Between theirs and mine

I'd always dreamt of a shot from this angle. This girl made it possible.

(Click picture for larger view.)


I was also 'official photographer' for Adrian.


Last look out of a familiar place...


... and up into the sky!


Aunty Victoria, Adrian and Abel.

(It's not easy to get parents to jump. You rock, Aunty!)


In spite of extreme exhaustion on Saturday evening (after Friday night's Convo Dinner and post-dinner adventures, Saturday morning's shoot for Adrian and family, and Saturday afternoon's Science Convo), I found strength for some dinner.

It happened that at some point the conversation turned to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, and we talked about how he enjoys a near-godlike status there.

Then Pik Tze asked, "What else can you do besides being God?"

I cannot remember why she said that, or what the reply was, but I think it was along the lines of, "You're 'God'; what else could you possibly want?"


More pictures from the PKV Convo here.


* * *


Early in the morning on the day of Yen's Convo, I SMS-ed this to her.

Some things in life are hard to fathom, like shooting a zebra on colour film, or a sunset on black-and-white. To think that our university experiences can be rolled up in a scroll. All the fuss over robes, regalia and revelry. Crazy convo. But hey, might as well ride the wave than drown beneath it.

I think it was born half of inspiration, and half of late-night delirium. At that time, I was still struggling with rising to the occasion for Convo, knowing that I was both looking forward to, and dreading, it. The salvation that would manifest itself on the night of Convo Dinner had not yet arrived, and I had yet to fulfill my unspoken promise to an old friend.


Now eight months remain till mine. This time will pass sooner than I can imagine.

Thoughts long after CC Trip 09

I prepared this montage from my set of CC Trip photos. This year, I chose to bring only the P5000 compact digital camera, and shot considerably few photos.

It was fun watching Annabelle and Alan have fun with their SLRs; reminded me of my first year. I think three photographic highlights of the trip were the long exposures and light painting, shooting at the beach beneath overcast skies and light rain, and the engineering of the 'riskily shot' group photo.

As I mentioned on Annabelle's blog, it was truly by God's grace that I was able to join the trip, as it was initially planned on a weekend that would have clashed with a field trip.

It was truly meaningful to be with the juniors once again, after many months of erratic absences. Reminded me so very much of Adrian.


Read Belle's post here for more.

Thoughts after a Camp and a Shoot

Prophet's Call

Come meet me beneath the frangipani tree,
A stone's throw from the altar, where
On rattan mats the prophets sat
And listened to me there.

The sun has risen but the earth is wet;
Pools of water have yet to dry.
It is now afternoon, and very soon
His Spirit will pass on those lying on tile, concrete or grass.

You are not alone, for I am with you,
Whether in fearsome halls of stone
Or moss-covered hills, dripping in dew
In the dry land between there and here.

Beneath a train of strange white clouds, do not fear.
Today you are born of spirit and water;
Though torn in two, I will be with you
Whichever way the journey tends
To lead you to My promised land.


* * *


I wrote it at half past twelve, on the second day of PKV's T.H.E. Camp. It was at the end of our post-session short reflection. I allude to many things that were present at that particular moment, whether heard, seen or felt.

At the end of camp, Kim Cheng reminded me of how I first learnt silence; there was this camp called d'NA which I joined years ago, she said. She reminded me that silence and solitude are disciplines which do not come easy to us.

I think I have, over the years, forgotten some of these lessons. I used to enjoy solitude and seek silence out, but as time passed I became more sociable and company-seeking. As I prepare to enter into my final undergraduate semester, I want to reclaim some of this; I do not want to become a recluse, but I want to set aside time when I can be alone.

Perhaps I am not ready to pray yet, but I want to at least remember once again what it was like to be unencumbered by the distractions of the world.


* * *



Yet it is not (it seems to me) by Painting that Photography touches art, but by Theatre.

-- Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida

New set of links added

I've added a new set of links entitled 'Aperture' to the column on the right of this page. These are some photographers and photography resources I find myself coming back to time and again. They're worth a look if you're interested in photography.


Abhijit Nandi was last year's Chartered Institute of Water and Environment Management (CIWEM) Photographer of the Year. His pictures are exceptionally evocative of the culture of his homeland, India, in all its colour and ruggedness.

Andy Rouse, arguably the UK's greatest wildlife photographer. One of his most recent grand success was a portfolio on the Emperor Penguins.

Ansel Adams, the legendary landscape photographer. I'd say his greatest feat was climbing all those mountains, lugging his large-format camera and tripod (no lightweight carbon-fibre stuff in those days) along.

Eric Chan, Taiwan-trained Malaysian photographer. One of the few people around with a real grasp of traditional black-and-white technique, and provides developing, printing and film supply services. Based in Bukit Jalil.

Eric Peris, legendary Malaysian art photographer. His seemingly simple and disarming photographs are full of nuances that effortlessly bring places and scenes to life.

Frans Lanting, wildlife photographer. With work frequently published in National Geographic, There is probably nearly nothing he hasn't shot.

Galen Rowell, landscape photographer. He went the opposite way from Ansel Adams, picking the lightest equipment so he could undertake long, nearly impossible hikes and trail runs.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, the legendary photojournalist who popularised candid photography and the concept of the 'decisive moment'.

Ken Rockwell, landscape photographer and equipment reviewer. Very comprehensive website with lots of information on both digital and film photography.

Shashinki, online store founded and run by Malaysian Koh Kho King. While prices may be a little higher than in stores, this is a great place to get rare pieces of equipment and good second-hand bargains. Excellent service.

Simon Norfolk, landscape photographer. I'm not particularly familiar with his work and style, but his Maya portfolio, shot for National Geographic, sets quite a standard for evocative architectural photography.

Thomas Marent, wildlife photographer. His book 'Rainforest' is about as good as it can possibly get in terms of wildlife. It reignited my love for the natural environment, and whenever I feel like quitting Ecology, reading it is extremely therapeutic.

Victor Chin, Eric Peris's good friend and long-time collaborator on many projects. Like Peris, he initially trained as a painter/artist, and this comes across very much in his photography. Frequently photographs the disabled, offering a unique and inspiring window on their very busy and productive world.

Yousuf Karsh, legendary portraitist. Has photographed the who's who of the 20th Century, including Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Fidel Castro, Mother Teresa and Albert Einstein. It is said that "those who dream of immortality call for Karsh of Ottawa." I don't know if he's photographed Adolf Hitler, though.

Track Talk

(Train interior by Chris Guillebeau)

"Sir, one question," said the clerk at my hotel in Baku, whom I'd recruited to write Baku-Tbilisi, one-way, second class for me in the local language of Azeri. "Why do you want to take the train? It's not very nice."

Why take the train? Good question. First, I knew it would be a highly authentic way to get around the Caucasus, and also a good counterpoint to the world of Star Alliance flights that brought me from Portland to Baku, via Denver and Frankfurt. Second, I like overland travel, so why not go all-out? Fifteen hours can't be that bad, and the unpredictability and raw element of train travel adds an edginess that I haven't had recently.

--Chris Guillebeau, on taking the train from Baku, Azerbaijan to Tbilisi, Georgia.


Read more here.


* * *


On another note, what comes to your mind when you see the phrase 'colon pee'?

:P

Disney is back!

Finally! Signs that the great master of animation and storytelling is back from stasis.

I grew up on Disney movies, classics like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and The Lion King, to name a few.

Then in recent years Disney faded into near oblivion, kept afloat by its association with Pixar and summer blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean.

Watching the trailers of these movies, I think Disney may be in for a very good year ahead. And it looks like they're doing what they've always done best: putting creative, fresh spins on old classics.


Director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future and Forrest Gump) continues to use the lukewarmly received performance capture technology to turn living actors into 3D characters.

But cinematographically it looks triumphant. And I've heard that it is one of the most faithful adaptations of the Charles Dickens classic; that's good since I love Dickens's story!

Long-time collaborator Alan Silvestri returns to provide the music; if Forrest Gump is anything to go by, the soundtrack should be just as good, if not better, than the movie itself.


Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, in a movie directed by... who else but Tim Burton? (I won't be surprised if Danny Elfman is back as the music composer for this film.)

Disney is promoting this as a 3D movie, just as it is doing for A Christmas Carol. But at least both stories have a reasonable claim to artistic licence in the design department; Dickens and Lewis Carroll created these characters to be larger than life and beyond normal imagination. Disney is simply fleshing them out, just as it has done superbly with everything from Cinderella's pumpkin to the interpretations of classical masterpieces in Fantasia.

Any one of the names in Alice in Wonderland would be reason enough to watch it when it comes out. But the most interesting part of the story is perhaps one Lewis Carroll did not foresee, but would probably accept as a very logical follow-up: 19-year-old Alice returns to Wonderland.

I say he would probably accept it because, although Alice was written for a little girl, Carroll's masterpiece appealed, and continues to appeal, to much older 'children' as well. As C.S. Lewis once said, a good children's story is one you never outgrow.

It's great to see a sequel with a smart idea for a change; let's hope the movie lives up to the hype!


Along the lines of characters ageing, Andy is now about to enter college. This is the moment everyone was talking about in Toy Story 2, when Andy would be too old to play with his toys.

So what happens next? I must admit I was a little alarmed when I heard there would be a sequel to Toy Story 2. Disney-Pixar have never resurrected any of their characters except these toys, and common wisdom dictates that a movie should not have too many sequels (think Sylvester Stallone's Rocky) lest they be the undoing of a great work.

However, I remain hopeful. Toy Story redefined a lot of things, and did it remarkably well; Toy Story 2 performed exceptionally well for a sequel. On top of that, the people in Pixar have proven themselves time and again, and I don't think there's any reason to doubt their judgement here.


3D remains, in my opinion, very much a marketing gimmick, very much like Face Detection technology in cameras, but so long as they continue to release 'plain' 2D versions, I wouldn't be too worried.

At any rate, these movies exude a certain freshness that's been missing from animation in a very long time, and I shall indeed look forward to watching them.

Of IKEA, Sisters and Frogs

Exams ended today for me. Went for a late lunch with Fit, Zilah and Ruth. The rains are torrential these days.


IKEA dinner, as promised, with Mandy, Louise, Moon, Elensha and her sister Eleanor.


A linguist, and ecologist, and the things you can do with cutlery.


Au revoir, Louise.

899 in Cantonese sounds like, 'prosper sufficiently'. May it be a most blessed trip, a blast of a birthday and a wonderful Christmas over there!


A frog in the Rimba Ilmu pond. Brings back memories of last semester; one of the greatest challenges in my course so far, and one of those things that really set the tone for everything from then on.

When you come back, Loo, we will all go for a walk in Rimba Ilmu ya!

Red Carpet

Cartier-Bresson was famous for popularising the concept of the 'decisive moment' in photography.

Victor Chin suggests that, for a scene, there may be more than one 'decisive moment'.

Today, in trying to save film, I missed two moments which, in retrospect, would have made excellent shots. Such is photography, that the digital shooter is insatiable and the film shooter often too cautious.

* * *

They will forever remain mental images, and maybe there is still power there.

The way he apologised for not being able to stay for lunch, and the way they parted with that mock-European cheek kiss.

The way the two of them, old friends, walked down the corridor looking like twins, little girls again with so much of the world to see.

* * *

I think it's a concept.

Maybe 36 exposures is really for 12 scenes. Three perspectives to a scene.

Approach 35mm with a medium-format mind.

* * *

This is the last lap.

Do it well, Ben, for you will not pass this way again.

Something I stumbled upon today

When Ai Wei told me she met Jimmy Lim, the owner/architect of the present 100 Cintra Street, it reminded me of last year's Penang Trip.

Looking through the photos, I came across this:

Macaques of Penang Hill

17 November 2008

Some memories are slow burning. They take a while to settle in, and when they do they linger indefinitely.

Like monkeys that still haunt you a year down the road.

* * *

Two more papers to go.

Ecophysiology of Marine Organisms does not end at 10.30 a.m. on Monday. It will continue until the end of April 2010.

Perhaps I will find the strength I need for one last bow, before the final curtain falls.

I trust Him. I can only trust Him.

(Don't let me fall here, please.)

Thursday

It is Thursday.

That long day when you know the weekend is at hand, but the week is not quite over yet. It doesn't help when you've two papers tomorrow and it's the second one you're dreading (hence longer wait).

It is also Thursday in another sense.

The 'Thursday' part of the exam season, when half of it is just about behind you, and the journey should get easier from this point on; but sometimes you're just so drained that you don't even have the strength to look forward to the end.

Oh well. Next week will be eventful.

*wink*

* * *

In a dream just now, my parents said they read my blog now and then.

* * *

On a very happy note, college dinners don't get better than this evening's.

Fried chicken
Fried kunyit fish (the big kind, of which you only get a cross section)
Pumpkin and ikan bilis stew
Cucur tepung

Chlorophyll

This is all that I have learnt: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.

--Ecclesiastes 7:29 (TEV)


Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.

--Ecclesiastes 9:10-11 (NASB)


Freshly cut grass.

Peppermint tea.

*Cough*


Smells, tastes and sounds of Exam Season.

Wisdom

5:2

Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few.


6:12

For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?

5.00 a.m.

'Between the midnight and the dawning'...





Bilik Bacaan, Third College, University of Malaya.

Duet

When black and white shall turn to grey
I wait to fall into the sea another day.

Awake from tearful afternoon naps,
Black eyed blues wondering if this was what you set out to do;
Waiting for the hours to pass,
The evening light throws long shadows against the glass
Of windows painted white and black.

Tea was lovely.
How many pots out of a bag of scented tea?
By three you're drinking water
With a scent of tea.

Seashells and bells, ringing with the echo of the sea:
A belle is a beauty
In shades of green, and white on grey,
With banana butterscotch danishes and scones on a tray,
In memories of the future and visions of the past,
Belle is a beauty.

It will not be done both ways; medium-well is never rare,
So let me go now if you dare to see dreams
Come true before the time is too well done
And the sun has set on the horizon.

Burning bridges with tea lights
With a toast of a glass of fire;
Walking on shards of glass, this is my pyre.
Fare thee well.

In seaweeds lined with barnacles,
In hatred and in love (for what I do not know)
They beckon me to go as far as the distant suns;
As high as the stars, as wide as the ocean.

I wait to drown,
My day is done.


* * *


Visited two new places yesterday, had fun with reflections at both.



Two photographs: four angles on The Bread Shop in Bukit Damansara.


Cristang at Avenue 8 in its own mirror.


* * *


Walk on by, walk on through
Walk till you run and don't look back

I've fallen in love with U2's song 'The Unforgettable Fire'.

A few of my favourite things...

I have been thinking of getting myself a wide-angle lens for the FM10. Not that the 50mm isn't doing a great job; I can make landscape photographs with it effortlessly, and as a matter of fact the black-and-white Pangkor sunset won me first place in a recent environmental photography competition.

No, the wide-angle is for the different perspective; for being able to get closer to the subject while maintaining the background in the frame, and for all those times I'm stuck in a small room or cannot reverse except to certain death.

So, just for fun, I fished out some of my favourite landscapes (place shots as opposed to people shots) to see what sort of focal lengths I used most frequently.


Jetty at Pulau Rawa, off Mersing; May 2007. Shot at 30mm on digital (35mm equivalent: 45mm).

On film this can be achieved with a 50mm lens; no need for wide-angle.


Ruins of St Paul's Hill, Malacca; Dec 2007. 32mm (48mm).

Again, on film this can be achieved with a 50mm lens.


Tomb on St Paul's Hill, Malacca; Dec 2007. 18mm (28mm).

This is what I mean by getting closer to the subject (roots) while keeping the background (ruins) in the frame.


Sky, Cameron Highlands; Dec 2007. 18mm (28mm).

I love this shot. I don't know why I did it, but I pointed the lens upwards and was amazed at the amount of sky I could fit into the frame, somewhat distorting the clouds and the tea fields below.

This, to me, is the point of shooting wide-angle in the first place.


Reading room in Kellie's Castle, Ipoh; Feb 2008. 18mm (28mm).

Another reason for using wide-angles; when the room isn't too large and you can't reverse any more.


Gua Tempurung, outskirts of Ipoh; Feb 2007. 18mm (28mm).

Again, when there's no space to reverse, and when you want to exaggerate perspective.


Old Town, Ipoh; Feb 2007. 28mm (48mm).

Another job for the 50mm; wide-angle unnecessary.


Looks like I tend to use (on digital) 18mm and 30mm thereabouts a lot. Translated into film, these are 28mm and a little wider than 50mm.

Which means a 28mm wide-angle would be just nice. It would serve as an excellent wide-angle on the film camera, and convert to a 42mm slightly-wider-than-normal lens on digital.

I'm also contemplating the 24mm lens, which would be even better for aesthetic purposes, and double as a very usable 35mm on digital. But...

28mm = RM910
24mm = RM1370

That's RM460 of difference, or RM100 per mm!


* * *


On another note, SooT told me today that he recently received a gift of Ilford Delta 100 black-and-white film from a fellow PhD student.

He, Doulos and I are now in pretty much the same boat: one man, one camera, one lens; infite possibilities!

Digital and quality zooms have made everything possible. But here we are, sort-of luddites rowing against the wave of technology...

To be limited by a single focal length.
To not have to worry about zoom; to unleash once again the zooming power of our legs.

To be limited by 36 exposures, between which ISO or colour type cannot be changed.
To not have to worry about colour settings or ISO; to be single-minded, simple-minded and focused.

To be limited by manual focus.
To be free to focus and not be at the mercy of a digital camera's autofocus systems.


Long live photography!

National Service... in JPEG!

Mum's friend needed some photos of National Service, so I finally did what I said I'd do over two years ago but never got down to doing: I had 11 rolls of NS film scanned. Couldn't find the other two rolls.

The results surprised me: these are low-resolution (about 3 megapixels) scans of negative film, but the sharpness, highlight control and colour rendition is pretty good! Mind you, these were not shot on an SLR or rangefinder, but on a Ricoh compact with a fixed aperture, fixed shutter, fixed focal length (35mm), automatic flash and automatic date imprint.


At the rapelling/abseiling site.


Time-out after some evening activity; it might have been drill practice.


That's me on the flying fox, with Cikgu Zack, an ex-commando, flying backwards in front of me.

One of my favourites. I think it was shot by the guy we called Badang (but I will have to check my NS diaries to be certain).

Digital would have failed miserably. Shutter lag would have resulted in the missing of the moment, while the film camera just fires when its shutter is pressed.

Also, having a real viewfinder (even one that is not through-the-lens) helps the photographer follow movement much more accurately than through an LCD screen.


Morning walk/march from the barracks to the padang kawad.

The early morning mist was lovely; we were surrounded by quite a lot of forest.


Victorians at Kem Pinggiran Pelangi, Muadzam Shah, Pahang.

A different vantage point

I am tired; it's been a tiring day. But there are a few thoughts that I think I ought to write down lest they lose their urgency.

* * *

This morning, I shot the Chinese Cultural Club (CCC) of my college for the third (and most likely last) time. I'd put on my bandanna for the shoot; Andrew and How both agreed that I should do something different, this being the last. But before getting out of the car, I removed the bandanna, deciding instead that I would show up as myself.

Little did I know that indeed I would end up doing something different. I climbed a tree and got bitten by a few kerengga in an attempt to shoot from a fresh angle at the overphotographed UM crest across Dewan Tunku Canselor (DTC).

(Many thanks to Pak Koon, Jun Lee and co. for bringing the two chairs on which I'd at first planned to mount the Gorillapod, as my tripod is with Xiao Lee. And thanks upon thanks to Andrew, Amos, Jimmy, Jee Haw, Jun Lee, Pak Koon and Ri Chian for literally supporting me throughout the challenging shoot!)

(Nikon D50 with Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens)

Doing something different can be as simple as taking a group photo... from behind the group.


While almost everyone else walked back to college, I drove. And I realised what it is about walking that I like so much: I like taking in the world around me, feeling the wind and the sun, taking in the sights and sounds and smells all around.

Maybe that is why I don't mind the slow pace (and low 'efficiency') of walking.

Ghosts have all the time in the world, another pleasure of long-distance aimlessness - travelling at half speed on slow trains and procrastinating.

~ from Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux

How true of local trains! And perhaps precisely why I like them so much.

* * *

(Photo from here)

When I got back today, Mum showed me a flyer she picked up from Bangsar Shopping Centre. Apparently Uncle Hui is still there, and now he even his own lot! (Prior to this he operated from a small 'studio' in Kidsport BSC.)

And now he even has a blog! Click apolloartclass.blogspot.com.

This is the man who, nearly ten years ago, started teaching watercolour technique to a 12-year-old who knew nothing about painting. That boy is still learning, and discovering more and more each day just how much those formative years continue to shape his artistic style and vision.

I really must pay Uncle Hui a visit one of these days.

* * *

While in Elensha's car, driving into IKEA, I flipped through the June '09 issue of August Man (which I assume belongs to her sister).

There was a small caption which pronounced, among other things;

The digital revolution has made it possible for anyone to take good pics. Better cameras to come can only mean a greater levelling of the field.

And then I remembered something I was thinking earlier in the day, after editing some of the photos from the morning's shoot. Yes, digital has levelled the field; it has also levelled images.

On the one hand, it is truly difficult to screw up with digital. I can pull a lot of detail out of seemingly underexposed images. Yet it also seems that digital has brought the standard down; we are far too easily satisfied. Or perhaps our concept and idea of photography has been redefined by digital photography.

When we returned from Putrajaya last Sunday, Thary said something that got me thinking; "Digital photographs all look the same." I don't exactly know what he meant by that, but I think it has something to do with the character of digital photographs. In some ways, it is easier to say of digital photos than of film ones, "Once you've seen one, you've seen them all."

(Ilford Delta 100)

Film, I feel, was designed for outstanding performance within narrow ranges. Slide film like Fujichrome Velvia (ISO 50) and Provia (ISO 100) are quite impractical to shoot with small-aperture lenses.

In those days photography was about fine-grain film (for clarity and definition) and bright lenses (for ease of composition and versatility in various lighting conditions). There was also of course, coarse-grain film (especially black-and-whites), which imparted an artistic sketch/canvas-like texture. These days, photography is about small-aperture (dim) lenses compensated for with anti-shake functions and relatively clean high ISOs.

But as anyone who has shot slide film will know, there is something about nailing a shot that gives such immense satisfaction no digital experience can provide.

* * *

Mum shared with me just now the story of a pastor, trained as a medical doctor, who witnessed the healing power of God in his ministry.

On one occasion, he was treating an elderly woman who was suffering from diabetes (among other things). One night, with the members of the family standing around the woman, her daughter told the doctor that her mother was having nightmares, from which she would awake in fits of violence.

So the daughter asked the doctor if there was any cure for this. And the doctor answered, prayer. The daughter then said, alright, pray. The doctor, not knowing what he'd gotten himself into, walked over to the woman and prayed for her. The family was Chinese-speaking, but the doctor himself knew little Chinese. In addition to praying in tongues, he prayed in broken Chinese.

When he finished, the daughter asked, is that all? He said, yes. She asked him to return the next day. He returned to his car, trembling; he did not know what he would do if he returned the next day and there was no improvement. But he prayed, and he returned the next day.

(You know how the story ends.)

He returned, and lo and behold, the family reported that the night before, the woman did not awake to fits of violence. Eventually the whole family became Christians, and at the woman's funeral the doctor managed to preach to all the residents in the area, for the family wanted everyone to know they were Christians.


As I heard this account, I remembered Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Mincaye and the missionaries of Operation Auca. I remembered the early disciples of Jesus Christ.

Where did the power of their ministry come from? I think it came from the fact that they were more afraid than we would like to think; afraid enough that God's courage could truly indwell them. Doubtful enough to trust a God who is more often mysterious than lucid.

As I think about them, I want to make my life count. I want to make every moment count. I thought about Michael Jackson and Barack Obama. It seems many are surprised by Obama's recent Nobel Peace Prize win; How commented that Michael Jackson is probably more deserving, having done in the way of peace and international relations what countless generations of politicians have tried in vain to do.

I know God is waiting for me to get up, leave my nets by the water's edge, climb out of the boat and follow Him.

BLC Mooncake Festival... and the RAW difference

It's not every day that a church hosts a Mooncake Festival celebration service. And especially since it would also be the last service at BLC's premises in Bangsar before the renovation, I decided I would be there, having missed the last Sunday service the weekend before.

No lengthy reflections on the festival, or the service, or anything. Just pictures this time around.


It was a night of sandiwara, in front of a simple wooden cross with lightbulbs hanging from it. (Think Fragments!)


The audience. Almost as if they were congregated around a fire in the middle of the woods.

Come to think of it, we really can get lost even in urban jungles, no? There are no tigers to maul us or rivers to drown us, but it's so easy to lose one's soul; to lose, not our path on the trail, but our direction in life.

So it really was something to gather around a fire in the middle of the jungle.


Reverend Naomi serving tea with stories.


Wan Ching at the titbits table.


I think Jesus knew the Chinese would read the Bible someday. That's why he said;

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the fu."


Final group photo at The Father's House.

(Thanks, Doulos, for the Manfrotto!)


I think of all the things I will miss, I will miss the trademark BLC cross the most.

Esther was there that night, too.


Shooting the altar with filtered light; a burst of red light on top, and blue below.

You can do this with Photoshop, but it's so much easier (not to mention more fun) playing with the light itself!


I will miss the cross window too. It was at this cross that I had a photo of myself and Sivin taken, shortly before I left for National Service.

It remains, for me, a commissioning cross of sorts, for there has been no day when BLC's theme verse, "As the Father has sent Me, I send you," rang truer.

So on Mooncake night, I set the camera for a 30-second exposure, ran outside like there was no tomorrow, and fired multiple bursts of light from my flash unit through the window.


Farewell, The Father's House, for now.

We will see you again!


* * *


Anyway, on another note, Doulos and I have been talking about JPG vs RAW file formats recently. He told me he usually shoots RAW, and I told him I'd given up on RAW ages ago, mainly because of the inconvenience of storing large files on my puny hard drive.

On that night, I shot a few RAW+JPG pictures and, looking at them in the computer, there is a difference.

Consider this picture of Esther:


This is a 100% crop from the original JPG file:


And this is a 100% crop from the original RAW file:


Notice that the RAW is a lot noisier, but the JPG's apparent smoothness is actually a loss of detail, plus a lot of digital smudging over.

Noise aside, the RAW image is more pleasant and 'real'.


But RAW presents a host of problems, one of which is compatibility. I could not open Doulos's Nikon D60 RAW files on Capture NX because they require updated firmware. And updates are a hassle, not to mention updates are different from brand to brand of camera (e.g. Nikon vs Canon), and brand to brand of software (e.g. Photoshop vs Capture)

The other troublesome thing about RAW is that it takes quite some time sitting in front of the computer to get all the edits right. Maybe some graphic designers and computer geeks like that, but people like myself would rather spend that time doing somthing more productive, like actually taking photos or travelling or writing.

Above all, none of us really makes prints larger than 8R or 11R, so the weaknesses of JPG don't really show. If you really want poster-size prints with fantastic definition, shoot film!


Consider this photograph of Sivin and our German guests.

It was shot on Ilford XP2 Super, which is a chromogenic black-and-white film, which means it can be processed using the normal C-41 process used for the good old print film readily available over the counter at any photo shop.

Forget the firmware-requiring Photoshop, chromogenic films can be processed at any 'photo shop' (except those uber-digital ones in shopping malls). Talk about ultimate compatibility!

The white spots were due to the mistakes by the guy processing my film; this is why photographers usually develop their own black-and-whites. But the 'mistakes' actually seem to add to the festive mood: they look a bit like confetti to me. ;-)

With digital, it's much harder to screw up in style!