Lest We Forget

We sometimes get updates of friends passing on social media channels, while we may not be that close to some of them. Those news still hit us, maybe it’s because of our common photography community bonds, or maybe it’s due to my mid-life stage where I am right now. 

When my very old friend, in our 35th year of friendship (since our secondary school and Scouting adventure) days (and still counting), his Dad passed on recently, our fellow batch of old friends came down to support and gather, paying our last respects, indirectly also a gathering of old friends. 

How many more years of friendships can we count? We are all busy with our respective family, life, business or work. Have we make enough time and effort to meet and catch up with our old friends, or even other family and relatives? 

Life is ?

In our life journey, this question would many a times pop into our mind and heart? What is life all about? Life is not everything colourful, nor everything else black and white. Nothing lasts forever, everything is ephemeral, be it a rainbow or a person’s life journey (whether short, medium or long).

A few recent incidents recently highlighted how some friends may view friendship and even remember things/stuff. Am I forgotten, or am I more of a transactional usage? Life is much simpler in my secondary school era without technology and gadgets taking up our life. 

A More Disunited and Fragmented World

Our world is getting more messy, a more disunited and fragmented world. Our social fabric is turning into more individualism than collective community spirit. The world political situation is getting more uncertain, and also how it would evolve in the next decade. 

Embracing the Ephemeral

Embracing the Ephemeral, everyone has to face this inevitable fact and journey in life, whether we like it or not. 

Taking this time to write my visual stories, even though the world today are not only reading less books, they are also probably reading less elsewhere too. Instead, they might be showing off more on their social media channels, or watching more short form videos/reels that doesn’t go beyond a minute. 

Nevertheless, I will still continue to write, pen down my thoughts, feelings and emotions. There are still some of my family, relatives, friends and readers still reading my visual stories. 

* Photos shot with HONOR Magic7 Pro *

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Photography 

Photography (Business)

Running a small business is really very tough and challenging, let alone running a small size photography business in an ever-changing media/social media landscape that is already going towards video consumption over photography, coupled by smaller budgets, a shrinking pie to share in the market, filled with a pretty saturated pool on the supply side of things.

Fellow competitors in the same industry (whether photography or other industries) would not easily give up their share of their pie for you, it’s a cruel and harsh capitalist world out there. My photography business is still impacted and affected, there were many a times when it was so stressful and pressuring to run a small business.

The future of the creative industry, whether you are a photographer, videographer, artist etc etc, modern technology in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to make you stand up and pay close attention to them. AI can help us creatives, it can also possibly replace part of our creative work. Do check out and read my interview article, “Q&A on the impacts of AI on photography and creative industries”.   

Having contacts and networks with agencies doesn’t give you guarantees in business, sometimes there were opportunities, sometimes there weren’t. Disappointments are part and parcel of my business operations. 

Building up more contacts and networks have always been on my business plan and agenda. As I am reviewing my Year 2023, moving from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, I am also strategising new directions and plans, that I would share a bit more without going into too much details in my Yearly Theme 2024. 

Photography (Personal) 

On my personal/leisure photography sector, I had been active in the creative, arts, history, heritage, culture, conservation and preservation sectors, enjoying the visual storytelling and writing time that gives a deep fulfilment and accomplishment. Down the road, I hope that they would also help to bring in another source of business revenue as well. 

My personal visual storytelling/photography projects were still mainly digital and social media, written, published and uploaded for the world to see, read and view. I didn’t plan any of my personal projects to bring it to life as a physical tangible showcase, in the form of a zine, book, prints or exhibition.

Travel 

International travel 

For this segment, it’s disappointing for me, I haven’t begun to explore travel again as I didn’t travel out of Singapore. The high cost of travelling and pent-up frustrations around the world have not subsided yet. Therefore, I am practicing patience even though my travel wanderlust went up a few notches higher. 

Travel Content Creation 

There were some travel content creation opportunities that didn’t materialise, coupled with zero international travel trips in Year 2023, it can come across as double disappointments. Nevertheless, I am biding my time, preparing and actively networking with travellers around the world during regular co-hosting of #TTOT Travel Talk on Twitter community chats.  

Creative (Arts and Writing)

In the creative fields of arts and writing, Year 2023 was a very interesting year of creative exploration and writing that brought me into a new dimension, style and artistic direction. Thanks to local creative artist Wei of House of VSE/Very Small Exhibition/Bring Love Everywhere with his local artists and international artists collaborations that opened up my creative world to view and approach arts and creativity in different ways to immerse, interact and connect with the audience. Check out my visual story, “Tension by House of VSE”.

Another local creative artist that I followed and supported in Year 2023 (and still doing so) was Yip Yew Chong. His “I Paint my Singapore” – Familiar scenes of home was very heartwarming, nostalgic, connecting and bringing me back in time. Yew Chong’s visual storytelling via his paintings serves as an inspiration to me, in my own heritage, history and culture visual storytelling and documentation. 

Experiencing a major cross cultural performance between Korea traditional music and Nanyin music – “The Origins Cipher: A traditional Nanyin and Korean cross-cultural musical journey” in October 2023 also opened up my eyes to the international world of traditional arts and music coming together with the elements of history, heritage, culture, conservation and preservation, combining together to show that it can be done, in such a beautiful and soothing manner. 

Heritage (History, Heritage, Culture, Conservation and Preservation)

I have always been covering the areas of history, heritage, culture, conservation and preservation through the various museums networks, festivals and events. Through my heritage networks, I managed to discover more about traditional culture, craft and performing arts that may not have get the bigger slice of publicity and support. Personally, I feel that I can contribute more, help out and work together with organisations or like-minded people, whereby I can bring my skill sets and experiences in visual storytelling, photography, social media and digital marketing to those organisations in the history, heritage, culture, conservation and preservation sectors. 

Media Relations

In the field of media relations with brands and agencies, the status quo is usually pretty good for those agencies and brands that I work closely with, some brands and agencies have been engaging for a period of time. As for the agencies that I recently engaged and worked with in the past 1-2 years, they would take a bit more time to build up the working relationship.

Personal

On a personal note and observations from a personal basis and perspective, there were a few recurring frustrating things that had been bugging me over the years. They seemed to have escalated in recent times. Here are a brief summary of them without going too deep into details and explanations:

• People don’t read
• People don’t want to understand you, they want you to understand them instead
• Passing judgement is getting more common, uncalled for at times 
• People assume things 
• Sometimes you are more on social on social media than me and you say I am very busy on social media 
• Human communications are getting worse
• Communications and friendships are strained by social media, egos and narcissism  
• Human memory is like becoming more like goldfish and they blame it on brain fog arising from the global pandemic period
• FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is getting stronger and worse

Yearly Theme 2023 – Explore 

My Yearly Theme 2023 (Photography and Travel) was “Explore”, looking back at year 2023 in review and reflection, I did manage to explore bigger and wider, especially into the arts sector, following and supporting local artists in other creative genres, inspired and motivated by what they had embarked on, what they achieved, giving me new creative project ideas, motivations and directions for Year 2024.

I had also explored new partnerships with videographers, photographers as well even if we might be competing together in the same field. Finding partnerships would be even more crucial given the shrinking dollars and pie in the economy shared among an already saturated field. 

As for my international travel segment, I haven’t begun to explore travel again as I didn’t travel out of Singapore. It’s definitely disappointing for me no doubt. The lessons and desires would serve me well to plan my travels in Year 2024, and not just pent-up travel wanderlust frustrations since 2019 before the global pandemic period of 2020 to 2022.

Reflecting Year 2023 (Technology | Business | Personal) 

My year 2023 in reflection and review for my technology, business and personal are written and published separately on my TGH Technology and Business website. Since the two websites are operating in distinct fields, there are quite a fair bit of review and reflections written inside them too.

Final Note and Round Up

Year 2023 was not my best year, but I learned a lot. My review and reflection of Year 2023 articles that I wrote on both my websites, TGH Photography and Travel and TGH Technology and Business, may not have everything written down that took place in Year 2023, yet what I wrote down were quite a handful and lengthy to read for my readers.

To all who make the time and effort to read till the end of both articles, thank you for your support from the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate it! 

Looking Ahead in 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage)

Looking ahead in 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage), I would be sharing more information and details in my Yearly Theme 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage), this approach is unique and can be very different as compared to the goals and objectives approach that I learnt previously. 

Wishing all a Happy New Year 2024! Thank you for your support and encouragement! 

The post Reflecting Year 2023 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Why did I choose to build my own cake? While I do love the single flavour cake, there are many a times that I would want to try as many different flavour/style cakes in an order. When I visited their website and saw that Cake Delivery Singapore has Build Your Own Cake option, I got excited as I would be able to order different flavours/styles of cakes to taste and share with my family and loved ones.

As for my cakes selection, I chose burnt cheesecake, chocolate truffle cake, red velvet cake, ondeh ondeh, mao shan wang chocolate cake and pistachio rose. Cake Delivery Singapore lived up to their promise on freshly baked gourmet cakes, handmade with love. The quality of the cakes were great, tasty and delicious. Personally for me, I like their red velvet cake and chocolate truffle cake. Since taste is very personal and subjective, I would like to invite you to select and build your own cake to decide for yourself which cake style/flavour do you like the most.

Cake Delivery Singapore has a wide variety of cakes selection, whether it’s for a special occasion or cake flavours. They also have other options on their menu, they have sweet treats such as brownies, cookies, cupcakes etc etc. They also have other add-ons such as balloons, flowers and soft toys, ideal gift ideas to go along with your special occasion cake. 

If you are like me, someone who wishes to try as many different cakes as possible instead of just having one big cake of just one type of flavour/style, Cake Delivery Singapore Mixed Size Build Your Own Cake will definitely interest you!

Do share this Build Your Own Cake by Cake Delivery Singapore with your loved ones, family, relatives and friends. Pay-It-Forward and Pass-It-On! Sharing is Caring!

Remember to visit Cake Delivery Singapore and check them out! 

I would like to thank Cake Delivery Singapore for this build my own cake and cake tasting opportunity 

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The story behind Sebati

A husband and wife team with a vision to spread goodness and empowerment through their delicious cooking/baking, bringing love, joy and celebrations to your home through their fresh and wholesome Shepherd’s Pies and other sweet delights. When you get to taste their bakes and cooking, you can feel their love and passion inside the pies and bakes that they serve.

Sebati Shepherd’s Pie

What do they have? Customers can choose from these four options below:

1) Classic (Fillings: choice of beef or chicken)

2) Black Pepper (Fillings: choice of beef or chicken)

3) All Vege

4) Monthly Special

There are two sizes to choose from, personal and party. For personal size, it’s a 7 x 3 inch aluminium tray, serves 1-2 people, while the party size, it’s a 7 x 7 inch aluminium tray, serves 4-5 people.

What did we order?

After looking through the choices, I decided to go for the All Vege and July Special: Satay Shepherd’s Pie with chicken filling. While I am more familiar with the old school square shaped Shepherd’s Pie, the world of Shepherd’s Pie can come in various shapes and sizes, from round, to square or rectangular in shape.

Sebati Shepherd’s Pie, their crust/topping of mashed potato are really very nicely baked. The softness of the mashed potato is just nice without being too mushy or too dry. The All Vege has broccoli, cheddar and mozzarella cheese and aromatic mirepoix. You can feel and taste the fresh vegetables baked inside this All Vege Shepherd’s Pie, filling and delicious.

As for their July Special Satay Shepherd’s Pie, this combination is very interesting and intriguing, a fusion of local Southeast Asian and Western food, a combination that is not that easy to merge  two different cuisines together. Our satay cuisine in Southeast Asia can have a strong body flavour taste on the meats and not to mention the satay gravy. Sebati July Special Satay Shepherd’s Pie manages to blend them with a good amount of satay flavour taste without overpowering the Shepherd’s Pie.

More than Shepherd’s Pie, they have sweet stuff

Do check out their other selections on their website, they have sweet delights such as double chocolate pie bar, chocoflakes and snowflakes, they look very delicious and it’s tempting me very badly.

Support local food business!

Running my own sole proprietorship photography business, I know how challenging and tough it can be running a small business. I have been supporting food businesses operated by my friends and I try my best to help them in whatever way possible, from tasting, review, social media sharing, food photography projects etc.

Do visit Sebati website and instagram below, check out their menu and order away!

Sebati

Website: https://www.sebati.sg/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sebati.sg/

I would like to thank SEBATI for this food tasting opportunity and thanks to fellow techie/photographer/Liverpool FC supporter friend Hisham for introducing me to Sebati.

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Story behind their award-winning crabs from 8 Crabs

8 Crabs is a crab delivery and seafood delivery service in Singapore, starting off from importing premium seafood specialising in wild catch crabs, sea cucumber, prawns, grouper and tilapia from Sri Lanka.

For all the crab lovers out there, how much do you know about crabs?

Crabs naturally travel about 500m every night, preferring to live alone. However, crab farmers tend to breed crabs in confined space to make their business profitable. Therefore, crabs get stressed very easily in close captivity and they produce ammonia, a sign of decomposition of seafood.  While farmed crabs are cheaper and they are purchased by most restaurants, their ammonia smell  are present, covered by highly fragrant gravies.

What makes 8 Crabs different, unique and special?

They are the only company in Singapore using grade AAA premium Sri Lankan sourced wild crabs, graded by the most experienced crab graders in the trade. Their crabs are meatier, bigger and less watery. In order to ensure freshness, their crabs are caught, flown, prepared and delivered to customers within 12 hours.

The fresh crabs are prepared and cooked by award-winning chefs, this guarantee the best flavour and taste in their award-winning crab dishes. They operate on a one driver to an order policy across their 12 kitchens island-wide, this would allow them to uphold their promise of One Hour Crab Delivery.

What did we order? Our online ordering experience from 8 Crabs website

After checking with my mum what are the dishes she would like to have, we chose chilli crab, salted egg crab, fried man tou and signature coffee pork ribs from the menu.

I proceed to place my orders from 8 Crabs website, it was easy to navigate and use, placing order was easy and a breeze. There are three sizes of (Live) Sri Lanka crabs to choose from, large (approximate 750g), extra large (approximately 900g to 1kg) and XX large (approximately 1.2kg). The prices of the Live Sri Lanka Crabs are reasonable in my personal humble opinion.

After selecting and confirming the crab size options, we made our payment online, the process was smooth and secure, with an order confirmation email sent to my mailbox. You can choose your delivery time slot and spend a minimum of S$120 to enjoy free delivery regardless of delivery type.

Enjoying award winning 8 Crabs chilli crab dishes

The courier delivery was on time, delivered within our chosen time slot. When the dishes arrived, it was still warm and that was pretty good, taking into consideration the timeline that they have to prepare, cook, pack and deliver our orders in 1 hour. I quickly prepared the table for food photography action, with my enthusiastic Mum becoming my assistant for that evening. My family had a great time enjoying the chilli crabs especially my Mum who is a crab lover.

Even though I am not a crazy crab lover like my Mum, I am particular on the freshness and quality of seafood. The Sri Lankan crabs from 8 Crabs live up to their reputation on delivering fresh quality grade AAA premium Sri Lankan sourced wild crabs.

The Sri Lankan crabs were fresh, sweet and delicious, with lovely tender meaty portions from both crabs for my whole family to enjoy. For the chilli crab gravy, it tasted really delicious and on par with our previous chilli crab experiences at restaurants.

As for the salted egg gravy, it had more salted egg gravy than we expected since we were expecting less gravy from this style of cooking for salted egg crab. The fried man tou is a must to order, dipping it into the chilli crab gravy or salted egg gravy.

I ordered another side dish, signature coffee pork ribs from their website. This dish tasted really delicious, you can feel, taste and savour the coffee taste in the pork!

8 Crabs has more than just their award winning popular and delicious crab dishes, chilli crab, black pepper crab and salted egg crab. Their other dishes on offer from other seafood, meat and poultry, vegetables and others, gives customers a nice selection of zhi char dishes that can be delivered to your home, ideal for your family and friends gathering, parties, celebrations etc.

The prices for their Live Sri Lanka crabs and other dishes are reasonable in my personal view, delivery to the comfort of your home without you and your family and friends having to go out for a wonderful lunch or dinner.

If you are looking for fresh, great quality, meaty, sweet and award-winning crab dishes and other delicious zhi char dishes for your family/friends gathering in the comfort of your home, look no further than 8 Crabs!

* I would like to thank 8 Crabs for this food tasting opportunity *

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The Canon RF35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM lens is currently with me for a review. I brought it out for a photography walkabout in my local neighbourhood, it was just about enjoying and having fun, to capture the moments, surroundings and photographs that I conveyed my thoughts and feelings.

What do you see?

Do we always look beyond what see in front of us, to really understand what is happening or taking place behind the scenes? How often have we human beings just look at the surface and nothing else? How often have human beings just judge you just because they think they have the rights to do so?

Is the journey ahead a clear straight route?

Life is never smooth sailing, sometimes it can be a roller coaster ride or riding through a storm with choppy waves. Running a business is an experience that encompasses both scenarios. Like a broken recorder, this broken recorder is doing less repeat broadcasts on how running a business is that damn difficult and tough. You have to experience it for yourself.

There is always a light shining out for you

In the midst of darkness, we have to persevere, continue moving forward, towards the light at the end of the tunnel. There is always a light shining out for you, guiding and leading you out from the darkness. Keep on going, don’t give up.

Be patient, the waiting game

Some things in life, sometimes can’t be rushed. Yes, we can’t just sit and wait for things to drop down from the sky, we have to work for it and work on it. In life, in business, we have to be patient, thus the waiting game.

Cat therapy

There are people out there, who are friends turning into acquaintances because they have to be downgraded lower, for isolation and exile into frozen land. Cuddling and playing with my neighbourhood cats are so much better than talking to some humans whose full time righteous job is to judge people and put people down.

Do keep a lookout for my Canon RF35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM lens review! I might do another series on telling my stories with Canon RF35mm lens!

The post Telling my stories with Canon RF35mm f/1.8 appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Return of Printing Photographs

During the days when I started learning photography in the 80s, it was analogue film photography, printing photographs was a natural process since we can’t view our photos on the LCD screen of the camera or even on our smartphones (technology at that point in time wasn’t that advanced as of today).  I reckon it nearly became a form of lost art for a period of time.

From printing photographs from my film photography days to stopping it for a period of time due to the rise of digital and smartphone photography, I slowly returned back to printing photographs, moving from 4R to A4, A3 (with my Canon PIXMA Pro 10) and finally publishing/printing my first photo book, in 2015 titled, “Hokkaido 2014”, a black and white landscapes photo book.

As everything gets too social media, facebook, instagramable, internet and technology connected, people started to wanting to slow things down a bit and cherishing the things around them, that probably helps to explain the return of analogue cameras and film photography, thus also helping to bring back printing photographs again.

Pay It Forward and Pass It On – The love, fun and joy of printing, sharing and giving photographs

Prior to publishing and releasing my Hokkaido 2014 photo book in June 2015, I wrote and publish an article in February 2015 on “Why we should go back to printing photographs”. In this modern world of digital and smartphone photography, the art, the love and the joy of printing photographs had dropped significantly. I went through this phase as well before I managed to rediscover the art, love, fun and joy of printing photographs again.

I would try to share and loan out this Canon Mini Photo Printer to my relatives and friends whenever possible, for them to try out, to Pay It Forward and Pass It On, and hope they would also do the same, to Pay It Forward and Pass It On, the the art, the love and the joy of printing photographs with the Canon Mini Photo Printer, down the road.

I hope that with my Canon Mini Photo Printer, I can share more joy and fun, spreading friendship and community to my friends or during my travel adventures, giving friends and people a priceless moment and memory on the mini photo paper. Follow me on my Instagram,Facebook Pageand photography and travel website/blog, I would share more beautiful memories and stories with my photography and stories with the Canon Mini Photo Printer. If you are keen on the Canon Mini Photo Printer, you can check them out at the Canon E-Shop!

Follow Me on my Canon Mini Photo Prints Adventures!

Pairing the Canon Mini Photo Printer with my Canon EOS 1DX Mark II, the story continues. Beyond printing mini photo prints for myself, or printing photos as gifts for friends and travel memories for the people that I meet along the way, I am letting my creativity flow, from Canon mini photo prints, sticking the photos and journaling it down on my Travelers Notebook passport, to the idea of self-printing my own photography / travel zines with Canon mini photo prints.

Come onboard and follow me on my Canon Mini Photo Prints Adventures!

Thank you Canon Singapore for seeding me with this Canon Mini Photo Printer.

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I was first introduced to Bodum in Singapore at an event, there were a few housewares on display and in action at the event, the water kettle, coffee grinder, toaster and this particular coffee maker that caught my attention, the Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker.

The Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker looks like your secondary school science laboratory practical lesson except that it’s probably a lot more interesting and enjoyable with fragrant coffee being brewed inside this gorgeous looking coffee maker!

Funnel

Let me give a quick run through on the Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker, the funnel is made of borosilicate glass, you can watch your coffee brewing process like a theatre play in motion.

Base

At the base, the “brains” behind this vacuum coffee maker, perfectly calibrating the brewing time and temperature of your coffee, a perfect cup of coffee with each brew, all at the press of a button.

Jug

The jug where the water heats up in the lower chamber, creating vapour pressure that forces the boiling water upwards into the funnel to mix with the coffee ground. Now, sit back and relax, watch the coffee ground and boiling water in an artistic play in motion, while enjoying the fragrance of the coffee ground that you are brewing.

Filter

There is a filter between the funnel and jug, that allows the coffee maker to be removed from the heat and vacuum pressure, it draws the brewed coffee through a strainer and back into the jug for serving freshly brewed fragrant coffee to your family and friends.

This Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker looks a bit daunting in terms of how do I use it / brew the coffee ground? When I started to review this, I wasn’t so sure how to use it or even do it properly. After looking at the manual, it’s really not difficult at all!

How do I brew coffee with the Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker?

Step 1: Add water into the jug (keep a lookout for its minimum 0.75L and maximum level 1.0L markings)

Step 2: Add coffee into the funnel, before that, remember to place the filter inside the funnel and secure it. Thereafter, put the lid back on the funnel.

**** Notes: Coffee to Water Ratio: one to two tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces (approximately 177.44ml of water). Individual preferences varies and do check your ground coffee brand recommended ratio. ****

Step 3: Switch on the power, press the button at the base, sit back, relax and watch the coffee brewing play in motion.

Step 4: After the brewed coffee flows back into the jug, serve hot and freshly brewed coffee to your family and friends.

For this particular review, I bought Supresso Coffee and chose the Lampung and Papua Baliem coffee ground. This Supresso Coffee brand is from Indonesia, they have quite a wide range of different coffee beans, ground and coffee related products. My friends Keith and Jude like Lampung, 100% Robusta Coffee, strong body and no acidity, chocolatey with slight earthy and tobacco.  The Paupa Baliem is 100% Arabica Coffee, low acidity and heavy body, chocolate & fruity with tobacco. The Supresso Coffee brand is currently expanding in Singapore, keep a lookout!

At our coffee pairing brewed by Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker with delicious food, we all had a great time enjoying our coffee after dinner, from trying out this Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker for the first time, watching coffee brewing in motion play inside this aesthestically beautiful coffee maker, dramatic and scientific, yet still artistic with soothing coffee fragrance and aroma in the air.

This is not your heavy duty coffee machine to grind your coffee beans and brew your coffee (You can buy Bodum coffee grinder to grind your coffee beans!). The Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker gives rise to a simple and easy to use coffee brewing journey with your choice of ground coffee, all packed together inside this one pretty looking technologically advanced coffee maker. Sit back, relax and watch your favourite coffee being brewed and enjoyed in the company of family, relatives and friends.

A Big Thank You!

First and foremost, I would like to thank Hwee Seng Electronics and Brand Cellar for the opportunity to review the Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker.

I would also like to thank Head Chef Keith and Chef Jude for helping out in this review of the Bodum ePEBO Vacuum Coffee Maker. Thanks to Head Chef Keith for allowing me to use his home, kitchen and dining facilities for the photography and videography shoot. Thanks to Chef Jude for taking on the role of the home barista in the photography and videography shoot. More photographs of the Bodum ePEBO vacuum coffee maker in action can be viewed here in this Flickr album !

Pricing and Availability

Retail Price: SGD $369

Availablity: Robinsons, Metro, Tangs, Courts Megastore, Popular

You can also buy online from Hwee Seng E-Store!

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

The post Bodum ePEBO Vacuum Coffee Maker Review appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

My love affair with the EOS 1 series started when I playing with my friends Canon EOS 1D Mark I and Mark IIN, I was totally awed by its high frames per second and the sound of the high speed shutter. In time to come, I found myself owning a used Canon EOS 1D Mark III that I faithfully used for a few years before I upgraded to another EOS 1 series, the Canon EOS 1DX, also a used camera when the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II was announced and the price of a used EOS 1DX started to drop.

During a media event in February 2016, I got my hands on experience with the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II and inside my heart said, “I know you want it, buy it!”. However, my brain said, “It’s out of your current budget at the moment, even though you have a use for it on a professional basis” Therefore, I opted for a used Canon EOS 1DX, that I still love it and it’s now my current workhorse DSLR camera, as much as I badly wanted the EOS 1DX Mark II.

I did have an opportunity to review the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II recently, I was very excited because I am a huge fan of the EOS 1 series, not just on and from a professional basis, also from a photography enthusiast perspective.

During the review period, I had the opportunities to test the EOS 1DX Mark II over different situations, themes and events, from Singapore Motorshow 2017, Chinatown Heritage Walking Trail CNY 2017, River Hongbao 2017, Battle for Singapore Tour media preview, Chinese New Year gathering, Jaybird Freedom Wireless earphones product theme shoot and walking around Marina Bay area in the blue hour and night sceneries walkabout shoot. The experiences were really good and I was secretly lusting for a Canon EOS 1DX Mark II for my professional photography work along with a Canon EOS 1DX as a back up / second camera setup!

Through the various types of photographs that I took with the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II, I have the following observations, views and opinions of this powerful and awesome Canon flagship DSLR camera, written down in this review article.

However, before I begin, first and foremost, let me highlight the key differences between the technical specifications between the Canon EOS 1DX and EOS 1DX Mark II, the information that I extracted from Canon Singapore website by comparing these two Canon DSLR cameras side by side –

Based on the comparisons of technical specifications only, the key differences may not seem by many users as a big jump from the EOS 1DX to EOS 1DX Mark II. From my sharing of my Canon EOS 1DX Mark II review, I would share some of the key improvements that makes professional photographers to make their upgrade from EOS 1DX to EOS 1DX Mark II.

Colours

The Dual Digic 6+ processors inside the EOS 1DX Mark II make a key difference and impact to the quality and output of the photographs. They were richer and more accurate in colours, making it even easier and faster for jpeg photographs straight out from the EOS 1DX Mark II to be used quickly for your work requirements.

Dynamic Range

From my observations of the photographs shot with the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II review camera, on various subjects and themes during the review period, the dynamic range of the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II has improved. Therefore, the EOS 1DX Mark II is able to capture and retain more details and information. With this significant improvement, the shadows/dark tone areas of the photograph are lifted.

Anti-Flicker Technology

The Anti-Flicker technology that was first introduced to the Canon EOS 7D Mark II is now available inside the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II. The flickering of the indoor lights always pose an issue to photographers and they can give some photographers many problems/challenges to handle when shooting indoors. With the Anti-Flicker technology, indoor sports or events photography with the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II is so much more easier and pleasant, without the hassles of the flickering lights.

Auto Focus

The Canon EOS 1DX Mark II is the current flagship DSLR camera, it’s a monster machine as I always love (and usually) call it. Their Auto Focus system has improved significantly over the past few models since I started off (still owning it at this current juncture) with the EOS 1D Mark III and I am currrently using the EOS 1DX.

What make this Canon flagship DSLR camera so powerful, highly trusted and widely adopted by professionals around the world, from photojournalists, sports and wildlife photographers, are the AF technology packed inside this camera.

The technical specifications on paper shows how good and powerful this Canon EOS 1DX Mark II is. I recommend photographers who are keen in this camera to try it out and have a go at this flagship DSLR camera, you will then know why it is so highly trusted and widely adopted by the professioanls in photojournalism, sports and wildlife.

Here are the key improvements that are built inside the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II

• 170 RAW images with CFast 2.0 card
• Live View RAW – 16fps
• New AF algorithm and AI Servo AF III+
• EOS iTR
• Large Zone AF
• Newly developed 61-point AF sensor
• AF shooting is possible on most lenses using all AF points with a maximum aperture value of f/8
• Intelligent viewfinder II

During my review and research that I done previously for the Canon EOS 1DX, I discovered Canon USA produced a guide book on Canon EOS 1DX AF Setting Guidebook for users to fully utilise and customise the full AF capabilites. This book is now helping me to fine tune my AF settings in my EOS 1DX.

For this review article, I went back to Canon USA website and discovered that they have produced a new book titled Canon EOS 1DX Mark II AF Setting Guidebook. I strongly encourage photographers (whether professionals or serious enthusiasts) to download this handy guide book for their Canon EOS 1DX Mark II DSLR camera. This is a very handy and useful guide book to have for the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II.

Thoughts and views

The Canon EOS 1DX Mark II is the flagship Canon DSLR camera, this camera is highly regarded and used by professional photographers in the fields of journalism, sports and wildlife.

Owning a EOS 1DX is a huge upfront investment, the cost is pretty substantial. Therefore, this camera model is not something that all photographers would choose to purchase, considering their shooting requirements and budget. Moreover, Canon has a series of different professional DSLR camera models for professional as well as photography enthusiasts to choose from, such as the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EOS 5DS, EOS 5DS R and not to forget the semi-professional camera models such as the EOS 7D Mark II, EOS 6D, EOS 80D etc.

Key factors that make photographers upgrade from EOS 1DX to 1DX Mark II

While the differences between the EOS 1DX and EOS 1DX Mark II may not be that big of a difference on paper, professional photographers who view the photos and read about the key differences in performances, they would choose to let go of their EOS 1DX and go for the EOS 1DX Mark II.

During the period when I reviewed the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II, these key factors (in my personal opinion) are why some photographers are letting go of their Canon EOS 1DX for the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II

• Improved dynamic range
• Shadows/Dark tone areas improvements
• Anti-flickr shooting capabilities
• Smarter and faster auto focusing with the new AF algorithm and AI Servo AF III+
• 170 RAW images with CFast 2.0 card

On a personal note, I would really love to own the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II when my budget and finances allow. The Canon EOS 1DX is still a very capable camera, that is still doing its job well for me. Therefore when the opportunity arises, I hope that I can upgrade to the EOS 1DX Mark II in the near future.

I would like to thank Canon Singapore and Ogilvy Public Relations for the opportunity to review the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II.

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Photo courtesy of Canon Singapore

In my sharing article earlier on the Canon EOS M5 announcement, I wrote the following paragraphs inside the article:

“ ….. Personally, I have used the EOS M1 (belongs to my dad), reviewed the EOS M3 and EOS M10. Over the years, I had seen improvements to the Canon EOS M family through their camera body designs and EF-M lenses for the EOS M series. When I saw and read the official news on the Canon EOS M5, my initial impressions from it were – Canon is serious about their mirror-less camera line up, the EOS M series. During my recent trip to Canon EXPO 2016 Shanghai, listening to the top Canon Inc executives sharing on the next wave and trends, I wrote the points that were shared and discussed at the media interaction here in an article here on my photography website.

In my article, I wrote

“From the media interaction sessions, Canon remains committed to the EOS M mirrorless line up. We should be able to see more of EF-M lenses, EOS M accessories and maybe a new EOS M mirrorless camera body in the near future.” ….”

My initial impressions and thoughts based on the technical specifications of the Canon EOS M5 was that it is pretty good and much improved over the earlier four EOS M camera models. During a media dinner event, I had a short hands with the Canon EOS M5 and it reinforced my initial impressions and thoughts. Therefore, I waited for an opportunity to review the Canon EOS M5 and I managed to obtain a review unit in February 2017.

This Canon EOS M5 review camera went through a number of interesting events with me, she was very handy, small and lightweight for my carry around camera and events camera. This EOS M5 review camera went to HTC U Ultra and U Play smartphone launch, Majestic Market @ New Majestic Hotel, 2 x NHB Battle for Singapore 2017 tours, N.E.mation! 11 Awards Ceremony, OPPO R9s Plus smartphone launch, Singapore Biennale 2016, I Light Marina Bay 2017 media preview, extended family reunions and she also played an important role in the 100^th day ceremony in remembrance of my Grandmother’s passing. Overall, I think I took about 1,000++ photographs with the Canon EOS M5 during the review period.

Some quick thoughts and views of the Canon EOS M5

Pros

• Small, lightweight and compact
• Easy to use
• Wi-fi setup and file transfer is smooth and easy, just a touch of the button on the side of the EOS M5 and the Canon app
• Build in Electronic View Finder (EVF) is awesome
• Intuitive Touch and Drag AF
• Dual Pixel CMOS AF System
• Easily accessible operating control dial on the top of the EOS M5 body
• Five-axis image stabilisation system inside the EOS M5
• A well thought out ergonomic design, buttons layout and with a good hand grip

Cons

• The tilt screen can’t flip upright due to the design of the built-in EVF and it can’t flip sideways 180 degrees, it can tilt downwards 180 degrees.
• At ISO 25,600, the noise level at times can be really grainy and distinctive (even for myself who has a high tolerance for the grain), therefore use ISO 25,600 at your own discretion.
• While the AF system has been improved inside the Canon EOS M5, the AF system has some challenges re-focusing on the subject that moved away or around when AF is not locked and tracked on the subject.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF System

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF System is now integrated inside the Canon EOS M family, starting with the Canon EOS M5 body. I had the opportunity to use the Dual Pixel CMOS AF System in the Canon EOS 70D, a DSLR camera body that I reviewed and I bought a used EOS 70D later before letting it go to fund for my EF 24-70mm f/4 L IS USM lens.

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF System allows the EOS M5 to achieve 7.0 fps (AF tracking) or 9.0 fps (AF fixed). Recording a video with the Dual Pixel CMOS AF System built-in, makes it very handy, useful and great when recording a video with the EOS M5.

Video recording

Armed with Digic 7 and Dual Pixel CMOS AF System inside the camera body, recording a video on the Canon EOS M5 gets easier and better. While I currently do not specialise in video production, the videos that I recorded and produced showed the ease of use for the daily user. Video recording can be a fun activity with the Canon EOS M5, whereby you can also record videos for memories beside taking photographs.

Intuitive Touch and Drag AF

This is one of the few key features inside the Canon EOS M5 that made me very impressed and liking this EOS M5 a lot. The intuitive Touch & Drag AF is like the “joystick”, the Quick Control Dial and Multi Controller of the Canon DSLR. With the eye on the EVF and your thumb controlling, moving the AF point, it’s just like my Canon DSLR in action.

I have my own unique experience using it, while I love this feature, it also got me fustrated because my eye tend to go very close (basically glued) to the EVF (from my experiences handling my Canon EOS 1DX), thus my face and nose would touch the screen. There were many a times, my nose and the finger “clashed” when I used the touch and drag AF.

The trick is not to put your eye too closely to the EVF, allow some space away from your face and there would be no clash between your finger doing the touch and drag AF and your face/nose.

Canon EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM Review

The Canon EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM is a new lens addition to the Canon family of lenses. The EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM is available in silver or graphite colour, it is small, lightweight and compact.

Focusing speed

The focusing speed is decent, it’s not a fast lens especially at the other end of the focal length at 150mm.

Sharpness

For the entire review period, I only used this EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens. This lens produced sharp photographs and it is able to retain the sharpness after cropping.

Bokeh

While this EF-M lens may not be as famous as her fellow sisters, the EF L lenses, the bokeh produced by this lens is commendable, pretty good with some creamy smooth bokeh. Let the photograph below reinforce the views that I wrote –

Canon EOS M5 with EF-M 18-150mm @ 150mm, f/3.5-6.3, ISO 640, f/6.3, 1/250s

The Canon EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 is a small, compact and lightweight telephoto zoom lens, suitable for your travel usage.

Here’s a quick recap of the product specifications of the Canon EOS M5 and EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM

Product specifications

EOS M5

Image sensor: 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor

Imaging processor: DIGIC 7

Focal plane AF: Dual Pixel CMOS AF

Max frame rate: 9.0 fps (AF fixed), 7.0 fps (AF tracking)

Max standard ISO speed: ISO 25,600

Monitor: 3.2-inch tilting touch panel LCD, approx. 1.62 million dots

Movie: Full HD 60 fps

Connectivity: Wi-Fi / NFC / Bluetooth

EVF: Approx. 2.36 million dots

Dimensions: Approx. 115.6 x 89.2 x 60.6mm

Weight: Approx. 427g

EF-M18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM

Focal length: 18-150mm

Maximum aperture: f/3.5 – 6.3

Minimum focusing distance: 0.25m (at 18mm), 0.45m (at 150mm)

Maximum magnification: 0.31x

Filter size: 55mm

Aperture blades: 7

Length: 86.5mm

Weight: Approx. 300g

Pricing and Availability

The EOS M5 is now available at all Canon authorised dealers at the following recommended retail prices.

The Canon EOS M5 camera, on my own personal basis, with views and opinions collected during the camera review period, it got a pretty good score and endorsement from me.

The built-in EVF gives it extra marks because I am schooled in the film SLR camera and I still prefer the EVF. With the feel, touch and capability of a DSLR, along with the Dual Pixel CMOS AF and intuitive Touch & Drag AF, it makes the Canon EOS M5 a very enjoyable camera to use since I am mainly a Canon DSLR useer.

This lightweight and compact Canon EOS M5 is packed with some pretty good capabilities and functionalities from the EOS DSLR family. An ideal camera for travel for those who do not wish to bring their DSLR out.

Would I take the Canon EOS M5 as my side/spare camera in my current Canon DSLR cameras setup?

Yes, if I have the extra budget on my side as I need to channel my funds to other L lenses purchases/upgrades first.

No, because I am waiting for Canon to release a full frame EOS M camera with a built-in EVF (In my personal humble opinion, I think they would release a full frame EOS M, probably in 2018, maybe Q1? That’s my wild guess!)

If you are looking for a mirrorless camera, do check out the Canon EOS M5, visit Canon Singapore Customer Care Centre at Galaxis, have a touch and feel of the Canon EOS M5.

* I would like to thank Canon Singapore and Ogilvy Public Relations for the opportunity to review the Canon EOS M5 *

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