It's Never About the Camera

..Indeed. These photos will tell you why.

(Can't wait to resurrect my old IXUS 4.0.. See how it can compete with the D40.)

Duling Cat

cross-eyed cat

Bugis Revisited

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3D Post No. 36 - New Interiors

Just thought I should share some of my latest interiors:

some office;

a shophouse renovation;

..and a furniture showroom.

All rendered using Vray as usual.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

I must admit, the first book had a huge influence in my reading habit. For one, I didn't have any. Only when I grabbed the "..Sorcerer's Stone" then I realized the joy of reading fiction. From then on I went into different sorts of novels including Tolkien, Paolini, Brown, Clancy, Gaarder, Ludlum and Puzo. But JK Rowling's was simply engrossing.

As for the movies, I thought "..Azkaban" was by far the best, even with the 5th movie out. (Will write my review of that one when I've gathered my thoughts on it.) It was definitive Potter and true to the book version. I also think "..Azkaban" was the best novel in the series.

I somehow stopped reading the Potter series after the "..Goblet of Fire".. (I still keep my collection intact though, with the 5th and 6th books shelved and untouched) but now that the 7th book is out, I can't wait to grab my copy and see how this modern masterpiece will end..

Chinatown Part 3

For dark scenes, the photo experts would suggest using aperture priority in your mode dial. This time I'm trying out shutter priority, with a high ISO setting. I don't mind the noise in the resulting images.


One thing I've learned is to never expect your D40 to perform at par with some of the real SLRs such as the D2x or the Canon 5D. (For one, the D40 is only 1/4 the price of the better DSLRs, it is even cheaper than the newer compact cameras) It is an entry level DSLR, and as such, I always take shots, check the images, adjust the exposure setting, then shoot again. It can be fun, but for serious photographers, this could be annoying.

Well - I'm not serious. :p

Photo Blog - Pain

I was struck by my recurring severe pain these past few days. Wasn't in much of a mood to take those lovely macro shots of flowers and bees. I took these instead..

Photo Blog - Bras Basah

Strolling at Bras Basah one night, retracing my first steps in Singapore.. Took shots of the famous Raffles Hotel, possibly the most expensive hotel in Singapore.

From wikipedia:

"Raffles Hotel (Chinese: 莱佛士酒店) is a colonial-style hotel in Singapore, dating from 1887, and named after Singapore's founder Sir Stamford Raffles. Managed by Raffles International, it is known for its luxurious accommodation and superb restaurants. The hotel houses a tropical garden courtyard, museum, and Victorian-style theatre.

Raffles is where the Singapore Sling was invented. The cocktail was invented by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon around 1910."


"The Hotel has a shopping Arcade which houses branded boutiques such as Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.. Most of the Hotel's restaurants are housed in the arcade. It also has shops such as Singapore's treasured and famous custom tailor, CYC, which makes shirts for Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The Raffles Hotel Museum and Jubilee Hall are located on the third floor of the Arcade."

-o-

A few steps away is the Singapore oasis a.ka. Chijmes (pronounced Chimes).


From wikipedia:

"CHIJMES (pronounced "chimes", Chinese: 赞美广场) is a historic building complex in Singapore, which began life as a Catholic convent known as the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) (圣婴女修院) and convent quarters known as Caldwell House (古德威尔屋). The complex is located at Victoria Street in the Downtown Core, within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.

This complex of convent buildings has a Gothic-style chapel. It was used as a Catholic convent for 131 years, with Caldwell House constructed in 1840–1841 and the chapel in 1904. The chapel, now a multi-purpose hall, is known as CHIJMES Hall (赞美礼堂), and Caldwell House, now an art gallery, have both been gazetted as national monuments. The complex has been restored for commercial purposes as a dining, shopping and entertainment centre with ethnic restaurants, shops and a function hall, providing a backdrop for musicals, recitals, theatrical performances and weddings."

"The Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus is distinctive for being an architecturally self-contained city block in Singapore. It contains groups of buildings of different styles and periods in order to maintain a diversity in aesthetics. They are formed around courtyards and other expansive spaces, landscaped and enclosed with walls which scale with its urban surroundings."

-o-

3D Post No. 35 - Ultraelectromagnetic 3D part 2

Some updates.. started doing the back details..

..and did some basic linkages, plus edited the model for a few poses.. (one of the many poses to come.. hehe.. with his arsenal of weapons of course.) Hopefully I can also construct a decent backdrop for him.. The top here isn't accurate - it's supposed to have 4 blades. Beware of the cylinder primitive.. it has, by default, 18 sides. Which isn't divisible by 4. Something I realized after editing the mesh to its shape.. good thing there is a thing called artistic freedom aka laziness to correct it further.. :D


..and here is a free wallpaper/poster.. just in case you're a Martial Law baby.. (sorry for the uneven masking, it was done haphazardly..)

(click on the image for a larger size)

Photo Blog - Thong Chai Medical Institution

To get an idea of how much Singapore is aggressively attracting foreign workers, try visiting the Ministry of Manpower, the agency that issues all foreign work permits. That place was jam-packed and I had to wait for 3 hours just to drop some documents..

It was almost 1pm, lunch time, when I left the building and I happened to pass by the Thong Chai Medical Institution, now the corporate office of Forever Living products. It wasn't a perfect day to shoot - it was a rainy day and there weren't much dramatic shadows anywhere.. nevertheless, made a few clicks:

Red and round, can't miss em..


..and the occasional greens. Those imperfections on the leaves made them quite interesting to shoot:


1:30pm. I'm hungry.