Photo Synthesis: photography

Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Isloated in Suburban India

I just got back from a business trip to India where my company was taking part as an exhibitor/speaker at Sun Tech Days in Hyderabad. The hotel that I stayed in was the Novotel Hyderabad which caters to overseas guests attending any events at the convention centre.

The staff lived up to their four-star standard and went as far as to call me on the evening of the first day as I had left the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the whole day, concerned that I may have been sick and going to the extent of offering to send in a doctor to see me.

Foodwise, my colleague and I ate mostly at the hotel as there were no other food places within walking distance around the hotel. Breakfast was a buffet of international spread but I went mainly for the chapathis, naans, tosais and vadas topped with an assortment of curries and chutneys. Other meals were either catered for during event days or we ate in as my colleague discovered a pizza corner delivery service. Pizza Corner's spread included conizzas (ice cream cones made from pizza dough containing pizza filling), sandwiches and baked pastas kept us sustained as hotel food was pricey. However, the hotel's La Cantina's Mexican restaurant served really good food and substantial servings.

On the first day we tried walking out of the hotel grounds in search of alternative eating choices but found none. But we did find some lovely photo opportunities in the surrounding area. For our last day we managed to squeeze in some time to make a short trip down to a handicraft market before heading to the airport for the trip home.

Though it was a business trip for both my colleague and I we were in for a pleasant treat on the last night of our stay. The Novotel Hyderabad is a popular venue for weddings and we were invited by the father of the bride to join in the celebrations when he saw us taking photos of the bridesmaids and stage decor from the perimeter.

So yeah, it was definitely a blast as it was my first time speaking at such an event and a brief culinary and cultural experience. Definitely not the full experience of India for which I would have needed to travel far south to the city to see the real India but still lovely!

Friday, January 02, 2009

2009 and beyond...

Right, so I've been very guilty of neglecting this blog but a lot has happened last year up to now. For one thing, I've started a Deviant Art page where my cosplay and other photos now are. Speaking of cosplay, I've had the opportunity to work with several groups for some shoots and the pix are all there at Deviant Art .

I managed to take some time off from work to go to Vietnam; spent a week touring Hanoi, Sapa and Halong Bay. Some of my pix from the trip can be found here:

In addition, the laptop that I was using for 2 years since I enrolled in post-grad studies decided to flatline on me. With my Dell warranty expired I decided to move to a desktop for my photo processing. Who would have thought that I'm now spending more time on:

Fallout 3
Unreal Tournament 3
Quake Wars

Yup, so that's what's been happening up till now. Btw, if you did catch "The Day the Earth Stood Still" I'm sure you'll agree that the scene where Keanu Reeves spoke Mandarin was pretty hilarious though he did a decent job...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Nikon D700 Gathering

Went for a Nikon club gathering which showcased the newly launched D700 along with the SB-900 flash, 24-70/2.8 and 14-24/2.8 lenses. Held at the Burger King at Millenia Walk, it was a very informal gathering where Nikon enthusiasts got to try out the new equipment for themselves. These two test shots were taken at ISO 3200 using the 24-70/2.8 lens without the flash unit as there were limited number of SB-900s going round.

In addition, with full-frame (FX) capabilities, there's definitely more composition space for you to play around with plus a viewfinder similar to that of the D3. However, with RRP being SGD$4250 it's a bit on the pricey side tho many may view it as more affordable than a D3.Definitely something to drool over tho =)~

Friday, July 04, 2008

Weekend Shootout - Singapore Toy and Comic Convention Day 2 Round Up

Toys? That way!

Hwah! Never thought I'd finish processing all the pix I took at the STACC held at Suntec City over last weekend. Here they are, the final batch of pix ;)

A ray of light, a glimmer of hope...

Back stabbing just took on a whole new angle...

Despite the thick crowd, everyone was very orderly and well behaved, thanks to the security and crowd control at the convention...

Suntec management was a bit concerned initially as the cosplay community had spilled over to the next hall area where a conference by Nobel Biocare was taking place. But juding from the scene, the conference attendees were also seen taking pix of the cosplayers at the event.

Yay! Now on to cosfest!

[End]

Weekend Shootout - Singapore Toy and Comic Convention Day 2 Air Gear Edition

We are the ruffest!

There was a group of Air Gear cosplayers at the STACC on day two who provided attendees with some light entertainment. Dun believe? Check out their pix then!

I want to break free... I want to break free!

....

Hmm... The view seems better from this angle...

Is Agito ever going to get up?

Submission!

Victory is mine!

[To be Concluded...]

Weekend Shootout - Singapore Toy and Comic Convention Day 2

Day Two of the STACC at Suntec City proved to be equally crowded. Nevertheless, it was heaps fun to be there for the cosplay gathering. Also ran into several colleagues who were there to check out both the toys and the cosplay characters.

Fiiiiight!

Paaaarty!

W00t! More vocaloids!

[To be continued...]

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Weekend Shootout - Singapore Toy and Comic Convention Day 2 (Swords)

Swords by Leftfield
Danger, in every corner.
I have become pure water.
I can identify.
I close my eyes.
I wear my sword at my side.
Cleanse me.
Deep in the fire.
I have become pure water.
I wear my sword at my side.
I have become pure water.
I have become pure water...

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Weekend Shootout - Singapore Toy and Comic Convention Vocaloid Backstage Pass

The cast (L-R): Meiko (Sakana) and Kaito (Xrystal)

Was given the opportunity to do a Vocaloid shoot behind the exhibition area of the STACC on day two, far away from the crowd. Venue was a good choice as it did provide a backstage look and feel for the brother and sister pairing.