Lightning

Went to catch the lightning on the 19th Aug with a friend, but was not successful.  Yesterday was another rainy day, and I saw some lightning flashes when me and my fiancée were on our way out for dinner.  So I thought it might be a good chance to try to catch some bolts again.  So after dinner, went home and had a short rest, checked the weather, it looked good, packed up my gear and headed out again.

This time, I’d say it’s definitely good!  Although not as spectacular as those on the magazines, I’m happy.  The lightning was quite far away as there was no sound of thunder, but it’s beautiful!

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Macro – 1st Trial

After been reading on several photography forums about DIY macro, I did my 1st trial just now.  Just some simple setup, not the perfect one, but it was real fun.

For the DIY way, most of the forumers do it with reverse lens adapter ring, step up/down ring, some lens cap cutting works… However, since I don’t have all those rings and stuff, so that setup is definitely not for me.  Kept searching on the Internet, and I came across one which sounds good - stack two lenses together. 

So, pulled out my gears, fit the 55-200mm to the D90, and an old 50mm prime lens reversed stacked at the front (as the magnifier). The camera was on tripod with remote shutter control except the 50mm lens was hand held due to I don’t have any adapter ring to reverse-mount it to the 55-200mm zoom lens.  Although tired, it was a real fun!

For those who wants to give it a try, just make sure you handle your lens properly or else you might scratch the glass.

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1st test subject - Malaysia 10 cent coin.  There is a congkak at the back of the coin, and there are seeds in the congkak store.  Ever wonder how many seeds?  Now you can count.

1/15, f4.5, ISO-800, 102mm, no flash, no additional lighting. Cropped at 33%.

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2nd test subject – dried chilli.  The solid black corners were caused by the shorter focal length.  Those white dots are dusts on the chilli.

1/13, f4.5, ISO-800, 82mm, no flash, with additional lighting.  No cropping.

Half Moon Light

Went out to my backyard just now and saw this half moon.  I like how this shot came out showing some of the moon details and still preserve some light.

Some Simple Shots #3

Went to have some tea with my lady this afternoon, and this branches attracted my attention. So, snapped it.

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This water tank is quite unique…

UMS Japanese Cultural Night 2010

Just at the right timing.  There was this Japanese Cultural Night going on at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) on the second night after I received the D90 from my uncle.  So, charged up the battery, had a short rest, packed up, and there I go.

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Some of the displays in the event.  Their culture figures, Manga, and of course, Gundam!

 

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People around.

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Sushi competition.

 

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One of the hits in Japanese Culture – Cosplay.

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Some performance shows.  This was the hardest part to photograph due to the dim light, and the stage was just too far away from our seat.  Only media representatives were allowed to go near the stage…

My New Workhorse – Nikon D90

I received a wonderful surprise yesterday.  An uncle from Australia sent me a gift, a Nikon D90!  I’ve been thinking about getting a second camera body, so that I won’t have to change lens so often when I’m on the go.  The D90 was definitely on my list.  Now, dream came true, with my uncle’s generosity.  Not only a D90 body, he has included a 55-200mm lens too, to compliment with the 18-55mm kit lens which came with my D5000.  Thank you very much, uncle.  Thank you.