12 Must Read Non Gear Review Blog Posts

12 Must Read Non Gear Review Blog Posts

It is not too brutally honest to admit that the majority of the traffic to this blog is driven by my Olympus gear reviews which I have done over the years, accumulating an ever growing list. While the biggest success of this blog was largely due to the said gear reviews, at the same time I have worked very hard week after week showcasing new set of photographs in order to create fresh blog contents. I do not want this blog to be known solely for the Olympus cameras and lenses reviews. I want my blog readers to return for other more compelling reasons as well, including my photography, which frankly is still a work in progress. I openly admit I am a learning photographer. 

In the process of sharing tonnes and tonnes of photographs, I have also shared my knowledge, experience, thoughts and anything related to my shutter therapy sessions in my blog updates. I often do my best not to hold back, and to be as open as possible, because I am not perfect, and I, like everyone else, need feedback and comments to grow. While composing blog entries, I constantly find ways to add value to my blog contents, so that my readers (my target audience is primarily newcomers to photography) will get something useful out of spending time reading my articles here. 

Therefore, in this blog entry, I have compiled a list of my best 12 blog entries which are not gear review related. These blog entries are generally sharing of my photography ideas and thoughts and shooting techniques. If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, I am sure you must have come across the blog entries in this list before. If you have not, these are my selected favourite entries, highly recommended read for you (in no particular order). 

Shutter Therapy
(published in September 2015)

I invented the phrase "shutter therapy", and I have shared the origin of this phrase, and why I find it so fitting to my style of photography. Shutter therapy has been widely used by many photographers from different parts of the world, and something I strongly promote as a photography lifestyle. The most important thing to me when shooting as a hobby, is to enjoy it the best possible way I can. Shutter therapy is the embodiment of that concept, having fun with photography!

Messages from My Blog
(published in April 2014)

The key messages that I frequently highlight in my blog are: 1) encouraging everyone to shoot more, 2) share their photographs more, 3) post-process less, 4) do not be afraid to break the rules, importance of knowing your gear well, and 5) the most significant of all - ENJOY photography. 

5 Truths About Photography
(published in June 2015)

I have spent many years in my photography journey and I summarized my findings in 5 simple points: 1) There is no bad camera these days 2) Do not worry about how a good photograph should look. Shoot the photograph the way you truly want it to 3) Move out from comfort zone to continue to grow in photography, 4) Photography success if personal and should not be measured by fame, and 5) The greatest investment in photography is TIME.

5 Reasons Why Your Kit Lens is Awesome
(published in September 2015)

We all have lens-lust and easily succumb to measurebating and gear acquisition syndrome. However, the awesomeness of the humble, basic kit lens has been popularly ignored. I think for newcomers to photography, the kit lens is the perfect lens to learn photography. We should not be too quick to discard the kit lens, and spending time with the kit lens can be rewarding. It is a mistake to underestimate a kit lens' capabilities. 

The Robin Wong's OM-D Camera Cheat-Sheet
(published in July 2015)

The most frequently asked questions I have received wither from comments here in this blog, emails from my readers or messages from my Facebook Page is "what settings I have used" for my OM-D cameras. I have therefore compiled a long list of my usual camera settings, and subsequently added my practical reasoning behind my choice of settings. This has quickly become one of the most shared and most visited page in this blog. Believe me, when I say I have shared everything I know and I can. 

To Achieve the Robin Wong Look
(published in September 2014)

I find it rather flattering and amusing at the same time when people started to refer my photographs as having the distinctive "Robin Wong" look. I am not too sure if that is real, but it has inspired me to share my thoughts on how I shoot the photographs that I normally shoot. I shared about the importance of getting the images right while shooting, with extra emphasis on achieving correct exposure and strict-accurate focus, taking control of the camera, and being able to visualize through the camera, watching the minimum shutter speed to counter camera shake, and having a good sense of what good photography is. 

Insect Macro Photography
(published in August 2015)

This is definitely a work in progress, but I have special interest in shooting insect macro. I have not mastered this yet, as I continually search for improvements and better execution techniques. I shared everything that I do on insect macro shooting, from my specific camera settings to my shooting techniques using wireless flash fired off camera. This is one of my most complete sharing on photography techniques up to date on this blog. 

About My Street Portrait Photography
(published in August 2015)

I shoot almost every week on the street, and I shoot mostly street portraits: capturing close up shots of strangers. In this blog entry I shared some of my favourite street portrait photos as well as how I approach strangers on the streets for photographs, and shooting considerations. 

Street Shooting Workflow In Flow-Chart
(published in October 2015)

Just for the fun of it, I have summarized my street shooting workflow into a simple flow-chart. I had so much fun creating the flow-chart!

My Take in White Balance
(published in July 2015)

White balance is a very subjective topic to talk about, and everyone approaches this differently. I strongly believe that there is no right and wrong and it all comes down to how you want to present your final photograph. I shared my thoughts on how I approach this sensitive subject, with some examples to illustrate my perspective. 

Post-Processing For Blogging Purposes
(published in January 2014)

The second most frequently asked question from my readers would be about my post-processing workflow and techniques. In contrary to popular practise I do not use Lightroom or Photoshop. I rely heavily on Olympus Viewer 3 for RAW development process and subsequently ACDsee 7 and the humble Picasa. I have shared my workflow in this blog entry and also a video screen grab to show me post-processing some images in action. 

I Have Joined Olympus Malaysia
(published in September 2013)

This may not be anything related much to photography, but more on a personal sharing. In 2013 I joined Olympus Malaysia in an official capacity, and decided that it was a prudent move to reveal this news soonest possible to my blog readers. I have always been honest and transparent in my blog, and this employment was made a public knowledge just before my OM-D E-M1 Review series. I shared my background story on how  got involved in Olympus and why I decided to leave my engineering career behind, to embark on this new journey. 

There you go, 12 specially compiled blog entries, which I think are special, and highly recommended for new people who have just visited this site and have not explored much. Instead of going through the extensive archives that have spanned many years (I have more than a thousand blog entries published), you can find out about my origin, background and all my important sharing articles pertaining to my photography in general. 

Do you agree that these 12 blog entries are must reads? Do you have other blog entries (non-gear review related of course) worthy to be added to this list? Please let me know your thoughts!

Also, you are always welcomed to suggest anything you want to hear from me, or want me to share. I shall do my best to make them happen. 

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The 50mm Perspective Weekend

The 50mm Perspective Weekend

If there is a new Olympus OM-D or PEN user, using the basic kit lenses, either M.Zuiko 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 EZ or the 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ asked which lens to go next, I would most likely answer them: stay with your kit lens and use it until you can create beautiful photographs with it. Then what is next? Surely by then, you will not ask me which lens to get because based on your experience shooting excessively with the kit lens, you would know what you need and what your preferences of shooting style would be, hence knowing what lenses to complement your shooting needs. This also largely corresponds to what kind of photography you are doing (surely you do not recommend a wildlife bird shooting to use a fisheye lens, would you?). 

If that photographer is still clueless on what to buy, or decided the kit lens is rubbish from the start (most people do any way) and want a lens that is versatile and will be frequently used, the answer is none other than the incredible Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. It is an equivalent of 50mm classic focal length, providing you with flexible perspective and easy to use frame coverage. This magical focal length can be used for a wide variety of photography subjects, ranging from every day casual shooting, portraits, a little bit of close up on details, tight landscapes, and so on. The lens being a prime lens, delivers excellent image quality, razor sharp even at wide open F1.8 and has minimal technical flaw. Yet it comes in a small and light package, matching OM-D and PEN compactness, thus easy to carry around or just fit into that small corner in your camera bag. The F1.8 wide open aperture allows shallow depth of field and at the same time useful for shooting in low light conditions. What is there not to like about this lens? If I were to pick one lens and say it is a must have (obviously if you already know what you are doing you surely have decided on your own must-have list of gear), surely it is the M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8. I bought mine as soon as it hit the market in Malaysia. 

I have spent the weekend with this lens, shooting around Petaling Street, as well as some urban skyscape shots since the haze is now gone. I brought only ONE lens. The 25mm f1.8 and I used it on the new OM-D E-M10 Mark II. 

I know this scene may appear ordinary and dull to you, but we Malaysians appreciate such clear sky and haze free air. You have no idea how bad it has been. Considering it is coming to the raining season very soon, it is best we shoot these shots in whatever chance we can find!

Baby in the bus

Sometimes, I am still surprised by how fast the AutoFocus on Olympus OM-D is. 

The Policeman

For this, I used the Silent Shutter on the E-M10 Mark II. 

Checkers

Hello

I thought it was quite ironic speaking through a mobile phone, as the man was standing next to the payphone. 

On the Head

Deep Blue

Texting

Sunday Morning guys

Kuala Lumpur by the Day

Kuala Lumpur after Sunset

A little Selfie with the 50mm perspective. Selfie with Bokeh yo!

The MUST have Coffee to end the session

And yes I was super hungry. 

In this blog entry alone, I have used the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 to shoot people, street photos, urban landscape and food. Most of the time, if I were to only bring ONE lens out (using a tiny bag) I would decide to just bring this M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8, I can hardly go wrong.

By now I know many of you own the M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 lens. Share your thoughts!

I Bought a Used Olympus PEN E-P5 And I Think It Is A Stolen Unit

I Bought a Used Olympus PEN E-P5 And I Think It Is A Stolen Unit

Something interesting happened last night. 

I bought a used Olympus PEN E-P5 Silver body. 

Firstly, I sold off the Panasonic GM1, to fund my purchase of the Olympus E-P5. I loved the GM1 to bits and it was difficult parting with it, but I shall save this story on why I decided to get E-P5 on my coming blog entry. The main reason I got the E-P5 body used, was that it was dirt cheap - after selling off my old GM1, I only had to top up RM100 (less than USD25) to purchase the E-P5. 

Now here are the observations I have made on the spot:

1) No Box, No Warranty Card, No Receipt

The seller just sold the camera to me, basically stripped naked. Not a big problem for me as the box served me no purpose. 

2) No Front Body Cap

The front body cap was missing, but the seller was kind enough to substitute with a Panasonic body cap (hence I knew the original Olympus cap was missing). The seller told me, at this point that he bought this E-P5 with  M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 lens together from another seller. I further asked if the rear lens cap was included when he made the purchase, and as suspected, the rear lens cap was missing. 

3) No Original Battery Charger

The original battery charger was also missing, and was replaced with a third party charger. I did get an original BLM-1 battery. 

4) Serial Number plate was ripped off

I checked the shutter count of the camera, it was only about 1.1k shutter actuations.  There was completely no scratch or dent, and camera appeared in near perfect condition, like new. Yet, the serial number plate at the bottom of the camera came off. It could not have been wear and tear, and it must have been ripped off intentionally, to prevent tracking. Luckily I work for Olympus, I can still trace the serial number of the camera. 

5) SIRIM Certification Logo almost ripped off

For newer cameras wth Wifi in Malaysia, SIRIM certification is compulsory, and the certified logo sticker will be seen somewhere on the camera (usually hidden behind the tilt screen). The corner of the rectangular logo was seen peeled off, but the sticker was still pretty much intact. Why would someone want to tear the sticker off?

So lets do a quick round up. E-P5 in super pristine condition, only 1.1k shutter count, came with no box, no charger, no caps, and serial number plate ripped off. 

I don't need to be a Civil Engineer to figure out something was wrong. but there is a high possibility it was a stolen unit. 

So here is the thing. 

I have checked with the Olympus Malaysia database and came up with no match. I have searched the camera serial number (I managed to find out the number, I work for Olympus) online, but returned with no results. My last effort to reach out to the original owner, is to post this here. 

If you were in Malaysia (SIRIM Sticker confirms this is a local Malaysian unit) and have lost an Olympus PEN E-P5 Silver Body (I assume not many people did), this could be your body. 

All you have to do, is email me directly at hamish7ian@gmail.com with the following details:

1) Full Name

2) SERIAL NUMBER of the E-P5

3) Scans or images of your original receipts/proof of purchase, and the warranty card

4) And whatever evidence you can supply to show you are the original owner. 

I need to be darn sure you are the owner of this E-P5. I am willing to return the camera to you for a small fee. 

Part of me wanted this camera so badly, and wanted to believe it was so cheap. But I know, I know how painful it was to have a camera stolen from you. Keeping the camera without trying to locate the original owner would be selfish. 

For those of you readers in Malaysia, please help share this post. At the mean time, I am going to take the E-P5 out for a spin this coming weekend. 

Devastation of My Favourite Street Shooting Location in Chow Kit

Devastation of My Favourite Street Shooting Location in Chow Kit

For many years now, Chow Kit has been my favourite street hunting ground. There are just so many amazing locations to shoot, with the background full of character and always filled with friendly people. There is this one particular spot at the old market building, at the storage section area, that I was particularly drawn to. I would never fail to visit this one part of Chow Kit market and spend at least 30 minutes (or more, if I was alone) to wait for the right subjects or moments to shoot. The lighting there was always almost perfect, with light leaks coming down from the roof, creating dramatic scene. Even the overall ambiance was suitable for beautiful portraits.

Unfortunately, much to my horror, I discovered last Sunday that the particular spot that I loved so much, has been burned down by accidental fire. At the time of my finding, it was already 10 days after the fire incident. I was away for one weekend due to KLPF (Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival) and I returned immediately the weekend after, even though haze was a huge problem.

I was walking along the path leading to the storage area, anticipating to create some beautiful photographs for this one shutter therapy session. As I walked closer and closer, I saw a cat which was not at her usual favourite resting position. The cat saw me and walked to me instantly, greeting me, and I decided to play with the cat for a bit. Somehow, I think the cat knew something I did not. As the cat walked forward a few meters, and I looked up, there and then I saw the whole place being burned down, destroyed. I was shocked, yes. The effect did not instantaneously sink in. Taking my time to visually inspect the extent of the fire damage (I am a qualified Civil Engineer after all), accessing the structural integrity and all... about a few minutes in, I could feel tears starting to build up behind my eyes.

I know it is ridiculous to feel anything for a place that I probably still am an alien to, and just passing by to shoot some photographs. Suddenly the memories of my time spent in this location, all the weekends, I waited at some spots to shoot, I just could not help it but feel sad, angry, and seriously devastated from inside out. This was my spot. Many of my best photographs, or at least the ones I liked the most came from this very spot. I came here so often that it is just wrong to see it all gone. Just like that. I felt betrayed. I felt so much pain which I do not even know how to describe properly.

Taken some time last year in September (Vintage Art Filter, testing/review shot for E-PL7)

The exact same spot, taken last Sunday

Another perspective of the burned down portion of the storage area. 

I think I stood frozen, staring at this scene for an almost full 10 minutes. I just could not believe it was not there any more. Almost every single time I had a visitor from overseas, i would bring there here. I have also shared this location (I do not really keep secrets about my street shooting, if you know me well enough) to my peers and fellow street photographer friends. We have shot here many times, and they all knew that this was my special spot. 

Almost, every single time I have a new camera or lens, I would come here, even though I would sometimes not shoot anything at this particular spot. I would come here anyway. 

I have quickly searched through my archives and found the following few shots, which now only remain as photographs. Memories of the past. I was glad to have discovered this place and made some images that I am proud of. 

Look at that dramatic light coming down from the roof!!!

The play of highlight and shadow is easily achieved in this section. That is why I frequent this place, possibilities of creating stunning shot is very high. 

I have found so many different ways to document this one spot, by varying my compositions and using even the market items as my foreground. 

Almost a similar composition to the previous photo, but in full glorious color. 

Cats are residents here and I have spent almost half my time here playing with them. 

View from a story above. Almost everything you see on the right of the frame was burned down. 

You know all those many cat photographs that I have taken? 90% of them were from this one spot! Perfect lighting, and the cats were human friendly. 

Even some of my best close up street portraits were taken here at the storage area. The dramatic lighting created excellent portrait shots. 

Spoke to this lady who was a florist in a lot affected by the fire. She expressed her frustration and anger to me, which amplified my own emotions. She suspected the fire was not an accident. 

Such a nice spot to just relax and chill. By just standing there I could find some sort of calm even during the busiest and most stressful times of my life. 

Numbers on the walls and doors 

That high contrast is perfect for black and white photographs. 

Scenes of carts being moved around was normal. It was after all, a storage area, where market items were moved around from this place, back and forth to the nearby operating market stalls. 

if you are patient enough sometimes interesting things can happen in your frame. I have lost count of how much time I have spent here. 

Those streaks of light, they just added so much depth to the photograph, no matter how it was being composed. 

That particular section of storage being opened, and yes, all around were doors, opening to storage spaces inside. 

Fred & CJ

Matti Sulanto was here

Jackie was here too. 

Shaun has been here many times!

Thanks to Matti who took this shot. 

I should be thankful that I was given a tremendous amount of opportunities to shoot this location, and have been here so many times. 

I used to joke with some friends that I can always bring them here, and the street locations will not go anywhere. Sometimes we take things for granted. This is a stern reminder to myself that nothing lasts forever, and I should treat each shooting session like it was my last one and to strive the best I could for each shot that I will be making. Now all I could think about was what else I could have done better in my shots here in this burned location of Chow Kit? A little too late for that now. 

I will still return to Chow Kit and shoot the surrounding areas, but from now onward, Chow Kit will never be the same again. 

My Street Shooting Workflow in Flow Chart

My Street Shooting Workflow in Flow Chart

So, I thought it would be cool to produce a workflow chart to show my street shooting processes. The chart is quite self-explanatory.

MY STREET SHOOTING WORKFLOW 

If you want to read in full detail about 'How I Approach my Street Portraits" please read the lengthy blog entry I have written here (click) quite recently.


Stephan, my blog reader and visitor from Germany is spending his last few days in KL, and we went out for one final shutter therapy session for him, this time in Pudu. I always love shooting on the markets, and below I am sharing some shots from the earlier session. 

Thankfully the haze got much better today, not sure why and how, but it was good for us as we needed to shoot outdoor. I got with me the Olympus OM-D E-M10 and two M.Zuiko lenses 45mm f1.8 and 25mm F1.8. It was strange, that I purposely left out the gear that I used for my last blog entry and the few repeated questions here in the comment section as well as my Facebook page, a few people asking me what camera and lenses I used to capture the images shown. 

Stephan on his final few days in KL

I really hoped you have enjoyed your time in KL, especially shooting at the streets at Chow Kit and Pudu. There are more places to explore, but I think you have covered the best parts of KL. Do come back to Malaysia again!

Yellow Boots

I like how the man looked so relaxed at where he was sitting, and there was a fan nearby with a bottle of water. 

Waiting. 

While the wife go shopping?

Portrait of a Stranger

Balancing Act. 

Yes this shot is out of focus, a little bit, but that was fine. I was slow to focus and shoot as I saw this. 

Big Fish

I did not approach this man, he offered to pose for us. Sometimes people can be extra friendly, if you already put your friendly aura on. 

Morning Market Folks

Another example of not needing to ask, but volunteered portrait shots. 

Young Kids

Red Chilli

High Places

Friends

Green Tea Latte

So do you find the flow chart making any sense? If you have been following my blog all this time, the flowchart should not come as any surprise. I thought it was fun to have it in a logical process flow.