Black & White 100 Project - 98 of 100

"Three's Company" — Leica M2 and Canon 50/1.4 LTM on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

Probably a good illustration to how your choice of framing affects how the viewer may perceive the photograph, and what story it tells. A photograph is also an insight into the photographer's mind. I kind of wonder what I was thinking here, besides "that fellow looks lonely".

Black & White 100 Project - 97 of 100

"Provision Shop" — Leica M2 and Canon 50/1.4 LTM on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

One thing that distinguishes MacPherson estate from most of the rest of Singapore are the many small, "mom-n-pop" shops that populate it. Many have long histories that will not be guaranteed. This kind shop-owner has been running this provision shop for 40 years, and the shop has been around for 60. His dad and mom handed it over to him, and he will be retiring at the end of this year.

Neither he nor I know what will happen to the shop after he retires, as all three of his children are established academics who are happy with their careers. Going into the family business is not fashionable, least of all if the business is not a fashionable one to begin with. But the local provision shop is a part of Singaporean culture, and one that many take for granted. Like shopping for fresh produce at a wet market, where the vegetable seller will throw in some spring onions because we bought a buttload of other veges. Then eating at the local coffeeshop, where the auntie or uncle serving drinks remembers your usual orders and have them ready before your seat is warmed up. Then the provision shop, where kids and adults can get most of every household essential, from cooking oil to soft drinks to cheap candy and toys.

I'll be back soon to take more photos and maybe have a longer chat with him. These are places and things and people that we might not get to see for too much longer.

Black & White 100 Project - 91 of 100

"Ninja In Town" — Leica M2 and Canon 50/1.4 LTM on Kodak Tri-X. All rights reserved.

Haven't posted a photo to the project for some time, because I'm spending more time editing and selecting my photos. So here's one of a ninja I saw while in Orchard Road. He's not a real ninja, obviously, but I thought it was a laugh to run into one in the middle of the shopping belt. Right next to a advertisement featuring a train, no less.

Something few will be excited about

The last couple of weeks have had many photography enthusiasts wetting themselves with the slew of prodict announcements. Nikon unveiled their long-awaited D700 follow-up, the D800 (and the sans AA filter D800E), Olympus with their OM-D E-M5 (quite a mouthful, but I'll stick to calling it the OM-D), and even Canon jumped into the fray with a refresh of their professional workhorse, standard zoom, the EF 24-70 USM II.

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Black & White 100 Project - 11 of 100

"Umbrella" - Canon EOS 3 and Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50 ZE on Kodak Tri-X at EI 250. All rights reserved.This was taken just outside a Learning Resource Centre at La Salle. I'm not sure why they can't just call it a library any more, but it sure looks like a library from the outside. As it was raining earlier, someone had left his umbrella outside the library to dry; between the umbrella's placement, the patterns on the floor and the textured wall, the composition presented itself.

The biggest challenge was to brace myself against another wall as the shutter speed was quite slow, but it worked out well. The 30 minutes or so of exploration at La Salle was not one of choice, as we were hemmed in by the rain, but it turned out to be rather fruitful.

Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50 ZE vs Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM - Test Notes

Back in August, Chris Vu and I exchanged our favoured 50mm lenses and agreed to write a short post about it. It was a simple exercise between two crazy photographers: I got to test his Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens while he tested my Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50mm ZE, and we share our notes. Which makes this is a long-overdue post. In summary, for those of you without the patience to indulge us, our conclusion was simple: we both made the correct choice. But it would be remiss for me to just leave it at that. You can click here for Chris' test notes, and mine are after the jump.

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Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM reviewed by DPR

They like it. A lot.

Overall, then, the EF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS II USM gains about as close as it gets to an unqualified recommendation, given the price. Its combination of exceptional optics and quirk-free design even manages to surpass Nikon's equivalent that we tested recently, stealing the crown of 'Best in Class' by a whisker. It's a significant improvement over what was already an accomplished lens, capable of consistently delivering results that will satisfy the most demanding of users, and you can't ask for much more than that.

Sounds great right? I'm almost willing to bet that somewhere in the photographic world, some idiot would go "but the bokeh isn't as nice as the old one" and use that alone to slam the lens. It's a great lens, and if I had the money or the need for it, I would buy it.

Objects of Desire

I am prone to going weak in the knees for a nice, new, shiny object. I admit it. But who can say no to these? (Warning: gratuitous photography gear images inside.)

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