Saturday at the museum

I decided to check out  a photography exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum last Saturday- The Art of Integration: Islam in Britain. 

The shots were lovely, some very powerful. I wish more were placed on exhibit. A lot of potraiture, natural I suppose for an exhibition on people. There were a few shots of Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) as well.

We went around the entire musem, well actually..almost the entire museum. The reason why we couldnt complete touring the museum was because I was hungry, as in very hungry – made the mistake of leaving home on an empty stomach and thinking I could last till lunch time. I was  just famished.

The New Yorker likes to take his time to look at each and every one of the pieces carefully. Especially the weapons and arms section. I would have done that as well but I was veeryyyy hungry. I think the mere repetition in this post about how hungry I was is testament to the gravity of my need for food that morning haha.

Saturday at the museum wasnt too bad at all. But the next time I go, I will make sure I dont go on an empty stomach. Empty stomach + museum/anywhere for that matter = bad idea ;p

a night at Betel Box

Earlier this year, I had a wedding photog assignment in Singapore. I was in charge of getting cheap accos for the other fellow photogs, and upon googling I stumbled upon this cosy backpackers hostel – Betel Box I was attracted to the pics of the communal area. Before making a booking, I was pretty sceptical as to whether the place would really be as cosy as it looked in the pics. I was happy to find upon arriving there, that it was. the beds were so-so la. Bathroom too. but if all you need is a place to sleep, shower, grab quick light meals, AND meet interesting travellers..then Betel Box is the place for you.

I still remember, waking up in d morning, after washing my face, brushing my teeth, made my way in my jams to the communal area and had breakfast. Coffee and tea is free flowing, local fruits as well. They have toast, jam etc etc, all on the house, or rather..fitted in with your bed-price.

ahh wouldnt mind a short getaway to Singapore, and staying a night at the Betel Box.

*Pics are from www.betelbox.com

do you like what you see

I was looking through some old shots that I took, and I had a wild thought running in my head while I was looking at the shot I took below..

What if you dont like what you see outside the window. Do you seal the window permanently, or do you open the window, and look out anyway and learn to like what you see?

What if it’s impossible to like the view, do you force yourself anyway, or do you just move and look out a different window? Perhaps you might also consider changing that “eyesore” into something more pleasant that you can look at, but is that possible if that something is a permanent structure that you cant change? If its something permanent..then what can you do?

*this was taken while I was on a day trip to Malacca with Nina & Lya*

Notice the pic, the window on the left, looks like its still intact and can still be opened, while the one on the right, is sealed close..not too good a view perhaps? or maybe just broken and due for a fix.

Mango Sunday

I was up early one Sunday morning, it was about 9:00am. walked around the house, couldnt find my parents, they were out obviously. I was fasting so I didnt bother checking out the fridge and kitchen table for breakfast. looked out the kitchen window and saw that our mango tree had menggugurkan some mangoes. Since the tree bore fruits- we’ve had endless supply of mangoes every day. Anyway, I wanted to pick the mangoes up before the tupai & family, bird & family eat all of them up. dont worry I left ample for them. then i thought maybe i’d pick up my camera and get some shots of the mangoes. nice bright yellow mangoes. so here are some shots.

titled this pic lonely mango. used the pebbles to provide contrast and clean background to accentuate the color of the mango.

had to allow this mosquito to suck the blood out of me just so that i could get this shot.

two ants on the pebbles

under the tap..wish i had clearer droplets though

Rain on Me

Last Friday I was in Kuantan for a photog job, taking pics for Nora’s nikah and reception. Nikah was on Friday night, reception, Sat afternoon. So I had some time to sneak in the job sched  to soak up some sun and get some salty sea water on myself, but tough luck, no sun nor salty water. Cos it just kept on pouring like non-stop, the rain didnt stop, am not kidding.

We were worried bout the job, cos it’s a bit difficult to move around when it’s raining. But it worked out just fine. It drizzled on Friday night, and on Saturday afternoon. So it took a lot of quick shoot-and hide the camera for fear of wetting it when we were outside taking shots.. other than that it was all good.

Let me just do a run-down on some highlights:

1.  I didnt get any sun & sea (s&s)
2. I didnt get any s&s (yes I am that sad, and I am suffering that bad a craving for s&s)
3. It just never stopped pouring (from the point we got to Kuantan town till we left)
4. Shuq and I developed a no-fear attitude towards wetting our jeans, his Crocs, my shoes and stepping into puddles of water, cos if we didnt we wouldnt have been able to move
5. I learned that when a person is stressed out, the body releases a kind of hormone that induces you to laugh, yea laugh,I didnt believe it at first when Shuq told me, but I witnessed it first hand, yes he just burst out laughing and continued to laugh when we got lost and was running late for the nikah, not the usual laugh k, this was the “hearty-laugh-ur-heart-out-it’s-so-funny” laugh …and that got me to laugh as well – that reminds me I need to check if it’s true the body does that, I usually get pissed when I’m stressed out ;p
6. The job was fun cos the bride and groom, Nora and Kie was very easy going, Nora especially, she was a natural. We didnt have to direct any poses at all, natural I tell you. We have great shots of them and the whole do.
7. Kuantan has a 7-eleven looking joint called D5 or something like that. Seriously, if u didnt know it was called D5 you would’ve thought all the way that u were in another 7-eleven
8. I found out that I am capable of having total dumb-blonde moments or as someone would put it “budak sekolah pun can do it” with the latch on the hotel room door. In my defense it wasnt a typical latch ;p honest to God it wasnt.
9. Gotong-royong weddings are here to stay, that made Nora’s wedding different from the town-weddings, she had the whole neighbourhood help her out, so you had the makciks slicing the watermelon, to young boys washing the dishes, felt very merry and warm.
10. Hitz plays Rihanna’s “Please dont Stop the Music” too often, I know I had a post earlier on loving that track, but when it’s overplayed it gets booo-ring! hehe
11. On the other hand they dont play enuf of Janet Jackson’s “Feedback” which is my new craze
12. The “Haunted Volkswagon car on Karak highway” story is famous. I didnt know everyone knew about it, my brother told me the story. And someone has a funky theory that the ghost will now simply ride in another car cos everyone knows he shows up in a Volks (sure sure)
13. Kuantan has those timers at the traffic lights (that counts down how much time left till it turns green/red kinda thingy), while KL which has way heavier traffic doesnt have em, (although I did spot some in PJ) We should have em.
14. I love KL cos it rarely rains non-stop 2 days in a row.

There you go some highlights…the trip just made me more excited about my Perhentian trip end April and Bali in June. Kuantan just rained on me tsk tsk but I had fun.

Now am going to spend some time with my MacB and go through the shots. Nora & Kie can look forward to two elegant and moment-freezing storyboards of their special day

Daniel and his teddy

I got the Potrait and Candid Photography Photo Workshop book by Erin Manning as a birthday present. Thank you thank you, you know who you are!

Candid pictures are best, I simply cannot stand the squeeze-smile picture, although when I’m with the gurlfrens, I cant help but have a ton of squeeze-smile pics. Y’know, squeeze in everyone, then put on that Colgate, Listerine smile!

One of the sections in the book, is on Babies, and the rule given to make sure your baby shots are perfect is to:

1. Get comfortable with the baby
2. Keep it Simple
3. Use Soft Light
4. Seize the Moment

I took the shot below, of my baby cousin Daniel a few weeks ago, he was sleeping in his buai ( buai in English? hmmm bouncing cradle? haha)

Well I think I managed to follow the rule above to the tee.

1. Get comfortable with the baby – baby was comfortable, me not so, cos I had to be extra careful not to wake him up
2. Keep It Simple- cant get any simpler than this
3. Use soft light – soft soft
4. Seize the moment – I didnt wake him up from his sleep, and got this cute shot of him holding his teddy and button nose!

For a few more shots of Daniel, Flickr

Flickr

Some shots I took recently are up at my Flickr page – of my brothers mostly. More soon.

Am feeding my blog..finally

It’s been ages since I last posted anything on this blog. So here goes, multiple posts.. which was all due a long time ago..

Raoul’s 26th

Refer to my earlier post, the metrosexuald december baby is Raoul. and it was nerve wrecking trying to find him a suitable gift, but I managed to and am soooo glad he liked it. the gurls were giving me a hard time when I told them what I got `Naddy he’s a personal trainer when will he wear a tie!’.

Was a nail-biting moment for me when it was time for him to open my humble-dont-know-if-he’ll-like-it gift. But when Raoul and everyone (including gurlfrens) exclaimed `damn nice’ when they caught sight of the tie, I could feel my heart slowing down its pace from 1000 beats per minute hehe and my face spotting a proud dimpled Naddy smile

oh and it was also a house warming, the apartment was spacious, and aspa being aspa, the place was spic and span, germ free, anthea turner approved.

Click on the pic, the well picked piece of item around Raoul’s neck was my pressie for him hehe

the rocking wifey Aspa who made it all happen, that’s her giving directions to her place

these ladies will set the mood for any partay, especially the one in the middle, Zoey!

Raihan was Back! 

Raihan & Andrew was back for a few weeks last month. Raihan didnt look like she’s pregnant, still slim and wearing heels! (it’s very rare to catch Raihan’s feet in flats actually)

I don’t recall ever shopping for maternity clothes before, but I did, for the very first time when Raihan came back, and  let me tell you shopping while converting prices from RM to Aussie dollars is way more fun, the RM-pricey is now `oh cheap in Aussie dollars’

`here An,this top is cute! take one in purple, blue and pink!’

It was difficult saying bye, but I pacified myself with my plans of visiting Raihan & Andrew next year in summer, and of course baby Sarah or Monkey Magic (that’s Andrew’s idea for a name if it’s a boy haha)

She’s the best-est most incredible gurlfren to have and he’s a wonderful, loving, sweet guy who I know, and can bet my last Ringgit will take darn good care of her. sealed deal.

Miss them, and cant wait to see them in 08. Below shots I took of Raihan and Andrew

must get andrew to eat cendol the next time he’s here and not ice cream!

 

the Family Papparazi

 Went for saturday family lunch at San Francisco steakhouse in KLCC [like a month ago, since this post is long due], cos dad, brothers and mum needed to stock up on some essentials at M&S. I brought my cam along and shutter bugged away..and I realised that my brothers are photogenic, an observation that I will never ever share with them ;p

Abang

 

Adik

 

a Christmas ornament at M&S

The pics are a bit small here, I’ll upload all & more at my Flickr page later. So check em out. And I have no idea why the paragraph alignment for this post went cuckoo hmmph!

Children are our future

I was in KLCC yesterday,and there was a Batik pesta or something like that. I saw some kids taking a stab at batik painting. Perfect shot. Took my camera out and the minute the kids saw my cam, they smiled! I thought they’d just run away, most kids are camera shy but not this group of kids. Innocent smiles – very happy that I captured that mo.

Kodak Moment!

I’ve been tasked together with Shuq to take shots of Malaysia’s eating delights to be featured in WUPID’s magazine. It took Shuq and I some time to shortlist the food that we’re going to feature, since Malaysia is such a food-heaven [But nasi lemak, roti canai made the cut pretty easily].

Above is one of my favorite shots [Shuq helped me edit it- he's a magician when it comes to editing. I've yet to learn the ropes of Photoshop ;p]- at Syed, 3 mins drive from home. I rarely go there, only do when I get the sporadic craving for roti canai at night.

Well, not wanting to scare anyone, I told the guy that i’m taking shots for a magazine, and would like to take some pics of him tossing the dough etc, and promised him a copy of the mag.

He, to my delight said ok, and instantly did his thing, tossing, flipping, and all the other roti canai tricks possible. I went shutter crazy!He was an excellent subject! Wasnt camera shy at all, making sure he made eye contact with the camera all the time.. so Mamak Next Top Model haha. 

Aaah yess..it’s such a satisfaction to be able to frame lively pictures. Can’t wait to see all the pics in print!

Zoey’s

the invite

Ya-ah another party!

As usual highlights:

The Pucci cuppies

Elsie had the best idea – Emilio Pucci inspired cupcakes. We commissioned Mrs Foo for the task and she did an excellent job, it was extreme Pucciness! Birthday cakes are an all time for b’days but for a party of about 30pax, cuppies do a better job, more to go around, smaller bites and they’re more fun!

Palate Palatte

It’s behind hotel Istana. Describe it? Artsy fartsy.giraffe popping out of the ceiling, peacock tiled wall, button latches for the lil ladies room (yes I noticed), horsie on the bar, and cool sounds to go with the ambience. Comfy-ly placed couches, rattan chairs, bean bags gave way to pleasant chats, giggles and more.

 

i love the horsie shot

my camera 101

Having not figured out how to use my brother’s Nikon properly, I was getting pretty agitated when I didnt manage to fix the settings..I wanted to test out my skills, not wanting to use auto mode.. but wasnt successful and pics just didnt turn out right.

I had to make a SOS call to Shuq to ask him how to adjust the flash so that the pics dont look overexposed. But Faesal saved the day, Aspa’s cousin who’s not alien with the DSLR, can tell by the way he handles the machines hehe. Once he placed the settings, gave me some quick tips, I was on full shutter bug mode ;p Merci Faesal! He took some great shots too.

right- Faesal, my guru for the nite

Zoey!

Ah yes, ze b’day chick. It was a surprise b’day partay and she was surprised! She looked like a budding actress receiving her first Oscar..glam + overwhelmed ;p Spotted a new hair-do that looked fantastic on her and reminded me of Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago. She dressed for the occasion too (makes me wonder whether she already knew about the party- did you Zoey? ;p)

Partay goodies

Cuban hats for the guys and double headbands for the ladies. The hats really fitted the mood, and looked great in pics too.

my hand on the hat

Color Splash.

The theme. I wasnt exactly splashy..brown + dark purple + light purple + purple wedges + green tote..ok la. I wanted to wear black, but there was a strict no black and white rule [arent black and white colors too?]. But everyone had colors on..with Elsie as the party planner no one would dare beat the theme hehe.

Parties at this age are way different from the Mc’d parties when we were kids, we’ve all grown and so has our style of celebration. Burgers to baked salmon and salad. Party hats to Cuban hats. We had a fahbulous time! And I had fun shutter bugging away ;p Went back with a slight headache though.. thank God I came with Aspa and Raoul- thanks peeps.

Next party- December!

Check out more pics at my flickr page

The Wall

 

Trucco’s display.Thought it was brilliant. Couldnt stop the shutter bug in me from taking a shot. 

I most definitely wouldnt mind [and you can be sure that I will] having a wall-deco like that at my place. It would look great in the kitchen too.

Noni’s wedding

Am running out of space to upload pics.

So go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkcoat/ [it's also on my blogroll - right sidebar] for some pics at Noni’s wedding.

I was the bridesmaid but still had time to take some shots hehe. Talk about multitasking.

Hey if I wanna be good at photography I’m gonna have to practice ;p

Am a newbie on Flickr so Noni’s wedding shots are the first batch. More to come!

Mak Yeop’s Dusun

 

Why was I wearing Phua Chu Kang boots? (I know I know they’re not yellow like his ;p)

Visit my photo blog, Capture-d Mo at

 http://nadiazainuddin.fotopages.com

Say Cheese!

People usually take their cameras along with them when they travel, go for trips, holidays with great enthusiasm that they’d be able to “capture the moment” or for some to take the “I was there” type of pictures usually in front of famous buildings..streets, signboards…etc

I’m a shutter bug when it comes to taking pictures.. I always try not to take typical pictures. Recently I was hit by a surge of interest in photography.. not to become a professional [though I actually wouldnt mind becoming a pro photographer] but just to be able to take shots that tell a story, that really captures the moment.

I think this interest kicked in after I came back from Ubud which is a photographer’s playground- with all the scenes, landscapes, culture.Plus I’m also very sick and tired of the Raya sitting in a row with everyone smiling type of picture.. [boring!]

So this afternoon I attended a Photography Workshop by Eric Peris..a self taught photographer,was NST’s photo editor for 24 years, a master in black and white photography and have had countless exhibitions both locally and internationally.

I brought along my brother’s SLR [must ge one for myself] and my point-and-shoot Sony Cybershot, I have no idea how to use an SLR [but I did get a taste of it's power when I tried taking a few shots]

Was hoping the workshop would give me a quick idiot’s guide but it was more about the art and philosophy of photography.. which was  fine with me.

  getting to know the SLR..

 “The image is captured in your mind first not by the camera”..that was one of the first things that Eric said and it made perfect sense.  Shouldnt just aimlessly take shots [ I've done that a couple of times ;p]..there has to be an idea behind the shot and a clear expectation of what the final image will be. Patience is key. And nothing comes without practice.

An interesting advise Eric gave was when he said ” the last thing you should read are photography books..you should look at the works of Rembrandt and other classical painters” According to him photography is just mimicking of what earlier painters were trying to do with canvas and oil. He also mentioned that there are no strict rules in photography [good] and we shouldnt be afraid to try new angles and use different styles [very good].I left the workshop eager to practice and learn the basics of taking good photographs- familiarise myself with the apperture,tones [there's a LOT to learn].

But I dont intend to take masterpieces, just shots that are alive and do justice to the image that it tried to freeze…for coming birthday parties, weddings, holidays, births and more.

Well at the moment I’m still looking out for those photography-for-idiots classes.

*******************************

Some of the photographs that I’m proud of..

Above is a picture that I took on my way to the market in Portobello Road when I was in London early this year (using my N73)

Below is a very old man at a very old courtyard (400 yrs old) that I visited as part of a night Hutong tour in Beijing. (Cybershot)

Click on the pciture to see the full shot