lingering taste..

..of bitterness..

Went to the fourth convocation this weekend. Even though I feel very happy for friends and their families, can't help but to feel a bit depressed. Especially during the mechanical section when they got to the C's...ouch..
All the bad decisions made in first year exploded exponentially...most memorably, failing that C++ exam on my 19th birthday which ultimately led me to where I am today.

David said this isn't a good time to graduate anyways. meh..it'd be nice though..haha
For better or worse, this is how it played out. It'll be my time soon...just not soon enough.

Regardless, congratulations engineering class of '09!!

everyone has a SLR

This is because that's how the major players are gearing their product line.

When digital cameras became common, DSLR technology was still being developed and was still very expensive for the average consumer. Nikon's first DSLR, the Nikon D100, was priced at $1999USD when it was released in 2002.

FYI, the D100 is a consumer grade SLR, succeeded by the D70/s, then by the D80 and then the D90 ($975USD).

At the entry level, the new Nikon D5000, a very capable camera, is about ~$1000 with a packaged lens kit. A D40/60 can be had for about $300-ish.

So this is why everyone has a SLR now. Plus it looks cool. I personally think it's great that the companies are making more entry level cameras for people to get into photography. The more people into the hobby, the more ideas are generated and more creative concepts are born. Gives me more photo buddies as well to choose from when I want to go out to shoot. From a professional photographer's standpoint (which I'm not, a pro photog is someone who makes their living - ie. puts food on the table - with photography), it might not be so good because any newb with a SLR is charging to shoot and calling themselves a pro.

But in response to my friend who said to me, "SLR's are cheap nowadays, anyone can learn to be a pro"
- yes, but you can't buy/teach talent.


courtesy of pyeung

Hi, my name is Rocky, I like photography

Why? Perhaps because it may be a potential on-the-side income generator? I like to show off my nice camera? Meet hot models (likely)? Or perhaps it's actually something I have a bit of talent in...

I like to fine tune an image to one I'm truly satisfied with. You'll rarely see any shots of mine that I haven't hand picked from each batch that I take. Don't ask either..there's no point showing you the rest of them after you've seen the best shot.

I used to snap 30 shots and choose the best one. There's bound to be one good one. Nowadays, I take more care in each shot to get it right (work in progress). Plus it reduces the wear on the equipment, not that I've ever let that stop me to get the shot I wanted. FACT: The life of a modern (Nikon consumer) SLR is ~150,000 actuation limited by its shutter mechanism.

I like to capture friends' smiles. Though only a few aren't camera shy. But I'm picky, I'm not shooting all your fobby poses. Tastefully posed only please.

I like keep track of my progress. I follow and review my work often, which I believe is important to any learning process. If you've ever been on my Flickr stream, this is where I post all my work since since day 1 (day 1 being when I got my D70, which isn't really day 1)

That's all that's on my mind about photography at the moment...this blog desperately needs some reviving