A whole new look for my blog

For those who pops by my blog before, you'll noticed that I am giving the blog a new look. I just wanted to freshen things up a little - frankly I have gotten bored of the previous blog template & set-up (it was dark and grey - kind of gloomy). Also I have recently subscribed to SmugMug, so this is also an effort to create a seamless surfing experience into my SmugMug website. 


The website is not done yet (still quite scratchy & needing a lot of work... I guess I know what I will be doing this weekend), hopefully my interest in building the site doesn't diminish too quickly. Yes, it is a lot of work. I have already been working on the website for about 2 weeks now & it still look very scratchy. The end game that I am trying to achieve is to continue to have my blog located here while expanding on my website in SmugMug. 


At the moment, I feel that Blogger has a much better blog interface compared to SmugMug. It's template for blogging is a lot better than those offered by SmugMug. Things are also a lot less complicated in Blogger (kudos to the guys who build this blog site) compared to SmugMug. This is an area where SmugMug is lacklustre in - honestly I am not sure why they haven't done anything about it. I will probably put a write-up of my SmugMug experience soon. At this stage, I would say that anyone wanting to use SmugMug should be prepared for a rather steep learning curve. I had some experience with html during my schooldays but those little knowledge seem totally insufficient to get my website going. Most of my time was spent going to Dgrin forum to source for solutions. Fair to say that so far my experience has been rather average. But, I will withhold judgement for now and give it a little more time.


I just made a trip to New York City, so there will be photos coming up shortly.

I think the wall sums it up pretty nicely...

Alright, take a look at this photo - what do you see?

If you are like me, you'll see a lush green field and a dilapidated building (which is almost at the point of collapse). In Detroit, an abandoned building like this would sometimes be referred to as a nest for the homeless ... In short, it's an "eye-sore". 


I don't know what was the name of this building or it's significance. To be perfectly honest, the only reason why I took this photo was because this run-down building provides a great visual contrast to the high-rise buildings in the background. 


In fact, when I took this shot, what goes on in my mind was ... "how to make this building as small as possible & the skyscrapers as tall as possible". I was trying to provide a visual contrast by making this building look as "out of place" as possible. 


Never have I imagined that what comes out of the post-processing would be completely different...


You see, I sometimes take a photo with a preconceived idea of how I want the picture to turn out. Sometimes while taking the shot, I would have already decided what kind of post-processing I would do. The shot above was no different - just do a simple visual contrast... *clicked!


It wasn't until I started processing the photo that a different message came through. I started reading the graffiti on the walls. Usually, in my experience with graffiti, around 60% are random signatures of street kids with a spray can (and too much time) on their hands and the remaining 40% are a variety of "street art" (ranging from aliens, spaceships, monsters... to flowers and trees).


This one was different. 


As I read, it felt like the writings on the wall verbalized the yearnings, hopes and dreams of many Detroiters. Here, have a closer look.

Some of the writings include "Rebuilding... Keep God in America... My Family Safe... Bringing the Troops Back... The Price of Gas... My Father's Cancer... The Working Class... Being Able to Retire at a Reasonable Age... Supporting Local Merchants ... A Good Coat for Winter... a better childhood... I care that so few people care." And the writings go on.


Strangely, as I read, my original intention to provide a visual contrast slowly melts away. This wall that carries the yearnings, hopes and dreams of so many Detroiters deserves to be the "hero" of the shot. 


Lastly, "someone's aching Lord... kumbayah..."

It's not about the equipment ...

Recently I got back into golfing (guess what - golf courses here are cheaper and better than those found in Melbourne!). My wife always say my hobbies rotate in a cycle... golf, badminton, cycling & photography - most of them are quite invested (aka expensive). Maybe I should take up running to save some money. Anyway, not to digress - an idea came to me ... I thought since I haven't got any new clubs for a long time & my drive is starting to deteriorate with some funky slices & hooks maybe it's time for me to retire my Ping G5 & get a new driver... something with a stiff flex to deal with the slices & hooks! Sounds like a great idea at first, so I decided to go to a local golf shop. That place was wonderful! The golf shop is located right next to a driving range, free practice balls are provided for any potential buyers who would like to give the clubs a couple of swings. After trying out 4 different drivers (including Ping G20, Callaway Diablo, TaylorMade R11 and TaylorMade Burner 2.0), I decided that I would buy the TM Burner 2.0, it was on sale (about 30% discount) and looks pretty sharp. Honestly, I thought it was a good buy! Why? Because I was driving very well with that driver - long, straight... inspiring! After buying the driver, I immediately got a large bucket of range balls & continued practicing.

Still feeling very enthusiastic with my buy, I head straight to a golf course the next day! The course was crowded as I got paired with two Koreans. They looked like fairly seasoned golfers. The first hole was a par 4, so I pulled out my newly acquired driver, lined up my shot towards the flag & fired a shot... ... ... it was a slice. Must be the nerve. Thankfully, the ball didn't land too far from the fairway & I was able to continue. The second hole was a par 4 as well, keeping the faith I took out the TM Burner 2.0 again. To make sure that I make the shot, I was doing the pre-shot drill a lot more consciously then before. "keep your knees shoulder length apart, slightly bend your knees, take a deep breathe and then breathe out, draw a straight line on the back swing ... etc" Then, I fired the shot... it went right again. This time it went into the opposite fairway. "Oh Vincent, what are you doing?" I murmured. "This is going to be a long day if I keep producing this type of shots."

Anyway to cut the long story short - the rest of the 16 holes were as bad if not worse then the first two. I left the golf course with a real sense of post-purchase dissonance. Why did I think that getting a new driver would help me play better? It doesn't make sense, it better shots are delivered through new clubs with supposedly more advanced "technology" then I should have played the game like a pro... after all, my equipment didn't seem too shabby! In contrast, those two Koreans that I played with, were using much older clubs ... I didn't even register the brands of the clubs they were playing with. Yet, they are playing at par on every other hole.

Lesson learnt... I am yet humbly reminded of the fact that it is not my equipment but the human behind those equipment that matters! It's not the clubs, it's the golfer. It's not the camera, it's the photographer. It's not the bicycle, it's the rider. It's not the badminton racquet, it's the player. Big Sigh!

Why would anyone think otherwise? Mostly because companies fuel this "make believe" nonsense. If you think a LEICA will make pictures like Cartier-Bresson, or a Nikon D800 will shoot pictures like Galen Rowell, you're more likely to buy that camera... I actually still feel very much about adding a Leica to my collection some days. Right now, I am happy with the 5D MkII.

So, what is the point of all these? I think I need to practice more & buy less. I think the equipment does help, but it only brings you 10% of the way... it's time to stop focusing on the 10% & pursue the remaining 90%. I need to hone my craft & not my equipment.

Night scene in Melbourne - along the Yarra River

Took this photo during a photo walk I did about 2 years ago. Really like the way the lights get reflected in the water & the city skyline.

Happy Feet!

This little duckling really reminded me of the movie Happy Feet... it's extremely curious & animated. If not for the very protective parents, I would have loved to spent more time capturing all its antics!