AP Yo-yo 2015 Volunteers Appreciation Dinner

Caught up with the Spinworkx Team for dinner last night. Thai food it was. I normally do not compare but when you come back from BKK, there is definitely a distinct difference between how things taste here and there.

Overall a good gathering though, thanks again Hans for putting this together!

The Asia Pacific Yo-yo Championships 2015 - Contest Shots

Tried using the pro lens for this year's photos. Got to admit, they were versatile and good to use for a lot of situations, but ultimately they lack the bokeh of a prime lens.

Nonetheless, bokeh aside, I thought it did pretty ok. Main thing I struggled with this time round was the angles, a lot of which I felt wasn't up to scratch.

These are a few I actually find ok.

Kudos to Hans, the Spinworkx volunteers and Tier 0 for pulling off an awesome event. =)

Super Busy

Been swarmed, what with work, and the Asia Pacific Yo-yo Championships that happened over the weekend.

Will try and blog soon, sorry!

AP 2015 Meet & Dinner

Skipped run today to meet up with the Tier to help with preparations for AP next week, followed by dinner nearby.

Another year, another contest, looking forward to seeing lots of old international friends once again. =)

Spinworkx Showcase #7

Helped out at the Spinworkx Showcase #7 over the weekend and got to test out a bit of off camera flash.

I wanted to bring the DIY Saber Strip but the paper diffuser I bought was too fragile and tore, need to get a new one before I can start testing again.

Instead, shared a flash with Al and a shoot through umbrella.

Nando's Dinner

With Hans, Hwee, and Ian and Izzun.

Spinworkx Showcase #6 - Messing with Bounce Flash

Cause Colin has been bringing his flash setup for shooting during Spinwork Showcases, I figured I'd give it a try, and borrowed a BFT from Colin as I had forgotten to bring mine.

Generally happy with the results, main difference is the additional light coming in from the right thanks to the bounce flash. For those unaware, there is a giant window at the left and hence natural lighting was streaming in.

The show didn't last longer this time round for me to compare night shots, perhaps another time. But overall am glad to be shooting at a lower ISO (320-400) at 1/250 shutter speed. Most shots were taken at f2 to f2.5.

sOMEThING PHASER

Decided "why not?" and while at Spinworkx picking up two Kendamas today, I tried my hand at the Mystery Box. Lucky 13 it was.

Posted it on Instagram and within 20 minutes I received 3 offers.

Not selling though I don't think I'll really play with it either. It's in a way to support Hiroyuki since I've been meaning to do so but always too lazy to buy anything new. =X

Late Dinner

Late night dinner after the run when I rushed off to join the Tier with Mickey and co on the last night of their visit to Singapore

Duncan KL Road Trip 2014 - Day 2

So to follow up on the recent trip top KL, day two saw us getting up and bringing some of the younger guys for breakfast before heading to the contest. We got them to try the drunken chicken but somehow this time round the chef had toned down on the alcohol for us after our feedback the day before that we felt it was too strong...they reacted pretty strongly to the dish, which would have meant had they tried the original, their reaction might have been hilarious!

I went for something simpler, laksa, it wasn't that bad btw, pretty awesome.

When we got to the venue, the contest hadn't started yet, so it was a lunch break, and to move away from the local delights, we found ourselves at a burger place instead.

It was a quick meal and we didn't hang long, soon it was back to the contest to check out the finalists.

Again, very few pictures, I spent a lot of time at Sungei Wang looking for clothes actually.

At the end of it all, the Singapore team managed to take home 2 out of the 6 prizes that day, while the rest were all smiles having tried their first hand at an international contest.

Before heading back to Singapore, Colin and I rushed to the beef noodle stall for one last bite before calling it a day.

The short trip had been rather fun so far, I was glad I made the trip up instead of stay back in Singapore and do the usual routine stuff.

Overall an awesome short vacation, looking forward to the official on in December. =)