The PenFan's PhotoBlog

Having experienced the joy of macro photography with the Olympus MCON-P01 macro converter, my wife is all set for the real thing and she is now a proud owner of the highly acclaimed Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 60mm F/2.8 macro lens. This lens is lightweight but well-built and about 80% longer in length than the M.Zuiko 45mm F/1.8 which is another Olympus prime lens with many positive users feed back. For us the 60mm F/2.8 macro is a more versatile and useful lens for the type of photography that Elaine engage in. We treat lenses and cameras like an artist's tool set that are acquired based on its ability in adding value to our creative pursuit. Close-up of a fully ripe mulberry fruit the separate minute fruits of this multiple fruit is clearly visible in this 1:1 macro shot.    --    Camera: Olympus Pen E-PL2, Lens: Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60 mm f/2.8 MSC Macro Lens, setting at F/9.0 1/40s and ISO 200 Build-in flas...

In the month of December Ikea is running some one-day special Christmas offer of 2 items per day everyday till December 24. We were attracted or rather distracted by one of the items on offer that day but felt it more of a want than a need. Whimsie Forest with a sprinkle of fairy dust is the Curve Mall 2012 Christmas theme decoration.    --     camera: Olympus Pen E-PL2, Lens: Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 14-42 mm f/3.5-5.6 II standard zoom, setting lens at 28mm, f/9.0, 1/15s and ISO 1000. Physically checking  out the item might help but Ikea is quite a distance from our place. If the item turned out to be something not what we really want,  it would be a wasted day out.  Then I remembered the Christmas decoration at The Curve so I said to my wife at least we can shoot some photos to make it worth the while. We arrived at Ikea around lunch time and had lunch at the Oriental Court area at The Curve Mall. After that we mov...

Before we knew it Santa is back singing out loud " HoHoHo I am Back"! Christmas 2012 is just days away and many shopping Malls already decorated with beautiful Christmas theme to draw shoppers and visitors in. A week ago we saw the almost completed Christmas decoration at The Curve mall but we had no photos because it was not lighted yet at that time. A Bedazzling Christmas is the 2012 Christmas theme for Pavilion Kuala Lumpur with plenty of crystals, glittering gold and blinking lights on the Christmas tree. — Camera: OLYMPUS PEN E-P1, LENS: M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17MM F/2.8 pancake lens, SETTING F/4.0, 1/15s and ISO 200. We were at the Bukit Bintang area running some chores and decided to drop by the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur for lunch. The Pavilon Mall 2012 Christmas decoration looked more vibrant and upbeat than what we remembered last December. The theme for 2012 is Bedazzling Christmas. Visitors entering Pavilion Mall from the Bukit Bintang entrance can never miss...

Close-up and Macro Photography is a popular category with many photographers. Some of the reasons being macro photographers don't need to look for the right models with well equipped studio, or travel to exotic far away places. However that was always the dream and aspiration of many photographers. Macro photographers are also unlikely to land themselves into some sticky controversy spot with the authority. Several renowned photographers had mentioned in interviews and talks that they find serenity and contentment within themselves when they are engrossed with macro and nature photography. The close-up of these blue flowers complimenting with the green background in a low angle view point made this photograph look abstract and artsy.  --   Camera: Olympus Pen Lite E-PL2. Lens: M.Zuiko ED 40-150mm 1:4.0-5.6 telephoto lens and MCON-P01 macro converter. Setting lens zoom at 70mm and f/5.0 1/200s and ISO 2 It is easy to get started with Macr...

The Olympus MCON-P01 Macro Converter is an add-on close-up lens designed to pair with the standard kit zoom M.Zuiko digital 14-42 F/3.5-5.6 II and also the newer kit zoom with (R) designation. However better results are obtained with this macro converter when paired with either the M.Zuiko digital 40-150 ED F/4.0-5.6 telephoto zoom or the M.Zuiko Digital 14-150 ED F/4.0-5.6 wide-angle to telephoto zoom as the master lenses. The MCON-P01 is a very light weight macro converter at just 23 grams and is fully made of plastic. The feather weight of the MCON-P01 macro converter means there will be no load issue when mounting on the equally light weight M.Zuiko zoom lens. Certainly no stress to the master lens' micro focusing motor and the light-weight mechanism. Damselfly belong to Odonata subgroup of insect which also include the dragonfly. Odonata are ancient insect. fossils of dragonfly had been trace to predated the dinosaur era. -- Camera: Olympus Pen Lite E-PL2, Le...

Panorama photo is nothing new to us. In fact we were making panorama shots since the film day. That was rather primitive back then.  What we did was we pan the camera as we took several photos of a scene each with a different angle. When the film is processed and printed we stack and line up the prints to form a panorama of the scene. When 35mm film scanner became affordable we made a scan of the panorama images from our 35mm negative.  After that we stitched the panorama photos together from the scan images manually with a free software suit called Panorama Tools . The process was time consuming and slow but nevertheless we had fun and enjoyed taking and stitching panorama photos. A 3 photos panorama stitch of the Pavilion dragon taken with the Olympus Pen Lite E-PL2. Camera set to A mode ISO 200 F/3.5 1/80s and the M.Zuiko 14-42mm F/3.5-5.6 II zoom is set at 14mm. Today all modern digital cameras have built-in panorama mode and some of ...

We were on the way home after one of our Chinese new year visiting when my wife suggested dropping by Viva Home Shopping Mall. Viva Mall, previously known as Plaza UE3, is situated along Jalan Loke Yew.  Despite Plaza UE3 Mall's location on such a busy highway within the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur, for years this plaza had never really flourished as a shopping mall. Not many people knew about Plaza UE3 then and probably few could even remember such a shopping mall now. Kha Seng Group took over Plaza UE3 a few years back and gave it a new makeover and re-branded it as Viva Home Shopping Mall. It was reopen on April 2011 after almost one year of renovation.  Our first visit to this "new"  Viva Home Mall was around May last year and had not stepped foot there since. Today we decided to spend our afternoon at Viva Home Shopping Mall .  As its name says, Viva Home Mall wants to re-brand itself as a one-stop shopping centre for the home owners with products rang...

It has been a month since our last visit to the Pavilion Mall Kuala Lumpur. The magnificent Pavilion Mall dragon was still there inviting shutterbugs to take more photographs. We added some new photos of the Pavilion Dragon from this visit here. In a few more days will be February 6 2012 i.e. chap goh mei which marks the close of the fifteen days Chinese New Year celebration. The Pavilion dragon together with all the Chinese New Year decorations will most likely be taken down after that day. The 183-metre long Pavilion dragon view at the side from the upper floor of the shopping mall. -- Camera: Olympus Pen Lite E-PL2 14-42. Lens: M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II msc standard zoom set at 14mm f/3.5 1/100s ISO200. When we first photographed this Pavilion dragon a month ago it was just completed and a "work in progress" sign was still posted on the ground floor. Since then more new year decorations had been added with the finale being the dragon chas...

The Chinese New year decoration at 1 Utama is a continuation from their Christmas theme. This time they have put up a cute baby water dragon in a clam-shell at their main concourse area.  Most of the structures used for the Christmas decoration were reused except the sea fairies and their Christmas ornaments which were off duty now. Many had complained that 1Utama shopping mall recycled their Christmas decoration for the Chinese New Year and some questioned why a water dragon. In western mythology the dragon is a fire spitting fiery evil monster that lived in barren land, in deep mountain cave and in the dungeon. However Chinese dragon or "Lóng"  is not the same beast as the western dragon. The Lóng is an angelic being that lived in the four corners of the sea or in heaven. 1 Utama shopping mall's Dragon Year decoration for 2012 is that of a baby water dragon sitting inside  a clam-shell at the concourse area. Camera: Olympus Pen Lite E-PL2, Lens: ...

The Chinese lunisolar year for 2012 is the year of the dragon or "Lóng nián". The New year day for this dragon year falls on January 23 2012. The Chinese new year is referred by the Chinese as Agriculture Calender New Year or "Nóng rìlì xīnnián" to differentiate it from the international new year day of the Gregorian calendar. The Chinese dragon or the "Lóng" is a very differently beast from the dragon of the western culture.  To the westerners,  dragon is considered an evil monster that terrorized human kind, therefore should be sought out and slain. "Lóng" - the Chinese dragon, on the other hand,  is regarded as a divine beast that possessed supernatural power and a symbol of supreme authority. The Chinese dragon is also believed to command sound judgement, positiveness and good fortune. The auspicious Lóng is a colourful beast unlike the western dragon which is mostly black or grey. The  Chinese dragon can be in any of these colours - gol...

Shopping Malls used to have their premises well decorated in December for the Christmas seasons. However this year not many malls have put up great displays and some are rather quiet with their efforts. Maybe Chinese New Year is just round the corner or maybe 2011 was not a good year and as a result, low on budget as well.  Anyway, only the owner and the management know best. Those shopping malls who have their decorations put up had it there from the beginning of December 2011 till January 1, 2012. The Christmas decorations attracted lots of kids and shutter-bugs. We visited a number of these shopping malls - some are great while some have nothing much to shout about. The 2011 Christmas decoration theme for Pavilion Kuala Lumpur was Christmas Wonderland. They had a 40-foot tall Christmas tree designed by Tiffany & Co. set up at the concourse area. Right at the entrance of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur visitors were greeted by some giant candies....