Alas, the experiment ends

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)

Faces of Fiesta Malaysia

December 5, 2006 by Colin Charles

Fiesta Malaysia General Shots
el presidente (ex), MASCA Victoria, Akmal

Fiesta Malaysia General Shots
el presidente (current), MASCA Victoria, Ben

Fiesta Malaysia General Shots
Pretty bride

Fiesta Malaysia General Shots
Lelong, lelong (the girls from UniMelb hawking their snacks)

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

Fiesta Malaysia General Shots
Haha

Fiesta Malaysia General Shots
Another cute one, just look at that smile…
(same requirements apply as above! Single and phone number, thanks!)

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , ,

Fiesta Malaysia 2006

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…

Fiesta Malaysia General Shots
Satay seller (notice the gloves :P Something you never get in Malaysia)

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

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

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

Bhangra dances
The Bhangra dances proved popular, with the crowds actively participating

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Last weekend

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: ,

Bernama passes of photos as their own

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: , , , , , ,

Compact Flash Card Pricing

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…

Fiesta Malaysia Open House attracts huge crowds
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: , , , ,

Pudu Jail

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!

Hack, blogged

October 25, 2006 by Colin Charles

It seems that my little Moleskine tripod was blogged at the Moleskinerie. Nice.

The Sydney Opera House

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
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
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: , , , , ,

A or an?

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.

RF copper
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: , , , , , , , , , ,