Botanical Garden, Dublin

Last Sunday, with a few people from DUPA, we went to have a day trip at Botanical Garden, Dublin. We met at Trinity front arch around 10am and took bus 83 to our destination. There, Kevin has already waited for us and off we go.



It was actually a perfect opportunity to try out the raynox 250 macro adapter which i acquired some time ago. i thought it was gonna be a walk in a park.. but it's not!!!


i found out the depth of field is very shallow and any slight movement is magnified 1000 times!!! (nah, im just exaggerating here). to overcome this i had to use smaller aperture i.e f8,11,16 and high iso (400, 800, 1600) to increase shutter speed. although the result is not up to the standard, im still quite satisfied with it.



i also got a chance to shoot/snap some wild squirrels. it was a long ago since my last visit to the zoo, i would say its my 1st time to shoot moving animal. they moved quite a lot. there was only a fraction of second to compose your shot. if you are not alert, then they will be gone from your viewfinder before you know it. sekejap ada, sekejap tak ada.



i mainly used sony 55200 for the trip. have to change between manual and auto focus because of af hunting. but im still quite satisfied with the result. need to start saving for 70-300 ssm G :p

GOOOAAALLLL!!!!!

yeah!! 2-1, Arsenal beat ManU at The Emirates. 2 goals from Nasri seal the deal. I already know what im gonna have on this year Arsenal jersey.

ps- the goal from rafael is awesome!!

TCD MedDay!!!!

-the MedDay poster at Arts Buliding-

It was a veerrryy long day... I was up at 6am and getting ready. No idea the bus only run around 650 am. I was 'forced' to wait out in the cold for 40 min :( ..

When I arrived, number of students has already left, with buckets and balloons, for their annual routine - The Medday. This year the funds raised will go to the Centre of Cardiovascular Risk in
Young People (AMNCH) and Acute Stroke Services (James).

-the Breakfast-

I hit on the street with the orange tee and Orange (sony alpha) weapon.. After a while, I went back to take the picture of the committee members. It was great but still im not really satisfied with the pictures. The lighting was not so good in the morning. A bit cloudy (but still freeezingg cold) so i have to resort to artificial light - my one and only f58. I wish i could have done this in proper studio setting.

-the committee-

-street collector having fun-

Trinity Med Cup 2008

Santry, 1st Nov - Its a chilly morning after the halloween. "What better way to get rid of the halloween hangover than voyaging out to the wilderness of wind and rain that is the santry sports ground??" -quote from The MedDay Comittee-

-wait..this is not 16a!!-Believe it or not, this car fits 5 adults !!!

Observe the technique -warm up session-

-the ball, the grass, the enthusiasts-

The only self-portrait of the day.

-and the battle began-

the champion -4th in a row-

more pictures @ my flickr...

What a THURSday...

I decided to renew my immigration card today.. Was there quite late (9am) and the queue was insane as usual. -363- that's my number. "Come back at 5" . Damn...
I came back at 330. I know was early so I went net surfing at nearby internet cafe. Around 430 I went back in, and still... 100++ to go. If i know this gonna happen, i might as well get some food, nap whatever and come back at 7.
Finally, they called my number.. 745 PM!! and had to wait another hour to finish processing.
Was waiting for bus and saw this very nice playbunny in pink glow :) very nice... i dont know why.. it seems that nothing went right. The bus only came 30min later.
Back at home.. i cant unlock the freakin door. Give me a break!! I was stuck for around 8min and it finally gives in to me. What a day for me.... ::sigh::

Ring the bell!!!

I couldn't remember when was the last time i hear my house bell ringing.

Have u ever experience waiting for your parcel/packet to come from as early as 8am only to find that delivery notice in your mail box? I guess most of us have.

So please, Mr. Mailman/woman etc.... put yourself in your customer's shoe. The bell is not just for show. It defeats the purpose of having the xxxxxx bell. Ring once or twice than go ahead.. leave your curse letter there.

...enough ranting...

Had nothing much to do in the evening. It gets dark pretty early these days. So i decided to went for a basic photography talk in my college. It nothing much, just basic things like aperture, shutter speed and exposure. At least, got to see new faces. Since i came back after summer, i can count with right hand finger alone.. people using Alpha. In Ireland, the Sony DSLR range as not as popular as Canon or Nikon. The shops here mostly stock C n N stuff. I cant even find battery grip for alpha. They have some lenses and flashes at Argos, but way overpriced.

..ooopss, looks like the ranting still goes on :P

Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC

As promised, here's some sample pictures.. enjoy...

-Stephens Green Park-

-Grafton Street-

-Book of Kells-

-Molly Mallone-

-light trails-

More pictures @ my Flickr..