Looking Back... Dr. M and His Words

Dr.M is at it again!  He is back!!

On Thursday, 10 of May he has been sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia the SECOND time after his shock election victory, 15 years after he stood down!

During my career with The Star, Dr. M and Moi cross path many time..

I remember fondly that I was given a scolding by him when I try to snap a picture of him having his lunch in Alor Setar. The excitement when one crazy guy try to attack him in Kedah and was subdued by his body guards. But my most memorable moment with the oldest Prim Minister in the world was on Thursday August 19, 1982.

Fast rewind to that fateful day... 

I was a young Photo Editor for The Star, waiting patiently for Dr M to come out from his meeting at the Second Army Division at Northam Road in Penang.

Standing beside me were photographers from other "larger" papers, Star was "nothing" to New Straits Time, Malay Mail, Straits Echo, Nanyang, Sin Chew and even Sin Pin and Kwong Wah Yit Poh!

Alas on that fateful day, the other photographers did not notice the Dr M's trademark slogan "Bersih... Cekap... Amanah" (Clean... Efficient... Trustworthy) that were hanging along the corridor!

I knew the shot I wanted and I chooses my lens for the best perspective to bring Dr M and his slogan together. 

The rest, like they said; is history.

This was the front page of the Penang edition of The Star, the next day.

Once Upon A Time in Wellington

SATURDAY turn out to be a sunny but very windy Wellington day! But that is very Wellington! How windy?  If you view some of the videos, you will realise why THE COOLEST LITTLE CAPITAL IN THE WORLD is also known as WINDY WELLINGTON ;)

Saturday (14 May 2016) was also the day the CHINA CULTURAL CENTRE IN NEW ZEALAND organised an event to celebrate WORLD TAICHI MONTH, this was held at the CIVIC SQUARE in the heart of Wellington city.

We went to the Civic Square early to secure a good spot to film the event, I was given a "STAFF" badge by Master Zhang of the Cultural Centre for easy access around the event.

But after covering many events during my newspaper photographer days, I knew I would still be block by people running around with their mobile phones, filming!  The badge did make my live a bit easier though.

The World Tai Chi Month programme was colourful...

There were Tai Chi 8 routine, Qigong Ba Duan Jin, Tai Chi 24 routine (fast and slow versions), the ever popular Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Tai Chi Chen Style, Wushu performance.

To spice up the event there were also a Chinese dance performed by the children from the Oriental Cultural and Performing Arts Group dress up as cute Kungfu Pandas.

Adding a bit of glamour, a Chinese Cheongsam Show, "Blue and White Porcelain" by lovely ladies of the New Zealand Chinese Cultural and Arts Association.

The show ended with a delightful Chinese dance, "Jasmine Flower" by the dancers of the  Oriental Cultural and Performing Arts Group.

150 Shades of Wellington, New Zealand!

On 25 and 26 July, Wellington celebrates its 150th year as the capital of New Zealand.

In the last few weeks, I am trying to amass 150 photos that I took around this Coolest Capital City In The World and also our adopted Capital City since 1988.

Happy Birthday, Wellington!

Part of Wellington CBD and Oriental Parade taken from Mt Victoria in 1988.

Our first day at Manners Street, in our adopted city; 1988.

For new arrival like us, in 1988; we were not that impressed with Wellington. Why do they have so many branches of BNZ in the CBD?

Can piccure+ Turn Your Kit Lens into "L" Lens?

Some of you might have read my posting about piccure a while back, in my conclusion of that story, I said...

PICCURE  ROCKS!!

From my test I can see PICCURE did an incredible job of removing camera shake induced artifacts and blurriness!

I think those guys at the Intelligent Imaging Solutions might give Photoshop a run for their money in this area.

Like any beta release, there are a few issues to iron out; like it crashed sometimes when the image is a TIFF and more than 70MB.

Instead of just being a PLUG-IN, I personally feel that PICCURE also should include a stand alone application; not everyone have Photoshop!

It has been an interesting test, I look forward to testing the official release!

Well, the "+" version is officially launched today!

According to them, "piccure+ is a new software program capable of correcting optical aberrations that cause a lack of sharpness in your images. With piccure+, it is possible to recover much sharper images."

During my beta testing, I was told that piccure+ can virtually make your $300 lens performing like a $3,000 lens!

We Went To The Newtown Fair

Kiwis love going to markets and fairs, if you take a look at "Markets and Fairs"; you will find hundreds of upcoming fairs all over the country, from now till December :)

The last time I blog about  New Zealand fair was way back in 2012, Personally, I don't fancy going to a Kiwi fair; they are for the ladies... you do not find high tech toys at fair do you?   ;)

They said the yearly Newtown Fair is the largest in Wellington, it attracted 75,000 visitors last year and they expect MORE this year! I shivers at the thought! I DO NOT like crowds ;)

To avoid the herd and the searing sun, we went late; at 3.30 pm :)

As usual, I try to take as many pictures as I can... taking good shots at fairs are not as simple as you think. Most stall owners do not like you snapping their products, so to get any shots at all, you have to be stealthy (sneaky?); camera (with a wide angle lens) round your neck and snapping away blind is a acquired method ;)

Home made sambal and chutney are popular at fairs!

Highland Towers Behind The Lens

This story appeared in The Star, Malaysia on 15 December 2013.

More detail on the tragedy:

Highland Towers Tragedy, 20 Years On

Highland Towers Tragedy, 20 Years On

20 Years ago today, On Dec 11, 1993, Block A of the Highland Towers condominium complex in in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor, Malaysia came crashing down after days of heavy rain, killing 48 people.

Today on the 20th anniversary of the worst construction tragedy in the history of Malaysia, I went and look at my pictures archives of the tragedy again.

 20 years ago, on that faithful day; I was working as a Picture Editor for the Singapore Press Holdings, looking after the photo division of the three Chinese Newspapers.

Life was good, I was head hunted from New Zealand; my boss like me, he approved the latest "toy" that I requested..

Sony's World First Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras!!

 Sony out to get Leica??

A7R Camera

Designed for professional photographers and highly advanced enthusiasts, the new A7R model is the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame interchangeable lens camera. 

It has an impressive 36.4 effective megapixel full frame sensor and no optical low pass filter, ensuring that the extraordinary resolving power is fully realized and resulting in an unprecedented level of detail and clarity in images. 

The camera features a new Fast Intelligent AF technology that delivers blazingly quick, accurate autofocus.  Additionally, there are a total of three selectable sizes for the Flexible Spot AF frame, minimizing the risk of accidentally focusing on the wrong target. 

 Press Release from Sony...

Build Your Own Sports Car In NZ

Building your own sports car?  It is not as hard as you imagine!

Our friend, Brian Worboys (that's him in the picture) told us about The Constructor's Car Club  (CCC) in New Zealand.

According to their web site...

"The Constructors's Car Club was founded in 1988 by a small number of enthusiasts who were interested in building a vehicle either from scratch or from a kit, but were concerned by the rumours of impending legislation and the impact it may have on their hobby.

The club they formed went on to become one of the 10 founding clubs of the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA), the body entrusted with New Zealand’s modified and custom built vehicle certification system.

25 years on and the Wellington based club has over 160 members, with approximately 40% scattered throughout New Zealand. 

SPEAK NOT ILL OF THE DEAD!!

Chin Peng (陳平,Chén Píng), former OBE, (21 October 1924, Setiawan, Perak, Malaysia - 16 September 2013, Bangkok, Thailand^[2]) born Ong Boon Hua (王文華,Wáng Wén Huá) was a long-time leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP).

A determined anti-colonialist, he led the party's guerrilla insurgency in the Malayan Emergency, fighting against British and Commonwealth forces in an attempt to establish an independent communist state.  After the MCP's defeat and subsequent Malayan independence, Chin waged a campaign against Malaya and, after 1963,the new state of Malaysia in an attempt to replace its government with a communist one from exile, until signing a peace accord with the Malaysian government in 1989.   -  Wikipedia
Chin Peng died of old age in Bangkok,Thailand at the age of 88 years old,on September 16, 2013. Ironically,same day as Malaysia Day.

The aftermath, like they say; is history... if you Google "Chin Peng", you will get ELEVEN MILLION HITS... there is however, a write up that I want all of you to read and ponder.

World Press Photo Wellington Exhibition

The winning photos of the 2013 World Press Photo are in town. Again I am invited to the official opening...

The opening is at the spanking new Telecom Central Building in Wellington.

Shenzhen Song & Dance Ensemble in Wellington

According to China Culture Org - "The Shenzhen Song and Dance Ensemble was established in October 1987 under the Culture Bureau of Shenzhen. With 110 total staff members, the ensemble is composed of the Dance Troupe, Song Troupe, and Stage Engineering department."

The group from the Shenzhen Song and Dance Ensemble that perform at the last night of CNY in Wellington, New Zealand.

"As a cultural emissary of Shenzhen, the ensemble has paid touring performances to Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Luxemburg, Austria and Australia, receiving a warm welcome and applause from international friends and overseas Chinese."

Wellington Gangnam Last Day of CNY :)

Every year the Chinese communities of Wellington put on a show for Chinese New Year.

The ‘flagship’ of Wellington’s Chinese New Year Festival is Festival Day, with a programme that reflects all the traditional aspects of a Chinese New Year celebration, and is showcased as the finale of this Wellington event.

Last year we were not in Wellington because we went to Auckland to see their marvelous CNY Lantern Festival, this year since we are here we went to the festival, as usual at the Frank Kitts Park.

Every year, the celebration at the park is "same old, same old"; we went because Wellington is a small city and the festival is a good place to bump into friends you have not seen for a while ;)

As usual I shoot and post some photos of the stage performance at the park, this year I noticed there are three "characters" I have not seen before!

Legal Adobe CS2 Suite for FREE? April Came Early?

When I read "Download Adobe Creative Suite 2 For Free"  in 43rumors.com this morning,
I thought April 1 came early!

When I announced what I found to my colleagues, they thought I was joking; but their skepticism turned to excitement and we were all wondering why Adobe do that!

No doubt their CS2 Creative Suite is OLD, but it is still a very powerful software suite to reckon with!

We have been using the same suite for years at work and it cope whatever we want it to do beautifully!

I know, I know; Adobe's latest is the vastly "bloated" CS6, but do we REALLY need all that bell and whistles?  ;)

Happy New Year 2013 to All My Readers!

To All My Loyal Readers, Followers; Camera Manufacturers; Friends; Foes...

HOBBIT Farce @ The Middle of Middle-Earth

FARCE... Referring to something that isn't cool, 

yet is hard to ignore!

My friend asked me why I was not at the HOBBIT world premiere launch at Courternay Place, The Middle of Middle-Earth yesterday?

 I WAS! Actually WE WERE!

Did we enjoy the launch?  NO! Was it entertaining? NO! NO! NO!

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 ;)

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!

They Shoot Lo_Yusheng with P&S Don't They?

A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve of the Chinese New Year, during which family members get together to celebrate.

This CNY eve, thanks to Michael and Debbie Moon we (Le General and Ming) were invited to their family reunion dinner :)

I brought along two sets of Yusheng and we also bought two thick slices of fresh salmon to add more oomph to the mix ;)

Since most of the Moon clan has not experience "Lo Yusheng" before, I thought it will be a refreshing experience for them.

Yusheng come in different styles, this one was from Janet in Auckland.

Happy Dragon Chinese New Year!

Thousands of NZ Chinese will welcome the year of the water dragon on Monday.

Prime Minister John Key open the Chinese New Year Festival and Market Day at ASB Showgrounds today, without an incident.

I remember he fall off the stage at the same function in 2009!  He broke his arm in three places! 

He commended the extremely safe stairs set up by the organisers this year.

As a matter of fact, "If I fall off it I'll just be confirming I'm an idiot." ;)