2012-01-14 Untitled

2012-01-14 Untitled, K.Lumpur, Malaysia© LightFrame Photography

The Search Is Over

© LightFrame Photography

I've always regretted selling my Nikon 24mm f2 Ai lens. It wasn't the sharpest wide angle lens, doesn't have AF and the distortion is quite simply unacceptable for landscapes. But why I liked the lens so much? It's compact and fast (large aperture). Plus Nikon still hasn't produce a reasonably priced and compact fast wide angle prime lens. I bought the 35mm f2 AFD thinking that it can replace the 24 but it wasn't wide enough. My favourite lens is a 50mm and I wanted something wider to go with that and 35mm is not wide enough. I let go of the 35mm and waited and waited and waited... And yesterday, while browsing around at YL Camera I saw a little gem tucked right at the corner of their used display counter. It wasn't a 24mm f2 Ais or a 28mm f2 Ais but close. It's the classic 28mm f2.8 Ais. The best part is it's in pristine condition. Almost brand new. And it came with a price tag I couldn't resist. Even though the lens is one stop slower than my previous 24mm f2 Ai but this lens can focus really really close. Up to 0.2m and the image stays sharp because it has CRC (Close Range Correction). Plus it's one of Nikon's sharpest wide angle prime with almost perfect distortion control. This lens is a completely different creature to Nikon's current 28mm f2.8 AFD or the previous 28mm f2.8 Ai. When the world is going crazy about all the newest cameras and lenses, I'm very happy to have found this old classic.

Fujifilm X Pro1

The Fujifilm X Pro1 is the most sexy mirrorless camera system thus far. I've always been a sucker for range finder cameras being once an ex Leica film camera user. Even though Fujifilm has arrived late to the game but it's not too late for them. Looking at how well thought out the camera is and the range of lenses they've released, it really showed the commitment and seriousness Fujifilm has for their new camera system. I believe this will be a winner just like the X100. Really looking forward to do some real test when the camera arrive on our shore.

Bad Company Corrupts Creativity

© LightFrame Photography

Hello 2012 :)!! It's been a while since I last wrote anything longer than a few sentences. Everyone should have new year resolutions right? Just thought of one right now. Write more articles for the blog. Even though people have been telling me that I'm actually quite a good writer but I'm still having difficulty believing that. Sorry guys. But I'll try. I actually started this blog as a picture blog because I felt more at ease in expressing my self through pictures. Things have changed over the years. Now I'm my own boss. Running my little enterprise of freelance creative visual content providers. Life is good. With clarity like new wine glass I could still remember two years ago when I first ventured out into the great unknown. Times were bad, I just got married, house and car to finance, and etc. It wasn't exactly the perfect time to do something untested like starting your own company. Thank God I'm still around. I gave myself one year to prove to myself if it would work. One year later, things were stable and I wasn't on the red. Those early days were a real test for one crucial element - TIME. I won't go into all those time management stuff. You could find more qualified people out there. Suddenly I got a lot time. Not that I had 13 hours a day. I mean I have more time which I needed to put to good use. Creative people are not very creative when it comes to using the time they have I realised. It's very tempting to sit around the internet, meeting up with other photographers, admiring your collection of tools and other time wasting non-productive activities. Fortunately I didn't wallow in this black hole for long. Among those soul sapping activities, one that is particularly destructive is meeting up with fellow photographers. Don't shoot me on this but I realised that when a bunch of people who called themselves visual artists got together, they talked about everything but art. It's fine to talk about cameras, lens or whatever in moderation but after a while it becomes lame. Some can go on and on with how sharp lens A or how the bokeh of lens C is much better than lens B because it has a kind of 'swirling effect'. I always left feeling I've wasted my time and could have been more productive if I've done something else. I long for a group where we can share our works with each other and provide constructive criticism in the process. If I'm a painter, doesn't it feels funny if I just talked about brushes, canvas and easels with my other fellow painters? Unfortunately many photographers belong to this group. Even professional photographers. The first thing when I meet photographer A or B is they'll either show me their newly acquired tool or ask me if I've bought anything new lately. And then the conversation will sway towards the latest, shiniest and bla bla bla... Boring. I enjoy looking at other artist's creations regardless if it's a photograph, video, painting or even music and poetry. Don't you think it's more engaging and rewarding when two or more people come together for mutual sharing of works and ideas. As creative professionals I believe our creativity is only as good as how much we try to engage and stretch it. Last year, I wanted to learn more about lighting and I did. It was most rewarding.  My wife once said that "Bad company corrupts good morals." Well, let me twist that a bit. 'BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS CREATIVITY'. Time to look for new people for some real creatively engaging conversations.

Joe McNally Photography- The Sense Of Sight, 1992

A behind the scene look at Joe McNally's Sense of Sight cover story for National Geographic.

Happy New Year

We'll like to say Thank You to all our clients and supporters. You have made 2011 a really good year for us at LightFrame. We owe it to you all. Here we'll like to wish you a great 2012.

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