iPod Shuffle

I’ve been smiling a lot since yesterday!

I just got a package from my wife.

Her reason for buying it for me, I’ve been using a Chinese iPod Nano clone for working out!

I have a 30gb iPod Classic (also from her) but since it uses a Hard Disk, I decided not to use it in the gym since it will lessen its life span.

This baby is complete which includes Apple’s Engraving!

I honestly can’t wait to use it!!!

Shoot: Fashion

I have been regularly attending shoots here in Singapore.

I find it tiring and relaxing at the same time.

Physically tiring since you’re carrying this bag of equipment for half a day, finding the perfect angle to shoot your model and once you get home, you turn on the PC to start the selection (of photos) and editing.

Relaxing… its something I do which is totally not related to work.

Last 23 January 2010, I have attended a shoot organized by Venom81 of Clubsnap, click here to view the thread.

I normally post my favorite photos on various websites in order to receive comments and critiques, this is my first time to post my shots here.

Anastasia

You may view the photo from flickr here.

Sophia

You may view the photo from flickr here.

Samantha

I have also played with some of the photos.

This is another photo of Anastasia.

You may view the photo from flickr here.

And this photo was actually my first time using Nikon’s CLS.

Samantha

All photos were taken in Clarke Quay.

Click here to view the entire album.

Crumpler Camera Strap… (The Industry Disgrace)

Being a hobbyist, I sometimes check other photographer’s portfolio’s and I have noticed that majority of them has a post regarding a list of gear that they have.

I find this very odd as a lot of people will say that whatever gear you use; great photos will be taken by a good photographer. A good gear will definitely help but basically, it’s all about the person taking the photo.

I also have my own portfolio which I am trying to build up; I just started a Multiply Account which I hope will allow me to store more that 200 photos. My Flickr Account has been up and running for quite sometime.

Although I have written some stuff about my gear, like my Olympus FE3000, my Nikon 28 – 80 and my MBD80 its all due to my excitement if finally owning one.

I do not have a post which enumerates the gear I use during projects or events.

Anyway, back to the subject of this post, I have finally decided on my Camera Strap. I have chosen Crumpler’s The Industry Disgrace over the Black Rapid R-Strap.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still get the R-Strap someday when I start using bigger lenses like the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 HSM and Nikon 80-200 f2.8 (both still in my wish list). But with the gear I have today, I can settle for the cheaper… and (in my opinion) the better looking, Industry Disgrace.

Here in Singapore, available colors are only Black and Khaki. I decided to get the latter since I really think Black is boring…

I know this strap won’t affect the quality of my photos, but it sure is more comfortable than the original Nikon Strap.

Wendy’s Singapore!

Wendy’s Burgers is now open (or as per checking with other locals, has re-opened) here in Singapore.

First branch is located at Lau Pa Sat.

View Larger Map

I was honestly excited to visit Wendy’s since I am a big fan of their Baked Potatoes, Burgers with Square Patties and Frosty!

After visiting Wendy’s for the first time yesterday, I immediately noticed that they did not have the word “Hamburgers” in their streamer. But the same “lady” in their logo gave me the confidence that this is the same Wendy’s Fast Food chain in the US which we enjoyed in Manila.

After queuing at the counter, I immediately realized that although this Wendy’s is the same Fast Food, their menu is VERY DIFFERENT!

Comparing it with the Wendy’s (Manila) menu, I have immediately noticed the following:

1. No Bacon for Wendy’s Singapore, meaning, no Bacon Mushroom Melt!
2. No Bacon also means no Bacon Bits for their Baked Potatoes.
3. No Salad Bar.
4. No Sugar-Free ice lemon tea.

I also did not notice their Frosty, I’m sure to have seen a poster in the wall but I’m honestly not sure if it was a Frosty or a Sundae.

I loved the fact that the Shrimp Sandwich is part of their regular menu and that they use Heinz as their Ketchup (yes KFC and Pizza Hut Singapore, you need to change your Ketchup brand).

Burger choices here in Singapore is simple, they only have a Quarter Pounder, Half Pounder and 3/4 Pounder (they also stated that weight is before cooking… so if your patty has a ton of fats… good luck!).

Usual chicken sandwich, nuggets and wings are also available together with the usual Wendy’s salads.

Having Wendy’s here in Singapore is great as they give us another Burger Fast Food option. I sure hope additional branches open up soon.

Although I always believed that Bacon should be part of their menu, having a “limited” Wendy’s is way better than no Wendy’s at all.

*sorry for the quality of photos, they were all taken using my Mobile Phone*

Levi’s 501 Jeans

The year was 1992, I was lucky enough to have a pair of my very first Levi’s 501 jeans. I was on 6th grade.

It was actually a funny story, Levi’s came out with TV ads of a guy saying that he haven’t zipped his fly in 3 years… no zip!

I was actually the last guy in class to understand the ad… he was wearing button fly jeans.

Anyway, fast forward to the present (2009) and thanks to Levi’s promotion which will give a SGD 50.00 discount for your old pair of jeans. I have just bought another pair of 501’s.

Ok, so in reality I really did not need that SGD 50.00 discount. But I have always had this connection with my jeans making it hard for me to throw them away.

The pair I gave (for trade in) spent almost 8 years in service, yes, I bought it last 2001! And even if I know that it was starting to fall apart, I still cannot imagine seeing it in my rubbish bin!

What makes this deal so good is that in my mind, there’s still a connection between my 8 year old jeans and the new one. I also know that Levi’s will be giving my old jeans away to the Salvation Army.

Hmmm, SGD 50.00 for your old jeans if you buy a Levi’s jeans which costs more than SGD 100.00…

It may not be a good deal to most people but for people like me who sees a lot of sentimental reasons on why I cannot let go of my jeans. This deal is great!

I sure hope they do it again in the future… maybe next year! Yes, to the people working for Levi’s Singapore… This message is for you.

I can see a million reasons why this deal should go on every Christmas but if they decide not to do it again… I will still be buying my next pair of 501’s next year.

My Multiply Account!

Finally, after planning to start a Multiply account for the longest time, my page is now up and running!

ice15man.multiply.com

As of today, photos in my flickr account will almost reach 200 and if I do not upgrade to a “pro” account soon, my older photos will be “hidden”.

As I do not want to pay for online photo storage alone, I have decided to sign up to multiply in order to store my photos online.

I have no idea yet if Multiply has a limit to the number of photos stored and number of albums created, but I’m sure that before I reach the maximum, I will be able to find another site to host my photos again, I know you might be thinking how stingy I am, but in these hard economic times, its always good if we can save a little.

Don’t get me wrong, my flickr account will still be updated with my favorite photos, but if you want to see the specific album where that specific photo belongs, my Multiply site will always be available.

Photography… The Industry!

As I have posted in this blog, photography is one of my hobbies that keeps me busy during weekends.

Yes, as of now, just a hobby. I have a day job which brings food on the table, something my passion cannot give me… as of today.

Just like any hobbyist, I hope to be a full time photographer someday. Take photos for a couple, a family and maybe a private event.

As dSLR’s are getting cheaper, photo editing softwares are also available online for free (GIMP, PICASA, etc.) more and more people are beginning to take photography as a hobby.

Online forums are also available for people to meet friends who share the same passion. Online storage space for photos and portfolios are also available for free.

I cannot see any problem with the growing number of people walking around carrying a big dSLR and a couple of lenses. As they say, the more the merrier!

The only problem I have with the emergence of numerous photography hobbyists is that they’re actually killing the industry!

Now, anyone can post on an online forum looking for a cheap (or even free) photographer to cover an event!

I have nothing against this as I also (sometimes) accept projects for free BUT only if I know the organizer personally.

Commercial shoots are another story!

If a person you meet for the first time is asking for you to shoot his (or her) event, shouldn’t there be a minimum respectable amount for your services? I know we all want to pile up photos for our portfolio but we (hobbyists) must also think of those photographers who do this for a living. If we start accepting jobs at a low (sometimes free) price, what will happen to professional photographers who we compete against!

We all day dream to be pros someday but I cannot imagine competing in the future with someone who is giving his services (and gear) away for free.

To all hobbyists like me… please, accept a job for free only if the organizer is an acquaintance. For commercial projects… a minimum respectable amount is necessary.

Presently, we don’t need to earn from our photography, but think of the people who does…
If you have any comments… please feel free to post them.

Generic MP3 Players + Mac

Before I begin this post, I would just like to define a Generic MP3 Player (as per this post). They are those MP3 players who are recognized as a Mass Storage Device when connected to a Mac or a PC.

Windows users has a ton of available software that can be used to sync Windows Media Player and iTunes to a Generic MP3 Player but to Mac users, ever wonder how to sync a generic MP3?

The old procedure I used to do is by (1) Selecting the Specific Song in iTunes. (2) Right Click the select “Show in Finder”. (3) Copy the MP3 File and paste it in the MP3 Player.

Really a hassle if you ask me, this is the reason why (ever since I switched to a Mac) all my non-iPod MP3 players are just playing the role of a paper weight at home!

I have searched forums on how to sync a Generic MP3 Player on a Mac with iTunes and they told me that my original procedure was incorrect, apparently I can just (1) Copy a song from iTunes (no need to view the file from Finder) and (2) Paste it in my MP3 Player.

This really cuts my original procedure in Half but I was hoping that there was a way to just click sync and all the songs from my specific playlist will be transferred.

This is where I searched and read and tried various softwares which are available online. I stumbled upon a software which was a fit to my needs.

iTuneMyWalkman is a small and free software which can sync any Phone, MP3 Player and even a Flash Drive with iTunes.

There are different ways to set it up but I decided not to install any scripts from my iTunes and just use iTuneMyWalkman as an external software.

Now, loading songs to my Generic MP3 Player is this simple.

(1) Create a playlist in iTunes. (2) Open iTuneMyWalkman and edit the necessary preferences. (3) Click Sync. The software will also delete all the MP3’s in the specified folder which is not included in your Playlist.

Hiatus 2!

Wow!

Just as I posted last November 04 on how busy I was this past few months, apparently I am still busy up to this date!

Damn!

Anyway, hoping to write something before the year ends which is definitely not Hiatus 3! Hahaha

A lot of this has happened and I hope to share them with you!

Hiatus!

Wow, I had 1 post for September and 1 post for October.

Basically they were not even posts to be proud of, one was about a drink all you can place and the other was about my old and trusty Motorola Headset.

 These past two months were really busy ones for me!

I will try to be a bit more active in these next few months, even if the holidays will surely make me even busier, I’ll try to get my bearings back and write more