I am legend

My noisemaker said, with all sincerity, that I am a Legend. Pleased but a bit shocked, I ask him why he called me a legend. He said only legends can win the nerf gun (or something like that) and that he is proud of me. How was that for a belated father's day present!

I entered in the nerf tournament at Plaza Singapura with my noisemaker. He scored 560 points and I scored 1260 points. As it was, I was in the top 30 so I was invited to attend the finals. I did, just for the fun of it. My noisemaker was so excited that he started to say things like "you can do it, Abah", "be strong" etc etc. I ended up being in the 17th position and in so doing I received a medal, and a double barrel nerf gun, which according to the nerf people, is not in the market yet.

The top four received cash prizes. Anyway this is my noisemaker's blog. He is in the nerf phase right now, and the good thing about it is, he has done lots of reading on the subject. In my book, any kind of reading is good reading. I love him so much!

Slim.

desaru 2010

This a collection of the pictures I took while I was in Desaru with family and friends. 16th-18th June 2010.

Slim.

Seedling

Took this picture using my 90mm Tamron macro SP. Not the newer (Di) type, whatever.

Took this while Adam was doing his assessment books. School going to reopen next week, so I figure that he should get started to be in for school.

The picture shows a seedling of a plant that Adam planted. I would think that it is a morning glory plant. Looks kind of sick though. I did not water the plants for a week as I was holidaying in Desaru. Oh well. Hope this one survive.

Slim.

Durian Belanda

Soursop. I love the taste of soursop. I use to frequent Serasi food court near Singapore botanical garden during my NIE days. The glass would be full of pulp and the juice would be so sweet. I missed those days.

The pictures, taken with my 35-70mm f4.0, are taken at Desaru Fruit Farm. What I was told would be to bring the food home and place it in the rice container. Then it will ripened and be fantastic. It'll take at least 24 hours though.

I just bought a pair of badminton racquets, both pink and costs me $200 altogether. Phew! I am now off to play a few strokes with Adam.

See you.

Slim

Durian

This is a part of the rm$26/kg durian. The total weight was 2kg. Phew! Expensive. We bought only one and shared among 10 people. Ha ha! It was very nice. Then we bought another for rm$6/kg. What can I say, no fight lah!

We bought this at Desaru fruit farm. We did not go into the farm however as it will cost us rm$18/adult and we are not allowed to pick the fruits off the trees. So, why bother?

But we did enjoy the fruits as we bought cut fruits such as jackfruits and longans. All in all, I'd say its the company that makes the durian taste best.

Slim.

Pancake

I took the picture using my new 35-70mm f4.0 (Thanks Joe). This shot was taken using available light with my KM 7d. That is Adam having pancake for breakfast.

This was in Pulai Desaru. I organised a trip for 6 other families and we spent some 2 nights there. There is a new hotel in Desaru. Its call lotus desaru. I'd recommended it over Pulai. Don't ask me why lest I get sued.

Anyway, we had a blast there. We had a seafood dinner on a floating restaurant and we provided a feast for the mosquitoes as well. After which, we went on a boat and went out looking for and at fireflies. Awesome. All in all, it was a very nice trip.

Slim.

35-70mm f4.0 macro

Its in my hands now. The 35-70mm macro f4.0. Not that its an exquisite lens but it is of an exquisite condition.

The picture on the right is a sample shot. Shot at f4.0. Sharp eh?

And as a bonus, I got a 70-210 f4.0 beercan! All in all they cost me $440.00. Will post more pics of it as I make more use of it.

Slim.

The kids garden

This is a picture of the kids garden. It was taken with my Konica Minota 7D with a 28mm 2.8.

The garden is right next to the house and you could view it through the many windows from the house. Currently it has potatoes, sunflower, chillies, and garlic growing. Oh, and don't forget the ants that are having a great time there too.

Adam and Irsyad helped to make the beds.They initially planted garlic, onions and potatoes but the potatoes and onions did not grow. So I replaced the onions with corn and planted sunflowers on the empty bed.

Slim.

Rubber plantation

The picture is taken at around 8 in the morning. It shows the rubber plantation which is just outside my kampung house's main gate.

I have been wanting to get this shot ever since I saw the place. As you can see, the plantation is huge. Sometimes, there will be a herd of cows or buffaloes grazing in it. That will be an interesting shot wouldn't it?

Anyway, this was taken with my Konica Minolta 7D with a Minolta 28mm 2.8. Taken at 5,6, I think. I bracketed with a few shots, and I think this is the best. No PP done.

Went to kampung thrice within the first 2 weeks of the June holidays. It's a long drive, about 4 hours or more, and it can get pretty dangerous. But the place is so peaceful. True, there are many things that needed to be done, but nobody rushes you. I planted about 4 seedlings when I went there last, two mango trees, a jackfruit tree, a longan tree, a curry leave tree, sunflowers and corn. Don't think I will be back there soon, but my mother-in-law will. Hope the plants will have grown.

My mother-in-law, sheesh, she is the most hardworking one. Non-stop working from dawn to dusk. My wife too. But then everybody was working at their own pace. So everybody was happy.

Su's aunt from Shah Alam came to visit and so did some of her other cool cousins. One of them is a performer.

Having a headache now.

Will post more pics, god willing.

Minolta 5d

The pic shows the Konica Minolta 5d with the 50mm 1.4 stuck on it. This camera belongs to Adam. I bought it for him, and the life of me, I can't understand why I reach out for this camera instead of my 7d.

I just love the ergonomics. Together with the short prime lens, it feels good! Anyway, the pic is taken using my KM 7D and a 28mm f2.8. The one thing that has kept from jumping ship to another system is the intensity of the colour of Minolta lenses. Something that even the newer Sony lenses seems to have missed.

I got the camera used from somebody who stayed in Jurong West. $500 bucks! Inclusive of a 18mm-70mm kits lens. At that time it was a steal. Now, its damn expensive since a brand new alpha dslr can be had for $800 bucks!

Slim.

35-70mm f4.0

Been using the minolta system for as long as I have been into photography. Stopped when my 600si broke, disintegrated is a better word for it and picked up a used 8000i when a friend needed his wedding to be taken.

Stopped shooting altogether when Minolta took a long time bringing out a digital slr.

Bought the 7d, battery grip, and the flash gun on the first day it was sold in Singapore. Bought it at Singapore Expo. Remembered it like it was yesterday. But the 6.1 MP does have its limitations.

So I am now aiming for Alpha 900.

For those not in the know, Konica bought over Minolta and Sony took over next. As a result, older Minolta lens like the all metal, all glass, no plastic, 28mm f2.8 lens I have stuck onto the body in the picture can still be fixed onto newer bodies like those made by Sony.

Saw an ad in clubsnap on the 35-70mm f4.0. Been wanting that lens for a long time. Primarily because of it compactness and its sharpness. You can read the review here. I hope it still is in good condition.

I think I will post up single photos in every one of my post from now onwards. How about that?

Slim.

My birthday

Yesterday was my 38th birthday. Although we did celebrate it in Rembau, Adam and Su and Risa prepared a birthday lunch consisting of pizzas, one with mushroom and one without. I am so touched. Adam chose a black wallet for me, although the credit card slots were very tight.

Went to the optician and spent some $700 on 5 pairs of spectacles. Wah! Really shopping.

Anyway, I am watching CSI season 6 on DVD. I like the show.

Rembau

You can view the pictures here, on my facebook pages.

We left for Rembau in the early hours of a Friday morning. I'd only gotten an hour of sleep and I was worried about the safety of this trip. Anyway, I preservered.

Left the house at 2.45am. Went to Woodlands and met up with my mother-in-law to transfer some of her stuff and while she drove her van to Choa Chu Kang to pick up Su's cousin and her family, I drove on towards Johor.

Upon clearing the very empty immigration and customs, we made our way to Rembau. Drove until 5.30am until I can't keep myself awake. Pull up to the nearest rest area, and we actually slept for an hour. Continued making our way to Rembau only to realise that the van was still quite a distance away.

But we managed to reach there safely.

Everybody helped out and the kenduri was a success. The birthday games were even more successful as everybody had fun. Adam's team lost by the way. We played captain's ball and several other party games. Can't wait for the pictures to be uploaded by Sara.

Oh my 5D died on me. So. right now, I'm waiting for the $ to come in from the completion of my sales and purchasers.

Slim.

Funny

Was thinking of blogging about what happened at kampung but somehow I came across the picture. Its funny as the word "pepek" refers to the female sexual organ, in my native language that is. I would think that it should be spelt as "bebek" instead as that would mean a bird. I got me laughing hysterically.

So for those non-my native language speakers- literally it states, vagina, intense smell.

Perfumed for closet and bath room.

Get rid of smell and last very long..

I guess its a matter of context.

Slim.