Nikon 60mm f2.8D Macro lens

Got hold of the above lens from eBay on Wednesday and couldn't wait to try it out. I've always loved macro and flower shots. Was contemplating a 105mm VR Macro but those are very expensive and there are few on the second hand market. Anyway, I figured that the 60mm could also double as a portrait prime lens. The Bokeh's nice on this one.

Anyway, here are my first few attempts:- First pic: shot of multi-coloured "crinkles". An old friend made me a bottle of these when we parted ways after JC. I've always kept the bottle. Gifts like these are priceless.

Second pic: Another gfit from a long-time friend. Its from Ann, I think. Its only inch high but I've always found it cute. Love the attempt at anatomical accuracy.

Third pic: My watch. Cheap and beat-up but trusty and reliable Seiko Kinetic. As long as I wear it and move, it will move.

Retlaw is 60!

After many months of hard grinding, questing and just being around, Retlaw is now level 60. He is now considered a "matured" character... ready to take on the "real" instances and quests... The first page of the next chapter on WOW unfolds for him...

Congratulations Retlaw! Now if only you could change your looks.... :p

Penny wise, Pound Foolish (Warning: R18 post)

I made a mistake 3 years ago when I first got Polo and Paula. I had decided that since I was going to get Polo neutered, there was no need to spay Paula. For one, I just thought that if one of them cannot reproduce, then my problem was solved. Secondly, neutering was a relatively cheaper procedure than spaying.
3 years on and Polo is now one of the timidest males of any species I ever know. Paula on the other hand, urinates all over to mark her territory, scratches when she's in a bad mood and NEVER leaves Polo alone. In fact, she's always seeking to hump him even though she's obviously not suitably equipped (ok. I can explain what she's really trying to do but not on a public blog)! And Polo gets scuff marks all over him because Paula bites him to keep him still. I'm making it a point to bring them to grandma's regularly for them to run around the garden there... but Paula inevitably catches up with the not-too-smart Polo and "gets it".

I blame only myself.

Nikon VR Works!

This shot was taken from the backseat of our car, which was going at around 70kmh on an overcast day (Sunday,19 June 2006 at 2:22pm). The bronze coloured Ford Focus SDW 2891M was speeding ahead (positive relative speed). So I quickly whipped out the D200 and its 18-200 and fired off this shot at 200mm.

Those of you who have long telezoom lenses will appreciate how hard it is to get a sharp shot under those conditions. I only had one chance. And it came out ok. Good enough for me to consider submitting this photo to the Traffice Police. Driver of SDW 2891M was speeding (doing 100+kmh along Braddell road). Nevermind that. He irked me enough to take the shot not just because he was driving with reckless speed but he was also overtaking aggressively, weaving in and out like a madman.

Anyone who wants the EXIF data can email me. The D200 has an authenticity certification feature to show that this pic has not been doctored.

Shame on you SDW 2891M! And welcome to the digital world.

Fathers Day 2006

Celebrated Father's Day this year with a Dim Sum lunch at Red Star Restaurant off Chin Swee Road. The Red Star was modelled after your typical chinese dim-sum place of the 80s... and hasn't changed much since. Nevertheless, the food was excellent value for money, if you didn't mind the 45 min wait for a table and the noise. :)

Dad loves getting value... sometimes more than getting something really good. As you can see, he was obviously pleased at the end of the meal. Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Cats

Met up with these two very photogenic cats on the way back from J8 (and tea with Megan) yesterday evening.They were the usual stray-alley cats variety (probably fed and taken care of by someone in one of the neighbouring blocks though).

Dad accuses them of causing scratches on cars... but any car manufacturer that uses paints and coatings that aren't cat-scratch proof should be ashamed of themselves! Cat claws are not be that sharp to scratch the gloss of your car paint... UV rays do more to harm your car's paint than cars.













Anyway, these two seemed rather friendly last night. Besides doing the usual rub-between-your-legs thing, they took turns coming up to me to get a gentle scratch behind the head or a stroke here and there. One of them even rolled on the floor to allow me to scratch his/her belly :p
I have always liked furry animals (only those that do not bite!). I'll be seeing these guys around...

"100% Fishy" Concert at J8
There was an ornamental fish exhibition at J8 this afternoon. Was quite intrigued by the ornamental freshwater prawns. Really nice colours. There were even violet lobsters and bright red (still live) lobsters... as well as the

As part of the fish show, the "100% Fishy" band took to the stage to perform for the kids (while daddies and mommies part away with their hard earned cash to buy fishes to look at) :).usual discuses and other ornamental fishes.

Anyway, the kids loved the concert. And from the looks of things, some parents too!


Some of them even got excited!

A little Britney Spears is born!

(Pictures taken with D200 with 18-200 VR lens from 2nd floor balcony of J8 Central Atrium)

Megan says "bye bye!" 

Lyrna and Huilan - two friends from my days in Manila 

Megan, mommy and daddy Jason 

Megan and mommy Amreeta 

Teatime with Megan and Friends!

Paintball was off this weekend so my Saturday was off to a slow start. Got some much needed sleep in the morning before getting a call from Jason for tea. Its been ages since I met up with him and his family... and with Lyrna and Huilan coming along, who can say no to catching up with old times? :)

The two of them together... doing what they do best - Eating. :)

Polo enjoying the space. Nothing like a good run to get those legs going!

Paula in motion.

Its not everyday that I get females looking at me. Paula has always been a haughty one... so its a little bonus to get her attention. :)

Polo. Always the cautious one. The shutter's click made him stop in his tracks pick his ears up. Of course, after one glance at the source of the sound, he moved on.

Took Polo and Paula out to Grandma's to stretch their legs last Sunday. They loved it. Its not that their three-story-high-lovingly-built condo wasn't enough space... but that bunnies are bunnies. Nothing beats the feel of grass under their feet.

Nightshots
It was a nice relaxing evening. Watched Xmen III with Sam and SW. Not a bad movie. Its different from I & II. More depth in my opinion. However, I did get the sense that the director was trying to hurry the story along. It was a lot of plot with very little time. Anyway I watch movies for entertainment. And X-Men III was entertaining.

Anyway, I was carrying my new toy (D70s) around. Took some shots of a street concert outside of Orchard CineLeisure. Some of the performers were very good. I'm not posting those shots because I am not sure if members of the public could take pictures. No one stopped me but that was probably because I looked like one of the professional photographers present. :)
Decided to take the overhead bridge across the road instead of my usual path. Halfway across, an idea hit me. :) Long Exposure! Something you can't do with your regular point-and-shoot. Notice the yellow dashes interspersed with the red tailights of the cars? Its the indicator lights. Cool eh? The pictures could have been sharper. I'll bring a tripod next time...
The view from my flat.

Its wonderful how things look at 36,000 feet. Beautiful clear skies... bright white fluffy clouds. It was a befitting shot to end the trip. I like my D70s. Sure, there were a lot of ruined shots in the beginning. And the camera has its own character (soft pics, under saturation). I think I have managed to figure her out. Also learnt a couple of lessions. Like how a Polariser or an ND filter would have helped. Or that I needed a proper flash for indoor/dinner shots.

But I didn't realise how much I wanted a DSLR till I had one. I'll definitely be taking more shots with it. (Comment: I notice that the shots uploaded by Hello have significant loss in quality. Directly uploaded shots don't seem to have this problem. Just something to note before anyone says my S$1600 camera takes lousy pictures :) )