Started blogging in May 2007. Purpose? Keep records of wat I was thinking and doing at that point in time. I am a male. Wat else?..Still handsome and available... ;) Leave some comments here. My friendster page is at www.friendster.com/AboutTerence Sorry for my broken english. Please link to my site at www.terencelau.com from your blog. I will link yours too. Have a wonderful day

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Cambodia


Picked my friend at his condo and sent him to the church today. Not the usual gathering, but his mission trip to Cambodia. Helped him 2 carry 2 medium-sized plastic containers..mostly shirts for the children and food for his 8-day trip at Kampot.

Many tourist and foreigners find that Kampot is the essence why they fall in love with Cambodia. Unlike Phnom Penh where r too many cars and bikes, Kampot is a very 'kampung' area .. and I heard the locals travel usually on their bicycle. Pray that friends will finish their work, share their love with the locals and complete the things they need 2 do before they come back next week.

Hope to go there someday and share a story that I can only tell through experience.




Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Rice


Rice is still planted and harvested entirely by hand in Bali, with the cycle of planting and harvesting being an important element of village cohesion.

Never look down on workers at the sawah. Her eyes tells you
the journey of a life you never seen or experience.
Taken on the 3rd of March 2007 in Ubud, Bali



Workers at sawah. These workers are surrounded by a large rice field...
A sense of an earthy abundance when you are there.



Picture Above: Taken in Jatiluwih, a large rice terrace in Bali on the 20th of March 2007. Not far from here, on a clear day, if you were to ride a bike about 5km further near the slope of Mount Batukaru(2275m), you can virtually see half the landscape of south Bali from Ubud to Klungkung to Denpasar to Kuta and Sanur.



Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Picture of the day


Bali has certainly changed since tourism first made its debut in the early 20th century. But the 'real Bali' still thrives, and like the scent of incense and flowers, it permeates every corner of the island and fills the atmostphere with something unforgettable. For those who has not been to Bali, Bali is one of the island in Indonesia. It is located in between Java and Lombok. The size of Bali is approximately 5630km2, which is about 8 times the size of Singapore.

The picture of the 3 kids above was taken when I was at Gianyar, Ubud. They were on their way to Pura Sarawasti for prayers on the 19th March 2007.

Stayed there for a month to work and i discovered interesting culture and make a few friends. The lifestyle of Bali is filled with an artistic pallete of colour as well as spectacle of visual interest.

For more information, please go 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali


Learning to take photos - Vivaciously Red @ the Curve


Freezing the motion as these models walk

One of the challenges in photography is to take sharp picture while people are walking and moving unpredictably. My neighbour, Mr Hamzah, a pro ... encouraged me to learn and get use to the idea of shooting and handling the camera well, and hence, I followed him to the Curve to take photos of models on Catwalk.

I thought it was as easy as taking pictures of lanscape and portrait. I was wrong. It wasn't an easy task. I find it harder than taking pictures of people at any wedding day or dinner. Now I understand how hard it is for photographers taking pictures of people in action during sports.

I was given just a few minutes to take good shots of the ambience and models as they appear for catwalk. I had to prepare the ISO, metering mode, shooting mode, and shutter speed before they come out.. and when these models walked towards me or to the front, I had only that few seconds to take a good shot that day. Well, everything tat u learn in photography comes into play on that few minutes.

If I can't take good photos of these models as they walk towards the front in that few seconds, then there won't be any 2nd chance 2 take pictures on that particular composition again. Yes... I am talking about seconds.

Unlike taking pictures of landscape, flowers, building or model shooting session, photography on sports and fast moving motion events is absolutely tough.

The challenge I had on that day is to take sharp photos of the model while they r walking and stopping. I guess for the next fashion show, I need the right lenses and equipment to take better photos.

Below are some of the pictures taken on that special day, Vivaciously Red at the Curve.

Here is what I need to do. Capture the word 'the Curve", focus on the front model,
while maintaining depth of field through
the second model at the back, capture it best
when they swing they butt to the max, last but not least
and the picture must be sharp. Tough task.
Seems like this model is a guy...
almost buttless with a rough face.
Picture is not clear.



Mr Hamzah. a professional photographer told me that a good "fashion show" photo is the one that the organizer/judge wants, not what I want. Hence, 'the Curve" word must be shown to inform the viewers where the fashion show had taken placed.

Amber was there. I called her and she nicely
gave me a pose that all models are so used too.
If you bring you camera around and
try to take photos of your friend,
I doubt you have any good chances of
getting good shots. Friends
sometimes do not want to take photos and
they are not ready to smile.


Waiting for her turn to do the catwalk.



Red



A tall beauty. Very sweet looking.



Red theme


Red theme again



Backstage. Azura and Daniel.


Backstage.



Walking very fast.


Another model commonly seen in fashion shows in Malaysia


If you have a better SLR camera, you
can shoot at more than 6 frame ps.


These models have designers and staff to helping
them to change and put on the designer clothes
very quickly. In less than 4 mins they can do 2 catwalks


Nice dress


Creative design


Matching..


Ready for the camera.


Simple and matching design


Taking at different angle.

Another male model.
The Law of Attraction says I don't usually
take photos of male model.
Otherwise, when I show these photos, I will be
giving false impression to my friends.


The Law of Attraction also says ladies
like to look at young and single men secretly.
I was the youngest photographer there ;)


Portrait view


Bye...... Hard 2 take images of models on full swing,
which is the essence of fashion show photography.
Besides..composition is not correct. The letter "T" and "S" are missing from the picture.
I had to compose tis photo within seconds before
these 2 ladies disppear 2 the back stage on that evening.
In other words, my handling of the camera must be as fast as my mind to compose.

Now .. I know my mistakes and can I take the photos again? No.. the models r gone.
Excellent fashion photography is not easy.




Butterfly Pea

Picture taken from www.PlantOftheWeek.org

A busy day indeed, but it doesn't mean I can't find time to blog. Let's talk about flowers for these few weeks. The Clitoria Ternatea flower, a blue Butterfly Pea flower which is native to Asia. The growth rate of tis flower can be rapid. If u have eaten true nasi kerabu, u will notice the natural purple and blueish colour on the rice which is the colour from Bunga Telang, the Malay name of Butterfly Pea. You can find authentic Nasi Kerabu at Ramadhan Bazaar in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

Bunga Telang is very rich in blue delphinidin, a type of anthocyanin which is a member of a class of nearly universal, water-soluble, terrestrial plant pigments that can be classified chemically as both flavonoid and phenolic.

Anthocyanins are found in most land plants, with the exception of the cacti and the group containing the beet. They contribute colors to flowers and other plant parts ranging from shades of red through crimson and blue to purple, including yellow and colorless.

So what r the benefits of this flower? The blueish anthocyanins on these flowers are antioxidant flavonoids that protect many body systems. Anti-oxidant flavonoid in Butterfly pea protects against free radical damages from environmental pollution.

Butterfly pea and Bergamot r traditionally used for hair wash in Thailand. As a dye, it is popular amongst the health conscious who do not appreciate artificial dyes. Butterfly pea is also used in Nonya Bak Chang.

The color of this flower is very similiar to the color of Ribena. Read the label when you purchase Ribena, and you will noticed the company uses "Grape Skin" as the colouring. That is why it is written "No artificial colour" on the label. Just like Butterfly Pea, grape skin is a rich source of anthocyanins.

The content of this blog will be about cars, bikes, plants I research on, places I go and wonderful people I meet. Thanks for visiting.

First entry blog

Although I am in the midst of designing, developing and programming 5 websites, I decided to write my first blog entry to help me keep moving, focusing and motivated on what I have always been doing.

Sorry for the broken english. I try 2 improve as I blog.

I have visited many Malaysian blogs and I find it very interesting.. how is it like 2 consistently put info into these pages week in week out. I decide to try.

Well, this is my blog and my thoughts afterall. I try 2 keep it simple.

Today .. I finally managed to clean, vacuum and polish my car after 2 weeks of not knowing my black mica coupe is full of dirt n dust again.

The Toyota Celica name is derived from the Latin word célico (IPA ['θeliko]) meaning "from the heavens" or "celestial".

The first generation Celica was released to the market in 1970. It was a relatively affordable sports car. The liftback is particularly beautiful. Looks very much like a Mustang.

I also found a few owners in Malaysia who has done well to maintain the cars. They took their time to overhaul the aging car and make it beautiful. Their effort is to be lauded. This car is really priceless. Below is one of the car in Malaysia driven to South Thailand for maintenance.


Toyota Celica TA28 1976.

A priceless car like this is hard 2 find. Hence... I met a few owners and gazed several times. Yes. It looks like a MUSTANG.

Since I can't afford 2 maintain and buy another car... I decided 2 place a sticker on my car....2 remind me of tis first babe that I always wanted.

Took some pictures after I washed and polished tis beauty tis morning.... here you are... presenting the 7th generation Toyota Celica.


Take a closer look.
Reflection of the sky on the hood of a 7-year old car



Lovin' it.



You gotta have guts to put those big racing sticker on your car.



The sticker with the number 76 represents the year,
1976, in which the first generation Celica liftback
was produced for the UK and US market. Daring ah? Well. just do it...


I take every effort to keep tis beauty clean. Afterall it is a tool for me to do business and a mode of transport 2 bring me back and forth to where I want 2 go. That's it for my first blog. I will post some other pictures taken while I travelled on a bike few months ago.

PS: Sorry for the broken english. I try 2 improve as I blog.