my new Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens: Clayton on candid

Yes, I've been a busy bee but I managed to steal time to snap some candid portraits of my little one with my new Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens whenever I have the opportunity to do so... I have to say that the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF is a good lens except that I'm not used to the 'no zoom' qualities - think I need another lens :P

I got my Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens!

Finally, I collected my Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras - it feels so exciting to try out a new lens! Though I do wish to add on a zoom lens in the near future, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens is what I can afford for now!

After reading so many reviews in and around the web and discussions among Nikon DSLR users, I trust that the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens is a compact and fast lens that is perfect for travel and portrait pictures, as well as general photography / f/1.8D / 50mm / Compatible with 52mm Filters Stops down to f/22 for excellent depth-of-field control. Photographing portraits and objects in close range is what I'm passionate about and I can't wait to snap some more shots of my little model at home. Plus, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras happens to the favourite lens of many Nikon DSLR photographers! With 186 positive 5-star ratings review in Amazon, it sure is a good Nikkor Lens for enthusiastic portrait photographers!

"This is the lens to get for any Nikon SLR, from the simple N75 all the way to the Digital D70. It's faster than a zoom and much, much sharper. That's right, no zooming! If you want to make the image bigger, move closer. Want to make a wider view? Step back. This is the lens that all photographers should start with. Most of Henri Cartier Bresson's photos were taken with a 50mm lens. It forces you to think about perspective, composition, and arrangement. You can take more pictures without the intrusive light of a flash. It's cheap too. This lens is a classic and will make you a better photographer by enabling you to make creative choices. It works on almost every Nikon ever made. What more do you need to know? Get one." ~ R. Rosener "Photomatic", St. Louis, MO United States

awesome travel photos of a friend

I was so blown away by these awesome photo shots of a friend I got to know in a travel forum. I can only say that anyone who wants or plans to travel to Japan and need real local's advice should visit Optimistk's blog... here are some of the photos taken from Optimistk's Flickr (with permission, of course!)



Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Himeji, Japan

Yamanashi, Japan

another great day at the Taman Tun River Stream

The weather has been less than perfect these couple of weeks. As such, we haven't taken Clayton to the Taman Tun Park much. Today, we promised him that we would take him and he was so happy. He was still hopeful that the Taman Tun Park plan would still be valid even when it started storming at 3pm. Children are so full of faith.

At 4.45pm, the rain had already stopped and strangely, he fell asleep on his own on the floor downstairs... while watching the TV sitting on the LCD mount. We had to wake him up since the weather was cool and it looked like a nice day to be at the river stream in Taman Tun park.







Yes, we had fun and it was nice shooting pictures in the outdoors, though I kinda wished the sun was not sheltered by the clouds. Dinner at Yau Tak Teng was extremely delicious today that Clayton had a full bowl of rice!

expressions

It is another good trip to Singapore - it's more like it feels nice to take a break from the daily routine and be walking on familiar streets again. This trip, I took my Nikon D80 with me. I realized that I enjoy taking pictures of Clayton's expressions... it is nice to see him squirm, frown, smile, giggle and do funny faces. Apart from taking mom for an X ray and a short meeting with a good friend, the party at Yarris' place was an eye opener for Clayton. I realized from the kids' party that he was missing out on socializing in a big group of children. Looks like there is some work to be done on our part as parents to expose him to more social activities... he has so much energy, this boy.

photography can be so much fun

I don't plant flowering plants in my little garden anymore cos I simply have no time to tend to them. The only plants I had were many pots of aloe vera and peppermint and a couple of cactus and wild ferns at this moment cos they didn't require much care :P

Since I'm off to Singapore tomorrow, I hope to snap some pictures to my Nikon D80 collection... I didn't know photography can be so much fun :) I know some people think the Nikon D80 is no big deal but seriously, it's good enough for me and all I want now is to improve my photography skills again. Who cares about an expensive camera or lens when you can't even get an exposure and composition right at this moment? Why try to jump over the moon when you can't even reach the moon? I'm a practical person... I'm just very happy with my Nikon D80 standard kit - in fact, I'm feeling so blessed!

addicted to photography

Why didn't anyone tell me that photography can be so addictive?

having fun with iPhoto on a Sunday

Since I'm working on improving on photography skills, some of my first shots didn't turned out as expected, especially after downloading into my Macbook. But all thanks to iPhoto editing tools, I could play with it and derive some fun effects... like I said, my model isn't charging so I can do whatever I want for NOW - lol!

my manual shots on my nikon D80

I guess it must be almost 20 years since I last meddled with manual settings in a SLR camera. Yesterday, I had a couple of hours of crash course by a friend who has been using the Nikon D80 (a DSLR) for the last one year. He taught me how to use the manual settings and explain the various functions and settings of the camera. Though it was a short session, it was more than enough for me to digest at that moment. I was glad that I could at least take some decent pictures of our seminar with Ron Kaufman. I also learned that the preview in the camera will be always lighter than the downloaded version on the computer... therefore, don't trust what you see in the camera preview, said my 'teacher'... here are a few shots of my model. I don't believe I snapped more than a hundred of his portraits - no, he isn't charging me - lol!

fun moments at fraser's hill

One of the frustrating things during an outing or a trip is when your digital camera runs out of battery. This happened during our last Fraser's Hill trip but thank God my good friend, Dexter, had his with him too. Here were some shots he took of Clayton and the fun moments captured during the trip...



Our first night at Sri Damai



My boy posing in comfort for Dexter



Our bungalow, Sri Damai


waiting for his turn to play badminton with Uncle Dexter



Clayton and Auntie Kim

Perth Photologue 2