Hummer 24 speed mountian bike

I saw this bike at ebay and bought it straight away. It is a foldable mountian which is suitable for me as I can fold it into my car boot (without having a separate rack). It can easily store in my store room.

I sold my Dahon D7 Speed and "upgrade" to this. Dahon D7 is a great communter however for long distance and uphill, it is tough. I upgraded my Dahon D7 with Big Apple tyres and Brooks saddle. Comfort level was increased but due to the small wheels the joy of long distance is still not there. I have to blame my leg power instead of the bike. LOL.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed a 26" wheeler and will be using for the upcoming OCBC 39Km ride in 4 March 12. This will be my third time taking part in this event.

Last Frontier of Singapore (Pulau Ubin)

This beatiful island is the last island where kampongs (villages) can be found in Singapore. We are still able to see their usual life in the island. However as the population in the island is ageing and the young one are moving out to the mainland Singapore, the scene will change in the future. Its a place we need to treasure it and enjoy while it it still there. This island is very popular with hikers, campers and bikers especially during the weekends.
Here are some shots I made.

1) Abandon house- Dramatic filter

2) The Malay wooden house in ruinings

3) Bump-boat

4) Chinese New year Decores

5) The rock formations

6) Well- Pinhole filter

7) the window

8) A view from Jetty- Dramatic filter

Some thoughts on Photography

I still remember when I was young during the 1980s, my dad was using the Olympus OM series (all black). I still can remember the feel while I was holding it. It has a very solid feel. When I started to work during the late 1990s, I bought my first camera the Minolta Dynax 500si. It was a film SLR and foolishly, i believed that getting a "PRO" or good camera will improved my photos. When I went around test shooting with this new camera and after seeing my photos after developing into prints, I was so disappointed. The photos look flat and dull. After reading magazines and book, I realised photography is all about lighting. It still remain true till today. However, in the forums today, people seems to be more concern over the specs of the camera and like to compare and worst pixel peep the photo. They even fight among each other over their choice of brand. Sensor sizes are also a topic in forums. Is that important to you?

I also begin to learn and even went into colour slides. My last film SLR was the Minolta dynax 800si and a few fixed lens. It was the year 2001 when Canon released the "budget" DSLR ranging from D30-60D, I finally decided to go to digital. That time many film users still condemn about digitial saying it will never replace film interms of details, colours and pixels. However, after a few years, we have seen film camera dying out. Even as I write today, Kodak has declared bankrupt ending almost 100 years of history in film industry etc.

While I was into bird photography during the ealry 2000s, I invested a number of big lens from Canon. It was a need to get the reach to the shy birds. Most of my best shots are in the website pbase.com/jkhw73.

However in the late 2008, I gave up this aspect of photography and went into general photography (macro, street and other) due to family and my insurance business commitment.

During this period, Panasonic and Olympus came out their first mirrorless cameras. With the promise of smaller size of lens and body, I immediately jump into this wagon. During that time, people still do not accept this new design. However, as fast as the market moved, major brands are developing this area. DSLRs are slower in development as it is very matured now. I personally feel small system is the way to go for hobbists and serious users.

These small systems is so light and portable, I will carry them on every outing. Even if there is no opportunity to shoot, I will not feel "wasted" energy as comparing to bring a DSLR and a few lenses on a bag. IMHO, DSLR will be used by mainly professionals in the future. And people who still prefer the direct view thru the lens feel.

What do you think DSLR will go in 5-6years later?

1) Olympus epm-1 with 45mm (ISO1250), Boken effect of a sensor 2 times smaller than a "full frame" sensor. Do you think it can match a pro DSLR in term of boken and iso?

Hort Park

Brought my family to the Hort park located in the west side of Singapore. It is one of the connecting parks along the southern ridge. Its quiet and mixture of natural / modern setting appeal to myself and family. Shot with a EPM-1 and 14-42mm.

One of the connecting strutures on the southridges.

Autumn in Singapore?

Kids learning how to grow vegetables

Grasshopper- EPM-1 with 14-42mmII add with Raynox250.

My real world shoot with Olympus 45mm f1.8

During my early days of m4/3, I uses GF-1 with 20mmf1.7 mainly for general use. Then when I know hobbists that time started to use old manual lens like those cheap Konica, Minolta, Nikon F mount 50mm f1.8 lens on their m4/3, I was hooked. However using such lens requires manual focus. Precise manual focus on the 50mm is not as easy. 

So when Olympus came out this 45mm f1.7 with auto focus, immediately I bought it as I know a 45 or 50mm on a m4/3 body will become a mid-tele range and will give a interesting focus on subjects. Here are some of my shots today. All shot with EPM-1 without flash and at a constant aperture F1.8 and iso320.
This is the period of street markets in Chinatown selling Chinese New Year stuff.

New Leather for EPM-1

I bought this cool looking leather case from Ebay. This brand is from Korea called Gariz. Basically it is more expensive than the rest. Olympus Singapore do sell their own half-leather case like this but was out of stock at half the price of this one. But I do find the quailty is much better and there is an option to put a gun-shot sling where the cheapter options do not have.

Olympus 45mm f1.8 lens

Had an oppotunity to use this lens to record my daugther and son 1st day of school. This lens mounted on the m4/3 body will become a 90mm lens in terms of 35mm photography term meaning a portrait lens. It is sharp even at wide open. My favourite focal length is still from 35mm to 50mm. However this lens when use to it's advantage is a good lens. The boken effect is good and due to the small size it is really portable as compared to DSLR. Will be a good addition for street and event photography. With the wide aperture opening of f1.8 and sharpness, i can confidently use it at wide open and lower iso setting during indoor shoots.

Below are all shot with f1.8 and ISO 400. No flash. Mounted on a Pen Mini.