Zadm's Fotolog

Moved to a new address

2007-06-08T23:53:00.000+08:00

I have moved my blog to a new address:

http://zadmfotolog.blogspot.com

Please update your links.

Happy Anniversary to RBAF

2007-06-01T21:08:00.000+08:00

Happy Anniversary to RBAF. To think, I once dreamed of being in the army inspired by movies such as Rambo series, Commando, Navy Seals to name a few. All boys do, who doesn't.

Anyway I did not attend the early event which was held at the National Stadium. But I managed to go to BRIDEX around 10 am thanks to Ber for giving me the spare invitation. It was not open for public yet so this invitation would give me the pass to get in. This was a wonderful opportunity since His Majesty was there to launch BRIDEX. It's has been one of my objectives to catch pictures of His Majesty, a first experience rubbing shoulders among the media photographers to get close to His Majesty. Wherever His Majesty went, there were always the men in black, not the special guards, but the media photographers. I can't blame them, it's part of their job. I saw yesterday's BB paper of the coverage of BRIDEX, there are few shots that showed either shots of someone's flash or lens or even head in the way. When you are in confined space such as the ICC, you expect to get this type of shots. Here are my best shots of His Majesty, so far my finest collection. I will definitely be doing this again in the July celebration.

His Majesty at BAG booth

HRH Crown Price briefed by BAG officer

Rano at work

His Majesty's potrait

Flying cameras

Last event: Photoshoot

9...10...11...12

2007-05-24T09:50:00.000+08:00

Time to update pics of our bundle of joy, Raiyan. I always love taking potrait of him, he seems willing to pose and at every chance he would grab the camera. He grabs anything at his sight and then puts in his mouth. He has been sitting quite stable now and next step is crawling.

Satay Urat

2007-05-21T22:43:00.001+08:00

Here is something to end the night. This is somehow non-photograpy related but I would like to share it with you.

I encountered this from the picture below when I was marking the papers yesterday. I wanted to post this to give a reminder to whoever taking the computer studies subject especially my students to prepare and revise well during exam time. You can use memory techniques or other methods that help you understand. When talking about time, manage your time and choose morning to revise because that's when you are fresh and alert. Revise in a calm, relax environment, play soothing music or music that you like because sometimes we can associate the music with the things we remember. If you can remember your favourite song with the loved ones, why not for the study.

Ok back to the story. For years I have been teaching Computers, I have never come across such answer. This simply cracked me up. I don't know what was happening inside the person's mind when trying to answer the question.

I can say a good attempt but not good enough to deserve the marks. Ok first answer should be "Eye Strain", the person forgot the "S" and second answer the person would try to answer as "parts of the body getting crammed" in this case particularly the leg. This was obvious the person had other ideas. In actual case, this condition is called DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis), there has been few cases of blood clot in the leg area which can cause death due to spending long hours without any movement of the leg involving use of computers and playing games. The blood clot if break free can cause complications, travel to the lungs, in medical term called pulmonary embolism. This means the lungs getting hacked. The condition is similar if you are flying on a long distance flight. One reported case claimed to be death by spending too much playing with games is Kim Kyung-jae from Korea. He apparently played for 86 hours, only stopped for cigarette and pee break. Click here for the story. How to avoid this? Have a break least for 5-10 minutes, move around and stretch the legs. I'm starting to feel the numb so I better stand up and reach for more papers to mark.

Macro Fox

2007-05-21T21:49:00.000+08:00

Another outing last Sunday supposedly the theme was Macro. We arrived at Tasek Lama around almost 10am after the usual Jien Chiew session. The shutterbugs in attendance were the regulars JC patrons, airbiscuit, hjzul, nikonian, anakbrunei, aku, ber , puzian and ucingitam. It was quite late actually to do Macro since the day is getting hotter and I had the thought the bug world had already packed and left for lunch. Instead of getting busy with macro, my attention was diverted to the rock climbing area. The Brunei Sport Climbing Federation was doing a rock climbing, abseiling and flying fox activities. I could not resist taking pictures of these daring activities especially the flying fox. There were few familiar faces among them. So the day started as macro outing did not turn out that good. I saw lots of dragonfly and ants which I already have in my collection of macro pictures. Most of my successful macro shots I took from my own garden but when outside my chances are pretty slim. I will definitely do another macro outing maybe early. Here are some pictures from sunday outing and not one is macro.

The Launch Pad

"How is it hanging?"

"This rope for this, and ohh more ropes, now where is the release button?

"Im goin down, Im goin down"

"Don't look down, don't you dare look down"

"Lost and Found"

http://www.zadm.net

2007-05-18T20:34:00.000+08:00

Here it is, my official website http://www.zadm.net. I've had this web server for two months and its only till recently that I started working on it. I will be using this website as my online portfolio for my pictures which include the wedding gallery of the two weddings I covered, my sister in law and Ridha and Jenny. It's just a simple start, no fancy flash yet maybe in future I will design a full flash website. However the pictures are showcased in flash. I will keep updating this blog as well as the portfolio website.

Business School Bazaar Pt 3

2007-05-14T22:38:00.000+08:00

The last series. Some pictures of the cars showcased at the bazaar. The Mini Cooper reminds of the Mr Bean movie I watched last week but these Minis are way better looking. I was trying to find one yang ada customised lock like Mr Bean's but to no avail hehe. One car that caught my eyes was the first pic, definitely the winner among other cars, nice paint work. It actually belongs to an old classmate from SOAS, such a long way back. Other than the Minis, other classics being showcased were the Vespa Scooters. Its quite a trend nowadays, car and bike lovers teamed up and formed a club or association. This is a good thing, who said Brunei is boring. There are all sorts of thing you can do here, you just have to find it.

Oh to end this, I have reached 10000 hits since Nov 2006. I'd like to thank all the readers and visitors wherever you are, locally or internationally. I hope you have enjoyed my blog. I'm currently designing my own website hosted at zadm.net which will be my official website. Its been two months since I bought the web server but I havent got the time to start with it.

Here is something for a triumphant season. Chelski, Gunners and Liverpool fans look away now.

Business School Bazaar Pt 2

2007-05-14T11:49:00.000+08:00

One notable face among the people that made this event happened.

Ucingitam and a pole in action

"3 shots you get one chop" Lamb Chop ?? Chop of the head ?? hehe

"Kasi Gegar" that kid and "You rock dude"

All eyes glued on the screen, this was Man Utd vs Chelsea match.

Business School Bazaar Pt 1

2007-05-14T11:08:00.000+08:00

The day began with a usual breakfast at JC aka Jien Chiew. Making out the attendance were Souljah, Rezafaizal, Airbiscuit, Jim747, Ucingitam, Aku, HjZul and one new face, Montelo. After the session we went to Yayasan to shoot a fun day bazaar which started around 10 am held by the Business School, MTSSR. It was quite a good event, lots of thing being offered such as games and prizes for kids and adults. Besides that there was a side exhibition of cars and bikes.

Pictures from the event

A fishing game, favourite among kids

This is not a vandalised car. Part of a game

A participant counting the balloons

Any lucky catch??

Lots of prizes for grabs

SMPAPHM Sports Day

2007-05-05T10:43:00.000+08:00

Pics from the Annual Sports Day held last Thursday.

More pics, click the pic below

SMPAPHM Sports Day 2007

Masterpiece

2007-05-02T22:12:00.000+08:00

God's creative masterpiece. This is what comes from my camera, few PP for the dust spots and 1% cropping. I just cannot mess up with the amazing colours when the red appear at the clouds. Different photographer have their own preferences of sunset, how the shots are taken but just let the pictures do the talking. For me I always amazed with sunset scene and I now have more appreciation for nature then before since I'm into photography. I have countless picture of this scenery and I'm never tired of taking it. I also have woken up early several times just to catch up sunrise particularly at favourite and ideal spot which is at Serasa beach, a 5 mins drive from home. I want to try a different shots of sunrise maybe around Bandar, thats the next outing for me.

Zadm Junior

2007-04-29T13:22:00.000+08:00

Latest pic of Raiyan

Less is More Part 2

2007-04-28T00:58:00.000+08:00

This is the result from the last time I posted about "Less is More". Every year the school has a food bazaar that goes with the annual Cross Country, this year I had an idea of setting up a studio in a classroom using a DIY backdrop assisted by Shai and Mirul, a colleague's brother who happens to be a shutterbug. I used PVC to make the backdrop stand and for the backdrop I used two plain white bedsheets, king and queen size. The students will have the privilege of getting print outs with border and maybe designs such as different backgrounds and headings.

Proboscis Trip

2007-04-26T21:40:00.000+08:00

This post is long overdue. I went on a trip with Bruneian, Ucingitam, Aku, Souljah, Airbiscuit and a new member of the ever growing group, Mr Syaf who brought along his fiance. Nothing much, some scenes from Kg.Ayer mainly and only few shots taken on the Proboscis Monkeys.

Zone 2 Netball Final

2007-04-26T21:19:00.000+08:00

This was the Netball Final for Zone 2 Schools hosted at our school not too long ago. First game was between Sayyidina Husain and ISB for Group B while the second game was between JIS and Maktab Sains. Sayyidina Husain and JIS emerged as the winner for their group. The winner will represent Zone 2 to compete against other schools from other Zones.

Back in Business

2007-04-25T04:30:00.000+08:00

Its been a while since the last post, sort of taking a break from the blogosphere. Lots of things happening and lots of pictures. Here are shots taken from home, the usual sunset scene, I particularly like the second, you can see the sun rays.

New laptop

2007-03-30T21:45:00.000+08:00

Behold, my new laptop and guess what I did not even spend one cent. I received an e-mail regarding my appointment as Deputy Community of Practice (COP) for the subject Maths and therefore like the COP leader is given a laptop. What's COP? This is a new project organised by MOE and the vendor, Avantwerx, Singapore. The project involves creating a Knowledge Management System Portal under three categories, Exam tips, Events Management and Crisis Management. Our COP falls under Exam tips. The teachers who were appointed as COP members will be contributing and uploading any exam-related information to the portal. The laptop they said is to motivate us to do this task. Well I'm more than motivated hehe. Ok in my last post, I talked about my laptop being in a bad shape and it is quite the right time for the laptop to arrive. I even tempted to go for the Macbook Pro which cost around $3.5k and that saves me lot. The laptop is a Fujitsu Lifebook C1410, Intel Centrino Duo Core, 512mb RAM, 80gb SATA, DVD-RW, quite good specs for present needs. Overall I have 3 pcs, 2 laptops and 1 desktop in my abundance.

No Post

2007-03-28T19:35:00.000+08:00

Apologies for the absent for the past few weeks. My laptop's HDD again let me down, this time my new HDD which I replaced in late December. I had been working on important stuff on that HDD and hopefully I can recover it.

On a positive note, I have acquired my own web server with a whopping 400gb and a domain name, www.zadm.net. I will link this blog with my new website and set up a flash-based photo gallery for everyone's viewing.

Steak and Glamour Night

2007-03-14T22:48:00.000+08:00

Something New

2007-03-12T04:48:00.000+08:00

"Less is More" and certainly more to come

Kendo Demo at SMPAPHM

2007-03-11T03:28:00.000+08:00

The demo marked the beginning of the CCA activities which will start next Wednesday. This is the second time I have seen such demo, the first one was during my PGCE at UBD two years ago in the P.E class. It was organised by the Brunei Kendo Society as part of promoting this sport in schools, currently my school will have it first Kendo club organised by Cikgu Erma, the senior member of the society. You can check their website at http://bruneikendo.blogspot.com. Kendo is another form of martial art from Japan, originated in 13th Century. Its like the Japanese version of Fencing except that the sword use is made up of bamboo and Kendo use more protective armor for the body, wrist and armor. Check out more about Kendo here. To those who are interested, the application is open to everyone, no need to worry about the gears, you can come with normal sports attire and great enthusiasm, as they stated that in the website.

For more pics, view it on my Flickr gallery.

Good Morning Serasa

2007-03-09T10:48:00.000+08:00

Ridha and Jenny's Bersanding Part 3 - Portrait Series

2007-03-04T23:39:00.000+08:00

Check out for more pics from Ucingitam's coverage

Also check out full coverage from Ranoadidas, Bruneiforever, Anakbrunei, EmmaGoodEgg and Pablo

Ridha and Jenny's Bersanding Part 2 - At Jenny's house

2007-03-04T23:25:00.000+08:00

Ridha and Jenny's Bersanding Part 1 - At Ridha's House

2007-03-04T16:34:00.000+08:00

Ridha's Berbedak

2007-03-04T07:29:00.000+08:00

You can also view Ucingitam's coverage here

Ridha and Jenny Akad Nikah

2007-03-02T21:16:00.000+08:00

Today I had the privilege to cover the Akad Nikah ceremony of a friend of mine, Ridha who tied the knot with one of Brunei's prominent voice and face in the media industry, Jenny Malai Ali. We went a long way back. I knew him since we were the same batch who joined the teaching force back in 2003. His brother was also my ex-classmate in SOAS. Congratulations Ridha and Jenny!! Here are some pics:

Other pics can be viewed at Bruneiforever and Ranoadidas

7 months and counting

2007-03-02T02:31:00.000+08:00

He's 7 months old now, last time I posted pics of him, he was around 4 months old. He has been teething, grab almost anything straight to mouth. Next skill he is developing is sitting.

Food Bazaar

2007-03-02T02:01:00.000+08:00

There was a food bazaar held by the Business Studies Dept to give the students the opportunity to apply their learnings on business in the real world. The bazaar forced the canteen to halt operations during the break time because most students prefer to buy food from the bazaar. Sounded like this bazaar was a success, I wish I had something like this when I learned economics back in school.

23rd National Day 2007 Series: The Wonderful Colours of National Day Part 2

2007-02-25T00:32:00.000+08:00

More pics can be viewed from here.

23rd National Day 2007 Series: The Wonderful Colours of National Day Part 1

2007-02-24T23:32:00.000+08:00

23rd National Day 2007 Series: Young and Old Unite

2007-02-24T22:33:00.000+08:00

Happy 23rd National Day

2007-02-24T00:53:00.000+08:00

Iltizam Memperkasa Keupayaan Bangsa
Commitment Towards Empowering The Nation's Capabilities

Happy 23rd National Day to all Bruneians living in Brunei and abroad. I will be going to BSB to capture this glorious moments. If you happen to be in BSB tomorrow, either as a participant or spectators, watch out for us shutterbugs, wave to us if you want to take pictures, we will be on the lookout.

CNY @ BSB 2007 Slideshow

2007-02-18T23:43:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year - Gong Xi Fa Cai

2007-02-18T12:04:00.000+08:00

I went down to BSB around 6 am to see the Chinese New Year celebration assuming that Bruneian, Anakbrunei and Ucingitam will be there too. I had to wait about two hours, went to check Jien Chiew but it was closed. I finally decided to stop by at Ignatius Stephen's cafe for breakfast. This was my first outing, a solo outing, after two weeks absence from the group and my first for Chinese New Year. When I arrived at the scene, I was not alone. They were scores of shutterbugs with big zoom lens, some I recognised, whom one of them was my wedding photographer three years ago. One shutterbug I spotted was holding a Hasselblad, a medium format camera. Now what happened when there were lots of us in one area? Everyone wants to take this angle, this shot and I tried my best to avoid that. Imagine this during a bigger event like the upcoming National Day. Anyway I will post up more pics in my slideshow in the next entry. Happy Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai !!

Sunset @ Serasa

2007-02-13T20:33:00.000+08:00

Fast and Furious:Serasa Splash

2007-02-12T19:08:00.000+08:00

There was no show on the bike stunt at usual place but instead we headed to Serasa Beach where they would hang out. There was no shortage of action, I was greeted by these daring devils on their jetskiers. You would not expect a wheelie or stoppie but I could not waste the opportunity to take some shots of them. I got to try out once more my challenge on panning but this time I got it right.

Hidden Beauty of Li Gong

2007-02-12T18:55:00.000+08:00

Deadlines

2007-02-06T21:29:00.000+08:00

I will be busy for another week. I'd been busy since last week because of my sis in-law's wedding and now because of work. I'm meeting up a deadline by next week, a project to build an e-lesson to be submitted by 15th/16th March. This project will be presented in front of the audience comprised of school's principals all over Brunei. Now the question how can we do this within a short time frame. The subject for this project is Maths, the subject which I teach besides Computer Studies. At first we chose Geography, in the area of map reading but this will take a lot of planning and design. Least, the Math's topic we are working with I have been teaching for years. For this project, we will be relying on software such as Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop and a 3d software. I'm not that good in Flash but I'm willing to learn if anyone wants to teach me.

Tang Soo Do Photoshoot

2007-02-01T12:25:00.000+08:00

I went down to Mabohai Sports Complex to shoot a Tang Soo Do training session together with Bruneian, Ber and it was also first time meeting Souljah. Tang Soo Do, I understand is another form of Korean martial arts besides Tae Kwon Do. Being in the training session, reminds me of my Karate stint while I was in UK. The last belt I remember was yellow, I didn't pursue it further since it required a lot of commitments especially in training. Anyway, the photoshoot was a drag since it was at night, this means low light = blurry shots. I only had few good shots which is shown below. The others had brought their monopod, I guess they had more better shots. More details and pics about Tang Soo Do can be found here, here and here.

Bedak-bedak Mandi

2007-01-29T20:38:00.000+08:00

Majlis Bedak-Bedak Mandi. I don't know much about this ceremony but it starts before the Akad Nikah. Its sort of like a mini-Berbedak and the highlight of this event is the "mandi" or shower accompanied by the penganggun and 4 candle holders, of whom are preferrably young females.

First Wedding Shoot

2007-01-28T04:14:00.000+08:00

I had my first wedding shoot last Friday at my sis-in-law's Akad Nikah and Hantar Berian ceremony. The official photographer is Jason Ong of Masamichi Studio. I'm only doing this to brush up my skills in wedding photography.

Kg.Ayer Series 2

2007-01-25T10:43:00.000+08:00

I would love to tour Kg.Ayer again, maybe bring my family as well. These pictures are some wonderful sight you will see when you go around Kg.Ayer.

BSB from Kg.Ayer

Kg.Bolkiah houses

Traditional vs Modern Houses

I love this pic, view of the SOAS Mosque from Kg.Sumbiling.

To delete or not to delete

2007-01-23T21:16:00.000+08:00

Shutterbug's worst case scenario, when you either run out of memory card or worst the battery, thats the case for going on a long outing.

Looking for the memory cards?? spare battery??

Kg Ayer Outing Series 2

2007-01-22T02:48:00.000+08:00

Every houses we passed through, at least there would be people waving at us and the most excited are usually the children. I can feel there was a presence of warmth and friendliness within their smiles.

Kg Ayer Outing Series 1

2007-01-22T02:28:00.000+08:00

This series shows the people of Kg.Ayer, the behind the scenes what goes along the Brunei river. This outing gave me a different perspective on Kg. Ayer, a close up look at the daily lives of its people.

A friendly wave from the Crab hunter

A typical "Merambat" scene

Left: Constructing the foundation of a new house.
Right: The Day's Catch

Left: Polishing up the boat.
Right: The Youth

Great Outing

2007-01-20T21:35:00.000+08:00

First thing, thanks to Bruneian for giving us the opportunity to tour around Kg Ayer, it was sure a fun and memorable outing. This was my first time ever I went around Kg Ayer on a boat together with other photobloggers. We started off from Yayasan around 9 and finished at 1. I missed out on the Jinchu session because I had to help my wife first with the baby.

During the 4 hours tour, I had use all my memory cards, a total of 3 1/2 gb worth of RAW pics, thats more than 300 shots. I will upload some of the pics, still processing it. Also, this outing I met in person with Ber, Rezafaizal and joined by two ladies, one of whom was Anakbrunei's missus.

Updated:

Ok the long awaited pics are here, sorry guys for the delay. There are lots of pics to process since I have nearly 4 gb worth of pics and its hard to decide which one to upload.

The Boat Ride....nice and cosy

The Boat and The Captain....Roda Impian...where are the wheels??

The Shutterbugs Crew

Bad Hair Day

2007-01-19T11:38:00.000+08:00

Another interesting find for my macro, I was checking out the frontyard when I saw this little fella by some small plant near a tree. I rushed to get my camera when took about 120 shots and these pictures are the best one. I'm amazed by the colour and its unique body, anybody can ID this fella?

Macro Bukit Shahbandar

2007-01-17T17:33:00.000+08:00

I'm back with Macro, my first passion besides HDR. I decided to have a quick tour around Bukit Shahbandar. I spent most of my time at the man-made mini lake, looking for particularly exotic insects. After an hour, I have to give in with the dragonflies and a centipede. They are my best shots for the day, the visit was not productive. I may have to come here again.

Majestic Mosque

2007-01-15T21:08:00.000+08:00

These are two of my best shots of SOAS Mosque, one of my target this year. I went out today for an outing with Shai, fellow colleague and photography enthusiast. We started off with the SOAS Mosque, the most photographed landmark in Brunei. Any photographer would not resist taking this majestic mosque that has stood time over time. You just simply fall in love at a first sight. It's a must for a newbie like myself . The weather was quite sunny, ideal for my HDR shots, blue sky with puffy clouds.

Sunday Out

2007-01-14T23:53:00.000+08:00

I had a Sunday out with my wife and son to the Mall. I took shots of the Mall for the second time, first session at about 5 pm and second visit that day at night around 7 pm. I managed to bring my camera as well inside the Mall and people gave me that look every time I point the camera.

Gearing Up for National Day 2007

2007-01-14T08:23:00.000+08:00

The National Day practice has kicked off last week. Schools, government departments and business organisations are gearing up for the glorious annual event held at 23rd February. These pictures show part of the preparation involving Menengah 1 and 4. Last year, I had to go through this type of preparation where I was involved with the Ministry of Education. The good thing about it, we got free full tracksuits and few goodies and of course a first-time experience being part of the celebration. This year, I want to be involved as a photographer.

The Ultimate Sunrise

2007-01-12T17:46:00.000+08:00

I went to Serasa again this morning, Bruneian was there early but we were on different location. The sunrise today was what I wanted, there were few clouds and it made my day when I took this shot and processed it to HDR.

I've reached the 2000 hits today, something that I never expected since I joined the blogosphere on 19th November 2006. To all my visitors, I wish to express my gratitude and hope you enjoy my pictures.

On A Typical Sunday

2007-01-11T20:37:00.000+08:00

A different story from the busy routines that go on in the lower floor of the Gadong's Wet Market. The business here has not been good, you can barely see shoppers walking around.

Wonderful Sky

2007-01-10T13:16:00.000+08:00

The sky was quite beautiful today, I kept on looking at the window. Everywhere I go now I always look at the sky and in my mind "HDR". Ever since I look at these website, Norhazmee and Fotograf By Imran, I got addicted to HDR including some of the shutterbugs I'm close with. I've been what I termed myself "HDR Hunting" lately, I go around looking particularly for stunning buildings against a good almost clear sky. If you want to do create outdoor HDR pics, go for sunsets, sunrise or during the morning around 9-10 when sky is clear blue like these pics below. Don't take shots when its really cloudy because when you process it later, you will get dark, gloomy clouds unless your concept is dark and gothic, go for it.

Pasar Gadong 50mm Tour

2007-01-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday, an outing with the usual fellow shutterbugs, Anakbrunei and Bruneian. The theme was to use ONLY 50mm lens and the target destination was Pasar Gadong, Brunei's main wet market. The 50mm is a lens that needs several practices to master. Bruneian suggested that we use manual focus. At first few shots I used manual focus but after that I couldn't help myself flickering to auto focus mode. Next, a 50mm is a prime lens, its no zoom lens that we all rely so much. I found this lens do help improve your interaction with the subject, you tend to get closer. Its a first time that I really talked to the people after I got my shots. That day I learned a different level of photography and I still remember the quote I read from the internet, "Shoot first, then talk". Thats what we all did. In fact everywhere we went, people kept asking us who we were and we kept on replying we were not from press, we are hobbyist into photography. Here are some behind the scene, the normal routines of the Pasar Gadong.

3rd HDR series

2007-01-09T22:32:00.000+08:00

Check out the rest of HDR pics from here

HDR Series

2007-01-09T00:24:00.000+08:00

Another series of HDR pics.

The Pride of Gadong

2007-01-07T16:37:00.000+08:00

The Mall, Gadong. The No.1 destination for shoppers in Brunei.

Muara Crane

2007-01-06T23:51:00.000+08:00

The mighty cranes, conquering the skies of Muara Port, can be seen within the Muara Town.

Muara Sky

2007-01-06T21:34:00.000+08:00

There were less clouds today, the sky was quite beautiful.

I set up an account with Aminus3 for my daily dose of photos. Check it out http://zadm.aminus3.com/.

Sunset at Meragang

2007-01-06T08:32:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a great day, I got to capture sunrise and sunset in a day. The sunset outing this time I was with Bruneian, Ucingitam and Kantalensa. I got there around 5.30 and god's work of lights has just started I could see it on my way to the beach. The sunset was better than the last outing, I took about more than 140 shots and I just couldn't decide which one to post. Here are my best shots.

Sunrise at Serasa

2007-01-05T09:57:00.000+08:00

Another outing in the early morning, left home around 5.40 a.m to meet Bruneian who was already at the Serasa beach. My first time again, the more outing I do, the more experience I get, thats my target this year. If only there were less clouds since the rain stopped around 4 a.m., the scenery would be magnificent.

Macro Series

2007-01-04T17:01:00.001+08:00

New Year, New School, New Faces

2007-01-04T12:28:00.000+08:00

BSB's Landscape at Sunset

2007-01-03T21:44:00.000+08:00

Second stop was at this unfamiliar place for me, my first time. We all owe David Cheok for bringing us up here. We had to climb up this steep hill and it was an opportunity not to be missed. The view was breathtaking, climbing up was also breathtaking. How I wish I had a better tripod, I would have taken more beautiful sunset shots.

Kiulap and Gadong

Jame Mosque and the surroundings

Istana Nurul Iman

The majestic clouds

Lago Azul

2007-01-03T21:14:00.000+08:00

First stop of the outing last Tuesday with Anakbrunei, Bruneian, David Cheok, G-Ferro and Ucingitam. It was quite an unusual place but I was amazed by the colour of this lake. I didn't take long taking some pics of the lake. I spent too much time taking shots of the ground works nearby the lake.

The Other Side of Construction

2007-01-02T23:03:00.000+08:00

2007-01-02T22:03:00.000+08:00

My first capture of sunset from the Subok hill overlooking BSB. There is a squid-looking cloud right in the middle and warm glow of the sky above.

Korban 2007

2007-01-02T00:08:00.000+08:00

The first family event marking the new year 2007 and Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration. My house yesterday turned into a temporary butcher shop as this was the first time in our family history organising a korban. The event started in the wee morning for the slaughtering of three buffaloes at the abattoir, which made the way then to our house. This was follow up by processing and packaging the meat. The house was dividied into two. The front end, cutting the cow and the other end processing and packaging the meat neatly into a container. The event ended in the afternoon with a doa selamat where the containers are distributed to the guests.

The custom made cutting boards

The cutting utensils

Unloading the meat

Ready for cutting

Cutting the meat

Weighing up the meat for each container

The Packaging

Joyous Moments of 2006

2006-12-31T13:38:00.000+08:00

Pics of my son, Raiyan, taken with 50mm f/1.8. I'm still trying to master this lens.

For Sale Canon Zoom Lens 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM

2006-12-31T12:41:00.000+08:00

SOLD - 2/7/2007

I'm selling my zoom lens for $300 plus Hoya 58mm filter. Bought it Nov 2006, still new. The reason for selling, I have another zoom lens with the same range. This lens has done me good deeds especially when use with Kenko extension tubes. The tubes adds the capability to shoot macro.

Bye Bye 2006, Hello 2007

2006-12-31T00:35:00.000+08:00

A lot of things can happen in one year, time nowadays goes very quick. The year 2006 is very important for my wife and I as we welcomed the arrival of our son, Raiyan. We are looking forward for more next year as he turns 1, I don't know what he can do by then. He has developed the necessary skills for a 5 months old. Watching him grow is definitely an all-time agenda. It's really different now with time. My time before may never be the same again.

Another point in 2006 is getting my first dslr, I have always been pondering to get it one day and finally its within my posession. There are still lots to learn and yeah this hobby is very expensive.

So next year's plans? I say do more photography and of course spend my time with family.

Second Outing

2006-12-30T10:29:00.000+08:00

I had my second outing last Wednesday with Anakbrunei, Gferro, David Cheok and Bruneian. We toured around parts of BSB which started off from Yayasan, then to Masjid SOAS, Tamu Kianggeh and Tambing.

Check out more pics from here

Xmas Eve Gig

2006-12-30T08:11:00.000+08:00

More pics can be viewed from my PicasaWeb

Back for Business

2006-12-30T01:42:00.000+08:00

I'm back and my laptop has been given a new breath of life. What I really hate is installing the applications and drivers and this time I will try to install only the important ones. My old hard disk will be used as my second external backup, I have my 250gb external which is good enough as a backup for the moment. As promised I will upload the pics from the KB gig and the Wednesday outing.

Hiatus

2006-12-28T22:08:00.000+08:00

I'm having problem with my laptop, the hard disk is dying. I haven't been able to process my recent pics so please bear with me.

Salam AidilAdha

2006-12-25T12:42:00.000+08:00

Wishes Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha to All Muslims

X'Mas Eve

2006-12-24T08:50:00.000+08:00

Wish Everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Images by Bigoo

I'm off to KB tonite for a gig at BSRC. We will see both the young and old showcase their talent, a rare event nowadays. It will also be my first assignment to shoot a gig , a challenge in situation with low light and lots of motion.

The Fly: Up Close and Personal

2006-12-23T22:13:00.000+08:00

I went for a final round my house, my eye caught this fly resting on a leaf.

Natural Habitat

2006-12-23T21:29:00.000+08:00

I was out around my house armed with my tubes to shoot some macros of our buddy crawlies in their natural habitat.

Mystery Spider

2006-12-23T21:13:00.000+08:00

My wife saw this tiny visitor inside our room early morning and I couldn't resist taking some shots of it.

Shirt Design

2006-12-21T20:34:00.000+08:00

These are designs for Brunei Bands Music Scene (BBMS) or in short, Brubands. The Head of BBMS asked me to design a logo for a t-shirt so I was happy to accept it. It took me two days to design and I wish I could do it with Adobe Illustrator because this is the standard tool for print design.

Sunday at Empire

2006-12-18T15:12:00.000+08:00

First Outing Pt 4: Sunday at BSB

2006-12-18T12:46:00.000+08:00

Last series, after Tamu Kianggeh, we were off to see the happenings at Jalan Sultan, the street bazaar. It was quite and getting hot, but that didn't stop us taking some shots of BSB on Sunday. For this outing, its also first time taking the shots in RAW and agree the post-processing takes time. The outcome, it was worth the time, enjoyable and valuable. I will look forward to more outing.

First Outing Pt 3: The Company

2006-12-18T12:28:00.000+08:00

First Outing Pt 2: Tamu Kianggeh, The People

2006-12-18T11:48:00.000+08:00

Another series, a warm-up practice for street photography. It wasn't easy at first, pointing cameras at people but once I got established myself among the crowds, no one stopping me. Since I had company with Anakbrunei, Bruneian and Kantalensa, my confidence just kept growing. And I got to test Bruneian's 50mm f/1.4, this lens is amazing, I can't wait to get my hands on my 50mm f/1.8.

First Outing Pt 1

2006-12-18T10:45:00.000+08:00

I had my first outing with Anakbrunei, Bruneian and Kantalensa, we went to Tamu Kianggeh and the Street Bazaar. I enjoyed very much, the best part is learning and getting tips from them. These are series of my pics taken, please care to comment.

2006 Magazine

2006-12-15T01:57:00.000+08:00

This is my final design for the 2006 Seri Lambak magazine. I went for a clean concept, not too much abstract like previous years' designs. The back cover is reserved for the sponsor, that saved me plenty of time thinking of another designs. Colours, this is where I am weak, I can't really decide and choose which colours to match. I need to learn more on contrasting colours.

Macro Drug

2006-12-15T01:25:00.000+08:00

I'm addicted to Macro since I got my hands on the extension tubes, it was worth a buy. I will look forward to more shots and more outings.

Are you nuts?

This is interesting. I didn't know there was an insect on this tiny flower until I viewed it in my laptop. So this guy was lucky for being at the right time and place. Strike that pose!!

A Smarter 2007

2006-12-15T00:41:00.000+08:00

Start your new year with a smashing calendar containing stunning pics designed by a friend of mine, Reeda aka Anakbrunei, a well-known blogger and excellent photographer in the brunei's cyberspace. The calendar costs $5 and half of the proceeds will go to Brunei's SMARTER society. If you are up for a good cause, visit his blog or contact him.

Game Anyone?

2006-12-14T22:12:00.000+08:00

Lets play a guessing game. Below are pics of magnified coins and guess the value of the coins.

Coin 1

Coin 2

Coin 3

Coin 4

mystery fruit

2006-12-14T22:06:00.000+08:00

I stumbled this mystery fruit coming out from a plant. Looks like a strawberry, anyone can ID this fruit? Zooming in there was a spider web, the spider may have gone away leaving this fruit vacant.

Pray your hearts out

2006-12-14T21:48:00.000+08:00

I was wandering around my yard looking for something to shoot and found a tiny black spot on a leaf. I got close with my lens and found this friendly praying mantis who was so kind to me not to move. I took my time while this guy was relaxing and posing to get my best shot. It wasn't easy, there was wind and this guy just keep still. Kudos to this insect.

"Fly Fly Away"

2006-12-14T19:59:00.000+08:00

~Butterfly, Butterfly, Fly All the Way~. Oh ever since I started watching Barney because of my son, the songs they singing are sticking inside me head. Anyway I found this little winged visitor in my yard. I couldnt resist taking out my camera to take this shot. Old folks say if a butterfly come wandering inside your house, someone's going to pay a visit. Hide!!

More Experiment

2006-12-13T14:38:00.000+08:00

Quite a challenge to shoot this ants

With the kit lens, focal length 18mm

12mm + 21mm tubes + Reversed kit lens, focal length 55mm

Rope fibres at close up

Visit this guy's pbase for awesome macro pictures using 50mm f/1.8. I think he used the kenko tubes.

http://www.pbase.com/dougsmit/image/47072159

Macro with 18-55mm kit lens????

2006-12-13T12:54:00.000+08:00

Ok I mentioned in previous post that its not possible to use the kit lens with the extension tubes for macro but I just recently found out that it is possible BY REVERSING IT.

You have to use a reverse ring adapter to fit in the tubes. I tested it out by holding it in front of the tubes and it wasnt an easy feat, I had to really squeeze my eyes to focus and I wish I had a larger viewfinder. I compared between result from lens + tubes and reversed lens with tubes and the magnification with reversed lens is higher but I think you loose the DOF and camera shake is at 7 richter scale magnitude.

Overall, macro photography is tough. Be aware of the constraints if you are into this DIY macro because my neck is a bit aching from looking down, closing in the subject all the time, having eye strain from too many eye squeezing and lastly the weight strain of the camera unless you are using tripod, then thats no problem.

Here are the test results:

1st Test: Using the kit lens at focal length 55mm

2nd Test: Lens Tube + 75-300mm at focal length 75mm

3rd Test: Lens Tube + Reversed kit lens at focal length 18mm

Itsy Bitsy Tiny Details

2006-12-13T12:04:00.000+08:00

Check out the results of the Kenko tubes.

No Spill Policy

Buffet of the Day

Phewiiitttt !! How do I Look ? (Cropped)

Green spike from a plant

Food Troopers

Cleaning Campaign

Food Delivery

Stopping by for Food (Cropped)

Sharing is Caring (Cropped)

Food fest everyone !! (Cropped)

Kenko Extension Tubes Test

2006-12-12T20:44:00.000+08:00

I got my Kenko Extension Tubes today. I'm quite impressed with the speedy delivery, I made this order from ebay last week. The only drawback is the import duty impose on camera accessories, now this is what you get for paying a cheap shipping cost. Overall I'm happy with the delivery speed.

What is it? The extension tubes allows you to add macro capability to your lens and increases magnification. The Kenko tubes comes with three metal tubes, 12mm, 21mm and 36mm. I have stacked all these tubes and attached it first to my 400d follow up with my 75-300mm.

Why chose Kenko tubes? They are widely used and cheaper than Canon and they can deliver the same performance like Canon.

The Tubes

All stacked up

One Big Happy Family

I read the tubes works excellent with prime and macro lens but also works fine for the zoom and telephoto lens. I will wait for my nifty 50mm f/1.8 to arrive. I have seen nice shots from the 50mm with the extension tubes. BUT I'm definitely getting a proper macro lens, maybe Canon 100m f/2.8 Macro or the Sigma's 105mm 0r 150mm. I'm wondering what kind of shots I can get if I add the tubes to these macro lens.

The difference with macro lens and lens + extension tubes, using macro lens you can stand far away from the subject while using tubes you have to be closer. If you are using tubes make sure you wear an invisible cloak or you might scare the insects. Then the disadvantage of using tubes, you have to use manual focus by going close to the subject or changing the focal length on the lens. One more thing, it won't work on EF-S lens like the kit lens because it can't be attached to the tubes. Here are some test shots using the tubes.

1st Test: Using the kit lens, focal length 55mm, distance 10 cm

2nd Test:Extension tube 12mm + 75-300mm, focal length 75-80mm, distance 50 cm

3rd Test:Extension tube 12mm + 21mm + 75-300mm, focal length 75-80mm, distance 25 cm

Extension tube 12mm + 21mm + 36mm + 75-300mm, focal length 75-80mm, distance 15 cm

Some more shots. It does takes a lot of patience, caffiene intakes and a good steady hand to take the shots.

Feline Subject

2006-12-11T21:34:00.000+08:00

Zadm's Fotolog

Moved to a new address

Happy Anniversary to RBAF

9...10...11...12

Satay Urat

Macro Fox

http://www.zadm.net

Business School Bazaar Pt 3

Business School Bazaar Pt 2

Business School Bazaar Pt 1

SMPAPHM Sports Day

Masterpiece

Zadm Junior

Less is More Part 2

Proboscis Trip

Zone 2 Netball Final

Back in Business

New laptop

No Post

Steak and Glamour Night

Something New

Kendo Demo at SMPAPHM

Good Morning Serasa

Ridha and Jenny's Bersanding Part 3 - Portrait Series

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

Ridha and Jenny's Bersanding Part 2 - At Jenny's house

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

Ridha and Jenny's Bersanding Part 1 - At Ridha's House

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

Ridha's Berbedak

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

Ridha and Jenny Akad Nikah

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

7 months and counting

Food Bazaar

23rd National Day 2007 Series: The Wonderful Colours of National Day Part 2

23rd National Day 2007 Series: The Wonderful Colours of National Day Part 1

23rd National Day 2007 Series: Young and Old Unite

Happy 23rd National Day

CNY @ BSB 2007 Slideshow

Happy Chinese New Year - Gong Xi Fa Cai

Sunset @ Serasa

Fast and Furious:Serasa Splash

Hidden Beauty of Li Gong

Deadlines

Tang Soo Do Photoshoot

Bedak-bedak Mandi

First Wedding Shoot

Kg.Ayer Series 2

To delete or not to delete

Kg Ayer Outing Series 2

Kg Ayer Outing Series 1

Great Outing

Bad Hair Day

Macro Bukit Shahbandar

Majestic Mosque

Sunday Out

Gearing Up for National Day 2007

The Ultimate Sunrise

On A Typical Sunday

Wonderful Sky

Pasar Gadong 50mm Tour

3rd HDR series

HDR Series

The Pride of Gadong

Muara Crane

Muara Sky

Sunset at Meragang

Sunrise at Serasa

Macro Series

New Year, New School, New Faces

BSB's Landscape at Sunset

Lago Azul

The Other Side of Construction

Korban 2007

Joyous Moments of 2006

For Sale Canon Zoom Lens 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM

Bye Bye 2006, Hello 2007

Second Outing

Xmas Eve Gig

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET
OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET
OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET
OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET
OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

HTTP://WWW.ZADM.NET
OFFICIAL ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO