a lens, a camera & a life long commitment..

Saya ingin membuat pengakuan dan pengunguman buat semua.. sila tutup mata, kira sampai 10 baru buka mata dan baca cepat-cepat supaya dapat effect lebih surprise okay..

Pengakuan: 

1. sejak kebelakangan ni saya asyik post benda yang mengarut (padan muka kamu, kan saya dah cakap saya suka merapu).. sebenarnya saya tidak dapat post apa-apa benda berkaitan fotografi sebab sudah 7 bulan saya tak ada kamera..

2. saya suka makan sushi...
    boleh hentak-hentak kan kepala anda atau telan racun tikus kalau rasa ini tidak berkaitan

Pengunguman:

Cuma satu pengunguman dan ini sangat penting.. saya akan memulakan projek bagi portfolio baru dengan tema seperti tajuk di atas.. sesiapa yang belum melihat portfolio saya sebelum ni, sila rasa bersalah sekarang kerana saya telah membuatnya dengan bersungguh-sungguh tapi kamu mengabaikan saya.. sila klik sini untuk menghentikan rasa bersalah sebelum ia menghantui hidup anda selamanya..

Setelah sekian lama menyimpan impian dan berjimat cermat dengan memotong rambut sendiri sejak 3 tahun lepas (sy tak tipu okay.. kalau tak percaya semoga anda dapat balasan karma).. saya telah pun membeli lens pertama saya minggu lepas iaitu nikkor 35mm 1.8 dx. So far saya sangat suka lens ni dan sangat tidak menyesal se-sen pun  :)

Tapi buat masa ni saya masih belum ada kamera, saya cuma main pusing-pusing sambil tengok-tengok saja lens tu.. InsyaAllah duit simpanan selebihnya pula saya sudah niatkan untuk beli Nikon D7000 tak lama lagi

Oleh itu, projek ini berlandaskan proses pembuatan portfolio baru saya di mana semua gambar diambil menggunakan D7000 dan lens 35mm itu saja. Buat masa ini saya masih tidak bercadang untuk membeli lens lain kerana telah melebihi kuata budget kamera saya bagi tahun 2010-2012, tapi sekiranya ada rezeki lebih insyaAllah lens Tokina 12-24 akan menyusuli tahun depan. Semoga projek saya akan berjalan dengan lancar nanti.. Amin

Tips membeli kamera harga murah:

Bagi sesiapa yang ingin membeli kamera tetapi tidak tahu berapa harga yang paling murah boleh anda jumpa di pasaran.. saya sertakan tips untuk mengurangkan rasa kesal anda terbuka post ini.

Pertama, anda boleh cek harga kamera di web Nikon Malaysia dan menolak 10-15 % dari harga yang ditunjukkan bagi kamera baru, dan sehingga 30% bagi kamera yang lama.

Cara kedua pula ialah dengan cek harga termurah ditawarkan dalam web Lelong.com, biasanya boleh dapat di kedai dalam RM 50-200 lebih murah.

Sekiranya harga di kedai yang anda jumpa lebih mahal dari ini, cepat2 keluar kerana tidak berbaloi..  jangan lupa untuk pastikan warranty Nikon yang ditawarkan adalah dari Nikon Malaysia untuk mengelakkan terbeli Grey Item.

Cara terakhir adalah dengan meng-email saya dan insyaAllah saya boleh cadangkan harga yang berbaloi untuk anda beli. Selamat membeli :)

Nikon D7000 announced

the Canon 60D killer... Akhirnya penantian saya berbaloi.. Alhamdulillah

Spesification
- 16.2 Megapixel
- magnesium alloy body (dust & moisture proof)
- customizable 39 point AF (9 center cross-type sensors)
- ISO: 100-6,400 (25,600 on hi2)
- Full 1080p HD Movies with Full Time Autofocus
- 6 frame per second continuous shot
- 2,016 pixel RGB (3D color matrix) sensor
- Expeed 2 image processor
- Glass pentaprism view-finder (100% coverage, 9.4x magnification on 50mm)
- twin SD card slot
- AF fine tuning
- intervalometer

(sumber : nikonusa)

saya jatuh hati...

link here

link here

Cantik kan? sangat sangat sangat sangat sangat cantik...

Living in Miniature World

Experiment in progress, Sony Erricson K770i + kedaifoto = Coming Soon not very soon

miniature USM

miniature Queensba

gambar ni semua disebabkan gara-gara bosan tak ada nikon..

Our Toy World

We live in a toy world.. so don't get caught up in fantasy

Becoming a good photographer (part 1)

Today, photography as a hobby has become even more popular than ever. Significant portion of the result might be due to rapid blooming of technology in digital camera. Competition between manufacturer has made photography more affordable & making good photos are easier than sending a text message or posting a blog post.

But what does it takes than to be a good photographer & how to differentiate professional work from the abundant normal? Well, the answer is very subjective  but I try to outline a few things that I myself went through in my journey learning photography.

(I'm not a pros & I don't produce professional photos, but I am an enthusiast who still learn from experience)

Before you can become a good photographer it is important to know what 'photography' really is?
In simple answer it is the art & science of light painting (sorry if its doesn't sound that simple). The keyword here is light. The most essential skill of a good photographer is how well they can read & manipulate the light, not how expensive their cameras are. Good photographer know how to used available light or a setup light to get good balance of light & shadow for example. Without light you'll simply get black photo, too much you'll get all white & bad light produce bad photo.. Well I think you've got my point here, so do remember this formula [ light = photo ] (literary & practically). Anyway because this part would be too long to elaborate, we'll skip this part & save it for another day :)
now lets get back to the tips shall we..

Tips 1- start from below

Nowadays, I see a lot of people buying new DSLR but put them in the 'Auto' or 'Program' mode. Yes, their photo still look nice, but it is the camera that does most of the job. It is not wrong but it's not a good practice either, it will make you become dependent on the camera & not a good photographer yourself instead.

Me & my friends (eg: Hus, http://xofj.blogspot.com) start our photography hobby with point & shoot camera and I don't think we'll become this good if we had never use one. Why? Simply because point & shoot are simple camera with lots of limitation (eg: the noise performance is sucks, the dynamic range is poor, the flash is limited, focusing speed resemble a snail on GP racing track & the list goes on). But because of all this 'camera' limitation, the only way to make better photo is by improving your self. Soon you'll notice that your pictures only getting better when the lighting is on your side (the noise become less, dynamic range increases, awful flash gone, & focusing speed now at least as good as a bicycle on a GP track). This is not the part where you can learn simply by reading (because you can't take photos just by talking either), but by experiencing. 

I love my point & shoot but the main reason I'm upgrading to DSLR was because I knew there is nothing more I can do to improve my knowledge unless I move toward a more complex camera (where I can take  more control over the camera) & not because I want make great photos the easy way. So for anyone who just about to board in photography world, don't keep worrying yourself for an advance camera if budget is an issue but go now to experiment lighting with your point & shoot.

Below are samples of my photo taken with BenQ point & Shoot. These aren't great photo but bare in mind this was taken using low spec point & shoot without editing when I was just started (this was as much as I can afford back then, today camera phone has gone much better than this).

For beginner who already step in with a DSLR, start experiencing your self to control exposure by using 'Manual' mode. This mode will really help you to improve your light reading skill, and not the 'Auto' or 'Program' mode. I owed my photography teacher (En. Ra'ai, www.ukm.my/raai/) for teaching us by using analog (film) SLR. We only get to take 2 or 4 shoot in a week, and the photos can only be viewed on the following week (you also need to pay for the processing service). So we'll took forever just to take 1 photo because we can only afford a perfect shot or we'll have to wait for another week,.. just like En. Ra'i used to say '1 shoot, 1 kill'. The SLR that we use also doesn't have exposure meter to help calculate shutter speed & aperture so we learn to estimate available light by using our eyes. You can go to this link (http://motivationhijacked.blogspot.com/2009/12/p-s-m.html) to read more on Exposure.

 

picture above: My friend, Mitch taking her photo of the week

(will be continue)

rumah nenek

hee, saya terjumpa 2 gambar rumah nenek saya yang saya pernah upload ke sebuah web beberapa tahun lepas. Gambar ni sebenarnya termasuk dalam koleksi gambar-gambar saya yang hilang selepas harddisk sy jatuh sakit dan tak dapat direcover (sy masih simpan n xnak format sebab terlalu banyak kenangan dalam tu).

Masa ni tengah main mode black&white untuk nampak lebih klasik.. sayang 2 ni je yang masih ada.. gambar macam ni sesuai untuk masuk dalam kategori photojournalism.

Twilight : Breaking Dawn

Maaf.. tajuk diatas tiada kaitan langsung dgn topik dibawah, cm utk mnipu anda spya terbaca post ini..
dan ya.. tiada satupn gmbr robert pattinson jd jgn mharap k..
post ini sbenarnya kaitan antara flashlight & wildlife fotografi waktu malam..
tp bunyi agak pelik jd sy xtau nk letak tajuk apa
 
kepada ssiapa yg suka mengambil gambar wildlife waktu malam, flashlight adlh salah satu equipment yg sgt penting.

bagi yg baru hendak mcuba, haiwan spt katak & cicak mrupakan subjek yg sgt sesuai utk permulaan.
p/s: Jgn mmasuki trail hutan sorg diri takut gmbr lain plk yg dpt.. nauzubillah

antara fungsi flashlight selain dr menyuluh jalan & hidup anda adlh utk menyilaukn mata haiwan supaya ia mjadi blur & terpegun. Ini mbolehkn anda mdekati haiwan dgn mudah agar cahaya flash (speedlight/strobe) sampai kpd subjek dgn cukup kuat.

cahaya dr flashlight jg sgt sgt sgt sgt penting utk mbantu kamera anda fokus dgn baik.. tlg jgn harapkn autofocus assist light (lampu merah, kuning atau strob flash dr kamera) utk mbantu anda fokus dlm hutan gelap gelita kerana insyaAllah anda akan kecewa.
Sy biasanya meletakkan extra headlamp pd flash yg dedicated bg tujuan focusing.

flashlight apakh yg bgs utk d guna? semua jenis flashlight yg mempunyai cahaya kuat. Antara jenama2 yg bgs adlh Nitecore, Fenix, Zebralight, Petzl, Princeton Tec dan yg sewaktu dgnnya.

contoh flashlight: Nitecore D11
(Peringatan: ini bukan sekadar flashlight, ia merupakan engineering masterpiece).

berikut adalah contoh gambar haiwan berlainan jenis yg sy amik waktu malam

Lumix LX-5

setelah 2 tahun lumix lx-3 mengusai pasaran kamera kompak pro, sekarang pengganti yg ditunggu telah tiba..
silalh tengok sampai air liur meleleh.. 

'The eye of a Leica, the heart of a Panasonic'

Simply Brilliant !

Post kali ni berkenaan timelapse.. sy sgt suka dgn bidang ni dr dulu tp msh mngumpul duit utk membeli n jg msh mencari equipment yg diperlukan.. siapa2 yg ada duit tlg la sponsor sy.. okey enough with words, lets enjoy timelapse by Brad Kremer.. sebelum tu, sila pause lagu mbosankn tu spya bunyi xjd overlaps plk ya

Hayaku: A Time Lapse Journey Through Japan from Brad Kremer on Vimeo.

Recommendation of Nikon system for Nature Photography

Nature adlh bahagian fotografi yg plg sy minat jauh sblm sy mula mmiliki SLR..
nature fotografi xmmerlukan anda utk mmiliki model yg kenjit, xmmerlukan lighting n sentuhan kedaifoto blebihan..

dlm nature fotografi, ktangkasan adlh kunci kejayaan, pminat nature fotografi biasanya mhabiskn byk masa d hutan mcari subjek bbanding duduk depan komputer mengedit gmbr dgn harapan gmbrnya akan berubah mjadi cantik utk d war2kn dlm fotopage n mukabuku

tp yg paling mbezakn nature fotografi adlh bgaimana pmilihan equipment utk bfungsi sbg satu sistem..jd sistem apakh yg plg sesuai utk anda?

jawapannya adlh bgantung pd kperluan n cara anda mngambil gmbr, jd sistem yg sesuai utk anda mgkn bbeza dgn sistem yg sesuai utk sy.. tp d sebabkn sy dh penat tulis post ni anda dimohon utk mbaca sehingga tamat..

sistem yg sy cadangkn di bawah adlh bdasarkn pngalaman sy mjadi apai foto (sy tulis dlm BI sb sy bujat)

(note: the heavier your system, the less use full it is as a system)

1. wide clouse-up & macro: D60 series + Nikkor 18-55mm + macro conversion lens + flash sync cord SC-28 + SB400 + RM 0.03 paper diffuser

2. general hiking: D90 + 18-200mm VRll + SB400/SB600 (but havier) + cheap poster diffuser + good cheap tripod @ expensive super heavy tripod such as manfrotto (bring some koyok for your shoulder & knees)

3. night walking: D60/D90 + macro 105mm + SB600 (attached directly on hot shoe)
(for better lighting, carry 2 set of SB-600 under slave mode and have one assistance to help on lighting; note: please cia makan your assistant at  Singgah Lok)

4. PERHILITAN-style & my self-made studio box: D60 + 18-55mm + flash sync cord SC-28 + SB400/SB600 @ D90 + 2 SB600 + cheap poster diffuser (micro 60mm can also be consider for PERHILITAN-style studio)

5. Bird watching: D60/D90/D300s + 70-300mm VR @ 55-200mm VR + monopod + SB600/SB900 or use expensive heavy fast tele-photo(eg: f2.8 80-200mm & 70-200mm VR + super heavy sturdy tripod) note: I prefer slow 55-200mm VR than buying koyok

Remember:
-the lightest system is usually the best.. Don't ever bring big fat tele lens if you walking on trail, just used at open place like Borneo Highland or Kubah National Park or Bako HQ. for Gading National Park, just bring D60 and 18-55 (tele lens almost not needed, 105mm VR good for night use & macro)
- go Bako for most wild-life, Kubah best for its frog pond during night time & good waterfall, Borneo highland for Bird watching & golf (if you know better place also can comment here for sharing)
-go to Zoo if only your shoulder & knees injured after bringing heavy expensive equipment and koyok patch still doesn't heal
- monopod is very very useful to hold your flash up-high for pseudo-natural lighting
-D60 series equiv: D5000, D3000, (good old D40/D40x)


AWAS: mbawa masuk sistem yg xsesuai k dlm hutan blh mnyebabkn anda ditertawakan oleh macaque n sus barbatus

Studio cikai sy & studio PERHILITAN, & contoh hasil;

BLACK & WHITE PHOTO Contest

Jom meramaikn pertandingan nih...

http://thecamerajunkie.blogspot.com/

 

 

dgr crita en.Ezzan sukakn pantai.. hehe

Exposure

kalau dh faham pembahagian dlm fotografi
(Teknikal, Komposisi dan Editing)
jom kita merapu subunit paling penting bhgn Teknikal 
iaitu...
Pendedahan @ EXPOSURE ckp mamat saleh bermuka bejit

oleh kerana byk pembaca international,
sy akan gunakan istilah 'exposure' instead of pendedahan

Exposure adalah nilai pendedahan cahaya pada gambar;





gambar terlalu gelap
= Under exposed



 

gambar terlalu cerah
= Over exposed



 

gambar dgn pencahayaan cukup & ideal 
= Well exposed







 ada 3 benda yg saling menpengaruhi exposure iaitu;

1. Aperture (mengawal jumlah cahaya masuk)

2. Shutter-speed (mengawal brp lama cahaya masuk)

3. ISO (sensitiviti sensor@filem terhadap cahaya)


APERTURE

Aperture (disimbulkan dgn huruf 'f') ialah bukaan Iris dlm lens kamera yg bertujuan utk mengawal jumlah cahaya dibenarkan masuk ke sensor
(aperture jg penting dlm 'Depth of Field' dan 'Bokeh' - bincang lain kali)

semakin kecil nilai f @ semakin besar bukaan Iris
= semakin banyak cahaya dibenarkan masuk..

f bernilai kecil (bukaan besar) selalu digunakan sewaktu pencahayaan tidak cukup (eg: malam)

f bernilai besar (bukaan kecil) selalu digunakan bila pencahayaan terlalu terang  (eg: tgh hari panas)


SHUTTER-SPEED

Shutter-speed merupakan kelajuan tetingkap cermin dinaikkan dan diturunkan semula bila anda menekan shutter kamera
(cahaya pergi ke sensor bila cermin dinaikkan & pergi ke view-finder bila diturunkan)

apabila exposure dikekalkan, shutter-speed yg berbeza memberi kesan yang berbeza pada subjek bergerak;
semakin laju S-speed = semakin kaku gambar
semakin lambat S-speed = semakin blur gambar
- sering digunakan bagi mengawal kesan pergerakan
(merapu bhgn ni lain kali)

ISO

ISO (@ ASA) ialah sensitiviti sensor@filem terhadap cahaya.
contoh ISO yang selalu digunakan mengikut keadaan;
100 - landscape @ matahari terik
200 - gambar2 biasa
400 - gambar sukan @ benda bergerak laju
800 - dlm rumah tanpa flash @ waktu malam

apabila aperture & shutter-speed ditetapkan, ISO akan menjadi pemboleh ubah exposure gambar..

semakin kurang cahaya, semakin tinggi ISO yg patut digunakan

AWAS! kesan sampingan menggunakan ISO terlalu tinggi
adalah penghasilan Noise (bintil-bintil warna xrata) yg banyak;
(dlm >400 bagi kamera point & shoot, & >1600 bagi DLSR)

ISO = 100 (f=3.3, S-speed= 1/2)

ISO = 3200 (f= 3.3, S-speed= 1/64)

fotografi

untuk lebih mudah memahami fotografi,
sy bahagikan kepada 3 bahagian

1.Teknikal
2.Komposisi
3.Editing

TEKNIKAL adalah bahagian yg berkaitan dgn cara mengendalikan kamera, hukum fizik dan equipment kamera contohnya;
ISO, jenis dan saiz sensor/filem, shutter-speed, aperture, crop-factor, focusing-distance, dinamic-range, exposure, bokeh dan sbgnya

KOMPOSISI adalah cara menyusun gambar dan mempunyai banyak kategori contohnya;
rule of third, framing, back-front-middle ground, perspektif, kontras,subjek, elemen, depth of field, tekstur and etc

EDITING pula adalah cara mengolah gambar yg telahpun diambil dengan menggunakan software-software seperti Kedaifoto Adobe dan Picasa.

Jurufoto yg hidup di zaman kamera filem biasanya sangat hebat dalam bahagian teknikal manakala muda-mudi zaman sekarang lebih mahir dalam bahagian editing

komposi pula bergantung kepada kretiviti masing2 tidak mengira generasi

untuk bergelar hebat anda perlulah mengusai sekurang-kurangnya bahagian Teknikal dan Komposisi... jika anda tidak minat bahagian ini dan cuma minat edit gmbr..
sy simpulkn bahawa anda tidak minat fotografi, tp anda tergolong dlm golongan fotokaki @ kaki foto sahaja

Okay...blh tangkap?? penat otak sy merayau dan jari sy menari, cukup disini dulu.. mau tido dah

Selamat malam n jgn lupa singgah lagi nanti, xnk baca pun cukuplah sekadar bg komen yg memberansangkan