March 29, 2007 by Colin Charles
If you’re still subscribed or reading this, I’m impressed. Continue with my adventures at:
http://www.bytebot.net/blog/
There’s also a photography category there, with a separate RSS feed if thats all you’re interested in. There will probably be a photojournalism category, for the travel writing I do. Visit that. Really.
(this will remain as a good place to have an Akismet api key)
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
December 5, 2006 by Colin Charles

el presidente (ex), MASCA Victoria, Akmal

el presidente (current), MASCA Victoria, Ben

Pretty bride

Lelong, lelong (the girls from UniMelb hawking their snacks)

Told you she was cute
(if someone can tell me if she’s single and pass me her number, that’d rock too)

Haha

Another cute one, just look at that smile…
(same requirements apply as above! Single and phone number, thanks!)
Technorati Tags: faces, fiestamalaysia, malaysia, melbourne, photo, photography, portrait, portraits
Posted in Events, Melbourne, Photography | 3 Comments »
December 5, 2006 by Colin Charles
Been busy. Had thoughts of shutting this down, and just getting folk to visit the main blog at Bytebot.Net. Alas, this experiment isn’t over. Not anytime soon, I hope
Anyways, long overdue pictures from Fiesta Malaysia…

Satay seller (notice the gloves
Something you never get in Malaysia)

Intricacies of a Malay Wedding (more at the malaywedding tag; it was paraded from Federation Square to Swanston St.)

P/S: I hear these are a real life couple. He’s a lucky bloke…

One of the hot (!) girls showing us a Malay Dance (more at the malaydances tag)

The Bhangra dances proved popular, with the crowds actively participating
Technorati Tags: fiestamalaysia, malaysia, melbournecentral, photo, photography
Posted in Events, Photography | No Comments »
December 5, 2006 by Colin Charles
Reminder to self: pack the day before the event, not on the day of the event. I had two things to do yesterday, and subsequently, I forgot my flash diffuser, a comb, and a tie. Well, I might as well throw battery charger into the mix.
The good news is that the NB-2LH on the 350D can shoot quite a lot of frames. I managed 2,017, lots of quick multiple exposures, and camera basically always on, on 2 batteries in the battery pack. I did however notice that it had the low battery indicator on, and in the back of my mind, I was a little worried. But it survived, and I’m thrilled.
Blast from the past. N/B: incomplete blog entry.
Technorati Tags: fiestamalaysia, geelong
Posted in Travel | No Comments »
October 30, 2006 by Colin Charles
Today should be a happy day, but I’m not too thrilled. I shot the Fiesta Malaysia in Melbourne on Saturday, and posted up some quick takes as the event organizer said that they’d like to inform the Malaysian newspapers. Quick takes because I’m processing 2,017 photos to become something 1/10th the size and am mucking with iView Media Pro to make my workflow more sensible.
So it seems like they contacted Bernama. They even wrote an article titled 3,500 At Fiesta Malaysia In Melbourne by Neville D’ Cruz. Then, today, newspapers decided to write about it: The Star had Melbourne mayor at our fiesta (archived), and the NST had A taste of Malaysia in Melbourne.
The photos are direct rip-offs from me. The Star’s rip-off and the NST’s rip-off (cropped).
Bernama did no due diligence, and they refused to even just attribute it to me. So today I spoke with a Mustafa Yusof, a Chief (of?) at Bernama, who said this was rather bad, and they’d try and get to the bottom of this. I wrote to the ungkubesar. I’m thinking if I did something Creative Commons related - would it stand in Malaysian courts?
Now, I’ll sit and wait to see what has transpired. But on the bright side, I’ve been published in the daily newspapers. At least thats something to cheer about, even if I did not get any attribution.
Technorati Tags: bernama, copyright, images, infringement, nst, thestar, steals
Posted in Current Events, Melbourne, Photography, Webosphere | 2 Comments »
October 29, 2006 by Colin Charles
I always somehow manage to end up buying a flash card in a hurry, in the middle of an event. Last year it was the Motorola Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. This year it was Fiesta Malaysia.
As a quick musing while I process some 2,000 frames, last year I picked up a Sandisk Extreme II 1GB card for about $180, and this year, I managed to get a Sandisk Extreme III 2GB card for $150. Double the size, more speed, and cheaper price?
Don’t you love economies of scale…

John So’s our bro
Incidentally, I spotted about 10-12 other DSLR users at the open house yesterday. Its clearly catching on. Lots with kit lenses (especially since the kits nowadays come with some whizzbang Sigma zooms and what not).
And yes, I’m sure I could have gotten said 2GB CF card cheaper. But I needed it, in ten minutes. Kodak shop on Elizabeth Street by the way, were selling both the Extreme II and Extreme IIIs at the same price it would seem (marked at $150 and $180 respectively).
Technorati Tags: culture, fiestamalaysia, malaysian, melbourne, openhouse
Posted in Community, Events, Melbourne, Photography, Technology | No Comments »
October 27, 2006 by Colin Charles
So it seems that Pudu Jail has reopened in KL. How sick.
I’ve been inside nearly a decade ago, for a school excursion, and it was a run-down ram-shackle of a place. And the atrocities, of people being whipped, and then salt (or salty material? iodine?) being rubbed on the wounds. And the continued whipping. Gross.
The next time I’m back, I’ll look for old negatives and get them scanned. Pudu Jail is a monstrosity of a place. Its inhumane to be placed there. Its inhumane that its opened. And there’s a major shopping center/theme park pretty much right next to it these days (touted to be the only mall with a theme park in Australasia).
Malaysia Boleh!
Posted in Malaysia | No Comments »
October 25, 2006 by Colin Charles
Posted in Webosphere | No Comments »
October 24, 2006 by Colin Charles
The Opera House in Sydney might be one of the most cliched Sydney photographs, but I had to make a few while I was there (considering I hadn’t made one in over ten years).

Sydney Opera House
That was a long exposure, 15 seconds, f/11, ISO100. I have a few more that I’ll be uploading in the near future that I think make the cut.
I guess what’s interesting about this photo is how I made it. I used a tripod made out of a bunch of stacked Moleskine books that I carry in my satchel.

Moleskine tripod (click the image for an explanation of books - overall view)
It seemed like there was no other way to do a long exposure. I guess I’m happy with the results, in general. So next time you’re looking for a tripod, or something to prop your camera, consider notebooks in your bag…
Technorati Tags: australia, icon, moleskine, operahouse, sydney, tripod
Posted in Photography, Travel | 2 Comments »
October 23, 2006 by Colin Charles
Is there an English grammar guide out there? Not one that I have to pick up in dead-tree form, but one that I can get on the Internet.

Textures in copper
Is it, “a honors thesis” or “an honors thesis”?
Of late, I’ve been collecting textures and patterns. I presume I’ll do a lot more the moment I start doing macro photography.
As an aside, watch the singing Shi Tzu courtesy of Mishiao. Its cute. And I definitely want to photograph the dog soon.
Technorati Tags: dog, english, grammar, language, patterns, photo, photography, puppy, shitzu, textures, video
Posted in Photography, Writing | No Comments »