Snap!

Final post

2008-06-12T10:48:00.002Z

Thanks for everyone who have visited this blog of mine over the last couple of years or so, including those who have stopped by every once in a while since my last post LAST YEAR. But, as the title says, this is my last post on this blog.

Good news is, from now on, my one (and only!) blog would be at:

http://tehtarik.blogspot.com

On the Teh Tarik blog, I would be commenting mainly on films, photography, football and tech - things that fill up my time whenever I'm not behind my desk at the office. So please do dedicate some of your weekly internet surfing towards the blog!

Reflections

2007-09-24T21:56:00.000Z

Right. The first of many snaps taken during a recent trip to Granada in Andalucia, southern Spain. This was taken inside the Nasrid Palaces in the Alhambra. I think I spent almost 15 minutes just standing there waiting for tourists to clear!

Street Performer

2007-09-19T00:49:00.001Z

This is my first post in ages! This Native American performer is a regular sight in the main pedestrian mall in central Harrow in the outskirts of London. A very captivating performer, with his various instruments and unique style. Definitely not your typical busker!

Anyway, it was shot at 200mm at f/2.8, and made a triptych out of the several shots that I had to capture a range of poses in one image.

Stoned!

2007-06-10T21:37:00.000Z

Went on a trip round the Southwest of Great Britain - The West Country. A trip that took me all the way to the very tip of the island at Land's End, via Stonehenge, the Jurassic Coast, quaint fishing villages, and of course Cornish cream tea and Cornish ice-cream!

Still going through the tonnes of photos that I snapped. For a teaser, here's Stonehenge. A bunch of big rocks that you are charged £5 to see!

Beck for good?

2007-06-03T07:01:00.001Z

DAVID BECKHAM IS BACK! Yeah, he may be overrated and overhyped. But the fact is, he's still the best crosser and dead-ball specialist in a Three Lions shirt. Anyway, I was there for England's first international at the NEW Wembley stadium. Great stadium, great facilities - escalators instead of stairs! However, the atmosphere was just not there, unlike Old Trafford.

Snap is of Beckham in his trademark freekick pose. Taken using my 80-200mm f/2.8 at full zoom and cropped.

In Fashion

2007-05-22T22:27:00.000Z

Did a shoot last week for a mate's portfolio. Very talented guy, you can find his full portfolio here.

Que Sera Sera!

2007-05-20T23:59:00.000Z

Went to Wembley Stadium on Saturday for the FA Cup Final. Not to watch the match though, as like the boy above, I too did not have a ticket. But just to experience the atmosphere of a Wembley Cup Final involving United, plus it was also a good chance to get in a few snaps.

Sadly we eventually lost the match, albeit to a moment of brilliance from the Chelsea attack. Oh well. At the end of the day, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND!

Rain, rain go away!

2007-05-16T12:31:00.000Z

Rainy days here in London. In a cruel twist of irony, it only started raining after I completed my exams 2 weeks ago. Every. Single. Day. So I'm forced to put back shooting plans at places like the London Zoo, the flower beds at Regent's Park, and even day excursions to Kent and Bath. Hopefully the weather gets better before our road trip to the North in a couple of weeks' time. More on that in later posts.

Above snap was taken from the top deck of a bus (the number 7 bus) during a traffic light stop at Oxford Circus. Taken in Shutter Priority mode at 1/2.5s, doing my best to keep the camera still by bracing myself against the bus window! Curves were then adjusted to increase contrast, and noise was added.

Loop the loop!

2007-05-09T10:31:00.002Z

Despite the pouring rain, had a smashing time at Thorpe Park a few days back. A must-go for anyone who loves thrilling rides, and it's only a half-hour train ride from London. My tip is to get on the front row for Stealth. 0 to 80mph in less than 2 seconds, and then you're plummeting down from a height of over 200 feet! Take my word for it, the experience alone is worth the admission price!

Above shot is of Colussus, a crazy rollercoaster with countless loops. Had to get the timing right to snap these thrill-seekers going upside-down at speed through one of those loops. Had problems getting the exposure right, shooting against the bright sky.

More snaps can be found at my flickr page.

Spring is here!

2007-04-22T22:17:00.000Z

Spring's here in London - well, quite a few may argue that SUMMER is here, with the daytime temperatures we're enjoying. Still chilly when the sun's down though. Managed to snap this little birdy before it flew off. I'm not a bird-watcher myself (birds of a different kind, maybe), so I have no idea what species it is. Maybe some kind soul would care to identify it.

U-N-I-T-E-D, United Are The Team For Me!

2007-04-14T20:17:00.000Z

Great result for the mighty Manchester United against Roma the other night, more so for myself as I was there at Old Trafford! This snap was taken before the England-Spain match some time back. It's at the corner of Sir Matt Busby Way, right in front of the fish and chips shops where the Red Army congregate before every home match. Boosted the saturation a bit to bring out the blues in the dusk sky.

iPod, therefore I am

2007-03-29T17:00:00.000Z

Flower Power

2007-03-06T00:40:00.000Z

Snapped this floral vintage vehicle near Portobello Road.

Total eclipse of the heart

2007-03-04T11:29:00.000Z

One of the snaps I managed to take of the total lunar eclipse last night. Despite initial forecasts of rain and cloudy skies, the sky was extremely clear last night with not a cloud in sight, providing perfect view of the moon throughout the entire period.

Unlike sun eclipses, the moon doesn't actually disappear during the eclipse. Rather, it takes on a reddish hue. The BBC website explains that during "totality" the Moon takes on a reddish hue; the only light reaching its surface by this stage had been filtered through Earth's atmosphere.

This snap was taken during the "peak" of the eclipse, taken at full telephoto on my 80-200mm lens, with a shutter speed of 1.6 seconds at f/2.8.

Kick it!

2007-02-25T21:46:00.000Z

Gary Neville in action. Snapped at the England-Spain friendly match on 8th February 2007 at Old Trafford, Manchester.

We had really good seats, close to the action, but far enough to enjoy the whole match. Snapped the above using my trusty 80-200 lens at f/2.8 to freeze Neville in mid-air.

Up to the mark(et)!

2007-02-19T01:57:00.000Z

Refreshing change after the recent spate of Prague photos. This one I snapped just before leaving for London. It's an oft-taken image of the main market in Kota Bharu, Malaysia. Looks deserted at first glance, but look again closely for the well-camouflaged vegetable sellers.

Nothing to Prague about!

2007-02-06T13:54:00.000Z

I've finally finished editing all the photos from our Prague trip. Please feel free to browse through at the below link:

http://ozzyphoto.com/prague

Pay-Czech!

2007-01-31T23:37:00.000Z

This is the Charles Bridge, the most prominent and famous building/structure in Prague. It's what Tower Bridge is to London, or the Petronas Twin Towers is to Kuala Lumpur. It spans the Vltava River, connecting the Old Town to the Little Quarter. It is a fully pedestrianised bridge, filled with camera-clicking tourists (like me!) and peddlers and artists selling their wares. It is flanked on both sides by religious statues, though through wear and tear many of these are copies.

TRAM-pled!

2007-01-29T01:14:00.000Z

One of the legacies of being under communist rule is that Prague has a superb transport system consisting of the underground Metro, busses and trams as above. The same tickets (which are sold according to time blocks, rather than number of trips) are used for all three systems. The best thing is that system is based on trust - there are no ticket turnstiles or bus conductors. This snap was taken in the quiet streets near our small hotel which is located in the outskirts of Prague.

Czech this out!

2007-01-26T00:29:00.000Z

This is a snap of the Old Town Hall Tower located in Old Town Square, built in 1364.

The snow must go on!!

2007-01-24T23:22:00.000Z

It snowed in London! Not much, but it's still snow, and those of you who have stayed in London would know how rarely that happens. The above snap is that of our back "garden".

I prefer this snap though. Snow-covered selipar jepun. Now THAT'S a rare sight!

Czech-mate!

2007-01-23T18:11:00.000Z

A little teaser from our Prague trip. To the uninitiated, Prague is the capital city of the Czech Republic. A country known for its communist rule in the past when it was known as Czechoslovakia, but now famed more for its respected football team. It is one of the oldest well-preserved cities in Europe, and many a Hollywood blockbuster has been filmed on its narrow cobbled streets (XXX, The Bourne Identity, Underworld, Van Helsing & Mission Impossible to name a few. Click here for more.)

The photo above shows the River Vltava (don't ask me how to pronounce it!!), which is the prominent feature of Prague, running through the heart of the city. Snapped the photo from the top of Vysehrad, which is a rocky cliff looking over the river that provides stunning views of the city. A storm was brewing which explains the gloomy sky.

Do come back often, as I'll be posting more snaps from Prague from time to time.

Prague trip

2007-01-14T17:05:00.000Z

We're going off to Prague (Czech Republic) next week, to "celebrate" the end of the exams and enjoy a proper holiday. Literally been buried in my notes since the first day of the Christmas hols! Really looking forward to the trip from a photography point of view. I'll have the opportunity to capture the history, romance and beautiful architecture of Prague. Hoping to snap a few keepers, which I would of course post on this humble blog of mine to share with you.

Harrow Shadow

2007-01-13T12:01:00.000Z

Shot while waiting for the tube at the good 'ol Harrow-On-The-Hill tube station. The underground actually goes overground in these far-flung parts of London.

Regent Street

2006-12-24T00:01:00.000Z

Got this snap on a cold winter's night on a Regent Street bustling with Christmas shoppers. Used a shutter speed of half a second, with the barrell of my lens pressed (ever-so-lightly!) against a lamp post for stability.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Melts in your mouth!

2006-12-09T00:42:00.001Z

My first attempt at product photography. Used a light tent that I got a few days ago from eBay. Still learning to set up the lighting using two of those cheap Ikea table lamps. I'll probably put up a photo of how the tent and lamps are set up soon.

For this shot, I used my trusty ol' Tamron 17-50 at 50mm, wide open at f/2.8, and focussed on the red choc in front. Everything else is blurred away, shows off how shallow the depth of field (DOF) can be at this setting!

Don't be STUMP-ed!

2006-12-06T17:04:00.000Z

So I finally dragged myself to a park, something that I wanted to do ever since arriving in London. I really wanted to take some snaps of the autumn colours - brown, red and yellow leaves and the lot. Too little too late though. Winter's already here, and there were no leaves whatsoever left! Well, it is my fault anyway for not making the effort soon enough, and it is already December.

Anyway, the park I went to was Hampstead Heath, a popular park amongst North Londoners, and as it consists of few hills, actually has a good vantage point over most of Central London. I found the tree stump in the photo facing the bright late afternoon sun and thought it would make a good subject with the barenaked trees in the background.

I desaturated the original photo in Photoshop, and added two layers to the resulting image - one to add the dreamy look via Gaussian blur, and another to add a slight hint of color to the otherwise black & white image.

Wem-ber-lee!

2006-12-03T18:48:00.000Z

Staying in Harrow, which is Northwest of central London, this would be the view that I get on the train each morning to class. The NEW Wembley Stadium, the home of English football, is almost complete after much delay and controversy. It's got a distinctive design, especially with the gigantic arch. But call me old-fashioned, I still prefer (and deeply miss) the now-demolished twin towers of the old stadium.

Slightly misjudged the timing when going over to take this shot. Wanted to get a shot in at the early stages of sunset, but it was getting really dark when I got there. Opted for a HDR (High Dynamic Range) shot instead, combining 5 different shots at various exposures, and combining all 5 shots into one using Photomatix Pro software. Looks a wee bit grey and bleak, and this is due mainly to the fading light.

All You Need Is Glove

2006-11-26T12:44:00.000Z

So far the furthest I've been travelling was to Nottingham for the Malaysian Games. Miserable outing really, both on and off the football pitch, and an experience I would not want to go through again.

Managed to take a shot of my trusty 'ol gloves though, by the side of the pitch. Shot at the widest angle of the lens (17mm on a D70s), with aperture wide open at f/2.8 to blur the background.

Wave!

2006-11-23T23:49:00.000Z

So after a couple of months in England, I finally went on my first ever photo trip over here! Decided to check out the Lord Mayor's Show, which is an annual parade through the streets of central London to commemorate the appointment of the new Mayor of London. This shot is one of my favourites from the shoot. This spirited girl got caught up in the excitement of the day and broke ranks to wave at the crowd while her pals obediently marched on. Decided to draw attention to her in the photo by turning everything else except her into black and white. Certainly makes her "pop-out", doesn't it?

Up to speed...

2006-11-17T22:54:00.000Z

Well then, I've actually dreamt up the idea of having a blog dedicated to my photography hobby quite some time ago, when I launced the OzzyPhoto.com site. However, it never really got off. Until now, that is. Due to an important technical hitch (i.e. my miserable web-designing skills), I've given BlogSpot the honour of hosting my blog!

And something else has changed too. I've now been in London for the past couple months. Back to school for the better of my dayjob. Bucket-loads of new photo opportunities, if I can find the time amidst classes and coursework, that is. Really, really miss taking photos at weddings though. Well, who knows I might be able to be the official photographer at Prince William's wedding, eh?

Anyway, would appreciate it if you could come have a peek every once in a while. Cheerio!