Emma and Kate: Newborn Photos

Last week, I visited a friend who just gave birth to twins, to pass her an old pen tablet so that she could use it for freehand graphic design. I brought my Samsung NX200 with me and asked if I could take some photos of her babies.

This is the first time I am using the Samsung NX200 for a "professional" photoshoot. You see, whenever I intend to do a shoot with some serious post-processing, I will always use my Nikon DSLR gear. For shoots where I do not intend to process, I conveniently use all other options. In fact, most of my product review photos in this blog are shot with either the mirrorless cameras, compact cameras or phone cameras, in JPG, and running through Picasa for minor brightness and contrast adjustments.

In order to post-process images taken on the Samsung NX200, I shoot in Samsung Raw (SRW) format.

Unedited JPG copy.

After processing in Lightroom.

Many people think that shooting in RAW format is a way for photographers to fix "mistakes" during the shot, like wrong exposure. RAW format is more than just that. When you shoot in RAW, you are able to edit the colour tone, the sharpness, the noise reduction, the contrast, or the brightness, without compromising the image quality.

You see, when you shoot in JPG, the image is already processed by the camera, so all the colour tones, sharpness, noise reduction, have already been fixed. In fact, when I tried to process the same shot in RAW and JPG using the same Lightroom presets, the result turns out entirely different.

RAW image applied with Lightroom preset.

JPG image applied with same Lightroom preset.

RAW image post-processed with Lightroom preset.

But that doesn't mean you have to always shoot in RAW, because sometimes, you really do not need the extra capability, since shooting in RAW increases your file size, requires special software and more time to process RAW images to JPG, and more importantly, takes longer to save the images on your camera. This is very apparent on the Samsung NX200. After taking a RAW shot, I am unable to review the image until the camera buffer has completely processed the images, which takes about 6 seconds. I would have no such buffer issues on a prosumer DSLR like Nikon D300.

It all comes down to picking the right equipment for your shoot assignments. Using a DSLR like Nikon D300 will allow me to shoot without lag, but I would have to pack a bag full of heavy lenses.

A mirrorless system like Samsung NX200 is easily fitted in a normal backpack, but I get the same image quality - the NX200 is a 20 megapixel APS-C sensor, which is on paper better than my Nikon D300. The only compromise I had: slower shot-to-shot, image review, auto-focus (lens dependent).

But sometimes, it's not the speed of the equipment that gets you the shot. It's anticipating the moment.

For more photos, visit my Facebook page.

Mayenne Tan Photography

A 3-year-old shot them using the Samsung ST550 dual screen compact camera.

Mayenne's Birthday and House Parties

Dear Diary Blog,
What happened over the past 7 days?

Last Thursday, we took time off to celebrate Mayenne's birthday at her nursery school, Growing Up Gifted.

This photo reminded me of The Last Supper.

A group photo. Lovely teachers.

Mayenne is enjoying the classes at GUG more than Shichida, which we plan to stop after this term.

Then on Sunday, we celebrated Mayenne's birthday at my condo function room with my family.

Cake from Pine Garden, where else. There was almost not enough for all because it's simply delicious.

Yesterday, I invited my colleagues to my house for a small party.

See how the kids' eyes were glued on the TV showing "Princess and the Frog".

On both occasions, we catered food from Neo Garden Catering. Without fail, someone would comment how good the food was, especially the curry chicken. Neo Garden offers mini buffet with a minimum of only 10 pax. The food come in microwave-friendly plastic containers, utensils, carrier bags, and even a tong.

More photos of Mayenne before I sign off.

If you were wondering how I got her attention, it's all thanks to Samsung ST550 dual-screen camera. She can never stop posing and smiling when she saw herself in front of the camera.

Have a great Year 4, darling. Here's the photobook I did to document her 3rd year. Click the cover image below to start.

Mayenne's Milestone: Playing a Complete Song On Piano

It must have been every parent's dream to see their child playing a song on the piano. Whenever a piano is brought to a child, the first song that every parent would attempt to teach their offspring must have been "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

I don't want to force Mayenne to learn the song in the shortest time possible just so that I could boast. I believe that we need to wait for the right maturity for her to appreciate and pick up the song. She must understand the relation of tones on the keyboard so that she can play anything that she wants, and not just the songs that we teach her.

The challenge in teaching the song to a young child is the note sequences. She has already got the rhythm right months back, except she's just hitting all the wrong notes. To add to the difficulty, Mayenne is an absolute mule when it comes to the piano. Most of the times, she refuses to be taught. Whenever she played on the piano, there can be no other fingers laying on the keys. She would promptly swipe any "foreign objects" away. We would have to wait patiently for that "learning mode" to be on before she willingly allow us to drill her into the notes and rhythm of the song.

On April, she finally wanted to play the song, and she would willingly follow our directions, playing the note that we pointed at. Here, she did it with a little help from me, except for the dominant (5-note) jump:



Yesterday, while we were not noticing, Mayenne went to her toy piano and instinctively played out the entire song unaided. She must have been so pleased with herself, because she played at least 10 times over and over. Initially I didn't want to take out my phone to video-record, because I foresaw she would rush to my phone (as she always did). But very soon my wifey came into the room and screamed (figuratively):"Why aren't you recording this?" Fortunately for us, Mayenne was still in her repeat mode, and here it is, documented, her milestone, my pride.

Mayenne Revisited

On the third day of New Year, I spent some quality time with Mayenne. She has developed this routine where she would want me to play certain games with her, like the ball, the piano. And there are some routine that I am "banned", like sleeping time. We are still trying to coax her to brush her teeth willingly, and our hope now banks on Special Agent OSO. She has an affinity with this stuffed bear and she would demand to watch the cartoon episodes whenever the TV is on. (thank goodness for Hubstation). Hopefully, the constant playback of that brush-teeth episode ("Never Say No To Brushing Again") will make her enjoy brushing teeth. We still couldn't figure out half of what she's blabbering, but most of the time, she would give simple commands, like "chan(ge) xxx", "dis one", and her favourite "no way no way!" She's obsessed with numbers and would proudly read out the floor numbers displayed on the HDB lifts. She could narrate all the way to 100, only when she is patient enough. Most of the time, she would stop before 50 and jump straight to 100. Sometimes she mixes up with the consonants, saying "sherpal" for "special", or "munber" for "number", or emphasizing on the wrong letters, like "grinnnn" for "green".

It's no longer easy to coax her for a photo, for she's so much more active than during the first 2 years. And when she's in the mood, I usually don't have my DSLR. Seriously, you can't get good shots of active kids with compact cams. Shutter and focus response is too laggy, and shutter speed is slow to achieve sharp images - unless you are at outdoors. So here are some precious photographic moments of Mayenne in recent months.

On 4 Oct 2009









On 23 Jan 2010



And her attempt at the real upright piano, 3 Feb 2010

The Pentax K-7 Field Test: Jurong Bird Park

The trip to Jurong Bird Park was planned months in advance, because my wifey has to book the family pass from her office. So imagine our disappointment when we woke up to a rainy morning. But we proceeded to prepare for the outing as if the rain didn't matter. Even as I drove along the CTE and to AYE, the rain poured relentless.

Then miraculously, once we reached the Bird Park, the rain simmered to a drizzle, allowing us to still proceed as planned. This is the second time Mayenne visited the Bird Park this year, but this time, she was able to appreciate the animals better.


Using the Pentax K-7 in a real world situation allows me to find the benefits and flaws of the camera. Generally, they align to my earlier review. First, the good:

1. The camera focuses fast and fires at 5.2 fps without mercy.
2. During video recording mode, the high-resolution screen allows me to manually focus accurately. The 18-55mm kit lens' zoom and focus rings are built with the right tension to allow me to zoom and focus with ease.
3. At ISO 1600, there is negligible noise, and I believe if you shoot in RAW, you will be able to handle the noise issue during post-processing.

Then the bad:
1. The exposure mode dial is annoying. I simply detest the lock that slows me down when switching shooting modes. Imagine I had to switch from video mode to TAv mode, that's a 180-degree turn.
2. The interface lag when pressing the buttons took a toll on me. It's impossible to do super-fast navigation. For instance, it takes a few milliseconds for photos to display on screen as I scroll the images.

The images are rather vibrant in the standard settings, but the kit lens exhibit softness under bright conditions when viewed at 100%. The following photos are straight out of the camera without colour adjustments.

Mayenne: Animated

Haven't blogged about Mayenne since her 2nd birthday. Photos do no justice to document her growth, so I'm sharing some video clips here.


One of my most favourite clips, it shows how she attempts animatedly to read a storybook.




An antic that till now we still haven't figure out what she was trying to do, she will hit the drum a couple of times, run to the mirror, and blabbers something, ending with a 2-syllabi "bae-bae". I suspect she was trying to imitate The Little Einstein.




Mayenne now plays (or tries to) every single piano key, in varying strengths too.




And here's a video of her imitating herself on the earlier "Mayenne Reading" video.

Happy 2nd Birthday Mayenne

I didn't realise I haven't been blogging for almost 2 weeks. I haven't had a blog break so long for quite a long while. That's because I was rather busy with the office move and planning for photoshoots.

In this post, I'd like to share with you the photobook that I did for Mayenne. Creating photobooks has become an annual affair for me, as I document the growing years of our darling. This is also the time that we look back at her growth progress and remininesce at the times when she was so small, immobile, and dependent. Today, she's a free-spirited bubbly jumpy girl who gives us lots of joy and frustration. These experiences are gifts that everyone should experience. After all, we only live once - as far as we can remember.

http://photo.chester.sg/year2/

Happy Birthday, Mayenne. Papa and Mummy love you. And so does everyone in the family tree.

Back to Mayenne

The last time you've seen or heard of Mayenne from my blog is probably in August, so I shall pick up where I left off. She's growing well, walking and running fine, toilet-trained. Still cannot communicate with words, but has a grasp of all the alphabets and numerals. She sometimes fusses for unknown reasons but responds well to routine games that brings a smile on her face and distracts her from crying moments. Let the photos speak for themselves.

Another contemplative moment.

Who's the boss?

She read Singapore's second Olympic medal.

Funny-face moment.

An "oh my" moment.

Doing business.

Her final days on the pacifier.

Joyous.

Elated.

Hip.

This shot was taken at night using the D700 at ISO 12800. She was at the kitchen in complete darkness except living room lights behind her. She was in complete shadow, yet the camera captures her face and her T-shirt details.

Her second Christmas outing.

Now she can pose on her own with the Christmas tree.

Glowing smile.

Trying to take control of the CD player.

Looking out.

Playing with shadow.

Brushing her own teeth.

Smitten by a boy during the zoo excursion.

Moments with daddy.

Moments on TV.

Who's copying whose hairdo?