REDUX -The DECISIVE MOMENT, Are You Ready?

What is the Decisive Moment?

The term Decisive Moment was first coined by the noted French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson considered by many to be the father of modern photojournalism Cartier-Bresson’s book, "The Decisive Moment, 1952" contains the term “the decisive moment” now synonymous with Cartier-Bresson: “There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment."

Cartier-Bresson believed that “The Decisive Moment” was that split second of genius and inspiration that a photographer had to capture a certain moment.

41 Megapixel in a Nokia 808 Pure View Phone?!

When my nerdy friend call me excitedly to tell me about the new Nokia 808 PureView smart phone, with FORTY MEGAPIXEL; I thought he has either gone mad or April Fool has come early!

A quick check at dpreview told me he is still saint and I am sure today is only February 28!

It is true that Nokia, after years of loosing out to Apple's formidable iPhone, did a coup and announced that it has created a 41MP smartphone, the Nokia 808 PureView.

They Shoot Possum With G12 Don't They?

This happen 15 minutes ago, we heard a noise at our back door; Le General went to investigate, she turn on the back door light and saw this possum sitting there staring at her. :)

After seeing the big eye marsupial, I went and get my Canon G12 and the Sunpak RD2000 flash.

Why I Want a Olympus OM-D E-M5!

The most talk about, most anticipated new camera; this instance. is the Nikon D800? Nikon D4? or the Canon 5D Mk3?  Wrong!  It is the Olympus OM-D E-M5! A camera that I called "retro out of control", you know what? After reading dozens of review and watched as many You Tube hypes on the new camera, I can't wait to get my hand on one too!

According to Amazon UK, the Olympus OM-D EM-5 Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Camera - Black (16.1MP, Live MOS, M.Zuiko 12-50mm Lens) 3.0 inch OLED, will be released on 1 April 2012.

Memory - Walk Under An Elephant Lately?

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.  ~ The Wonder Years

Rummaging through my old prints yesterday I found these memories...

When was the last time you walked under the belly of an elephant?  We did it 27 years ago ;)

An elephant walking along Niphat Uthit2 (Second St) in Hat Yai, Thailand.

Hat Yai (Thai: หาดใหญ่, pronounced [hàːt jàj], also Haad Yai or Had Yai) is a city in southern Thailand near the Malaysian border. Located at 7°1′N 100°28′E, it has a population of 157,359 (2008) in the city itself and about 800,000 in the greater Hat Yai area. Hat Yai is the largest city of Songkhla Province, the largest metropolitan area in Southern Thailand, and third largest metropolitan area of the country.      - Wikipedia

Canon EOS-1D X - the other DSLR King!

In my post about Nikon's D4, I proclaimed it to be the DSLR King; well, I lied ;)

What this Nikon fanboy did not tell you is that Canon has announced their latest "X" DSLR (think of X-Men), in most respect it is as good as the D4!

So hail the other DSLR King, the Canon EOS-1D X!

Photographers has been waiting patiently for the X sample pix since its announcement 6 months ago, finally Canon decided to release some!

NOSTALGIA - SPOT (SPORTS) ON!

Nostalgia - a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

A Redux... larger and sharper pictures :)

My friends asked me if I miss shooting big sports events, I do and I don’t; I do miss all the excitement and the adrenaline rush… I don’t, because physically I cannot handle jobs like this anymore!

I remember fondly that in the 70s and 80s, all you need for covering sporting events were a film based SLR and two lenses, the 35-70 and 80-200 zoom! The relatively “slow speed” of f4 was not a problem because of the classic Kodak Tri-X film which we often “push” processed in D-76 soup and raising the ASA (ISO) film speed to over 3,200!

For football match in dimly lit stadium at night, the standard arsenal was the 180/2.8 and the 105/2.5 lenses.

Those were the good old days when we were forever young, cameras and lenses were compact and light weight and shooting sports were FUN!

A Late Dragon Year Parade In Wellington

Because Wellington was hosting the Rugby Sevens last week, our yearly CNY parade has been pushed back a week to Sunday, February 12.

Traditionally, Chinese New Year celebration finished on the 15 day of the new year; which was February 5, last week.

But since "when in Rome...", I mean when in Wellington, do what the Wellingtonian do; the show must go on ;)

Olympus OM-D, Retro Out Of Control?

The word "retro" derives from the Latin prefix retro, meaning "backwards" or "in past times" – particularly as seen in the words retrograde, implying a movement toward the past instead of a progress toward the future, and retrospective, referring to a nostalgic (or critical) eye toward the past. - Wikipedia

The last few years it seems, everyone are trying to jump on the retro bandwagon; manufacturers somehow think their retro products can sell better!  In camera manufacturing, the-mother-of-all retro must belong to Olympus, in 16 June 2009 they show off their retro baby; the camera is reminiscent of the Olympus PEN half frame film cameras and is marketed as the Olympus digital PEN.

Nikon D800 - the BABY D4!

The King of DSLR, the Nikon D4 gave birth to a baby; the D800 was born to replace the venerable 30 months old D700.

After the lack luster response to their new "small sensor" Nikon 1, Nippon Kōgaku came back with a vengeance and caress their fan boy with a whopping 36.3 mega pixel CMOS inside a solidly build body!

This is what Nikon said about their new sensor:

"The D800/D800E render levels of texture, nuance and detail to your photography that, until now, have been the exclusive domain of the complicated medium-format system.
 Define every eyelash, every line in tree bark, and every shimmer of light. Savor the exceptional depth in your still images — with the combination of an astounding 36.3 effective megapixels, the world's highest*, and the outstanding performance of NIKKOR lenses, you can.

Lantern Festival 2012 @ Auckland

Every year for the last thirteen years Auckland celebrates the Chinese New Year with a grand lantern festival. This popular event is held over three nights at their inner-city park, the Albert Park.

According to Wikipedia...

Albert Park is a scenic park in central Auckland, bounded by Wellesley Street East, Princes Street, Bowen Avenue and Kitchener Street. From the entrance at the corner of Bowen Ave and Kitchener St, sealed footpaths climb steeply through native trees to the large flat area at the summit, where flower gardens encircle a fountain.

All these years we are in New Zealand, we NEVER been to the Albert Park or seen the lantern festival! This years it is going to be different, Le General exclaimed; we are going to see what this fuss are about, we are going to the lantern festival!