Archive for the “3A+F+R” Category

Penatnya sampai hari ni masih belum recover, kompem mat salleh jauh lg fit, selalu buat kerja ni. Semangat waja untuk bangun awal pagi yang beku, semata-mata untuk pergi mini-mountain-walk ni. Glendalough lagi - untuk visitor yg tak tau kat mana ni, tempat ni sama dengan post last weekend jalan2 ngan Udey & Nazri - tapi time tu hujan. Kali ni kami nekad nak redah apa jua cuaca - Alhamdulillah langit cerah, matahari pun keluar. Bersama Torot & Fly [aku saja takdak nickname], kami tercegat kat depan gate yg bukak lewat sejam lebih - dah ramai kereta menunggu pun. Slow2 jalan, tapi penat extra sikit sbb duk layan amik gambar lagi.. perlukan kecekalan/will power yg tinggi.. baru 1/3 perjalanan mmg ada terlintas nak patah balik, sbb boot dah terasa berat, jaket dah terasa macam duvet.. 2 kali jugak la berenti rehat sambil makan/minum roti + kit kat. Sesapa yg duduk di Dublin, kalau nak cover betul2 Irish landscape - highly recommended!

Ulasan & gambar dr peserta lain ada di blog Torot & Fly.

Spinc and Glenealo Valley

This popular walk leads you through some of the most spectacular scenery in Co. Wicklow. (The name Spinc comes from the Irish ‘An Spinc’ and means ‘pointed hill’). The trail ascends steeply up by the Poulanass Waterfall before joining a boardwalk. More than 600 wooden steps lead you to a viewing point overlooking the Upper Lake. The boardwalk skirts the top of the cliffs before descending through blanket bog and heath into the picturesque Glenealo Valley, home to a large herd of deer. A rough track then leads you back down into Glendalough Valley. [we went counterclockwise - macam F1 track]

Trail yang kami ikut - titik2 putih tu..

Jutaan terima kasih buat Saiful & Azlina sekeluarga, kerena memberi kepercayaan kepada kami hari ini, siap ada jamu steamboat lagi.. fuhh. Tak lama lagi Fly akan fly pulang ke tanahair, selebih anggota 3AF-R akan terus bergiat di Dublin. Fly - ko full-swing kat KL dulu yaa..

More sneak preview shots at Fly & Torot blog!

OK, nak letak gambar semua, tak mampu nak upload lagi, tidak berkesempatan, Masni dah ‘merekot’ atas sejadah tidur ni, Aiden ‘good boy’ melayan movie dia seperti biasa, aku ada priority lain nak siapkan malam ini.

ESOK - 3AF-R Wicklow mountain hike

Peserta terhormat kali ini diimport khas dari Malaysia, Udey Ismail of Candidsyndrome & Nazri. Dengan kehadiran tetamu2 istimewa kali ini, ramai jugak yg join walaupun ada yg tak bawak kamera - Torot, Darina@Dot, aku, Penyoo, Hadi, Naza, Epi, Fly & Alip yg sempat datang kejap.

• tsue ahmed wrote:
• 46 minutes ago
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this guy didn’t get cranky or do anything funny when you snap his photo? Wow! I need the courage

• Bobahoosh wrote:
• A moment ago
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courage - I walk past him then turn back after 20m, but, he didn’t get cranky because I asked his permission politely (takes courage too)..
“excuse me, for one euro, can I please take some photos of you” - “yeah2.. do you want me to look at the camera?”..
snap2

Lagi gambar kat bawah ni

SALFORD QUAYS, MANCHESTER

A good friend of mine - Azhar Ariff aka AJ - has recently made a response to my query on his wishlist. I know many photographers out there (professionals) might have the same thought, but I think it’s worth quoting when it came from someone I know. I have read & sick about those reviews/responses/hate-note on ‘brand’ is the better, ‘brand’ ni cap ayam la… enough of these brand war, just buy something with your own money, share your products & sleep well damn it!

Our Fotopages comments correspondence are as below (Karof is my Sheffield nickname)

Dude,
As a professional - aku wonder cemana ko approach 2 different brand in upgrading your kit, now canon, later nikon D3, .. why not just move forward until 1D.. just curious, if you care to reply..
Thu 14-Aug-2008 16:28
Posted by:asraf sani asrafsani@yahoo.co.uk - [Link]

Karof, thanks for the note. It’s a good question you’ve got there. And this questions of brand loyalty has been lingering and boggling many photographers forced to pick a “side”. Professionally, camera gears to me are just merely a tool to create a photograph. Given credit, all makes of cameras, lenses and accessories, have their own strengths. It’s so happens that I’ve made this decision based on my needs. After using Canons for quite a while, I started to notice that the Canon lenses are not as sharp compared to Nikons (let’s just talk about these two makes, while leaving out Zeiss and Leica lenses). This is based on my personal experience during a commercial assignment photographing fine art. Given the exact circumstance of using both 50mm f1.8, and same exposure settings on a Canon 20D and a Nikon D200, the results were crushing my Canons. Granted that the D200 has higher pixels than the 20D, but I’ve also tested it against D70s which has a lower pixel count than the 20D, the winner is still Nikon in terms of shapness.

When I meant sharpness, I’m looking for fine detail in bringing out small textures, bumps on surfaces. So, for my commercial assignments, I NEED A NIKON (well actually I need a Hasselblad H3D, which I can rent from a studio if the client has a budget). This is because commercial assignments require the final images ready for other reproductions in various formats and dimensions, such as archival, magazines, posters and billboards. Therefore, since the H3D is out of reach, I’ll settle with a Nikon D3, or a D300 for that matter. Why not D700? Answer: Might as well a Nikon D3.

End of part 1

Why Canon?
Some images need softness, especially in weddings, and wedding portraits, where the shallowest depth of field will create the most soothing mood in the photographs. Canons sensors are also great in low light (until now the D300 and above has stepped out on the plate).
Plus I love the Canons focusing speed. I just point and it responds damn well to my commands. But, when I’m on commercial assignments, I gotta admit, I’m not satisfied.

End of part 2

Budget.
Now, since I’m photographing for money, finance factor also comes into factor. There are lots of other things to consider apart getting top gears. Therefore, my move is to keep my 20D and get a D300 (btw, the D300 to me is equivalent to a 1D mk X series, in terms of focusing points, ISO sensitivity, focusing speed, and frames per second, at HALF THE PRICE!).

End of part 3
Lenses.
Anybody can tell you that Nikon lenses from the old days till now can fit into any Nikon bodies. But not so on a Canon. The EF-S lenses cant be mounted on the 5D, 1D series, or 10D and below. And for a decent image, you’ll need to invest in a pricey “L” lens. Whereas a cheap Nikon lens can achieve a similar quality in terms of colour and sharpness.

End of part 4
Conclusion.

The ideal deal would be a mesh of Canon bodies with Nikon lenses.
I’ll probably follow my Darkroom teacher’s (Mustaffa) advice, which will be to get a Mamiya 645AFD+3 lenses+ a digital back (22megapixels). I guess by the time, I’ve got some cash to get the Mamiya, the used market for this baby has gone down to an affordable price. Fingers crossed.

So, there you go. That’s the reason. Hope it’s clear. Cheers mate!
Sun 17-Aug-2008 17:03
Posted by:Azhar Ariff azhar@fotomomo.com - [Link]

Since my dslr fever begins back in May’08, I’ve read loads of review, hate-comment, bias etc, never I come about anything as fair and as clear as your input above..

thanks a mil dude..

prior to your permission - I’m blogging your comment, also linking your fp..

Fri 22-Aug-2008 11:39

Posted by:asraf sani asrafsani@yahoo.co.uk

-

AJ’s wishlist - Fly & Nazri - korang dah ada benda2 ni..

My immediate wishlist:
1. Canon EF 28mm f1.8
Why this lens (it’s the closest to a 50mm lens after 1.6x crop factor, at the widest aperture. Long way to go for the f1.4 equivalent)

My mid term wishlist:
1. Nikon D300
2. 50mm f1.4
3. AC/DC studio light (2 units)

My long term wishlist:
1. Nikon D3
2. AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
3. AF-D 80-200 f2.8

Dublin Phoyograpfy Team shot taken by Fly using his D70 + 70-200mm VR, edited by myself, on the night of 2nd Dublin TT Latih Tubi 2.0 outing, at approximately 2200hrs, on Ha’penny bridge. Naza left the session early.

In photo: Aliff, Asraf, Torot & Epi.

Sometimes we do need this kind of poser shots, just to sleep better at night.

D80 + 12-24mm f4

Date: 14/08/2008

Time: 1945 - 2300

Participants: Torot, Aliff, Fly, Naza, Epi, & Asraf

Belum rajin nak tulis story.. kalau nak tau sikit cerita, try link Aliff

D80 + 12-24mm f4

Filtered products - full post coming soon!

Second Dublin TT aka ‘Latih Tubi 2.0′
This time without our videographer RufiLatiff due to ‘overtime’ work commitment, but with two new members - Naza & Epi. This outing was very crucial for me in regards to these points:
1. 1st official test of my new Tokina 12-24 f4 - in low light!
3. To improve composition, camera setting in low-light, subject searching & to overcome previous errors in TT 1.0.
This outing was proven to be a success.. see you guys in Latih tubi 3.0

See I’m in ‘action’ here

D80 + 12-24mm f4

poyo (poser in English) to the max!

Today I am off sick, some dust reaction on my chest, which happens once every 5 years.. hence .. Poser at his very best shots!

D80 + 18-135mm f3.5-5.6

Dug out few multiple exposure shots from that night. Don’t know whether to like or hate this photo.