The Eyes Have It!

Isn't that what good photographer are all about? He/she should be able to SEE what others do not and react to what he sees and be able to freeze and capture that "slice of time", a slice of the moment that BELONGS to you!

A good photographer must be very sensitive to all sorts of things around him - light, emotion, objects, shapes, composition.

When situation arise he must be able to operate his camera like his second nature... an extension of his mind, his soul, if you like; no hesitation, decisive; instance!

(Click on the picture! For Your Eyes Only!)

The Room With A View

Sunday morning, as usual we got up pretty late and at 1 pm; drag ourselves to the Sunday open market next to the Te Papa Museum car park. After buying what we need, on our way back to our parked car; we were stunned to notice the new block of high rise apartment opposite the museum! We don't remember it going up, you know the feeling? Go to show how unobservant we are! Ha ha ha...

Then my wife saw the "Open for viewing" sign and got all excited, we MUST go and take a look; who know, we might be able to afford one!

Déjà vu 4 - Over The Hills

This article was published in Jeff Ooi's CY's Lenses before, sadly this and many other stories were lost when the old site got hacked!

Recently, some of my Malaysian friends wanted to visit Martinbourough when they drop by New Zealand; I am rewriting this for them :)

If you come to Wellington, do pick up a free copy of the "Escape Planner 2005 on Wairarapa", according to this excellent little guide book; Wairarapa is "Over the hill and a world away."

You can "Wind your way along the route trodden by early settlers 150 years ago, over the Rimutaka Hills to the place Maori called Land of Glistening Waters." Sounds like LOTR Middle Earth country? Looking at the stunning colour shots in the guide book, you bet!

Sad but true but for Asians like yours truly and Mrs, all these splendor of only 90 minutes drive away; we only visit ONCE a year and only during the famous "Martinborough Fairs" on the first Saturday in February and March!

Decisive Moment... The Plane! The Plane!!

Sometime, before a "BIG" news job, your intuition tells you there bound to be a "decisive moment opp" during the unfolding of the event. What do you do? What any good photojournalist will do, plan and more planning before the job!

Case History: "The plane! The plane!" How many of you remember this phrase at "Fantasy Island" on TV? :)

My brief was EIGHT super-duper Mirage fighters are going to fly pass Fort Conwallis, Penang to mark Adelaide becoming the "twin city" with Penang Island; the event is real big deal!

The planes were flown by pilots from Adelaide, Australia. They were based at Butterworth, Malaysia. The display was to mark the Adelaide Week celebration also, thus the "A" formation.

The first thing I did when I was told about this job was to call the officer in charge at RAAF, Butterworth to find out more details like, from which direction the Mirages will zap by; then I went to the spot where I THINK the planes will cross and check out the best angle. Please take note young photogs! The successful photo coverage involved planning, planning and MORE planning!

The Decisive Moment!

As a photographer I am always searching for what French-born photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson called the "decisive moment."

Henri wrote in 1957, "A velvet hand, a hawk's eye -- these we should all have. If the shutter was released at the decisive moment, you have instinctively fixed a geometric pattern without which the photograph would have been both formless and lifeless."

Autumn You Cold Beauty!

I love photographing Wellington cityscape whenever I am not too lazy or too tired :)

Autumn is in the air, the wind is getting colder and I do not look forward to a freezing Wellington winter day! But even on a "bad day", Wellington can look stunning too!

This shot was taken from the Queen's Wharf car park with my Nikon D300 digital wonder and the lens, a 1989 Nikkor 85 mm f2 "short tele" manual focus prime!

Wellington you beauty! Nikkor 85 you beauty!

Great Old Glass! Nikkor 80-200 f4 zoom

After posting "Dr.M and His Words" I get many enquirers about the Nikkor 80-200 zoom lens I used to shoot that Decisive photo!

Before I start, a little history about that Nikon gem of a lens!

To learn more about any Nikkor lenses, the best place to go gotta be here!

Extensive Nikon resources at your finger tips!!