Package arrived! Lucas Shui Trinh was born 12:25am. Specs. are: Male, Asian appearance, 3.48kg, 51cm long, black hair, brown eyes, 8 fingers, 2 thumbs & 10 toes.

I have just purchased a Leica 60mm Macro Lens which is due to arrive in 14 days.
This is one of those lenses that goes back to the 70’s when kitchen porcelain sinks were the new trend and the start of the electronic and digital revolution (i.e. Calculators and televisions). Auto focus never existed back then which means it doesn’t exist on the one I have. Using this lens goes back to ‘old school’ photography where everything has to be set manually: aperture, focus and ISO. So setting the correct metering and determining the correct exposure can be tricky. I have been reading nothing but good reviews, so I had to get one just for the optics.
I'll be using this lens on the new baby that's due out soon.

I have been investing a bit of my time and money in photography lately and have come across some very helpful and inspiring websites lately that has rekindled the photographic side in me. I have also recently learnt of new techniques in photography which includes HDR and the art of ‘off the shoe’ photography.

My existing camera gear is as follows:

I was shooting with the Canon EOS 50D, which I recently sold with the 10-22mm lens in preparation for an upgrade to a Full Frame camera. So now I am reunited with my old trusty Canon 300D. This was my very first digital SLR and still one of my favorites.

(Update 14/10/2009: Just got my hands on the new Canon 5D MKII , 21.1 mega pixels, full HDMI video. Most importantly it's a Full Frame camera so I can utilize the actual focal length of the lens.

-Canon 550EX Flash
-Canon 540EZ flash (2 of these)
Powerful yet cheap flash, all I need for 'off shoe' flash photography

-Pocket Wizards
These have a triggering range of up to 1600 feet. (I have 3 of these)

-Canon 16-35mm f2.8L II
I no longer need a tripod to use a lens below 28mm indoors. Sharp, colorful and very fast focusing. High build quality. However I rarely shoot at f2.8. The sharpness lies around the f4.0. What I’m paying for in this lens is the quality of the glass, not so much the aperture.

-Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di LD
When I purchased this lens it had 2 bubbles the size of a grain of sand trapped within the elements. I was tempted on taking it back but when I realized the sharpness of this lens, I had to keep it. It is one of my best lenses, even though its not a Canon and sits on my camera as a walk around lens. It's inexpensive, yet performs at about the same level as much more expensive lenses of equivalent range.

-Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS
This is my long range lens. 200mm is as long as I need to go. I don’t do much wildlife nor sport photography.

-Leica Macro-Elmar-R 60mm f2.8
I think Elmarit 60 Macro is the best among this focal length. Very good close-up picture quality, high sharpness and excellent detail rendition. I sometimes use this as a standard portrait lens when rapid auto focusing is not necessary.

-Kenko Extension tubes
I only used for shallow DOF and extreme Marco shots.

On the shopping list:
-Canon MACRO 100mm f2.8L IS

I often get asked, What are my design rates and how much do I charge. It seems like a simple enough question which should demand a simple answer. But the answer is neither simple nor obvious. A host of variables must be considered to resolve what turns out to be a rather complex question. And the issue merits more than just a one-time consideration.

I constantly have to reconsider pricing each time I start a new project/assignment. While the criteria for pricing never change, prices always do. So please don't hesitate to contact me for a no obligation quote on your next project.

In the mean time have a read of this excerpt from The Art of Pricing (by: Tom Zimberoff) which I think the principles applies to both design and photography:

It only takes 1/125th of a second or so to snap a photo, and anyone with a camera can click the shutter. Nevertheless, some photographers make big bucks while others, perhaps just as talented, merely scrape by. So why are some photos priced higher than others? Why does the work of some photographers seem to be inherently more valuable than others? What factors allow such disparities to exist? The following anecdote may give you some insight.

The story goes that a wealthy couple was honeymooning in the south of France in the early sixties. The groom was a connoisseur and collector of fine art. In fact he owned several paintings by Pablo Picasso. By coincidence, they met an art dealer at their hotel who knew Picasso personally and offered an introduction. Arrangements were made for a rendezvous at Picasso's villa in Vallauris, just outside Cannes, the following day.

The party arrived at noon and was treated to a tour of Picasso's studio by the master himself. In the course of small talk, the groom gathered all of his nerve to ask Picasso if he would consider painting a portrait of his bride. To his surprise, Picasso agreed. In their excitement the couple began chattering about how long to extend their hotel reservation and about buying a special gown for the sitting… until Picasso brusquely interrupted to ask if a photograph of the young woman was available. Her husband took a snapshot from his wallet and handed it over. “Well,” Picasso said, “just leave this with me and go find some lunch in the village. Come back in one hour. I will have a painting for you.”

Astonished, the couple left with the art dealer for a bite to eat. They returned in one hour, just as Picasso was putting the finishing touches on a splendid if rather theoretical likeness of the beautiful bride. (Incidentally, you may assume that Picasso infringed no one's copyright by creating a derivative work from the snapshot; the groom took the photo!) Everyone was pleased.

The groom inquired casually about Picasso's fee, as he reached into his pocket for a checkbook. Picasso asked for $25,000 (in French francs). While price was no obstacle, the man joked about what a nice job it was to make $25,000 an hour painting pictures. Picasso's sober retort was, “You don't pay me by the hour. You pay for the years of hard work that made it possible for me to paint such a picture in only one hour!”

Take a look at PDN's May 2008 Photo Annual . There are at least 400 hand-picked examples of the best professional photography from every category from advertising to journalism to sports to stock.

These photo were taken on a cooold night. Sydney Opera House presents LUMINOUS - a festival of music, ideas, light and performance. Curated by Brian Eno.

He is now starting to show his personality and making sense with some of his words.

It hard sometimes to keep patience with Evan. The key is to understand that he has only been around for 18 months and have no sense of discipline in place. Nevertheless, he is learning the hard way with bumps, scratches and bruises.

These are photos taken on my trip to Vietnam. I haven’t been back since 1996 and as expected, there have been drastic changes. The ‘cyclos’ have been replace by Honda motorbikes with almost every man, woman and dog owning one. Traffic rules are not obeyed, but somehow traffic is functional and surprisingly you do get around quickly. Beats Sydney traffic any day.

Visting the country side was a breath of fresh air. Most of these photos are from the Meekong Delta river trip (where catfish AKA Pacific Dory are farmed and breed). Don’t get caught at the supermarket thinking that Pacific Dory is a wholesome exotic fish from the deep waters of the Pacific ocean. It’s not at exotic as it sounds!

Roles: Logo and Label design.

Royce is my nephew. Two years older than little Evan.

This little light of mine is named Evan. Born in December 2007 he is my bundle of joy, and sometimes a pain in the neck. Capturing good photos of him is difficult as he moves around so fast that taking a dozen photos, only a couple of them will turn out good.

Roles: Logo Design and photography.

I have finally picked up my Canon 50D. This will supersede my 5 year old Canon 300D. It was very tempting to get the 5D MK2 or 1D MK3, but it unfortunately my pockets dosn't go that deep. I will have to miss out on he full frame and higher ISO's for the time being.

Having the top of the range camera won't make you a good photographer (however it does help sometimes!)... after all it is only a TOOL. When you become serious into something, you will need the variety, like an apartment dweller might have one screwdriver in a kitchen drawer, but a professional mechanic might own a dozen different types of screwdrivers, in all sizes, and for all different purposes. Both screwdrivers and cameras are just tools. And those who are serious about something need more and better tools. I am still in the progress of becoming a budding pro photographer, which like many things, comes with time and experience, so until then I need to start my collection of lenses.


Those who is starting to get into photography and trying to understand the manual settings, I found this great link by Paul Hayashi who puts in plain English.