::had a much more pleasant 2 days compared with the previous 2.. Wednesday came went back to school as per normal.. tried to catch what I missed on Tues.. conducted the first lesson for the 2nd intakers, and I think I went alittle too fast.. but some are really keen..
then went back in time for full band pract, praticed Grandfather's Clock and Sinfonia.. the running notes with the basses at the end much together now.. then for Sinfonia I tried something that I had suggested for AE a year back.. closed my eyes and experienced the music.. felt this heart-wrenching pain that I've felt before while playing, but not as intense as when I just closed my eyes.. the feeling felt very similar to Persis, when the 03 batch described the music to us.. missed playing the Eb part for the climax of the slow adante movement, where the altissimo register of the Eb clarinet really shines.. just don't feel Li En gives much character to the Eb even though technicals wise she may be better, while I'm the opposite.. on the other hand, love playing the lower melody of the Alto and the occasional bass line..
then today feels like a friday, since its a public holiday tomorrow.. ended at 12.30 as usual, went to the band room as usual, took out my Bb to play as usual.. then Shirley informed me that one of the J1s was going to use my instrument.. although I've a new found love, I'm very much still a Bb player, even while before the change, I still am.. its like taking a part of me away again, this time its a larger cut..
went to take out the problematic instruments to check on them.. some minor problems like tenore cork loose.. Xue Qi's one had a pad that dropped out, but it played fine until I noticed the top trill key pad was missing.. Yong De asked the repairman come down to look at some of the instruments, took out the key for him to fix.. gave the keys some polish since I took it out.. then took out the left hand keys to give them a polish too since its quite tarnished.. ended up polishing the rest of the problematic clarinets since I was working on them.. and one side of my silver cloth is now very black..
only went off at 3.50 to get back home to get the rest of the photographs for submission for the Singapore School's Photography Competition 2007.. initially wanted to go home straight to get them, but the repairman was coming.. got the pack of photos that we already sorted out, did the labels for the various room for Sat.. then took a cab to rj.. the cab driver was very friendly, we had a little chat about photography along the way.. hahaa, told him I was going to submit some photos for a competition, he wished me all the best as I was leaving his cab.. well, the campus is freaking nice.. asked one of the students walking around for directions to the General Office, she was free so she walked me there.. showed her some of my works that I was submitting, she commented it was very nice, and wished me all the best too as we approached the GO.. then came the 3rd nice person I met that afternoon, the receptionist at the GO.. had a pleasant time dealing with her when submitting the photos.. I had lotsa work cut out for her since the photos were all nicely packed and accompanied by the entry forms in a clear plastic sheet..
these 3 people really made my day.. got back to sch for another com meeting for the Muse Festival.. Wee Chong and Tracy went to get dinner for us, but he sorta forgot my order.. haven't eaten lunch yet so was quite hungry..

Labels: band, muse festival, photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 12:59 am:.
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::Sunday was quite busy.. went to settle the exhibition stuff in the earlier part of the day, then went to Mrs Wang's house with the rest of the class in the late afternoon..
took 72 first to the MRT station, needed to top out my ez-link card.. then took the train to little india, and 166 to bencoolen st.. went to Triple D as KT wasn't open on Sundays.. the person said it'll take an hour, which was fast, so went to get the mounting boards first.. started raining as I boarded the bus.. got to Bras Basah to get the mounting boards, think this is the 4th time I'm coming here for boards..
did quite alot of walking with the boards, cos the bus doesn't stop exactly near the shop.. doesn't seem as weird carry such a big yellow thing around as it did the first time.. collected the 18 photos, which turned out quite nicely.. except the B&W film ones, had a slight green tint which I didn't like.. but it does work with the pic.. took 147 back, deposited the stuffs at my house..
turns out that Mrs Wang lives quite close to me, somewhere near Punggol Park.. they were watching Step Up by the time I got there.. played cards, helped her finish her CNY goodies.. hahaa.. she also had a digital piano in the living room, then went to play on it.. sight read a couple of scores that was on it.. Ms Lim and her fiance were also in her house, then they called me in for a chat.. asked me if I wanted to take pics for her wedding.. not that I don't want to, just feel this kinda events hiring a professional would be better..
then went to Hougang Mall to buy a present for Yuan Ting.. actually wanted to eat, but seeing I got quite alot of stuff to do, went back first..

Labels: photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 10:29 pm:.
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::quite a busy week end for me.. went for an outing at Little India in the morning, followed by a band exchange with SAJC, then Sunday went for OP's Alumni concert..
met at Little India MRT at 10, but waited for some time for the rest to arrive.. Wei Liang briefed us on what to shoot, basically street shots.. loaded in my last roll of B&W film I bought last year and went out to shoot.. grouped with Lynn and Sherry, lent them my S80 since I'll be shooting purely film..


went to have something to eat first.. left the house without breakfast, so was pretty hungry.. spent a few frames while we were there.. had an egg and a plain prata.. completed the set with a cup of bandung.. a french couple sat at our table since they were also eating at the prata store just infront..
went to walk around after we finished eating..


had lotsa ideas popping up as we walked along.. one of which is the pic you see above.. noticed a pair of bicycles leaning against the grills of a shop.. one was upside down and the other was rightside up.. one was old and spoilt and the other was new.. sorta conversation between the 2 bikes if you will.. then just happens that a man pushing his bike was walking by.. should have waited for him to move further down though, then the 3 bikes would have been in line.. oh wel..


towards the end of the roll I focused more on ppl shots.. didn't really get any eye contact with any of my subjects until this little boy came along.. another very spontaneous shot.. it came as a suprise how the shot turned out, looked like it was shot in India instead of Little India.. the plastic crates and all that take away the rustic feel, but the boy's expression is timeless.. looks like he's stealing some onions from the stall, but infact he was just playing with it.. he's prob the shopkeeper's son or something.. tried to get another shot of him, but he ran back into the store..

then went for an exchange at SAJC.. by the time we ended the outing, it was already 12.30 and we were suppose to meet at 12.30 in school.. so headed for SA by myself to meet them there.. took the NEL to Potong Pasir and walked there.. couldn't find any SA ppl around, only saw St Pats there.. waited at the foyer area there, saw some of the pics by their photog.. of their orientation, move to the new campus etc.. some captured the special moment that encapsulates the event, while some were pretty normal.. saw one of Joel's pics put up, not to say it shouldn't be up, but just feel its nothing special.. doesn't speak to me..
Joel came to talk to me before we started.. probably if I didn't tell him I was playing Alto now, he'll be quite shocked.. BT brought my sch's Alto Prestige.. the only Prestige we have, but its the lower half of it has some leaks.. Sean from Windworks was there and he tried to repair it on the spot.. was slightly better than before, but still the register B to F has some problems.. kept squeaking when I tried to accent those notes, which occured frequently in Sinfonia..
went outside to have a breather after we played.. just coming into the campus reminded me of how close I was to being here.. just one point made all the difference, I got 11, Joel got 10.. just makes me sometimes wonder about fate and destinity.. Mr Neo came to talk to me while I was outside.. asked me what was wrong, was I sick etc.. physically I'm alright, but emotionally I don't think I am.. had a chat with him, told him some of my problems etc.. he asked me whether I have a girlfriend, if I wanted one and is the fact that I don't bothering me.. to be honest, it does bother me sometimes.. not that I'm desperate or anything, but I could use some emotional support..

Sunday went for Orchid Park's alumni concert.. Chester, Shi Chie, Carol, Shirley and Hafiz were performing, so came to support them.. went to collect the developed negatives and CD first before going for the concert.. it was held at NAFA..


took a couple of pics during the intermission.. Zhi Xiong, Wee Chong, Genevieve and Liying were there too.. Chester had quite a number of solos throughout the concert, was rather nice.. he sometimes can play so wonderful and sometimes he just doesn't..
then went to meet up with the other half who went for West Wind's concert which was held at the same time as OP's.. met at City Hall, then went to BK to eat.. had the free coupon for some cheesesticks anyway..

Labels: band, film, photog, Pics

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 12:41 pm:.
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::Covered The ONE on friday.. not as the main photographer there though.. thats Zhi Kai and Kah Jun's job.. was shooting B&W film again, wanna try to get the low light B&W stage look.. like for rock concerts etc.. tried to get 3200 ISO film cos I'll be shooting in quite low light, but couldn't find.. so had to settle with the the BW400CN that I've used before..
Friday was a long and tiring day.. had lessons till 5, which doesn't end at 5.. worked up quite a mood to go shoot off a roll of B&W film..


one of the first few shots I took backstage.. the vignetting was already there from the lens, but edited abit to acheive the look I wanted.. it helped also that they were wearing contrasting white shirts plus black tie and jeans..
the event started at 7.15.. didn't shoot much until the band's turn..


Lincoln (I think) on the electric guitar.. they didn't win in the end though.. can't remember what exactly they played, think it was a song by Savage Garden.. Li En called in the middle of the concert asking me whether I can sneak her in to watch.. but thats not within my control..


the moody shot..

Labels: film, photog, Pics

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 11:55 pm:.
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::had quite a busy weekend.. lotsa things to do in photog..

Saturday
Sat was the photog course which we had in school.. the instructor came to our college to conduct the lesson.. went though some more concepts then went out to shoot some pics around the college campus.. already had one shot in mind.. actually I shot it before, er unexpectantly with Zhi Kai.. but wanted to further refine the idea and the execution..
we have an circular area under the fountain where LT 1-3 are.. noticed that the light coming from above seemed like a spotlight of sorts.. had the idea of somebody looking up into the light, surrounded by the light, feeling all alone, wondering what lies above.. the shot called for the circular fish-eye lens to give that expansive perspective, wanted to make the person look tiny in the area.. at first Amelia wasn't really sure about being the "model", so I volunteered myself first.. got a chair to give a higher angle, so it was more of looking down.. Amelia took a few shots, but its pretty much a hit or miss.. cos you got to stand on the chair and raise the cam up even higher.. Amelia finally agreed to stand there.. got the shot below..


all alone in this strange new world..
this was one of the better ones from the trial and error.. prob how the J1s would have felt the first time..
then met up with the teachers and instructor to discuss about the staff phototaking.. planned out how the staff were going to be arranged, whether there's sufficient space, how the shoot gonna take place, tried the different possible locations etc..
then went to eat with some of the working com ppl.. then did more planning after we came back.. wanted to try out the semi-circle area at the flag pole there.. really fond of this shot instead of the one Mr Lau suggested.. it was raining while me and Zhi Kai carried a table to visualise the shot.. then went for band pract.. nothing much special.. went to eat with Chester Shi Chie, the two J1s, Liying and Clement..

Sunday
went home quite late so woke up at 11plus.. was meeting the rest of photog for our CIP.. Spectra 365.. walked to Shines centre along Boon Keng road.. registered and waited for the event to start.. the trainer was very familar, Lye, who conducted our level camp slightly less than a year back..talked about fear, commitment etc.. that courage cannot exist without fear..
spilt into 5 groups I think.. our facil was Henry, who was a NYJC alumni.. hahaa.. then went on to the high elements.. first was the broken bridge.. Kian Hwee volunteered to be first, followed by me.. we had a choice of either going across with our eyes open or closed.. wanted to cross with my eyes closed, but when I got up there felt uneasy and fearful.. the platform was swaying slightly as I crossed.. felt quite good after reaching the other side..


the broken bridge..
got Cun Kang to hold on to my cam since he didn't bring his track-pants.. took some pics along the way..
next was the Vertical Challege.. where you have to clim the horizontal logs to reach the next level.. we had to pair up, so it was rather random.. and randomly I was picked first together with Teng Xiu from HCI.. the full body harness took some time to put on, helped her put on after I did mine.. again, there was the closing eyes option... well not exactly an option, but had to choose which of us was going up "blind".. so I was going up blind..
set our goal at the 3rd log which we had to complete in 6mins.. sat on the first log, which was rather unstable.. swang around and with my eyes closed almost fell down.. had some trouble pulling myself up to the 2nd, so offered my knee to let her go up first.. the first climb was the hardest.. after she was up, she helped me up.. struggled quite alot.. tried a few times, but in my mind just thought of my goal and just perserved on.. it drizzled slightly, which I could feel splattering on my face.. after one last push, got myself on it.. it was quite unstable clinging on the log, but once I sat up was quite ok.. keeping your balance while trying to stand up on a single log was hard.. the next climb was comparatively easier.. had a great sense of achievement as we stood on the 3rd log.. actually still had some time left and we wanted to go further but the 6 mins was up before we could even start..
had a debrief with our facil.. he commented we really worked as a team.. now I truly experience the feelings I captured during LTC.. really enjoyed working with Teng Xiu.. chatting for awhile while resting and watching the other pairs go up.. only then we realised how difficult it was.. quite a number of pairs couldn't even make it up the first one..
before we know it, it was 6 plus already.. had a more detailed briefing on what the whole project was all about.. basically we would be assigned beneficiaries, where we would have an activities day and a photography outing day.. quite similar to the one done with migrant workers.. http://www.thephotoessay.com/insideout/c1.html

Monday
Mon by right is waking up late day.. but for the past weeks thats not happening.. had staff phototaking in the morning so had to wake up early.. Wen Zhong got all the equipment ready already by the time I reached.. Mr Heng, who is also my maths tutor, was lending us his cam and lens.. he had the 10-22 and 17-85 lens.. the 2 lens I would buy if I had a dSLR..
the sun was not too bright and hot.. wanted to use the semi-circle area but Mr Lau didn't agree.. so used the steps at the side of the parade square..


checking the view..
had 3 cams just incase one doesn't work proper and also have more shots to choose from.. who's eyes not open, head tilt wrong way etc.. had a few fun shots after checking the view and arrangements while waiting for the teachers to come.. and they only came at 8.40.. arranged in order of height, then went in by rows.. had to squeeze in 150+ ppl into the shot, so turns out to be 7 rows.. had to grab some benches from the canteen in order to get the last row visible.. used some fill flash cos the sun was casting some shadows on the faces.. would have prefered to shoot in the early part of the morning, where the light isn't so bright.. but we had to abide by the time given to us..
by the time we finished shooting was just after 9.05.. still had to keep all our equipment plus put back the bench.. Zhi Kai and I had a physics test somemore.. got into the LT only at 9.15 and they already had started the paper.. didn't have time to finish the paper.. did the structured first.. then just tikum-tikum the MCQ..

Labels: photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 10:46 pm:.
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::wanna blog about the weekend.. was pretty preoccupied over the weekend.. Sat morning had our photog course, which finally resumed after so long.. met at Clarke Quay at 8, think the station had some errors, the fire alarm message was repeating like a spoilt recorder.. bought back 2 cams, but didn't use the dSLRs.. used my trusty S80 instead..
felt quite moody, dark clouds were looming over us the whole time.. so switched to B&W mode, though I could do the conversion in the PC, but shooting it direct felt much more authentic..







then did a series of experimental shots.. was in kinda narcisstic mood, shooting myself.. hahaa.. the versatility of a compact camera..






then had to rush off to Changi Airport.. Yang Hao was leaving for Australia to further his studies, so the band wanted to send him off.. hiaz, the percussion section lost a verytalented player.. walked back to Clarke Quay MRT, actually wanted to switch at Outram.. a train was approaching the station, so didn't really think much and boarded it.. ended up transfering twice instead of once.. got to the Airport at noon, then went to find them.. they said they were going to BK to eat, so reviewed some of my pics while waiting there..
BK was quite empty, so there were plenty of seats for us.. lent Huai Yu some money, since she was short of cash.. didn't have a proper breakfast, so was quite hungry..
said our farewells outside the check-in area.. took some pics, but my cam was running out of batt.. some cried, esp the percussion ppl.. felt happy for him, since he's persuing his dreams now..


with the Clarinet Section..
Lucius was helping us take the pic, then Annie was also taking.. Annie isn't exactly tall, then Lucius placed the cam on her head, hahaa.. but then the flash caught one of her hair resulting in a streak..
then took 53 back to sch for practice.. the choir was still using the room when we got back, so quickly took our instruments and went for sectionals.. to tell you the truth, things aren't running so smoothly for me in band.. having mixed feelings.. Mr Tan spoke to me during the first few days of school after I returned the Eb.. said he would buy one, just for me.. then things changed.. maybe what Mr Ng said to me 3 years ago was right.. well, now its starting to show.. the previous sectionals took out the rather old Alto Clarinet to try out bar I in Sinfonia.. the slow part with the clarinets soli.. not that I've any qualms about switching, just feel that I could do more..
went to collect the CF cards from Zhi Kai opposite, while I was walking back, then met Mr Tan in his car.. or rather he met me.. at first couldn't recognise who it was, cos the interior's quite dark.. had a heart to heart talk with him.. told me I was inconsistent in my playing.. brought up my sec sch also.. all this while in NY, just feel uncomfortable whenever someone brings up the term Montfort.. yes I'm proud to be a Montfortian, but I hate the way people generalise about the school.. makes me feel like I shouldn't even be here, just a few of us every intake.. unlike the flood of AMK/Xin Min ppl.. like I'm some statistical abnormality.. but I am here..

Sunday had to go down to Bras Basah for the preliminary selections.. the first time I'm seeing how my pics turned out.. the facilitator jokingly commented that I shouldn't take so many nice pics, then so hard to select.. there were some nice ones, had only 1 shot prior to this that I knew was THE ONE.. was waiting at Hougang Mall and they had a celebration there also.. then there was a tent with some graffiti art displays in it.. there was one particular one board on the ground which read "Bye-bye 2006".. waited for somebody to walk off the board, then used a slow shutter speed to create motion blur.. the pic turned out quite nice, the right timing of him stepping off the board.. suggests a sense moving on from 2006..
the next pic was a pleasant suprise.. my family together with my cousins went out for lunch on the 31st also.. was a very spontaneous shot, just happen to catch my grandfather peering over at my cousin.. they were both eating, then my cousin was using a bowl and chopsticks while my grandfather was using a plate and fork and spoon.. quite an interesting juxtaposition.. then with another customer in the background between them and the background showing pics from the past to the present, it completed the composition.. but then can't get my pics back until after the exhibition, which hopefully some of my pics would get selected..


was raining then walked to Marina Square to have my lunch.. ordered a black pepper beef set from Cavana.. not bad, except the egg got mixed up with the rice.. and its a hotplate so it kinda cooked into the rice.. wanted to take a bus home from the Esplanade.. then as I walked there suddenly realised that CO had a free performance there at 3.. called up my class. then just nice met them outside the entrance to the concert hall.. the turn out was quite ok for a free concert.. attending a different genre of concert for a change..
then met Yew Tat at the concert.. hahaa, then he said SP were having a concert also.. in an hour's time.. its free, so why not.. waited for his friends to come then took a bus to VCH.. it was at 5, then if there's a concert at SCH at 7 can complete the set.. hahaa.. they played some quite familar pieces, including Fantasy Variations.. which is quite technically challenging.. oh yea, they had a Contra-Alto clarinet (I think, cos I recall a Contra-Bass is much bigger, like you can stand up and play) and there was a solo for it.. the low notes are really impressive..
then went for dinner with my family.. well, my bro and mom anyway.. since my dad's in Indonesia helping out with the missing plane and all..

Labels: photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 10:21 pm:.
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::was suppose to update this post before I left for Bangkok, but didn't complete it on time.. anyway here it is now..

shot a roll of film I bought some time ago over the past week.. sent to the lab for processing and got the scanned pics back.. getting the processed pics back is like opening a christmas present.. would only be uploading some of the better ones from the 36..



the other passenger..
took this while on my way to school on 109.. I sometimes think this bus service was exclusively introduced for me.. cos there's usually not much people taking this bus, you could probably count the number of passengers on your hands, and it was just nice introduced after 2nd intake.. conveniently it was became the most direct bus for me..






5.45am in Hougang..
slept in the afternoon on thurs, so decided to shoot some pics since I was up.. the early morning feel was in the air.. haven't explored the neighbourhood so early in the morning, so this was pretty new to me.. the coffeeshops were busy, with people having their breakfast, mostly the older generation..






then went to finish off the roll with some nightscapes.. quite challenging to compose with a railing blocking the viewfinder and you can't just shoot one frame and instantly look at whether its correct or not..

Labels: film, photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 8:57 pm:.
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::quite alot of stuff to do as we prepare for the Thailand trip.. bought bubble wrap on Mon, which came in a huge roll.. met up with Timothy to get back the cams, he just got his licence and he already has a car.. rich lor... went back to the darkroom to charge the batts etc.. then realise I had that roll of film I bought some time ago.. loaded it into the 300, quite a different feel to it.. the main thing is the bigger mirror and viewfinder.. first time using film in more than 5 years.. hopefully the pics turn out better this time..
went to pass the LTC and D&D pics.. Mr Neo bought some new accessories, the cable releases for the 2 cams, plus the Tamron 90mm Macro lens which finally came..



my first exposure to macro photography.. basically, a macro lens allows you to focus extreme close, projecting a life-sized image unto the sensor/film.. you can fill the frame with a subject around 2 cm in size.. and of course with your subject distance so close, the DoF is extremely shallow.. in the millimetres region, really need to stop down the lens in order to get more of your subject in focus..
then went to eat, spent some time trying to accomodate Xue Qi.. cos she's vegetarian.. tried to take some food shots but not really successful.. 90mm abit too long for food shots, need to move the cam back inorder to frame nicely..
anyway, went to SBG to try out this lens.. took 105 as usual, alighted one stop too early.. some excercise never hurts..





walking around in the mid-day sun ain't exactly fun.. even though there was some cloud cover, its still quite hot.. had alot of missed shots, mainly cos the wind was blowing.. causing the flower to move and be blurred.. this is were every mm counts.. and autofocusing in the macro range is as good as useless.. so went manual.. had to call it a day as there was hints of rain..
had some time to kill, so took 75 to Marina.. nothing much, walked around, then took 56 to Toa Payoh.. collected the prints from the Band Dinner which the percussion wanted.. then went to eat at MOS.. then 159 home, met someone new onboard.. Yuxi's friend Tracy, most of the time I meet old friends coincidentally outside.. this is the first I'm meeting someone new.. she lived quite near the school, so she dropped off first..
a long day of bus rides..

Labels: photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 8:32 pm:.
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::one of those few post where there's stuff to blog about, but not much pics..
still had that sorethroat on Tuesday, though its almost OK by now.. it was the J2s D&D, and Melissa and Veronica were covering.. went there to pass them the extra cards, lens, flash and at the same time help them out abit.. quite a major event.. showed them the bounce flash technique, but Melissa at times forgets to tilt.. Timothy bought a film cam, the EOS 3.. a pro body camera.. makes the 350D look so small, plus the viewfinder so much larger.. the advantages of full frame..
it was held at the Fullerton Hotel, which is grand to say the least.. makes the band dinner look like a small fry.. of course, this a big budget school event, I wouldn't expect less either.. only know a few J2s there, mostly those who were facilitators at the LTC.. but don't think they know me..
everyone was looking quite good, in gowns and suits.. there's even one guy who came in a tux, with a tophat.. looked more like the Darlie man to me.. there were also lots of nice buns at the D&D..


nice buns.. (what were you thinking of??)
of course, everyone's snapping away with their friends.. stayed on for awhile to shoot, took more of small details shots, the flowers, the food, the decor while the gals took the "money shots"..
some budget for this kinda events for photography would be good.. prob rent a 5D with a 24-70 lens and some studio lights to boot.. hahaa.. and sell those pics after the dinner ends.. I'm sure just about everyone wanna get a nice picture done since their wearing such nice clothes..
left just before they started eating cos not much point of me staying on, plus with the sore throat I was having, its hard to talk.. walked to Esplanade there, thought of doing some shots of my own, but Zhi Kai had my batts.. went to Marina Square to eat, then back home..
Wednesday went to Commonwealth to have our band prac.. they were having a band camp, so instead of Mr Tan going to us, we went to him.. went to the new campus, had a nice view overlooking the reservoir.. how many schools have a sea-view?? didn't really play well, he got abit pissed I think.. everyone seems to getting more unhappy these past few days..

Labels: photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 11:14 pm:.
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::just came back from the Christmas lighting shoot.. think I'm starting to get a sore throat.. haven't been a 100% these past few days.. was already feeling slightly feverish on Friday.. rushed to get to school to collect the $$ for the rental and also submit the pics.. so slept quite early.. couldn't really sleep that night, remembered turning around and feeling stuffy and hot.. woke up the next morning feeling rather warm and had a headache when I just woke up.. took some Panadol, wasn't feeling all too well, but had to get to school anyway.. Saturday was the tune-in and I didn't want to miss that.. tried to rest awhile in the car, was feeling slightly better, but as I said not 100%.. either the feverish-spell is getting to me, or does the band sound so much better than usual.. felt like YPSB ver. 2, with 3 rows of clarinets and the band room more crowded..


didn't wanna strain myself running all over the place for the games, so took it at a much slower pace.. also didn't really take much pics that day.. anyway, ideally we should get an intake next year quite similar to our current batch.. a healthy number for SYF and after we leave..
the briefing for the Thailand trip was after the tune-in.. didn't eat much cos most of the food they bought was quite heaty.. went though the detailed intinery for the trip.. looking forward to this trip, my first and hopefully not last band trip.. went for 2 overseas trip in pri sch, so I know how fun it can be to go on these kinda group overseas trip..
too bad Li En's not going, she misses out too much on the fun side of band, the dinner, the tune-in, the trip.. ya, she's a very accomplished clarinet and piano player and all.. but as a certain idiom goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link..
went home and got plenty of rest.. feeling much better after more rest.. went to play pool with my bro on sun, thats about it..

Monday, and with more work to do.. did a 2nd version of the CD cover for the LTC DVD.. the first one had only a plain background for the back.. used the star trail attempt pic for the back, works pretty well the with front.. quite stylish I would say.. afterall, its the efforts of our 4 days work.. anyone from the LTC reading this wanting to get one, just leave a tag with your e-mail..


the front..
then had to send the instruments for repair.. the woodwinds went to Accent and the brasses to Windworks.. went to Toa Payoh to have lunch first, Wee Chong met up with us and we took 157 there.. there was one more "outspoken" uncle who spoke in Hokkien about us carrying "small bag, big bag".. even though my chinese isn't that good, can understand most of the dialects spoken here in Sg.. dunno why, but there are some who have a much better grapse in chinese who can't understand Hokkien or Teochew or Cantonese.. its just like transposing Mandarin.. maybe I've been playing transposing instruments for too long.. hahaa..
got the mouthpiece pads for the new B40 mouthpieces we got, with the Optimum ligatures.. cos its metal, it produces a slightly different sound compared to a leather lig, but much much much better than the metal ones that come with the instrument.. a much cleaner sound when playing staccato..now all we need are the 56 reeds.. hahaa..
then went to get the T-Shirts and make the trip T-Shirts.. the time spent planning and designing the trip shirt was probably only a small fraction compared to the band tee.. actually had an idea for the band tee, but turns out too complicated.. a sihoulette-outline of the all instruments.. went back to the band room to put the shirts..
met Kian Hwee in the darkroom while taking out the stuff for the night shoot.. the next day (which is tomorrow) D&D, so gotta prepare that also.. had to rush to Orchard to meet up with the rest.. guess who I met just a couple of minutes of stepping out of the MRT entrance..



Jia Qing and his friends..
actually, it was more of he finding me.. doing some volunteer work selling teddybears and chocolates.. works well for couples I think, the boy doing the buying and the girl doing the recieving.. anyway, bought one from him since he met me and it was for a good cause.. if only I had someone to give to..
carried on shooting.. more of them shooting and me guiding anyway.. had a concept in mind I always wanted to try out in Orchard Road but didn't really had the chance to..


the Christmas Rush..
Orchard Road didn't seem that nicely lit up this year compared to other years.. they probably spent their budget for this year on the Deepavali cum Hari Raya cum Mid Autumn Festival light ups.. had ice-cream at Ben & Jerry's to end the outing.. brought my laptop, so viewed thought the LTC pics to select the 10 that were gonna appear on the annual..
anyway, getting late already.. Teddy Bear and Chocolates anyone?

Labels: band, photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 11:53 pm:.
1 Comments:

HaLo.. hehe. Nice pictures. Oops.. y fall sick? waaa.. told u to take care right? [jus kidding]:))rest well... hope u'll feel much much much better the next time u blog. Bye!

By  Anonymous, at December 06, 2006 12:27 pm  

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::spent the entire day sorting out the LTC pics.. all 2285 of them, some needed cropping, contrast adjustments.. only about 3.8GB worth of pics made the cut.. out of the 6GB worth of cards we used.. went to buy some accessories with Mr Yee on the Wed before LTC.. got 2 Slingshot 200 bags, 4 1GB cards and 2 extra batts.. the bags were extremely useful, you can just sling the bag to the side and can change lenses, get extra cards, batts.. plus so much more space than our current bags..

Friday
met Kian Hwee outside the darkroom first to check if we have brought everything we needed.. rented the 10-22 and 70-200F4 lenses.. so each of us got wide-anlge to telephoto covered.. of course, we were early.. took some pics of them preparing their banners, briefing etc.. nothing special, you can take a look at the whole collection at the college website once I submit the pics..
the trip there was long to say the least.. lotsa winding roads to the campsite once we got off the expressway..
briefings again once we got off the buses.. they had some games first, the crossing game, the tire out of the pole etc.. headed for the kayak school, while Kian Hwee covered the belay school.. couldn't join them out in the sea cos only the next day for their expedition they'll have the powerboat.. so joined Kian Hwee to take some of the high elements.. didn't take much cos it rained quite heavily halfway..



made a light-painting after dinner with Kian Hwee writing.. again, only out of the dozen shots we took this was the nicest.. the rest some letters not proportional, the spacing not right.. the night activities were mostly leadership talks, so took a couple of shots then went to rest already..
woke up the next morning quite early, partly cos I needed to go to the toilet.. hahaa.. it was already 5plus in the morning.. the lights were all off and had take out my torchlight to find my way around.. on the way back, noticed something rarely seen in Singapore..



Stars..
we didn't have the cable release, so had to manually hold the shutter for 1.5mins for that exposure.. would loved to make a star trail attempt, but don't think its possible to hold for like 30min without a cable release..

Saturday
went for the sea expedition in the morning.. had lasi lemak for breakfast, then followed the group towards the kayak shed.. had to waddle through the water to get on the power-boat, so my shoes were wet..



the waters that day looked pretty calm and pleasant... with the morning sun just starting to light up the sky and with the reflections in the water, it looked pretty surreal.. things started to change in the later part of the morning.. sunny was the word to use here.. and it didn't help that I was gonna shoot into the sun, even the lens hood can't prevent the flare..



the 70-200 F4 L lens is amazingly sharp.. the DOF at wide open also quite shallow, too shallow sometimes that I can't get the whole kayak in focus.. only had a few water splashing shots.. have some other nice shots too, but too many to be shown here..
anyway, had a number of incidents along the way.. picked up a couple of extra "passengers".. we were heading towards a checkpoint when we spotted some nets, went back to inform the rest of the expedition, but got stuck in it ourselves.. hahaa..



had to cut through the net cos it was too tangled up to set it free.. the fishes would be happy that theres now a hole to swim though, but the fisherman won't.. hiaz, its this kinda things that are killing off the wildlife in Singapore.. who knows what innocent creatures were caught in this net unintendedly..
handed out some biscuits while they had their rest.. the journey back seemed longer, maybe because now its already the mid-noon sun is up.. most of the time we didn't really go full speed, a few short burst and more waiting... picked up another "passenger" when we were almost back, one of the few times we went at full speed..
had a slight flu when I came back.. slept for awhile, but ended up with a headache.. took some Panadol and by the evening it was gone..

Sunday
went for the high elements today.. took some shots the day before, but today from a totally different perpective.. from the top..






hard at work..
Kian Hwee got geared up and had to "modify" the cam abit.. shortened the camera strap so that it could be worn snuggly, and had to remove the battery grip to lessen the weight.. mounted on the 10-22 lens for that ultra-wide perpective.. also to exaggrate the height..



way up..
had to go off for a few hours cos my family taking a family portrait together.. had lunch first, Kian Hwee went off for the land expedition group, while I went off with my family.. they setted up a make-shift studio in the living room with all the studio strobe lights and reflectors.. after 3 days of taking shots of people, it was my turn to be taken.. irony issn't it..
went to have a nice warm shower and enjoyed the modern comforts of air-conditioning.. changed into a long sleeved shirt and black pants for the photo.. all my cousin were there already there and getting ready for the shoot.. when it came down to the actual shoot, every single detail was not spared.. every position not aligned, every hand not put properly.. quite tedious..
after that photo shoot, had my a photo shoot of my own too.. had to take the group photos for all the groups.. well not all, but 2/3 cos we did 1 subcamp yesteday.. wish I had those strobe lights too, but then that would cut down on my versatility.. had the groups to decide what and where they wanted.. created some pretty nice and creative photos.. each group had their own unique location and pose, so you could easily recognised which group is which..

Monday
the last day of the camp.. took some of the raft-building shots in the morning.. had to get my just dried pair of shoes muddy again.. so much for not packing an extra pair of shoes.. did a group photo for all the facillitators and teachers before we boarded the bus.. started to rain again as we boarded the bus..
anyway, wanna share 2 shots from the LTC thus far that I liked.. more of the teambuilding side..





Tribal..
met up with Kian Hwee once we got back to school.. Zhi Kai wanted to borrow the other 350D but we were kinda short on memory cards already.. I used my 2GB SD card with the adaptor, and still left with 183 shots left.. was planing to fill it with the finale night pics later on, but Zhi Kai wanted the adaptor.. had to make do with the rest of the spare cards we had lying in the darkroom..
had our dinner at the canteen.. then went to get the tripods before heading for LT4.. for Finale Night..



Finale Night..
the skits for finale night were hilarious.. parodied lotsa aspects of the LTC, lotsa cross-gender roles also.. haha.. though it as fun, but I think they learnt some important lessons through those skits.. though some slightly lame.. Ms Audrey was also kind enough to get for us the LTC shirts.. they had a mass tribal cheer at the parade square.. had to rush for the toilet first cos theres no intermission during the finale night.. hahaa..
got to the 3rd Storey to try to get some "aerial coverage" while Kian Hwee did the groundwork.. had a serious problem with the condensation, cos we brought the cams out of the LT too fast.. didn't have time to climatise.. went back to the LT to let it cool down again, then slowly brought it outside.. this time it worked.. tooked quite a number of group pics outside the LT.. outside LT4 theres a medium height ceiling, so could bounce the flash even for large groups.. the 10-22 sure helped alot in framing large groups.. had some request to use their compacts, had to stand way back in order to get everyone in.. don't think a certain brand's claim of 28mm wide lenses would help much here.. 16mm is much better.. hahaa..



the lousiest pic from the LTC..
in all, I think this LTC been a great experience for both of us.. though we weren't exactly participants.. sure, many people out there reading this would say "chey, take photo only.." which I find quite demeaning.. of course anyone who can see can take photos, just like anyone who has hands can paint.. but its not just pressing the shutter button, or just moving a paint brush.. there's lotsa hard work and planning behind which many people wouldn't see.. think this LTC has refined my sense of visualisation.. in the sense that leading up to this LTC, I had already some shots in mind.. that high angle shot from way up was one of them.. but some just came to me on the spot.. like the tribal one, wanted to portray the vibrant and aggressive nature of the tribal cheer..
the hard part of the LTC? it isn't just about kayaking, abseiling or trekking..

Labels: photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 11:51 pm:.
1 Comments:

Wow! I've read it. The entire post was gReat! It jus brings me on to read what's next. Cool. >.= Yea~ totally agree wif u that its not simply just taking of photos. Hope to see u post often. Bye! :))

By  Anonymous, at December 04, 2006 9:34 pm  

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::went for LTC pre-camp on sat.. reached there just in time, but had to get to the darkroom for the cams.. then found out the shutter was locked, got the sercurity guard to unlock it, but he locked it back after I left.. and I left my bag in the darkroom..
Kian Hwee didn't want to attend the briefing, so I had to.. and inform him whats happening.. quite interesting theme they had.. revolves around Camelot, Knights of the Round Table etc.. they got into groups after that and had some ice-breaking activities.. Kian Hwee came and helped.. looking forward to this LTC even though I'm not really participating..
then Monday suppose to pass the QM list, but woke up late.. anyway going to school on Tues to disccuss about the website so pass it then.. then met Qihao, where he gave me a bussiness proposition he had.. would like to earn some cash for myself, but it wasn't really what I was looking for..
then went to CP to check out the bags and accessories we would be buying.. bought a IR filter for my cam.. looks like just a black piece of glass, its almost opaque.. instead of showing you what it looks like, showing you what it can do is better..


had only an hour or so of daylight left.. its literally seeing the world in a different light.. Infra-red light to be exact.. it basically blocks out all light except IR light.. you just need to check whether your cam is sensitive to IR first.. quite easy, in just a few simple steps..
1. Get any remote control.
2. Point at your cam.
3. Press a button on the remote.
4. Look at the LCD to see if you can see some light from the remote.
and your done.. all you need now is to get a IR filter.. would be exploring more into IR in the weeks to come, so stay tuned..

Labels: IR, photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 9:53 pm:.
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::the post from sat and sun..
woke up just in time for the photog meeting at 9.. spent the night doing up some notes, then rushed to print them.. reached slightly after 9, the usual room where we have our meetings was locked, so went to the AVA room instead.. almost like giving a lecture, except with more hands on stuff.. gave my "lecture notes" and went through the concept of Depth of Field.. just go search for the term if you are wondering whats it about.. much better than the first time now that I've prepared my stuff.. hope to touch on the creative aspect next time instead of just the technicals.. like if you are learning piano, you need to know all your fingerings, chords, which pedal does what before you can venture into musical expression..
talked till about 10.30 when we left.. went the longer way to the MRT instead of cutting through the interchange.. reached there just in time for our team's event..


Dragonboaters in action..
we were at just before the starting line.. so could get pretty close to them.. spotted Jun An and Hek Ming.. made our way to the finishing line area.. where all the tents were.. while we were walking there, a boat capsized.. when I joined my class they said they didn't notice it.. even though the announcer mentioned about it on the PA system...
more shots from the day..






rained quite heavily in the later part of the day.. luckily they brought umbrellas, even with umbrellas we still got slightly wet.. the 5th consectutive time it rains at the regatta, some kind of tradition already..


took this shot before it rained.. was getting very cloudy and gloomy, no suprise that it rained so heavily.. met Chuan Xin at the entrance of the MRT station.. such a coincidence again.. she was meeting someone, but its raining quite heavily outside so I've no idea how she's gonna meet..
then went to Marina Square to eat.. sat at the open air area partly because we couldn't find a seat, or just too hungry to wait?
tried my hand at food photography.. the cloudy skies gave a nice soft diffused lighting..





looks yummy doesn't it.. speaking of which, getting hungry also.. hahaa.. had grilled chicken, the sause was rather nice.. then waited for quite awhile for Michelle.. was getting bored, so tried to find something to shoot.. noticed the rain had let up already, its just drizzing.. good thing we sat outside if not I wouldn't have noticed the rain.. tried to get some shots of water droplets.. out of the dozen or so attempts, think only these 2 were ok..





went to shop around for presents for the November birthday boys and gals.. just walked around abit, then took the train home.. quite tired from the day out so slept almost immediately..
woke up early on Sun.. went for the finals together with about a third of the class.. Angie was the first to reach there after me, so joined her..
nothing much different than yesterday.. went to get something to eat, walked one big round around the river while having my breakfast at the same time.. met Ms Lim at the opposite bank of the river.. gave me a small pep talk.. really gotta work harder for next year..


leave you with this last pic to show you how close the race was.. the boat number you get sometimes doesn't signify what position you'll get..

Labels: photog

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 10:59 pm:.
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