You also get to see people from all walks of life, from students to families, rich buggers and company directors. This is where everyone is the same, and no one treated different.

Oh yeah…although this is called the night market, it starts as early as 5pm. I am usually in and out before 7pm.. or 7.30pm at the latest.

There are many stalls there, and there are a few which is a “must visit/buy”. Like this stall in the photo above with bright yellow table cloth and red box. Selling fried chicken fillets or chicken chop… skinless. So a bit more healthy. But very tasty. The other is the fruit rojak stall right next to it.

And this is the chicken nugget/fillet. Very tasty with the spicy powder.

Must make it a point to take more photos the next time I am there.

Unfortunately, it has been threatening to rain for the past 2-3 hours. It is now that it had only started to drizzle a little bit, often taking a break in between.

I have been taking cold showers since last weekend. Really utter over the limit. And  I am sticky with sweat most of the time Ok.. time for another cold shower to cool down.

So I thought I just drop a line or two here. It’s almost time to pack up. Apparently it’s raining out there. Peak hour traffic + rain is not a very good combination here in KL.

Anyways.. went for the new BMW F30 launching the other day. Interesting. Maybe I blogged about it other time.

But here’s a photo..

Tomorrow is mid-week.

Have fun people!!

The sky was blue…

and the morning sun was peeking through the trees. Surprisingly, it was not hot at all.

But in the midst of it all, while I was on the way to work. I noticed many many cars making weaving their way through the dense traffic as if their very lives depended on it. And they were weaving extremely dangerously. Either that or their shit has all piled up right at their asshole, threatening to burst through anytime.

I mean, you weave in and out of traffic, tailgate other cars, and blast through other motorists at breakneck speeds.. just to save 5 minutes? Does not seem much right that 5 minutes. But sit down and think about it nicely. You will see how moronic it is to risk the lives of other innocent motorists or pedestrians just so that you can save 5 minutes.

The next time you guys want to show off your little manhood on the road, take it to the tracks la. Unless your manhood is not big enough for the tracks?….

Anyways… it was all good. Had wonderfully fresh and tasty curry puffs courtesy of kelik.

Yumz!!

It’s basically the use of radio transmitting equipment to get in contact with other ham radio operators… well.. around the world if you have the license and equipment.

And yes, you need a license to operate a ham radio.

It’s rather easy to get licensed. Firstly you sign up for the Radio Amateur Exam (RAE), which will cost you RM50. Then you can opt to sign up for an RAE class. There you will be briefed on on whatever you need to understand what ham radio is, and with enough knowledge to pass the RAE. Once you passed, then just go apply for you license. Cost? RM60 administration fee, and RM24 a year license fee. So usually people take advantage of the maximum 5 years renewal so that you only pay RM60 for 5 years, instead of renewing yearly and each renewal you pay RM60.

So the breakdown of the first 5 years for your ham radio license is :

Exam fee : RM50

Class fee : RM100

Administrative fee : RM60

license fee : RM120 (5years x rm24)

Total : RM330 for the first 5 years.

That’s RM66 a year.

The subsequent 5 years would only cost you RM180. That’s only RM3 a month!!

Anyways.. the photo above is of two walkie talkies hanging from my jeans pocket. Needed two just in case the other battery runs low That cable is attached to an antenna which is mounted outside my gate. It gives better reception and transmission.

So the question I get asked often, why?

Well, because I can.

There is no logical reasoning behind why I would need a ham radio license. Actually there is, but most people would just laugh it off. You see, ham radio is widely used everywhere and is the only stand alone communication system around. And it is also widely used during emergencies like earthquakes, flooding and things like that. So when an emergency do happen, and all the standard telephone and mobile phone and internet does down, ham radio is still up. So I can call out for help to delivery food to where I am

Anyways.. just ranting. Hopefully some of you find this entry helpful or at least interesting.

But at a price of approximately RM9k, it’s quite an investment.

The other idea I was toying with is to get a “semi-pro” camera like the X100 below.

It’s retro feel and looks is quite impressive. And it’s performance is rather interestingly amazing, especially for a non DSLR.

Coupled with the retro ‘casing’, it completes it’s retro look.

But.. at RM3k… it’s rather pricey for a non DSLR. 

So it’s back to the drawing board.

Maybe a D3s?

That’s a 5 figure camera.

decisions!!

probably this was what she thought wedding photographers do most of the time (photo thanks to Dizzy)

There were lots of responses to that particular comment, particularly in photographers’ blogs and surprisingly, also on various other ‘lifestyle’ blogs. Interestingly there were some commenters who defended the bride.

Anyhows, here’s my thought on this issue. I actually wrote a comprehensive and detailed version but thought it would be better just to have a different version. The earlier version was rather similar to that of the other blogs. So anyways…

Here in Malaysia, you have various options for wedding photographers. Actually, you are spoilt for choice. You can choose the professionals whose chargers ranges from RM8k-RM10k… possibly more. Then there’s the those who dedicate their weekends and any free time to their wedding photography business. They range from RM1.2k all the way to RM6k. Then there’s the “I just got a DSLR and now I am a wedding photographer” photographers. Oh.. and then there’s the friend-friend photographers. The last two ranges from free-of-charge to RM400-600.

The difference? Quality of work. Dedication. Responsibility. Uniqueness. Friendliness. Dare I say quirkiness?

So how do you exactly choose your wedding photographer?

It’s rather simple actually. It’s like buying a car. You decide on what type of car you want, then you set a budget. After that, you go car hunting. You buy car mags to read the reviews. You go online to check out online reviews. Read about what other people are saying about the cars you have in mind. Then you go to the showroom, check out the car, talk to the salesman, see what offer they have. And then go on a test drive. After all that, you review your findings. What are the prices, what are the equipment offered. Does the car have the necessary required safety features? You see, when I first wanted to buy a new car, my most important requirement was that the car must have ESP or Electronic Stability Program. That narrowed down the list of cars.

So it’s the same when you choose your wedding photographer. You might want to first set what kind of photos you want. Then search for them. Ask you friends about it. Search online, in magazines. If you can, and I always recommend, that you meet up with your photographer in person. Why? to see if you can *click* with your photographer…

… like this…

.. or maybe you may find his sense of humour a bit.. erm… disturbing? or maybe you dig his quirkiness..

… (photo thanks to khai@cheekyboy)

Or maybe you might like how he is able to interact with kids???

(photo thanks to anson)

Or maybe his attention to detail/food?

(photo thanks to Stefanie)

.. oh.. and like I always say to people… a good photographer is not shy to be in front of the camera once in a while..

(photo thanks to cow)

(photo thanks to JasonW)

End of the day, it’s your wedding and your money. You decide. but remember, the wedding photographer is there for you, to capture your wedding moments which will last you a lifetime. The keyword here is “moments”. The posed group photos and such are not much of the worry since I believe there would be tonnes of camera during your special day. It’s the emotion in captured moments which will bring you back to your wedding day after many many years. I get emotional sometimes when I see the mother of the bride burst into tears as she wishes her daughter and her new son in law during tea ceremony.

“ Ah lui.. mummy love you… Ah boy.. I give you my dotter ya.. you take care of my daughter ya.. *sob sob*"

then they embrace and both burst into tears. aiyor.. sometimes really got to fight back tears…

So anyways.. I hope you enjoy my rant as my first blog entry of 2012… as much as I enjoyed posting my camwhore pictures. buahaha.

So what have I been up to?

Nothing much. Work. Come home. Chores. Computer games. Yamcha. Oh.. I did some radio thing. I previously got my amateur radio license which allows me to get on the specified frequency legally. Many people do not know that you actually need a radio license to operate a two way radio. Some people say that it’s alright and that you can use low powered walkie talkies to do a little chatting or coordinating like during an event where you need to communicate with your team. Or while in a vehicle convoy heading somewhere.

Like for example in a construction site where you need to talk to that fella sitting on that crane and coordinate where to place that 5 ton slab of concrete.

I tend to be a little “kia si” so I went ahead and got myself a license.

It has nearly been 5 years since I got my radio license. And only a couple of days back that I really got on to a repeater to have a chat with a couple of fine gentlemen. What’s a repeater? Well, it’s a bit lengthy to explain but think of it as a chat room where anyone within it’s range can tune in. I also got myself a nice little antenna to maximise my radio’s range.

(that’s not me yeah… that’s the other photographer in the funky FingerOnShutter.com)

You see, there are generally 3 types of radios. Firstly is the base radio. These are usually more powerful stuff you put at home. They look like music amplifiers with a lot more dials and buttons. The second is the mobile station, or a car radio. They look much like a car stereo. These two are more powerful, or more efficient type of radios. The third one are hand-held radios. They look like.. well.. walkie talkies. They generally have a typical output of 5watts. The other two are about 10 times more powerful… or more.

This is my handheld radio… or rather part of it. The main subject of this is the antenna, I bought this during my trip up north to Hatyai some years back. Kind of limited as it can only do a certain frequency, but it does make the radio look nicer.

Will report back more once I got more photos of the hand held, the antennas and.. oh yeah.. i got myself a nice mag-mount base for the huge antenna. In the mean time, anyone of you who has a radio license, can look me up on RKK which I usually monitor whenever I can…

Till the next blog entry… 73 and Cheerio!