Meet Joel Salom

Went to Fremantle on last Friday to check out the street events during the Fremantle Arts Festival 2010 but it proved to be a rather futile effort as I got the dates all messed up. It turned out that the event was actually scheduled for the next three days! We were going to go yesterday but we ran out of time (woke up too late to be precise). Fortunately, we managed to get our act together and made it back down to Fremantle this afternoon. It was a very family orientated event and we had a fantastic time down there. There were so many great shows by so many talented local and international artists, performers and comedians. However, I dare to say the show by Joel Salom was the best out of the lots. He is a great comedian, musician and a brilliant juggler, and his little robot dog (Erik) act is hilarious. Here are some of the shots I took during his performance, more photos to come on my photoblog soon!

An afternoon stroll in Freo

USS George Washington (CVN73)

This Giant US Navy aircraft carrier was docked 3km off Fremantle Port this week and we were lucky to come across it on our way to Cottlesloe today.











Here are some facts about this amazing nuclear-powered carrier:
Displacement: Approximately 101,000 long tons
Length: 332.8m
Flight Deck Area: 4.5acres
Power: 2x nuclear reactors that permit the carrier to steam for almost 18 years before refueling
Range: Virtually unlimited! (I need a car with nuclear reactor!)
Speed: About 56+km/hr
Number of aircrafts: 75
Propellers: 4x five-bladed brass propellers weighing 30,000kg each
Anchors: Two, each weighing 30,000kg as well
Meals: 7 galleys serving 18,000 meals daily
Water distiller: 15,000L fresh water daily
Crew accommodations: 6,250

Backfocus...a real pain!

Back focus is when the focus point or the focal plane is behind of the focus point where you originally intended. I first noticed this issue with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, especially with the aperture wide open. Although taking close-up shots, it is not much of a problem but as the distance between the subject and the camera increases, the back focus problem worsens. Mucking around with the autofocus/microadjustment setting of my camera improves the situation slightly but the problem is never fully resolved. Hence, AF with the 50mm is unfortunately a hit or miss affair most of the time. With the Canon EF 70-200mm, it consistantly front-focus for some reason, luckily by adjusting the autofocus/microadjustment setting to +5, it fixed the issue all together...or as far as I can see anyway.

These shots were taken on Sunday in Perth during a lazy afternoon stroll. Despite the unpredictable weather and sporadic downpour, there were still plenty of shoppers around for the end of yet another financial year sale.

A fun evening with a bunch of old friends

After gobbled up 6 pizzas from out favourite pizza heaven, Little Ceasars in Mundaring, we went for a quick photo session around South Perth. Unfortunately, the sun has set by the time we got there and the dwindling light did not help us at all. As a result of higher iso and the use of flash, the shots turned up very grainy and some, unnaturally exposed. Shooting portait is still very new for both me and Wayne, and a lot still need to be learnt. I guess I am probably better suited for flowers and insects photography lol!

Not quite a long weekend :(

Well, for most people, this weekend is a long weekend but poor me, I will have to work tomorrow. I know I know, this is nothing compared to my poorer friend Wayne who has to work both Sunday and Monday, that would really suck big time hehe! We were back at Kings Park earlier this evening for another WASO concert, this time with Human Nature. Well, actually it was just a rehearsal for the actual concert that will be taking place at the same venue on Saturday and Sunday :) ...so it was free!

Have a great long weekend guys!

A fun weekend or not...

Yesterday night, we attended the Rio Tinto Christmas party at the Adventure World with my niece and nephew. Overall, it was not too bad at all if not because of my pounding headache. I have never been to Adventure World before and because I have heard so much great things about the park, I went to the park carrying high expectations.

To my disappointment, I was suprise to find out how small the actual fun park is. Moreover, the facilities and equipments there are fairly old and ill maintained considering the astronomical entry fee per person that the park demands. The last check on the board, for $45/adult, $37/child and $39/pensioner or concession card holder, it is not cheap by any standard! Nevertheless, it was still a fun night out with the kids. Will I go back again?....well, definitely not as a paying patron :)

Six months later - another new car :)

Ok Ok...we are now officially broke but we are happy :) Introduce the new car for Jin, a Ford Focus 2.0 with all the bells and whistles such as alloy wheels, cruise control, trip computer, semi-automatic transmission, electric everything and leather-clad steering wheel. We traded in her aging Holden Barina which we bought about 2 years ago from the City Holden. That Barina was a total nightmare in the last 6 months and had gone through one repair after another, costing us in excess of $2k in total. Saying that, we did not just buy a cheap second off the street, it was a $11k car we bought from a reputable Holden dealer and for that price, you would expect to get at least a few more years out of it right? WRONG! In fact, way wrong! In the end, it's just another lemon from Holden (anything new?).

Anyway, gone is the trouble :) Jin is overjoyed with her new car and with 107kw of power at her disposure, it's a far cry from a useless and gutless 1.4 thrash in the Barina. The car is smooth to drive and the 4 speed semi-automatic works flawlessly in peak hour city traffic as well as on the freeway. We got the car from John Hughes Park Ford in Victoria Park and was delivered this morning. The staff at the dealer are really friendly and helpful and purchasing the Focus from them was a delightful experience. So there you go, if you are looking to upgrade to a new Ford, head down to Park Ford and you will know what I mean.

New Ikea Super Store!

Really, before I begin, this is not about any IKEA promotion so please don't worry LOL! A good buddy of mine, Waynus mentioned once in his blog that one of his friend is afraid of mimes and apparently there was one in the new IKEA store. So we decided to check it out yesterday morning, which was indeed a beautiful morning until we got there at the store.

Getting there was a breeze from the Mitchell Freeway, you won't miss the imposing sign of IKEA on the Cedric Street exit. This gargantuan superstore don't get the title as the biggest store in the southern hemisphere for nothing, it is huge indeed...but again...to get that sort of title in the southern hemisphere is not entirely that hard anyway :)

To find a parking spot in a sea of cars was a daunting experience, so I decided to park on the giant uncovered parking field next to the store, which was covered with soft yellow sands. Even then, the makeshift parking was pretty much full! So, as you have probably guessed, my poor Toyota was bogged down before we even started our "adventure". After I tried digging the front wheels out with my four paws to no avail, we decided to beg for help from the ever so helpful IKEA staffs.

After running up and down, one of the IKEA staff said to us: "that parking area is NOT an IKEA's property, so it is not our responsibility that your car is bogged down there". Inside of me, I was fuming but I managed to ignore what he said because, after all, I was the one buried in deep shit and in need of help at the time. What are we? I thought we are loyal IKEA's customers and they are supposed to look after their patrons? After all, nearly 15-20% of our bits and pieces at home sport the IKEA tags!

Luckily one of the more helpful staff agreed to sacrifice a few minutes of his time and give us a hand. However, after a few trials, the nose of my car was officially resting on the dirt as the front wheels frantically scratched for traction (traction control I heard?) I phoned RAC (Royal Automobile Club) of which I was a member for the past 15 years I was driving but they doubted their mechanics were going get me out of this sticky situation, so they suggested I call a tow truck. Luckily, while we were their, another guy rocked up in his great Holden Ute and his rear shinny allow wheels were seriously bogged behind us as well. Tell you what?! It's nice to have a "mate" in the same sticky situation LOL!

As our hope and patience were running thin, he flagged down a guy in his Toyota landcruiser who, thanks heaven, was able to give us a much needed pulling hand! I should have asked for your name but if you ever come across my blog, you have my sincere thank you and I will forever remember you as our saviour!! ....and long live Toyota landcruiser!!

To IKEA!! Your reputation is merely saved by one of your more helpful staff! Perhaps you should erect a sign near the entrance of that parking area "for 4WD only or enter at your own peril"! Perhaps you should build the biggest proper carpark in the southern hemisphere. Perhaps you should train their staffs to be more reasonable and helpful.

Perhaps...we should have gone to FREEDOM instead! One thing for sure, we won't be going back to the store in a hurry!

Josh Groban AWAKE Tour (Perth)

Josh Groban burst on to the international music scene in 2001 with the release of his self-titled debut album featuring the hit single, "To Where You Are." His follow up CD "Closer" with the smash hit "You Raise Me Up" brought enormous success to the young singing sensation. "Awake" was his third studio album which was release late in 2006.

Perth was his last stop of the Awake Tour around Australia. The concert was held at Challenge Stadium on 14/10, which lasted about 90mins. There is only one word to describe his concert : SENSATIONAL!! He performed brilliantly throughout the concert and has proved that he is a musician of many talents! What I meant was, he can sing (did I mention he CAN sing?), cracking jokes every so often, a brilliant pianist and as a drummer, he rocks! Well, how do you know a concert is good?....easy, it is when you get goose-bumps during the concert hehe!

He performed most of the songs from his lastest alhum AWAKE, which includes my favs, You are loved (don't give up), February Song, So She Dances and Un Giorno Per Noi. He also threw in quite a few of my favourite old numbers from his previous albums which include my all time favourites, Remember When It Rained and You Raise Me Up.

If you still haven't heard of Josh Groban, you haven't heard a music at all!!!

The only complaint I have about this concert was those ass-killer seats! Yes, it was cheapo hard plastic seat which was not the most comfortable on earth....but in the end, it was well worth the effort :))

An afternoon around Freo

Another do nothing achieve nothing day :) Woke up late, then we have a very "healthy breaky" at Hungry Jack (Burger King) before going to Ikea because Jin wanted to look at some wall shelf unit. After lunch, I grabbed my Canon and we went down to Freo for an afternoon stroll around the market. Morning started out very cloudy but afternoon has turned up to be a rather pleasant day, it will be a sin to stay at home I think :)

I took some sunset photos at the Coogee Beach Holiday Park and I have posted a couple at Flickr. I have never been to this part of the beach in Freo before, there is a jetty on the beach as well but it is no way as long as the one in Woodman Point. So I guess if you are looking for a fishing spot, just drive down another 10km or so to Woodman Point.

The following 2 photos were taken earlier this morning...just mucking around with my lighting.

Here is a photo of some dried flowers which we bought from a craft show in Guildford.

Summary of the week :)

I haven't been updating my blog as often as I would like...reason...just being lazy and spending the bulk of my free time practising photoshop and photography. Last weekend we discovered a great picnic area next to the Swan River near Swan valley, less than 20 mins drive from the city.

This place is very tranquil and relaxing, definitely a stark contrast from those regular weekend "hang out" areas such as South Perth or Kings Park which are frequented by parents and their screaming children. It is situated just off the second bridge alone Swan Valley drive from Great Eastern Hwy. After the picnic, we went to our favourite winery, the Fish Tail and got ourselves a dozen of Rose :)

Last Tuesday, we went to watch the much anticipated 5th installment of the popular Harry Potter movies. Well, this time for the first time I couldn't even bother to write a review for the movie. It's just a mixed bag, CG is getting a whole lot better with great eye candy but apart from that, the story is very weak. I nearly fall asleep during the first half of the movie! The biggest let down is the ending...what a disappointment! .....so what was all the hype?! But don't let me stop you from going to that movie...I am no fan of Harry anyway!

During the past few days, I have been taking many photos again. Most of my good posts can be found on my Flickr website.

A day in Perth Hills

Today was another one of those "doing-nothing again" day :) We decided to head for a drive to Perth Hills to visit the Springdale Art exhibitions in Kalamunda. It was rather relaxing with lunch at the Stirk Park in Kalamunda until I got shitted (pardon my language) by bird later during the day. Will come back to that later but Stirk Park in Kalamunda is one of the most picturesque park I have ever visited around Perth. I have added couple of photos in my flickr with Jin as my "model" :) If you happen to find yourself sitting at home doing nothing during one of the weekends, please take a short drive to the Hills, you won't regret it!


Then we drove along the Mundaring Road across the hill and stopped by the Mundaring Weir Hotel for a cuppa. It's a nice discovery actually and we promise ourselves that we will go back again, may be for a meal or two next time. The little cafe was packed full of people and I could see the poor girl behind the counter manning the espresso machines could barely keep up with the orders :)

Oh yea...did I mentioned the defecating bird? I think I must have upsetted some birds in my previous life, this was probably the second time birds having fecal incontinent on top of me! Why me?? Well...thinking about it...I got attacked by magpie before, so this was not so bad I guess. It all happened near where I took the above shot :)

A crazy day

I am so so full...yea...still full at 2am in the morning, I was so full earlier on that I couldn't even sit properly...so full that I feel like throwing out :P

This morning, we had BBQ with Mal and Jenny and their friends in King's Park. I was pretty hungry this morning considering that I only had a piece of bread for brekki. Yea...so hungry that I ended up eating more than my stomach could handle I think. Furthermore, we forgot to bring water, instead I washed down my food with only red wine! So driving home at the time was probably out of the question, so we decided to hang around the park and had an afternoon nap there :)

Then we went to brother's house for dinner straight from King's Park with my stomach still pretty much full. The noodle that he cooked was so nice that I couldn't resist but to gobble down the whole lot in a giant bowl! So, back to square one...loosing control over eating?...happening to me all the time!

Another lazy afternoon gone by :)

Today was a truely lazy Sunday...woke up late, breakfast in the bed and computer game for couple of hours, then went down to city for an afternoon stroll. Actually it was Jin's idea because she wanted to have a look at some autumn sales in Myer and Cue :) For me...as usual, lugged around my camera gear whenever possible just to catch something unexpected may be :)

After browsing through quite a few "fashion outlets", my stomach started to grumble. We had a great lunch at the Sassellas Tavern above the city arcade. We love the pub/restaurant setting and most of all, they serve food in gigantic proportion. Of course, going to a pub with having a booze or two will be a shame!

I bought a ND4 filter alone the way in the hope that it may help "slow down" some action in reasonably bright daylight. Earlier experiments can be found here. I think I might need a darker ND8 to handle some brighter situations.

5 years together!

2/4/07 marks 5 years me and Jin has been together! Time really does fly and I reckon the older one gets, the fast time flies.. I am worry!! :(

This is the first time I use the google blogger after Wayne sent me his blogger address. Previously I used to use msn my space but I think it's not as flexible as this one. I have more info and photos posted here!

Today is a lazy day for us, we went to city after lunch because Jin wanted to exchange one of her garment which she bought yesterday. Then we strolled around city and ended up in No.44 King Street cafe and had a nice banana cheese cake there. If you happen to drop by, please do your taste buds a favour, get the cheezzz cake... you won't regret it!