I have been getting an influx of paid shoots recently, and the calendar is getting filled fast, at least for the coming several months. Thankfully I have also piled up on my content buffer for YouTube, with some free time I had previously, I had as many as 8 videos stacked in the pipeline to be released one by one for the coming weeks. It is not easy being a YouTuber, as we adhere to consistency, we do need to continue pumping up comments to please the algorithm. Being a freelance photographer, honestly I cannot predict my work schedule, I can be free for the entire two week stretch, or I will ..read more

Viltrox is releasing their 40mm F2.5 soon (I am not sure when the exact date is at the moment) at the price of USD158. This is the second lens in their budget primes line up, after the first Viltrox 20mm F2.8. They both look very similar, and have similar price tag too. I am privileged to get an advanced copy for review purposes, and I took the lens out for some street photography action. I have made a video review if you prefer to watch in video format (here). I am sharing my thoughts after having used the Viltrox 40mm F2.5 on the streets quite extensively.  VIltrox 40mm F2.5 for ..read more

I have started doing Live Streaming on YouTube about more than half a year ago, regularly on my channel, typically on Thursday night 10pm, Malaysian time. I have written before about my intentions why I started Live Streaming, the challenges that I faced and how I worked around them, you can find my previous articles here and here. Since my last update more than 3 months ago, there has been some small changes which I do want to explore and talk about in this blog. It has been quite fulfilling being able to reach about 150-200 people concurrently during a live session, and throughout the entire ..read more

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all my Muslim friends who are celebrating this incredibly beautiful festival. Maaf Zahir dan Batin.  My friends and I decided to take a short evening walk along Kampung Baru, a Malay village settlement located right smacked in the middle of the city, just adjacent to the metropolitan Kuala Lumpur City Center. This is also my frequent street hunting grounds. Our primary objective was just to observe the festive celebrations by the residents there and document whatever we can, without being intrusive. Everyone in Kampung Baru was super joyous. I brought alon ..read more

I remember when the Olympus OM-D E-M5 original was launched in 2012, I thought there was no other camera like it. The E-M5 Original showed the world that a compact sized mirrorless camera can be used in a professional shooting environment - the camera was solidly built with magnesium alloy construction, sealed against splash and dust, has ultra-fast and reliable AF system, has a viewfinder built in, featured new 16MP image sensor that has dramatically improved resolution, dynamic range and high ISO performance in comparison to predecessors, and the camera also introduced 5-Axis Image Stabiliza ..read more

If you have followed the April Fool's crossover between myself and my friend Matti, you would have come across the Nikon Z5, which I claimed to have purchased myself. That was not part of the April Fool's joke, it was true, I bought a Nikon Z5. I found one unit in the used market in excellent condition at a very good price, in fact it costs about 20% of the full retail price of the new OM System OM-1 II, and I figured I had nothing to lose getting the Z5. After all, if I, for whatever reasons do not like the Z5, I can always re-sell it in the used marketplace. So far, I have not that many issu ..read more

I have enabled YouTube membership, and you can join it here (click).  The perks that you get from just spending the price of a cup of coffee for a month include: 1. 24 hours early access to my new videos 2. Exclusive members only Live Stream sessions, once a month (date to be decided, and will start after 20 or more members have joined).  3. Priority replies to comments.  Everything else about the channel remains the same, I will still release new videos every single week without fail, and I will still do my weekly live streams. So as a member, you get to see the videos one da ..read more

I probably had too much fun making the crossover videos on Matti's and my YouTube channels. If you have not seen the videos, I think it is definitely worth spending a bit of your time checking them out, here and here. You know the movies and TV shows that have crossovers? Much like Superman appearing on Batman's film, we thought we would do something really cheeky for April Fool's day. Matti arrived in KL just one week before 1st April, and we had too much exceitement drafting ideas and filming our prank videos, and this was the time when we could let loose and just say about anything that we ..read more

I brought the Canon 5D Original out for a shutter therapy session recently and realized how older DSLR is perfect for newcomers to photography. Modern digital latest cameras have too many advanced tech and features that took away the need for the photographer's input in photo taking. The older DSLR does not have what you see is what you get live exposure simulation, as you adjust your exposure you need to know what you are doing without clutches. Also, the older cameras do not have advanced human face/eye detect tracking AI Autofocus, and you need ot use older center focus and recompose techni ..read more

The first camera that I ever owned was the Kodak CX7430 which I bought in Perth, Australia in 2005. It was a 4MP basic compact point and shoot digital camera with minimal control and made to be easy to operate for beginners. The Kodak CX7430 introduced me to the world of photography and got me falling extremely hard into it. My earlier days of this blog were filled with images taken with the Kodak compact, but I have achieved those blog entries for privacy reasons. After 3 years of extensive use, or abuse, depending on how you look at it, the CX7430 died. Recently, I found similar camera in th ..read more