Other than enjoying a good meal and traveling, the one other passion that I have is photography. I’ve owned an SLR for a few years now, and recently just bought a compact camera for traveling too.
These two gadgets each have their strengths and weaknesses, the big device produces better quality photos, but is bulky, complicated to use, and a drag to carry around when traveling. On the other hand, while the compact is tidy and convenient, you lose quite a lot of flexibility in terms of what you can do and the photo quality is generally subpar to an SLR.
Then i got my hands on this camera, the Olympus E-PL1. The latest Micro Four Third system from Olympus.
Olympus E-PL1 with 14-42mm kit lens (equivalent to 28-84mm)
The Micro 4/3rd format isn’t exactly a very new thing, but the Olympus E-PL1 incorporates every major features I have been looking for in a camera.
The sensor size of this camera is the same as other 4/3rd SLRs (such as the professional dSLR E-3) so you can be assured of the image quality. Compared to a compact camera that usually employs the 1/2.5″ sensor, the E-PL1 lets in almost 9 times as much light. The more light, the better, it’s very simple.
Live Guide feature
OK enough tech speak, there are a few features on the camera that I want to highlight.
First, the Live Guide. This feature makes using the camera quite a lot simpler, on the iAUTO mode, you get into Live Guide and choose the item to adjust – color saturation, white balance, brightness, field of depth, and so on. This way, you get to see the effect live on the screen and make adjustment before shooting. Don’t need to remember things like to increase depth of field, you have to increase aperture, etc. Very nifty.
Food, food, food!
It doesn’t take a genius to know that I take photos of food in great quantity, it is basically the backbone of this blog anywaythat and the maps, right? 
)
nasi ayam – Wisma Central
The little camera that could, the E-PL1 takes excellent photos of food, SLR quality, no doubt. Even with the more challenging indoor shots, you can always use the Live Guide feature to correct white balance (to get a more natural color instead of overly yellow, for example). Furthermore, nice bokeh (blurred background) can be achieved pretty easily.
a pint of goodness
This picture demonstrates the ability of the camera to pick up amazing details even in pretty low light condition. The photo of Guinness was taken at Berlin Beirgarten at Solaris. Love the way water droplets around the glass is emphasized here.
four treasures (at DucKing)
While the previous picture of Guinness with it’s slightly off white balance still works out pretty well, you often want to get the correct natural color when it comes to shooting food. This is where the Live Guide comes in handy, I was able to use the feature to correct the white balance (hit Start/OK button then choose “color”) right there and then and get the picture I want.
Camera Size and Street Photography
Other than shooting food, I do quite a bit of street photography, and one thing about this genre of shooting that might not be apparent is the size of the camera one chooses.
hello mom, I’m in KL already!
With its small size and less imposing outlook, the E-PL1 excels in this form of photography. The heavier SLRs, while giving you good image quality, also leave you with sore shoulders and very tired arms after a day of hauling the equipment walking around town.
Other than being lighter, the camera is also quite a lot more stealthy and less intruding, a subtle but important factor in this case. When you have a big camera, people tend to be more aware and react too much to your equipment, the smaller Olympus lets the subject act the way they are and this makes shooting on the streets that much easier.
tower reflection
When fully extended, the 14-42mm kit lens shoots at an 84mm equivalent to traditional 35mm film camera. I was able to get this shot of KLCC with its reflection of one tower on the other. Again, even the most minute of details stands out.
HD Video
This baby also shoots video at 720p HD format, that’s 1280 x 720, or a gazillian times better than VGA especially on the bigger LCDs that we use these days.
The other advantage is that this SLR quality video is much better than basically any compact camera and most dedicated video cameras. You get to change different lenses to suits your need, and get the depth of field a compact can only dream of.
This is the camera to go if you want the best of both worlds, check out the microsite at http://evolvewitholympus.com.my for more information. Now is there anyone who wants to sponsor me to a photography trip? 
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!
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.
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Celebrate Like A Champion
This portion is to help me hopefully win some MU tickets and a jersey woohoo! (from TGB’s entry)
Ahhh, after a hard day’s work on the field, ze Champion gets a bit of a rest!
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.
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.
