To be frank, i was kinda skeptical attending their function especially with the crazy-ass fanboyisme on what brand of cameras being used but i was proven WRONG !

The people running this place are really passionate about photography and are willing to teach just about anyone.

I met Ken (foodpoi.com) who is one of the trainers there and so happened a Canon user, lol. He was happy enough share tips on how to shoot.

That’s what i wrote regarding ‘Nikonian Academy’s 2000th forum member celebration’ in facebook more than a month back and i am now finally writing about it -_-!

Backlog backlog backlog.

Anyway let me start all over again.

I got to know about Nikonian Academy thru Evie at first via facebook. I was sent the links to check it out but i never paid much attention simply because the name itself would definitely put Canon users like me at risk of being on the otherside of the fence. One fine afternoon, Aaron actually told me that there’s this function in Nikonian Academy in Kota Damansara and asked me to check it out. I was pretty confident that Aaron knew i didn’t have the slightest interest till he told me that they are opened to all and there so many other brand users there.

After registering at their forum and filling in the necessary details to attend the party, i finally met up with Aaron, Daniel, David and Alvin. Upon registering my name, i met Ken and it was him who convinced me that i wasn’t walking into the lion’s den, rofl.

They were all there to teach photography to anyone who is interested regardless of brands.

I have been to a few photography forums and it’s kinda annoying when replies are like, Canon is better, No nikon is better, etc. So after having a long chat with Ken, he said it’s different over here and then he finally told me that he himself is a Canon user, lol.

After having dinner, we headed upstairs where we were given access to their studio. That’s where Angelyn and Nicole were kind enough to pose for all of us. Ken then insisted that i unleash the beast, i mean my Canon 400D rofl.

“Your el-cheapo 50mm lens will do”

“Seriously ? I have a straight f/2.8 lens but if 50mm is all i need then wokie dokie”

This was actually my first ever so called fashion shoot under supervision. Malaysian Dream Girls were basically amateur shots cause i was assigned to write articles most of the time. I was really excited to be honest.

Why?

1st: I was getting tips for free (typical Penangite)

2nd: I always believed my 50mm lens could be maximized but i just didn’t know how

3rd: I was in a proper studio with 2 models !

From there on i just snapped snapped snapped all the way …

*pictures all way down and all shot using 50mm*

After the photoshoot, we went back down to have 2nd helpings aka supper. Andrew then played around by singing and the girls pretended to play with the instruments.

Some of us were still upstairs when majority had gone down and so the rest of us (Daniel, David and Alvin) took this opportunity to be under the spotlight. Aaron and i quietly stayed behind the cameras, lol

I would definitely recommend anyone who has intentions to learn photography to go to Nikonian Academy. Besides that, you also have your photography needs in their store.

*Just realized this! 30% off on camera equipments?! Heading there soon *

Nikonian Discovery Centre (NDC)

13, Jalan PJU 5/21, The Strand,

Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya

Tonight is the night ! It doesn’t matter what supporter you are but Champions League Finals are here and it’s between ManUtd and Barcelona ! I am a big fan of Man United and i also do follow Barcelona over in Spanish League. So hope to watch an entertaining match !

This will be the final entry on Malaysian Dream Girl and it’s about time that i continue with my Cambodia trip and a few more drafted entries. The finale was held at the Curve, Damansara. I was accompanied by a troop of Shouters, hahaha and if you have no idea what shouters mean, i will explain it later on.

There’s Angeline, Jess, Steven, Daniel, Aaron and William who suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Upon reaching there, Andrew said he and i were asked to be the O.P.

“What is O.P ? @.@”

“Official Photographer ler”

“My photos not nice ler, no zoom lens also”

“Ok then u stand there and take photo”

So i stood at one place to snap and to be frank, barely any of the models looked towards me, lol. So i took more of the crowd instead.

The night was focused on three girls to see who is crowned as the winner but there are some girls who did steal the spot light during the catwalk.

Juanita

Dawn

Pinky

Ming

Liana

The girls definitely look better than what i saw in Mist Club during their first runway show. Anyway, for this finale it was a bit different from last season. This time around there were 2 host, Elaine and Will. Besides that this is the first time Viewers Awards were introduced to the show.

Shasya still continued to rock the runway with her catwalk and among the remaining girls, i thought Pinky improved the most. She knew where to stop for the photographers and she looked so comfortable in all of her outfits.

The finale was hosted by Elaine and Will Quah. Both of them did an awesome job emcee-ing for the night

Elaine

Dawn receiving her award from Julie

Pinky as the funniest person for MDG awards, with Kenny Sia presenting the award.

Jerad giving his speech

Ming and her dad, Uncle Jason, were presented with the most entertaining phone call. Speaking of Ming, she was one of the few who didn’t have a facebook group fan during the course of the competition, not until someone came up with one after the finale which was probably a bit too late.

Where other girls have been gaining supporters from Facebook, Ming had fans silently supporting her and in another small community known as ShoutOutLounge, Ming has been a topic off and on. ShoutOutLounge is a place where one could add this live shoutbox on their blogs and basically chat with whoever is on it.

With the new photo sharing function, photos of her were shared and many then became fans of Ming’s. In fact during the weeks she was in MDG, her photos were at the top of the pile, being the most commented.

I am pretty sure the facebook groups have been heavily publicized for the top 3 so i am here showing that there’s still other communities that discuss about the girls and ShoutOutLounge was one of it

Will conversing with Uncle Jason, saying that he is probably one of the famous figures out of MDG The phone calls were really funny, so go watch them if you have the time

The show wouldn’t have been what it is without the judges, Elaine, Andrew and Julie. Jimmy couldn’t make it that night.

After that it was all about camwhoring with each other

Natasha’s family

Andrew and Simon

Dennis and friends

Daniel, JessLim, Steven, Angeline, Jessie, Aaron

Anna Jimenez and friends.

Bloggers ! LOL too many to name !

Joshua and gang

Between the shows, there were entertainment shows like the above.

Dwayne and Elaine Daly

Kenny Sia and Jess Lim

Pinky and Debra

Ming and Angeline

Ming and her Fansee, LMAO.

For more pictures, head over to my gallery

P/S: Didn’t write much cause i practically lost the momentum to blog let alone write about MDG Really enjoying my break in Penang at the moment

I was expecting to wake up to the sound of my alarm but instead i had the privilege of waking up to the sound of karaoke duet from a nearby marriage ceremony. I just lied there listening for the next ten minutes until it was my turn to wash up. I then briefly packed my bags as we would be rushing to catch the bus for Siem Reap once we are back from the Killing Fields.

We then went to the girl’s lair just to find out they haven’t got ready. Wasn’t a big surprise though, lolololol.

We all then rushed down to catch the van to the Toul Sleng museum but stumbled upon the wedding that i mentioned earlier. We came down in time for the bridegroom and his ‘rombongan’ to bring gifts for the bride. I think the folks were suprised to see so many photographers as they walked to the bride’s place. LOL.

We all then jumped into the van and off we went.

Today was all about history which made Cambodia what it is today. Many have asked why Phnom Penh first ? Visiting the Toul Sleng museum and the Killing Fields at the end of your trip wouldn’t be ideal. I rather be enjoying myself towards the end and not being disturbed by how one million plus Cambodian were brutally murdered during the Pol Pot regime. I was glad to have known my mum’s friend’s brother who has been residing in Cambodia for the past 15 years and he told me which places are a must go and we managed to cover those places in a short span of time

Besides that, feedbacks from a few more friends who traveled a few weeks before me, also mentioned which places aren’t worth the time.

Toul Sleng museum which was about 10-15mins from the place we stayed was a former school before being turned into one of the worst torture/detention/interrogation centre that i have heard of. We had an english speaking guide who explained every single detail of this place. Though it was hard to capture with her heavy Cambodian slang but after a while, i could roughly understand.

This place was actually used to get information from anyone who was against the ruling of Pol Pot. Previous politicians too were all detained in this centre, together with their family.

These were the few detention rooms which had the higher ranking officers of the previous government detained. In each room there was a bed, mattress and iron bucket for the detainees waste.

The first room had a picture of a tortured detainee on the bed and the guide explained how they were tortured until the information was retrieved. The cold breeze blowing from the nearby windows did sent chills down my spine. When she asked us to look up at the ceiling, there were still traces of blood. which splattered from one end to the other.

Others were tortured in other manners like hanging them upside down from the wooden pole with their hands tied to the back. These wooden poles were used by students to exercise when it was still a school back then. If the detainee doesn’t cooperate their heads are then dipped into the huge jar which is filled with human excrement.

In the next block, smaller holding places were built out of bricks. Family members are kept in these cells shackled to the floor. They aren’t allowed to speak unless they were allowed to and seeing how dark the place can be even in the noon, one could wonder how dark it gets when night falls. And all of them just waiting for their turn to be executed.

Some of the detainees who couldn’t stand being tortured did jump off from higher floors to end their miseries and this made the people of Pol Pot placing barbed wires all around the building to prevent anyone from jumping off. They even hooked it to an electric cable which would electrocute anyone who touches it.

In the last section of the museum, mugshots of all detainees were displayed. At one point it became disturbing because it was a sea of people staring at you. The way the photo was taken for some of the detainees were really inhuman. Instead of having their identification card pinned to their shirt, it was pinned to their neck.

We were then asked if we would like to go to the first floor of the building but had to politely decline as we had a super tight schedule to follow.

At this point i was already rubbing my arms for heat cause it was considerably cold in Phnom Penh. So i asked the guide if this was normal and she said yes it was. Since we will be in Siem Reap later that night which is way up north, i asked her what about Siem Reap, is it this cold ?

She replied, “Oh it’s like Paris …”

Great and i don’t have any long pants …

Next was the Killing Fields. This was where thousands were brought to be executed. This particular building was built in the remembrance of those who perished in the Killing Fields. In the middle of the building lies see through shelves which contained the skulls and bones of the victims.

We followed the path on ourselves around the Killing fields. Along the way there were explanation on what happened at that particular place when it was still the Killing Fields.

The huge holes you see all over the place are actually where the people were gathered into before being shot. And there were so many of this bunkers.

Babies and small children were brought to this particular tree. They were then swung or slammed on to the tree.

… to be continued

]]> http://satkuru.com/blog/experience/the-chronicles-of-cambodia-the-dark-side-of-phnom-penh/feed/ 13 http://satkuru.com/blog/photos/straws-and-more-straws/ http://satkuru.com/blog/photos/straws-and-more-straws/#comments Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:25:29 +0000 satkuru http://satkuru.com/blog/2008/02/21/straws-and-more-straws/

Was going through my collection of photos last night and realized i have quite a number of pictures of people drinking out of a straw So i thought of putting up an entry just for these few lucky souls, hahaha. Here’s a few that i manage to take recently

S.Win – She had the straw in her mouth the whole time

Wendy – Thinking of kangaroos and koala bears …. and probably America’s Next Top Model. Does that ring a bell ?

Kev – at first he was reluctant to have his shot taken. So i waited for him to take a sip

May Ling and her coconut at Jogoya

Mr. Porkeroo aka Shao Xiong – i am gonna storm Australia, make sure your house has a place for me

Sae Wei – Congrats, ahem ahem Give a wild guess who is the person in front of her ?

Ralph aka Ketiak – multitasking, drink in one hand and phone in the other

… and finally …. me