Entries Tagged 'Ramblings' ↓

Have you ever played this game called Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Well let’s play Where in the World is Paris Beaverbanks?

Go on then, take a guess….

Happy weekend everyone!

Its been an exhausting week.

Ever tried cheerleading for 7 days in a row? Over the telephone?

Shake your pom poms! Rah! Rah! Rah!

Cheerleading during my time in school was really tame compared to the acrobatics that I see these days. I was never a cheerleader though and being optimistic in order to lift others out of the doldrums is just so taxing when you don’t exactly quite feel that way!

But all that cheerleading may yet pay off because I’m seeing some results. The clouds might yet lift for the sun to shine through!

Whew!

Since everything’s been dark and gloomy and silent here last week, let me showcase some pictures I’ve been taking:-

I have been playing around with my new Canon Ixus 860 in the past weeks. Its a nifty little thing and I’m really loving it. Dare I say my picture taking skills seem to be improving? I hope so!

I’m still taking mostly pictures of food (for Pink Parisian) and learning every day how to take a better food photo for the food blog. I spent the weekend reading loads of sites that offer tips on taking good food photography and am trying to put theory into practice. Its not easy and I’m so pleased that my whole family has accepted me as a food blogger!

We went out for dinner and when I whipped out my camera, my dear ol’ Dad actually stopped halfway to putting his chopsticks into his ramen, just so I could snap a picture of it! What would I do without the support of my family! Unfortunately for me, all the pictures turned out too dark and now that I have a proper camera, I am getting pickier about the pictures I put up online of my food.

There is no more excuse for me to put up mediocre or crappy dark, out of focus pictures online when I know that with a bit of practice and patience I can actually have some proper drool-worthy photos. Yes, I’m turning into a perfectionist. My Canon might be a simple little point and shoot, but it is good enough for me (I’m not yet in the league of the food bloggers with SLR cameras) for now. Its also rekindled my interest in photography so yay! Something new to learn!

Anyway, here are some stuff I learnt about food photography over the weekend that I’m sure will help those of you who are also into writing about food:-

• The Macro setting on the camera is your best friend. It allows you to get right up close to your food and still keep it in focus.
• Natural lighting is best. Not direct sunlight though, just enough sunlight to cast some natural light on the food.
• No Flash at any cost. Using the flash washes out the colours and texture of the food and makes it look too stark and unappetizing.

Not much to my surprise, these tips work well if you are taking photos of beauty products too as I have been for my beauty reviews site. So there is a co-relation between food and beauty after all!

The Canon Ixus 860 has a huge LCD screen but no viewfinder. It doesn’t bug me but it seems to bug some people based on some online reviews. I find the focus good and it performs decently enough under low light conditions which was the prime reason I chose this Canon over the Panasonic Lumix. Being a food blogger (reviewer) too, I have to have a camera that works in low light because most restaurants keep their lights low.

I’m worried about the flimsy cover for the AV/USB output as it feels and looks like it could break at any second so I’m extra careful with it. The battery cover too is rather flimsy. I found battery life decent. A full charge lasted me about a week without having to recharge. However I only took about 5-8 photos a day without flash so that has to be taken into consideration.

All in all, I’m loving this little Ixus 860. Its a decent point and shoot camera and I think I’ll just stick to Canon for cameras from now on because I can use the same USB cable as with the old Canon I had which gives me more mobility!

I hope everyone had a good weekend too and thank you all for your kind support over the last week!

Goodness! Yesterday was all dark clouds and gloom and doom. I meant everything I said though. It was an awful time.

Thank you to all who left uplifting comments and ice cream I felt awful yesterday but today feels just a little bit better. Actually, for all wondering, its nothing much to do with me personally, but its stuff that’s happened to someone near and dear; and I’m one of those super sensitive souls who wants to fight for the injustice done to someone near and dear and who feels very strongly about them being wronged.

Today I received some slightly more positive news so I’m feeling a lot better.

I’m still not sure what the grand plan is, but for now, things aren’t as gloomy or doomy… unless lies abound again.

Picture credit of Foto Jenny

For now, a bit o’ sun is peeking over the dark clouds of doom.

Late yesterday evening, the announcement was made after much speculation, that petrol prices in Malaysia were being increased by a hefty 78 sen. That takes us up from RM1.92 to RM2.70 per litre. RM2.70! I remember when a plate of wantan mee was RM2.70.
That’s a very substantial increase and the biggest ever price hike in the country’s history. You know you are (a) old and (b) bitter when you can recall petrol prices of RM1.10 as a kid. This price increase comes hot on the heels of the denial and statement by the Minister of Domestic Trade just 2 days ago that fuel prices will only be increased in August 2008.

This is also a typical case of “Esok Tak Ada” which were the immortal words of the Prime Minister just a day before Parliament was dissolved to pave way for the General Elections.  If there was a compilation of the most oxymoronic phrases uttered by our leaders, this “Esok Tak Ada” would go down in history right on top at No. 1. (Note to all government agents reading this: Please look up the word oxymoron in the dictionary before arresting me for sedition yes? )

So, with only this amount of petrol left in my car fuel tank

I grudgingly hauled my butt over to the nearest petrol station to fill ‘er up at the never to be seen again price of RM1.92 per litre of petrol.

All in all, it took me an hour to get to the pump, fill up to full tank and drive back home. Was it worth it? I think so. At an increase of 41%  I saved RM23 last night as opposed to pumping my car today.

The man in the car before me was drastic enough to tilt up and lift up the hose of the pump to make sure that every single drop of petrol flowed from the pump into his car tank. Some people looked like they had been sitting in a jam for hours as the first thing they did when they reached the pump was to run for the toilets. Others stood around griping and sharing their misery with other like minded consumers. Interesting how it is in times of adversity such as this that the people will bond.

With the price of fuel going up, so too are the electricity tarrifs effective July 1. Expect your chicken rice to similar rise in price as well as every other consumer good out there. Inflation will soon hit an all time high, I predict, looking into my foggy crystal ball.

It looks like hard times ahead.

I’m so efficient that I ended up getting suspended again!

I also ended up screaming at the Streamyx technical people to connect my account back this morning when it was still off line. I know they told me 24 hours but its never taken more than half an hour before (I seem to be an old hand at this!) so I told them they really suck (in my exact words) and that they were so quick to suspend my account but when I make payment they are so slow to reconnect.

What d’ya know? 10 minutes later, I’m back online. Amazing how useful “persuasion” is

And so, this explains why I’ve been quiet on all blog fronts.

On another note, I’ve been thinking of getting a new point and shoot camera. There is only so much a phone camera can do and that is mostly in daylight. Come dim lighting and it really sucks. Not useful when I’m working on my food site - Pink Parisian (Have you visited or revisited HaveYouEaten.Net? You didn’t realise the site address has changed? Where have you been?! ) that needs me to take some decent pictures and not rely on the phone. I mean, a phone is after all, a phone first and camera second (or rather it should be) else I’d be able to make calls from a DSLR yes?

So, ideas ideas! I’m not in the league of the DLSRs. I just want a basic and simple point and shoot that takes decent pictures, especially close up pictures. Preferably costing about RM800 or so. I saw a few Panasonic Lumix cameras that fell into this price range, but I’ve never used a Lumix, only ever a Canon.

Cheap and good. Does it exist?