Mama Boo went for maternity yoga @ Wasabi Yoga on Saturday. It has been many months since I last do yoga. Feels weird when doing the stretches. Some of the stances which used to be so easy before pregnancy now gives me sweat. But I was still able to complete the Cat pose, Child pose, Tree pose etc despite my bulging tummy. Overall it was very relaxing and I even fell asleep towards the end of the meditation :P
Monday, April 20, 2009
Maternity Yoga
Mama Boo went for maternity yoga @ Wasabi Yoga on Saturday. It has been many months since I last do yoga. Feels weird when doing the stretches. Some of the stances which used to be so easy before pregnancy now gives me sweat. But I was still able to complete the Cat pose, Child pose, Tree pose etc despite my bulging tummy. Overall it was very relaxing and I even fell asleep towards the end of the meditation :P
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Chloe is joining the Tan family!
We are happy to announce that we are expecting a third member in the Tan family this coming August - Chloe Tan!
She absolutely loves kick-boxing and performing somersaults in Mama Boo's womb. When we had a peek into her little world yesterday at the detailed scan, she was having hiccups after kicking and boxing too much! Chloe has given Papa Bear the perfect excuse to get the SLR he had been raving about in the last few blogs :P
It has not been an entirely smooth sailing journey. Although Mama Boo did not have any morning sickness and special food cravings, Chloe had created huge anxieties the past few months when we went through the OSCAR (combined Nuchal Translucency (NT) and blood test) and Amniocentesis. We are so glad that the detailed ultrasound scan yesterday showed that she is developing normally. From now on, it is all systems go!
Now is also time for Mama Boo to start getting those lovely baby dresses that she'd been eyeing while Papa Bear shop for more expensive lens :P
She absolutely loves kick-boxing and performing somersaults in Mama Boo's womb. When we had a peek into her little world yesterday at the detailed scan, she was having hiccups after kicking and boxing too much! Chloe has given Papa Bear the perfect excuse to get the SLR he had been raving about in the last few blogs :P
It has not been an entirely smooth sailing journey. Although Mama Boo did not have any morning sickness and special food cravings, Chloe had created huge anxieties the past few months when we went through the OSCAR (combined Nuchal Translucency (NT) and blood test) and Amniocentesis. We are so glad that the detailed ultrasound scan yesterday showed that she is developing normally. From now on, it is all systems go!
Now is also time for Mama Boo to start getting those lovely baby dresses that she'd been eyeing while Papa Bear shop for more expensive lens :P
Monday, March 23, 2009
Project: My Annual Personal Photography Challenge
I could be suffering from the 1st-time-owner-of-a-DSLR syndrome. Coming across stuffs like Project: A Photo A Day really inspires me to embark on a similar projects to post 1 photo a day and give it a title.
However, the more pragmatic me will say, why not set myself some goals for the remaining year and aim to complete each one. That way, I get to shoot at a comfortable pace.
Here's my list for 2009:
i) My Girls
ii) 1 x Firework Displays (NDP2009/Firework Festivals)
iii) 10 x Food Recommendations
iv) 4 x Places in Singapore
v) 1 x Event Coverage (Sports/Fashion/Celebrities/Product Launches)
vi) 1 x Lightning
There you have it. 6 goals, more than 9 months to go, the most difficult being to shoot a lightning. (Actually not difficult because Singapore is a country most prone to lightning strikes, just ask our poor Merlion)
The above list should be sufficient for my "DSLR-apprentice" years. All the best to me.
However, the more pragmatic me will say, why not set myself some goals for the remaining year and aim to complete each one. That way, I get to shoot at a comfortable pace.
Here's my list for 2009:
i) My Girls
ii) 1 x Firework Displays (NDP2009/Firework Festivals)
iii) 10 x Food Recommendations
iv) 4 x Places in Singapore
v) 1 x Event Coverage (Sports/Fashion/Celebrities/Product Launches)
vi) 1 x Lightning
There you have it. 6 goals, more than 9 months to go, the most difficult being to shoot a lightning. (Actually not difficult because Singapore is a country most prone to lightning strikes, just ask our poor Merlion)
The above list should be sufficient for my "DSLR-apprentice" years. All the best to me.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Spirit of the Bears
Getting a bag for DSLR is such a major decision. Just when you thought the hardest decision has been made, i.e. which brand? (Nikon vs Canon vs Sony vs other brands), which model? (D90, D300, EOS50D, EOS40D, EOS450D, Sony A700), which kit lens or just the body? Something difficult comes into play. For many people, it may be where to keep the camera, i.e. dry-box, dry-cabinet but these come in standard designs and you only need to decide on its capacity. For me, the most difficult part is the camera bag. After all, when the camera is out from its storage, the next thing it goes is into a camera bag.
At this time, I should mention the major factors I had to consider when getting a bag:
1) Backpack/Sling/Shoulder/Waistpouch/etc
2) Brand: Lowepro/Crumpler/Kata/National Geographic/etc
3) Dedicated camera bag/multi-purpose bag?
4) Tripod holder?
5) Additional compartments for camera accessories?
6) Weather-proofing?
7) Style/Colour
8) Security
9) Price
10) Usage
*Note: the above factors are listed in random and not in any particular order.
As you can see, I have already 10 factors to consider. Adding another brand for consideration and I will probably throw in another 5 or 10 bags from that brand. It does not help that these bag companies throw up similar models for a particular range, e.g. Lowepro has Fastpack 100, 200, 250 and 350; Kata has 3N1-10 and 3N1-20; and other brands have their same product ranges as well. Over the last 3 days, my list has grown to an astronomical list that made me ponder if I should ever had gotten a DSLR in the first place.
Anyway, I promised to blog about my decision and here they are:
1) Backpack. I know right from the start that I will need a backpack. I keeps my 2 hands more freely than if I could have with other types of bags.
2) Brand. I initially wanted to get a bag that's not synonymous with cameras or laptops, one that does not scream "Steal from me, I have a camera in this bag because this is a camera bag!" I was hesitant about Lowepro. Everytime I ask an experienced DSLR user for advise about bags, their first answer was... "Lowepro".
3) As with my decision about brand, I do not want a bag that looks like a camera bag. Hence, slings and shoulder bags that holds only camera and camera accessories are out. They scream "Camera Bag, Please Steal Me!" If the hold personal stuffs in other compartments, taking personal belongings out from the bag in public places will not reveal the expensive equipment easily.
4) Tripod holder. I am a big fan of tripods. When I travelled with my wife, we hardly asked strangers to help us take photos. Why? Well, firstly, if the stranger should run away with the camera, it's your fault for trusting the stranger with your expensive gear in the first place. Secondly, on a couple of occasions when friendly strangers appear and offer to help us take our photographs, they tend to just "point-and-shoot". We were at Dongdaemun in Korea in January this year and it was night and the lights on this prominent landmark could only be captured with the nightmode/without flash on my Sony DSC-T200. (A good photographer knows the limits of his equipment, and thus, he works within or work-around the limits) My wife and me, through various try-and-errors, have come to understand our T200. Can you imagine us trying to tell the nice stranger to keep the camera still for a few seconds after pressing the shutter button? Can you imagine us trying to tell the nice stranger to take when there are no traffic (big buses and trucks and lorries) between us and Dongdaemun (we were on the other side of the road)? Can you imagine the nice man was Korean and we could not communicate in Korean?
5) Additional compartment for camera accessories. Now wait a minute, I'm a DSLR beginner, right? What do I have? Let me recount:
1 x Nikon DSLR with Kit lens 18-105mm
1 x Sony DSC-T200
2 x Sony DVcams
1 x Manfrotto 190XProB Tripod
1 x Takara TS-2040 Tripod
If I exclude the DV Cams, I only have a DSLR body + attached lens and a really small digital camera, batteries, cleaning kits, chargers and the smallest of items, the SDHC cards. Will I ever indulge myself in owning many lens for different scene and effect? Nope. I have no plans at the moment to own more than my current kit lens until I absolutely cannot work with/work-around the limitation of this 18-105mm.
6) Weather-proofing my camera bag is a must. The weather in Singapore is unpredictable. Enough said. During my bag research, I also came across the fully water-proof Lowepro Dryzone series which they claimed that the bag can float on water and stay totally 100% dry inside.
7) Style/Colour. Colour is relatively an easier choice to make. I will choose black as it is easier to match. Style, I leave it to my wife, my life-long style consultant.
8) Security. As I had mentioned above, the bag must have some degree of difficulty for would-be-criminals to attempt to steal a camera inside it.
9) Price. My most toughest choice would be, how much can I possibly not spend?
10) Usage. How will I use this camera? This will probably be in the order of most frequent to least frequent:
i) My girls @ home
ii) My girls outside the home
iii) Family events
iv) Close up of food, especially good and delicious food to blog about
v) Travelling
vi) Events such as friend's weddings,
vii) Outings with friends
At home, I do not need a bag. For the rest of the time, I will like a camera bag to provide some useful compartments for a possible change of clothes, ipods, chargers, space for water bottles, etc.
Finally, at the end of this very long post, and after a very long list of bags, I choose to buy one that did not appear in my original list. The Lowepro Primus AW. My reason, also reason number 11, is a bear. Polar bears are my favourite bears and Lowepro promises to use the funds that are raised from the sale of the backpack to support the Polar Bears International (PBI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the polar bears.
Reason 12 is because the bagpack is made from 100% post-consumer recycled fabric and it saved 22 or so plastic bottles from going to the landfill. 1 bag = 22 plastic bottles, 1M bags made and sold this way = 22M plastic bottles less at our landfills. Now that's a thought for the "future".
At this time, I should mention the major factors I had to consider when getting a bag:
1) Backpack/Sling/Shoulder/Waistpouch/etc
2) Brand: Lowepro/Crumpler/Kata/National Geographic/etc
3) Dedicated camera bag/multi-purpose bag?
4) Tripod holder?
5) Additional compartments for camera accessories?
6) Weather-proofing?
7) Style/Colour
8) Security
9) Price
10) Usage
*Note: the above factors are listed in random and not in any particular order.
As you can see, I have already 10 factors to consider. Adding another brand for consideration and I will probably throw in another 5 or 10 bags from that brand. It does not help that these bag companies throw up similar models for a particular range, e.g. Lowepro has Fastpack 100, 200, 250 and 350; Kata has 3N1-10 and 3N1-20; and other brands have their same product ranges as well. Over the last 3 days, my list has grown to an astronomical list that made me ponder if I should ever had gotten a DSLR in the first place.
Anyway, I promised to blog about my decision and here they are:
1) Backpack. I know right from the start that I will need a backpack. I keeps my 2 hands more freely than if I could have with other types of bags.
2) Brand. I initially wanted to get a bag that's not synonymous with cameras or laptops, one that does not scream "Steal from me, I have a camera in this bag because this is a camera bag!" I was hesitant about Lowepro. Everytime I ask an experienced DSLR user for advise about bags, their first answer was... "Lowepro".
3) As with my decision about brand, I do not want a bag that looks like a camera bag. Hence, slings and shoulder bags that holds only camera and camera accessories are out. They scream "Camera Bag, Please Steal Me!" If the hold personal stuffs in other compartments, taking personal belongings out from the bag in public places will not reveal the expensive equipment easily.
4) Tripod holder. I am a big fan of tripods. When I travelled with my wife, we hardly asked strangers to help us take photos. Why? Well, firstly, if the stranger should run away with the camera, it's your fault for trusting the stranger with your expensive gear in the first place. Secondly, on a couple of occasions when friendly strangers appear and offer to help us take our photographs, they tend to just "point-and-shoot". We were at Dongdaemun in Korea in January this year and it was night and the lights on this prominent landmark could only be captured with the nightmode/without flash on my Sony DSC-T200. (A good photographer knows the limits of his equipment, and thus, he works within or work-around the limits) My wife and me, through various try-and-errors, have come to understand our T200. Can you imagine us trying to tell the nice stranger to keep the camera still for a few seconds after pressing the shutter button? Can you imagine us trying to tell the nice stranger to take when there are no traffic (big buses and trucks and lorries) between us and Dongdaemun (we were on the other side of the road)? Can you imagine the nice man was Korean and we could not communicate in Korean?
5) Additional compartment for camera accessories. Now wait a minute, I'm a DSLR beginner, right? What do I have? Let me recount:
1 x Nikon DSLR with Kit lens 18-105mm
1 x Sony DSC-T200
2 x Sony DVcams
1 x Manfrotto 190XProB Tripod
1 x Takara TS-2040 Tripod
If I exclude the DV Cams, I only have a DSLR body + attached lens and a really small digital camera, batteries, cleaning kits, chargers and the smallest of items, the SDHC cards. Will I ever indulge myself in owning many lens for different scene and effect? Nope. I have no plans at the moment to own more than my current kit lens until I absolutely cannot work with/work-around the limitation of this 18-105mm.
6) Weather-proofing my camera bag is a must. The weather in Singapore is unpredictable. Enough said. During my bag research, I also came across the fully water-proof Lowepro Dryzone series which they claimed that the bag can float on water and stay totally 100% dry inside.
7) Style/Colour. Colour is relatively an easier choice to make. I will choose black as it is easier to match. Style, I leave it to my wife, my life-long style consultant.
8) Security. As I had mentioned above, the bag must have some degree of difficulty for would-be-criminals to attempt to steal a camera inside it.
9) Price. My most toughest choice would be, how much can I possibly not spend?
10) Usage. How will I use this camera? This will probably be in the order of most frequent to least frequent:
i) My girls @ home
ii) My girls outside the home
iii) Family events
iv) Close up of food, especially good and delicious food to blog about
v) Travelling
vi) Events such as friend's weddings,
vii) Outings with friends
At home, I do not need a bag. For the rest of the time, I will like a camera bag to provide some useful compartments for a possible change of clothes, ipods, chargers, space for water bottles, etc.
Finally, at the end of this very long post, and after a very long list of bags, I choose to buy one that did not appear in my original list. The Lowepro Primus AW. My reason, also reason number 11, is a bear. Polar bears are my favourite bears and Lowepro promises to use the funds that are raised from the sale of the backpack to support the Polar Bears International (PBI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the polar bears.
Reason 12 is because the bagpack is made from 100% post-consumer recycled fabric and it saved 22 or so plastic bottles from going to the landfill. 1 bag = 22 plastic bottles, 1M bags made and sold this way = 22M plastic bottles less at our landfills. Now that's a thought for the "future".
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Newest Family Edition: Nikon D90 and its NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens
Finally, after many many long years of suffering from poor image output and performance from 0.3 MP camera phones to 1.3MP cameras and even an 8MP point-and-shoot camera, my first SLR arrived in the form of a DSLR from Nikon.
Guys out there, if you ever need a reason to convince your wife to get you a DSLR, ask me and I'll share it with you.
Back to the camera, this post is about the D90. I bought it at the IT Show 2009 for $1988 + $119 + $99 = $2206 consisting of the following:
Nikon D90
AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
2 x 8GB Kingston SDHC Class 4 memory card (they threw in a free SDHC card after much negotiating)
Manfrotto 190XProB Tripod and Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head @ S$119
Digi-Cabi DB-036 30L Electronic Dry Cabinet @ S$99
Additional EN-EL3e Battery (thrown in by the exhibitor after negotiating)
Additional Wireless Remote Control ML-L3 (thrown in by the exhibitor after negotiating)
Lowepro Rezo 190 AW camera/video bag - 21 Mar 09: Sold for S$40 and replaced with the Lowepro Primus AW (Black) backpack at S$218. I had many reasons for buying it and I will blog about it soon.
Other forgetable and free items include:
UV lens filter (Lexus branded) - The reason why I place an important item such as a lens filter here is because it is not Nikon or Hoya branded. Well, its free, so I can't really complain.
Cleaning Kit
A cute little cleaning pad made from Nikon's logo (and I really mean little)
The decision wasn't easy. Being a newcomer into DSLR, I could choose between a Canon or a Nikon. Sony was originally amongst my choices as well, however, I had to strike it off because of a technicality.
Guys out there, if you ever need a reason to convince your wife to get you a DSLR, ask me and I'll share it with you.
Back to the camera, this post is about the D90. I bought it at the IT Show 2009 for $1988 + $119 + $99 = $2206 consisting of the following:
Nikon D90
AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
2 x 8GB Kingston SDHC Class 4 memory card (they threw in a free SDHC card after much negotiating)
Manfrotto 190XProB Tripod and Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head @ S$119
Digi-Cabi DB-036 30L Electronic Dry Cabinet @ S$99
Additional EN-EL3e Battery (thrown in by the exhibitor after negotiating)
Additional Wireless Remote Control ML-L3 (thrown in by the exhibitor after negotiating)
Lowepro Rezo 190 AW camera/video bag - 21 Mar 09: Sold for S$40 and replaced with the Lowepro Primus AW (Black) backpack at S$218. I had many reasons for buying it and I will blog about it soon.
Other forgetable and free items include:
UV lens filter (Lexus branded) - The reason why I place an important item such as a lens filter here is because it is not Nikon or Hoya branded. Well, its free, so I can't really complain.
Cleaning Kit
A cute little cleaning pad made from Nikon's logo (and I really mean little)
The decision wasn't easy. Being a newcomer into DSLR, I could choose between a Canon or a Nikon. Sony was originally amongst my choices as well, however, I had to strike it off because of a technicality.
If all goes well, I hope to use this camera as much as I could get out of it. Notwithstanding that it is not one of those magnesium-alloy, environmentally sealed camera, I hope to pass it on for generations to come.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Our Honeymoon
Our honeymoon stretched over 1 month from Singapore -> Melbourne -> Tahiti -> Bora Bora -> Moorea -> Sydney -> Melbourne -> Singapore!
Melbourne
Check out the turquoise waters and our overwater bungalow with see through glass bottoms!
Go skinny dipping right from the bungalow.
Fishes swimming right below our bungalow look like little sharks.
Backed by demand from many of our friends, we've finally uploaded the rest of the pics for our honeymoon during the xmas / new year break :)
Dinner @ the infamous Bloody Mary's Restaurant
Sunrise @ Bora Bora
Breakfast @ Bora Bora
Eggs Benedict... yum yum...
Travel anywhere within the resort using the buggy.
Shame on you tiki
Shopping for famous Tahiti Black Pearl and enjoying champagne (again!)
Dinner @ the resort's Lagoon Restaurant. Comes with see thru glass floor too.
Love this dish!
The dessert looks a bit err....
Private Tour with BBQ lunch on private motu
Fish Feeding
So many sting rays were swimming around us! Their tails were brushing against our bodies. OMG! Remind us of Steve Irwin's episode.
Black Tipped Reef Sharks
A Kodak Moment
Swimming with the Sharks - scary! We saw lemon sharks swimming close to the sea bed while snorkelling.
BBQ lunch with lobster and champagne (again!)
Queen of the island hahah...
Blue lipped Clam
Colourful corals were plentiful close to the shore
Bear drove the boat back to the resort (like real)
Sea urchins, sergeant major and other fishes found in the resort's lagoon
Enjoyed a relaxing spa treat before we leave this beautiful place
View from the aircraft - wow!
Papeete
Beautiful Sunset @ Tahiti
Whale watching
Saw dolphins while whale watching
We took the ferry to get from Papeete to Moorea
Once we arrived, we rented a car from Avis to drive around island for the whole day. It is Johnson's first time driving on the left side of the car!
We visited the dolphins and sick sea turtle.
Then visited the Tiki Village where the natives performed and canoed and showed us how tahiti black pearls were harvested.
Dinner was international buffet @ Tahiti Intercontinental which included dance and fire performances.
Sydney
Melbourne
Watched WICKED - The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz @ Melbourne's Regent Theatre. The interior of the theatre was impressive!
Famous koko black chocolate recommended by Boo's colleague.
Horse carriage ride!
Afternoon tea @ Windsor hotel recommended by an Australian cyclist we met on the plane. Comes with delicious dessert buffet line. After we had our fill, we headed to Singapore Day.
I'm so strong!
Yummy dessert from the patisserie!
Bora Bora
Domestic flight from Tahiti to Bora Bora. Most tahitian ladies wear a tiare on their hair.
Received a warm welcome with flower leis by St Regis Bora Bora.
Travelled from the pier to the resort on board St Regis private catamaran.
Bear pretending to drive the catamaran.
Enjoying the bottle of welcome champagne
Bed during the day
Bed during the night
Bed during the nightBath room comes with 2 basins - one for each of us
Check out the turquoise waters and our overwater bungalow with see through glass bottoms!
Go skinny dipping right from the bungalow.
Fishes swimming right below our bungalow look like little sharks.Seashell footpath
More swimming!
Backed by demand from many of our friends, we've finally uploaded the rest of the pics for our honeymoon during the xmas / new year break :)
Dinner @ the infamous Bloody Mary's RestaurantSunrise @ Bora Bora Breakfast @ Bora Bora
Eggs Benedict... yum yum...
Travel anywhere within the resort using the buggy.
Shame on you tiki
Shopping for famous Tahiti Black Pearl and enjoying champagne (again!) Dinner @ the resort's Lagoon Restaurant. Comes with see thru glass floor too.
Love this dish!The dessert looks a bit err....
Private Tour with BBQ lunch on private motu Fish Feeding So many sting rays were swimming around us! Their tails were brushing against our bodies. OMG! Remind us of Steve Irwin's episode. Black Tipped Reef Sharks
A Kodak Moment 
Swimming with the Sharks - scary! We saw lemon sharks swimming close to the sea bed while snorkelling.
BBQ lunch with lobster and champagne (again!)
Queen of the island hahah...Hermit Crab
Blue lipped ClamColourful corals were plentiful close to the shoreBear drove the boat back to the resort (like real)
Sea urchins, sergeant major and other fishes found in the resort's lagoon
Enjoyed a relaxing spa treat before we leave this beautiful place View from the aircraft - wow!Papeete
Beautiful Sunset @ Tahiti
Whale watchingSaw dolphins while whale watchingMoorea
We took the ferry to get from Papeete to MooreaOnce we arrived, we rented a car from Avis to drive around island for the whole day. It is Johnson's first time driving on the left side of the car!
We visited the dolphins and sick sea turtle.
Then visited the Tiki Village where the natives performed and canoed and showed us how tahiti black pearls were harvested.Dinner was international buffet @ Tahiti Intercontinental which included dance and fire performances.Sydney
Blue Mountain
Our sumptous seafood lunch @ Sydney Fish market
Pancakes on the Rock recommended by the police on patrol - nice!
Sydney Opera House
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