shutterbugISm

Still suffering from Nippon withdrawal symptoms (read: no civic mindedness found locally here, no good tasting sushi or Japanese food.. not even Tomo's, no pick-me-up-and-make-me smile instant cup coffees from Starbucks or Maxim in our very barely equipped 7-lls.. ohh yeah, no Lawsons or Family Marts too... missing the clean crisp air and that beautiful light that makes shooting anything a breeze and inspiring..etc... you get the gist)

Well, caught up with Char Siu Pau for a little coffee as well as with CY for dinner... met up with Mudgod & Ms.P over dinner oso to pass them their wedding works....

Discovered that I'm really behind in Christian contemporary songs and I'm falling in love with the worship songs by PlanetShakers (Thanks CY! Playing them non-stop now :D)

Data migration of my library of songs and iPhotos to the new Macbook Pro is slowly but steady on-going... upgraded my iPhone 2.0 to the latest firmware 2.2... I got to say, I LOVE the new MAP's google Street View! I am using it now to revisit the places we went to in Japan! And of coz, lotsa new apps from the Apps store to play around.

Need to sleep... need to breathe in the Autumn air again... sigh....

so here's some quick edits from our Japan trip again to remind ourselves why we love it there:

Labels: BnW, Clover, Cultural, Images, Inspirations, Japan, Photography, Ranting, Thoughts, Travel, Us, vacation

Posted by ShutterBug at 03:46 | Permalink | Comments 12

There will come a time when you feel super lousy about yourself... like you know you have the shot in your head but why it did not materialise after you shot it and try as you might, you just can't frame it or have it the way you saw it in your mind's eye...

For the past 2 days we have travelled down to Izu Peninsular (Atami) and Hakone for ryokan stays and thus no new pictures as they don't have in-room internet connection.

Atami was alright, quiet seaside resort town which I think is more popular in summer than in Autumn... best if we have arranged for self-drive coz the places that we wanted to go are better accessible by car than taking trains and local buses.

Hakone was a whole different story. We had very fond memories of Hakone the last time and we stayed in Hakone-Yumoto... this time, we decided to venture deeper into Hakone and we was very glad we did coz we discovered a lot of new stuff about the area. The only nagging pain that's bugging me to write this entry is my inadequacy of conveying what I actually saw into pictures that will give the same feeling.

1st off, we visited the crater top from Sozan (早山）, accessible via a ropeway cable car from Soenzan （早云山）which gave the most magnificent view of Mt Fuji at all times of the days from dusk till dawn to night even but becoz we were rather ill-prepped for the sudden onset of cold front that decented on Japan island on the 19th, we totally froze ourselves out at near 1 degree coldness with the super chilled wind @ nearly 900m above sea level. It's almost like being in a freezer with the fan blasting in your face and body the whole time...

It makes shooting extremely difficult and the powerful gusts of cold wind didn't make it easier either. It's like I tell my finger mentally to press down on the shutter button and a minute later, the finger move slowly to depress and execute the command. The mind's a blank and on 1 hand, you want to stay and shoot more but on the other, your body is giving up on you. Tough choices.

The view is sooooooooooo (x 1 trillion times) awesome, I can't even begin describing the entire beautiful landscape that laid out from the view in Sozan except praising God for such natural beauty in the world!

We had to escape frequently into the heated marts that sell the famous black onsen eggs (they say, if you eat 1 of such egg, you gain 7 years of longevity each time... crappy advertising but the eggs are delicious btw!)

The light is so fantabulously amazing that no matter how I shoot it, I just can't capture that aura of beauty... Ms Clover was so right to say that sometimes you just have to come and see it for yourself to have your breath taken away by the sheer beauty of Mt Fuji... sigh.... so here's 2 very humble shots of the many many many shots I have taken in order to capture that special aura of Mt. Fuji:

Labels: BnW, Cultural, Images, Inspirations, Japan, Photography, Thoughts, Travel

Posted by ShutterBug at 00:30 | Permalink | Comments 1

Thanks so much to Eadwine (Plush Photography) for coming along with us to Japan on this trip and for the wonderful, wonderful shoot experience! It really feels weird to be on the other side of the lens but Ead made the shoot so easy, so fun and so good!

The shot of Serene @ Fushima Inari Shrine in Kyoto is simply stunning... framed by the famed Tori gates that lined the entire walkways along the mountain path... this shot encapsulated both beauty, style and culture, in short... WE LOVED IT!!!!

Will update more as we go along... we were in Hiroshima's Miyajima island (the famed giant Tori Gate in the water and the floating temple, Itsukushima) and that trip alone is worth the trip to Japan! Seriously.... the Momijidani Park is so beautiful, I shot till the camera nearly went dry of batteries!

Will post some of the Autumn colors and shots of Serene later tonight... after dinner in Osaka!

Once again, thanks Ead for the beautiful memories in Kyoto and Tokyo! Hehehe... you are indeed a photographer's photographer!

Ron & Serene

Labels: Brides, Clover, Cultural, Friends, Images, Inspirations, Japan, Photography, PreWeddings, Travel, Us, vacation

Posted by ShutterBug at 19:03 | Permalink | Comments 1

Not in the mood to shoot anything during Day 02 in Kyoto yet but have been exploring in some random ways....

Labels: BnW, Cultural, Images, Inspirations, Japan, Photography, Thoughts, Travel

Posted by ShutterBug at 08:14 | Permalink | Comments 2

1) You can't honk your horn in the city limits
2) You can ACTUALLY stop your car on the fast lane along an expressway and do a reverse to filter out to a side lane outlet
3) You can make a turn ANYWHERE along the streets
4) You wait for people even when they are walking on the roads where you have the right of way; people triumph over the number of cars in China
5) You can even drive against the traffic if you are daring enough and fast enough
6) Driving in GZ is a game of dare; if you can cut into a lane before a speeding car, you win
7) Taxis are cheap, really cheap...
8) Interestingly, the rate of traffic accidents is quite low despite the reckless driving
9) They drive more aggressively than Taiwanese drivers
10 Do anything but don't get caught :)

Labels: Cultural, Ranting, Travel

Posted by ShutterBug at 01:06 | Permalink | Comments 1

referring to my previous post -

I have to blog about the experiences gathered from my recent trip to Guangzhou. I hope this doesn't offend anyone but most of my observations are based on the the local culture there.

One thing about being in Guangzhou is the fact that you have to get used to the amount of people on the streets at anytime of the day. The streets are just flooded with people when you visit places like 上下九街 （Shang Xia Jiu street) or 北京路 (Beijing street) and inadvertently you can't really shop in peace when you have like 50 - 100 plus people crowding into a small store looking for the cheapest bargain...

The one thing I hate very much is that fact that they push their way around. I thank God that Singaporeans are being educated since early age in the culture of showing very basic courtesy when moving around a crowd BUT not so in China.. they just prod and push their way through and without saying a word of apology or 'excuse me'! That is so bluddy rude and irritating! The way they push their way through is not the friendly slight nudge but the kind where you shove your way forcefully till you get to the front kind. Sigh...

Like on my other post about Hong Kong, I don't really like the culture of being loud and boisterous but in Guangzhou, you get a hybrid of very loud, boisterous and sometimes uncouth breed of Chinese. The restaurants are almost like a live concert of splattering Chinese, Cantonese and other dialects... a lot of drinking makes the men talk about their exploits and their conquers (and sometimes intimate details with their girlfriends) and in the presence of other ladies also.

It's really a men's world in the world of business in China. Ms Clover's dad has a friend in GZ who is in the business of manufacturing wood products and he played host during our stay. From what I observed generally, women are accessories and sometimes, trophies, to this kind of people. The respect for women is seriously lacking unless you can prove yourself to be an equal but as the old tradition of being women, you are supposed to be subservient. The funny thing is that in Japan, this is also the practice BUT over in GZ, it just seems rough and not at all a delicate balance.

Most of the men cheer their liquor with fellow men and not the women. The women pour the refills and not the men. Women are referred to as ' lass' there and it's not uncommon to hear of them (the businessmen) having more than 2 - 3 girlfriends, just becoz their money is able to sustain that kind of lifestyle. This kind of culture is condescending to women who deserve equal rights.

Anyway, back to the main topic. Guangzhou is a growing city... you see developments and constructions everywhere and they are huge skyscrapers that will, in time, house many commercial offices that will affect the economy of the world. The shopping is aplenty and good. With over 65% of our stuff being produced and made in China, you can get everything here for a steal even if you dun buy imitations.

We bought a Nintendo Wii set there complete with 100 games, a Wii sports bundle, a spare remote + nunchak and other little peripherals for slightly less than S$600. An equivalent bundle like this would have cost us S$ 1000+ over here! And it's ready to play all regions' games :) We spent our nights after dinner, literally kicking and punching away at the television as nightlife in Guangzhou is not as happening as those in Shanghai.

Electronics are a craze in China. Computer malls like those along 天河路 (tian he road) are spouting like mushrooms and the things they sell are dirt cheap although you have to be an expert to know the imitations from the authentic ones. We, in Singapore, have only 1 Sim Lim to get cheap stuff; over there they have like 5 - 8 buildings similar to Sim Lim Sq along the same road. Talk about being spoilt for choices, the best part is that you can bargain for the cheapest price.

I got myself a 4Gb Sony MS Duo for my PSP at a steal of 120RMB or just S$ 24. How authentic it is I don't really know but as long as it works, that's a good buy. A PSP slim cost only 1280RMB or approx. S$250+ and it's fully modded and bargainable some more.

Food-wise, like they say you live to eat in Guangzhou... there's lots to eat but I find the food too oily and too salty to my palate... and adding to the fact that I have to drink a lot of alcohol during every meal (they consider it impolite not to drink when offered and in most business meals, it's easier to drink and shake hands than to refuse a drink and in turn, closing doors to future collaborations), makes it quite unpleasant coz the white liquor they drink kinda spoil the entire taste of the meal.

That said, Guangzhou is a land of plenty where most of the manufacturers of our products seen worldwide are located... you name it they have it (except that I can't find any nice leather casings for the iPhone yet) but it's a place where you can get a huge amount of stuff for less than anywhere else.

Will post more of the place we stayed in GZ later on - Ascott Service Apartments (GZ)

Labels: Cultural, Ranting, Thoughts, Travel

Posted by ShutterBug at 00:32 | Permalink | Comments 3

linked from Tokyo Mango -

You know how fusion cuisine seemed to have taken over the culinary world these days.. it's not a bad thing coz' we get the best of both worlds although sometimes the food that is fusioned can be quite bizarre.

I still love the traditional kaiseki meals that really followed decades of tradition to prepare the individual dishes. Now the Japanese govt has initiated a program to authenticate 'real' Japanese food from the 'fakes'. SO what is real and what is fake? I seriously can't tell coz I'm not a true-blue foodie but here's the article that got my interest.

The program will start in Bangkok (oohh no! Fuji Japanese Restaurant chain will definitely be affected) and extending to Shanghai and Taipei (Ohh dear, will Jogoya be affected also?)... then later Amsterdam, London, LA, Paris etc.

Well, do keep a look out soon for their government approved Japanese restaurants with the symbol of a pair of chopsticks holding a cherry blossom petal in front of the rising sun if it ever reach Singapore...

what will be your take on this? Ajisen Ramen more appealing or Authentic Japanese food ?
Let me know what you think :)

Labels: Cultural, Japan, Thoughts

Posted by ShutterBug at 19:08 | Permalink | Comments 3

I never knew Little India can be so happening @ night... happened to be in the area coz I need to meet a client to pass them their coffeetable book and since I was like 40 mins early, I just walked around the alleys to soak in the atmosphere of being in Little India.


(click for larger version)
There was a ceremony @ the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple so I went in and sneaked a few shots. Thank God for the Gr-D, it's so inconspicious and silent... :)


(click for larger version)
As all shots were handheld under low light, inevitablely there's motion blur on the shots but heck, I love what I shot. Along the alleys, there are many such authentic shophouses which made very interesting subjects to photograph.


(click for a larger version)
An old man across Serangoon road selling packets of white liquid (I assume it's milk) on his bicycle just stood there motionless

All images shot on the Gr-D (with the 21mm conversion lens)

Labels: Cultural, Images, Local, Photography, RICOH GrD

Posted by ShutterBug at 00:07 | Permalink | Comments 3

I love Malay weddings.. the adornments like henna decorations added a lot of character to the colorful celebrations


* click for larger version

Labels: Cultural, Local, Weddings

Posted by ShutterBug at 18:51 | Permalink | Comments 0

still editing but I like this one...
trying out the 'Label' function from Blog Beta also..

Labels: Brides, Cultural, Local, Weddings

Posted by ShutterBug at 23:26 | Permalink | Comments 0