My Professional Self Portraiture During the Covid-19 Pandemic

It had been a hard time for many people during the covid-19 pandemic. Many businesses were forced to closed and eventually shut down. My learning centre wasn't spared either. So I spent my time at home as well as helping others in planning for their final retirement and resting place at Nirvana. (I am an agent at Nirvana Asia Group in Malaysia, a leading company in memorial park management and bereavement services.)

I received a message one day that I should get my photo professionally taken at the studio for future corporate use. I was told that agents who are performing would be praised and their photos put on display as a form of encouragement and appreciation for their achievements. 

As Malaysia was still under Movement Control Order due to the pandemic, all studios were closed and their services prohibited. 

Luckily for me I still had my studio lights at my learning centre (which had to be closed due to the pandemic as well), and so I had my self portraits taken there. 

Nothing fancy as I put on my old college graduation suit, stood in front of my blue wall in the playroom (with my suit feeling a little tight, haha), connected my smartphone using the Sony Image Edge Mobile App to the Sony A7R3 + Sony 24-240mm lens and attached a flash onto the camera. Why on the camera? Because my studio flash remote ran out of battery! So I needed the on-camera flash to activate the studio flash instead. 

Anyway, to cut it short, my photography skill got rusty and it took me awhile to get comfortable with the equipment. 

Here is one of the photos taken. 

What do you think? Not bad, right? 😉

I encountered mainly 2 issues during the shoot. First is the focusing of the lens while the photos were being taken. The photos may not be accurately focused. Second issue that I noticed was the reflection of the light on my glasses. So I had to try out different angles to minimise the reflection.

I also realised that I was getting too big for the suit. 😂

By the way, contact me to find out more about Nirvana life planning anytime. The best time to preplan is always now. Preplanning can really minimise financial issues or arguments within family members in the future.

Whatsapp me if you are interested in Nirvana pre-planned bereavement services / funeral packages. We also have burial sites and urn columbariums in KL, Semenyih, Shah Alam, Klang, Ipoh, Melaka and throughout Southeast Asia. It's a one-stop funeral planning service for non-muslims. 

I can help you to preplan your final retirement and resting place. 

My Facebook page is at https://Facebook.com/nvsetiaalam 

Take care and stay safe.

Nikon Z5 Touch and Try in Papan, Pusing, Perak.

A photo of me with Carmen Ng, one of the models arranged by Nikon for the event.
Click on the photos for a clearer picture.

It had been awhile since I have last joined Nikon Malaysia in their promotional events. I had sold all my Nikon camera lenses and jumped completely to Sony fullframe mirrorless sometime in 2018/19. I was quite active back then when I had my Nikon d90, d7000 and d800e. 

Nikon Z5 Try it Feel it Experience it promotional event

Nikon had missed the fullframe mirrorless boat back in 2014 when they launched their Nikon df dslr instead of a mirrorless model. Now they are playing catch-up now with their Nikon Z series and I think they are getting closer to Sony with every new model being launched.

Screenshot of the Nikon Z5 from nikon.com.my

The Nikon Z5 comes with dual sdcard slots (instead of the expensive XQD cards in Z6), face/eye-detection, in-body image stabilisation (Nikon calls it VR or vibration reduction) and many other features to keep up with the competition. Other than being lightweight which is great, one other good thing that I noticed is that we can still use the old batteries used in older dslrs like d800, making transition more convenient to existing Nikon dslr users.

Here are some of the photos taken at the event in an old town in Perak called Papan. I got the chance to borrow the Z5 and the 24-70 f2.8 S lens for less than an hour. Some photos are subsequently taken with the Nikon Z50, which is a smaller, lighter camera I feel useful for travelling.

Taken with Nikon Z5 + Nikkor Z 24-70mm f.2.8 lens. Edited with Capture One and Photoscape X Pro for the watermark and final touch.

Istana Raja Billah, a national heritage building

Mr. Foo Kok Kin taking a photo at the historical building

Carved year 1896 on top of the entrance.

One of the many abandoned buildings facing the main road in Papan

 

         

  

One of the attractions in Papan, you can see fish "swimming" by the houses in "Mid-lane" or 中港.

Another thing you may notice are houses occupied by trees, with their roots covering the house.

Thank you for visiting! What do you think?

Sigma Bootcamp 2.0 with Steve Chong and Wesley Wong

Had a fun time with Steve Chong and Wesley Wong at Tin Alley, Ipoh, last Sunday. Steve shared his amazing travel photos while Wesley shared the interesting features of the new Sigma fp (fortissimo pianissimo) camera. June Lim was a wonderful model and we had a great time. Thanks, Sigma Malaysia!

I didn't have the chance to use the Sigma fp though, as they only had 2 units. But I had the chance to be poisoned by the Sigma 105mm. Here are some of the photos taken. Some are taken with my Sony a7R3 with Sony 16-35mm and Sony 85mm.

June Lim in Qing dynasty costume

Mr. Foo Kok Kin holding the Sigma fp in his hand.

What do you think?