Eyes W I D E open

New addition to the gang. Sadly, while trying to take this picture, the 50mm is starting to show more problems, mainly intermittent contact with the body. Boo Hoo.

Voigtlander Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm F5.6.

Gives the GXR an equivalent of 18mm. Not quite easy to focus using Mode 2 focus assist, as everything appears to be in focus. Throw the image up on the computer screen and you start to notice blurry areas.

It has the shortest minimum shooting distance of 0.5m among the M Voigtlanders, so coupled with the incredibly deep depth of field, close up shots should be quite interesting, though light would be a problem as the apertures would be quite small.

There is a fair bit of vignetting which you can diminish or enhance to taste using the M Module built in compensation.

Talent and Hard Work

Real talent on YouTube. I am so amazed and jealous at the same time.

The first one is just fun, from the Simpsons.

Next is just simply amazing.

Happy Family

My Ricoh family.

Sometimes I wonder which to bring, each has its strength.

Unfortunately the 50mm GR lens module has lost it's manual focus function, happily the auto focus works a lot better than initially. 

Ricoh GXR Mount A12

Yes, it is the "Poor Man's Leica". Getting the module and a lens is definitely enough to make you poor! The module's street price is almost SGD$900 and the Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 sets you back another $700. Ouch. Thankfully I have been saving up since they launched the module. The Mount module is very easy to use, although it takes some time getting used to going all manual for focusing.

The heart behind the picture

Tonight I attended my first ever photography talk, sponsored by Canon, featuring adventure photographer Tyler Stableford. It was an interesting 2 hours long of distraction from daily life.

There are 3 types of speakers in my experience of attending talks. The worst are those who do the peacock dance, it's all me me me, see how good I am. Sure they can put up a good show, but that is all there is, a show. In the middle is the average and technically competent, probably good for technical knowledge, but can be painfully dull at times. The best will share their knowledge, philosophy and experience in a clear sincere manner. Whether you agree with the speaker's point of view or not, you will feel the need to think deeply and develop your own path of thought.

Mr Stableford is a photographer who thrives in extreme locations, his showcase of work takes him from the depths of the earth to mountain tops. Yet the whole lecture wasn't about the extreme settings, it was all about the telling the story of the subject in their natural environment. Of course there were the obligatory parts about equipment (being sponsored of course he mentioned plenty about that) and techniques, but what stuck in my mind was about connecting to the subject with your heart. In fact one of the question asked of him was, which of his techniques or principles can be applied where the subject was non human.  His opinion was, no matter what subject, the story behind the subject and heart of the photographer were key. In fact a photograph was also a  reflection of the photographer as much as the subject matter. It is how we see the subject that should also be present to the viewer.

When asked about his greatest achievement, he was genuinely stumped as he had not thought about it. He didn't feel it should be about the ego, that a photograph should define what he is. To paraphrase (I have an atrocious memory), it was about finding the joy in the process of the project. I think what helps is that he connects well to his subjects who range from almost nameless miners toiling away deep underground to double amputee war veteran Heath Calhoun who found a purpose in life doing competitive skiing. That connection is their quiet perseverance to overcoming odds.

Another answer that Mr Stableford gave stuck in my mind. A audience member asked, what could someone in Singapore, being devoid of majestic mountains vistas, draw inspiration from. He quickly described our ports with the huge container cranes as one of the areas that he would like to explore. It wasn't simply the imagery of huge machines, but the story of the men operating the cranes that draw him in.

It is always the story that can make the difference between a technically perfect picture and a masterpiece. Something I have only learnt lately.

Times when you only have your cell

Nokia N9. 

Don't need no insta-whatchacallit.

Ricoh A16 24-85 mm

This should have been the first module to launch with the GXR. It has been a long wait, but perhaps it is a good thing. Armed with a new sensor and experience from the previous modules, Ricoh has released a "budget" lens to take advantage of the GXR platform.

It costs around SGD $650 on the streets, so the term budget is in relative to the GXR world. Essentially a kit lens, it is obviously made of plastic which makes it light. The build is clearly less robust compared to the previous prime modules, and feels plastic with a rough texture. The lightness and rough feel actually helps as it the largest lens module so far, very comfortable handling it.

This lens module is all electronic for zoom and focusing. So far the auto focusing seems accurate, and slightly faster than previous modules.

One key difference in this module, Ricoh copied from the M mount module and removed the anti-aliasing  filter, which makes the image potentially sharper. Most images online so far seems to prove it, now I have to figure out why mine are not as sharp.

One new function in this module is Dynamic Range Compensation. I don't know how it works but it seems to work. Below is an example, left is normal mode, right is compensated. The compensation mode automatically sets the iso level at a minimum of 500.

The new New

Interesting conversation in the near future.

Clueless: I want the new iPad, do you have it?
Store: No, we only the iPad2 at the moment

Clueless: So when will the iPad3 come out?
Store: Oh, there is no iPad3, the new iPad will come out in mid-march.

Clueless: But you just said, the new iPad will be here, isn't it the iPad3?
Store: Yes the new iPad will be here, but no iPad3

Clueless: But now you have the old iPad, which is 2 but isn't the new one 3?
Store: Yes, but the new is not 3 just new. The old is 2 but the new is not 3.

Forward to a year later.
Clueless: My old iPad is broken, I want the new iPad.
Store: Oh I got the old new iPad and the new new Ipad, wait a while more a newer new iPad will be here. So which one you like to have?
Clueless: Er.... I will just have the new iPad.

Love is in the slate

When you are in love, you just have to shout it from the mountain top. Of course nowadays you Facebook, twitter or blog in my case.

OK tech crush renewed from my previous post, the Samsung Series 7 Slate. Got a few new videos available. Watch and fall in love. It is Spring time everyone! 

The first video is short walk through. Unfortunately the guy doesn't know he is holding a Wacom Stylus and calls it "a digital pen". The injustice!

The second is a series of videos done in Australian.

Promotional video from Samsung


If all that love doesn't work out, you might consider a sibling. Sometimes it is the sister that might work out better. This is currently available in Singapore stores, though probably limited stock. I had a quick touch and feel recently, pretty tempting.

Twenty Twelve

Here we are again at the start of another year, is it the same old s*** again? Nah, it will probably be worse. That's me, the eternal pessimist, but at least I would be very pleasantly surprised if things didn't go down the drain. While I can't forget all the lousy things that happened last year, but this year I have a new take on life.

Paraphrasing from a quote I read somewhere: When something bad happens, we should not question why we deserve the suffering when we do not question why we deserve the good things that happen. 

Why they are good.

When you see someone in action, you can tell they are good at what they do. The subject matter in this strange photo shoot is people, and the photographer is really good at interacting with the people, putting them at ease and allowing the best elements to emerge. Pretty fascinating to watch.

Thanks to DigitalRev TV and Chase Jarvis



Great quote from his blog

HCM Fried Rice

Ah, the privilege  of good home cook meals.

And yes, that was all mine. How do you think I have the ring around my middle earth?

Canton Paradise

This is a new offering from the ever expanding Paradise Group, concentrating on Cantonese / Hong Kong flavours. As with most Chinese restaurants here, the culinary distinction is however not so clear cut, bits of other regions slip in, but the Cantonese style of cooking and flavouring is prominent. It is also located at one of the latest shopping malls 112 Katong.

The star of the meal is the Char Siew with Honey Glaze. This is made with Pork Belly and is tender without being overly fatty. The Chinese name for the dish literally translates as Fat Lady Char Siew, but the smallish portions is not likely to make you one, if you share!

Char Siew with Honey Glaze

About Blogger

Blogger has a cool tool if you are just curious about who reads your blog, but apparently the stats are a little too flattering. So when there is a spike in Pageviews, thinking how cool that is, you hop over to Traffic sources to see who is your new fan, STOP!

Don't click on the referring link.

A lot are Referral Spam sites apparently, they are NOT interested in you. Unless you are looking for a new porn link, don't click, don't look. For more information read this Blogger FAQ. Also the real deal on Blogger.

Excuse me while I go pick up my deflated ego.

True Geek

This really calls to the inner geek. Don't skip the cheesy version of the Christmas Carol either, it is a little funny who the ghosts are.

Follow after the jump, the video may cause browser to crash....mine did after a while. Still worth watching if you can get it running.

A clean slate

What is a slate in computing terms? This is Microsoft's term for this between-er class "PC", apparently to distinguish from the ubiquitous tablet from Apple. Basically it is a notebook without a keyboard, simple enough!
Or if you prefer the trendier Ultra-book. The King of "Ultra-book" to me is the 11 inch Macbook Air, the Net-book who didn't like to be called that!

Not another Tablet!

Tablets are becoming common, which  is good when stuck underground in stalled subways, but there are times when life is normal, you wish to have something more powerful to run programs that don't simply toss furious feathered creatures around.

This particular machine is a Samsung Slate. Nothing too remarkable as notebooks go by but definitely in the middle to high range of portables, clearly reflected in the pricing as well. What got my attention was not the rather confused review by Engadget, but the fact that it is basically a Cintiq with built in computing power. Although it is far less sophisticated than the very expensive Artist's tool, it IS Wacom. Repeat after me..WACOM.

I can already envisage what I would do on this machine, with that Pen, things would look really straight and aligned.

Light Art

Eggs and Oysters

蚝煎

This is just one of the many variations of fried egg with oysters. The egg is undiluted, pure in egg-y goodness, a little crispy in parts, tender in others. Providing heat is not the usual sambal chilli, but chinese style chilli with a hint of sze-chuan pepper. The oysters are just a touch  before being overdone, so it is still soft with the flavour of the sea, but purist would probably scream murder.

Xi Men Ding Taiwan Cuisine. 

Unboxing

The thrill of getting a brand new gadget is something we geeks are familiar with. Nowadays, the pleasure is extended to the process of unwrapping, sometimes we are even distracted from the actual gadget by the layers to be unpeeled.

I am a big fan of Wacom tablets since their ArtPad II tablet. Not that I actually achieve anything on it, but the tech is solid. (A little secret: It is powering the cool pen function on the Samsung Galaxy Note)

www.wacom.com.sg

The 3rd generation of tablet for mortals are now available and is the most refined and user friendly. Priced at a fraction of their professional level Intuos range, the Bamboo tablet now captures 1024 levels of pressure and is touch friendly. It brings the magic of Apple's Magic Track Pad to Windows users on top of the excellent Pen functions. Yes the full magic of multi-touch gestures and WIRELESS freedom with an optional wireless module.

Enjoy the minimalist package design..

Update: Found this couple of YouTube videos showing said pleasure. Link only...
Unboxing Pen and Touch
Unboxing Wireless Accessory

N9 Good Eats

Taken and edited with the N9, freshly uploaded. Serviceable.