I can’t listen to band photographers griping about current state of affairs without saying my piece.

Photo credit: Josefina Takes a Picture by carlosluis

Recently I’ve been reading a spate of emails from professional band photographers complaining that “amateurs with point-and-shoots” are being allowed into the pits, and that record companies, bands and management firms are expecting images for free.

As much as I love shooting live bands more than anything, it’s pretty obvious that this is not a career path capable of paying the mortgage. So, I do it for fun and the occasional remuneration. My genuine photography income comes from bread and butter stuff like portraiture and corporate events. Those things need photographers that know what they are doing. Amateurs cannot yet service that demand. They can service the need for live band images.

My annoyance at these photographers who can’t see the forest for the trees led me to respond as such. I thought I’d share. (more…)

I’m forever being asked about DSLRs and which one to buy for newbies.
There is no right or wrong answer to that question, so all I can do is explain at a basic level why you should do it, and which cameras and lenses are important for what purposes.

To save some time in the future I have posted a link to an article posted by the Age on this topic.
Before you read it, be aware that this reviewer has only looked at cameras from the perspective that you are only going to buy one camera (body) including the included (kit) lens.
For the average amateur that is fine and good, but if you get the bug, and I bet you will, you will need more lenses according to your interests.  Please be aware that LENSES are the most important thing, not the camera body.
After all, you capture light traveling through glass, not electrons traveling through plastic and gadgetry.

So, my advice to you after reading this post is to consider the Canon and Nikon bodies first, as they have the largest and best possible lens range available.  Don’t get me wrong, the Sony is a great camera, and if you are certain you will not get bitten hard by the photography bug then go ahead and buy that one off the shelf. They too, have decent lenses, but nowhere near the range of Nikon & Canon.
Also, be aware that without spending a fair bit more on a better lens at time of purchase, the stock “kit” lens that comes with these cameras is usually not a lot better than a boat anchor.  Enjoy using it to learn photography, but your photography will benefit greatly with an upgrade as soon as you have started to understand what you are doing.

So, finally, here’s the link to the Choosing a DLSR camera article.

Tags: camera, DSLR, upgrade, compact, tutorial

I’m back in Melbourne, and taking a look at my online photo galleries I’ve realised I haven’t posted any band shots since early this year! Time to change that.

Wednesday night presented an opportunity to go see my friends in Asleep In The Park at the Brunswick Hotel.

Max in her trademark colour

Not known for it’s stage or lighting setup, I wasn’t expecting to shoot much, but of course I brought my camera just in case. Well, the lighting was well improved, and although the place was completely red I still managed to shoot some images I like.

The band rocked the house - they’ve improved out of sight since I last saw them. Very tight, new drummer, better song arrangements and production. Thanks guys for trimming down on the chaotic madness your music was getting lost in, and getting back to showing how good your song-writing is.

Rotation of duties

Marty goes without

Nomes in the engine room

I can’t believe how hard it is to get the rest of my holiday documented here. But what I have been doing is throwing up the unedited photos into Picasa so at least you can see them without the accompanying story if you want to.

So, instead of waiting forever for me to update this blog, check out my Picasa site for galleries of where I’ve been. I’ll be updating Picasa every day or two, so keep checking back.

Well, I’m finally back home and the last few weeks absolutely flew by.  I’m very glad to be home but I will really miss many aspects of my trip.  Japan was by far my favourite country and I would really love to go back to Tokyo again - this time for much longer.  Maybe I can find a job that involves travel there…?

As I predicted, I simply didn’t have any time left at the end of each long day to update this blog.  SO.  I will be updating each day’s observations and photos after the fact, however I will be dating the posts according to the actual days I took the photos.  Therefore you will need to check below this post for new posts.  Expect no more than one post per day from Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) up until Japan (including a few hours in Cairns), with all Asian holiday posts ending on August 8.

I’ll try to kick things off tomorrow…

Sorry for the delay in updates, and there will be even longer to wait.  I’ve been crook with a gastro thingy since I left Sabah, but am still active enough to get all the things done I want to do.  However, whenever I am not diving or travelling I am sleeping - literally.

Right now I am waiting for a ride to see some of Cebu before I take a plane back to Manila.  Tonight I’ll be taking a private car to Anilao for my final dives of the Philippines. So far I’ve dived Boracay and Cebu.  My camera setup has proved to not be suitable for dive photography, although it is great for snorkelling.  If I do this again I’ll be buying a hard case and another camera body.

I still have to blog my entire week in Sabah, and I suspect I’ll be in Japan by the time I next get online.  That means Philippines, Vietnam and Hong Kong will all go by in a hurry.

Well, got to go.  Look out for my photography updates once I feel better and get time to edit photos and write guff to go with them.

Today I set off for the Rainforest Discovery Centre where I was hoping to stumble across some hornbills amongst other things. I did end up seeing one, but it was too far away to photograph. Instead, I saw what looked like a goanna (it was a monitor lizard), and some very interesting flora.

From Asia - Malays…

From Asia - Malays…

From Asia - Malays…

After lunch and a rest back at the lodge, where I continued to try to photograph these giant “bees” (can anyone tell me what they are?), it was off to the Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary.

What an interesting drive. We were transported in a small minivan over extremely bad roads for about an hour. To make it more precarious it started to rain steadily. Of course we got bogged, when the transmission bottomed out, and we had to get out to help push the van free. Other than that, no real dramas ensued on the way. The sanctuary itself was great. Plenty of monkeys around, four groups apparently, and they either had no fear of the rain or they were very hungry.

From Asia - Malays…

From Asia - Malays…

From Asia - Malays…

Four hornbills were around too, so I was thrilled to finally get a shot of one in the wild.

From Asia - Malays…

The rain stopped not long after we arrived, however the trip back would not prove to be so easy and I asked that we get the number of the sanctuary in case we had to send for a 4WD to bail us out. For one, the roads were now very muddy and slippery, and secondly we needed to be back at the airport in 2 hours. It took nearly that long, but our driver did a fantastic job of negotiating the almost impassable bogs. We got stuck once, but after moving me into position over the rear wheels my recent excess baggage helped regain grip and off we went.

Not helping was the grumpy water buffalo that seemed ready to gore the van to death whenever we got too close. The thing had been tethered by the horns to a tree, and was none too happy about it - tossing it’s head around and constantly crossing the road just as we were ready to rush past. After about 20 minutes debating what to do, I was about to get out and pull it back to it’s original tether location whilst the van got past, then all of a sudden he looked the other way for long enough that we floored it. In hindsight I am sure he was very gentle and just wanted to let us get on with our life so he could get on with his.

From Asia - Malays…

Arriving back to the Magellan Sutera Resort in KK (Kota Kinabalu, Sabah) I’m completely exhausted. However I’m told by reception that I’ve been upgraded to the Premium Suite (or whatever it’s called) as the room I was meant to be in has been in very high demand. This upgrade is sensational. It’s a suite nearly as big as my house, and it’s right on the ocean edge so I get to hear the waves crashing all night. Perfect - I might not go anywhere now.

From Asia - Malays…

From Asia - Malays…

Actually, I’m off to do 30kms of Grade 3-4 whitewater rafting tomorrow, so better get to bed.

My final day in KL and I still had a list of things I wanted to do. I wanted to catch up with my Melbourne friend (and model) Natasha Shan

and I also wanted to see Lake Garden along with some of the parks within. Tash wanted me to try some more local food, so we combined both. She and her sister, Tania, picked me up at KLCC after I took the monorail to get there. Along the way you can see inside the old jail. I’m told that it was closed before the monorail was built, which is a good thing, as I can’t imagine how it would feel to actually be able to see the prisoners on your way to work each day.

First stop was a street corner offering with authentic Indian breads, curries and chicken pieces. I stuck with non-spicy stuff (surprising both girls at how sensitive my taste buds are), banana roti (I think) and fried chicken. Lovely. Later we stopped for “tea”, which is apparently an actual meal between lunch and dinner. KL-ians (sounds like something from Battlestar Galactica) eat six small meals a day!

Worrying about rain which eventually stayed away, we navigated to the Bird Park in Lake Garden. This kept me clicking away for quite some time, whilst Tania stalked peacocks with her new Nikon D60 until it decided it had taken enough photos and wouldn’t let her take any more. Of course I told her that a Canon would be far more receptive to her needs.

The day started well when this brat of a Lovebird decided to eat my finger. I had been watching another guy tempt it into sitting on his hand by offering his finger to nibble on. When it came my turn the bird decided my finger was far more tasty than the one he is sampling right now (stunt hand used for photograph) and took a chunk out instead. I hope he gets food poisoning.

I fell in love with Hornbills the moment I saw these two clumsily hopping and flapping their way around their cage. I’ve been looking for them in the wild ever since, and whilst they look awkward on the ground or whilst hopping between branches on trees, they look fantastic when gliding in flight.

I love this stork. I can tell it has a sense of humour by the look in it’s eyes, and I think it’s only putting on a typical stork pose because it knows we expect that and it likes to entertain.

I’ve never seen an orange Ibis and I must have taken about 20 shots of this one. You can see he really wants to scream, “Leave me alone you freak!”.

Dinner was with Tash and Tan’s family and friends at the Royal Selangor Club. This is a rather exclusive cricket club with spectacular night views.

I arrived early to find that I couldn’t enter via the public entrance because I was wearing jeans. I also had to wait in the foyer as I was not a member. Being yet another hot and humid day I was rather thirsty so asked if there was a nearby bar in which I could wait. The answer was no, but a good samaritan named “Henry” was on his way out as I asked the question. He came over to me and asked if I would like to join him in the “Cellar”, much to Tash’s later amusement as she wondered at my seeming ability to pick up anyone. Henry was great company, and it turned out he knew Tash’s Dad. I learnt all about his kids, where they were studying, and how much his 14yo daughter racks up in phone and internet bills (A combined $1000 a month!). I resisted the urge to tell him that it serves him right for having children, as I doubt much of the world feels the way I do about that topic. Henry was quite happy to keep buying me beers, but Tash eventuated to rescue me.

The food was, as expected, very very good, and the company even better. Sorry about me spoiling this one - I look like a well-fed deer caught in headlights. Do you now see why I am usually the photographer?

Ken, this is especially for you…

Leaving for home I noticed a building on which an entire side has become a digital advertising screen. Both video and stills run on this giant screen. I believe this is called City Hall. Blows Melbourne’s meagre efforts at looking modern out of the water.

Batu Caves is a very sacred and popular spot for Hindus - look it up in Google to save me having to write about it.  I decided to take the 20 minute taxi ride to see it.  The most significant things about the caves are the 272 steps to get to the entrance, and the largest statue of a particular Hindu deity in the world.

Another attraction that everyone told me about was that there were monkeys everywhere and to watch out that you didn’t have things stolen by them.  None to be seen, I’m afraid - except the two sad ones in a cage.  There were, however, a couple of fairly nondescript and tiny “temples” and a man with a big yellow python.  These girls were pretty excited about that.

The view back down to the ground, and overlooking the city wasn’t bad, and some of the architecture was OK too.  I think this place would be more interesting when the special events you can read about in Google are taking place.

An unspoken significant experience to be had at Batu Caves is being torn apart limb by limb by rabid taxi drivers fighting over who is going to take you back to your hotel.  I had to physically restrain one “gentleman” after he started to get a little over-enthusiastic.

Later that evening I decided to walk down to Chinatown.  This is like a little Bangkok, with fake everything for sale and hawkers trying everything to get your attention and business. I probably paid too much for leather Mont Blanc carry-on luggage, but I needed it and it is probably cheaper than I could get at home.  Well, I hope it is.

The food was fantastic however, and it was a lot of fun to watch the tourists go by as I ate.

Kuala Lumpur went by in almost a total blur. So much to do, so many people to catch up with (where did they all come from, and why are they all in KL?), and so much food to eat.

There are a few things that really stand out for me in KL. One is that every time I have been at the airport (3 times now, soon to be 4), it has been raining. It’s the only time it has been raining for me in Malaysia. Therefore I still don’t really know what the airport looks like.

KL seems to be a city of contradictions. It is very modern, yet has much old charm, early 1900s British architecture, and Bangkok-style people-chaos. I stayed on Jalan Pudu, between Bukit Bintang and Chinatown, in an area known as the Golden Triangle. (Jalan means “street”). This seemed to be the busiest road in KL, and it didn’t help that it is also the home to the largest and oldest bus terminal in KL. All day, hundreds of buses would constantly crawl down this two lane road on their way to the terminal. At night this would turn into hundreds parked for a kilometre or so as they can’t get into the terminal itself. It seems that everybody wants to travel by bus to Singapore, Penang, Bangkok and more, 24/7. I can only assume it is because the television selections are almost non-existent here.

So to get anywhere I usually walked to the Imbi monorail station and travelled to a better place from which to source a taxi or walk further. Coming back to the hotel, I had to direct the driver to keep him out of traffic jams. A few things I have learned about Malaysians:

• They don’t like to walk - even very short distances. They think I am mad because I walk everywhere.
• They are scared of the rain. They seem to think it is acidic (I think it is refreshing)
• They are not very good at finding their way around their own city
• They don’t know terribly much about their own city.

This may seem like a short list of negatives, but in fact it worked to my benefit. It meant I got to show some of them sights they hadn’t seen, and it made me feel better about knowing where I was going and that I can handle finding my way around strange cities.

KL also uses a massive amount of electricity. I am told that this is because it generates too much, and has to have an outlet (???). All I will say is that they are obsessed with pretty lights and neon. I am not complaining because it makes for a beautiful skyline and attractive street-scapes (assuming you like that sort of thing).

So much of my time in KL was spent lunching and having dinner with friends and acquaintances. People love to entertain and look after you here. A really big thanks goes out to all my new friends who took such good care of me, especially to Natasha and Tania who did everything and more to ensure I enjoyed the local food, treated me at Royal Selangor Club and were better than perfect hosts.  Tania, you are going to love that Nikon (too bad it’s not a Canon). ;-)  See you back in Melbourne.

As I spent a lot more time being entertained, and a lot less time being a tourist, I’ve a lot less photos to share from KL.  Here’s a brief selection.

I’ve asked a lot of people, and I still don’t know what “chicks” are in this context.

Bukit Bintang and Chinatown are the closest things I could find to Bangkok. Bukit Bintang is much more accessible, but has some unusual sights.  This kid was supposedly selling bubble guns, but judging by his appearance and demeanor I got the feeling that his job was to attract  and distract tourists whilst his mates surreptitiously lightened the load of said unsuspecting tourist.

Every weekend there is a free concert right in the middle of the very wide Bukit Bintang walkway.  Tonight was some modern Indian pop.  I was watching them set the stage up earlier in the afternoon, and they pull out all stops.  This show was very well lit, with all the effects and a great sound system.  Not bad for free.

Neon nights.  Apparently you avoid the karaoke bars in KL. The brighter the lights, the more dodgy the venue.  This sign was the size of a small building.

Jen and Dee introduced me to Vincenzo and his fantastic Italian restaurant.  This is where I received a taste from home in a magnificent Black Angus steak. It was so tender you could cut it with a spoon.   He’s a great guy and I hope I’ll meet up with him again when he decides to visit Melbourne.

After dinner we tried to find a decent bar with a band. Closest thing to rock apparently was this band at “Backyard”. They played unusual versions of Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix tunes.  This guy could really solo, but like most Asian bands I’ve seen so far, was struggling quite a bit with the English lyrics and phrasing.  It didn’t matter because he was so into the music.

OK, I still have some KL nightlife, Chinatown and Batu Caves shots to post but I’m out of time and have another 5am start tomorrow.  I won’t have internet for a few days as I’m being Tarzan of Borneo right now, so my next post is not likely until at least Friday.  Maybe…