35mm

35mm

This photo is of my 85mm prime, but using my new 35mm prime :)

Xubadub

I'm starting to experiment more with the camera and Photoshop now.
Trying out some abstract stuff.

Silvia

The asphalt was hot! It was a 33 degree celcius day!

Lovin' the prime

I could shoot all day with my new prime lens if I could! This morning was spent taking random stuff here and there.
Was shooting at f/1.4 @ ISO200

Prime Time

Just got my very first prime lens!
It's a Nikon f/1.4 @ 85mm and the photo above was taken in my room using available flourescent light. It was shot with ISO400 @ 1/20sec

Gone Fishing

Vicky & Kelvin

9/11

Humans have the capacity for evil.
People have the potential for peace.
But at the end of the day, does anything really matter?

Silvia

My brother's new car
Nissan 200SX Silvia

Photography Comeptition

Hey guys and girls!

I'm involved in a world wide photography competition that's open to anyone regardless of photographic skill.
The theme of the photo is to find something beautiful in an unexpected place.

Entries open Aug 17, 2007 and close Sept 14, 2007.

I'd like to invite you to this competition! Tell your friends and family about this!
You can also help by getting the word out by writing about it in your own blog/myspace/facebook/multiply/website/etc...

You can cut and paste this into your own site:

Got a camera?
Want to join a world wide photography competition that's open to anyone regardless of photographic skill?

Go to http://www.projectbeauty.org
The theme of the photo is to find something beautiful in an unexpected place.

Entries open Aug 17, 2007 and close Sept 14, 2007.

Tell your friends and family about this!

Kieth

Crystal

Shots taken at Edithvale Beach, Victoria.
Time was approx 2pm, sun was high and strong.
Focal length of 200mm, ISO 200, shutter speeds over around 1/1000 sec, aperture of f/5.6

Yarra River

The night was freezing cold.
These photos were taken at the Yarra River opposite Crown Casino.

Simply Stunning

If a photo is worth a thousand words, then this photo I took of Jessica Alba is worth a thousand more and then some!



She was in Southland Shopping Centre to promote the release of the film, Fantastic Four - The Rise of the Silver Surfer.
I couldn't wipe the smile from my face for hours!

More reflections

This photo was taken in Japan during the month of April.
It was a late afternoon hence the saturated reds and yellows. Again, I was trying my best to capture as many reflections as possible...

Jells Park

River Log
I'm practising looking for reflections in my shots


"Quack!"
I feel that the light/dark areas are too far apart, hence the overexposure on the left side of the ducks. I'm not yet sure how to compensate for this apart from waiting for the sun to go even lower so that the light is a little bit more diffused which would also mean I'd need a faster lens ($$$) or bump up the ISO (more visual grain/noise).


Innocence


Arturo

The Stare

This photo of a 5 month old Great Dane was taken in Jells Park on Good Friday. I used a focal length of 95mm on my 18-200mm Tamron kit lens, aperture of F/6, Exposure was set to 1/250sec with the ISO set to 400.

My shot at portrait photography

Due to the lack of lighting equipment, I was forced to use the flourescent light on the ceiling and a living room lamp for the back lighting. Even this produced a low lit scene in my opinion. Therefor I had a long exposure time of 1/10sec with the ISO set all the way up to 1600. I also set the aperture to a max of 2.8 with the focal length of 55mm (I was using my Tamron 28-55mm, which with the 1.5x cropping factor of my Nikon gives me 82.5)

ANYWAY... I wish I had better lighting, and a brighter lens.
But as with any photography, you have to make the best out of what is currently available to you. In the end, I think the result wasn't too bad :)

What do you guys think?

Life and Death

Some people may argue to have the dead flower cropped out feeling that the bee and the flower should be the main subject.

The good thing about art is that you don't need to explain yourself to anyone (unless you really want to!)
So in this case, I will! I wanted to keep the dead flower in the frame to contrast the symbolic juxtaposition of this photo. Life being represented by the healthy flower on the left. Life being represented by the bee collecting nutrients to sustain its own life. Life being represented by the vibrancy of colours.
Then you have the other flower on the life representing death.

Yet both flowers come from the same stem, the same root.

Atsuta Shrine

On my last day in Japan, I was fortunate enough to see the cherry blossoms at Atsuta Shrine in Jingu-Mae, Nagoya.

Gulls

Here are a couple of seaguls that were in the city.
This photo is for Sumi :)

By the way, thanks for the comments and feedback! It really helps with my motivation to put my photos here on my blog!
Also, I'm happy hearing from old and new friends... so keep your comments coming, and I'll do the same with the photos :D

Melb. CBD

I took these photos today around the city of Melbourne.
The sun was out in full force which created a few harsh shadows.

Knox Gardens

I took these photos at a primary school (Knox Gardens Primary) near my house.
It was about 5:30pm as the sun was setting.

I used an ISO of 800 in these photos, with varying shutter speeds depending on the distance of my subject.


"A little lower..."


Bins Rubbish


Hopless

Sumo

This photo was taken in Nagoya, Japan during the 2006 Sumo Wrestling Tournament.

This shot was taken fully zoomed in at 200mm. I set on shutter priority mode of 1/90.

Takayama Snow

This is my last post while I'm here in Japan.
I'm flying back to Melbourne, Australia tomorrow morning and I should arrive on Thursday morning.

Now... back to photography:

This photo was taken after sunset in Takayama (Gifu prefecture), Japan.

The snow was really coming down at that time and had to be quick since I didn't have anything to protect my camera with.
I used a little bit of post processing so enhance the luminosity of the shot.


F/4 @ 1/30, ISO 800

Domo Arigato Gozaimashita

I'd like to say thank you to the following folks who have given me a little something for my farewell...

Thank you Keiko for the strawberry cheesecake!
I'm so glad that you remembered one of my favourite desserts. I was forced to share it with Wong and we both enjoyed the cake very much!

Thank you Atsuko for the hatchou-miso and tamari!
It has been a pleasure to teach you English.

My little kinder student, Naoki (and his mother)!
Thanks for the little scented pouch.

Thank you Megumi for all the little goodies!
I love the little photo album, and I'm sure I'll have no trouble in finishing the sweets with Wong around!

Thank you Akiko for your sweet letter.
Even though we've only worked together for a few months, I've enjoyed our time together!

Thanks Caroline for the Tim Tams!
You're making me miss home even more...

Thank you Masahiro for the medallion of William Wallace.
I know he's one of your heroes and I really appreciate your gift because I know it means a lot to you... thank you.

and thank you Setsuyo for the ume syu.
This is the best Japanese alcoholic drink I've ever tried!
I really appreciate the time and effort you took to make it... thank you!

Sayonara @ Sakae!

After my day ended at Nova, me and a few other friends had dinner at The Outback in Sakae. I always walk out of that place half asleep because of the large portions they serve! I highly recommend the Alice Springs Chicken. It's roast chicken breast marinated in special sauce, mushrooms, bacon and melted cheese smothering the chicken. You also get a heap of chips cooked to perfection and a special dipping sauce... it's absolute heaven! But you'll pay around 2000 yen, which is why I can only afford to go there once a month (after pay day)!


Sophie, Caroline, Minnie, Francis, Nicky, me, Glen, Denin, and Wong.

Following dinner, we were off to The Hub for drinks. Saw the two new Nova Fujigaoka instructors there, Paul and Natsumi. I still remember my first few weeks in Japan like it was yesterday! Wong and I were just going along with the flow of getting settled in, meeting new people, checking out the places to go...


Wong, me, Brandon, and May.


Christy, Laura, and Wong.


Sian, Lisa, Wong, and Minnie.


Francis, Brandon, me, and Masahiro.


Sian, Me, Lisa, and Wong.

Sayonara Nova!

Today was my last day at Nova and I had to say goodbye to the students, branch staff, and the other instructors.
I was blown away with the kind gestures and gifts I received from everyone!
Don't you hate it when you realise how much you actually appreciate something when you have to let it go?


Mika.


Me and "the boyz".


Maiko and Kenichi.


Me and Takeshi.


Chiharu, Miki, and Mana.


The instructors I was working with on my last day.
Brandon, Natsumi, Fleur, Rob, and Jon.



The little munchkins I teach on Saturdays.
Nana, Kazamaru, Naoko, and Koma.




Chikako (the boss)


Our lovely branch staff at Nova Fujigaoka.
Sayaka, Akiko, and Chikako.


No, this is not how we teach our classes!


Me and the guys!


Me and the ladies!


The gang!


Sayaka and Akiko were the branch staff on duty on my last day.
Sayaka (on the left) is always very happy and likes to kid around a lot, but as I was leaving she started to cry but I thought she was joking around (as she usually does) but when after a while, I realised it was for real and gave her a big hug!

I have met so many great people at work and to tell you the truth, it feels kinda weird that i'm leaving and going back home. I don't know what to expect when I get home... I'll have to re-adjust (again). No more Yoshinoya, bento boxes, ramen, and oni-giris!

I will miss everyone and everything about Japan.
I missed out on a few things that I wanted to do so perhaps some time in the future, I'll come back to Japan and quite possibly drop in at Fujigaoka Nova :)

Thank you to all the students, staff, and instructors who have made my experience in Japan a happy and memorable one!