Experimental Tee Design : Penang

Would you buy them?

Filed under: Art + Design , Malaysia, Penang, T-Shirt Design, Tee

Journal, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 June 2009

On the dates I was traveling in Penang.

Pen : Lamy Safari Charcoal fountain pen

Ink : Noodler’s Ink – Polar Black

Colours : Derwent Inktense Watersoluble Pencils + Staedtler Karat Aquarell Watercolour Pencils + Daler Rowney White Acrylic

Pen : Lamy Safari Charcoal fountain pen

Ink : Noodler’s Ink – Polar Black

Colours : Derwent Inktense Watersoluble Pencils + Staedtler Karat Aquarell Watercolour Pencils + Daler Rowney White Acrylic

Filed under: Food, Illustration, Journal, Personal, Sketch, Travel , 2009, Diary, Drawing, Georgetown, Illustration, Journal, Malaysia, Moleskine, Penang, Sketch, Travel

Faces of Penang 1

I am going to start off the Faces of Penang photo series with this batch which was shot on an over 30-year old Kodak slide film which was then cross processed with C-41 chemical. Surprisingly the results turned out beyond my expectation. I thought I was going to lose them from this roll of Kodak Ektachrome 160 Tungsten when I finished shooting I realised the ASA dial on my Olympus XA was mistakenly set to ISO200, which normally in such case of shooting on any old film I would step down the ASA one or two stops to get more exposure. But in this case it did ot ruin the whole roll, which is really good news! So here they are some of the shots of the people in Penang which I picked from the same roll of film.

Stylo old man with a ‘tongkat’
He was very accommodating when I requested him to across over from the opposite side of the street where he was originally standing despite of his limping legs which I did not realise at first until he started walking. This man was just so amazing! He stood right there against the textured wall and let us took pictures of him without saying much.

Notice that blurry brown patch on the right side of the photo? That’s my finger accidentally covering part of the lens of the camera which happens almost every time when I am too engaged with the subject and unaware of the placement of my fingers on that little rangefinder. I have no complaint about it as XA is such an amazingly lightweight, handy, yet powerful little tool! My favourite traveling camera thus far.

Break time
Three men chatting away. A scene I shot while walking in the streets with my friend. I quite like the background.

Man outside a barber shop
What first caught my eyes to capture this shot was not this handsome man but it was the blue talcum powder bottles in the window display behind him. The talcum powder is called ‘Holiday On Ice’ which is very commonly used by most Indian barbers.

Stay tuned for more photos of the Faces of Penang series to come.

Filed under: Cross Processing, Photography, Travel , Cross Processing, Film Photography, Georgetown, Malaysia, Penang, Travel

Picking up Watercolour again

I did some shopping on art materials recently and I got myself some books on drawing and watercolour painting, a watercolour pocket set, a water mixable oil colours set and a Moleskine pocket watercolour notebook. The desire within me has clearly told myself to pick up watercolour painting again after abandoning the skill for more than 15 to 20 over years. The only vivid memory I could recall myself painting with watercolour is when I was a primary school student. I cannot remember if I even did watercolour in college. But here I am giving a good start again. I find it very inspirational indeed to look at some of the watercolour artworks posted on ’skine.art website. It is totally motivational to me to once again rekindle the passion for painting with this medium!

Here I have done the first attempt of a watercolor painting after so many years. This piece was painted with a reference from an old building photo I took in Georgetown, Penang during my trip there recently.

Watercolour painting vs photograph.

Although what I painted may differ from the original picture from the photograph in terms of the proportion and scale I am quite happy with my attempt. Is not it a wonderful thing that with painting we are able to alter a picture by our own hand and make it unique according to our own style?

Passion for painting needs a lot of patience, I think.

Tools / materials :
TomBow 2B recycled pencil
Daler-Rowney Aquafine watercolour pocket set
Moleskine pocket watercolour notebook

Filed under: Illustration, Painting, Travel , Georgetown, Malaysia, Moleskine Watercolour Notebook, Painting, Penang, Watercolour

Me is Grandma

Trying to create something surreal…

At the last day of the KL Photo Awards 2009 Finalists Exhibition at Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur when the photo exhibits were taken down on the 24 May 2009. Photo taken by Yip who was also one of the finalists.

Another shot of me caught is action, click here.

Camera & film : Olympus 35DC, F Zuiko 40mm f/1.7, Agfa Vista 200 (Expired)

Filed under: Exhibition, Photography , Film Photography, Finalist Exhibition, Grandma, KLPA’09, Kuala Lumpur Photo Awards 2009, Me, Self-Portrait

Drawings of Georgetown, Penang

Beautiful architecture of the old buildings had led me to compile them in this 2-page piece of drawings when I walked around the heritage site of the city of Georgetown, Penang during the period of 4 days. They were sketched out with pencil on site. Composed one by one as and when I spotted the right kind of building structure and sight each time during my walkabout. They were later redrawn in waterproof black ink with a fountain pen.

@ Georgetown, Penang, 9–13 June 2009

Drawing tools :
Moleskine Watercolour Notebook (Large), TomBow 2B recycled pencil, Lamy Safari Charcoal fountain pen (extra fine nip), Noodler’s Ink – Polar Black

Posted also on ’skine.art website.

Filed under: Illustration, Sketch, Travel , Drawing, Georgetown, Heritage Building, Illustration, Malaysia, Moleskine, Old Building, Penang, Pulau Pinang, Travel

Self portrait with Olympus 35DC

Why did I do it? I know it is a cliche as most photographers do the I-shoot-myself-in-the-mirror kinda thing these days. Yea, I just wanted to have a picture of myself and a newly acquired rangefinder Olympus 35DC which I purchased end of last month and another shot with my grumpy camera-resistible cat, Bebe. Managed to capture her pretty face before she started retaliating.

Olympus 35DC is one fairly small automatic rangefinder with a fast fixed lens F Zuiko 40mm f/1.7. Even though I may not be favourable of the automatic shutter speed and aperture that determined by the camera itself (which gives me limited control over it) I think it can be quite helpful and fast when I do shoot-and-run street photography. Shutter sound is quiet and lovely.

The film for these shots is an expired Agfa Vista 200.

Filed under: Photography , Cat, Classic Camera, Film Photography, Olympus 35DC, Rangefinder, Self-Portrait

Journal, 30 & 31 May 2009

Went to Cameron Highlands with some photography friends lately. On our way back to Kuala Lumpur we stopped by in Ipoh for a short coffee break. I managed to put my fountain pen into use onto my Moleskine on those two days.

Pictures of me drawing my breakfast at the Boh Tea Centre in Cameron Highlands.

Pictures of me drawing my toast with egg and sausage in Sun Yuan coffeeshop in Ipoh town.

The results after colouring.

Filed under: Food, Illustration, Sketch, Travel , Boh Tea Centre, Cameron Highlands, Coffeeshop, Colouring, Diary, Drawing, Food, Illustration, Ipoh, Journal, Moleskine, Travel

Kampar in Infrared Black & White

At least I tried. It was my first time shooting a roll of Ilford SFX 200, an infrared black and white which has been expired since 2003. It was given to me as a Christmas gift few years ago and was kept for a long time because at that time I did not dare enough to give it a try as I read that infrared films need special kind of care or shooting method whatsoever. Really? I do not know, and I do not like to follow rules, anyway.

So it was a trip to Cameron Highlands over the weekend with some photography friends when we stopped by in Kampar town in the state of Perak for breakfast. I had my newly acquired Olympus 35DC loaded with a roll of Ilford SFX and mounted a piece of red coloured kite paper on the lens by locking it with a normal UV filter. Seriously, I had no idea what kind of photos I was going to get by doing that. It was just an experiment.

The film was sent for developing today. It was processed the same way we process any pure black and white film, as what I was told by the lab. Got the negative back and had some of the photos scanned using my low-end flatbed scanner, just tentatively, before sending it out to a pro lab for proper scanning. I cannot really judge the effects of infrared from the scans, though, but I just like the spocket holes in the pictures.

These are some of the selected shots of the Kampar market.

From the images I scanned I cannot tell if the infrared any different from the normal black and white but will wait and see til I get the film scanned by professional lab.

Anyone who has experience shooting infrared film please leave me some tips?

Filed under: Photography, Travel , Black & White, Film, Infrared, Kampar, Perak, Photography, Travel

Journal, 27 May 2009

It was one of those days that I just needed to escape from work a bit and stay away from my Mac. Treated myself to a Japanese late lunch after catching a movie. This time no sushi for myself. Was thinking more on something not too filling or carbo-packed, so Cha (Green Tea) Soba was what I picked along with a few more other dishes to go along with it. Loved the Shishamo (Grilled Smelt) – pregnant fish. The assorted tempura consisted of salmon, mushroom, lady’s finger, brinjal and prawn. Of course, something which I like – soft shell crab. Loved the Milky Green Tea which was topped with whipped cream and some red bean ‘paste’. Am no fan of red bean but I blended it into the drink anyway.

Pencil sketch was done live on site at Sushi Zanmai, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur. Colour rendering done at home.

Photos taken with my humble Nokia phone. Sorry for the bad image quality.

Tools and material :
Lamy Safari Charcoal fountain pen with Noodler’s Ink – Polar Black, Derwent Inktense watersoluble colour pencils, Daler-Rowney white acrylic, Dalon brush, Moleskine pocket diary

Filed under: Food, Illustration, Journal, Sketch , Derwent Inktense, Diary, Drawing, Illustration, Japanese Food, Journal, Lamy Fountain Pen, Late Lunch, Moleskine, Sushi Zanmai

Goodbye KLPA’09!

The finalists photo exhibition of the KL Photo Awards 2009 has just ended today and I was there at the Annexe Gallery, Central Market KL with Yip to collect our photo exhibits.

Here is the Instax shot taken by Steven Lee, one of the judges of the competition, while I was adjusting the camera on self-timer for our group shot. I was testing out the first roll of film on this newly acquired Olympus 35DC rangefinder.

The view I was trying to get I call it a mouse-eye view. Not cat, definitely not dog. That is about the height of a mouse. Hehe… Thanks Steven for this shot of me in action!

Watch this space for the group shots I took which will only come later.

Goodbye KLPA’09 and I am certainly looking forward to the coming KLPA’10 next year!

Filed under: Exhibition, Photography , Competition, Exhibition, KL Photo Awards 2009, Kuala Lumpur, Me

Photography connects people

There is something in my mind that I would like to share about the experience of photographing people. Something which I have learned and discovered over the last few years into film photography is that photography is more than a skill or a visual art we create. It is more than just a hobby activity we do only on an outing and get the right picture with the right angle, composition and colours. We need all that but I personally think it has got to be more than just shoot and run. I strongly believe photography connects people. Photography is a mean by which the photographer can get to know people from different walks of life. If we really spend the time getting to know the people we meet on the streets, people who do different kind of things for living, people who seem just ordinary everyday people, we will eventually find ourselves able to interact with people of different backgrounds, skin colours, ethnicities and belief systems and relate to them more easily. I think photography is an eye opener to the real world around us and it is a humbling experience too. At most times I realise how blessed my life really is, that how much sometimes we complain about what we do not have but the reality is God has given us the people in our lives to connect with. People are gifts to us. So the next time when you go for a street photo outing, connect with the people before you hit that shutter button. You will walk away with a smile not just on your face but on the pictures you take of the people too.

These are some of the people photos taken recently in Miri.

Filed under: Personal, Photography , People, Photography, Thought

Miri Markets – Tamu Muhibbah & Old Tamu

These are some of the photos I brought back from my trip to the Miri markets. Two locations – Tamu Muhibbah and Old Tamu. They were taken with my little Olympus XA. I am very amazed at what this little rangfinder camera can do. It is a good as an SLR. It is so compact and totally fits well on my palm, so much so that sometimes I could see my finger covering the side of the picture I take without me realising it.

Many times I have gone back to my hometown Miri but have never been more satisfied with the photos took than this trip’s. Also thanks to my friend Mandy who happened to be in town for a short business trip at the time so we managed to meet up and go for a photo outing together on the 10th May. As we walked through the markets we were amazed at how friendly the market vendors really are when we talked to them and asked them for their pictures to be taken.

Check out the rest of the photos here.

Filed under: Photography , Market, Miri, Tamu

Catching sunset in Miri, 16 May 2009

Before I left my hometown on the following day I decided to catch the sunset at Tanjong Lobang beach with my family on Saturday. The sky was a bit cloudy but the moment when the sun hit the horizon it was the most magnificent scene anyone’s eyes could witness. Men, women and kids were playing in the water, running about chasing after one another merrily, making sand castles and drawing their favourite cartoon characters on the sand. And some fishing at the jetty. I enjoyed my time with my family as well. It brought back to my childhood memories…

These were the photos taken with my compact digital camera.

Oh Miri my birthplace will I be back for you soon, I promise!

Filed under: Personal, Photography, Travel , Beach, Miri, Sarawak

Cheeky Boss

I am a bit lazy to blog lately as I am having a short break in my hometown, Miri, Sarawak.

Anyway, got some newly developed and scanned photos I took of the Boss with her film camera, Nikon FA. I cannot help but to want to post this particular shot of her. I think it is funny. It was taken during our photo outing in Pudu some weeks ago.

Second reason to post this photo is the strong primary colours – red, blue and yellow. Oh, the chilli red accesories and marine blue clothe she was wearing against the golden yellow shutter in the background! How eye-catching! Don’t you think so?

Filed under: Photography , Boss, Film Photography, Friend, Mandy Chen, Portrait

KLPA’09 : My two photo exhibits

I am more happy to see my two selected photo entries in the exhibition. Winning is a bonus but it is not everything, as quoted from a friend’s statement.

I am flying back to my hometown tomorrow for a short break! Yippee…

Thanks to Kok Wei for the two Instax shots!

Filed under: Exhibition, Personal, Photography , Central Market, Finalists Exhibition, Fujifilm Instax, KL Photo Awards 2009, Kuala Lumpur, Liyin, The Annexe Gallery

Journal, 5 February 2009 – The Widow’s Oil

Bible story about the poor widow’s oil in 2 Kings 4:1–7:

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.”Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

Moleskine Pocket Diary, Lamy Safari Charcoal fountain pen (extra fine), Noodler’s Ink – Polar Black, Derwent Inktense & Graphitint watersoluble colored pencils

Filed under: Illustration, Journal, Message, Scripture, Sketch , 2009, Diary, Journal, Moleskine, The Widow’s Oil

KL Photo Awards 2009 : And the winners are…

… I do not know yet. We will wait and see. Tomorrow, 7th May, at The Annexe Gallery, Central Market KL, 7:30pm, the winners will be announced.

Exhibition of 46 shortlisted works will be on from 7th to 24th May. Catalogue featuring the works will be on sale too.

These are my two shortlisted entries.

Hope to see you guys there! Do come and give me a pat on the shoulder if you recognise me. :–)

Check out more information here.

Filed under: Exhibition, Photography , Exhibition, KL Photo Awards 2009

Personalities

These are some of the selected portrait shots taken of my friends for the Personalities Series at Eddy Fun & Sherrina Beh’s house warming gathering on last Saturday the 2nd of May. We were just having fun! I enjoyed myself very much too. It is not always easy to find a bunch of friends who are sporting and willing to pose and do anything crazy. Madam Tan, Sherrina and Behn’s mother was really one cool lady!

Camera used was a Nikon F70D of which I loaded a roll of expired Samsung 400.

And here I present to you the seven fabulous personalities! Enjoy!

Madam Tan

Ong

Aivy

Behn Jr

Sherrina

Seng Kit

Jess

Filed under: Personal, Photography , Film Photography, Friends, People, Portrait, Portraiture

Journal, 25 April 2009 : Photo outing in Pudu

It was the same photo outing I mentioned in my blog on the ‘Tukang Besi’ shop. This is my journal page which I recorded the tools I used on that day.

Here are some of the photos I took with my little rangefinder Olympus XA which was loaded with a 30-year old Kodak slide film, Ektachrome 400 which its exposure was stepped down to ISO 200 during shooting and cross processed with C-41 chemical during processing.

Self-portrait with XA.

Do check out the rest of the photos here:
Pudu set
Tukang Besi set

Filed under: Illustration, Journal, Photography, Sketch , Blacksmith, Cross Processing, Derwent Inktense Set, Diary, Drawing, Film Photography, Illustration, Ironsmith, Journal, Kuala Lumpur, Lamy Fountain Pen, Moleskine, Noodler's Ink, Polar Black, Pudu, Sketch, Tukang Besi, Xpro