Photog Entry: KLCC 2

I have always been impressed with the KLCC Twin Towers. It's always a subject for photography and I am never seem to be able to get tired from shooting it. This time, it was a pretty easy shot. From the KL Convention Centre, I was able to get a complete view of the Twin Towers which was otherwise quite hard without a wide-angle lens.

Here are 2 pictures!

D70: 18mm

Twin Towers

D70: 24mm

Another view of the Twin Towers

Microsoft's READY Launch '05 at KLCC

I attended the Microsoft READY Launch at KLCC, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (not to be confused with Suria KLCC) on Tuesday. The READY Launch was a launch for SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 (Whidbey) and BizTalk Server 2006. There were 2 tracks in the afternoon. 1 was targeted at IT professionals and the other at Developers. I attended the Developer track. It was indeed a very information session although some people weren't really sure why they were there in the first place.

I seriously think that many people are here for the wrong reasons. Many come just because it's a Microsoft event. Some treat this as some tutorial class where they come to learn how to code and to be disappointed that it's merely a showcase of Microsoft's development tools. One "uncle" who was sitting beside me was practically snoring away... Gosh! How pathetic!

The door gifts are pretty impressive for a FREE event. There is a free exam voucher for one of the Microsoft's Certification Program exams (I got 2! =D). There's also a 50% discount voucher to attend ASP.NET 2.0 course at any of the participating training centres. For those who are READY to purchase Visual Studio, it's RM2750 and until 31st of December 2005, free gifts come attached with the purchases.

Here are some of the pictures I snapped at the event.


Microsoft READY Launch... with a Rock n Roll kind of theme.


The attendance was awesome! This is the conference hall for the Developer's track.


KLCC at KLCC... what a Name! The KL Convention Centre is definitely an impressive piece of architecture. My first time in it and it's really beautiful. Reminds me of KLIA!


Azali Adnan who is a Microsoft Valued Professional and a Microsoft Certified Trainer gives a speech. He is pretty nervous on stage. There were quite a few hiccups here and there but I don't blame him. His session was pretty good despite the hiccups. He is one who definitely knows what he is talking about although it would be better if he attended some public speaking seminars... =D People were walking out of his sessions in bundles.


Edmund Quek is the Regional Developer and Academic Evangelist from Microsoft Asia Pacific which is based in Singapore. His session was on Building Web Applications with ASP .NET 2.0 An impressive showcase on how easy it is to deploy ASP.NET applications on the web. I thoroughly enjoyed his session.


Finally, Loke Uei of Microsoft Malaysia presented his session on Smart Client Application Development and Deployment. Again, a very impressive sessions and he is by far the best presenter among the 3. I saw him presented before at the Microsoft Office launch some while back ago.

All in all, a very good initiative by Microsoft to "market" their products. They sell their products by educating people.

Photog Entry: Portrait Capture 4

Here are 3 photos which I took just yesterday. These are just shots of my friends and they are not models by profession... ;D I am however, looking for models or aspiring models alike (male/female) who would be interested in getting their photo shoot for FREE. The photos would be used in my portfolio and any marketing efforts. In return, I would provide the digital photos in a CD format for the models. If you think my work is good, do give me (Jason) a call at 017-3333719 or write to me at jwsk@rojakpot.com

All shots below are handheld with my Sunpak Bounce flash in place.

D70: 70mm, Bounce flash

Portrait

D70: 70mm, Bounce flash

Portrait

D70: 70mm, Bounce flash

Portrait

Not convinced? Here are some of my other works:
1. Photog Entry: Portrait Capture 3
2. Photog Entry: Portrait Capture 2
3. Photog Entry: Protrait Capture

Or you can check out my other Photog Entry blogs in the archive section. Thank you for dropping by! =D

Raja's Hari Raya Open House

Yesterday, we were all invited to Raja's Hari Raya Open House at 3pm. This is definitely the Event of the Year! I have been friends with Raja and this is the first time I've been to his house for a Raya open house. Who could blame him though? He's always busy during the Raya celebrations attending all the royalty functions. Lucky him...!

Food was excellent although the "Ayam Rendang" was not enough la... =D Anyway, as soon as we arrive, we were galloping all the food. Seriously, it was an embarassing moment but who could help it? We were all starving by abstaining ourselves from breakfast and lunch so that we could lick the plates clean! Hahaha...


All of them have been there for 2 hours and they are still not wanting to leave their seats until Raja refills the "Ayam Rendang"


The "King" and "Queen" She wants this picture to be taken and is a reminder to all GIRLS who is still keen in pursuing "Raja"... her message is "FAT HOPE!" =D


All of us taking a short break from watching a Korean movie... The movie's so GAY! Men rubbing each other... fighting and for a Korean movie, it's unbelievable. We could only see a scene with a girl in it for less than 5 minutes! The rest were all MEN!!! Argggghhh!! I feel so GAY!!!

Photog Entry: Portrait Capture 3

Here are some of my recent captures of my family members and friends. All the shots below are handheld at the respective shutter speed (where applicable):

D70: 44mm, f/4.5, 1/90s

Portrait

D70: 18-70mm, Cropped

Portrait

D70: 18-70mm, Cropped

Portrait

D70: 18-70mm, Cropped

Portrait

D70: 70mm, f/4.5, 1/30s

Portrait

D70: 62mm, f/4.5, 1/30s

Portrait

D70: 50mm, f/1.8, 1/125s

Portrait

I always prefer to take portrait shots in motion or in thoughts as it provides a lot more depth than conventional look-into-camera shot. It gives the viewer a chance to relate to the protrait's emotion and character. A lot of people tend to be less natural when they are aware that they are in frame. That's why, I try to catch them unaware! =D

My Birthday Bash!

Okay, it's not really a bash but a sweet surprise from 2 of my best friends. Raja and Whitsney came over to my apartment with a slice of cake from Secret Recipe. Yeah... it's a slice! :D Haha... Feeling bad that they were tad a few days late, they wanted me to have the "surprise" mood. Okay, so, I was rushed into the bedroom while they prepared the candle (as in 1 candle... hahahaha) Then, they asked San San to cover my eyes (konnonnya) and spin me around 3 times. I could literrally see through her fingers la! No syiok! And then they sang me the birthday song... I blew out the candle... task is done. Anyway, it's nice of them to celebrate my birthday for me.

I'd like to also take the opportunity to shout out to my friends who coincidentally have their birthdays fall on the same day as mine (and some a few days earlier)!
- Yuan Yng
- Diana Tan (I just found out that our birthdays were on the same day! We were just shouting in joy!!! I mean, what are the possibilities la? =D)
- Heah Whey Seen (1 day earlier than mine)
- Jecelyn (1 day earlier than mine)
- Kim Tae-Hwan (2 days earlier than mine... hope you have a great time in Seoul!)
- Nicholas Siow (1 day later than mine)
There are so many November babies around... =D

Coincidentally, a surprised SMS came in right after the birthday song. It was from my best friend in Poland - Paula Sidorska! She SMSed me a birthday wish and I was stunned... for a moment! =D Thanks PAula! =D xxxxxxxxxx

Here are some of the photos from my past Birthday Bashes!!!

Year 2001 at a mamak stall with my AIESEC friends from UPM... crazy bunch of fellas! See the gift box I received? It's filled with junk food, crackers, chocolates and sorts!... yum.. yum..


Year 2002 at my aunt's house. Ariel's birthday is on the 3rd of November and Yuan Yng is on the same day as mine! That cake was made by my aunt... delicious!


Year 2003's birthday celebration (again with Yuan Yng) at Mid Valley... =D The birthday cake was made by San San! Excellent taste!

An "Almost" Brand New Sofa...

Woohoo!!! Finally got my "almost brand new sofa". "Almost" because it was an ex-display item in Ikea. Heck! Who cares? It looked good. The whole frame was solid and I save an additional RM300 to the original price. This is the NIKKALLA sofa with removable cotton cover. It is supposedly a 3 seater sofa but really, it is possible to sit 4! It's huge at 205cm width. I had always wanted a L-shape sofa but then, this deal was too good to pass by. It's quite embarassing you know... when people drop by at my house and I have no place to offer them to sit on.

The only downside to this is that the cover is white. It looks good but it's gonna be very hard to maintain. The DALA Brown colour would be coming in soon and I will definitely grab it!


My New Sofa!


Ooo... so cozy. My dear is helping me with my "photo frame artwork" Hehe... I intend to create my own photo frames and hang it strategically around the house...