Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Captured emotions

Uncle Ramu walking his territory
I kinda like the surreal feeling I managed to compose in this shot.....
but my works are still not strong enough

1.
Although the exhibition on the 19th April had to be canceled due to UiTM's limited resource & inability to prepare the gallery, I have been too occupied with rescheduling of the exhibition and setting some activities for the year for ChAPs members. At the same time, the appraisal thingy done, we are moving into the next FY planning and I had to present something on that "away day"...which I did, despite the fact that what "the leader" did was almost totally useless, very low level...and tried to frame me by asking me to preset which I gladly took because while they are churning out shitloads of stinking flowery words, I did something else on my Mac and used it to present to the leaders of the Zoo (or whatever you wanna call them). Some stupid question from the SM Sial of my previous unit - tried to look smart and be technical on some matter - hehehe...bad move bitch! In the end, all had to give me a round of appalause...no big deal...though I was the only "macai" who presented, the rest are Senior Manager!

2.
The thing is, I have lost my "passion" to deliver my best for the Zoo and the actual organization. Letih. Not worth it when others who spit & shit you around gets rewarded while you are still rated average. Same lament as written somewhere down there in this blog...so no need to write it again!

3.
So what am I doing about it? Hehehe simple. I keep my brain to myself. Enough of shitbrained people using my idea for their own benefit already. No free ride, as what I have done on the away day mentioned above. If they are incapable to use their brain think, they can rot to death trying but I am not going to wait! Fcuk it.....I have made it clear I am prepared to take more responsibilities - infact I have done more that "the responsible idiot" sitting in that position - what did I get? Not a chance to be offered the position but the position is being opened to others outside the stinking Zoo instead! Great! I am flabbergastered!

4.
The recent shooting assignment was not as I wanted it to be - I freaked out and used the frigging speedlight! That's the beginning of the disaster. So lesson learnt, stay away from the speedlight until it is total darkness!!!

5.
I went street shoot for 2 weeks ni a row...the subject is whet I have presented above - a deranged person called Uncle Ramu. In a sentence, though the shots are nice and definitely above average (heck anybody dare to approach an orang gila and document his life?) I am not really satisfied with my works, I have to bring it up to another level....in simple words, I want viewers to "feel the emotion" in my shots....like Justin Motts's work on Agent Orange. I want tears to be shed, cries to be heard, laughter to be aired.....the emotions coming out strongly from the shot.....still a long way to go but I have made it this far....insyaAllah.

6.
Alisya, Naufal, Aliya are growing well. Alisya plays her role as Kak Long very well indeed. Naufal is playful and close to Aliya. Their birthday is coming soon - the twins - this weekend.....what would you buy for two special kids on their 5th birthday.........

One thing for sure, nobody could buy them love, I am giving them all the love they need and more

The energy they gave me when they hug me in the morning is a huge reward for me......enough to keep me going for the first day of the rest of my life!

I love you Alisya, Naufal, Aliya & Mama!


7.
I have been dragged back into the Rage Of The Machine era these past weeks...

Nothing beats real talent! I will spit that to the those Zoo idiots!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Walla!!! My first Photo Exhibition!

I was surprised when I received a letter inviting Chap Ayam to do a mini exhibition for their "Hari Skrin" UiTM Fakulti Teknologi Kreatif & Artistik , Kampus Puncak Perdana. We have less than 10 days to prepare so I have to be quick and almost do something like "crisis management" - only selected members were called to prepare for the invitation and we managed to stage a decent exhibition...and bring the "Chap Ayam Photographers" name up a notch. We (ChAPs) will have another exhibition on the 19th April....and more interesting & educational activies, insyaAllah

Members Involved for the 9th April Exhibition were:
-Rahman Roslan: Myanmar Refugee
-Ted Adnan Asmadi: Commercial works
- Jidin: Forgotten Faces
- Zayd: Thaipusam
- Ian Ahad: Klang, Di Sebalik Wajah
- Shamshahrin: Bajau Laut & some features
- Yours truly: The Streets of Malaysia

2.
With less than 10 days to prepare, we worked closely around the clock and started selecting the photos and print them individually on A3 size art paper. So, I went shopping for the frames and whatchamacallit...to cut a long & tiring story short - everything was done and completed, ready in Ian's car to be sent to the location by 3am, the morning of the exhibition. By 1030am on the 9 April, everything single piece was on display.
3.
The crowd came in a steady flow - surprisingly the first batch were the lecturers, professors of the faculty (Yeah...we felt like as if we were submitting our final group assignment for final semester!). They were impressed and actually did ask for prices of some of the works....and look forward to the 19th April exhibition ChAPs is going to stage. Students of the faculty were interested with the works on display and we had good conversations and interactions with some of them.
4.
We thought we'd call it a day at 5pm but the organizer asked us to stay on and join the VIP for award giving ceremony & dinner, after which we had to pack all the stuff in and finally call it a day. In short, it was an interesting experience - for the first timers! - and to have our works displayed together with the best in Malaysia/ World.....is a massive reward already. Alhamdulillah.
5.
Though we had to sacrifice hours (which may count up to days!) of sleep, it was worth it....KUDOS ChAPs!


Some photos:
~Rahman's


~Ian's (now with a new title: Inchik Labah-labah) with Kacuks,
in a discussion at Ian's "sarang labah2"...got story behind the new title meh!)
~Shamshahrin's(Imagemaker)

Music is always in the air....
one of the many performers for the event -

~The dude next to Ted can really dance, power siut!
(Ted showing his shots while Zayd & Ian the Labah2 fills the background)

~Ehh! Got Labah-labah?
~ Syai & partner
- ChAPs member who's company is one of the sponsor for the event

6.
Thank you to the committee members/ crew of the Hari Skrin 2008 Fakulti Teknologi Kreatif & Artistik UiTM Kampus Puncak Perdana, the lecturers, faculty members, students and everybody who has made possible this first exhibition by ChAPs, an event to be remembered. Thank you all!

7.
One of the common questions asked by the professors & students - "Why Chap Ayam?"

.....because CHAP AYAM PUN BOLEH MAAAA!!!

NOTE: Report di "plagiat" from Chap Ayam's site (no legal issue, same owner!)

Monday, April 07, 2008

A Monday Morning

Let me introduce you to my 4 "buddies".
The tall dark & handsome one on the right is my Sigg Bottle. For more than 2 years, this dude has been holding my supply of clear water - 1L. I will drink about 3-5L per day. The first thing I'd take as breakfast.
In front of the Sigg dude is the Energy Bar dude. It provides me enough energy to last a day actually.
Next to the Energy Bar dude is Yoda. My old faithful iBook G4 - nothing much to flaunt & brag about but it get things done and never disappoint me in whatever situation I am in for the past 2 years...unlike many other wimpdoze machines that I have been using. Hail Yoda! Next to Yoda is a new member to my dude bunch. A Timberland bag that can hold my seasoned D70s, 18-70mm kit lens, 50mm f1.8 prime lens, SB-600 speedlight, extra batteries, extra memory cards & thumbdrives, card reader, synch & charge cable of the iPod Touch, the iPod Touch, my Monologue "Moleskine" Journal, my small organizer, my car keys, cards, coins, a book I am reading, my travel chopsticks, my Sigg cutleries....and some other stuff. The Sigg dude rides in it too.....owh..and Aliya's Litte Dino (her Sigg bottle) or her big Avent "nenen".....and her diapers - just incase. I think I will call this dude "Fred"... after Fred of Nim's Island....

So, there you go....my dudes!

Now that I am done introducing them and I have just completed a quick tutorial on composition & image editing to a colleague, I think it is time for me to read something for the rest of the day....

Bestnya.....been ages since I have this much of free time.....syiok woo!


To be or not to Hep-B

Photobucket
Yes, been 10 days since the last entry.
The dreaded time where you have to write what you have done for the last 12 months on paper and get it approved is back. At the same instance I have to go for blood tests & scan for the Hep-B....and prepare for ChAPs first exhibition. Good. That should keep me busy......


1.
The appraisal thing went well....hoping to get the deserved reward for what I have done. This would be the second time in so many years that I know I deserve more than average. However, there will still be stumling blocks, especially the Zookeeper who'd always think highly of people the likes of him...who lives in the 15th state of Malaysia - State of Denial (as declared by His Royal Kimsterness). We'l see how it goes. wha is meant to be mine will be mine in the end.

2.
The blood tests & scan went well. I wish I could state the same for the result. Though I am prepared mentally for the result, frankly, I took it with a tad of frustration with a mix of fear & anger...but I told myself, what else can I do other than continue the journey. So, for now, I am on medication - just one extra pill from normal - and will have to do another round of tests in a month. So, cest-la-vie......no big deal, let me just take it one day after another....each day would be the first day of the rest of my life...

3.
Mama had to go to Singapore for 3 days last week and I have to be at home as early as possible for the kids. I was thinking to take a 3 day leave and just spend the time with them in the pool at the condo but no can do...as mentioned above already. So, I took them for a movie this weekend...again. This time we watched Nim's Island. Last week was WaterHorse. Next would be...Kung-fu Panda, Ironman, Batman, The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince of whatever......werghh! However the deal is, they have to behave and we'll only allow 2 movie max a month....depending on the titles availability. Owh! I am already allowed an "upgrade" by Alisya....rather than just being King Kong, I am now allowed to be "Abang Mat" from that Geng Bas Sekolah serie. I am not sure why but Alisya just told me that when I grew up I am allowed to be Abang Mat....maybe because I am the primary driver of the family!

5.
This week will be hectic...with the exhibition coming up, I plan to take 2 day leave and concentrate on delivering the best I can for ChAPs.