(plus) One!

Second item on my "wishlist*":













SAL 70-200mm f 2.8 G!

*Wonder if I should rename this "list" into "dreams and fantasies" instead..

-Untitled-

This is one of my favourite shots taken during the trip to Yunnan. If I remember correctly, this was taken with the camera hanging down my neck at chest level, in continous burst fire mode. This boy was a student in a private school that we went to "teach". The students there are mostly children of migrant parents from other provinces in China. They are charged exorbitant fees for attending public schools, and many cannot afford it. Therefore, private schools of this kind are set up. These "charitable" schools usually charge lower tuition fees* and are set up to cater to the needs of these families. However, with no source of funding other than through donations and school fees, private schools resort to taking-in as many students as they could possibly squeeze into a room**.

*In Malaysia (and most other countries, I believe), private schools are usually for the "rich" and "famous" and charge extremely excessive rates for tuition.

** Based on my ever unfounded, biased, and frankly, quite silly opinions :-D

You're No Fun Anymore...

...but that's my only line!






















This boy was one of the pupils in the aforementioned school. He's fondly remembered for walking around the assembly area during breaks eating stuff with his bare hands.. which I suspect were never washed. The water taps there only had c-c-c-cold water. The school children do not wash themselves up let alone bathe during the five, six days in school. (The children would go home on weekends)

Then again, that was during winter.

Possibly related note to self: I find it very hard to write when I'm not thinking up stupid/lame/offensive/snide comments. It's like, "you're no fun anymore", that sort of thing.

The Long-Overdue Entry

This post (and the next few) will be dedicated to my trip to Yunnan, China during the 13 - 22 Dec 2008. The purpose of the trip was to "teach English". The real purpose cannot be disclosed here in case the Authorities accidentally stumbled on this blog while searching for "Tianamen Square" and decided to eat cake instead of doughnuts while singing "ke ren lai".

I would not do a day-to-day log as I'm way too lazy to come up with something like that. Instead, I'll just post some photos and give some colourful commentary along the way. Heh.

The Serious Part.

The photo of this woman and (grand?)child was taken on the way to the school which we would be teaching. The thing I remember about her was that she lent us a lever to the only water tap available in the immediate area. Without her, we would have boarded the bus without washing our hands after visiting the toilet.

Is tap water a luxury in this part of China? I don't think so, but for some strange reason the tap had no lever. Think about it, why would local residents carry a lever along with them whenever they needed water when they could just install one and use it among themselves?

Unrelated note to self: keep a b***** journal next time you're travelling!

Let's talk about things...

...that go boom in the night!

I shoot with these:

Sony Alpha A700
Sony Alpha A100 (my old, worn-out body with a "sticky" shutter release button :-P)

SAL DT 18-70, f/3.5-5.6 (the "kit" lens)
SAL 75-300, f/4.5-5.6 (the cheapest tele zoom)
Minolta AF 50 f/1.7 (2nd/3rd/4th/???-hand lens. Still good, though.)

Now, the all-important wishlist (so you know what to get for me on my birthday, heh)
1. Carl Zeiss 24-70, f/2.8 ZA SSM

No, these are not guns. No, those are not rifle scopes. No, I don't literally "shoot" things!

Monkeys!

Actually, just one monkey.


1/400, f/2.8, ISO 200.

Teh monkie wuz "thees" klose!

Random Reassignments of Really Ravishing Rubbish

Number 1: The Larch

And now, for something completely different:

1. Zambry = LOL.

And now, for something completely different:

1. 1TB External HD :-) Copy, copy, copy, copy..
2. A700.
3. New lens?

And now, for something completely different:

1. Social Issues in Malaysia, and how to solve them.



Economic Stimulus Package, anyone?