Appreciating urbanscapes and structures

October 8, 2019 by

Urban geometry, structures and shapes are normally found in MT’s photoessays, but I thought I’d take a jab at it. While MT travels a lot more, I do most of my shooting locally in Kuala Lumpur. I admit I don’t actively seek out heavily compressed shots of buildings and structures but my default lens when shooting on the street is the Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8, which enables decent isolation and compression. From time to time, the visual drama is just so appealing that I have to frame for a tighter perspective. My previous work experience as a Civil Engineer and being involved in the local construction industry also allows me to appreciate architectural design and beauty more, now that I am no longer an engineer. The thing about photography is, we sometimes need to open our eyes and appreciate the beauty around us – regardless of the form it takes.

All images were shot on various cameras and lenses, mostly a variant of an Olympus OM-D with either M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 or 25mm F1.8 lens.

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Testing the E-M1 Mark II’s AF with updated FW v3.0

July 28, 2019 by

Back in 2017, I covered the first Let’s Rock mini concert here and when the gang returned for Let’s Rock 2 this year, I was privileged to be invited to shoot the dress rehearsal. The timing could not have been better, as the date of the shoot coincided with the release of the new firmware. I took the opportunity to test out the new and improved AF algorithm on the new Olympus E-M1 Mark II’s (as of firmware 3.0) while immersing myself in some awesome rock music. I equipped myself with the E-M1 Mark II, 45mm F1.8, 40-150mm F2.8 PRO lens and 12mm F2 lens but mostly used the 40-150mm PRO lens for this shoot.

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Stay positive and improvise

July 10, 2019 by

In one of my recent wedding day shoots, the schedule was delayed and we had to cut short the outdoor shooting from ninety minutes to little over thirty minutes. The gloomy weather and an imminent downpour didn’t do us any favour either. The most important lesson I have learnt as a photographer is that things don’t always go according to plan and you have to stay calm and react as positively as possible. The shoot still had to go on and I was expected to deliver photographs; I could either choose to complain about all the setbacks or improvise with everyone’s cooperation to do the best that we can under the circumstances.

For this assignment, I used the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and M.Zuiko PRO lenses.

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Robin’s take on framing, color and simplicity – part two

June 19, 2019 by

Following a recent article on framing, color and simplicity (here), I continued my street shooting session looking for similar content. My exploration expanded to different parts of the city including lesser known areas. The aim was straightforward – look for bold colors that catch my attention; something unusual or out of the ordinary to isolate the subjects as much as possible. In order to do this, I made use of much longer focal lengths than usual with the Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 seeing the most use. Developing a unique street photography style is not easy and mine is still a work in progress with a constantly evolving approach. Being able to go out and shoot is a privilege that I do not take lightly and I enjoy every single moment of my shutter therapy!

All images here were shot with Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and M.Zuiko lenses 45mm F1.8 or 25mm F1.2 PRO.

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Birding with the Olympus E-M1X

May 26, 2019 by

Bird photography is an increasingly popular genre that requires effective technical execution, specialized gear and incredible patience, the last of which I unfortunately lack in sufficient quantities. The excitement and fulfillment of bird shooting is not just about the photography, but also spotting and identifying the species, gender and origin of the birds. A huge part of the fun comes from the hunt itself, with photographers venturing deep into the forest or a hiking trail to spot the birds. While I admit I am not a pro bird shooter, I have been approached and asked several times about optimizing the Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera system for bird shooting. The requests are frequent enough to motivate me to pen down my recommendations and suggestions on shooting birds using the Olympus OM-D system.

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Exploring Kampung Datuk Keramat

May 8, 2019 by

On rare occasions, I wander off my usual street shooting grounds and explore new locations at random. This time, I went to Kampung Datuk Keramat, an old Malay town which still retains its charm and character. Unlike Kampung Baru, another Malay settlement I have shot before, Kampung Datuk Keramat is not right in the middle of the city but about 5 kilometers away from the CBD. This results in very interesting backdrops as you always have the concrete jungle and skyscrapers in the background. This allows for very interesting framing by juxtaposing the old wooden structures and low rise residential buildings against the towering modern behemoths.

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Shutter therapy in Perth, part II

April 29, 2019 by

Continued from Part 1

Perth makes for a marvellous backdrop for monochromatic street photography thanks to constantly clear skies, deep shadows cast by direct sunlight and the urban architecture filled with people going about their day. Due to limited time, I didn’t dedicate any shooting sessions to black and white work but shot everything in color and converted some of the shots in post. However, most of the images shown here were shot with the intention of being presented in black and white.

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Shutter therapy in Perth, part I

April 26, 2019 by

Recently, I was in Perth to shoot portraits for an old friend as well as to take some time off and indulge is some shutter therapy. Perth is not new to me – I spent several years completing my Civil Engineering degree at the University of Western Australia and nearly migrated to Australia permanently. I also picked up photography while I was in Perth, and spent a considerable amount of time shooting around the beautiful city. Back then, I was running around with a compact point and shoot Kodak and DSLRs were starting to gain popularity. When the opportunity to revisit Perth presented itself, I was quick to jump at it.

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Framing, color and simplicity: Robin’s take

April 13, 2019 by

After sifting through a huge collection of street images shot within the past year, I found that I was specifically drawn to colour and simplicity. We all look for different subjects and approach street shooting differently. For example, I love MT’s appreciation of interesting and unusual urban geometry as well as creative use of dramatic shadows and light in his framing. In contrast, I take a more simple approach by focusing on a singular subject/content and ignoring everything else. I work with many human subjects – close up street portraits in particular – and keeping the image clean helps take the attention straight to the facial expression of the people. I have come to the realization, very recently, that colour also played a huge role in how I chose and frame my portraits and general street shots.

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Long term field test: Olympus ZD 25/1.2 Pro

March 26, 2019 by

If I were to choose one of the three available F1.2 prime lenses from Olympus (17mm, 25mm and 45mm), most people would guess 45mm which is not a surprise considering that is my favourite focal length. However when the decision was finally made, I chose the M.Zuiko 25mm F1.2 PRO lens instead. Of course I wanted all three F1.2 lenses but that will seriously burn a huge hole in my wallet. The choice of 25mm PRO has a lot to do with the nature of my commercial photography jobs and also practical use in street photography and most casual shooting environment, which I shall explore in this article. Bear in mind this is not a review of the lens – I published my full review in 2016 here in case you missed it.

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