Portraiture with Lumix GF1

I just wanted to share some of my portraiture collection taken with my Lumix GF1 with 2 lenses: 

Panasonic 20mm F1.7

Leica Elmarit 45mm F2.8

Many said that due to the sensor size different, micro 4/3 is less competence with AP-S sensor DSLR, but if you're a hobbyists, do not bother about that. Ever since i acquire this tiny camera, i lessen my time using DSLR anymore. Like the recent trip to Taiwan, the ratio of using my D7000 and GF1 is about 1 : 9. 

The fact is that GF1 is really convenient to carry around, small sling bag like Kata DC - 435 DL allows me to carry: 

I. GF1 with 20mm Pancake and Electronic View Finder. 

II. 45mm Leica Elmarit Macro lens. 

III. Kiev 4A Russian Rangefinder camera.

IV. 2Rolls of Film.

V. Passport and a small notebook.

VI. Cables and accessories, etc.

If i use this same bag to fit my D7000, it probably only manage to put 

I.Nikon D7000, with much difficulties to fit in my Tammy 11-18mm Wide Angle lens and other accessories. Even the batteries of a DSLR occupied a big space. As a result of the portability of GF1, i hardly brought out D7000, i let it rest in my big backpack, inside of the hotel room. 

Please enjoy viewing my portraiture collection of people i love.  

Railway trail at Pingxi line, the same route going to ShihFen waterfall.

Inside the underground mall of Taipei Train station, it's huge and crowded with many vendors selling from shoes to souvenir and traditional biscuits.

Liberty square, located right next to National Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial Hall. Can easily be reach via train station.

One sunset outing at Menara Tun Mustapha.

Happy Qi En like a street performer at Gaya Street, 2012. Shoot with 20mm wide open. 

First time experiencing Bullet train from TaiChung - Taipei. Speedy, but Costly.

20mm/Equivalent to 40mm on Full Frame, and still capable producing adequate amount of Bokeh.

Producing sharp image using Macro 45mm Leica Elmarit on GF1.

When my mum and my niece visited to KK, shoot this with my 20mm F1.7, razor sharp and one of my all time favorite lens.

Public hot spring at Wulai, Taiwan. *Uncle is posing with u!

And Qi En growing up so fast, Chinese New Year in hometown, Ipoh.

A fine afternoon at Sandakan, beautifully shaded portraiture. 

The biggest gain for buying GF1 is the portability, without compromising the picture quality. Once we got into the field of DSLR, we tend to magnify the importance of "picture quality". What i usually do after i took a shot is to always zoom 100% to see the sharpness and details of the picture *it is a bad habit to keep "chimping" at your camera after shots. The ability to change the lens is also a plus for enthusiasts like myself. We all know that every single lens gotta serves its purpose well, All-in-one lens (18-200mm, 28-300mm, 18-270mm) doesn't make any sense for us unless we are constraint by the weight and size of the bag. 

The biggest drawback is the ISO control, although it has aperture of F1.7 which suck up all the lights available, you simply need to boost up the ISO sometimes. I felt its limit falls at ISO800, anything above that would not be acceptable for me. Control is more personal and handy in D7000 than GF1, it doesn't bother much if I'm not doing sport/ event photography. 

At the time I'm writing this, i have the intention to sell off D7000 and lens and continue with my small GF1, or upgrade to Olympus EM5. Though, there are still uncertainties and questions to be solved before jumping into conclusion. Thus i will just keep both set up for the time being, fully utilizing every moments with 'em.

byUnknown

in Lumix 20mm, Lumix GF1, Lumix Leica Elmarit 45mm, Panasonic, portraiture, Qi En, Taiwan, Travel, Wong Wan Zhu, Wulai

07:26:00

Portraiture with Lumix GF1

I just wanted to share some of my portraiture collection taken with my Lumix GF1 with 2 lenses:  Panasonic 20mm F1.7 Leica Elmarit 45mm...

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Journey to Kundasang - Sabah Experience

Early in the morning, we start off our journey from Kingfisher, Kota Kinabalu toward Kundasang for a night stay at Kiram Village @ Mesilau. Throughout the journey we will be passing by Tamparuli then to Kundasang. Travelling with family is the most memorable things to do in life, where your mum will prepare food and everything that needed during the journey. You'll only need to bring your clothes and some necessities. First stop @ Tamparuli, very crowded morning market, even on Wednesday morning. Unlike anywhere in Malaysia, the locals were really friendly to everyone, including us. Tamparuli is likely to be one favorite spot for tourists and local to stop by for some snacks and meal because it is located in the route from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan. The town is also a convenient stop en route to the town of Kiulu, a popular whitewater rafting destination for domestic and foreign tourists alike.

                                                    Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

                                                       Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

                                                    Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

                                                       Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f1.7

Kundasang is a village in district of Ranau, Sabah, Borneo. This is where the majesty Mount Kinabalu lies. From here you can have spectacular view of the naked mountain with your eyes, and cool breeze of air. Before you reach the vegetable stalls, there is a place to stop by to take amazing landscape of the mountain even with your handphone. One shouldn't miss this place along their way to Kundasang. I wouldn't say Kundasang is similar to Cameron Highland, both of them have different elements, Cameron are more developed, in term of tourism and resources, and has better facilities than Kundasang. Where you still can sense the freshness and genuine living of a highland people here in Sabah. 

Then, you can find your way to the Desa Cow Farm. This is a farm that breed cow and produce fresh milk everyday and distribute to the retailers in Sabah (Not available in West Malaysia due to the perishability of the product). I was happy enough to see Liyi get along well with my Mum and my niece.

Information*
Dairy products (cow and goat milk) and souvenirs
Farm Milk Price:
-1Litre plain milk= RM 4.50
-1Litre chocolate milk= RM5.00
-1/2Litre plain milk= RM2.80
-1/2Litre choc milk= RM3.00
-250ml goat milk= RM 4.70

Entrance fees: RM3/adult & RM2/children
Photography Location Charge: RM100/couple

Milk Processing: every Tuesday, Thusday and Sunday at 10am-2pm
Milking Process: everyday at 3pm-5pm

Address: P.O.Box 71, 89308 Kundasang, Ranau, Sabah.
Contact Number: +6088-889562
Open daily from 8am-5pm
*Sources from https://www.facebook.com/desacattlefarm/info

This is a really good place to take pre- wedding photograph, with as little as RM100 per couple, you can take as many photos as you like! *Oh well, you need to have a good weather too!

I'm keen to start my venture and portfolio into Pre-Wedding photography. Im on my way looking for coolest and best spot for photography around Sabah, so far i would say Sabah would be a very good spot to shoot photo, as well as Honey Moon destination.

If you are interested to know more, or have any enquiry about package i can offer, do not hesitate to send me question at Basnojj12@gmail.com. Or call me @ 0166510595

A short drive from Desa farm, we arrived in our Chalet, "Kiram's Village". It is a beautiful place with many kind of flowers around all the chalets. Every single chalet have their own vegetable nickname. The one we stayed is call Cabbage house. It can accommodate up to 5person, with 3 single bed in ground floor, and one queen size bed on 1st floor. Of course, now you can cook because they provide kitchen facilities in the chalet! It is pretty affordable, RM200 for a chalet of 5person, RM40/Person/Night.

To book the Chalet, is very simple. 

1. Browse through their website http://kirams-village.com/

2. Decide which room you want to get.

3. Call the number provided in their website.

4. Transfer/ Bank in the money to them.

5. Receive Confirmation and you're done!

If you want to have a relaxing time, to escape from urban pace, this is a place for you. Bring some simple cooking ingredient, and show your cooking skills!

And this is the time i used my Nikon D7000 and Nikon 35mm f1.8G intensively, from Kudat to Kota Kinabalu, and now in Kundasang! The color produced was a little flat, but the contrast was astonishing! Most of the photographs below were taken by this combination, except for the landscape, taken by Tamron 11-18mm f4.5-5.6. A very affordable wide angle lens for budget hobbyist like me, focusing was a little bit slow, but the image quality and sharpness is superb!

Sweet Bokeh!

There will always be rainbow after the rain, supposingly.

Throughout 2Years of study in University Malaysia Sabah, i did not bother to visit beautiful places around Sabah, not even staying in Kundasang for a night! With my mum's visit, i get the chance to explore Sabah with curiosity and passionate, *because i have to make the planning. Ever since their visit, i told myself not to miss any opportunity again to explore it before i leave this "Land Below The Wind".

byUnknown

in Casual, Desa Cow Farm, Happiness, Kiram Village, Kundasang, Liyi, Lumix 20mm, Lumix moment, Mum, Nikon 35mm f1.8G, Perodua Alza, Qi En, Sabah, Tamron 11-18mm f4.5-5.6, Travel

05:16:00

Journey to Kundasang - Sabah Experience

Early in the morning, we start off our journey from Kingfisher, Kota Kinabalu toward Kundasang for a night stay at Kiram Village @ Mesilau....

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Kudat - Sabah Experience

Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. Approximately 190KM from Kota Kinabalu. The ethic composition is mainly Rungus, that is why you can find rungus long house home stay commonly here in Kudat. Our journey begin at Kota Kinabalu, heading north toward Kudat, crossing Kota Belud. First destination is Kampung Sumangkap Gong Factory, there is no need to worry about the location of tourist destination because the routes are easily spotted. You can find the way to Kampung Sumangkap Gong Factory, Gombizau Honey Bee Farm, Kampung Bavanggazo (Rungus Long House) from the main road. 

 Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2

Walking down the street of Kampung Sumangkap, every family runs Gong making business. Here you can see the process of how the local make the Gong, from beginning until finishing. There are many sizes of Gong, even the Gong with "1Malaysia" logo. Probably it was monday, there were not much visitors here, except a car of us. When we were here, there is no instruction or guidance to explain what is this place all about, we walked our own way around the village. This really sadden me because they have beautiful heritage, but they don't have a strong management team to supervise all these. The Gong making tradition is vanishing because the youngster might not wanted to live the life like their ancestors do.

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f5.6

                                                       Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

                                                     Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

Next, we stopped by Gombizau Honey Bee Farm, there is vendor selling pure honey at the entrance, honey from wild bees as well as from their farm can be found here. It is more like a shop than a tourist attraction, there wasn't much to see in their farm. Only a few boxes of honey comb at the side of the road. Along the way we saw the children having a lot of fun with their mate on the tar road. Some of them can even understand mandarin!

          Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

          Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

Then we come to the Kampung Bavanggazo, the Rungus Long House. It is like a home stay, you can stay here for nights with prior booking. The house itself look classic, the floors are made with bamboo, real strong bamboo. In the long house it has showcase regarding the traditional clothes of Rungus people, their equipment for agriculture, and etc. The Hong Kong drama (富贵门) took some of the scene from this Long House. If you watched it, you will notice it too. 

          Nikon D7000 + 35mm f1.8G @ f2.2

                                                      Panasonic Lumix GF1 + Lumix 20mm f1.7 @ f5.6

Somehow, our final destination is the Tip of Borneo, (Tanjung Simpang Mengayau). It is situated 30minutes from Kudat town, and by the time we drive there, the road condition is bad, really bad. *Another negative feedback to Sabah Tourism. The landscape is amazing, before we reach to the tip, we overlook the beach lies below the cliff, surprisingly clean, with white sand too. After short distance of walk from car park, we reached the globe stating "Tip of Borneo", and there is a stair way lead to bottom of the cliff, very steep but worth the effort to come down for a picture or two. 

            Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f6.3

           Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f16

           Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

            Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

            Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 11mm f4.5

             Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

              Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 12mm f22

             Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 12mm f22

             Nikon D7000 + Tamron 11-18mm  @ 18mm f5.6

We finished our journey after the sun had Set. After a beautiful group photo, we depart directly from the Tip of Borneo to Kota Kinabalu, stop by few station to buy some vegetables and fruit. Along the way we encountered really bad road condition, especially the exit from Tip of Borneo toward Kudat and Kota Kinabalu. Someone really have to fix it before it create any bad effect that chase tourists ($$) away. In summary, Kudat is a town famous for the Tip of Borneo, other than that i wouldn't recommend my friends to visit there. You have to pay entrance fee to enter Honey Bee Farm, Gong Factory, and Long House, i don't think it worth the money, unless you go there during carnival or festive season. It can be very tiring to do day trip, staying in Rungus House can be a adventurous experience too.

byUnknown

in Casual, Happiness, Liyi, Lumix 20mm, Lumix GF1, Lumix moment, Mum, Perodua Alza, Potrait, Qi En, Street Photography, Travel

02:24:00

Kudat - Sabah Experience

Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. Approximately 190KM from Kota Kinabalu. The ethic compositio...

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