Intimadelife

Sport Photography - Part 2

2008-09-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

Getting the subject in focus in a big challenge. This is due to the subject keeps on moving unless you use a wide angle view. Zooming makes the pix more dramatic and causes more blur to the background. But one big problem is keeping the subject at the centre. Or I should say this is called "framing" problem. All we need to do is just be more focused. Here are some more pix...

Sport Photography - Part 1

2008-09-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

As an amateur photographer, I try to explore different types of photography. I managed to take some pix on sport photography. All I can say...its not as easy as it seems. Its not just about shutter speed. We might want to freeze the moment but there are things which do not allow us to do so.

There won't be much problems if the subject is under The Sun especially in the afternoon. But what if the subject is in a low light situation? Maybe indoor or almost dark (near sunset)? Increase the ISO and increase the Aperture size.

The pic below was taken with ISO 3200, f/4.0 and 1/250 s. I did not fire flash since doing that might have caused disturbance to the players. Using shutter speed 1/200 s or lower would show a blurry motion. Plus my shaking hand, the pic would be useless.

The next pic was taken with the same settings but with f/4.5 and the widest is 4.0 for my lens. Its Canon 70-300mm. I still can't afford an L lens. Not yet hehe.

Dubai Holiday

2008-07-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Now, let me share some pix I took during my last trip... to Dubai, U.A.E. It was in June and Summer. All I can say its hotter than Brunei, well... during summertime.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many good pix :( and I spent my time mostly indoors except when going to souks. The weather didn't motivate me to take pix of the seceneries and it seemed like shopping was much a better option hehe. I brought my videocam too. Arrgghh, It was hard to balance the jobs. But I did took some pix below..

Left: Burj Dubai under construction, Right: Burj Al Arab

At Souk Madinat Jumeirah

Sunset/Camel @ Desert Safari

At Ski Dubai

I think thats all I can post for now. There are many pix to post for the past few months but since my life has been really busy & hard on me at the moment and lately bad luck always come after me (???). This makes me feel lazy to update or upload any pix and even to take good pix.

Naruto & Bleach

2008-04-19T05:59:00.001-07:00

Of all the anime, I've never miss to watch Naruto and Bleach. These two anime are my favourite. I download them every week and never miss an episode. I also read the manga. I never download the manga but instead I read them online. For those who are big fans of Naruto and also Bleach, You can read the manga at http://www.onemanga.com which also contains other manga.

Naruto

Bleach

Filters

2008-04-19T04:47:00.000-07:00

I just bought a new filter recently. Its a graduated filter (grey) or widely known as ND grad filter. It simply filters out light at the upper part of the lens and reduces its effect to zero at about halfway or middle of the lens.

Why do we need this kind of filter? Well, it is essential if you are a landscape photographer. I'm not a landscape photographer...maybe not yet. Soon to be? hehehe (lets say i'm a 'jack of all trades' haha) . The filter is usually used to make the burnt out sky darker and the darker land brighter. OK let me put it like this. When we take a landscape photo, the result looks like this (see below):

The camera assumes that it is too bright (overexposed due to the sky). So the camera uses a faster shutter speed which causes the land to look darker (underexposed)

The photo below is the result of using ND grad filter:

As you can see, the sky is much pleasant to look at and the land is brighter and has much more details than the previous photo. (I used a circular polarizer at the same time)

And another photo...

I haven't got time to go out for taking landscape pix. All the above pix were taken from my house. I will post if I have new pix.

Hiding from the Sun

2008-04-18T02:10:00.001-07:00

Another old shot. I was experimenting on my new camera and got this.

Spying on Grasshoppers

2008-04-18T01:52:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken about 2 years ago when I first bought my new DSLR camera. My house was surrounded by various types of flora and fauna. I was so eager to experiment my camera on these little creatures. So I followed them and took several shots. Now life is different cause I have moved to a new house and I can't really seem to find anything like this at my new house.

We're being followed, let's separate now!

Emm...why do I feel like I'm being watched?

Gotcha!! It was you all along.

Portrait of a child

2008-04-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of my niece about a month ago. One thing I know about taking a portrait is to focus on the eye(s). I'm not good at taking a portrait, maybe not yet. I just need to improve my skills slowly, learn one thing at a time. Long way to go.....

Bukit Saeh

2008-03-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

Bukit Saeh (or Saeh Hill) is located somewhere in Mukim Lumapas. And its one of the tallest in Brunei. Its a good place for hiking and sightseeing. Once you've reached the peak, you can see Istana Nurul Iman, BSB, Kampong Bolkiah and even DST HQ building.

I went there on the 23rd of March in a group. I thought I couldn't make it to the peak but I did. The hardest part is to reach the peak and to go down from the peak. Well, it wasn't that hard unless you carry a lot of things.

Taking pic of a plant on the way to the peak

Left: Istana Nurul Iman, Right: Kampong Ayer and some parts of BSB

Maulidur Rasul

2008-03-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

This was actually held on the 20th of march. A yearly event to celebrate Prophet Mohammad's birthday (12th day of Rabiulawal). Let's say the precession is just like a walkathon and this only happens in Brunei. Well, its because His Majesty is there with us leading the precession. I'm not sure about the distance. Could it be around 2 km??

An early morning scenery before going to Taman Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien

Left: A cat posing for the camera, Right: His Majesty

Left: Kids waiting for the precession, His Majesty leading the precession

Left: Still under renovation, Right: Water Taxis ready to pick up

Holiday in Thailand

2008-03-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

A five-day holiday spent in Thailand was quite interesting. I've been there before. This time, we stayed at Baiyoke Boutique Hotel which is very near to Pratunam market. The first day was for shopping at Pratunam area.

We spent our second day in the morning at the Ocean World, in Siam Paragon. Then we moved to National Stadium area and MBK. We then went back to our hotel rooms and spent our nights at Pratunam market.

The third day was our "tour day" coz we had booked a private tour using a shuttle van for the whole day. First, we went to the Floating Market at Kanchanaburi province. And then went to the War Memorial Cemetery. There we met our tour guide named Jang. After that we moved to
see River Kwai, she explained to us about the history of War Memorial Cemetery and the bridge at River Kwai.

And then we went to see elephants at Elephant Camp. Riding an elephant costs 300 baht per person so we grabbed our chances to ride them. Finally we went to see tigers at Tiger Temple. At first, we saw boars, deers and some other animals moving around in that area. Then
everyone had their own chances to take photos with a tiger cub. Then we walked to the Tiger Canyon, where adult tigers can be touched by visitors for real. Some of us did and me too hehe.

Then we went back to Bangkok which took about three hours.

The fourth day was to shop at Central world and MBK, all day. And the last day was to buy some fruits at a fruit market (Ta Lad Khay Pol La Mai). Then we went back to our hotel and finally checked out.

Fly High

2008-03-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

I took the above pic yesterday and the featured 'model' is none other than one of my colleagues. Since a few days ago I was into this 'flying' mood when it came to taking pix. It started with me asking them to jump. And yes! they followed what I told them to do (as long as they are vain) hehehe. Then it evolved into something what I should call 'running in the air'. It means you need to jump from, let's say, a chair and pretend like you are running so hard that eventually you will be able to fly.

Actually I took some pix and edited one of them and got the above result. The idea of writing the quote came into my mind shortly after I took some of the pix. One reason was because of a large empty space on the left side. Another reason was that I found it kind of inspiring if I put a quote because some posters put some words or quotes to motivate people who read them. And the quotes must also be 'synchronised' with the pix.

Anyway I will post some other pix soon. At the moment I need to rest a bit. Tomorrow I need to attend Maulir Rasul at Padang SOAS. And I might post some pix of that too.

Another Panorama

2008-03-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

This time I used pix I took during MV Doulos visit to Brunei. That was last year.

As usual, I used Photoshop to stitch about 5 pix to obtain the above panoramic view of MV Doulos.

Panorama

2008-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I took this panoramic view of Padang SOAS during the 24th National Day. I took about 10 pix and then joined them together using Photoshop.

Actually when I took these photos, I realized there was a big lump of black spot on the pictures...that is after the second shot. It was so big that it ruined most of other pix. Yea that can be erased using Photoshop but still I didn't like it. I didn't even open or change the lens. After cleaning the sensor, I found it was a fragment of something made of plastic...sort of. It was about 1x3 mm in size. No wonder it appeared big in the photos. But in this panoramic photo, I erased the spots and here is the result:

Smile

2008-03-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

I've finnalllly posted a new pic. This time I just wanna share a pic of my brother-in-law's nephew.

Cute!! Isn't he?

Skyline @ Singapore

2007-12-31T10:34:00.000-08:00

I got a chance to take pix of Singapore skyline during my holiday vacation in mid Dec. I've never taken pix of a skyline before this. So this was my opportunity to take some. I took the pix sometime around midnite and after.

Even though I really wanted to take a lot of pics, I just couldn't. Well, of course bcoz of shopping and limited time. Me and my companions went to Sentosa Island but we were really in a hurry and we came late and the weather wasn't good. We also went to snow city but no cameras allowed.

Maybe next time I will try to take pix of skyline during "golden hours". Anyways, I put some pix below:

Left: Taken at Esplanade Park, Right: Esplanade

Taken at Elgin Bridge

World AIDS Day 2007

2007-12-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

The World AIDS Day 2007 was organised by Brunei's AIDS Council. It was held at ICC, Berakas. The guest of honour was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Health.

This event is to make us remember and be aware that AIDS (or HIV) should not be taken lightly as a normal disease. From the latest statistics, the number of people infected by HIV in Brunei is increasing even though the number is still quite small, which is between 5-10 people this year. Who knows the number may again increase next year.

My biggest challenge was taking pix at low-light areas. There was no other choice than using high ISO settings. I did use the flash but not all the time. Pix without the flash are sometimes better, which also depends on the situations (e.g. distance, etc). Zooming in also causes the aperture to get smaller which means slower shutter speed and arrgghhh....shaky pix. Unless the lens has a fix (largest) aperture and much better if there is Image Stabilisation (IS). But now I can't afford to buy any of them. I should wait for a few years to get one, maybe.

Taking A Break

2007-11-25T23:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't updated this site for a few months now. Same goes for my other sites. Just nothing interesting to post here at the moment and no pictures too. Plus, I'm just too lazy and too tired and no time to organize / edit my pix. No idea what pictures I should take too. No progress at all. Well, never mind that. Just check these cool photo sites if you have the time. I found these sites a few months ago anyway.

Daniel Zain Photography
Ansel Adams Gallery
G.Hjöll's Flickr Photos

Butterfly

2007-09-13T21:53:00.000-07:00

Just wanna post a pic of a butterfly. Took this pic about two weeks ago.

BASE Week

2007-09-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

Been so busy with BASE Week (7th-10th of Sept). The first day was only for preparation and setting-up booths. The opening ceremony was on the 8th and the closing was on the 10th. Just enjoy the pix.

Prison Break (Season 3) - 17 minutes preview

2007-08-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

Not yet aired but the preview of the 3rd season is available in season 2 DVD package. I guess I can only watch it online hehe.

Prison Break saison 3 Episode 1 VOSTFR Preview 17 min
Uploaded by Acathla55

Komodo Dragon...hehe

2007-08-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

I think this belong to 'monitor lizard' or 'komodo dragon' group/family. The name in "Biawak" in malay. I don't know much about animal species or families though. Took some pix of it at my backyard. It was wandering around to get some food. Its favorite food? probably chicken (alive ones hehe). I used my telephoto zoom lens. I'm not sure if its safe to get near to it or otherwise I would lose either my arms or my camera hehe.

Pesta Sukan

2007-08-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

It was the closing ceremony for the inter-school sport event and held at Stadium Negara Hassanal Bolkiah in Berakas. It was sunny when I arrived there and then oh no....it rained!! Bad weather...I know. Not good for taking pix. I didn't want to risk my camera. Why did this happen?? Ok never mind about that! It stopped after about one hour. Then the ceremony started at 2 pm as soon as it stopped raining. Here are some pix before the ceremony started:

Left: Silat, Right: Police Cadets Band

Police Cadet Girls

The official ceremony started with marching by the cadets

Left: Girls watching a performance, Right: A Performance by Police Cadets

Then it was followed by a series of final-rounds such as 100m sprint, 4x400m relay and more...

Left: The first final-round, Right: Watching

Left: Ready, Set!, Right: Supporters

Left: Some participants, Right: Run Girls! Run!

Left: Jump! Right: A 4x400m relay

The weather was fine but....again it rained! Arrghh!! This really was not my favorite part. The the rained didn't stop for the rest of the event, including all the performances and marching.

Left: Young Jelitawan, Right: Aerobic Performance

Left: Aerobic in the Rain, Right: Closing Marching

Heroes - Season 2 Preview

2007-08-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

If you are big fans of the TV series HEROES, you should watch this:

I can't wait to watch the second season.

Sunset at Pantai Jerudong

2007-08-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Silhouette Sunset

Just another day at Pantai Jerudong. Took some pix as usual. Actually a few days ago.

I'm not good at taking sunset pix. One thing I know, its getting darker and darker so it means we cannot use the same camera settings all the time.

Sunset at Jerudong Beach

I read from somewhere that we can use filters to get different kinds of effects. My current display pic at MSN messenger is showing a pic of the Sun during a sunset. Damn! its perfect and it shows the circular shape of the Sun. I'm not able to take any pix as nice as that one. I wonder how people can take breathtaking pix of sunset. I really wanna learn that.

I took some pix when the Sun was almost below the horizon. I was able to see the shape at least hehe. Maybe because of this time its not too bright as before. I added some text to the pic below and edited it a lil bit and here is the result...(anyway, it looks just ordinary)

The Last Sunset

Tanglung @ Padang SOAS

2007-08-04T23:54:00.000-07:00

This is held once in a year, at night, and as expected... sooo many people come to watch this event. Firstly, "kereta berhias" (parade procession) and then followed by tug of war competition. Also fireworks show at the beginning and ending of the event. Congrats to G-16 of Jerudong for winning the tug of war competition.

For me, taking pix at night is quite challenging. Not having enough light means the shutter speed becomes slower. I'm not an expert but here are my camera settings (read this if you are beginners! hehe):

- Highest possible ISO (1600 or 3200)...disadvantage? noisier pix!

- Large aperture size (meaning small F number e.g. F2.8-F5.6)...don't have small F number? well.. it depends on the type of lens (large aperture size means more light can enter the lens) But for fireworks, do not use a high ISO cause it may spoil the background.

- Shutter speed? hard question eh! no definite answer for this. If you carry a tripod or monopod, a longer shutter speed is not a problem. But if not available, keep you camera steady and close to your face to prevent shaking. Try with different shutter speed first (between 1/15 sec to 1/150 sec) then stick to the speed that shows the right exposure and "not blur" images. But this is not as simple as it is.

- If possible, set the camera to "manual" setting...why? to maintain the F number and shutter speed.

Anyway, the above settings are actually to remind myself...sometimes I forget about it too. My skills are still not good enough to be a good photographer but i'm always learning and trying to improve.

left: kids having fun, right: Bruneian participants in a tug of war competition

left: Fireworks show, right: A pic of His Majesty

left: Bruneian "tug of war" group photo taking, right: kids in action

left and right: kereta berhias

ermm....dunno what to call this pic hehe

BASE Essay Competition

2007-08-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

It was held at Sekolah Yayasan today. As usual, I went there just to take photos. Never been to this place before and it's quite different from other schools.

Wedding

2007-07-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

This is my second time this year for taking (full coverage) pix of a wedding. One of my colleague and this time, a friend of my colleague. Others?? Yes, a few only, but only for selected occasion.

I don't really want to be a wedding photographer. Why not? I'm not ready for it (even though I've done a few). And also that I don't want to do this often. Well, I'm not good enough to be one. But thing I'm sure of is that I enjoy it.

I dunno what kind of photographer I want to be. Maybe I prefer landscape, sports, macro and photojournalism. I'm not even really sure.

Anyway, congrats to Azmirul and Evelyn for their wedding. I will finish editing the pics soon hehe.

Majlis Ilmu @ ICC

2007-07-26T22:17:00.000-07:00

Went for a seminar at ICC today. There were also 4 separate galleries; Royal stuffs, astronomy and fossils stuffs, Islamic stuffs and lastly witch-doctor stuffs. I think the galleries will still be going on for a few weeks.

The Seminar

The replica of Jenglot

Bersama Rakyat

2007-07-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Today, His Majesty met his people at Padang SOAS. Starting with flag waving at somewhere near Lapau and then some performances at Padang SOAS.

After that, His Majesty walked around the field to see his people and giving handshakes. So many people were trying to get His Majesty's handshake. This went on and on until His Majesty arrived at somewhere near Tambing, where there is a new monument and also where His Majesty was going to have "santap" or Lunch.

After "santap", there was a group photo at the new monument and that was the climax of the event.

Accompanied by a female photographer (before "santap"), we chased the Royal family just to get nice shots of them. Taking pix of His Majesty wasn't easy. I mean taking GOOD pix of His Majesty :P

Not just of His Majesty but in general. We can't escape from taking really bad pix too. Even good pix need to be digitally enhanced to make it look more dramatic. Well, a software like adobe photoshop is needed. What we need to do is change the level/curve to its optimum, crop of we need to, change contrast/saturation and so on.

I'm still learning how to take good pix. I have acquired many information about photography from magazines but when it comes real action sometimes I forget about them. Usually happen when everything is in a hurry.

Left: Group photo @ Yayasan, Right: An entrance @ Padang SOAS

Left: Getting ready for their performance, Right: Kids eager to be photographed

Left & Right: Colourful performances

Left: Another performance, Right: Crowded

Left: Somebody's gonna get a handshake from Prince Abdul Malik, Right: Musical Notes & Performance

Left: The Crown Prince, Right: Waiting for His Majesty's handshake

Left: Police Cadets' musical performance, Right: Symbol of six

Red Carpet / A girl with a red Baju Kurung

Circular Polarizer

2007-07-21T23:55:00.000-07:00

Been so busy with work and get tired! Not much time spent on taking pix. Tomorrow I will go to Padang SOAS for "Bersama Rakyat".

Today I caught some pix using a filter called a pl-cir (circular polarizer) attached to my lens. Well, not really attached. I have only one pl-cir and it belongs to my other lens (size 62mm). The lens attached to my camera is bigger in size (68mm). So lazy me to change the lens. I just need to hold it on front of my lens. Well, it doesn't really affect the images but it appears like a vignetting.

As far as I know, a polarizer is just to cut off (or just call it "to filter") excessive light from very bright areas (especially in the background such as the sky) without having to filter the light in dark areas in the pix.

A circular polarizer works the same ways but we can rotate it since it has two layers. We can rotate the front layer to achieve the best image.

Excessive light causes loss in colour and hence saturation. If we don't want a very bright background to spoil our pix, use a polarizer. It leaves the sky "pleasant" blue. Since we filter some amount of light from entering the lens, it means the shutter speed is becoming slower.

There are better filters called ND filters (means Neutral Density). These comes in different versions, some can filter more light than the others which results in better colours/saturation.

The pix below shows my models (hehehe)...

Sofrie & Ezan - The Engagement

2007-07-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Sofrie & Ezan for their engagement on 16th of July 2007.

15th of July @ Nite

2007-07-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Feeling bored, I needed to go out. First of all, I was planning to go to buy a sensor cleaner but the shop was closed. But when I went there today, it was out of stock. I guess I need to find it in other shops. No idea where to find it.

Lets go back to last nite, still on the 15th of July, I went to Padang SOAS after going to the shop. Taking pix at night is not easy for me. I never used flash when shooting the pix below and that would be the best option. We have to deal with high ISO and slow shutter speed, which make the pix blurry. Here are some of the pix:

His Majesty's birthday

2007-07-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

It's July 15th today and it's His Majesty's 61th birthday.

I woke up at 7.22 am and I rushed to go to BSB to watch the event at Padang SOAS.

The event was short as usual coz another event was waiting for His Majesty after this. But there will be a longer one on the 22nd this month (Bersama Rakyat??) with many performances. I'm looking forward to watching that.

Me, as usual, took some pix. I edited some of the pix and here they are:

Don't have much to say...just the pix.

Big Day for Azri

2007-07-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

Invited to Azri's wedding on the 1st of July. Btw, I wasn't the official photographer for his wedding. I took many pics because I wanted to...haha. Sayang jua...mun ada camera apa lagi.

Oh yea...I edited the pix using "Comic Life" using a software in my Macbook. Just for fun. Hmmm...Macbook?...yea!!...a new one...bought it and received it on the 2nd of July.

But I only show the 1st two pages in this blog. The rests are posted in my multiply site.

Appreciation Nite for 16th BASE Camp 2007

2007-07-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Been so busy lately and no time to update this blog. Anyways, i'm gonna post some pics that needed to be posted here.

I was invited to the 16th BASE Camp appreciation nite, on June 30th, as a photographer. So here are some pics...

Transformers

2007-06-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be on the cinema in early July (cause it says 7.4.7). But I was wrong. I found out about it a few days ago. But I was able to get a ticket to watch it on the first day of showing and that was yesterday.

The movie is very nice....ermmm....no....it's excellent! hehehe. I can't really remember the cartoon version that I watched when I was a kid...not even the names of the robots.

Well, I did a little research on the names of the robots though hehe.

Pictures taken from here

E65, Remote Switch & The Mall

2007-06-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I bought a Nokia E65 two days ago. I couldn't resist it hehe. Maybe bcoz it has Wifi and its a 3G phone. It is slim and just nice to touch and use.

Left: E65, Right: Remote Switch

Today I went to the main post office at Lapangan Terbang Lama, Berakas, to get my Remote Switch C3 for my Canon 30D. Also compatible with 20D and 5D. I bought it from Ebay on June 3rd. (so about 3 weeks to arrive)Only B$29 including shipping. It works the same as RS-80N3, which is much costly. I tested it and it worked. Now I can take pix of night scenery and the stars using "bulb" mode.

After that I went to The Mall to send a motorola charger which doesn't work from the first time being used. Bought about a week ago and still got a waranty. There is also a car exhibition. 26 cars altogether and about 10 motorcycles in The Mall, ground floor. Some of them are Honda Odyssey, Nissan Cefiro, Hyundai Santa Fe, some Volvos, a 4-whell drive Subaru (B9 Tribeca), a camouflage-painted Ford and many more.

KK Journey

2007-06-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

As planned, we went to KK and also went to Kundasang/Ranau. But the planned schedule wasn't exactly as we planned.

We were supposed to spend overnight at Promenade Apartment, KK and then went to Kundasang/Ranau on the next day and spend a night at Kinabalu Pine Resort and went back to KK to spend time for shopping.

Instead, we went straight to Kundasang and stay overnight at Rose Cabin. Then went back to KK and stayed at Tabung Haji for 2 nights.

Day 1
At about 7.15 am, we started our journey at Kuala Lurah. We arrived at Rose Cabin, Kundasang, at about 4.30 pm. What a day! Well, we did stop at a public toilet in Sipitang, lunch at Beaufort Town and gas station on the way to Tuaran. After we arrived at Rose Cabin, we spent our time resting for about a hour. Then we went to Kundasang Town to get some food for the dinner. We bought the food from Perkasa Hotel.

Kinabalu Rose Cabin at Kundasang (see the clouds??)

Scenery behind the resort

Day 2
We woke up early in the morning, at about 6.15 am. We were able to see Mt. Kinabalu's top peak, which is usually covered by clouds. At about 7.30 am, we went to Kundasang Town to find the Golf Club. I know that we can see the best view in the morning before 10 am. Too bad my friend didn't want to drive that far (7.5 km from Kundasang Town & bumpy inclined roads with Mazda3...keke!). Well, never mind about that...maybe next time.

We then headed to Poring Hot Spring at Ranau. This is a place I've been to....nothing new about it. I remember we had to reach the canopy by climbing a few hundreds metres of a steep hill and we just had had our meal and it was raining heavily. But this time, we didn't go for the canopy walk. I warned my friends already hehe.

We went to see the waterfall, but only a smaller one. Well...my friends surrendered before we agreed to go because it required them to climb some hills hehe. To kill time, I soaked my feet into the hot water bath in the provided area. I felt good after a few minutes (really was like hell at first). We bought some ice cream and then went to some wet markets before heading back to KK.

I can't really remember the time we arrived at Tabung Haji. On the way home, we ate at KFC at Ranau. At night, we spent time shopping at the Centrepoint and Warisan Square. Dinner at Pizza Hut. Back to the hotel at about 10 pm.

Mt. Kinabalu in the morning

Poring Hot Spring

Waterfall at Poring Hot Spring

Soaking my feet into water bath from the hot spring

Day 3
Woke up at about 8 am...not exactly at 8 am...maybe a bit later than that hehe. We ate our breakfast at the hotel's restaurant and then went back to our hotel room. Rested for a while. We went shopping at noon until about 4 pm. Nuthing much to buy though. Lunch at Burger King. Went back to hotel, rested and took a quick nap. At 9 pm we we to eat seafood. Paid about RM110 for three person. Then back to the hotel. Met some Bruneians staying at the hotel (can also see from their p-license)

Day 4
Packing up, breakfast at the hotel's restaurant and went home. Not to forget buying some fruits from some markets near the road, on our way home. At Limbang, we ate our lunch at Sugar Bun and went shopping. I didn't buy anything though. A very long que at Kuala Lurah border. Back at home safely at about 6 pm.

Watermelons on our way back home

Somewhere in Sarawak, on our way home

BASE Camp - The Opening

2007-06-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

Today was the first and the last day I got involved in the BASE Camp 2007. Its a four-day camp but unfortunately, as I mentioned before, I'm going to KK tomorrow hehe. Let see the pictures I took on this first day.

Now look at the date and place...

Then look at the participants taking part in the camp...

Look at the volunteer students...(from MD)...

Look at the committees...

Look at the scouts...

Now let's look at what they bring...(wonder why that girl is sitting around the bags)...

And look at what they "also" bring...(teddy and ermmm... is that a horsey?)

Look at how they set up the camp...

Look at their shoes...(and feet hehe)...

Look at the day activity...(ice breaking)...

Look at the night activity...(astronomy)...

Look at the faces...(before I left the place)...

It was quite fun and I was always ready to press my shutter button whenever they needed me to hehehe.

When some of them turned their faces away from the camera when I point the camera to them (not just one but all the time).....boring!!!

Anyway, I will upload more pix after I return back from KK. :p

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-06-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

Pictures above taken from here

Had the chance to watch the movie last nite....actually a few hours ago. I like Jessica Alba since a long time ago. But she looks different with blonde hair but still she looks nice.

I watched the movie at Qlap Mall, at night. I like the movie and it was worth watching it. Yeah...I love it!! hehe.

Water taxis and tides

2007-06-15T01:12:00.000-07:00

How I travel by boat...

It is common for me to travel by a water taxi boat even though I don't live in Kampong Ayer. It takes just a few minutes (about 4 mins) drive to reach Kampong Sungai Kebun (or Kg. Sg. Kebun). Then from Kg. Sg. Kebun I take a boat to get to Tambing, BSB. This usually takes about 5 mins travelling time.

The pic below shows a place called "Ujung Jalan" (meaning "end of road") at Kg. Sungai Kebun, where water taxis are waiting. Just 50 cents to get to BSB.

Sometimes, travelling by boat is not as easy as it seems and it becomes the last thing on my mind. Here are top 3 reasons why I don't like to travel by boat:

1. When its raining
2. When its very hot
3. During low tide

How tides affect Kg. Ayer...

Today I went to BSB to register my new Easi line @ DST, Yayasan. The tide was quite high. It almost reached some of the houses' floors. But not the highest tide. I've seen higher tide than this. Btw, as you know, this is because of the position of the Moon.

For more info about tide, please read here.

I took the pic below during a low tide evening.

A few more things about low tides:

1. Its hard to get on/off the boat since its very low (due to slippery floors/ladders/stairs).
2. Have to travel using a longer path (see below: Yellow lines showing usual paths. Green line showing the longer path).

red dot - Kg. Sg. Kebun
blue dot - Tambing, BSB

New HP & ....

2007-06-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

I accompanied my gf to buy a new handphone today. Its a Sony Ericsson - W850i. Quite a nice one, i can say. I currently have a Motorola - V3x. So I managed to take a pic of the three handphone brands; Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson. We tried to take pics of ourselves too. Well...just for testing hehe.

I drove home passing Istana Nurul Iman. On my way home, I saw the road, outside the palace, was unusually brightly illuminated (see pic below). It was a really nice view and we can only see this in certain occasions. Then I remembered we were still celebrating the Royal Wedding (mulih 3 hari). I just drove straight home after that.

Pelangi on-stage - Maria

2007-06-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

Where I went to...

It wasn't our plan to go to Taman Jubli Perak to see Pelangi on-stage performances, last nite. We were just going out for swimming and then maybe window shopping. But when I heard Maria was going to perform, I felt like I REALLY needed to go there hehe.

I parked my car at Qlap area and then we walked to Taman Jubli Perak (yeah its just close to Qlap area). I just wanted to avoid a traffic jam. I assumed I would have a hard time looking for a parking space, knowing that many people would be there.

Being in a large crowd isn't something that I like. But it was worth seeing Maria performing on-stage. Here is a pic of maria's performance I took with my compact camera, Lumix fx-7 (3X optical zoom).

Maria - Aku atau Dia

Hmmm....who is Maria?
Maria is a Bruneian singer. I like her songs such as Bisik Hati & Aku atau Dia. I cannot say I'm really a big fan of her. But I do really like her songs and her voice. She's a talented singer. I think she still has a long way to go to become a bigger star.

Royal Wedding - Perarakan

2007-06-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

What happened today (June 10th, 2007)...

"The Wedding Ceremony" of the Royal Wedding of Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah and YM Pengiran Khairul Khalil bin Pengiran Syed Hj Jaafari. In Malay, we call it "Majlis Istiadat Bersanding". It is then followed by a procession (that is, "Acara Perarakan"). The procession took place around the town area (from Istana Nurul Iman to the capital city, BSB & also returning back).

We watched the procession somewhere near "Balai Bomba". We went there in a large group. It took quite a long time for us to get there (not to mention it was really tiring!!).

How we got to the place...

- we took a boat ("temuai") to a ferry/ship provided
*waiting for the ship to be fully occupied took almost an hour

- the ship then arrived at BSB (somewhere near "Tambing")
*travelling time was about 10 minutes

- walking to the provided place took us about 10 minutes
*we waited for about 30 minutes before we walked to the scene

- we then waited for the procession...for hours (but worth it hehe)

What about pix??...

Left: temuai, Right: ferry/ship

Left: a scenery of BSB, Right: a little bit of entertainment

Left & Right: ermmm...dunno what to call them

Left & Right: the Royal Couple

Left: Another pic of the Royal Couple, Right: His Majesty, Her Majesty & Her Royal Highness

Gadong

2007-06-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

How to describe Gadong?

- One of the busiest place in town
- Where The Mall is located (the largest mall in Brunei)
- Near to the Pasar Malam (Night Market)
- Cineplex Cinema @ The Mall (the only cinema in Gadong)
- The most crowded during paydays (traffic jam!! arrrgghhh!!)
- The only place in Brunei Muara that has McDonald's (I dunno about other districts)
- Not an easy place to park your car

*Gadong actually means "green" in Bruneian language.

Playing with a long shutter speed

A view of The Mall from McDonald's

A view of The Mall from a different angle

Where i went to (yesterday)...

2007-06-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

2:30 pm - 4.30 pm (kiulap)

- carpooling with my 2 frens, we met at Supa Save, Telanai. Then we "zoomed" to Qlap.

- checking out my pc being reformatted and there's a problem with the power source assembly (means more $$ to pay arrrgghhh!)

- and then went to AV electronics to check out Macbook. There was this 13" black notebook with 160 Gb hard disk and we ask them for a quotation. Yea, i'm planning to buy it. I just need to send the quotation to the bank for further process. Maybe tomorrow? hehehe.

- then we went to Tourean Cafe (is that the right spelling?? :p)

chocolate toast

8:00 pm - 1:00 am

- travelling to BSB by a water taxi (carpooling with ma frens afterwards) then heading to Gadong

- watching "Ocean's 13" at Seri Qlap Mall Ciname, quite a nice movie - worth watching

- wandering around BSB with frens. Then travel back home by a water taxi and then by car.

a night scene at Padang SOAS

Milk floats

2007-06-07T01:10:00.000-07:00

Ever tried adding ice cream to milk just like fizzy drinks floats? Maybe not in restaurants/shops menus. I've never seen any hehe. But I tried it a few hours ago. I was pouring strawberry-flavored milk and at the same time craving to eat ice cream. So i put some vanilla ice cream (with some chocolate flavor) to the milk and this is the result.

Tastes good...I want more hehehe :p

16th BASE Camp vs KK, Sabah

2007-06-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

I got a text from someone from STEP Centre today. They asked me to be one or the photographers for the 16th BASE Camp which will be held on the 16th-19th June 2007. I wanted to accept the offer but sadly I already applied for a leave.

So I wanted to change the date but it was too complicated since we've already booked a hotel in KK and one in Kundasang. So I told him that I couldn't be there but I wanted to be there on the first day of the camp and he told me they will put my name on the list.

Arrrghhh!! I enjoy taking pix like this since there will be many people there. But I really can't take the job. Wish I could change the date but I can't. And I can't just cancel my vacation just like that. I was the one who suggested to go to KK and i can't turn my back now.

One of the pix from BASE Camp in 2005

Another Bufday Treat

2007-06-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Capers just to celebrate friends' birthdays, Hjh Mai and Duan. But only Hjh Mai were able to make it. I can say its just a birthday treat and yeah....a birthday cake. Anyway, thanx for the treat :p

RBAF 46th Anniversary

2007-05-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

This year, Royal Brunei Armed Force (RBAF) celebrates its 46th Anniversary. The performances are more or less the same as previous years but this this it was held at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium. Usually held at Padang SOAS. The reason of the change of location is maybe because of the exhibition. Well, maybe they wanna put things in one area so it saves time. One good thing I can see is that many people can watch the event there since more seats are available.

I took some pix of the event but this time was a bit difficult. I could not take close-up pix of those who were performing even though I used the maximum "zoom" (at 300mm) and it wasn't good enough. Unfortunately, I didn't go to see the exhibition since I have other thing to take care of.

Left: Some students from some schools. Right: The arrival of His Majesty

Left: One of the performances. Right: Looking at the parachutes

Left: Some students. Right: The event taken from a different angle

Left: Parachutes performance. Right: Landing time

Left: Kids watching attentively. Right: The last performance

The Moon

2007-05-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

I read from yahoo news about some facts of the Moon (Read it here). It explains what it means by "Once in a blue moon". We know that the Moon makes a complete cycle around the Earth in about 28 days. So there is a chance to have two "full moons". It says that the second full moon is usually blue. Well I never noticed that. Hmmm...maybe next time :p

It's not hard to take pix of the Moon but hard to take really nice pix of the Moon. As long as the camera has a long "zoom" and with recommended ISO 100 and with usual high shutter speed and I usually use the largest aperture. The pic above was taken with full "zoom" and I cropped the pic to remove most the "black" sky in the pic. I guess I need to buy another lens hehe.

Korean Drama - "My Girl"

2007-05-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is a korean drama that I watched a few months ago. I like the storyline and the characters. From what I know, this drama was actually to promote tourism in Korea. Some scene were taken in Jeju Island and also in one of the tallest building in South Korea...KLI 63 Building. About the drama, some parts were quite funny and as we go on the situation becomes different. That I cannot expose. You just need to watch it hehe. I hope I can go to Korea one day.

Animals photos

2007-05-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Just some animal pictures I took recently.

Ikan koi

Kitten...I posted pictures of this kitten before...this is the latest one.

Egret...wandering around

Chicken...oops!! Not an alive one...sorry hehe. Well, it looks delicious though :p

OGDC, Seria - Global Warming opening ceremony

2007-05-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Actually this is the longest distance I've travelled alone so far. Being a BSBian, I have no reasons to go to Belait except when i go to Miri. Usually I travelled with a company, as a passenger. Maybe it's time for me to be independent since I drive on my own. Anyway, it takes about 1 and a half hour to reach OGDC from my home. I usually drive fast hehe.

I met Sunardi and Aming there. I brought them to the parking area at the back since the front parking area is occupied by a car exhibition The opening ceremony was simple and quick. And they set up a gallery for the public to see. It's just to make us aware about this Global Warming situation. Since we Bruneians use oil n gas as our main source of energy. I think it's good to have this kind of exhibition. Maybe we cannot stop this easily but at least we make an effort to spread the words.

Anyway, the car exhibition I mentioned was actually Lexus cars, just outside the building and I managed to get into some cars to feel the comfort and luxury of the cars, since I know I'm not gonna buy these cars. Not that I don't like it...well, its about $$$ hehe. Then Sunardi treated us some food before we got back to our cars (thanx for that :p).

Charcaol & Grill - Bufday Partee

2007-05-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

Not really a birthday party...just another dinner with friends who celebrate their birthdays. Not to forget they treated us for that nite (thanx...hehehe). As usual, with surprised birthday cake as you can see below. Anyway, it was fun and I enjoyed it.

Just some pixes

2007-05-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know what else to post coz there is nothing interesting to share. So here I am...going to post these photos, mostly cats. You may notice 'lomo effect' in all the pictures his this time. I just wanted to try how it goes. No improvement in my photography skills. I dun even have time to touch my camera as much as i would love to.

Oh yea...mayb I have some thing to talk about for now. Maybe about TV series?

As a fan of 'Smallville', I've watched all the episodes until the latest from season 6. No comments about the series.

Next is 'Heroes', another great TV series. Still in season 1 but managed to become one of the best TV series in the US. Its coming to the season finale in a few weeks time. I just hope all ends well. Lots of questions in my mind and i need some answers. The only way to get the answers is to watch them all.

I just finished watching 'Prison Break'. I watched both seasons 1 and 2 in less than 2 weeks or maybe just one week. Well, I really can't remember :P. Anyway, season 3 is coming this august. I like the part about Scofiled (the main character) created the tatoos such as the words 'cute poison' and 'bolshoi booze'. Can't wait to watch more.

Lost? Yes 'lost'! I mean the TV series 'Lost' One of my favourites too. But I've never watched it in ages since Season 2 episode 4. Maybe I will catch up soon.

Yesterday I started watching 'Supernatural'. I think I'm gonna like this too. Just finished the second episode. I don't know when I wanna continue the rest when life has been busy lately.

Where the Hell Matt went to.....

2007-03-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

I found these videos on YouTube about a month ago. If you are on YouTube and if you happen to see a video of a man standing near a sand dune, you might it is a fake...well, at least I thought it was a fake untl I watched one of the videos. And I never actually clicked on the videos until last month. These videos are popular on YouTube and you should watch them. The man who dances in these videos is called Matt. He travelled to a lot of places and made these videos. Where the Hell was Matt? and Where the Hell is Matt? You have to see the videos :p

Where the Hell was Matt?

Where the Hell is Matt?

Where the Hell are Matt's Outtakes?

Holiday @ Shenzhen, China

2007-03-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

On the 20th of March, I went Shenzhen, China to spend my holiday. There were about 40 of us...a large group for sure and also the largest group I ever with. Well, there is no direct flight to Shenzhen. We went there via Hong Kong International Airport and then travelled on a double decker (bus A43) which costs HK$28 to Sheung Shui, Hong Kong, to get on to a train (costs HK$10??). Sheung Shui is just near Shenzhen-HK border. We stayed at the Railway Station Hotel which is just near the border, Luo Hu.

Shenzhen is a modern city. Not many people can understand english. They only know a few words. The tallest building in Shenzhen is Shun Hing Square (69 floors). We went to the 69th floor and paid RMB60 for the ticket.

We went to places like SEG Plaza, Luo Hu Commerce City and Dongmen Street for shopping. These places are in SEZ (Special Economic Zone).

When you are at Luo Hu Commerce City, never buy the electrical components (e.g. pen drive, memore cards and ipod) they sell or you'll regret. But its a good place to buy bracelets, bags and watches or even make curtains. But you won't have a peace of mind coz they keep bothering you to come to their shops and if you're unlucky, they will pull you into their shops. Once you ask for the price, they will try to make you buy the items. So be careful. One more place we went to is the "Windows of The World". This place has replicas like the Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Niagara Falls and some famous naked statues. We couldn't finish it in 2 and a half hours coz we had limited time but it was a good experience. One more thing, never forget to bring your camera. RMB120 to enter the place. To go to "Windows of The World" from Luo Hu, you can ride a taxi (more than RMB30??), a bus (bus 101, RMB2) or MTR (RMB5).

Anyway, for muslims, there are indian restaurants available which serve halal food and can deliver right to your hotel room without any extra charge (but you can give them tips). From what i read, there are two mosques in Shenzhen. Overall, Shenzhen is a good place for shopping and sightseeing. Just be careful of pickpockets especially in places like buses and trains.

National Day 2007

2007-03-02T04:37:00.000-08:00

As usual, the celebration of national day has been one of the biggest event in Brunei. The theme for this year is "Iltizam memperkasa keupayaan bangsa". I'm not good at translating words but I think it means "The commitment in strengthening the nation's abilities". Anyway, on the day of the celebration, I planned to wake up at 6.30 am but unfortunately in woke up at 8 am....arrgghh!!! I saw the TV and it already started. So I rushed 4 shower and brought my camera to the scene. I guessed I still had time to take many pics when I arrived hehe.

Reminiscing 2006

2007-01-08T22:50:00.000-08:00

The year 2006 has passed us by. I can say it was a good year for me. I experienced many new things especially in photography and travelling. My job was not really stressful in 2006. I made new friends and (unfortunately) met the opposites too. This year, I also went to Temburong and went to see the dentist for the first time...after all this years.

I don't know if my photography skills have improved a lot or not but it seems like I couldn't find the opportunities to go much further. Maybe I didn't know anyone who held the opportunities for me or maybe I have no talents. Maybe I should be the one who look for such opportunities. Well, never mind... Nobody knows what our future will be.

There is one thing I can think about when it comes to holiday when I have sufficient amount of money. Its better to write it in the form of an equation... "holiday + money = travelling". Yes, travelling and I think its gonna be my another hobby :P Some people travel just to spend their time shopping. Well, I'm not a shopaholic, really!! If I go to Miri, its a different story. Well, I do shop when I travel but not that much. I just wanna experience all. I mean, other than the cities, I also wanna make sure that historical places, beautiful sceneries, high buildings and interesting places are visited. I didn't have opportunities to travel before. I couldn't take a leave until last year. I just need to save money for new adventures.

I just wanna share some random pictures I took in 2006:

Left: A zebra from Safari World in Thailand, Right: Tarap Fruit

Left: Turtles released at Meragang Beach, Right: My Punctured Tyre

Left: Water, Right: Baby tiger

Left: A tree at Grand Palace in Thailand, Middle: Pesta Kikik at Tungku Beach, Right: Baiyoke Sky Tower, Thailand

Left: A recreational park, Right: A hall in Rempayoh

Left: Floating walkway at Serasa, Middle: Trees at night, Left: Aromatic candle

Left: Red sunset, Right: Baby turtle

Left: A girl looking up, Right: A kitten looking up

Left: Pizza for Sungkai, Right: Peter Pan concert

Left: Jame Mosque in Gadong, Middle: Unknown plant, Middle: Ostrich at Safari World in Thailand

Left: Mount Kinabalu scenery from Ranau, Right: SOAS Mosque in BSB

Left: Museum International Day, Right: National Day

Left: Cucul lights for Raya, Right: HM during Maulud Nabi

Left: Buddhist monks, Middle: SOAS Mosque at night, Right: Reflection of SOAS Mosque

Left: Somewhere in Kota Kinabalu, Right: Leaf close-up

Left: Leaves, Right: Lightning from my house

Left: Night Scenery from my house, Right: Unknown Bee

Left: An ant with the Moon as the background, Right: A white kitten

Left: Football at Balapan near the Stadium, Right: Hibiscus attraction

Left: Majlis Bersama Rakyat in July, Middle: A girl at Majlis Bersama Rakyat, Right: Jerudong Park

Left: A show at Majlis Bersama Rakyat in July, Right: A show at Malam Serumpun in July

Left and Middle: Fireworks on the 15th of July, Right: Unknown flower

Left: A coconut at Seri Kenangan Beach, Right: Empire Hotel pool

Left: Somewhere at Berakas Beach, Kuih Mor for Raya

Thailand Vacation

2006-12-19T01:15:00.000-08:00

My friends and I went to Thailand recently. We went to places like Floating Market (Damneon Saduak) in Ratchaburi, The Grand Palace, Safari World, Chatuchak Weekend Market and Patpong Night Market. We did some shopping at Mah Boon Krong (MBK) and Centralworld. We also went to the top (83th) floor of the Baiyoke Sky Tower to view the night scenery of the city.

Kittens Pics

2006-12-19T00:37:00.000-08:00

I felt bored today. So i took some photos of kittens outside my house. They were playing around and trying and learning new things around them at the same time.

Brand New

2006-12-16T23:59:00.000-08:00

My first time using this blog. Hope I will use this often.