Event: Joey Yung in Brem Mall Kepong

Woot!~ I was fortunate to be invited to another event last week. Brem Mall Kepong hosted Hong Kong Artist Joey Yung to a meet the fans session yesterday. I got there around 630 pm. Had a quick tour around Home, a new furniture shop in Brem Mall Kepong. Cousin called me and asked me to enter the VIP area. We got down to ground floor and from what I see, Joey Yung does has a lot of fans from Malaysia. We had difficulty entering the VIP area, it s almost like I had to barge my way in 🙂 Anyway, we got some really good premium seats. A guy from 8TV was next to me, and I see some familiar faces reporters in front of me.  Unfortunately, Joey who was initially slated to arrive at 7 pm was late. I think she arrived around 8 something yesterday. 988 deejay Ah San was quick to solve the problem. He initiated some games session with the fans to keep them happy. Posters were given out to the fans. Eager fans surged forward against the barrier to grab the precious posters 😛

This is not the first time I shot an artist from Hong Kong, I did Bosco sometime back last year. Not a very good job back then, but I believe my skills has improved 😛 When news of Joey has arrived at Brem Mall, fans started to go hysterical and screams can be heard all the way back to Kepong Baru LOL..Sorry . Exaggerated a bit on that part 😛 But can you imagine the fans club people are just behind me with placards and whistles? Yes..I think you can imagine that. Joey was quick to the stage and the event began. My wife and I thinks Joey is really pretty in person. And jeez, she can sing lar! This is “Ching Cheung Wooi”, means she sang just using the mic and music from tape. I dunno bout the PA system they used, but she sounds really good. After the first song, games session with fans began. Very interactive from her part as well from the fans.  She performed the second song which really reminds me an English song, cant remember which though. After the 2nd song, the autograph session took place. You can meet her up close and personal by purchasing a copy of her album. She will autograph it personally. Only thing I didnt like was her overzealous manageress/assistant. A fan wanted to take pics of her, I also understand the PA/Manager was just doin her job. But being rude to the fan and pushing her camera away is not the way to go.  The fan actually scolded the PA/Manager. I hope Joey will have a word with the PA/Manager. As an artist, fans are the artist most valuable asset. Anyway, enuff of my rantings, here are the pics.

You got to have one these to get around 🙂

988 Ah San and Joey Yung

Am so happy to see so many fans!~

First Song

Fan wishes Joey all the best in Health

Career

and Love!~

Are you ready for second song?

988 Ah San

Ok, I m ready to meet the fans!~

First fan, a young man who is blind. Joey was very sporting. She stood up and reached out to him. Chatted and had pics taken.

Sign sign sign

Special copies for game session

If you have wondered how Artist never get tired of signing, this is an art actually. Finesse touch with minimal energy exerted.

Photos with the fans!~

Last but not least, a direct eye contact with me 😀

E71: Dead LCD

My Nokia E71 LCD gave way yesterday. Damn!~ *pulls my hair* I bought the phone few months ago from a fellow Low Yat Net kaki. It was barely few months old when I got it. And the warranty was covered by Avaxx. I have sent the phone to Nokia Care 1 Utama some months ago for firmware upgrading. And when I saw the faulty LCD, I was worried that the warranty has expired. A typical LCD replacement would have set me back around RM 200 plus? I brought the phone to my friend’s place in Desa Parkcity to have the LCD checked out. Can you imagine my relief when I saw there is still ONE more month of warranty. Almost immediately I move on to Nokia Care Centre in 1 Utama. When I got there, another relief as they did a check on the system and presto! My name is there. Yes! Was to collect my phone in two hours. But I left, coz I had to rush back to Brem Mall to shoot Hong Kong singer/artist Joey Yung. Dont worry. Pics will be posted later 😀

The E71 looks fine here but……

The freaking LCD is DEAD!!~ Distortion… 😦

Event: Leica Premier Event

Expensive but freaking good glass

Woot! Schmidt Marketing organized a Leica Premier Event at Carcosa Seri Negara a few days ago to launch the much awaited for Leica M9, Leica S2 and Leica X1. Thanks to them, Maxby called and said I was invited to the afternoon session. Hahaha. Historic launch it was because the digital FULL frame was much anticipated. I wouldn’t say M8 users are not happy with it, but most voiced out about the crop factor. M users will tell you that they are not really used to the crop factor. So most of us are really happy with the news of M9.First impression, the M9 retains the old M form. Lovely to hold. Lacking a film advance lever as the M8. I wished they have included that lever, that would have retain the 100% film feel. However, I find myself do not really fancy the M9. Why? The LCD is bad. It gives me Nikon D70 feel. Perhaps I love film. That is why I still fancy my M6. Am looking for a Leica IIIf by the way.

M9

Leica also came out with a Medium Format camera , S2. This is a good news and I hope the S2 will give Hasselblad a run for their money. I managed to take a test pic with the S2, and I must say..It s pretty huge. Imagine a Fat Nikon F5 😛 Took a pic and found out it take a long time to process the pic. Of course it does. The pic I took was a whopping 32 MB. The green illuminator screen was pretty cool. First impression of the user interface, it seems easy but the one I held If I am not mistaken, I think is not a final product. Hope Leica will iron out the flaws by then. I didnt get to try out the Leica X1. But I heard it is not cheap, RM7000? Here are some pics.

My test shot. Fiona with Mr Surnil

Leica S2

Huge thing!

Can you spot my signature?

Books: EOS 5D MkII User’s Guide and EF Lens Work III

Must buy for Canon EOS 5DMKII users

What s Inside?

Must buy for CANON hardcore

All about Canon lens

Today I damn gatai. I went and bought two books. I became a Canon user some weeks ago. Since I have been using Neekon for some years, I need reading material to help me familiarize with the system. This is in order to maximize the output from the camera and lens. I bought both books from Ian Ho of PhotoMalaysia for RM90/each. Not sure if cheap or not but what the heck. Good read what! 🙂

IKEA: Tertial Light

My wife and me went for jalan jalan yesterday nite. We went to Ikea. There was no plan to buy anything actually. But being a shopaholic, I ended up with something. I bought a flexible table light, Tertial. I dunno what brand it is ler but Swedish made lo.  Why did I bought it? Well, it was retailing around RM80-90 last year. It s was on offer for RM 36.90. Apa lagi? Tapau la!! But no bulbs were provided. I had to buy. Now bulbs are not cheap. The bulbs are ‘energy-safe’ type, 11w. Now the best story of nite was..When I got home, I got the thing set up. Unfortunately, the bulb doesnt fit at all! Damn, they placed the wrong bulb model beside the light. *Ikea, u guys got to buck up lar* So today, I had to head over to Ikea and had it changed. But then again..The light is yellow. Not my cup of tea.

DIY

Wrong bulb. The correct version should be E27.

My working desk and light (Pictured with a white bulb)

Event: Miss World Malaysia 2009 Finals

The Miss World Malaysia 2009 finale was held last Friday nite at the concourse level Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall. I havent gone to Pyramid for years. So I had some trouble locating the concourse level *shaking my head*. Thanks to Melvin, he got me the pass. Without him, I would be zzz-ing at home that day. Met up with bro SoonCM and Melvin nearby to collect the pass and we went for a light meal before the event started. Prior to that, I had to endured the mad traffic from Kepong all the way to Sunway. The  traffic was practically bumper to bumper all the way. Event started around 8 pm. As it was a public place, we still have a lot of avid photographers shooting from outside the perimeter. Some even came armed with step up ladder *smart one guys*

Asha Gill and Josiah Mizukami were the hosts for the nite. The night started off with songs from Miss World Malaysia 2008 ‘Soo Wincci’ . If I remembered correctly, I think they were trilingual. Wincci is not just beauty. She is talented. I remember her performing a song which she composed and arranged last year during Miss World Malaysia 2008. Thumbs up to her. She recently released an EP. Go get it guys. It s for charity too.

Next up were the contestants. They had paraded in swimwear and sportswear sponsored by Schwrzenbach. Kebaya and evening wear were sponsored by Nazleen Noor label. Besides Wincci, singer and pianist Yew Han gave a solid perfomance as well. Versatile in both vocal and piano, he drove the gals wild with his good looks *angmo look*. StART Society Children Choir gave a very good performance as well. These children are from underprivileged background. I would like to note here, the proceeds from this year’s pageant will go to the society that provides underprivileged children with the opportunity to develop their potential in arts.

With the 8 Finalist named, came the Question and Answer session. I always loved this session. It s always test how fast the contestants can react and how they converse. As usual, some excel and some fumbled. I would not share who did those though. But personally, I think the questions were easy and they should not have any problem answering them.  This year round they had an easier format. 2 of them answer the same question. Hahaha. Whoever is the second to answer can check out the first’s person answer *wink*

For the results, Miss Thanuja won the crown, the 1st runner up Miss Stephanie Chua and the 2nd runner up Miss Christy Yeoh. Not surprising as I have heard Thanuja was a hot fav. FYI, Thanuja was one the finalist too last year. I salute her for Perseverance. Many would have chose not to return to compete. So folks. That s all for this morning. I ll post some candid shots later. Me camwhoring and The Queen’s twin Sister * No joke*

“The Final 8”

Opening act by Soo Winci

She can sing. Lovely voice.

Dreams can come true

Renee Erin

Now you know how tall are the girls

Thanuja handling the question with ease ‘ There never was and never will be any scandal involving me because I do not compromise about something I strongly believe in and I stick to my principles’

Cystal Eve

Stephanie Chua

Christy Yeoh and Stephanie Chua facing off

Miss World Malaysia 2008 ‘ Soo Wincci’

Back onto the stage

2nd runner up and 1st runner up

Thanuja crowned as Miss World Malaysia 2009

Happy happy happy!~

Compulsory shot 🙂

Event: Miss World Malaysia Swimwear Shoot

Few days ago, I was at Sunway Hotel for a shoot. The ‘models’ were the finalists for Miss World Malaysia.  Initially I didnt plan to go, but since I had some time, I decided to drop by. By then, the shoot was actually almost done. The weather was just nice. It was cloudy and that provided a nice softbox/diffuser for us. Light source was available light. Two assistants were stationed with a big reflector. Though..If I were given a chance to do it again, I might opt for two SB800s and umbrellas and do the shoot CLS style. I think that will give the finalists some really good and ala fashion shoot. As my fren was shooting as main photog, I decided to move around and shot from a diff angle hence no eye contact. It s a pity I didnt get the pics of the winner of the pagent. But nevertheless, here are some shots that I have edited. Cheers.

Crew on standy to keep the finalist ‘cool’

The first runner up of Miss World Malaysia and the  winner of Swimwear title ‘Stephanie Chua’

Stephanie Chua on a Medium Format crop

One of my fav, Chantelle Chuah

Sweet 19 years old, Marie Bibiana

The 2nd runner up of Miss World Malaysia,Chrisy Yeoh.

Laura Yong

Another fav of mine during the finale, Crystal Eve.

Doly Ho

Dalvin

Gabrielle Ashley

Happy Mooncake Festival 2009

Hi all!~ Happy Mooncake Festival. Nice fish rite? I got that for my sister. Boy, the prices has gone sky high. I remember I used to buy those fish at RM2 per piece. I had to pay RM 11.50 for the fish above. Those were the days. When I was growing up, like all children, we look forward to celebrate Mooncake Festival. Why? Well…Back those days, we like to play with fire, that s why. LOL. We used to gather dry sticks and leaves around evening time, and by nitefall, we have a nice small bonfire/campfire and we will chat the nite away. Of course we used to play with Tanglung aka lanterns too back then. I remembered my first Tanglung very well. It was a big fish. It s something like the fighting fish/bettas. Colourful. I also had my fair share of who has the best tanglungs of all. I had a dragon tanglung once. It was a premium tanglung back then LOL. Hahah. Now I remembered something. You know those tin susu pekat? Stick a candle inside and voila, you will have an instant torch light. Mom made me a DIY tanglung too. She used the Milo tin and cut small strips on the tin. Bend it and voila..Another lantern. Nice nice. I miss those days. My street where I live now no longer is what it used to be.  All have grown up and moved on. How I wish we never grow old..Happy Mooncake Festival!~