Tag Archives: Photography

My New Wife

After saying I want it, I want it for years, finally I got my first DSLR! This babe costs me over RM3K, burning a big hole in my pocket, but it also opens a new hole to better photography. The moment it became mine, my heart was beating so fast that like I have became a father, so exciting. It is solid and heavier than my old wives (other camera). It is a 10 Megalpixel camera. To me, Megapixel is like susu, the Bigger, the Better. But I have many other reasons to go for a SLR. If you are interested, you can read my love stories below to see how I changed my mindset.

1st Wife: Olympus CAMEDIA C-860L

She only supported up to 1 MP (Megalpixel). I married her in year 2001 (cost RM800, 2nd-hand price). The photo printout only looks ok in 3R size. She is very slow and looked like a brick. The picture took 5 seconds to load in LCD playback preview. Everyone laughed at me when they saw her, so I decided to dump her. Later I would fly her on a kite to experiment aerial photography. At least she can die with glory. I am not kidding.

2nd Wife: Sony Cybershot DSC-S40

After 4 years, in year 2005, I found my second wife in a promotion in Centre Point Sabah. I took a long time to switch to 2nd camera coz I was totally not interested in photography that time. The main reason I bought it was because I planned to travel the “whole” Sabah, so I needed it to record my trip. This little RM699 camera changed my life. My interest grew when she helped me to win 5 photography contest. Then I started to share my photos online, the start of MySabah.com. Very soon I found that she could not satisfy me anymore bcoz of her limitation. For example, her 4.1MP photos also didn’t look good on A4 (8R) size printout. The WORST thing was – she didn’t have any image stabilizer, making most of my photos blur, extremely annoying and depressing to see this after whole day of hardwork. Her focusing started to shock shock liao, after taking over 30,000 photos.

3rd Wife: Sony Cybershot DSC-H1

Photography has became part of my life. Being an ignorant beginner, I thought photos taken by low-end camera can match SLR quality (coz I won a few competition). Due to limited budget, I decided to go for prosumer camera in 2006. The RM1,800 Sony Cybershot DSC-H1 attracted me coz it was one of the first camera with built-in 12x optical zoom, very useful for me to take photos of stage show from far away. Another reason was – I already stucked with Sony Memory Sticks. Disappointedly, this camera only helped me to win 1 consolation prize. It could fulfill my needs most of the time. But I could not stand that her excessive noise appeared in photo taken with ISO400. She is also very slow in focusing and flash recharge (6 seconds waiting time), causing a big frustration in photo-shooting beauty pageant and model show. I got serious with photography and studied more about it. At last I realised that I needed a SLR for better photo quality and performance. However, if coupled with a close-up len, DSC-H1 does a marvelous job in photography small objects. Its outcome can even beat SLR that with only basic kit. So I will spare her life. I estimated she has taken over 50,000 photos. She is on MC now.

4th Wife: Canon EOS 400D

My true love, purchased on July 21. At first I worried that it would be too advance, coz SLR needs you to make more decision. But I find its interface very user-friendly and easy to operate. All the important setting such as ISO, Exposure, WB, metering, AF point, etc. can be accessed quickly, and loads of other features. It is also OK to know nothing, just use the auto-mode and it will choose the right setting for you most of the time. Its speed and performance are many times better than all my old camera, which are more like toys. 3 photos per second normally and 1 photo per second with flash. The shutter sound of SLR is the greatest music of the world. I regret I didn’t buy it earlier. The only complaint is I have to use viewfinder to take photo coz it has no preview screen. Its metering doesn’t work very well for subject with backlight.

Just to list one of the things I like. In the past, there were a few friends who requested me to take their wedding photos. I didn’t dare to take the job coz I knew my old “half-blind” camera would produce something like above at the left. See the problem? The front is clear, but behind is all dark, due to the ISO400 limit. With such outcome, the wedding photos would look like funeral. The picture at the right, taken by D400 under same light condition, looks closer to what our eyes see, coz of better light sensitivity. Well, now is still our “honey moon” period, everything seems good. Hopefully no more issue later.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sabah Fest 2007 (May 4)

Mimpian Jadi Resort, Tuaran

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At first I wanted to go to Pantai Dalit (Dalit Beach). Somehow I lost and found this Mimpian Jadi Resort on the highway from Tuaran to Sulaiman. To reach there, you need to drive through a narrow gravel road for more than 5 minutes. You will see lot of mangrove forest, swampy land, rivers next to the road. To me, it is kind of fun.

It was Monday and so quiet that I saw no guest. The resort is built near to a sandy white beach. I also would like to try out the Polarising filter for my camera. This filter acts like a sunglass that can block excessive sunlight comes into our camera, so the picture is more color-rich and not being washed out by the hash light. The outcome is quite good. That’s why the picture below is color-saturated.

I also snapped a photo of their guest houses. The shadows of the coconut trees paint a very interesting pattern on the greenish grass. The “tropical” feel is so lovely.

Then I go to their beach to take more photo. I used Photoshop to make the grass greener. I like its simplicity and sense of harmony.

The photo below is a “unique” collection to me. Actually it is a drain next to the resort, with thick layer of algae floats on the water. The sunlight shined through the tree leaves and lotus, forming a interesting mix of shadows on the green surface. Cool huh?

I walked nearly 1 km away from the resort to see this small “lake”. During low tide, the water was trapped here, together with some organic stuffs such as soil and leaves, so it got darker color. Note the beautiful long strentch of sandy white sand which separates it from the blue sea.

They have a few interesting statues in the garden. This is the first time I came to Mimpian Jadi Resort. If you expect a lot of privacy with your loved one, here is quite a cool place. I think they also have a golf field so you can play both types of golf. I remember one of my friends said the mating, no sorry… I mean match-making companies run their programme here.

Nobody was on the beach. I could even swim nakedly. But I found the sea waves were quite strong and scary. From a far distance, it looks like thousands of white snakes crawling. I took a video clip. You can check it out.

Photos taken in Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Tun Fuad Stephens Park (Bukit Padang), Kota Kinabalu

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Tun Fuad Stephens Park (Bukit Padang) is closed for two years (10 Dec 2022 to 18 Sep 2024) for an upgrade to Tun Fuad Stephens Botanical Garden.

Facts Sheet of Tun Fuad Stephens Botanical Garden project by Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK)

Facts Sheet of Tun Fuad Stephens Botanical Garden project by Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK)

Summary of the Upgrade Project:

The lake will be maintained and added with other facilities such as floating platforms, tracks around the lake, lighting
New gardens such as Ginger Garden, Orchid and Nepenthes Conservatory, Nadir Park, Herb Garden, Bamboo Corner and Botany Playpark.
Forest restoration by planting local trees
Upgrading and increasing the amount of parking, build an e-hailing vehicle stop
Upgrade of the main gate (main entry board, guard house, plaza and kiosk)
Other New Facilities / Upgrades: overwater platform, administrative, research and maintenance offices, nursery building, public toilet, existing jogging track, lights, stairs, park chairs, CCTV

Tun Fuad is the most popular jogging site in Kota Kinabalu city. During weekend and Sunday, there are so many joggers that very likely you would see your friend or familiar faces. Personally, I think Tun Fuad is far more better than Likas Sport Complex. If compared, the jogging trail of Likas Sport Complex is about 0.6 KM (correct me if I am wrong) and the path is flat. The jogging path at Tun Fuad is nearly 1 KM, with many up and down trails. And Tun Fuad has more nice-figured liang moi (pretty girls), heheh… Ok, seriously, below are the features that make me like it.

Click Here to see more photos of Tun Fuad Stephens Park >>

Feature 1. Superb KK City View

Besides the jogging trail, there are some hiking trails that lead you to the top of the hill. Normally, it took me about half an hour to walk up there. The last part is the “tyre” trail (should be renamed as “tired trail”) that I fear the most, extremely tiring… But soon you will forget all the pain, when you are washed by the windy fresh air and see the view of KK city under you. You can see most of the KK landmark building from here.

Click Here to see more photos of Tun Fuad Stephens Park >>

Feature 2. Jogging + Hiking

BTW, if you would like to experience how it feels to climb Mount Kinabalu, just walk up and down the hill non-stop for 6 hours. This place was once my training ground before the summit trip. Jogging is a monotonous and boring exercise to me, so a 2-in-1 activity (jogging + hiking) works well for me. Tun Fuad Park is surrounded by forest, so the air is fresher and you can spot small wild animals and insects on the way. At the end, I think jogging + hiking is not enough, so I bring my camera along for photo-shooting.

Tun Fuad Park gets more fern plant and spiders than any other places in KK. There are so many types of spiders, so I am not surprised if you find a new species there. Most of them are very small. Next time I will try to get a macro len for photographing smaller insects. See the “jade” spider below? It is like a jewellery. You can give it to your grandma as a birthday present, if you have no money to buy precious stone. Here you also can find one of the biggest ant in the world (see picture below). In the evening, these forest ants are everywhere on the forest floor of Tun Fuad park. Be careful while exploring area outside the trail, wasps are common, and they love to build nest under the leaf. Sometimes you can see snake but it is not common.

Click Here to see more photos of Tun Fuad Stephens Park >>

Feature 3. Magnificent Sunset View

Tanjung Aru Beach is NOT the best spot to view sunset. To truly appreciate the beauty of sunset, the hill top of Tun Fuad Park won’t disappoint you, but you need some luck. I shoot the “Sea of Cloud” photo below in a cloudy day. Haha… in case you wonder how the photo was taken, just turn the picture below upside down, or look at the original photo here. Both look equally good. You can see more Tun Fuad sunset photos here.

Click Here to see more photos of Tun Fuad Stephens Park >>

The road will be very dark after the sunset. Do bring a torch light with you, if you plan to stay longer on the hill.

Photos taken in Tun Fuad Stephens Park of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Bikini photo-shooting

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Hope you all can see this greeting before your eyes are drawn to the photos below. Last year I blogged about the bikini photography session in Palm Villa Beach, Kinarut (Dec 18, 2005). After 1 year, I decide to post the photos, as a Xmas gift to you. There were 3 beautiful Sabah models joined us. Needless to say, they all have pretty faces and nice figures.

Model 1. Yvonne Wong
The First Runner-Up + Miss Popular of Miss Malaysia Chinatown 2004. Friendly and got lovely smile. A power station.

Click Here to see more Bikini photos >>

Model 2. Chin
The Second Runner-Up of Miss Hakka 2003, also the Miss Photogenic + Second Runner-Up of Miss Malaysia Chinatown 2004. Sweet and Cute. Very professional and expressive. Any picture that has her looks perfect.

Click Here to see more Bikini photos >>

Model 3. Wendy Lu
Last, but not the least. The Second Runner-Up + Miss Newell of Miss Malaysia Tourism 2005 (Sabah State Selection). Fresh and Mature. I like her long and silky black hair, which adds a seductive touch to her photos.

Click Here to see more Bikini photos >>

Each of them has unique character and style. Professional photographers need to interact a lot with the models to bring the best out of them. It was far more challenging than I thought. FYI, two of them also the models in Borneo Jewellry Fair 2005.

Colorful fiddler crabs of Borneo

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I remember a joke told by LHS:
A group of people go to a restaurant.
One of them asks the waitress, “Do you serve crab?”
The waitress pauses for a while, then reply with a big smile, “We serve EVERYONE!”

MySabah.com also serves crab, and many. You might think that I am crazy about the crabs. Not really lah. It is just that I find that fiddler crabs are very photogenic and few photographers feature them. Aren’t you tired of those macro / close-up shoot of dragonfly lah, ant lah, beetle lah, etc.? I want to have something special here.

This will be my last set of fiddler crab photo gallery and it is meant to replace the older version of my previous crab photos. I dare to say my site is one of the few sites where you can find the most beautiful shot of fiddler crabs.

Click Here to see 40+ Colorful Photos of Borneo Fiddler Crabs >>

I don’t know the name of each species. I had sent some of the photos to a Singapore universary.
Once they help to identify them, I will update the blog. If I report a new species, you will find a fiddler crab that named “Smoke Head Crab”. Haha… if that happens, I wish the crabs won’t go knock themselves to the wall to kill themselves (then become extinct).

Click Here to see 40+ Colorful Photos of Borneo Fiddler Crabs >>

Camouflage

I Love Pussy

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I took the pictures below when I was staying at a friend’s house. The kittens were very shy at first…

Day 1. Very scared and tried to hide

Day 2. Still feeling uneasy of my presence

Day 3. Don’t bother about me

These kittens are a bit different coz their ears are so big, like fox ears. Kittens are so cute that they are always photogenic even without any make-up. Unlike their mom, they were not cooperative. I took over 20 pictures of them and only got 3 OK shots above. I can’t imagine people can be so cruel to cute animals like them. Last time someone e-mailed me a video clip of people killing and eating cats. It was so sickening that I wish I never see that. We don’t have cat at home. Coz the cats like to climb on our cars and leave the mark of their claws. Another reason is – we have fierce dog who hate cat.