The Yat (One) And Only Journey…

Singapore Trip - Singapore Flyer, Esplanad, Merlion2

After our last stop at The Mint Toys Museum, we proceeded to the Singapore Flyer, said to be the world’s largest observation wheel standing at 165m from the ground..

Going around with Nuffnang and with the collaboration with Tourism Singapore, we were able to enter the Singapore Flyer for FREE~!!!

*The Flyer*

If you really want to know the price, it is SGD 29.50 for adults, SGD 20.65 for children, and SGD 23.60 for seniors..

There are many other packages and you can check it HERE..

You can book the whole capsule for your own function, which of course will cost a bit of money if you were to do so..

*On our way up*

This is a bit of wide angle which I’ve tried to get as much of the sky for a better effect..

It was about 5pm at that time and the sky was quite moody, hence the greyish-no-cloud sky..

*River meets sea*

This is where the river (I suppose) meets the sea..

More breath-taking photos after the jump..

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Posted: Photography, Travel & Places

Langkawi Trip - Cable Car, Sky Bridge, Black Sand Beach, and Waterfall5

Okay here I’m picking up where I have left of like, some time ago..It’s my trip to Langkawi yay wtf..

It’s on the final day of our Langkawi trip and we have plenty of time until our flight at 7pm, which we need to be at Langkawi Airport by 5pm..

We checked out rather early, had our breakfast, and started to wander off to the places that we’ve missed on the first 2 days..

We were also trying to finish up as much fuel as we can because we over-pumped, thinking that we might travel alot..

*The yachts at Telaga Harbour Park*

*The Loaf, bakery owned by Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir*

I’ve heard much about this bakery, The Loaf, owned by our ex-Prime Minister Dato Seri Dr Mahathir, and this is my first time seeing it..I heard there’s a branch outlet in KL as well..

After a short visit at Telaga Harbour Park, we proceeded with Langkawi Cable Car in Oriental Village, which is about 5-minutes drive from the harbour..

*Langkawi Cable Car*

This is where we took off on the cable car to reach to the top of Mat Cincang Mountain, where 2 stations are built up there..

The Langkawi Cable Car fare is RM30 for adult and RM20 for children..They are offering 50% for Mykad users aka Malaysians..

*Animal Farm*

This is the entrance to the mini animal farm where they have rabbits and deers..

Nothing much in there as the rabbits were kept in cages when we were there at that time..There are certain times where the farmkeeper will let them out in the farm..

*Cable Car - Station 2*

This is the Station 2, where we saw from Station 1..

Earlier on before we went up, the management had closed the operation of the cable cars due to heavy rain and strong wind..

Lucky enough, operation resumed not long after the rain stopped and the sky was quite clear after that..

More photos after the jump *toink*..

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Posted: Photography, Travel & Places

Langkawi Trip - Part 4, Island Hopping - Pulau Dayang Bunting Geoforest Park and Eagle Feeding [Day 2]3

Back to my Langkawi trip, the first day ended with a big smile on our face, thanks to Fat Mum..

On the second day, we got up quite early in the morning for our activity, island hopping..

We set off at a beach nearby Awana Porto Malai Resort, where you can see lots of boats parked at the seashore..

*The bitch beach*

The island hopping includes the Lake of Pregnant Maiden (Pulau Dayang Bunting), eagle feeding at Pulau Singa Besar, and also beach visit at Pulau Beras Basah..

Pulau Dayang Bunting, is an island that surrounded a so-called lake of freshwater in the middle of the sea..

*Life jackets*

When you are in the middle of the sea, it’s better to be cautious even if you know how to swim..

Who knows, as like what you always watch in movies, your legs might get cramped or something..

Or too much or scientific facts are not good too..It’s easy to float in the sea because of the saltwater but you won’t float if you don’t know how to swim!

*Lake of Pregnant Maiden (Pulau Dayang Bunting)*

That long stretch of hills is the famous Pulau Dayang Bunting, where you can really see the shape of lady pregnant lady..

Why it’s a lady and not a man you ask? Can you see the boob shape right below the chin? Hahahaha..

Then on the way to the Pulau Dayang Bunting, I think I found a new island..

*Bearbrick Island*

See this island, isn’t it look like Be@rbrick? Yes it does look like one..Don’t defy it..

I bet not many people notice this island..

*Dale and the few other passengers boarding the jetty*

It took us somewhere 10-20 minutes to travel from Awana Porto Malai to the Pulau Dayang Bunting Geoforest Park..

I never thought Pulau Dayang Bunting to be a geoforest park..I thought we’ll be playing around the beach side..

*Pulau Dayang Bunting Geoforest Park*

The island has been exploited and turned into a tourist spot..

The developer still managed to maintain the habitat (I’m not sure how much of it) and promote eco-friendly environment..Keep the island clean!

*Welcome to Dayang Bunting*

It wasn’t quite a lucky day as it rained  very early in the morning..We had to take cover under the toilet..

Much more of the lake and the eagle feeding after the jump *jumps - toink*..

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Posted: Photography, Travel & Places

Langkawi Trip - Part 2, Bright Sky At Awana Porto Malai And Sunset On The Beach At Pantai Cenang10

After we stepped down at the airport, it’s a wise choice for us to look for room from the ‘agencies’ at the airport..

There are tonnes of them shouting at you and basically their prices are almost the same..

Else, you can always rent a car first, then drive around Pantai Cenang to look for a hotel/motel/resort/chalet that you feel comfortable with..

*We rent a Potong Proton Saga*

Since we arrived Langkawi quite late, we decided to not waste much time anymore, we rent a car, rent a room, and even paid for the island-hopping package with the very same agency instead..

We got ourselves a Proton Saga..Wanted to get a Nissan Sentra, if only we have more people, like 4 or 5..

We chose Malim Resort as it’s just in front of Cenang Beach (Pantai Cenang)..

If you want something more comfortable or could accommodate more people, you can check out Aseania, Landcons, or the nice Awana Porto Malai..

*My current header image*

As you can see, this is my current header image for my new blog layout..The effect is still lacked a bit coz the paddy field doesn’t really look that wide..

The camera should’ve placed furthere away to the back..

This is a paddy field in between airport and Pantai Cenang..

*Our room at Malim Resort*

After Dale and I had settled down in our room, we decided to go out to take a stroll before dinner..

Equipped with our guns DSLRs, we drove around Pantai Cenang and airport area..

We ended up at Awana Porto Malai Resort due to its nice sea view with a bit of islands under the bright sky..

So here I’m sharing some of my favourite photos..No major post processing been done..Only resizing and watermark..

*One of my fave photos*

This photo actually looks quite symmetrical with the natural cloud shape, the two yachts, and the island..

*Deep blue sea*

My camera was set to aperture-mode (A-mode), I’ve been playing with its shutter speed to adjust a photo’s brightness..

By taking advantage of that, I’ve focused on different area to get  a mid-range shutter speed, then pull down the size of the frame to make the photo looks as shown..

As much as I want to share the whole folder, I can’t be serious to make a long post full of photos..Maybe I’ll upload into my Facebook soon while you enjoy with the few photos here first..

Continue on for sunset at Pantai Cenang ahead..

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Posted: Photography, Travel & Places

It’s Krrunch Time, Get Playful22

Been very moody lately because I’m still jobless..Was suppose to start my internship like a month ago but now I’m still unemployed..

Where has all the company goes to~?!?!?! Why are they not hiring?!?!?!

While I was window shopping in Cold Storage the other day, I saw this new flavor, Dill Pickle Extreme..So I bought it..

Believe it or not, the taste is very sour, much sour than McDonald’s burger’s pickles..

If you have fetish on McD’s pickles, do try this..

*Now you see, now you don’t*

It’s so good that I have to fight for it with my sisters who love sour food, a lot~!!!

*It’s good yo*

Sour food lover, this is the ultimate food for you to Krrunch Krrunch..

*Krrunch time FUUUUUUU~!!!*

The Pringles was so good that I really had a Krrunch time with it~!!!

As you can see I was doing the Hard Gay pose and it was Krrunch time FUUUUUUUUUU~!!! *raise hands up in the air and profusely shaking crotch*..

“It’s Krrunch Time, Get Playful”..Or rather, “It’s Krrunch Time, Get PlayFUUUUUUUU~!!!!”..

If you too want to have a Krrunch time, check it out HERE..

Posted: Photography, Ramblings

SONY Alpha Tutorials For Beginners - Yuin Yin Light Gothic Studio Shoot10

Few weeks back, we Alpharians (Alphanatics) did another private photoshoot session with another friend, Yuin Yin as our model..

The theme was Light Gothic, as suggested by the model herself..She was inspired by the manga cum anime and even a live-action movie adaptation called Nana..

Nana Osaki, the protagonist in the manga, is a vocalist for for a goth rock band called Black Stones and the character is played by Japanese singer Mika Nakashima in the live-action movie..

Okay enough of fun facts..We used the studio in SONY Style, a SONY sales department shop in The Curve which has its own studio..

A white backdrop has been used to create a contrast with the model’s outfit of dark and gloomy theme, the goth..

In this entry, I’ll explain more on how I got the photos and how I set the settings in my camera as well as a bit of fun facts here and there for the beginners..

Also, it’s a bit of introduction to the SONY Style Studio, which in this photoshoot was the second time we’ve used it..

So without further ado, here’s the photos and a bit of story-telling..

By the way, most of the photos I’ve already post-processed (PP) aka photoshop on the curves and levels to sharpen its image..

*#1*

This photo is shot at aperture of F5, shutter speed of 1/20″ but with ISO 800..

With the help of studio lights and studio flash the noise is not that visible to the naked eyes..

Of course, with a slight bit of post-processing (PP) on the curves and levels to get this photo..

*#2*

This photo it seems like I’ve cut-off the background but it’s not..Like I said, the backdrop is white color so by lowering the shutter speed and with the help of high ISO, the white areas will become more white..

In photography term we usually call it over exposed or in other words, burned, pecah, bao kong (broken light), or anything else that sound similar to it..

This photo used almost same setting as photo #1, shutter speed at 1/20″ but F4.5, ISO 800..Slight post-processing (PP) to sharpen the image as well..

*#3*

Some beginners might ask how to get the blurry effect just like the photo above..It’s very easy..The way to do it is just like compact camera’s macro mode..

In compact camera, by switching on macro mode, you just have to do a close up shoot and you’ll get the blurry effect..

In DSLR way, just zoom-in your lens and focus on one point on a close-up range..If you focus on the front part you will get the blurry effect on the back and vice-versa..

The blurry part in photography term is called bokeh, which actually is a Japanese word..

*#4*

Another bokeh effect..Usually to get the bokeh effect, any range further than 35mm will create the bokeh effect depending on your focus point and your close-up range..

*#5 - Emo-fied*

The original photo is quite bland and not as sharp..As usual, a bit of post-processing on the curves to increase its brightness and lower the levels to increase its contrast..

The settings for the photo above is 1/6″ for shutter speed and aperture at F5.6..Focal length is at full 70mm on my kitlens for this close up photo..

Of course, with the Super Steady Shot (SSS), an Image Stabilizer function which is built-in in a SONY Alpha DSLR camera body, the chances of getting blurry photos are lesser as well, even at low shutter speed..

*Photographers at work..Kevin, Wingz, Alvan, and Ethan*

Other than the two studio lights that you can see, we also use SONY flash guns, those big flash lights that you usually saw attached to the camera body..

All of the photos above, none of the studio flash nor SONY flash guns were used..

More simple tutorials for beginners when you read on..

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Posted: Photography, Sony