their age.....with gelled hair! Lai Ping almost couldn't get the food done in time due to a power outage, first time it happened. Thanks guys, for the gifts (told them it wasn't a house-warming thingy) and the wine.....my chiller getting crowded now........

An 18mm family shot

Dinner menu was lamb shanks, garlic prawns, roast chicken, roast vegetables, herb rice, assorted bread and brownies, pumpkin pie & ice cream for dessert.

Clouds

A cloud formation as seen from the balcony of my apartment, and with the hazy season back in the Klang Valley, such scenes will be a rarity. Taken with the Nikon D70s & Nikkor 85mm/f1.8 lens, I have yet to use ND filters to balance the foreground exposure.

More shots in my Flickr gallery here.

Merdeka!

Malaysia's 49th National Day was celebrated today. Official celebration was held in Kuching, Sarawak this year. Around the various spots in the Klang Valley like KLCC, Bangsar & The Curve in Mutiara Damansara were mini celebrations culminating in fireworks displays at the stroke of midnight. These shots were taken at my balcony which overlooks The Curve.

Peek A Boo!

I was told this is quite a well-known hair salon in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL after shooting their interiors last weekend. Certainly not styled along your neighbourhood Indian barber shop! The interior had a Balinese inspired theme with plenty of wood furniture, mirrors & decorative stuff....

Hair salon stuff

Hairstyling area

Waiting room

Balinese window frame

Yanty & Alfian

Had the opportunity to test my wedding photography skills again last Sunday when I attended my colleague Yanty's wedding. Shot entirely in portrait mode as I was late for the event & practically started shooting upon reaching the venue. Congratulations Yanty! And may the both of you have a long & fulfilling wedded bliss....

Alfian & Yanty

Photo with colleagues

Color Makeup

An old friend Corinna requested for assistance in handling the photography session for a color makeup workshop which was to raise funds for the Kiwanis club. Hamzah agreed to help out too & so we had quite a bit of fun shooting the event last Saturday.

Ladies' beauty supplements

Flora Tan(Host), Careen See & Dr Peggy Wong (President - Kiwanis Club Bukit Bandaraya)

Careen & her color charts

Corinna & her skin care tips

Color charts to gauge individual skin tones

Work-in-progress

Nicole

Rei & friend