Remembering Wakefield Market In Wellington

Migrants from Malaysia and Singapore are more "tum chiak" (greedy for food in Penang Hokkien) than migrants from other countries ;)

We belongs to that tum chiak group! We came from a small island (Penang) synonymous with good food. Penang is well known for its abundance of authentic hawkers’ delights which the locals claim, cannot be duplicated elsewhere!

 Shortly after we arrived in Wellington, 1988; we found to our horror; there were no hawkers fair in this "Coolest Little Capital" of New Zealand!

All you can get is "take away" of adulterated "Chinese food" to suit local taste!

We were ecstatic when our friends took us to the only "hawkers centre" at 181, Wakefield Street!  The "centre", a small space on top of an office block has only four food stalls; beggars no choosers, we were happy!

Hawkers centre or Asian Food Court come and go in Wellington, the last one was situated at Wakefield Market. We loved this old, run down venue!

From the outside the market looks old and really run down. There was only a small sign on the wall, indicating  that they sell food in there. But once you enter the place, you can smell food, glorious food!

Hotshots - A Tribute To Photographers Of The Star

I step into our office at 9 am this morning and our receptionist told me there is a courier pack on my desk!

What can it be? I don't recall I ordered anything from the net.

My heart missed a beat when I remove the content from the pack!

A spanking new, hot off the press copy of Hotshots, a commemorative coffee table book of "40 years of great news images by The Star photographers"!

40 YEARS LATER, ITS ABOUT BLOODY TIME!! I can't help but muttering to myself  ;)

Soul Of Our Nation - Other Communities

ADDING onto the already multi-cultural, multi-ethnic
population of Malaysia are smaller communities scattered throughout the peninsula and in Sabah and Sarawak.

Officially, these groups are classified as Lain-lain or Others.

Although they are only a small minority on their own, the Lain-lain groups collectively form a sizeable portion of Malaysia's almost 21 million people.

In the peninsula, orang asli, Portuguese, Eurasians and Malaysian Thais are just a few of these small communities.

Orang asli are scattered throughout the peninsula, from the Malaysia/Thai border to Johor. Generally categorised as bumiputras, orang asli are divided into three groups - Negritos, Senois and Proto-Malays.

The present population of orang asli is 92,529, according to statistics compiled by the Department of Orang Asli Affairs (JHEOA). Of this, 2,972 are Negritos, 49,440 Senois and 40,117 Proto-Malays.

Is Nikon 1 Still What I Want?

What is this hype about being "THE ONE"?

Yesterday I received an invitation that said "TAKE 1 FOR A DRIVE!"! That was from BMW on their "ALL-New" BMW 1 Series.

What make them even think a poor photographer is THE ONE who can afford their 1?  Hee hee...

A couple of months ago Nikon try to get the eagle photography community excited with their bold black and yellow banner, screaming; "I AM COMING!"

Soul Of Our Nation - Indian Community

INDIAN presence in this region can be divided into two distinct stages both of which involve the exchange of people, goods and philosophies albeit in varying proportions.

The Malay peninsula's initial association with Indian culture dates as far back as the fifth century. These ties were predominantly related with commerce. However, the last 160-odd years, and by far the most significant period of migration, was basically tied in with the export of labour.

While earlier Indian contacts with Malaya were motivated by individual needs,the consequent movement of Indians to this country during the 19th century was to serve the interests of their colonial masters.

The most significant wave that influenced the face of Malaysian Indians till this very day commenced with the influx of manpower in the 1830s, when Indian labour, rumoured to have started with convicts, were brought into the country to work firstly in the sugar and coffee plantations and, later, rubber, tea and, eventually, oil palm.

Wellington RWC Quarter Final Afternoon

By now all you ruby nuts knew, talk about, boast about how the Wallabies won their thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter final against South Africa in Wellington.

Me? Whatever! Do I care? No!

After a week of rain and groom, the sun finally shone on Wellington as if to welcome the thousands of visitors from all over the world! So I was in town this afternoon too, to take in the quarter final atmosphere :)

It only took me 10 minutes to drive from my house (in Karori) to the CBD, then in another 5 minutes I have park my VRX in Courtenay Central!

Did I tell you I love Wellington?

I had with me my 3 year old Nikon D300 with the 25 year old 80-200 f4 manual zoom, the Canon G12 came along as backup.

This is what I saw when I came out of Courtenay Central, the whole Courtenay Place has been blocked off from traffic since Friday night.

Soul Of Our Nation - Chinese Community

Majority of Malaysian Chinese are descendants of sojourners who risked the unknown to seek better fortunes in Malaya from the last decades of the 19th
century.

Before this, there had already been a sizable community of
Chinese in Malaya in states like Malacca, Penang and Kelantan.

Many Chinese Peranakan families in these states can trace their ancestors in Malaya back through eight generations. When Ming loyalists fled their country after the Manchu invasion of South China in the mid-17th century, many of them sought refuge in Malacca as there was already a Chinese settlement there.

The opening of Penang in 1786 by Francis Light further attracted large numbers of Chinese traders, many of whom eventually became permanent settlers. From then on, Chinese arriving in the Straits Settlements of Penang and Singapore grew steadily.

From this group, a discernible Chinese Peranakan community was formed as intermarriage or cohabitation between Chinese men and local women occurred.

Soul Of Our Nation - Malay Community

  -->WRITING in The Malays - A Cultural History, the British administrator Richard Winstedt observed: "A faculty that has always made for the Malay's progress has been his power to accept the new and adjust it to the old."

The culture of the Malays has been distinguished mainly by its experience of evolution. The various communities that comprise the Malay race have, through the ages, accommodated themselves to the separate historical and cultural influences that have come its way.

Yet, much of the culture of these communities was also defined by its experience of migration. 

This is especially prominent in the Malay peninsula where Malay communities settled in specific areas which beckoned the nature and characteristics of those particular communities. 

Examples would be the Minangkabau of Negeri Sembilan, the Javanese and Bugis in Johor and Selangor, the Achenese in the northern states of Kedah and Penang, and the indigenous Malay communities of the north-eastern states of Kelantan and Terengganu.

Soul Of Our Nation - The Book

In 1997 I became a Frequent Flyer (NZ-KL) and rejoined The Star, the third time; as their Picture Editor.

That year I was told that the bosses wanted to give something "meaningful" to the guests and VIPs at our annual birthday celebration, they have decided on a pictorial coffee table book depicting the unique multiculturalism of Malaysia.

A picture book that is like a culture melting pot, where each different uniqueness of different race share their cultures and customs; for the whole word to see.

You can't receive a more meaningful souvenir than that!

A project of this size & scope requires much planning and organization. I will have to work closely with scores of reporters and writers and we have to travel to different parts of Malaysia to capture the various events.

It is an honor to be selected for a coffee-table book celebrating the Malaysian heritage!

Nikkor 80-200 f4 on E-P2

I heard on the radio that the WHOLE New Zealand Navy are docked at Queens Wharf today! Dreaming of a spectacular aerial view from Mt Victoria, I packed my E-P2 and my old faithful; the 25 year old Nikkor 80-200 f4 zoom and head for the hill.

My 25 year old 80-200 zoom mount to the E-P2 with a Voigtlander F adapter.

Well, my dream turned into a nightmare; up at the look out I discovered the 7 fleet (I mean ship ;) ) are docked in different spot; no spectacular shot for me!

It was then I remember that I had never taken any shot with this "Good Old Glass" on the E-P2!
This is a good chance to see if it perform as well as on the Nikon D300 body!