To me, one of life’s greatest joys is to watch other people spend money. You share their excitement in getting a new toy, and at the same time, spend zero ringgit of your own.

Closely following that is the joy you get by being able to convince someone else to buy the exact same toy you’ve just spent too much money obtaining. So after I shelled out some 1.5k getting myself the brand spanking new Canon S90, I managed to con three unsuspecting victims into doing the same thing. The new proud owners of S90 are jaclyn, cindy, and cheesie, hohohoho.

The S90 is Canon’s high end super compact camera, sharing the same big sensor (1/1.6″) and Digic 4 processor as the Powershot G11. It’s small, sleek, has a fast lens, and very good in low light. The camera’s got a two different control rings that makes it very easy to adjust its various settings too. For more information, look at the hands-on preview at dpreview.

I took the S90 back to Penang last weekends, and while Elfie and friends were too tired to eat and decided to chill at their motel, I took the opportunity to snap some pictures in town.

These pictures are straight out of the camera with zero post processing, not because I want to show off what the camera can do, but because I am lazy.

boom boom pow

I wonder if the stereo on this motorbike actually works? It’s got that dial thing that looks like a car’s speedo and tachometer, but where are the speakers?

hello sexy in red

An old classic, love the color. I like how the background actually still matches the production year of the car.

door-less barber shop

A proper old school Chinese barber shop that seems to have gotten left behind in time. You want a massage with that haircut?

saloon basking in evening sun

A slightly updated hair saloon with air conditioning unit, chairs outside should you need to have a smoke while waiting for  your turn too.

joss stick

I have no idea why giant joss sticks are always pink in color.

Khoo Kongsi in rear view mirror

Khoo Kongsi is one of the grandest buildings in Penang, and sadly I haven’t actually been in it. Must find an unsuspecting victim to go with me one of these days. Did you know part of Anna and the King was shot at Khoo Kongsi in 1999?

There are a few more photos taken at the same time at my flickr set. Cheers!

Tags:  canon,  Penang,  Photography,  s90

Posted by KY | 29 Comments »

I found myself at Central Market in KL a couple weeks ago in search of a particular little gift, and as it was quite a while since I last did any street shoots, I bought my trusted little Canon DSLR with.

central market

The last time I went to there must have been over ten years ago. In my memory, I always associated the place with the likes of Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City, or a very scaled down version of Chatuchak in Bangkok, full of traders offering all sorts of touristy and artsy merchandise in a crammed, hot, and very sweaty environment.

picking an altar

As it turned out, to my surprise, Central Market is fully air conditioned! While there are still many stores selling anything from religious statues, post cards, photo frames, art works, jewelries, cloths, 101 types of souvenirs, you can also find Old Town and a couple restaurants and food court within the main building.

guardian buddha

Note the giraffe statue right next to the wooden Buddha on the picture above. Cheesie bought them all the way from Bali while we have them right here in the heart of KL. I have a feeling these things are probably made in China anyway.

windless wind chimes

In addition to plastic and rotan sepak takraw balls (which hurts like a bitch if you try to do a header), wind chimes seem to be a popular item around here though there isn’t any wind at all inside the building.

snoozing artist

The annex at the back of the main building houses quite a few local artists, some with very impressive looking masterpieces. For a small fee, you can commission a painting of yourself in pencil, water color, or even oil. Business wasn’t exactly brisk on that Sunday morning though.

catching a breather

The street to the right of Central Market is cordoned off for pedestrian access only. Hawkers and street artists have taken up this space to offer anything from cold drinks to barely bearable music.

grabbing a bite

I took a breather at the side of the building with a can of chilled Coke, looking at the hawker arranging her keropok lekur, and wonder how this place will look like in another 10 years.

****************************************
Celebrate Like A Champion

This portion is to help me hopefully win some MU tickets and a jersey woohoo! (from TGB’s entry)

• Name 4 of the Manchester United legendary players.
  Bill Foulkes, Bobby Charlton, Eric Cantona, George Best
• Name the founder of Smirnoff Vodka, and the country Smirnoff originates.
  Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov, Russia
• Complete this sentence, stating the partnership between Smirnoff and Manchester United:
  Smirnoff is the official Spirits Sponsor and Official Responsible Drinking Partner of Manchester United.
• What is the latest Smirnoff’s Limited Edition bottle called?
  Smirnoff® 21, Smirnoff® limited edition promotional pack.

Ahhh, after a hard day’s work on the field, ze Champion gets a bit of a rest!

Tags:  black-and-white,  KL,  kuala-lumpur,  Photography

Posted by KY | 15 Comments »

It’s been a pretty fun 3day 2night trip to Krabi, but the photos and a proper blog entry will have to wait till I manage to gather a bit of time. For now, here are some photos I took during a particular long walk to Melbourne University with Mellissa during my visit last month.

no pets allowed

Established at 1853, Melbourne University is often regarded as the second best university in the country. The architecture of the buildings is a mix of old and new, some seemingly from Victorian era, while others are ultramodern mosaic of glass and steel.

John Medley

The John Medley building houses the school of culture & communication & political science. This was the building we had to go to submit Mell’s essay, and she claimed that it is always a 50-50 chance to get to the correct side of the building. A walk across the bridge is needed otherwise.

Old Quad

Old Quad and Old Arts are two of the original buildings from the establishment of the campus. I have a feeling that some the floors might have been refitted, but that did not take away the charm of the architecture. Very beautiful (but I heard, not very comfortable in very hot or very cold weather).

Old Quad looking out to Old Arts

The little garden between Old Quad and Old Arts is a popular place for students to take a break for a smoke in between classes. Not that there were any students when I was around though.

the pillars for tomorrow?

The part of Old Quad building featuring many beautiful pillars is a popular place for wedding photos. Just outside the pillars is a grass field where many students sunbath in the summer, if there were any of them.

between main campus and law building

The university is actually pretty big, as illustrated by the photo above, the walk between main campus and the law building can be a bit of a drag. Luckily the scenary helped a bit. We spent around an hour or so walking around the area before heading back to the city.

Tags:  melbourne,  melbourne university,  Photography

Posted by KY | 20 Comments »

Finally processed the pictures taken from my Krabi and Phuket trip organized by Seetho Holidays some three months ago. Here are some of what I saw through the lens from that 5-day vacation that seems to have happened so long ago.

Krabi beach in reflection

The reflection on Andy the photographer’s sunglasses. The crystal clear water and soft sandy beaches of Krabi is now as much an optical plaything on the lens as they are in my memory. Welcome back to reality 1.0

want a BBQ corn you corny tourists?

There are stalls on the beaches along areas most popular with tourists. The more imaginative locals sell handy crafts, fabrics, cloths, and accessories, while some stick to the simpler offerings such as this one.

Giant of Krabi town

There’s a legend at Krabi about these gentle giants from the surrounding jungle. So far as I know, they only exists at a junction downtown tirelessly carrying the traffic lights these days. I guess they were supposed to be docile cousins of Yeti and Bigfoot.

Am I sweet or do I just look pretty?

The afternoon market at Krabi offers many different types of food, you can find BBQ fish, fresh fruits, juice, roasted chicken wings, and all sorts of other traditional dishes. This colorful plate of candy captured my attention most.

where do you want to go today?

Traditional fishing is very much alive in this part of the world, with custom made propeller shafts and colorfully painted wooden boats floating on crystal clear water. This photo was captured on the last bridge we crossed on the way to Phuket.

the Royal fish farm at Krabi

The Royal fish farm is an attempt in marine conservation, there are many species of salt water fishes from reef sharks, angel fish, to Nemo. I almost felt guilty by thinking how great most of them would taste after a short trip to the kitchen.

the hot spring waterfall

A small waterfall at the end of Klong Thom hot spring where we soaked ourselves in the mineral rich water. The hot stream joins a cold river after the waterfall, you can actually jump between the two completely different water. The hot spring reminds me of the onsen experience in Japan, if only we could do something about the tropical weather…

bustling nightlife at Phuket

The bustling night life at Phuket reminds me of Bangkok’s red light district. Go-go bars, foreign tourists, peddlers, discos, t-shirt stalls, and plenty of alcohol serving joints. Patpong Patong never sleeps.

a frown and a smile

The street is also populated by many female lookalike beings selling their companionship or peddling for the particular go-go bar they represent. As with anywhere else in Thailand, gender confusion is paramount here.

Fly boy assisted

When the sun rises, Phuket returns to a sort of normalcy expected from any beach vacation spot. Para sailing, jet skiing, and banana boat tours are all available. Kids who slept through the sin city’s night time activities get to do what their parents promised them.

look ma, a shell in my bucket!

Can’t wait to go on another trip.

Tags:  krabi,  Photography,  phuket,  seetho,  Thailand,  tour

Posted by KY | 32 Comments »

I’ve always had an interest in gadgets, GPS, PDA, phones, you know, those small little electronic wonders. When it comes to electronic watches, I had my eyes on Casio’s Protek series for quite some time (they come with compass, temperature/barometer, and altimeter.) However, since I am cursed with a small wrist, wearing a Protek is akin to a 10 year old riding on Harley, it just wouldn’t work.

The G-Shock series, on the other hand, were just nice in size as well as durability, but a little lacking in electronic wizardry. I had a G-Shock more than 10 years ago and loved it, but now I am looking for something that can do more.

Then came the Riseman G-9200, the G-Shock that incorporate twin sensors, with the ability for temperature/barometer as well as altimeter measurements. The little gadget also runs on solar power, protected with 200M water resistance, packed electro-luminescent backlight, world time, countdown timer, stop watch, shock resistance. However, it doesn’t cook dinner for you.

I knew I was going to buy it the moment I read about it on the forums. I waited patiently until the international version is released (Japan version is GW-9200 with waveceptor) and called my regular watch shop. Collected this gem a couple of weeks ago and now I have my 2nd G-Shock (I messed up the first one after trying to change the lume battery myself.)

I am still struggling to remember how to operate all the functions, loving the altimeter as it even allows me to record and track my ascent to my KLCC office. The temperature function is pretty neat, and I can even “predict” weather (somewhat dubious accuracy) with the barometer. One other nifty feature is the auto EL function where I can set the back light to lit up whenever it is dark and the watch is tilted to my head.

Visually, I also like the bat-mobile look alike styling, very tough and purposeful. The case back has a little dragon engraved, symbolizing it’s oriental origin.

Nice right? Now my trusted Orange Monster and Nighthawk will be getting a little less wrist time to make way for the Riseman

Tags:  Photography,  timepiece,  watch

Posted by KY | 38 Comments »