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2006 in Review

It’s been just a few days since I left home from Kuala Lumpur back to Melbourne. Other than work I think I’ve spent to much time on World of Warcraft and need to focus my energies on other things. Heh.

Coming home has always had a jarring effect on me. It’s like suddenly changing the tune you are used to and replacing it with something you don’t quite fancy but you have to listen to it. Not that it is bad, quite the contrary, you learn to pick up new things. It was a productive trip back, meeting up with family and relatives, some administrative stuff, catching up with friends. This trip has also left me with a lot to ponder about, although it’s all so personal I’d hardly want to write about it. These are things you will have your own opinions on and discussing them don’t seem to help quite as much. There is a residual negativity about me that has left its mark on me while growing up, and sometimes old habits die hard, in the ways I’d react to situations with people I’ve known for so long. There will be times when you question yourself, as having absolute faith in your own judgements and reasonings makes us proud, and sometimes blinds us to the truth or views of other people. We survive (or prosper) on our own set of beliefs and if their foundations are shaky, you wonder if your own principles will change with adversity.

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What I wanted to write here has been revised a few times, and I guess, probably after typing it out, didn’t feel so important anymore. Went to test drive the Honda Civic today, and felt keen to buy it. It feels quite luxurious with good handling, especially when compared with a Proton Wira which I’m used to driving. After talking to several people, the car seemed suited more to my ego than to my need. I guess the key point was that it’s not something I’d drive everyday to work or anything, plus the 25k price tag that came with it was a little steep for my very first car. Still debating it, and very much want a car not just for the convenience, but to also explore Melbourne a little more. Heh, still not willing to settle for a second hand car, and to stick with the Honda brand a manual Honda Jazz (as opposed to an automatic Civic) seems to be more suitable for the task. A car is still a big investment, and if one intends to get one, at the very minimum spend on something you’d enjoy driving and will find reliable for a few years to come (hence the idea for a Civic, although I just don’t feel justified spending that much). Think I’ll just sit on the issue for the time being and let the new year come.

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A good thing about this blog is that you can just type random stuff and look back on it a year later to see what you were thinking at the time. Although it does feels painful to read back on some of the things you wrote back then as you don’t quite seem to agree with what you were thinking back then. Heh.

2006 felt like a year where I settled into things. My job, my relationship with Vyanne, life and stuff. Heh, you can get quite comfortable with the lifestyle (which is why 2007 feels so uncertain to me, as I feel I need to move along in life and progress).

This is the year I spent acquiring camera lenses off eBay. Got a 105mm macro, an 85mm prime, a 70-200 constant aperture zoom and a 12-24 ultra wide. Heh, spent quite a bit on lenses and these mostly cover whatever photographic needs I have for the moment. There’s still lots of quality in the D70 that I am yet to discover, as I noticed my own limitations when it came to taking indoor events during my brother’s wedding.

Things I wanted to do for 2006 but never got round to doing: visiting New Zealand and redesigning this website. My cousin in New Zealand already considers me the boy who cried wolf as for two years in a row now I promised to go but never made it there. Then there’s this website that’s been design stagnant for more than a year. Did manage to redo the photography section (which I am quite pleased with.. at the moment) and had grander schemes for my personal blog. Well, the ideas became too grand and my skillset is inadequate to accommodate these ideas, hence the lack of anything new.

Major highlights? World Cup maybe, the trip to Sydney, personal accomplishments at work and going home to attend my brother’s wedding. Well, I am a soccer fan, Sydney gave me a fresh perspective on a lot of things, and the confidence I gained at work makes me feel I can improve and learn new things. My brother’s wedding felt like a milestone in my family’s history.

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Well, 2006 unlike 2005, was more certain of a year. Work felt like it’s been going on for a long time, but I’ve only hardly been doing a full time job for slightly more than a year and I’m sure there will be more things to come. Feel I am a big contradiction to myself. Why? Still figuring that out. At least I’m happy.

Birds of a Feather

I wonder if it’s nostalgic, but I feel like an empty shell at times, meeting old friends from long ago. I find it hard to muster up any enthusiasm to meet friends I am less close with. I have a few I am quite fond of, and would very gladly go out of my way to have the opportunity to meet them. Most times I just tag along to meet old acquaintances, and can’t help but feel like an observer looking in. Birds of a feather flock together, so I must be having fur. It’s just odd not having the same things to talk about, or the same ideals. Used to recall how financial status was a roadblock to conversation (or it could just be me). People would talk about their trips overseas and their shopping sprees. Again I feel so terribly detached from that.

Spent time practicing music with my cousins today. I am the weakest link, as I usually play for leisure and never needed to perfect anything. My cousin is amazing at 12, playing grand pieces like Fantasy Impromptu with ease, while also learning the violin and clarinet (his sister is equally impressive and learning these things as well). I look back and think about myself. I’d wish I had more discipline as a kid, when I had the opportunities to learn all these musical instruments. Patience grew in me too late, and I never had the capacity to practice the same routines over and over again. I really wish I did now.

Well, the part of the music was that I felt very comfortable learning from my cousin, and I am glad he was patient enough with me to let me continuously make mistakes on my part.

Coming back to Malaysia each time a part of me grows and a part of me disappears. The world is changing quite a bit and as a kid, even while I was growing up, one had the illusion that it would last forever. Somehow you know, that it doesn’t, and the things that you do enjoy, you really want to cherish and remember.

Shutterbug

The dust has settled a bit. Brother’s wedding was quite a success and everything went quite smoothly. It was a church ceremony and everyone just looked gorgeous that day.

Heh, my photography skills are still quite crap. The D70 is a wonderful camera but I’m not using it to its fullest potential yet. Took nearly 400 photos, and the really good ones are those of flowers (its like my specialty when it comes to framing inanimate objects). Had far more trouble with event photography (the dinner the night before the wedding and the actual wedding itself). These things you have less time to tweak for and there are a few photos where I turned the autofocus off and forgot to turn it back on, leaving some photos out of focus. There there is the incorrect usage of the external flash unit (I hardly touch it in Melbourne) with things either ending up too bright or too dark. Learning that slowly now and will have another go at it soon.

This leaves me to lament about my camera. I love my camera, it’s been nearly two years since I acquired it, but I’d like to nitpick on some of its shortcomings. It has a small viewfinder and a small 1.8″ screen for picture viewing. Lots of times pictures look fine in both and are glaringly out of focus when I view it on a computer monitor. Now, I’m sure a D200 or D80 would not have such problems, as both feature a 2.5″ screen as well as a larger viewfinder, where reviews have commented that it’s quite a pleasure to use. Now I just need to get a hold of one of these units to give it a testrun. There’s also the issue of focusing areas as I can still get pictures out of focus when the focus sensor is not pointed to the correct focus object. The D70 has only 5 focus areas compared to the D200 and D80′s 11 focus areas. Sure you can focus and reframe, but sometimes you forget and the camera doesn’t perform quite like you expect it to (it just means I need to dig out the manual and give it a more thorough read through).

Do realise one thing at least. A little less shy now to position myself where I should to get the best photos. Have some very nice candid shots that portray emotions that you’d probably miss if you weren’t standing correctly. I guess it helps that your family ignores you cause you just seem to blend into the background.

My brother hired a professional photographer for the occasion and I still wonder why professional event photographers go for Canon equipment. Heh, not like I have a bias, but am still terribly impressed to see someone toting a full frame Canon 1D (didn’t really catch the model but I’m sure it was a full frame camera) with vertical grip and battery pack and a f/2.8 constant aperture lens. I want to be able to improve my technique enough that I can get good photos for events. Heh, need to spend more time learning my equipment inside out. If only I spent as much time catching bees on plants as I did events, I’d probably handle the pressure better.

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Have set aside ZERO budget for lenses for 2007. Heh, should really save up for other more important things, like a holiday to New Zealand. I will spend more time getting acquainted with my camera and get the most out of it. I guess I’d like to spend more time learning the print end of photography as most of my pictures are still stuck with a computer screen. So that’s it then. Heh.