digitelwerk

The Sea, The Ship & Me

2012-01-28T00:22:00.005+08:00

There is something about the sea that seems so close to me. Probably the fact that my father was a sailor for all his life with most of my childhood memories filled with an image of a father who sailed in a ship to earn us a living.

I am still vividly remember my experience being on a ship whenever my father's ship docked. Be it at the nearest port to my house - Pasir Gudang or at Singapore's Keppel Harbour, the journeys I went through were always filled with excitement. I remember taking the evening train from Johor Bahru so that we would arrive in Singapore just in time for dinner as the train station was just across the gate to the harbour.

Sadly, Tanjung Pagar railway station is now out of operation and the land is surrendered to Singapore. I am particularly saddened by this event as this is one of the physical form that enables me to reconnect to my past. The long platform with a vista of arriving train from afar held priceless beautiful moments of a little child getting excited to board a train after getting to spend a brief happy moment with his father who was always away from home working at sea.

Arriving at Tanjung Pagar and after passing through the immigration checkpoint, having to see the glimpse of a man I call Abah is one of the happiest moment money can't buy. He would then always brought us to dinner first - having a good Sup Kambing or Baryani meal before we headed to the ship.

Crossing the road there has always been my fear as a little kid because of all the big lorries serving the port would always sped just as the traffic light turned green. Somehow I am always fascinated by those lorries that in my early years it has become the primary subject of my sketches.

As we reached the port's entrance, my father would asked us to wait as he settled the necessary documentation and authorization for me and my mother to enter the port. Once inside, I am the happiest kid on earth and no expensive toy on earth could match that feeling because in a short while, after walking pass a series of warehouse with its distinctive smell of goods stored in it, my father would instruct to take the lane in between of the warehouses that was leading to the ship. As I took the turn, there stood majestically a big structure that has never failed to amaze me until now. The clanking sound of metal from machineries operated on the ship, with the alarming sound of forklift moving around arranging goods in and out of the warehouse and the distinct smell of the surrounding area, all of it fed my sensory stimulation that in present time, I am at times suddenly taken aback by a certain sound or smell that has the same resemblance with that situation. It's a kind of weird that all those worked as my lullaby when it's time for bed and it had never disrupted my sound sleep.

Before going to bed, normally I'd spent some times at the ship's bridge looking through binocular assessing the surrounding - identifying all ships visible and later in the next morning I could tell which ship had sailed away from the port because there was a new ship that had docked and was not in my radar last night. I'd always asked my father what kind of ship were there, what they carried and some times what were their weights.

Being a kid full of curiosity, my father once brought me for a month's sail at sea and indeed, I was full of questions. How did the radar worked? How far could it reach? Perhaps, I could be the youngest radar operator on South China Sea at that time as I constantly been the one who looked at the radar screen from time to time. How are we going to know where we are? How to read the map? To make it more relative to my situation, how to read the map from my point of view - on an open sea and and how to use visible visual marks whether it's day or night? Why there were many flags nicely folded in the shelf and why can't I turn on the lights in my room if the window is facing the frontage of the ship unless the window's curtain is pulled down?

Why at one time, there were many lights outside on the sea when my father answered it was the oil rigs and we were passing through Brunei waters. Why there were boats approaching our ship when we docked at Lahad Datu and to my surprise the boats were filled with kids - mostly younger than me, being an eight year-old at that time? Why my father threw his coins into the sea when much more to my surprise - those kids started jumping into the sea to catch it first?

Most of it, my father patiently explained to me, sometimes in other similar way, metaphorically if necessary when I still didn't get it. It struck me hard now, when my four year-old daughter fired me with never ending questions out of curiosity and at times, I lost my patience. With my past in mind, I am now determined to feed my children with enough information, enough understanding of how things work in this world. However, I wish that their learning process happens in such interesting environment as I once had.

The bonding I had with my father at that time was priceless and weird enough, we are like world apart now. I don't know what went wrong. I am having the same fear between me and my children as I am now constantly under tremendous pressure especially if it's work related. I fear that I might not able to attend to their needs, that is to play a role as a father figure to them.

Looking back and how things have changed, it was about a sailor and his son, and how the son had benefitted from his adventure, and now that the son has grown-up, working his own adventure as an architect (or perhaps it's a misadventure?), having his own kids, the uncertainty of the future sparks the fear in him creating another big question in his life - does the future holds a better life for his family?

Recently, it starts coming back to me why that I like going to the beach so much or why I wasn't too scared when I got caught in a freak storm at sea while going for a fishing trip at Pulau Pemanggil, though it's a fact that the chances of my survival is close to zero if the boat sank due to my inability to swim, it all now comes back to my upbringing years - my father and his work at sea.

However the world changes, be it me being a curious and playful kid who is now a stressful architect, my father who now spent his time at home after years and years at sea, the simple life I once understood and how I am now living a rat race lifestyle - the sea has always be there as it is, at least from the previous 32 years as I started to know it. The sea don't change (that much in the context of our time), the same splash of waves, the same salty water, the same backdrop, the same excited feeling it brought you in a sunny day also the same fear it struck into you whenever it's stormy.

Only the people changed. In this context, considering my attachment to the sea, it's a whole different life I'm living compared to my father's. That's why going to the beach make me feels like going back home.

Me & the sea. Lovely.

Salam Ramadhan

2011-08-01T18:12:00.003+08:00

In recent years saw an awareness grew inside me as I went through some hardships. I had once lost my job due to 2008 economic crisis. I realize that everything has to be earned. Even my job. I tried to take the easy way out but to my surprise, as easy it seemed to others, I couldn't land any job within the public sector. Why couldn't I? Something must be wrong.

Somehow I managed to get to offer my service to the government but on contractual basis. I wasn't complaining at first as I thought it was a normal practice in public sector before someone is being employed on a permanent basis. As the time passed by, we inquired to the management about our status and after many failed attempts, we finally got the answer - the government can't afford to employ us.

It was really surprising!

Then I started to care for my money having been an abiding tax-payer annually. I started to scrutinize most spendings by the government that had come to my knowledge. My source could be limited or not even correct but the main thing is - I started to care. I voiced out my dissatisfaction. I wrote of my opinion. With that, I am now a different citizen of Malaysia than I used to be.

Then, came the football madness. Also in recent years, I started to become a fanatic fan of my national team. The most recent was the 2014 World Cup qualifying match between Malaysia and Singapore. I shouted out loud, to the top of my lung, profanity at most, most of the time through out the match. Of course to Singapore, be it the team or the fans attending it, or to any Singaporean who might be watching the match from home or just to any Singaporean on earth. I became a hooligan. After the match, we looked out and headed towards the Singaporean fans seating area. We challenged them. We want to fight them.

My patriotism seemed high. Indeed. Was it worth it? For others, it's acceptable or even honorable because that shows how I love Malaysia.

Last night marked the 1st night of the holy month of Ramadhan. I joined most Muslims to the mosque to pray and thank my Lord for allowing me to meet yet again another year in my life. Being less religious, I didn't go to the mosque quite often. Yesterday at the mosque, I saw faces who were calm and full of happiness to welcome the arrival of Ramadhan. These are the faces of the devout. Immediately, I recalled the negative faces I've put on lately for the sake of the country or the national football team. Was it worth it?

Would I be the same for my religion? Would I be the changed person like I did for my country? Would I be able to achieve the serenity of what my religion teaches? This is what I should hold on dear and fight with my life for it. For by belief. For Islam.

Last night, the atmosphere was beautiful. The mosque is on top of a hill with lush greeneries surrounding it. The sound of cricket and insect as if they were chanting 'zikrullah' to the Almighty. The sky seemed calm. At the background, the sound of Quran reciting filled the air. I felt small. I was humbled.

I pray to Allah for longevity because the path I'm charting is nowhere near the right path. I want to change course. No other right time than now in Ramadhan. Welcome, dear holy month.

Pulau Pemanggil

2011-07-03T01:54:00.009+08:00

Taken when we were just leaving the jetty into the open sea. Spill lights from the town still visible at the sky in the background.

- 30secs, f2.8, ISO 200 -

In the middle of last June, I had the chance to go on a fishing trip with some of my friends at Pulau Pemanggil. The island is located on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, about 60km from the fishing town of Mersing. The island is one of the last three islands within the archipelago of Johor's and Pahang's island before it opens to the open water of South China Sea.

The built-up towards the day of the trip generated a lot of excitements since we got to do this with a bunch of long-time friends and we anticipated to have some good times at sea while fishing. Me, being an enthusiast in photography took it as a good opportunity to capture some worthy shots and being that, it has become a habit for me to always check the weather forecast for the place where I'm going. Our local weather forecast service allows us to check on the weather for the upcoming seven days and bearing that in mind, just exactly a week before the trip, I was already browsing through the website of Malaysia's meteorogical department. The forecast was good with sunny days and clear sky at nights, initially. A day prior to the trip, a revisit to the website resulted in a grim forecast - for the three days and two nights that we're going, it was going to be days and nights of heavy rain and occasional thunderstorm. I wonder though to this day, how could it changed from good to worse (or worst as I don't know what possibly could be more worse than a thunderstorm?) in such a short time?

I mentioned this to my friends I'm traveling with from the city but it only resulted a temporary worry because a mere cancellation would just rip us away the opportunity of a probably good and never had before outing for the some of us.

We arrived at Mersing on the evening of Friday the 17th of June after a 5-hour ride from Kuala Lumpur. We took the Ayer Hitam exit from PLUS highway and continue the journey on federal road towards the east through the town of Kluang and few Felda settlements. As we were reaching Mersing, I could see from my driver's seat that the sky over the direction we were heading was dark. To ease the worry, I kept saying to myself that probably it was just a normal shower.

The boat was scheduled to leave Mersing at 10pm the latest, to suit the tide of the river. We arrived early after being reminded constantly few days before by the trip's organizer. We visited a fishing accessories shop and later we decided to look for a place for dinner. However, it was really frustrating not being able to locate a decent seafood stall in this town, a fishing town. What frustrated us more was that we ended up settling down in a city-like bistro next to the main jetty. What a way to get away from the city life.

The other members of the trip came from the south - Johor Bahru. About an hour before the scheduled departure, we already met up, ironically except the reminder himself. In the end, we sailed to the sea an hour late, just in time before the tide receded. Here where the journey began - a ride on a typical fisherman's boat with 10 hopefuls on board to Pulau Pemanggil, hoping to experience the excitement of fishing at the open sea.

However, it wasn't a normal day to go out to the sea.

To be continued...

iMed! iMac!

2011-05-16T03:16:00.008+08:00

It's a long overdue decision finally made. I really need a new machine for me to continue being productive. I have been at delay for quite some times with works especially on an album for a client who has been patient enough to accept every excuse from me.

My previous workhorse has been a lifeline for me to continue exist in the digital world. As mentioned in my earlier postings, my first desktop is considered an introduction for me to the digital world and the previous one brought me to another level. I am very much thankful, words can't describe how grateful I am for their contribution to my life.

A life span of four years for a computer could be well considered as a living dead, most likely everything is in obsoleteness and suppose to be dead and yet, still my PC has been able to suck some blood, especially in producing wonderful colors for my images. All those images that have grabbed many attentions were produced by that PC.

Parting with it the other day was sentimental. I have personal attachment with my belongings especially when it has performed as it should under great circumstances.

Now, I have acquired a new machine after given up very much thought in deciding to buy it. A PC or a Mac? I have always been a PC user except during my early years of employment when the office I was working at was on Apple's platform. The option was still undecided because with the same amount I could have buy a well equipped PC. It wasn't until I was given a brand new PC at the current office (also at my previous office when I was in the PWD). Anything new is always good at first but for a PC, that enjoyment mostly wouldn't last that long. I always hate it when it starts to become complicated, unknowingly. Soon enough, many pop-ups will appear warning me of whatever possible threat. Based on my years of experience using a PC, probably a constant watch day and night updating the latest anti-virus software will only free me of worries of my PC being infected, if not fatally, in a way it will somehow still affect the speed performance of that PC.

Now please welcome, my new workhorse - the new iMac (at time of published), launched less than two weeks ago. Still a lot of tricks to learn and I am eager to know it. And Johanna, definitely you'll going to get your album soon. I'm sorry.

Race Day!

2011-04-16T22:53:00.006+08:00

It all started when I received a phone call 3 days before race day. A friend on the other line offered me a ticket to watch the F1 on race day. It wasn't an immediate yes until he uttered the next golden words - it's a grand stand seating. That prompted an instant yes! yes! yes! as the answer.

I am not that keen to watch an F1 race day at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) (that means I am still open to watch the race day at any other venue, definitely who wouldn't) due to some bad experience I had before. Though I was very much grateful to my nephew when he offered a free ticket during the 2005 season, I lost my wallet and had to endure a 2-hour traffic jam getting out of the venue. The seating, on a hill that forms one of the corner for the track, provides me with only almost a second of F1 experience, out of one minute and the half taken to complete a lap at SIC by an F1 car. The cars came out from our right before quickly disappeared on our left.

But this time, it was a big upgrade. At first I wasn't really care about the price of our ticket until I received a call from a former boss, who was also attending the race and wanting to know where I'm sitting. I mentioned whatever written at the back of the ticket when he mentioned that I have an expensive ticket. A confirmation by the ticket provider that the ticket was worth over one grand. Never in my life, unless, after when I already own a Ferrari, that I would only buy an F1 ticket at such a price.

The whole experience was carnival-like with lots of people already thronged the circuit by noon. Entering the parking was already hell enough, to pay an amount that can fill up 3/4 of my tank with petrol just to park under a palm tree really sum up the leeching we had. The price of the food was marked up out of proportion. No outside food or drinks allowed.

Anyway, what made it's worth to get a grand stand seating, apart from its hefty price tag is to damage your hearing, by purposely had it exposed to the high-revving engine sound during start of the race. My seating was just next to the starting grid. I really love the roaring sound of an F1 car!

Finally, big credit due to Jim for the free ticket. Though I know I will have to endure another 2-hour traffic jam just to get out of there (just as what I had endure for the two races I've attended) if he happens to provide me with another free ticket next season, the prospect of getting a corporate suite wasn't really much a deal, isn't it?

Our New Baby

2011-03-16T00:22:00.002+08:00

Alhamdulillah, my wife has safely delivered a baby boy at 9.15 pm on the 15th of March 2011. Both mother and baby are fine. The baby weighed at 4.2 kg when he was born. I was there the whole time in the operating room watching how doctors worked to welcome the baby into this world.

We are very excited to welcome the new member to our family!

Boo!

2011-03-13T22:09:00.001+08:00

On one fine night, my daughter browsed through the book shelf looking for something worthy to look into while I found it as an opportunity worthy to shoot.

We Love Our Ride!

2011-02-12T02:44:00.006+08:00

We love this car so much. It has brought us to many places especially to the many seasides we have been as if it was part of the entourage. If only it could step along side with us when we were strolling all the beautiful beaches. Somehow, I would always try to get this car as closest as possible to the water, so close that it has once got stuck in the fine sand of Cherating. Latest, the jagged rock!

Surprise! Surprise!

2011-01-18T03:22:00.011+08:00

4th of January annually is a meaningful day to me but for most of the years, it wasn't really much celebrated. Since I was little, I wasn't hoping for any present or celebration on that special day.

I remember a photo of me, standing in front of what it seemed as a birthday cake, complete with 3 lit candles and a very familiar table fan at the background, the fan that I've been trying to keep as it was the only tangible thing I can hold on to that reminds me of that sweet moments in the photo, until I lost it somewhere few years back. There's a note at the back of the photo, like an EXIF data stating it was taken when I was celebrating my 3rd birthday. At least, I know long time ago, my birthday was joyfully celebrated.

Years after that, only few times worth remembering on this special date. One was when I repeatedly begging to be bought a toy as my birthday present - a Matchbox-like trailer sold at a stationary shop I passed every day returning from my religious study, which I presume in present value is only about RM10.00, and I really had to beg for it.

The other birthday celebration that I remember was when my only sister brought me to a fast food outlet in KOMTAR at my hometown - because she was asked by my mother when she just got home after an hour ride from work in a public bus - at that KOMTAR, so basically she just had to repeat the same journey just to make it a special day for me. At that time, it was really really a big deal for me (and my family basically) to be able to eat at fast food outlet.

Then came my varsity days, when this date was still special but scary at the same time. I had to endure the unimaginable tortures thrown at me. At worst, I had my back splashed with chill water (real cold water) and later with hot water. Later, I felt my skin was burning and discovered that someone had poured lacquer all over my back. My cloth literally glued to my skin and it was hell painful to detach it. But hey, at least that's the way they celebrated me and I really enjoy it until today.

Nowadays it is celebrated differently unless my wife opted to celebrate like how I had stated above LOL. For this year, like any other before this, there's no cake for me because I am no fan of it. However, as I lay my head on my sleeping mattress when I wanted to go to sleep, I felt there's something boxy beneath my pillow.

Thank you dear for the manly present for my birthday :)

Outdoor Session for Johanna & Shafiee

2011-01-18T02:55:00.003+08:00

This post of them is very much overdue as I had covered the solemnization months ago and yet I'm only posting the casual out door session done recently. They were just lovely throughout the whole session despite being the attention of the public for dressing up to kill.

Location was at the old Kuala Lumpur railway station as it has that nostalgic and classical feel. I've been wanting to at least captured a few shots inside the KL Heritage Hotel but it has now been closed to public. I've done some researches online and discovered that the previous owner/management really embrace the idea of having newlyweds shoot their wedding memorabilia there. Such a big loss to have it closed without any clear indication of what future lies ahead for it.

Anyway, to the couple - you guys rock!

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-02T00:57:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was the first day of the year 2011. In a way, I found the time lapsed so fast that I am writing again to mark the coming of a new year after the previous writing to mark the end of the last decade (http://digitelwerk.blogspot.com/2009/12/another-decade-gone.html).

The year 2010 wasn't really a great one as I was still uncertain of the path I'm going to chart. At one point, I was almost certain of becoming a civil servant until I was deemed unqualified by a team of two interview panels at the final stage. As I slowly accept the fact, I found out that I am too unqualified to make some stupid decisions as proved by the top officials in making some of the crucial decisions for the country.

That was for the so-called premiere management post. While on the technical side, it was really a contrary for the government to urge more professionals to serve the country when I (and quite a number of my fellows) who were (and are) waiting to be absorbed as a permanent staff in the public service. Having worked on award winning project and in an award winning corporate company does not really guarantee a place in the public service, where to construct a single storey building is still a big challenge for their engineers, let alone the contractors who are busy calculating how to divide the contract sum, within the safe factor amongst the parties involved, that in return will secure them of more future contracts (so they'll continue to be called contractor). What? To build? They just don't care. That's why it's a big challenge to build that single storey building at the first place.

2010 was also the year that matured me in photography. Not that I'm saying my photos are getting better and better (in fact it's stale) as I don't really have the chance to learn more. I am made to believe of a better prospect to be a good photographer but in the end it was all lies. Always, I was left behind whenever there's any opportunity for a photography session that could result me in learning anything new or just improves my skills.

Worse, I am feeling of being cheated financially to take up jobs that are up until today, I am yet to receive the full payment. Worst, one of them is acting as if I never did him any favor by being his photographer for his wedding in the last minute with the fee he repeatedly suggested for me to accept, and yet until today, he still keeps me in the dark over the payment for the work delivered.

Now, I am back at the private practice and hoping that it will bring me to a new level in my career. Photography will remain as my hobby, as what it started as and most likely no more than that. Probably that will make me more happy this year hence the title - 'Happy' New Year.

Expecting

2010-12-28T02:47:00.002+08:00

We are all excited!

Saloma Bistro

2010-12-23T08:56:00.003+08:00

Shot taken while on an assignment to shoot a dinner for a public department at Saloma Bistro. Had I use the tripod, it would not have been a glaring attempt on HDR. Bear with it, I'm really getting myself the best tweaking for my HDR photos so there'll be lots of trial photo uploaded here.

One Fine Afternoon

2010-12-14T20:03:00.003+08:00

The morning was a long wait for Lira's check-up when the doctor had to leave his clinic to deliver a baby upstairs in the maternity ward. We finished around 2, that meant we won't be able make it on time to attend a wedding of a friend in Port Dickson. Since suddenly we have time to spend, I decided to bring Dhea for a train ride to KLIA. The weather was really nice though despite occasional heavy rains for the past few weeks. We were happy!

Busy Times

2010-12-11T01:21:00.004+08:00

After quite a long hiatus, I'd love to write as long as possible but time would prohibit me from doing so as evidently, for the first time since its re-establishment, there was no post for the month of November. Been busy with works at the new office hence the shelving of my beloved camera ever since. Whenever it's possible, I'd bring along my camera and shoot. Here are some updates.

The Country I Live In

2010-10-27T06:57:00.006+08:00

I am living in Malaysia and though it is a beautiful country, I'm beginning to hate this country for some apparent reasons. To highlight one of it, how could someone owing millions of ringgit in taxes to the country is not barred (or failed to be barred as claimed by the IRB stated in the media) from leaving the country where here I am, failing to settle a study loan is strictly barred from doing so.

For human development? or Protecting the riches?

Can't they even make a sound judgment on that?

Fuck this country!

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/26/nation/7298264&sec=nation

Second Attempt

2010-10-23T01:59:00.001+08:00

My second attempt on HDR. Macam budak kecik, new thing hooks me.

Post Processing

2010-10-22T00:45:00.005+08:00

During the early days of my photography, I was always admiring good photos that I found while browsing for inspiration. I learnt that there are lots of factors implied in producing a good photo. While investing (or wasting) endlessly to new and more superior gadget is one of the factor, I knew (or rather hoping as definitely I couldn't afford in acquiring the new gadget most of the time) that it wasn't just the hardware, but a sort of alteration or modification or enhancement surely have been involved in producing such photos. A further research on the net (by using the words above) has led me to the world of post-processing (or PP in the shorter term).

Inspired by a certain photos I've seen, I have ever since been trying to get the similar result only to discover more ways of doing it. As it has been, the general appearance of photos that I took were inconsistent due to the experimental post-processing methods I've discovered.

I've known about HDR (high dynamic range) processing technique at about the same time but I was always turned down when I saw lots of overcooked samples done by other enthusiasts. Apart from it, as I attempted to produce an HDR-processed image by using the software that I always used when processing my photos, my old workhorse just couldn't process it. I'd always thought, it must be that because this is an old horse. I was wrong.

Though it's true that my ever trusted PC is old enough with lesser capabilities compared to every other PC that I touch nowadays, the failure to process an HDR image in CS2 is due to the EXIF data embedded in the 'single RAW' technique I adopted to create the HDR image. HDR processing requires same images of different values in order for the software to merge these images. As I was using the single RAW technique to produce a set of images with different values, the Adobe Camera RAW embedded the same EXIF data for all those images thus the incapability of the built-in HDR in CS2 to read the different values for each of the photo.

The other option, and actually is the best (according to the findings on the net) to produce HDR images is by using PhotoMatix. I hesitated for so long to install it for some reasons - the computer being old and almost full is a part of it but being a reason is always used in any way as a justification to delay a thing.

It has been years and finally tonight, to heck with all those reasons, I decided to install it. I did and there I was fascinated with it and at the same time regretted that if only I installed it years ago.

Anyway, it's still an immature attempt and I am yet to understand the parameters within it. This is my second try, a set of photos that show the original photo, the one that has been through tiring and difficult methods to get a balanced exposure by using merely the CS2 and lastly the HDR attempt. I am not fully satisfied yet with the result but definitely I can foresee a major leap in my image processing for the years to come.

But first, I have to get the watermark removed first. That is by getting the license guys, not by the harder way of image manipulating.

Broken Finger Scene

2010-10-18T02:46:00.003+08:00

In my life, at 4 years old, I've ran straight head on to the edge of the wall and had a deep cut on my forehead that has its scars clearly visible until now.

In my life, I've been on several times bled because of fireworks.

In my life, I've fallen off from both the bicycle and bike and sustained deep cuts.

In my life, there was once upon a time, a girl came beside me and simply struck a pen knife to my arm causing a cut so deep it still exists today.

In my life, I've twisted most of the joints in my body with one still plaguing my right knee for the past 10 years.

But I've never break a bone until now.

In my life, now I've broken a bone.

Dhea's Blurb!

2010-10-15T07:38:00.004+08:00

Finally, something that I have envisioned even before I actually start clicking the shutter is to have it printed out represented in the best medium I can afford. I found out this book making service and been wanted to make one ever since. It does require a stock of photos to be included or else it won't be a book, so I had to wait for a while before this could be realized. Initially, I wanted to include all of the photos that I have but I think it's better to dedicate Dhea a book of her own. After almost a month of waiting finally the book has arrived.

What We Did On A Good Saturday

2010-10-09T20:00:00.003+08:00

While she was sleeping...

...Mama baked this...

...and Abah cooked this.

Life

2010-10-06T20:37:00.001+08:00

My life. Could have been better. Should have been better.

Waking Up in Aidilfitri

2010-09-14T15:20:00.004+08:00

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise this Hari Raya. Every sunrise is beautiful yet each is different. So is this one and so was the past. Let's hope and plan for a better and meaningful Aidilfitri in the future.

Al-Fatihah

2010-09-11T00:23:00.002+08:00

Darah daging menziarah asal datangnya mereka. Al-Fatihah

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Maaf Zahir Batin

2010-09-07T02:33:00.008+08:00

The other late night, I was having drinks with old friends chit-chatting over nothing prominent when suddenly, considering it is approaching near, we came to the topic of Aidilfitri's preparation. One of them, has a mother of a same origin as my mother thus what he told shared a similarity with what I used to experience whenever Aidilfitri is approaching. That experience too is strongly associated with a distinct smell, a smell that hit me recently when I was laying comfortably on our new set of sofa. A smell that brought me to my childhood experience in celebrating the festive day.

My friend was telling how he has just helped his mother in laying down some carpets all around the house. That was exactly what my mother would do to beautify the house for Aidilfitri apart from changing the new curtain, changing the cover for all the seating's cushions and polishing all the silver and brass wares. The thing about these carpets is that these carpets are only for special occasion and when not in use, we have to keep it preserved by having it wrapped in layers of old newspaper and to be tied strongly so that the size of each roll is as small as possible allowing us to tuck it all up in a very small space next to the wardrobe.

With Aidilfitri approaching, mother would tell me to have all of the 'special' carpets laid at its designated area. I used to live in a relatively very small house at a low-cost housing scheme and definitely the area that the carpet would cover overlapped with the furniture's arrangement. So, I had to lift every furniture to tuck the carpet underneath it. Imagine having lifted all the furnitures and finished laying down the carpet only to find it misaligned! In a way, luckily my house was small or else I couldn't imagine having to repeat the process for numerous of carpets - laying it down and later have it rolled and wrapped up for storage. And every time, I got used to the unique smell of these rarely used carpets hence the strong association with the event till today.

Usually, during the last two weeks of Ramadhan, we had already started to do some preparations. Putting up the colorful lights and have it switched on every night lit up the spirit of celebration. Our neighbor next door has a bigger and unfenced compound so they would set up gasoline lamp fixed to a stick stuck to the ground. I and my childhood friends would ride the bike around our housing scheme to see which house has the most decorative lighting fixtures.

Later on, we would end up at a field. On one end, there's a kid's playground and on the other end, it slopes down to a monsoon drain. It was a perfect setting for a 'war'. We would divide ourselves into two teams, both teams taking cover behind the existing 'fortress'. I remember once, I was in the team that held the line down in the sloping end. We were under heavy fire that we had to jump into the monsoon drain to evade the continuous attack. Apparently they had lots of fireworks supply than we were.

Also, during this period of the last two weeks that postman would stopped by every other day to deliver some white envelopes of various sizes. I remember the joy of looking at the stamped stamp where it states the origin of the mail (greeting card) and later on to open up the envelope to reveal the beautiful greeting card inside, amazingly never failed to make me smile. I used to see in other houses where they would hang all the cards received on strings tied over the ceiling. My mother however preferred to have it attached to our wall.

Being the youngest child, there's a big age gap with the rest of my siblings with most of them already settled down with their families in the capital. I would eagerly awaits for their return as it would make the whole house livelier. I remember a routine that we would all sit in front of the television on the eve of Aidilfitri laughing good time over 'Raya'-themed sitcoms, usually the one showed on our neighboring country's network. Meanwhile, also a routine for her, our mother was always busy in the kitchen preparing her signature dish for every Aidilfitri - the ever delicious beef 'rendang'.

Living in the small house made it became crowded when it was time to sleep. We would arrange by families and the best spot was to turn the living room into a dormitory. My spot would always be on the two-seater sofa at the front room. It was an additional room, built when I am yet to study architecture thus the way it was arranged is separated from the main house therefore whenever I wanted to go to the toilet I had to use keys to access the house before carefully choreographing my steps to avoid stepping on someone's feet or hand.

Those were the built-ups known to me in welcoming Aidilfitri. At this age, I truly miss it. Under current circumstance, it is near impossible for me to decorate the house I'm living the way I used to before. At this age too I don't think it's proper for me to wage a 'war' on other kids or else it would had me arrested by the police.

The shows for Aidilfitri on television were a total crap. Not to mention the local movies released during Aidilfitri at the cinema for the past few years were never themed to suit the festive season.

The advance cyber world definitely paved new ways of doing things but little we realized that it also kills it. People don't send greeting cards anymore. Ironically, the only card I received this year was sent by a Chinese friend and how I am grateful to her for that. As guilty as I am being a part of it and being too late to send any out now, I would like to take this opportunity to ask forgiveness from anyone reading this blog, from my relatives and friends, and lastly from my family. Me, my wife and our lovely daughter wish you all a happy festive celebration.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Maaf Zahir Batin.

However, what I missed most is to ask forgiveness from my parents - having them sitting side by side and returning to only one place I call home, instead of two as fate writes, it would never ever possible to happen again.

Forever.

Lots of Dhea!

2010-09-03T08:14:00.002+08:00

I am preparing this image for a project. Really hoping to get it done before Aidilfitri as I'm going back to the slavery world after that. It's a matter of now or never. Another one to follow soon.

Dhea at Home at 1.4

2010-08-25T17:46:00.002+08:00

She really wanted to play outside. I really wanted to test the new 1.4.

It's mutual.

Thank You & Goodbye

2010-08-23T23:59:00.006+08:00

I'm parting with these two lenses that have served me well since I started doing photography. The 18-55 has been through a rough journey and had on few occasions tasted a splash of sea water. Surprisingly with its cheap status, it has produced a lot of my favorite images. Meanwhile, the 55-200 was my main target for further reach due to its Vibration Reduction (VR) technology. I had fun outings with it but it just hard to perform under indoor lighting when I'm doing weddings. Furthermore, lately I had fewer outings, if there is, mostly with my family and thus lesser needs for further reach since my daughter always kept running towards me whenever I'm taking her photograph.

Surely, they have replacements. Can't wait to see the results of these replacements!

Meanwhile, so long, thank you & goodbye my dear lenses.

The 18-55 and my favorite image it produced.

The 55-200 and my favorite image it produced

Re-Publish The Early Days

2010-08-20T03:17:00.006+08:00

I guess there are some worthy shots during my early days in handling the DSLR that needed some justifications from my editing. It is going to be a series of republication of old materials.

Spirit of Celebrating

2010-08-17T22:00:00.001+08:00

This is her first time holding a fireworks. I'm getting her ready to join the other relatives when Aidilfitri arrives.

About My Image Processing

2010-08-15T06:08:00.008+08:00

There were few occasions when somebody would ask me about my venture in photography. I would happily tell them almost everything they needed to know, that is within my knowledge. But it has just been only two years since I started this passion, therefore I am nowhere near of being called a professional nor am I comfortable being called a photographer.

I am always enthusiastic whenever I shared my knowledge with someone new to photography. Not that I am any wiser but explaining the possibilities to explore in photography really excites me. Having explained about the technicalities of handling the camera, I would tell them about the essential of knowing to process the photo in image processing software, in this case, what I'm using is Adobe Photoshop.

Normally, I always got this one look - a look that is trying to tell me, I'm a faker in producing the images. There are different approaches when it comes to the concept of purity in taking a photo. To me, having it processed in Photoshop is a way to give the image a touch of individuality. It is a personal touch.

Anyone, with a couple of thousand ringgit can buy a camera with the same lense as what I am using. With it, being at the same place and same time and after adjusting the dials and buttons with the same settings as I am, we both are going to snap an almost identical images. How am I going to differentiate mine? It draws a question though, is the differentiation a necessary at the first place?

Under a certain circumstance, in my case, my images are of a personal touch to express what I've seen and recorded visually. I might see some potentials in these images that best represent it. It could be some color enhancements or creating a visual directive that makes the photo more interesting.

I read a book about post processing and there's a caption in it that quotes the author as saying that digital processing is similar to having the negatives processed in the darkroom for film camera except that Photoshop is really a powerful digital tool that is not only capable of producing basic image processing, it is also as if we are painting on a canvas - to better express one's visual expression.

I remember a teacher once told me, a block of wood already holds a certain shape in it waiting to be carved out. It is up to the carver to find it and make it appears.

How I Met Your Mom, Dhea.

2010-08-10T10:10:00.017+08:00

When I dedicated the previous posting for Lira's birthday, she was hoping to read something about the memories we've been having ever since. I know it was a bit disappointing for her to read the craps I was writing. Well, I'm a man of distraction (not destruction lol) whenever I'm writing. In a way too, I was trying to avoid being drawn to type anything mushy.

Anyway, let me write a new posting.

If asked, it all started when I bought my first personal computer (the one that I mentioned in previous posting - with only 4 gigabyte of hard disk) somewhere in the second half of 1999. I remember when my brother first connected the PC for global connectivity, I became hooked to the wired world, in particular the IRC.

I reconnected with my school friends and we used to occupy a chat room (called channel in chatting term). One day in August 2000, she joined the channel and was looking for a guy she used to know. Apparently, she used to hang out at a channel of the same name as our channel but under different server.

Me, at that time being a moderator for the channel (called 'op' or operator) always tried to be friendly and helpful to any guest dropping by in the channel. We started to chat and getting to know each other more. It got to a point where we would always be in the chat room at the same time together every day.

The chemistry was obvious to our chat friends (who were also the real world friends) who would always tease us. It was flattering for me as I had not been in any mutual relationship prior to knowing her.

I guess gadgets did help us a lot. For a start it was the PC that threw me into the wired world. Then, from the chat room, we started to converse verbally when I bought my first handphone in late 2000. Recalling, it cost a lot back then to own a prepaid number, a whopping RM360+ with just RM60 worth of talk time. An SMS would cost about 50 cents or a ringgit. If today, by replying 'OK' in an SMS is normal, back then it was considered a huge waste! I would always try to lengthen my message to justify the hefty charge.

Back to the verbal conversation, it all started when on one fine night as I was discussing in a studio at the top floor, I heard a loud ringtone echoing in between the two blocks of architecture school in UTM. As a new user, the etiquettes of having and using handphone were of little knowledge to me, hence the very loud ringtone. I guess it was the first time the phone ever rang. And it was the most rushing run I ever ran a level down to my studio to pick up that call.

When I picked up, there was a voice of a girl on the other end. Hearing it for the first time, the voice was beautiful. It struck me. In the opposite end, however, I replied with a rushing breath (I wasn't athletic for that kind of run). She introduced herself and I was quite surprised that she would call me that quick considering I've only given her my number somewhere earlier in the afternoon.

From that night on, she would call me every night - sharp at 1 am in the morning as she probably figured out by then I'm already or almost done with my architecture work in the studio. Little she knew at that time, it was never a wrap up for the day until it reaches 3 or 4 am in the morning. Somehow, having received calls at 1 am every night, I have made it a habit to place a watch on my drafting table and always trying to speed up my work and wrap it up earlier just before the watch shows 1 am. Amazingly (read: amazingly!), she was always punctual.

If anyone in the architecture school somewhere in the period of between late 2000 and beyond would remember of hearing voices in the wee hours around the faculty, I am confessing my guilt that it was me roaming around the block trying to get the best signal reception for my handphone. The signal was very poor back then in the faculty. I remember having to lean against the metal frame of the window or standing reaching out at the end of the corridor just to get the best signal where in the dark silhoutte of the night, I would be mistaken as Rose standing at the bow of the Titanic.

After going through those phases, we both decided that it's time to meet. Probably the timing was just right because there was a bunch of her friends that were planning for a trip to Johor Bahru, my hometown. She joined them. They were expected to arrive around midnight. Gosh, how it was one of the nerve wrecking moments in my life having to wait for her arrival. The anticipations, expectations, impressions were all clung in my head. I had to drag a dear friend of mine (who happened to be one of the 'op' in the channel and the three of us know each other virtually) to accompany me when meeting her.

The moment of arrival holds its own special memory for her as what she retold it to me. While I was eager to see her in person, she got confused in identifying me from the two of us the moment she alighted the car. We did not have a proper introduction thus after when everybody sat down and few lines have been exchanged that only she realized which one was I am.

We were young and being at the same age, we were 21 at that time. Her friends went their own way and surely there was going to be a problem for a young girl to stay alone in the hotel. Luckily, there were few of my female friends who were also eager to know the girl who had somehow made me a cheerful and happy guy for the past few months. They offered her to stay at their place when she was there. From what I heard from her, those friends were a wonderful hosts. They treated her very well. Thanks a lot ladies! You know who you are :)

In fact, they didn't just being a good hosts. Apparently, they were also playing intermediaries. As what she told me, they were telling good things about me, trying to convince her to accept me if I was ever to propose. And they were asking for updates whenever she reached home after going out with me.

Recalling the first time we went out together, we first had lunch around the campus. That lunch would be considered a big waste because the amount of uneaten food had a resale value of almost 100%. Later, I brought her on top of a hill in the campus, well known for its view of the surroundings. It was in the middle of the afternoon under the direct sun. I wouldn't do it again but that day, the sun didn't seem to have any effect on me despite the almost wet shirt I was wearing.

Later we went for a movie. We both tried not to impose any perception yet towards the relationship so we avoided watching any romantic movies that were on show. We ended up watching 'Dude, Where's My Car?'. What a selection for the first date.

Tomorrow, she was going back to Kuala Lumpur. So, later that night as I was sending her home after the movie, I made the move. I proposed. I was hoping that after the sunny hilly outing and a good selection of movie at the cinema I would get an immediate answer. I guess that hilly outing is best visited later in the evening and the movie should be about a man and a lady instead of two stoned guys searching for their car and eventually saved the planet from the aliens - because she said she needed to think about it and would only be able to give the answer tomorrow.

So it became one of the torturing sleepless nights I ever had apart from the normal that I experienced whenever the semester reaches the end. So much that I can't sleep that night and when I finally dozed off, I overslept until the next morning, almost making her missed the bus. There were a lot of frantic missed calls (surely it had to be frantic) by her and the girls on my phone as I had put the phone on silent (having to already know the etiquettes). Luckily, they managed to call one of my housemates who later woke me up. Again, I was on the most rush of rushing I ever had in my life since her bus would depart in less than an hour.

Having picked her up, I was on the road driving like a pro (so it seemed to me, to impress her) switching lanes, honking, shifting gears (apart of making it accelerates, it also creates a roaring sound - again, trying to look like a pro) in a borrowed car from a friend. I still remember the plate number - WBP 5649, a brown Proton Saga.

As we were reaching the bus terminal, definitely I wouldn't be forgetting the proposal I made last night. As I narrated above, with the help of the intermediaries after I sent her home and probably with the impression she had with my driving skill at that time, she finally gave the answer,

"Ok, it is now 9.30 in the morning and the date is 25th of March".

With that, there was the happiest guy alive seen at that time, sending a girl boarding a bus, waving tirelessly till the bus left and probably still waving for the next 10 minutes after.

To add to the catch line that she said, I can't help to notice that it was the most beautiful rainy day I ever saw.

That was how it started, if you want to know.

A Happy Birthday With A Retrospective

2010-08-07T02:38:00.014+08:00

Yesterday was the 30th birthday of my dear wife. A habit, I would always try to have a memory retrospective of what has happened for the past 10 years, in this case, for her. She tried but not very hard.

Strangely, I was. And it made me realized how time flies.

Ten years ago, we were strangers. At 20, I was still flirting. By chance, technology allowed me to know a girl. I used to communicate with her through internet. IRC (Internet Relay Chat) was the most commonly used at that time. The journey with IRC allowed me to have a virtual me, another persona detaching from reality.

At that time, I was still an architectural student. Just now as I was browsing through the page of a senior back then in architecture school who is now a lecturer there, I saw several photos of his students that bring back old memories. But it also marks some distinct difference with what we had those years. The apparent is the tools used for learning.

What I saw in the new photo is still the same studio that I used to do my course work but somehow, the atmosphere felt and look different. It was hard for me to figure it out at first but then I noticed the first disparity. The studio wasn't fully furnished - the personal touch we used to make when we first occupied the studio. The personal carpet, posters and pin-ups, personal desktop, some storages, extra lightings for personal ambiance, probably words of wisdom (as if making us any wiser) pasted somewhere on the wall with decorations etc. and the most importantly the drafting table, which tells we spent more time in the studio, crafting our work manually, mostly.

I figured it has to do with the wide usage of laptop, probably an essential tool for present undergraduates therefore reducing the needs of such space we used to have. As one photo clearly shows, a girl sitting with an empty table except for a laptop. Perhaps, the existing layout might be considered a redundant if based on the current needs. Putting aside the argument of effectiveness for both learning methods, personally I feel they are missing something.

Last two days, as what I posted in my Facebook, there was an incident in the house where Dhea got hold of an old cassette and she mistook it as a toy gun and used it for a shooting spree around the house. Despite still wondering (until now) how on earth that she could figure it as a shooting tool, I showed her a skill of rewinding the tape using a stick of pen - a technique I frequently used to save power of the batteries for my walkman during my life in the boarding school. Later on, as I was still holding the cassette, she brought to me my iPod and by holding both items in my hands, it drew an immediate comparison between the two.

About the same size and both function to contain sounds, the similarities end there. While the cassette needs a player to produce the sound, an iPod holds a lot of other functions - surfing the net and play movies to name the few. What I need to enjoy my favorite sounds back then is greatly simplified, enhanced and packed with other capabilities.

My first personal computer only has 4 gigabyte of hard disk storage available. Yet I was able to accomplish tasks given. Now, a device smaller than its given name, a thumb drive can store more data than what I could ten years ago. Imagine having everything running in that little thumb drive of 4 gb for a personal computer, from the operating system to softwares and datas, most kids nowadays would not even able to think about it.

Having said all of those, however not everything changes. The familiar faces of the very same teachers who have taught us to be what we are today were still there in that photo. The sounds that were playing from the cassette are now still playing, through my iPod. That girl I met in IRC is still communicating with me in another currently popular platform - the Facebook but is now limited because we both spent more time in real world as a married couple blessed with a daughter and another one coming soon.

There, a simple retrospective 10 years back dug out some of the best memories we had. Back to the current day, once again, Happy 30th Birthday dear Lira.

Masjid Sultan Mizan, Putrajaya

2010-08-03T19:51:00.002+08:00

Went for a short walkabout around Masjid Sultan Mizan in Putrajaya to accompany a friend who is new to photography. It's been a while since I went out for a photography outing. Anyway, it's a beautiful mosque indeed. As I didn't know we're going to roam around the mosque, I should have wear a decent clothing then, therefore I could explore more angle from within the mosque.

Majlis Tilawah Al-Quran Antarabangsa 2010

2010-07-29T01:53:00.004+08:00

The previous entry was to display the work of the loser - the rejected option. I think it may have confuses visitors to this blog (if there's any!) thinking I'm displaying the actual Tilawah Al-Quran.

These are the actual photos of the event that is currently ongoing for a week starting 27th of July. However, I'm not going to display any close up photo of the main stage as it'll reveal the poor workmanship of the builder.

The main stage was designed by my colleague, Pn. Noraiyu Buang. The main idea is to use the agenda of the Palestinian in Gaza under the oppression of the Israel as the core concept of unifying Muslims all around the world. She is using metaphorically, the bow of a ship to symbolize the flotilla to Gaza that was ambushed by the Israelis and supported by images of Al-Aqsa mosque, Nabawi mosque & a mosque in Malaysia, which is the Putra mosque of Putrajaya. Initially it is best to use our National Mosque for the image but we couldn't find any decent image that best portrays the mosque from the best angle.

The event went smoothly and I was busy going everywhere to capture the event. Me and my colleagues ended up in the same room with one of a renown singer, Nora who later performed a song on stage. Though I've been to several productions before, but seeing one on a scale like this furthermore with the attendance of national top key figures, the King and our prime minister made the event an interesting one for me.

Later on, I got the chance to mingle with the contestants from Middle East during post event cocktail. Language proved to be a barrier but nevertheless it was filled with exchange of friendly gestures between us.

It's the only occasion in my life where I had the chance to get close to His Royal Highness, the King of Malaysia. However, the turn down is, never get too close to the King if your eyes stucked in the viewfinder busy snapping photos of him, or else HRH guards will simply push aside anybody, with disregard of anything.

Next time, when I have the chance to meet the King, I'll put down my camera and stick my hand out for a handshake with him instead.

Tilawah Al-Quran Antarabangsa

2010-07-26T16:44:00.005+08:00

Probably the last post of my work from JKR. Most likely (99%) I'll be leaving JKR by Aidilfitri and this was one of the works in JKR that required a little imagination from me that I think worth sharing.

It was for the tomorrow's International Qur'an Recital Competition (27th of July) and annually since the past few years, my office is given the responsibility in producing the design of the main stage for the event. There are 4 of us, architects, who were instructed to come out with a design each.

I never thought that I would get involved in this as I used to watch the event occasionally every year whenever I accidentally flipped over to the channel that broadcasts the event live on national television. I never bothered to look at the design, whether out of ignorance or that the design never really caught my attention.

I browsed through previous years' designs for a start. Definitely, they were majestic. I've seen lots of curves, domes, arches, minarets or replicas of it, flowers etc. in those designs that are usually associated with Islamic art or architecture. They have progressed to be the most intricate and as majestic as it could be and if I am to follow suit, my challenge would be to come out with super intricate Islamic ornament with gigantic dome - the biggest in Malaysia perhaps, for at least I can have it registered in the Malaysia Book of Records and earns myself a Datukship maybe?

Key point is, I am not good in producing such works. Or simply lazy. But I want it to be outstanding the least (not necessarily outstandingly beautiful). Hence the design idea.

A simple box that emits light from within through the use of perforated Islamic pattern where the reciter would sit and recites the Holy Qur'an. The surrounding will be in darkness as the light is focused on to the box. A box where Qur'an is recited, and the play of light to symbolize how Qur'an leads us out from darkness. Just as simple as that.

The other elements are merely just supporting elements that enhance the main concept such as the use of bed of flowers to make the box appears to float and a background that tries to interpret the theme set by the organizer.

If there is any interpretation beyond that, I'd call it bullshitting to desperately sell my idea to the selection juries. That's why mine was not selected :D

Restart!

2010-07-22T10:19:00.007+08:00

I didn't realize that this blog has been idle for few weeks without any updates. Probably due to some uncertainties and volatilities. With latest development, it seems that this space might face another future uncertainties until I'm capable of sorting things out and put it in order again.

I believe in life everything is earned. I've earned a certain amount of respect during the early years of my career when a certain amount of sacrifices were made that brought me forward in life. However, it stopped and decreased. Career wise too as I've chosen to constantly compare the good life of others with the effort I've done and figured out that I've should have led an easy life. I forgot to hold on to the words that kept me going at that time - to work it all out when I still can.

I too believe in life, when I really want a thing or aim of achieving something, eventually I would achieve it. I wanted to have a family before I reach 30 even though financially I am always unsound enough to even support myself but now I have Lira & Dhea. When I was little, I wanted to become an architect, it is what I am now. When I started working, it was hectic and along the way and in a way, it killed the enthusiasm I had for this profession. Though at times I've professed how I wanted to be other than an architect, it is a big lie if I were to say there is no spark of interest in practicing architecture - the least is for my personal satisfaction.

When I opted for an easy life, it led me to where I am now. Though it's not like an easy life as being lazy, actually what I do really want is to spend more time with my family. As I say, eventually I'll achieve it but at a certain price. I forgot that I need to earn that easy life, therefore I'm paying for it now - with little paychecks compare to what I'm deserving. In a long run, it affects us. Limited resources making both of us have to work and putting Dhea in not the most favorable environment to grow up. I opted a life that's in favor to me, but not the best for everybody especially my family.

I am currently reading a book about the life of the late Datuk Ibrahim Hussein. It fascinates me. There was a time in his life that he thought how life is so unpredictable at every major turning point in his life. According to what I understand, he lived through it and with the unpredictability (or maybe chaotic?) of the life might be, it somehow fell well into its places as if actually the universe has perfectly planned for his life.

My life has been chaotic and unpredictable far from what I've dreamt as a little boy with big ambitions and though I've been disheartened and discouraged to what life can offer me, getting to know the story of the late IB and his journey in life makes me picking up the sword again. Well at least, I'm holding it. Again. World, let it come to me.

Hopefully the universe has a plan revolving around this one tiny human.

-update on 23rd of July, after Friday prayer

Today's Friday prayer sermon delivered a topic on 'Suratan Hidup' or Life's Fate. Indeed everyone's life has been planned by Allah. What hits me is why the topic after what I've written yesterday. Falling into places?

Life is great.

Wedding - Fad & Ain

2010-06-27T00:19:00.006+08:00

I had the opportunity to cover the reception of a friend at Keramat AU5 and later for the outdoor session at Metropolitan Park in Kepong. He's a fellow photographer as well thus made the whole assignment an enjoyable experience. Congratulations to both of you!

I'll upload additional photos later as I wish.

Preparing The Portfolio

2010-06-22T12:12:00.005+08:00

Again, to avoid another search, I pasted this article by the person credited below for my current pursue in creating a proper personal portfolio of mine. Still it's an ambition as I predicted it will take a lot of time for me to complete the portfolio (more of a re-do of what I currently have).

I'd been to several interviews recently and I discovered a revelation that my portfolio does not represent myself at all. All this while, I took this matter for granted now that it will cost me a sudden pressure if I were to return to the private sector.

Somehow, it sparks a new interest that I wasn't be able to explore before. Despite of my low self-esteem lately due to the current predicaments, however, I still do believe strongly in myself to explore it as I've done it before when I want to learn photography all by myself.

It's this kind of stuff that keeps me going and I ain't that useless anyway. Best of wishes to me!

Harold Linton is a professor of art and visual technology as well as chairman of the department of art and design at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. He is the former assistant dean of architecture at Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Mich. Linton is the author of Portfolio Design, a best-selling book in the field, and he is currently at work on its fourth edition. He is a popular speaker and workshop leader on portfolio design topics.

Great portfolios assist in our understanding of not only individual designers and their work but also their larger design vision and contributions in allowing us to see the familiar in an unexpected way. One recalls the story of the arrival of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wasmuth portfolio in Peter Behrens’ office and work stopping for the rest of the day as the office staff of Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, et al. leafed through the pages and saw their modern world anew. A quality portfolio is like a garden, constantly being watered for future nourishment and beauty.

What might be the most appropriate format for your portfolio? Is your work best presented in a clean, well-organized wire-bound pamphlet design with an accompanying CD or DVD or as a personal Web site that is continually current and updated frequently? Do you prefer the drama of opening a beautiful boxed set of individual plates or do you envision an elegant hardbound book made with the artistry of a person knowledgeable about the craft of handmade paper and the book art form. No matter which format you adopt, Robert A. M. Stern, dean of the school of architecture at Yale University, has carefully chosen words of advice: “Among the many ingredients that help define an excellent portfolio, coherence and modesty are paramount. Plain is better than fancy; simple much better than complicated. The portfolio is a tool for conveying a sense of the work; it should not be an advertisement for itself.”

A finely tailored portfolio is the most important tool you can bring to an application for admission to a graduate school or for a design grant, competition, job interview, or to a potential client. Like a well-tailored suit, the portfolio is critical in establishing that great and lasting first impression. Recent graduates from pre-professional degree programs (B.A. and B.S.) and professional degree programs (B. Arch and M. Arch) enter the field through the interview process, demonstrating their talent and abilities with portfolios in hand. As one progresses in the profession, an up-to-date portfolio demonstrates accomplishments from position to position.

Your vision of the world has something of value to offer. Invest in a design presentation that clearly communicates and supports your vision. Through careful planning and rehearsal, decisions regarding the character, content, visual weight, material sense, size/scale, and format are all selected to meet your vision. The portfolio itself may be executed in one format such as a print booklet or may incorporate many forms, including CD, DVD, Web site, or PDF files. Going digital means designing a Web site not only to promote personal and professional work globally but also to act as a resumé, giving an introductory statement of background and professional expertise in anticipation of presenting a full portfolio during the interview process.

Regardless of its format, the portfolio design should set in motion a well-conceived visual discourse, one that will capture, arrest, and hold the attention of the intended audience. An increasing number of students and young professionals are linking a PDF of a well-designed print portfolio to their Web site, thereby establishing a coordinated design format as both an online presence and a leave-behind print piece. The need for portfolio media to being cross-platform (PC and Mac) is a necessity. Recently, the trend is toward all-digital initial contact, such as an introductory e-mail containing a PDF file of a resumé and PDF teaser/mini-portfolio sent to potential employers. Advantages are that they can reach a larger audience quickly, and they will likely connect with the more technologically savvy design employers.

Architecture students are inventing teaser portfolios or mini-versions of full portfolios. These 4- to 5-page preview portfolios, together with a letter of introduction and resumé, are useful to introduce oneself in request of a formal interview. Students are also attending large career day events, at which a career day sheet of their work is the status quo. A career day sheet is basically a single page with a well-organized grid of sample images of one’s work on the front, and background resumé and contact info on the reverse. These brief snapshots of one’s work seem at first blush far too brief to explain the accomplishments of the designer, but conversely, they speak reams to the employers who sit in review behind tables in the hall. These employers see numerous students and samples of work; the career day page is portable and easy for them to take back to the office. There, they can use the page to aid discussion with colleagues, which may lead to an invitation to the new graduate to present a full portfolio and interview for a position.

Since buildings, landscape designs, and interiors are impossible to transport, and even models and renderings can be large and impractical to carry, the print portfolio is the enormously practical instrument and still the standard in the industry. In the course of a career, a designer will likely prepare several portfolios, each one adapted to a different purpose. In each case, your portfolio needs immediate and dramatic impact to distinguish you from others with whom you are competing, and it has to clearly answer the questions in the minds of those reviewing your work for whatever purpose. The portfolio is a graphic history of skills and accomplishments, and it must be seen not only as a problem in design but also as a tool to promote you to prospective employers and clients. Each year, architecture and allied design students (landscape, interiors, planning, and the like) enter the job market, and the competition grows increasingly intense.

Cesar Pelli, writing in the book Portfolio Design states, “The portfolio tells me about the abilities of its designer to communicate ideas and images in graphic form. Much like in a building, there is a great deal of freedom within the physical limits set by the medium and the cultural limits set by convention, and I can tell about the judgment of the designers by how constrained they have been by these limits or by how much freedom they have taken with them. I can even judge how well they have managed their time in either overdoing the portfolio design or in having established an efficient process for preparing it.”

The challenge of proper self-promotion through portfolio design is assessing one’s own strengths and accomplishments objectively. Preparing a portfolio requires you to take a step back from your own design work and make an evaluation as unemotionally as possible. Learning to be observant about the strengths and weaknesses of your work encourages the development of a critical and unbiased eye useful to the portfolio design process and to your professional career generally. Inviting the opinions of trusted advisors and colleagues also helps eliminate the initial fears many people have about putting together a portfolio.

Planning a portfolio presentation also requires a keen sense of organization and an ability to arrange various written and visual materials into a unified graphic package as well as the ability to maintain a focused vision throughout the development of the presentation. It is important to consider the audience and the skills and elements they may be attracted to or looking for. In general, all of those people who review portfolios will be looking for a businesslike attitude and a pragmatic soundness in the work as well as creativity and pure grace and beauty. Creativity is important, but employers want designers who are able to solve problems economically and quickly. Architects and designers are proposing to spend other people’s money, a lot of it, and a solid portfolio presentation will go a long way toward persuading others that you can be trusted with that responsibility.

Student designers with a creative future will have a natural curiosity about life and the world. Assembling a portfolio is an exercise that prepares them for future accomplishment in the real world by teaching how to evaluate one’s own work and to understand how that work will appear to other professionals. A good portfolio illustrates one’s strengths and demonstrates an understanding of format, graphic design, typography, concept development, problem solving, and business communication. A portfolio not only represents a body of work acquired throughout academic and professional life, but it displays this work in such a way that a design philosophy is made manifest. Of course, most undergraduate students have not chosen a specific area of design philosophy and tend to be generalists. This is not a drawback because many good designers are generalists; they can solve any problem. Having a focus too early in your career can limit possibilities for growth and development. One’s portfolio represents an evolution, not an end in itself. The educational experience involves growth, and growth, as in the cultivation of a garden, often requires us to set aside prior knowledge to consider new concepts and directions. As noted architect and educator Max Underwood says:

“There is not a single formula for assembling a good portfolio. Not only will the thinking of architects and designers change in the course of their career, but also portfolio objectives change. In applying for advanced study or a professional position, the goal may be to demonstrate a variety of interests, or a process of growth and learning over time. In applying for a specific grant or competition, the goal may be to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in a specialized area known to be of interest to the grant or competition administrators. Some professional portfolios are prepared only after considerable consultation with a client and present the designer’s ideas about how a single project might be carried out, complete with a specific cost analysis. How focused the portfolio presentation is often depends upon what the recipient is looking for. Remember, you are selling yourself or your ability to execute a particular project or work in a particular environment. You will want to demonstrate ingenuity and uniqueness to make a strong impression, but you must also demonstrate sound judgment.”

If you are enthusiastic about your work, you will find portfolio assembly an intriguing and creative activity. But it also involves hard judgments. You must act like an editor as well as a creator. Consider your audience. Get your point across with a limited number of images, demonstrating an ability to be selective, critical, and concise. Extracting the essence, every page or plate must build on the previous page by adding new ideas without redundancy, by expanding concepts, by taking a fresh approach to how the material is presented. You will then have a portfolio that sets you apart from others.

Kemasik Beach, Terengganu

2010-06-12T01:26:00.006+08:00

It's a long overdue post. I've been taking my sweet time selecting and editing these images and will only publish when I'm done with the whole set. Though there are still more to choose, I'm taking these as my pick.

World Cup Fever Is Back

2010-06-11T10:24:00.013+08:00

Yesterday my wife frowned upon knowing I had found out that the extra channels for World Cup are fully on air - in HD! I told her I was elated because the World Cup starts today and I have games to look forward to when I'm at home instead of having to wait weekly for Glee (yes, somehow I like it very much though I hate singing shows, and no, it's not that because it features sexy & hot girls in its casts) and Trauma. She frowned because knowing that somehow I would become unresponsive towards her but hey, research shows that a guy's hormones increase if a team he supports wins a game. I don't have to translate what it ends up to.

However, she's understanding enough to let me enjoy this one month of football fiesta by allowing me to flick through the channels that are currently previewing the previous World Cup matches. But then, what about the rest who refused to accept that World Cup isn't just another tournament.

"What is it with guys and football?", a woman may asks. "It's just a ball being chased by 22 guys", she may further adds.

Indeed, it is.

Later, I tuned in to Discovery Channel watching a documentary on the physical preparations of the host nation, South Africa. Major construction works being done through out the host city with new airport being built, new highway to link it, new or probably an extension to the existing subway lines, and most importantly are the new stadiums built just to accommodate the needs to host this major tournament.

I remember we used to have this development boost when we hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998. Back then, the only two biggest developments that I saw as an ignorant teenager were the sports complex at Bukit Jalil and the LRT line that connects it. It made me proud back then to have a grand stadium in a quite fairly state-of-the-art sports complex with a brand new transit system to link it with the city. Today, as a fairly educated adult trying to make sense living in Malaysia, I am still wondering why is it so hard for the government to at least extend that transit line by one station each year ever since? We could be having 12 new stations now if that happens.

Yet, our Bendahara was quoted as saying in a prime news, "Malaysians are refusing to use public transportation because it is always associated with people of low status. We must change this mindset." So it be. I am a low status citizen as dictated by Bendahara because I commute using public transportation everyday to the office. I use it because it is within my distance (my office is at the doorstep of the LRT when it stops at Chan Sow Lin station) and it avoids the traffic jam. If only he realizes that people don't commute by public transportation because ours is not efficient and out of reach. I've read about a citizen in Selayang needs to change 3 public buses just to get to her workplace in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Please take into account that there's no designated bus lane from Selayang to the city center, so the buses have to share the congestion of Jalan Kuching with private cars.

Sir, if I may ask, the city is expanding. Why aren't the system that supports it?

Back to World Cup fever, businesses are doing good. The Star reports today that sales of World Cup teams jersey has been doing very well. Astro surely had a boost in subscription as they chose the right period and theme to launch its HD channels. So does the HD TV market. And the mamak outlets who bought it. And the glasses of teh tarik consumed. And the manufacturer who produced the evaporated milk. And Philip Morris.

Referring to the earlier research finding on male's testosterone level, two days ago I read about a Brazil player who promoted good sex during the 1994 tournament (with your legal spouse that is, not like Ashley Cole & John Terry, or even Tiger Woods) that kept him fit and focus on the pitch. He even admitted of conceiving his son during the tournament. For the record, Brazil won the World Cup that year.

Though it may be a period of mating and having new lives born to this world (let's check the birth rate in nine months time from today), it also sees an ugly side when there was a case of a Columbian player who was gunned down because he scored an own goal during a World Cup tournament.

As for the team that gets my cheer, I was an Italian fan before but now that they has won the cup, I'm trying to avoid being part of the popular culture as for this tournament (but I am always a Kop no matter they win or not). Spain or Argentina to lift the cup perhaps?

To conclude, World Cup is not just about a ball with 22 pairs of leg trying to kick it. It is about a ball, 22 guys with balls trying to kick it, million other guys with balls whose life changed because of it.

Ok, also for the women who owned those balls.

It's the cup of life.

What Is Your 3, 5 & 10?

2010-06-09T14:57:00.006+08:00

I remember back then when I was repeating the Housing Studio in the school of architecture, a lecturer once asked all of us what is our 3, 5 & 10? Pretty obvious, we all responded instantly by looking among ourselves, "what the heck is he talking about?". Only a couple of indirect explanations later (yeah, he's like that - nothing is direct) that we all understood what he meant by his reference of "3, 5 & 10". He was referring to the future plans - of short, mid and long term by translating it into the number of years set to achieve our dream.

Now, many years forward and almost reaching that 10 years landmark from the moment I was asked that question, I am no where near any of my teenage super dreams. Though I've sailed far beyond from where I came from and the perceptions it expects of me, I've been in the path of achieving that teenage dreams only to see it held a dark side unknown before to me. I'm currently wandering having tried to look for greener fields for the past 5 years and it provokes me with this one question, am I dreamless?

It seems like the options are running out for me. I've been wanting to practice good design only to see it drained me out completely when I worked for a design firm. I tried to be on top in the chain of food by joining a developer but wasn't prepared for the back-stabbing fiesta it held. Now that I want to be a public servant, somehow the employment terms are a complete joke! It is sad to know that on one side the government urges to have more professionals to serve for the country where in reality I am employed under very much insecure and unfavorable terms.

I had few meaningful 'teh tarik' sessions with few friends who apparently speak the same language (surprise! aren't we all Malaysians?) pouring out thoughts of what we had and hope in life. Exceptional for its food (it matches natively with our tongue), there's not much in favor of being in Malaysia and even to an extend of being a Malaysian. Issues pertaining to being patriotic arose but after a deliberate conversation, the value is of little worth. Why?

Excessive illegal timber felling by the greedy is backed up and sanctioned by the so-called guardian. Datukship is cheaply given to the unworthy and the opportunity to make fortune is to kiss the ass of these people with title. I am sad when there were contrasting statements regarding the Malay land at Kampung Baru by a minister of the very same race who is suppose to protect the Malay if we are to champion the idea of being patriotic. He suggested to have the Malay ownerships of Kampung Baru to be "liberalized" to the others in a 60:40 ratio. A recent visit by the Bendahara of Malaysia to Singapore saw another piece of Malaysian land being "liberalized" to be developed by a joint-venture company of both countries. How about the land used to build the official home for the nation's ruler being surrendered to the neighboring riches who built their mansion beyond their boundaries? The chief (of I-don't-want-to-tell-what-because-I-want-to-stay-indirect) rationalized, "Rakyat Diutamakan". The country is run by a bunch of jokers who can't tell what kind of 'rakyat' that they should champion for. Come on 'lah' Datuk² Seri, Datuk² and "Yang BerGelaran", you can do better. It's not for some towkays who sleeps on bed of monies.

Anyway, the arguments won't end. What is said is my view of what I think of my country's system and how it is being run today.

Well, are the options running out for me?

How about leaving Malaysia?

Back to 3, 5 & 10. Now, I have a dream.

Wedding - Oja & Ju

2010-06-07T15:33:00.004+08:00

Million thanks to the personalities behind hitamputihstudio for the opportunity to shoot a wedding at Klang this recent weekend. I just love the outdoor session as it was terrific and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the couple on their lovely day.

Looking forward for future collaboration Avam!

Sisters

2010-06-06T01:31:00.004+08:00

My wife and her sister wearing the color of the beach during our recent visit to Cherating. Coincidently or pre-planned?

An Evening In Cherating

2010-06-02T17:27:00.006+08:00

Last weekend we went "balik kampung" to Kemaman. As usual, we passed by Cherating with its few stretches of beautiful beach just before we reached Kemaman. We arrived at around 5.30pm and the timing was just perfect. The evening was beautiful. And the beach too. We had a lot of fun wading through the shallow water.

However, as we were leaving the beach, we had a scare when our car's front set of tyres got stucked quite deep in the very fine sand of the beach. Luckily due to my expertise in WRC (cewaah!!), I managed to get it out safely but to a shocking face of a lady who was walking towards the direction of our car.

Surely, we are going to drop by again.

It's Time

2010-06-02T11:02:00.005+08:00

I guess the adventure is seeing an end. I've had enough stint of it for more than a year now and see no future in it. While the liberty is comforting, in a way it holds and even drags me down slowly.

Yeah, it's time.

A Kind Of Friday That...

2010-05-23T05:33:00.004+08:00

That was not good from my office's perspective. I went MIA.

That was good to watch two movies. One was at home and the other was at the cinema. One is by Guy Ritchie whom the movies he made are all but a disappointment and the other is a typical over-hyped Hollywood movie.

That sent a relieve when Lira returned after almost a week away from home.

That made Dhea happy to see her mother again.

That saw us enjoying good time having dinner at McDonald's.

After which I went for a good night out with friends at Hartamas.

That was weird since there was not many chicks around for us to feed our viewing appetite.

That had me on the futsal pitch again just on the midnight after weeks of hiatus due to the mystery injury I'm having (it's still there). Anyway, I still got the touch (where there is a probability of seeing me on the pitch again).

That broke the record again for me by having a very meaningful conversation with a dear friend over few cups of drinks and a pack of cigarettes at the mamak stall until 7.30 in the next morning. Oh boy! The sun has risen!

What a Friday :)

Dear Lira

2010-05-18T12:13:00.002+08:00

Taken while bringing Dhea for a load of splashing fun in the swimming pool (and I was in the pool).

The Unexpectations - Part 2

2010-05-11T13:29:00.003+08:00

It's been a while since I last checked the inbox of one of my email accounts. Usually it's filled with lots of unimportant notifications (mostly from Facebook), some receipts of purchases I made with iTunes, spams and once in a while a drop of hello from a person I know.

I was about to delete an email that I received as the sender's name and it's subject is way too similar to the spams that I almost gave it an immediate place in the trash bin. Somehow, probably it's my lucky day, or it just happens that it'll going to make my day, I decided to have a sneak peak what's inside the email.

"Can you please let us how we can contact you regarding a usage of a photo."

And it's from Frost & Sullivan. Weehuuuu!!

It's my 2nd time being approached for the usage of my images for publication. The last one was for an architectural journal in USA but somehow it didn't get published. This time around, this is their pick. Hopefully it'll get published somewhere.

Langkawi - Part 3

2010-05-04T14:43:00.011+08:00

Some more photos when I visited Gunung Mat Cinchang and as usual the photos are in no chronological order.

This is a view from the other end of the curved bridge. The vista is magnificent. The island in the distant is the Tarutao island of Thailand. Details are as in the next photo below.

I'll help to re-write what is written on the board.

From this point, looking out to the sea, we are standing directly in front of Tarutao Island, Thailand which is located less than 5 kilometres away.

The island was used as a prison in the late 1930's. The existence of sharks and crocodiles in the surrounding sea and shore at that time ensured that only a few could escape alive.

Some of the bodies were swept by the sea current to this shore, hence the name Pasir Tengkorak or Sands of the Skull.

Once the waters around Tarutao was known for its feared pirates who raided passing merchant ships and dumped bodies of their victims to the sea.

Scary, yes?

Approaching the curved suspension bridge after following through a short jungle trail down from the arrival peak.

The first viewing deck after the frightening first phase of the cable car ride.

This is the panorama view from this deck. A single image won't justify the awe of being there. Stitched panorama of 5 images taken in portrait format.

This is the second phase of the cable car ride and it wasn't that scary compared to the first.

Acrophobia (from the Greek: ἄκρον, ákron , meaning "peak, summit, edge" and φόβος, phóbos, "fear") is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort that share both similar etiology and options for treatment.
Acrophobia can be dangerous, as sufferers can experience a panic attack in a high place and become too agitated to get themselves down safely.
-wiki-

It happened to me when the cable car passed that pylon and approaching the steep summit. It even stopped halfway as there was a crosswind that swayed our cable car. Looking down hanging at about 200m-300m from the ground below strucked panic in me.

Langkawi - Part 2

2010-04-29T15:29:00.008+08:00

Second part. Actually I can just combine it but I feel it doesn't look good to have a long post filled with photos. So, let's break it.

I just love how it's framed

Very fine sand at Pasir Tengkorak Beach

Overall view of Pasir Tengkorak Beach

This beach is formed from the big rugged rocks to the loose blocks of little rock to the finest of sand I've ever seen.

Another unjustified shot of the beauty of Tanjung Rhu. I'd wanted to take a panorama of this beach, but there were two foreign couples who were sunbathing. Seeing how unease they were, I too felt uncomfortable moving around trying to get the best angle. Definitely I'm going back to this beach one day.

Langkawi - Part 1

2010-04-29T13:46:00.010+08:00

A recent short visit to Langkawi. More photos coming soon.

Sea shells on the golden sand of Cenang Beach.

I got lucky for this shot as the boat which was at the middle of the sea returned to the beach as if allowing me to take few snaps of it. Somehow, I didn't realize there was a splash of sea water on my filter or else it would have been perfect!

Sunset at Cenang Beach.

I love the sense of mystery from this composition taken at Tanjung Rhu Beach, the most beautiful and exotic of all beaches that I managed to stopped by.

I passed by this beautiful marina at Telaga Harbour when heading to ride the cable car. A quick stop, jumped over the fence, quickly composed then snap. It would be nicer if taken for a long exposure shoot at dawn or dusk.

My Mind

2010-04-15T16:58:00.001+08:00

I love looking far at sea. As if it's me. My mind.

Let's Fill This Blog With Some Architecture Works!

2010-04-14T15:30:00.006+08:00

The brief was to design a surau with the size of 30' x 30' for a deputy minister's official home. It may have come out as a simple & square building with a typical pyramid-like pitch roof.

Well, let's play around with it.

Dear Dhea Again

2010-04-12T16:51:00.003+08:00

Previously unpublished. Some of few that luckily were still in the camera.

Laporan Tahunan

2010-04-08T15:11:00.004+08:00

Teringat ketika waktu sekolah dahulu saya pernah terlibat dalam menerbitkan buku laporan tahunan bagi tahun 1997 iaitu ketika saya di tingkatan 5. Saya merupakan salah seorang anggota sidang redaksi yang terlibat secara langsung dalam menentukan grafik bagi majalah tersebut.

Sebagai pelajar tahun akhir kami dipertanggungjawabkan untuk terlibat secara langsung dalam proses penerbitan laporan tahunan tersebut. Sungguhpun ilmu penerbitan boleh dikatakan sangat rendah dan hasil akhir laporan tahunan tersebut tidaklah se'gah' mana, namun atas kerjasama semua pihak, laporan tahunan tersebut menjadi kebanggaan kami semua terutama pelajar-pelajar tahun akhir sesi 1997.

Ketika itu, walaupun pengetua adalah jawatan tertinggi di dalam sekolah, beliau tidak menggunakan pengaruh beliau untuk kepentingan sendiri dengan melantik kenalan rapat (mungkin juga skandal) sebagai penerbit dan pencetak bagi buku laporan tahunan tersebut. Jika kemungkinan nilai sekarang untuk menerbitkan 100 naskhah laporan tahunan adalah dalam sekitar RM20,000 (termasuk kos upah merekabentuk dan percetakan berwarna), bayangkan nilai yang boleh diperolehi oleh pengetua saya pada waktu itu sekiranya beliau mempunyai niat untuk bertindak tanpa etika.

Walaupun tanpa diupah, kami begitu bersemangat untuk menghasilkan grafik yang berkualiti dan hasil akhirnya sangat membanggakan kami semua. Bagaimana jika kami dibayar sebanyak RM11,000 hanya sebagai upah untuk merekabentuk, sila tuan-tuan dan puan-puan bayangkan produk yang mampu kami hasilkan ketika itu.

Jangkamasa yang diambil? Tidak terlalu lama. Kerana sebagai pelajar tahun akhir yang bakal menduduki peperiksaan SPM, kami seharusnya banyak menumpukan perhatian kepada pelajaran (sebagai tanggungjawab utama kami sebagai pelajar) dan bukannya menghabiskan banyak masa dan tenaga di atas ketidakupayaan penerbit/pencetak dalam menterjemahkan kehendak kami.

Dan yang penting sekali, semua pelajar sangat menantikan hasil akhir laporan tahunan tersebut kerana ia adalah kebanggaan semua pelajar dan bukannya sebagai alatan golongan tertentu (yang paling berkuasa, seperti pengetua) untuk mempromosikan diri bagi mendapat perhatian pihak tertinggi. Tidak juga sebagai medan untuk menguntungkan sesetengah pihak dengan cara yang amat mudah dan tidak profesional.

Apapun, itu semua kisah dahulu yang kadangkala membuat saya tergelak kecil jika diingati. Mungkin juga jelak.

Kini, 13 tahun ke hadapan dari menerbitkan buku laporan tahunan yang terakhir pernah saya buat, saya terlibat kembali dalam menerbitkan sebuah lagi buku laporan tahunan. Ceritanya? Anda bayangkanlah sendiri.

Kaboom!

2010-04-02T11:55:00.005+08:00

There goes my PC.

Two days ago, I routinely plugged in all the plugs in my room upon returning home from work. As I was still standing fronting the sockets and all the electrical equipments placed close to it, suddenly something exploded and the house went black out. There was also a sudden flash of bright light when it exploded.

I tried to remain calm, looked for the torch light and turned back on the switch at the main board and everything returned to normal. I didn't suspect anything was affected by the electrical trip only to discover yesterday when Lira tried to switch on my computer and nothing happened.

I've tried to do some initial checkings and it still won't turn on. I've wanted to use that PC as long as I could and as long as it can processes all of my images. Now it seems like while I'm getting the replacement for it, I might have to slow down in producing images as the only workable PC that I can get my hands on to is not ethical for me to do my personal image processing.

Anyway, recalling the explosion, it is my second experience having a flash of bright light flashing just in front of my face.

Kaboom!

Metropolitan Park

2010-03-28T02:43:00.005+08:00

Azam invited me to join him and his family for an outing at the Metropolitan Park, Kepong. I arrived early so I wandered around the park for some worthy shots.

And it's worth it.

Happy Birthday Dhea Batrishea

2010-03-27T00:24:00.000+08:00

It was supposed to be a fun day for her as what I had imagined and planned but unfortunately she got sick. Hopefully she'll be okay by tomorrow or else we have to get her admitted to the hospital (again).

As much as I'm sad over this as we were really looking forward to celebrate her birthday, I'm so frustrated seeing her becoming passive on this special day.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Dhea Batrishea, I love you so much.

We Only Come Out At Night

2010-03-23T15:40:00.003+08:00

Creatures of the night, visible when emptied. Good night dear Dhea.

Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Festival 2010

2010-03-22T00:42:00.006+08:00

I almost missed this colorful event hadn't I read the small article in the daily few days ago. I've missed it last year so definitely I won't let it recur this year. I'm keeping the text short as the event speaks for itself. More photos coming up.

Enjoy!

Our Little Project

2010-03-13T23:25:00.004+08:00

Another Saturday is here and this time around I decided to do something different instead of going out. Why not get Dhea involved in a little project?

We bought her a table with two chairs two days ago after I spotted the Ikea's sale advertisement in the paper. Since it's for her, I thought of having her involved in assembling the table so that she would feel the sense of belonging to it.

It was fun and quite sad for Lira as she wasn't there to witness it.

I Failed

2010-03-08T16:16:00.004+08:00

I failed it. Probably, as my wife try to comfort me - I am destined to remain as an architect. It's not that I really hate being an architect nor really wanting to become a PTD but the fact of failure really hurts me, some more when it's at the final stage. It's good to be in something new with different view but as fate writes it, I'm done riding the luck.

Well, basically it kills the mood for the next few months.

...and definitely I'm not going to try it again as it was indeed a try at the first place.

Another Saturday

2010-03-07T02:21:00.005+08:00

For a start, a thousand apologies to Rupajiwa as I had to cancel an assignment with them today (Saturday, 6th of March).

The reason is, the night before, as routinely it has been for the past 5 years, I played a game of futsal with my friends. I'm taking it as my form of exercise (the only!) to keep myself worked out and expectedly it also incurred me some injuries. The latest, is quite mysterious as I would only feel the pain after about an hour into the game and it has been recurring for the past two months and last night was the worst. It took about 20 mins for me to get to the car because I had to take each step painstakingly.

It gave me a second thought on continuing to play football, a game that I love the most. I will retire from playing football if a diagnose from doctor proves me of suffering from a serious illness (as I am suspecting of now).

Coincidentally and sadly, we received a news of an uncle who was rushed to the emergency after he suffered a pain that restricts him to even slightly move his body. I understand he was an avid footballer before he suffered a slip disc a few years ago. Somehow, after going through series of injuries in recent years, I am starting to understand that my body is slowly ageing, increasingly to under-perform and easily subjected to a lifetime injury.

Later in the evening after my pain has slowly subsided, we went to visit him at the hospital and I brought along my ever faithful camera as it was supposed to have a day out shooting for Rupajiwa's assignment, so at least by doing this, it got to see the sunlight.

Like always, the talents are from the usual agency.

"I Want To Be Called An Architect!"

2010-03-02T22:11:00.015+08:00

The title as it may suggests is not a statement made by me hence the inverted commas.

I am currently attending a 4 day course held at the headquarter of the Architect's Branch, PWD. In the 1st day of the course, at one point the speaker asked the audience who has become the registered member of LAM (Malaysia's Board of Architect). To my surprise as I was being honest at that time, I'm the only one who didn't raise the hand and somehow I was spotted by the speaker.

Before that, describing the situation I was in, it was a course called "The Architectural Basics". The title made me wonder, are they going to teach me how to walk again? However, after downloading the attachments from the confirmation of participation, I learned that it is a course formulated for newly recruited architects in PWD. So, why not? This might be useful to me because as a former private practitioner, I am currently at lost trying to figure out how the construction industry is being run from the government's perspective.

Considering me as a freshie as I joined PWD together with my super junior way back in UTM (they were at the other end of the spectrum in the cycle of an undergraduate in the school of architecture, where at the other end, I am just few months away from graduation), I am however suppose to be in advanced position if I were to accumulate the experience I had in the industry compared to the rest of the audience who raised their hands.

But, everyone except me? Even the newly grads? I even heard little laugh of mockery from the audience.

I am in no position to question their membership because they are indeed a qualified member of the board when they graduated. The thing is, it made me stood out from the rest and definitely I was asked the question - Why?

Caught off guard, however I calmly answered (and definitely it's not the best!) "Masih cari halatuju (still looking for directions)". It is partly true because I am still looking for directions in my life but it is actually not the exact answer for that question.

I am with intention not making myself a registered member of the board (and the association too - PAM) because I don't think in any way it patronizes me as a working class architect. Personally, I think these bodies are only useful for those with agendas - the professionals, mostly. Apart from as a tool for keeping the profession safe and guarded, respected and being professed accordingly with best ethics, it is also a tool that works well for the major players too - the professionals, as it also keeps them safe and guarded, etc. How about those who works for the professionals? To me, the question itself posed a major void to be filled with answers therefore I'm not going to elaborate the question further.

Someone will say, but at least it's the first step of becoming a professional architect. Being realistic, I know that to become a professional architect, the road is long and probably does not parallel with where I want to be.

I was naive as a fresh graduate, believing I could face the hurdles in becoming a successful architect. Little that I know what the hurdles are or how high I'd have to jump over it. After few ups and more downs, it strengthens my belief that a certain amount of achievements are cemented on a strong base of great sacrifices. To be a great architect, I'd have to give up my life - the life that I've modelled as how I want it to be. I have my priority.

-Merdeka, A Mere Rethoric?

From my point of view, to most young architects, joining these bodies is all about obtaining the title of a professional architect. The question posed by the speaker was a follow up to her previous statement of being a professional architect is the pinnacle in an architect's career. In her response to my weak answer, she replied that the least you can get from the title of a professional architect is to be respected by others (and all the glories of being called an architect) which is to me, something that is usually used to buy a 17-year old's conviction to join the profession.

Looking in a wider context, I know it was a "time out" question asked in between topics of the course therefore I was unwillingly contented with my weak answer and opted not to prolong the discourse. However, if it were the right place and the right time, I would really love to ask her and the audience only one question,

What would you do with your professional title?

With this basic question being asked, I know it brought a wider spectrum of possibilities and uncertainties of becoming a professional architect. And by the term "a wider spectrum", I really meant more than just "I want to open up my own practice" as an answer. Having years of experience being in various point of view to the construction industry, architecturally specifically, I wish them good luck of becoming a professional architect.

I wonder why is it Kamil Merican of GDP and John Ding of Unit One hasn't got their professional license yet but somehow have successfully built up and run their own practice of award winning design firm. Being smart or lagging in career?

For the mockery, please read the last paragraph from this post.

Okay, I know somehow I have to be a registered member as part of the requirement for government servant :P

Wedding - Sham & Fiza

2010-02-28T02:19:00.005+08:00

I had another opportunity to cover a wedding. Congratulation to the couple, Sham & Fiza.

Me & Maya Karin

2010-02-26T01:46:00.004+08:00

It's a long time affair. A fling. And we're getting closer.

It all started way back in 2001 when we first stared at each other. Unfortunately she was trapped in the TV, hosting a show called 'Wavelength'.

Later, I found out another guy was after her. He sat just next to me. We both trying to outdo each other by hanging up posters of her, seeing who has the biggest. Apparently, we're not alone. Thousands others too when we joined a forum dedicated to her.

Graduation made me moved on. We both went our ways. I tried to become a good architect while she became a bad vampire in 2 local movies.

Then I heard she's getting married and me too happily married. Well, life goes on.

But today, as I went to pick up my wife for lunch at her office, she was there, officiating some sort of an event that got something to do with being environmentally conscious. She's active in helping to preserve the environment. Me too, as I don't litter the polystyrene case I got when 'tapauing' my lunch or the cigarette's butt after having a good puff. I am also trying to reduce my carbon footprint by dreaming of using a superbike (less tyre, less footprint) after having used to have two different cars in the garage for daily use.

Positively, I'd take it as a progressive relationship. Thinking where it started after almost ten years ago when we were electronically apart, at least we're now progressing as I was being only 20m apart from her, being separated by a bunch of die-hard fans (these guys got nothing else better to do) and Karam Singh Walia (this one is harder to get through him).

That's why I said, we're getting closer. LOL!

Anyway, on a serious note, I pity her with her marriage's current status. Hang on there woman!

I Could Have Been a Multi-Millionaire!

2010-02-22T14:27:00.010+08:00

I've been thinking hard on how to make a fortune. I've heard stories of people working relentlessly to achieve their dream and such. Somehow, I just can't figure it out but after reading an article from our former prime minister in his blog, I realized that I have missed the fortune. So the rest of Malaysians too.

Fuck! Even though I am always broke but I do always have at least RM4 in my pocket! LOL

Here is an excerpt from the blog:

1. Robb Report - the magazine for the rich and famous reported in its February 2010 edition the following under "Front Runners";

"A new MV Agusta that lives high off the hog... Since acquiring MV Agusta for more than US$100 million in 2008, Harley-Davidson has helped revitalise the 65-year-old Italian brand. The new 2010 MV Agusta (www.mvagustausa.com) which debuted in November...."

2. People might just remember that Proton sold its share of MV Agusta for one Euro (RM4) to some unknown Italian who subsequently sold a part of the company to Harley-Davidson for the sum stated above (more than 100 million US Dollars equal to at present exchange rate more than RM340 million Ringgit).

3. We may also remember that the remaining part of MV Agusta was sold to BMW for about the same price i.e. more than 340 million Ringgit.

4. So we sold for RM4 something that the buyer, the mysterious Italians sold for more than RM680 million.

5. We may also know that Proton bought a part of MV Agusta for approximtely RM560 milion Ringgit.

6. The previous management of Proton claimed that it had saved millions of Ringgit by selling its share for RM4.

7. I am still trying to figure this out. Maybe those who read this blog might be able to enlighten me.

8. I am designated as adviser to Proton but during the period of the previous management, it was the management who advised me that the sale had been carried out. Obviously the duty of the advisor was to be advised and not to advise.

-source: http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2010/02/mv-agusta-again.html#more

Opening RAW in Adobe Photoshop

2010-02-18T21:38:00.008+08:00

The Situation

Recently I encountered a problem with my office's D60. I was assigned to shoot a group photo of every department for our annual office report. A habit, I always try to shoot in RAW mode (for Nikon, a RAW file is known as NEF) as it offers great flexibility later in the post-processing stage.

I'm using Adobe Photoshop CS2 at the office and home. The plug-in it supports to process RAW files is only ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) version 3 and above but until version 4 as the version 4 is only compatible for Adobe Photoshop CS3 and above.

The Problem

The problem was that when I wanted to open the NEF files produced direct from the D60 in CS2. It just can't open. I thought something must have gone wrong with my plug-in. After few re-installations, I thought why don't I try open up another NEF file from my own collection (which is from my own camera - D80) to see whether it works or not and it worked just fine. Then, something surely is not right with these particular NEF files and the only difference I managed to figure out was the make of both cameras.

So, I started googling.

The Research

To my surprise, for CS2 and the ACR it's using does not support the RAW (or NEF) that came out from D60, despite having D40 & D80 in the list. By looking at the list, I assume that the recently released model would probably going to have a problem when opening their RAW file with CS2 or earlier version.

Looking for a solution, I saw common suggestions like upgrading your Photoshop to the newer version or use Nikon's own software - Nikon Capture NX2 which at first I thought is bundled together with the camera's packaging.

It's not.

Analysis and Solution

Upgrading my Photoshop is not a choice while Nikon Capture NX2 is not a bundled software which means it has its own price. Searching for another alternative, I found Adobe DNG Converter. The software converts RAW files under different extensions (example NEF is for Nikon and for Canon, I'm not pretty sure what is its RAW file named after) based on their maker and model into the version of a RAW that Photoshop of any version could universally understand and it is called a DNG file.

So, the problem is solved.

That is after few days of research and download. I hope this might be useful for someone who might encounter similar problems by understanding the concept of what is RAW file and how it works based from its maker, model and the version of post-processing software you are using.

New Look

2010-02-17T10:20:00.002+08:00

Sorry for any inconvenience caused while browsing this blog as it is currently going through a face lift. Meanwhile enjoy reading by clicking any links available.

Update as 17.00hrs (17/2/2010):

New face lift for digitelwerk is fully completed. Enjoy reading.

"Senyum"

2010-02-17T01:07:00.005+08:00

I was busy doing the translation for an upcoming new film when suddenly Dhea stepped beside me pointing to my camera on the computer desk. She nodded her head repeatedly, a sign to show that either she agrees to a question asked or to make a statement that it is what she wanted.

Comparing hours of repeating the dialogue from the typically-not-so-original-movie-produced-by-the-father-and-son's-movie-production-empire with the request of my cute daughter, it didn't take a genius to figure out who was the winner.

As I snapped her photos, she grabbed Lira's handphone (yeah, what Dhea was holding in the photo above is actually a handphone - do not mistake it for any Russian made classic camera) and held it with both hands, up close to her eyes and then to my surprise, she snapped back few 'photos' of me and even asked me not to forget to...

"Senyum"

Yes, she actually uttered that word. She understands the concept of taking photo, at least of it.

Jalan-Jalan

2010-02-16T01:02:00.005+08:00

Hari ini saya ingin berbicara menggunakan bahasa ibunda saya. Saya tidak melihat keterasingan ini sebagai sesuatu yang asing mahupun pelik hanya kerana majoriti penulisan di dalam blog ini adalah di dalam Bahasa Inggeris. Penulisan di dalam bahasa perantaraan antarabangsa itu hanyalah untuk melatih penguasaan saya kerana kini, jika dilihat melalui persekitaran saya adalah agak sukar untuk saya berlatih menguasai bahasa kedua bagi diri saya tersebut.

Penulisan kali ini agak ringkas, hanya menceritakan tentang aktiviti saya bersama keluarga pada hari semalam yang pada pendapat saya tidak mengecewakan. Bermula dengan kejutan ceria di waktu pagi oleh Dhea yang acapkali bangun lebih awal daripada kedua ibu bapanya ketika hari hujung minggu, kami sekeluarga terus bersiap untuk berjalan-jalan. Ya, kami tiada tujuan tertentu melainkan hanya untuk membawa Dhea berjalan-jalan. Tempat yang dituju adalah MidValley, tempat yang selalu cuba dielakkan oleh saya dan Lira kerana reputasinya yang sering membazirkan masa kami untuk mencari petak meletak kereta yang sangat kurang, sekurang tahap keceriaan kami ketika akhirnya kami menemui tempat untuk meletak kereta kami.

Kenapa kami berubah fikiran?

Pertama, terima kasih kepada Dhea, saya dan Lira bangun dari tidur agak awal dari kebiasaan ketika hujung minggu. Kami tiba di MidValley lebih kurang pukul 10.15 dan keadaannya kelihatan lengang yang seterusnya membawa kepada sebab utama kami tidak keberatan untuk ke sana.

Sambutan Tahun Baru Cina.

Kami simpulkan, sebagai bangsa yang memegang kuasa ekonomi negara ini, sudah tentu tempat-tempat di mana berlakunya transaksi duit yang sangat tinggi seperti pusat membeli-belah seperti MidValley akan lengang berikutan mereka pulang ke kampung halaman bagi merayakan perayaan tersebut.

Namun begitu, sangkaan kami ternyata meleset kerana menjelang tengah hari, MidValley dipenuhi dengan pengunjung-pengunjung. Perancangan awal oleh Lira memudahkan kami untuk mengharungi ribuan pengunjung di sana kerana akhirnya Dhea terlena ketika keluar bersama kami, di dalam keselesaan kereta sorongnya yang selama ini sering dipinggirkan.

Kami gigihkan diri meredah tingkat demi tingkat, tanpa tujuan. Kepenatan, kami singgah di aras terakhir dalam perjalanan menuruni aras-aras di MidValley ke aras tempat kereta kami diletakkan. Aras ini memang dipenuhi dengan restoran-restoran dan kafe-kafe seumpamanya. Kami singgah untuk melepaskan kepenatan dan Dhea akhirnya terjaga dari lenanya. Melihat gulungan-gulungan donat yang kebanyakannya bersalutkan coklat, Dhea kelihatan begitu berselera menjamu selera. Peluang ini tidak dilepaskan untuk diabadikan, maka saya seperti lazimnya mengambil beberapa foto dengan kamera setia saya.

Kesimpulannya, pada kami MidValley memang akan sentiasa kami cuba elakkan untuk dilawati pada bila-bila masa tanpa tujuan yang begitu mendesak.

Di akhir penulisan ini baru saya sedari tentang perihal di sebalik penulisan dalam bahasa ibunda saya ini. Saya mempunyai tugas menyediakan sarikata terjemahan untuk sebuah filem tempatan yang bakal ditayangkan tidak lama lagi. Sungguhpun tugas tersebut memerlukan saya menterjemah dari Bahasa Melayu ke Bahasa Inggeris dan situasi tersebut adalah sebaliknya di sini, sekurang-kurangnya ini adalah satu bentuk latihan sebelum melaksanakan tugas tersebut.

Sekian, terima kasih.

The Unexpectations

2010-02-09T23:17:00.007+08:00

I have to admit, it is never easy for me to introduce myself to anybody with one introduction. Most of the times, I'd go to such length of adding 'Ulam Raja' after 'Ismed', assuming they are familiar with Tiga Abdul by the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee, just to get them catch the pronounciation of 'Ismed' and then say,"Owh, aaahhh..." nodding in acknowledgement of the famous character in the film. Let alone 'Chayadie' as I am yet to find an efficient way introduce it.

Anyway, I am not going to market my name today nor explain the history why I am named as such. It's just that lately, this particular name has emerged for few times unexpectedly and somehow left an impact on my life.

I have just attended an interview session for a post in the government. It was the final stage before being offered to that premiere post. I am really hoping of making it through, not just because of the stature of the post, but also for all the efforts poured in to get through to this level. Anyway, recalling how this name surfaced for making it through the two previous selection sessions, it was really unexpected for me to reach this level. It started as a try and I hope for another unexpected result for the ending (of the beginning, I hope).

Talking of which, afterwards, I went to get the latest copy of DCM (Digital Camera Magazine). It's the issue I've been waiting for the past 7 months as it announces the overall winner between the six monthly winners of the 'Photo of The Month' contest from the previous six issues. Though the result is expected as I have not received any call prior to the publishing of this much waited issue, it still disappoints me as I have expected an unexpected result, just like it did when I was announced the winner for the month of August. Anyway, as being pointed out by a friend, being the only Malay candidate has already stripped me off any chances of getting my hand on that Canon 50D as the grand prize.

Just to sum it all for today, as I head home, I received a text message from a good friend of mine who is now working at my former workplace. He told me of the news about the project that I was once on it when I was there has won an international award, setting aside famous names such as Foster etc. At first, I'm not that amused as I am no longer part of the company but somehow thinking of how much contributions I've given to that project, it feels like it (the project) is always part of me and how I wish that my name will appear anywhere in the credit list. Somehow, looking at the ego of those two principles (architect an their egoes), I don't think the always-unexpected 'Ismed Chayadie' will also make any emergence here.

Life is always full of surprises, as long as you don't expect for any returns for what you did.

Here's the link to the mentioned project.

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=13374

Those Were The Days

2010-02-02T15:53:00.011+08:00

"Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that 20 schools — 14 secondary and six primary — had been accorded the status of high performance schools (SBTs).

These schools were chosen from among schools that showed outstanding performance in the field of academia, co-curriculum and niche areas.

The 10 fully residential schools are Sekolah Tun Fatimah (Johor Bahru), Sekolah Dato’ Abdul Razak (Seremban), Malay College Kuala Kangsar, Sekolah Seri Puteri (Cyberjaya), Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Halim (Jitra). Kolej Tunku Kurshiah (Seremban), Kolej Islam Sultan Alam Shah (Klang), Sekolah Menengah Sains (SMS) Tuanku Syed Putra (Perlis), Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah (Putrajaya) and SMS Muzaffar Syah (Melaka)."

-The Malaysian Insider, 25th of January 2010

I was highlighted of this through a post by a former schoolmate in Facebook. I was dumbfounded (surprised / perplexed - mix it all together) after reading the announcement made by the DPM.

Outstanding performance? They've got to be kidding me, as I flipped to the next page still in disbelief.

Why? The last name on the list does really ring a bell (a huge one) in my head. I lived there, almost entirely for 5 years. It's the place I'd love to be associated with, for the darks or for the glitters. This time around, it sparkles with pride. (Oh, and I'm still in disbelief).

Though it taught me with good values, I did pick up valuable lessons (I wouldn't label it as bad but valuable instead) through out the 5 great years I've spent over there. As I narrated the super adventures (if one could see my expression as if I was describing a scene from Indiana Jones) of the hostel on the hill, my wife put a pause just after it reached its climax - pulling back my feet to the ground telling me it is the current generation who deserves the accolades and recognitions, not some guys in their 30s or late 20s who are being nostalgic about their youth period.

Who wouldn't be proud of it? Even Rome wasn't built in a day.

Anyway, yesterday was the first day for the month of February, a Federal Territory day. I went early in the morning to Dataran Merdeka in a hope to snap some photos of colorful celebration being held over there. It was disappointing as there were only bunch of kids in uniforms, contesting for the parade. At least, I can snap something out of my everyday life, I thought. So I spent few good hours watching them, on and off the contest parade. On the contest, they were a group of disciplined kids, parading by orders by their leader but when off the contest, they turned to a bunch of kids who always wanted some fun. And while having fun, they were learning.

It hit me.

I was them, some good 13 to 23 years ago. I would say that I even had quite a fair share of fun back then. Where has it all gone? Lost in the pursuit of money?

Recently, it was also announced that the government is thinking on lowering the age limit for a kid to enter a formal school and one of the reason stated is so that the person will leave the university at a young age to prepare them for the job market. Do we go to school or university to be filled with precious knowledge or to be prepared merely as a working class society? The pursuit of money? Or a life modelled the way you wanted it to be? I still remember my former head student (yes, of that said school) once told me that you don't have to pursuit for the money, as long as you are knowledgeable, it will come to you no matter what.

And again, it brought me back to the fun times of my learning days. Having been a Muzaffarian, I am always proud for the school that has taught me - The Life. And being the few on the list who got suspended from the school that is considered "The Ivy League of School" in the whole nation (I read it in a comment somewhere), somehow I'm putting myself in a league of its own!

To all Muzaffarians, the current and the formers - YEAAHHH!!

**It was quite touching last weekend when I bumped into my former primary schoolmate. He was one of the two good friends I had back then. 18 years and we still remember each other. He's Indian. Mistake me not, I'm not being a racist. I'm just stressing that we truly live the spirit of 1Malaysia back then.

For your information, the other is a Chinese.

Looks Fine

2010-01-24T03:45:00.005+08:00

A recent photo after hospitalization. We're still monitoring and for the time being she looks just fine. We're glad that her appetite is back. Have your meal, dear.

Lira

2010-01-22T19:33:00.003+08:00

Lira (Pound) is the name of the monetary unit of a number of countries, as well as the former currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino and the Vatican City (replaced in 1999 with the euro). The term originates from the value of a Troy pound (Latin libra) of high purity silver, and as such is a direct translation of the British pound sterling; in some countries, such as Cyprus, the words lira and pound are used as equivalents. L, sometimes in a double-crossed script form (₤) or less often single-crossed (£), is usually used as the symbol.

No, she is my wife.

I Got Sunshine

2010-01-20T23:37:00.004+08:00

She has been sick for a while. On and off. Fever high and low. Continuous bad cough, interrupting her sleep at night and sometimes she looked like trying to spill it all out when actually there was nothing to spill out and what worried me the most, she just lost her appetite. A lovely girl who used to be active, laid down most of the time, barely talks.

We tried our best to cheer her up. She laughed, but just for a while. We brought her to seek treatment just to see it kept recurring. Panic struck.

We decided to go to the specialist. She was hospitalized. Doctor did a blood test and put her on a drip. Antibiotics too. Oh boy, how glad we were seeing our Dhea fast recovering, returning to the lovely Dhea we once had.

Remember in my previous post, how it feels like watching a beautiful sunrise? I am more than glad to invite you sitting next to me, enjoying the colorful sky it casts.

Thank God, Alhamdulillah. And thanks to the professional paediatrician, Dato' Dr. Musa for your service.

My Sunrise Is Sick...Again

2010-01-15T01:56:00.004+08:00

Another sleepless night worrying too much over Dhea's health. Digging up archive looking for some old worthy shots and found this. Feeling sad now and really hope Dhea will be OK, the kind of feeling as if watching over a nice sunrise early in the morning.

digitelwerk Loves Scenery

2010-01-12T11:28:00.005+08:00

And who doesn't? Except this time I'm equipped to better memorize it.

Another post to re-publish previous works. Also, to welcome the new year (with more new interesting contents, I hope)

Another Decade Gone

2009-12-31T10:25:00.011+08:00

Today is the last day of the year 2009. It is also the last day of the decade. 10 years have passed and being a "time-sequential" type of guy, this is the time zone where I would strongly love to relate to what I have done within the past 10 years.

2000
I welcomed it with a big bang at Suntec City, Singapore. It was a tiring day having to walk for hours scouting along the Orchard Road for the best spot to welcome the new millennium. It was also the day of anticipation for the much hyped Y2K phenomenon.

2001
The first time I experienced a mutual love feeling (I was only on a one-sided love before). 25th of March at 9.30 in the morning, in a light brown car with registration of WBP 5489 and heading towards the Larkin bus terminal, were the details of that one fine morning. It was when I became the luckiest man in the world to be accepted as the love of her life. And now, we're married blessed with one cute little girl.

2002
I would say the year where I truly enjoy my life the most. Young at 22, being loved by a girl and with lots of friends around with lots of fun things to do and lots of things to learn - everything seemed good. Eventhough I was temporarily crippled on my right leg at the early of the year, I still managed to get my feet underwater, snorkelling in the heavenly clear water of Perhentian Island. Also during this year I extended my undergraduate study, though I never had any regrets at all as I was given a chance to experience the "Master of the Housing" studio, a truly nostalgic moment with you guys! (you know who you are).

2003
The first time experiencing working in a real architect firm where I had to undergo 6 months of industrial training with the industry's player as part of the university's syllabus. It wasn't nice, to be frank. Still, it's a memory worth remembering. Included, the "Urban Study" studio with Alor Setar as the case study city. Another cool semester to be in it.

2004
It's the time whether I'm going to make it or failed it. Years of training as an architectural undergraduate, it's about time to prepare myself for the working world outside. I remember a moment with Botuck in the car, when we were heading to a beach for our regular end of semester outing,

"Med, remember this moment when we are not obliged to any companies, no urge under any circumstance on financial matters and that we, now are heading exactly the opposite direction of the morning rush traffic going for an escapade at the beach where as those people on the other side are bounded by the system. Anyway, we're going to that side after this, so let us just treasure this moment."

And I do.

2005
The naive undergraduate took on a job, believing one day he could be a superstar architect. How naive, poor boy.

2006
I left the firm, with valuable knowledge to join a reputable developer. "Probably this is my cup of tea", I thought.

2007
Apparently it's not my cup of tea. I'm a designer, not some corporate slaves trying to climb up the ladder licking my boss' arse. I left the company and returned back to architectural world (after few hiccups though).

Before I left, I've decided to make the big move. This is the year when I tied the knot after only few months of planning. From mono, I am now stereo.

2008
It's time from two becomes three. Welcome Dhea Batrishea. You complete us.

However, on a sad note, we lost our dear mother.

2009

The year of roller coaster. I'm yet to feel the fun side of it.

I would conclude that this decade is for me to grow up. A transition to be a better man. As the decade changes, so does the initial number representing my age as I will enter the age group of 30s.

Seriously, I want to chart for a better future. So long my 20s and I will remember you well and surely I am going to miss you like I miss my teenage years.

Where The King Prays

2009-12-28T12:10:00.012+08:00

This is a view directly below the dome where the guest of our King (and probably His Highness too) will hold their prayer to Allah the Almighty. Yes, it was shot inside the under-construction new palace and I hope I'm not violating any national code of secrecy and confidentiality.

I do have a lot to say about the behaviour of our royalties lately but it's best to keep it silence. Well, some are born with power and most are born not (like me! LOL).

Having watched Bodyguards and Assassins recently, I was moved by the sacrifices made by the people to protect a person where some of those who died hardly know who he is. But they strongly believe this person holds a key to a brighter future for their nation. True sacrifices - of father and daughter, the prominent father and his son, a lover and such, that we love deary.

Recently, I read a news that UK's crown prince slept with the homeless on the street. It is up (or down, literally) to that level. I'm not sure about ours giving up their sport cars and posh yatch or giving up one of those many happy nightlife for a night on the street with the unfortunate people who beholds them.

I do believe in our current King and hope so for the future too.

Daulat Tuanku!

Wedding - Khairul & Han and Yusri & Liza

2009-12-25T02:37:00.009+08:00

As mentioned in the previous post about the simultaneous wedding that I shot, now here are few photos from the second day of the wedding that had both couples being celebrated together.

In Between The Lines

2009-12-22T13:09:00.004+08:00

When there are lines, there is always in between the lines. So, in this particular post I'm going

I've told you that once there are lines, there is always in between the lines

to make it short therefore reducing the opportunity for the readers to read in between the lines.

Wedding - Khairul & Han

2009-12-21T00:24:00.007+08:00

Again, I was given the opportunity to shoot a memorable wedding despite a last minute and very disappointing setback early this month. It was a two-day occasion and to make it more interesting the reception was held for two couples, simultaneously.

For my previous assignment, I described it as a charming wedding but for this one, it's hell of a party. The wedding was lively through out all the way, thanks to the supporting family members. It's also the first time I came to know a beautiful family.

It's never been a pressure working with the couples and the families involved and a great experience working with the other two photographers.

Credits to Azam & Fly.

*photos will be uploaded progressively

My Saturday

2009-12-12T23:41:00.006+08:00

The Saturday dated 12th of December was one of those days that was bright and sunny with a clear blue sky. It was a very nice Saturday to me after a very tiring Friday the day before. It makes me think though that good weather does really cast a good mood to me.

As mentioned, the day before was quite tight for me from the early morning to the next early morning of the said Saturday. I was called upon to attend an assessment that started at 8.00 so I had to wake up as early as 5.30 in the morning. It ended in the evening and I had to rush back home to prepare myself for my office's annual dinner where I had to do a little performance on stage. Later at half past eleven I was already on the pitch, passing the ball to my friends. After the weekly match, we used to hang out at the nearby mamak restaurant. Usually it lasts about an hour but this particular session (and last week too actually), I ended up driving back with a pair of tired eyes at nearly 6 o'clock in the morning. It means I have not slept for the past 24 hours.

However, I do enjoy every little bit of all those itineraries. It weren't part of my everyday routine. Even the assessment wasn't part of my future plan before (as I thought I could be one of those superstar architects LOL) but somehow it gave me a chance to know about it. The dinner was kind of interesting as I had to perform a little sketch on stage. Weeks of training and practicing were paid off with the final fully committed performance by the members. Guys, you've got my most earnest respect.

To sum it off, apart from the usual weekend routine of resting at home, we decided to bring Dhea to FRIM. It is located very close to our home (I was initially planned to write about our home in Selayang and how I gradually become to be in love with it over the past few years because it has everything to offer such as this FRIM).

The place is simply scenic. There is a lot of big trees with its wide canopies casting shadows on the grass below under the bright sunny day and there is actually a waterfall in there with crystal clear water flowing through it. Spending time and actually being over there, it felt like now this is what we call a very nice Saturday.

However, the big bonus is to see my two most beloved person, enjoying every moment of it. Both of them are truly what I would call it -

My Saturday :)

digitelwerk Shoots People

2009-12-08T23:40:00.021+08:00

Since this blog is relatively new compared to my flickr account, there is a considerable gap of my previously published images in the latter. As an effort to have both mediums to be in parallel progression and updated, I'm publishing it again here but under certain themes such as this post - 'digitelwerk shoots people'.

The early days, still having trouble of choosing the right settings of the camera. Shot with the original kit lens 18-135mm. This was at Surabaya Gubeng Station, on board Agro Willis to Bandung.

My brother in-law. He and my wife were having a discussion at KLMotion, Mutiara Damansara. I was obsessed back then of getting a cinematographic shot and this was the result.

A sample from the KL Bird Park series. I was madly in love with Jena at this time even though she's heavy. It's worth it anyway.

A photo of my nephew enjoying fresh air by the window in Kemaman. Note the reflection of the window in his eyes.

Of course, Dhea is constantly being photographed by me. Of all, this is my all-time favorite.

Then, digitelwerk started to shoot weddings.

Perhaps, probably one day I'll be photographing you. That if, under the condition that you are a people. On second thought, no worries. I do shoot animals too.

digitelwerk Goes 1.4 - Wedding at Putrajaya

2009-12-08T00:31:00.008+08:00

I had the opportunity to shoot a very charming wedding for this lovely couple on the 5th of December. The settings, the outfit for the couple, the crowd and the overall size of the wedding is just perfect to me, personally. Congratulation to both of you.

The photos here are processed using the cross processing technique. I'm trying to experiment with new ways of processing images lately.

Moreover with the new 1.4, I am just lovin' it!

Bruttal

2009-11-30T15:30:00.010+08:00

I had the privillege to shoot a fashion show of a collection from Bruttal at Zouk recently. It was challenging to me, both in term of lighting and the flesh displayed LOL. Looking forward for future collaboration with Bruttal.

*image is under the copyright of Rupajiwa

Bird Of Prey

2009-11-24T15:49:00.011+08:00

(I think the photo is just appropriate with the subject today LOL although it doesn't look dangerous at all!)

I once did an assignment for a rich client at their home. Some parts of the house caught my attention because it displays some intentions of a good design and it invoked me to extend the conversation with the client beyond the perimeter of the assignment. The client shared some information that I don’t really care a lot (because they are rich, they can do whatever they want) but one did really get me thinking. One of the sons is currently studying at AA and if you guys are not from the architectural circle, it is one of or the most prestigious school of architecture in the world – Architectural Association. The client even claimed that the son is currently the best student over there.

I shared the information with a friend who later said exactly what I was thinking. The riches will always become richer. Even my boss said an almost similar situation. He found out (not sure which one is his source, either from print or TV) that in the near future, the riches will come from a background of a well-do family. Little are needed for me to elaborate this scenario.

What am I trying to say? I’m a guy who loves to relate things. I’m the type who always associates events by rounded sequential timing such as “that event happened (the rounded sequential timing is placed here e.g. 1 day/ 2 days/ 1 week/ 2 weeks/ 1 month/ 1 year/ 2 years) ago”. Or I would relate to a certain proportion such as the roof is 3.5 meter high and then I would relate it with a proportion that I know such as an average person is 1.7m tall so I would multiply it until it reaches the nearest to that said quantity (or any average door is 2.1m). Or what about the speed of an aircraft or an F1 car? Then I would relate it with the normal speed I drive when I go to work each morning.

When I was a little boy growing up in Skudai, the biggest house to me was the double storey Semi-D just up north the street in the housing estate I was living in. The nicest bus was the express bus to Singapore. The most happening place is at Komtar in the city center or the richest person I ever know is one towkay who owns 3 cars parked within the compound of his 2.5m high stainless-steel-fenced house (you can try elevate another 40cm upwards from the average door height, where 40cm is slightly longer than the average ruler you normally use on your desk – that in mind if you still remember the average of door height, don’t you?).

Why am I doing this? It helps me placing myself in this rapidly changing world. 200 years ago, there’s no car that would travel 300km/h so everyone at that time is comfortable with the pace of the rest of them. Nowadays, a selected few (or illegal racers who selected themselves) have experienced such speed on land. My point is, that’s why I am always relating things with a benchmark that I’m familiar with so that I wouldn’t be lost walking amongst those disproportionate figure (your fortune, maybe).

Now, almost everything is running out of proportion to me. I’ve worked on building villas worth millions of ringgit. A friend of mine is driving a posh car where I am still struggling maintaining my monthly mortgage. A young fella driving his GTI next to my 8 year old Wira easily sped off after the light turned green when my car still having problem ( after having it replaced twice!) shifting its automatic gear. Or how about being able to send your maid to UK just to accompany your son plays Playstation when he’s down with the heavy pressure of architectural study? From my proportion – who also studied architecture but only managed to afford a cup of instant noodle a day (A DAY!), to me it was ridiculous!

Anyway, I was smoking by the corridor at the 1st floor this morning, where in front of me is the top part of a tree (normal floor to floor height of a building = 3.3m to 3.8m, in case you want to relate the height I was standing) and I saw a beautiful green bird was feeding itself. Being beautiful is one thing but what attracted me was the act of the bird looking all round – left, right, back and even paused a while looking straight at me as if it tried to be cautious of its surrounding. Immediately I was thinking, why didn’t the bird look further upward or downward where if there’s any possible predator for him, it would definitely comes from those directions.
Immediately too, it reminds me, metaphorically, of us as human being that we always tend to forget the position we’re in as we only seek awareness only around us where as there’s always a person up there no matter how up high are you (or down there watching from below) waiting for the perfect opportunity to surprise you (for good or for bad).

Damn, I love how the surrounding teaches you.

Save Iskandar Putri?

2009-11-20T11:24:00.008+08:00

As the title may suggests, what or who is Iskandar Putri? For those who still don't know, Iskandar Putri is the former name of Johor Bahru. Probably most of you would argue as the name Tanjung Puteri is very much associated with the city of Johor Bahru, so supposedly that would be the former name of this most southern city of the mainland for the Asia continent. Where did I get this information? From a reliable primer source for sure.

Iskandar Putri gets us together on a fine weekend, equipped with the essential gears and knowledge we have learned about our surroundings especially its built environment. We had a briefing the night we arrived for us to have a clear view of what we want to capture. We started early in the morning, tracking the heritage trail guided by our primer source.

As I observed and as a boy growing up in this city, it was a major disappointing to learn that the busy city I used to live in has now slowly reaching its death. I can feel the emptiness of it as I have once lived here and know how it was used to be. All of us had a fairly useful discussion about what has happened and ways to turn it around. In my opinion based on the facts by my source, it all goes down to political interference and interest that goes over the good judgement for the betterment of the city dwellers.

I'm not sure but do these high ranking people who occupy the seats really have a heart for the city and its dwellers or is just about their pocket that matters? This is an unofficial effort (though it was unclear at first but we hope that it will at least weigh a certain magnitude) of us, young architects to capture the heart of Johor Bahru. Though, my images still fail to capture the very essence of the city of Johor Bahru.

Anyway, let us save Iskandar Putri.

Stroll In The Park

2009-11-01T23:52:00.008+08:00

Last Saturday we had a leisurely walk in the KLCC park. The weather was fairly nice but the air was somehow stagnant though. I brought along the in-possession 180mm/f2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar (credit to Qorun) as I was thinking of getting some "sneak shots from distance" while we were there.

FTLB : Magno Radio

2009-11-01T03:02:00.011+08:00

The first "From The Light Box" series. Hope there will be future content for this series since I've been working hard in setting up the light box. Thanks to Mohd. Alias Khairuddin for lending me this beautiful radio.

Further information about this radio at www.magno-design.com

Overdoing

2009-10-19T16:25:00.002+08:00

When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Wedding - Sample Albums

2009-10-19T00:56:00.012+08:00

These are the samples of my customized album. Done under commission by Rupajiwa. For a personal touch of my photography, the package starts from RM1399

per event or one day coverage
8" x 12" custom album (samples are 10" x 12")
1 beautifully framed 8R
the whole edited and unedited photos in DVD
100 pieces business card size of different photos as portable showcase (optional at an additional of RM100)

Personal customization of the package can be further discussed. Contact me at

i_chayadie@yahoo.com

I'd love to hear from you :)

Note: Some of the images displayed in the samples are under the copyrights of Rupajiwa.

Shah Alam

2009-10-17T03:41:00.008+08:00

I attended a one working week course held at Grand Blue Wave, Shah Alam. On the third day, I returned to the room, planning to have a nice relaxing moment in the bath tub after a tiring continuous workshop session. I walked into the room towards the window just to have a peek on the weather outside since it was raining from the morning. And it was...

I had to forget about the nice relaxing moment. In fact it's a moment of hesitation since I haven't surveyed yet my vantage point if I were to go out there and shoot. Anyway, I geared up and simply headed out (with a last peep into the bathroom).

It's worth it though as the days after that weren't nice at all. Only a reminder (to myself and every photographer out there) to take extra precaution when shooting outdoor at dark places. There's no one great photo that is worth your life.

Happy shooting!

Dhea Batrishea at Putrajaya

2009-10-08T13:24:00.008+08:00

My plan was to get a nice shot of the newly completed and much-hyped "Masjid Besi" in Putrajaya before we (me, Lira & Dhea) head on to KLIA to send off a relative pursuing her study in India. I was elated knowing that now I have the set of GND filters in bag, I could probably bring home some beautiful images. To my disappointment the sky was dull and hazy plus no initial recon made the mission considerably a failure.

I managed to get there but the mosque is huge though. How am I going to get around scouting for nice angle while towing Lira & Dhea behind me? However, inside the main compartment in my bag, there laid a set of wonderful glasses of Jena, a prime at 180mm. I borrowed it while the owner is having a 2 weeks time off somewhere in Europe as I write. We let Dhea loose, and me, maintaining at a certain distance started to shoot her while she ran around happily.

It's good to see her happy again after falling sick for days and it's good for me to be able to lay my hands on that wonderful lens again. Just that I need to practice hard on the manual focusing - at 180mm!

Stop The Implication

2009-10-02T14:11:00.013+08:00

-The National Post writes that comparing the two deaths was a "little absurd," and referenced Hamid Dabashi's editorial for CNN. Mr. Dabashi, a professor at Columbia University, writes that "there are more holes in Ahmadinejad's point than in that proverbial Swiss cheese." Ms. El-Sherbini, Dabashi writes, was the victim of a "vicious act of a neo-Nazi racist, while Neda Aqa Soltan was one among many other victims of violence at the hands of the security apparatus of the Islamic Republic."-

The article above was quoted from:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20091001/wl_ynews/ynews_wl936

This article really got my immediate attention. They are trying to imply a mode of subconcious acceptance by referring to a statement of a professor from a reputable education institution where Islam is portrayed as violent institution/body/subject who wrongfully misuse their power to kill an innocent person while in the other incident, the statement tried to imply that it was an isolated case (or rather acceptable) by a probably not that critically dangerous party by labelling them as a (mere) racist - of a neo-Nazi.

Mr. Professor, it's better for you to strip down all of your academic qualification as you had overlooked lots of basic understanding on human rights. Instead of making comparisons, can't you look at the similarities they shared?

In both cases, innocent lives were lost. It shouldn't have happened. Their lives were taken forcefully and wrongfully - out of their willingness. Both were killed by a group of society (as it tried to imply by the statement). One is of a so-called "violent hands from the Islamic Republic" and the other is a neo-Nazi racist.

If the argument is that of one is from the ruling authority, it should have been understood as an act of a person who probably misfired the gun while he tried to deliver his duty to contain a chaos. He was not out there to purposedly kill her, while the neo-Nazi motive was apparent. In the end, two lives have lost. The point is, whether the person represents the ruling authority or not, the fact is that both have killed innocent lives.

If the killer (though if it's accidental) of Neda Soltan were to be condemned guilty, so too were the killer of Marwa Ali El-Sherbini, moreover, her killer fights the ideology of Nazi. Therefore, there is no such argument which killer is more guilty than the other but instead both should have shared a fair amount of coverage for their condemnations. Or do the professor thinks that a killing by a Nazi believer is acceptable?

It is quite sad that a 'professor' forgets the fact of The Holocaust caused by the Nazis back in WWII. Millions of innocent lives were lost back then. Perhaps the professor needs help on trying to weigh both magnitudes of the disaster (by trying to "absurdly" compare Islam as a much more violent instutution with that of the Nazis). And he should have realized the difference between the concept of religion as a way of life and Nazi as a political idealogy to obtain absolute power.

Please do not misuse the word Islam for your propaganda. I know you are trying to imply a negative impact on Iran but please, do not associate and drag my holy religious into your dirty propaganda.

Actually, there's no need for anyone to propagate. Two lives have lost - unwillingly and illegally. Both parties should be held equally responsible and accountable for the unfortunate deaths, therefore there's no such thing as "absurd comparison" as there is no such comparison to begin with at the first place - but more of unfortunate similarities.

You are welcome to visit me if you need any help, Mr. Professor.

Sky On Fire!

2009-09-29T13:59:00.004+08:00

This shot was taken by the roadside when we were on the way to an uncle's house in Pandamaran. I wish I could set up my new GND for this shot but somehow I had to get it captured quickly as we were already late (because we were lost!) for the BBQ invitation. I even felt a little bit inconvenience to shoot by a very busy roadside with lots of trucks passing by our car with my precious family in it. So just get it done and move away quickly.

I used Aperture Priority mode and the rest was set to follow suit for an optimized image. I didn't do much justice with this image as the sky was way more beautiful that day. I really wish I could set it up properly that day.

Wedding Samples

2009-09-25T23:21:00.011+08:00

Here are some samples of wedding photography done recently. I am yet to find a proper channel to display the rest of it. Flickr would be a good choice but I'm not in a hurry to upgrade my account soon.

For the time being, by displaying a selected few is a better option. These are the collections from the past and any future wedding photos will eventually be updated in new post.

Any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at i_chayadie@yahoo.com

Thanks for viewing and I'm looking forward to be at your service.

Selamat Hari Raya Maaf Zahir Batin

2009-09-24T02:14:00.014+08:00

This Hari Raya has brought us 1210km across the southern half hemisphere of peninsular Malaysia, from the west coast to the south, to the east coast and finally back safely to the Klang Valley.

A journey with lots of opportunities for nice photograph but somehow I've missed most of it (or rather let it passed) due to some certain unavoidable constraints.

(19/9) KL - JB

(20/9) JB - KUANTAN - KEMAMAN

(21/9) KEMAMAN - KUALA TERENGGANU - KEMAMAN (halfway, mission aborted)

(22/9) KEMAMAN - KUALA LUMPUR

Probably I wasn't excited enough since I couldn't get my hands on the new ND Grad. It supposed to be delivered just in time before the trip. I had to use the same old trick in capturing some worthy photos. However, if I ever did receive the new gadget, the weather was a disappointment anyway, hence the aborted mission on the 21st.

Anyway, we had a considerably good Hari Raya celebration.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin to everyone!