Thursday, August 19, 2010

My Other Hobby

Some of you may have noticed, that other than doing sports, I also love taking pictures.

For that reason, you may be familiar looking at me carrying my little compact camera when I run. However, it is pretty rare for you to see me holding a camera when I’m not in my ‘fitness suite’ (read: running gears, dri-fit shirts and seluar ketat). And I’m also sure it is even rarer for you to see me snapping pictures with a DSLR (digital SLR).

But not on one fine and beautiful Saturday morning in Port Dickson, where I got a Nikon D90 camera hanging from my neck, with me wearing a normal dri-fit t-shirt (yes I love dri-fit stuffs) and a pair of jeans. It was a day before my OD triathlon in PD, which was during the sprint and kids category.

Thanks to Snap-Attack!

It all started with a conversation to secure an accommodation for my PD triathlon race with the Snap-Attack crew, where finally I volunteered myself to capture some moments during the kids triathlon events on behalf of Snap-Attack. They can’t be in PD as they had to cover MUDS UPNM on the same day and time.

So, on the Friday night before the race, I met up with Shazly. Get hold of the Nikon D-90 basic kit (with 15mm lens if I’m not mistaken), get myself a quick DSLR photography 101 crash course with him and discussed on how and where to take the shots.

Standing by for the swimmers to reach the shore.
King Jelir was nervous waiting for his son.

Amacam, ada gaya macam orang sembelit photographer tak?

I positioned myself right at the swim exit to get the best coverage. this was during the sprint category.

It was a fun experience for me. It was my first time using DSLR, and it was my first time doing proper sports photography (which was indeed tough to get spanking great shots). Despite of only using the non-telescopic lens, I managed to grab these shots below. There are many more photos which I took during the kids triathlon and Snap-Attack hosts the other photos on their websites. Feel free to browse through Snap-Attack.

With Snap-Attack's permission, here are some of those that I managed to capture. In total, I snapped almost 700 photos on that day, of which only about 500 were considered as 'acceptable'.

A mixture of nervousness and bravery.

Attaaaaackkkk!!!!!

The junior triathletes. Super fast and furious.

The most difficult moment to capture was during the cycling leg.
I would say, 40% of the photos I took during cycling leg were all out of focus.

I love taking shots at the kids running. I just needed to squat by the race route, and wait for them to enter the frame, and then snap!
They were all full of emotions.

Time for a celebration!

Too bad, I'm too old for them.
They naturally smiled at the camera for my best shot of the day.

29 comments:

  1. And hence the absence for a while eh. Secret photography training it seems. Lovely pics. It's definitely not only the camera that makes a perfect picture

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  2. Ijam would love the 2 amois... careful Ijam - underage daa...

    getting good Nik! Now you have to get the D90 yummyumm!

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  3. Yim,
    No secrets lah. This happened during PD triathlon back in July haritu.
    Tak sempat training photography pun, main snap snap snap je. Gambar yg cantik2 tu, itu nasib je tu. It was D-90 doing the real job.. remember?

    Syah,
    Perhaps I'll get myself a D-90 when i fully retire from doing sports. Now, baru halfway retire je.. hihi.
    Opps.. no no.. not retire. Slowing down n taking some rest je.

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  4. i have D90 at home and dont know how to use but been meddling with it and like it, belongs to my daughter actually hehe, i saw these pics at snap attack and the two little girls? absolutely gorgeous esp the one in pink, Ijam sure tak lena hahah

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  5. nice shot Nik, I like them. Elements of a good picture come from both the keen eye of the photographer (angle, expression, moment etc) and the handling of the camera itself (exposure etc).

    Get a D90, Nik!

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  6. June,
    My first ever camera was Canon (yg pakai 35mm film tu). Then, 2nd and 3rd one also Canon (Powershot models both of them). When they all went kaput, i am now settling with Olympus mju tough, purely for its toughness n waterproofness.
    Between these two, I think Canon still produces better output.
    And surely Nikon too lah.

    Kash,
    Thanks. And again, thanks to Shazly and Snap-Attack.
    I cannot afford a D90 yet lah. :)

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  7. gambar memang ada klass gitu!! dasat gila!!
    underage amoi kids pun cute juge...

    P/s : suka amoi yang dah matang je la..huhu...

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  8. Ijam, agaknya pagi tadi if i use nama amoi sure lama lagi ek session? haha *sorry nik, tukar topic jap, ijam takde fb so kena cari kat blogs*

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  9. Ijam,
    Lu pakai DSLR apa bro? Gambar2 yg lu ambik pun ada potential jugak.

    Bukak je la akaun FB baru with the name "McIjam The Runner". (tumpang meracun mcm June)

    June,
    Tukar topic takpe, jgn tukar channel. :)

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  10. Tengok gambar atas gambr amoi tuh... haa, 1 famili posing baek, esp daddy huhuhu..
    Cool pics, bro.

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  11. Wah, I thot SK took these. Well done!

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  12. Zaki,
    Ask Shakhir and Dett how they felt after their kids crossed the finish line.
    Kalau Shakhir posing bergambar.. lagi dahsyat bro... :)

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  13. kak june : mmg pun, mati2 ingat benda ehem tadi...
    i ada FB acccount once, but delete it...it had taken my life away...
    no lah, just kidding...If i could, i would...
    email la, i have to check my email every 5 - 10 minutes

    Nik : aku stick to canon 1000D entry level, lain semua mahal nak mampus, yg penting lens je le...
    tak kira camera apa pun...

    nak beli lens, run fees lagi next year, basikal lagi...'matikudasai' aku (Kash's word - suka lah )

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  14. Haza,
    I boy new learn,
    if wrong please show. :)

    Ijam,
    Buatla part time job hiburkan kanak2 during their birthdays... McIjam serba boleh kan kan kan? Hasil usaha tu boleh guna utk upgrade lens.

    Ore kelate ghoyak, mapuh kerah. (though, i don't know what matikudasai means) hihihi.

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  15. hiburkan budak susah sikit, tapi kalau hiburkan mak budak..ok la kot..ha, ha...
    matikudasai aku ....

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  16. Ijam,
    Penah tengok iklan susu kat tv tak?
    "Anak suka, ibu setuju!"
    Hihihi..

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  17. aisey bro..kalu tau lu jadi SK crew, sure wa & King posing maut..siap guling-guling bercanda kat pantai.

    last picture superb..bole cari makan bro

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  18. Dett,
    Aku low profile je. Saya ni pemalu orangnya.
    Kalau wa nampak lu dgn king mambo bercanda kat pantai guling2, wa record video letak kat YouTube bai... nahas la korang.

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  19. O..Ada bakat ni.Nanti saya kawin ( nanti ye tak tau bila lagi) boleh buat pro bono?


    Those 2 girls sangat cute .

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  20. Meeza,
    Cak pong.. cak pong!
    Buat pro bono boleh, tapi kena ada org sponsor camera lah. :)

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  21. ni dah masuk alam lain plak ni. hehehe. keep it up nik.
    bila dah ada kamera nanti, sure bakat naik ten fold

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  22. Zarin,
    Kalau begitu, lambat lagilah bakat nak naik ni...
    Takpelah, akan ku pendam dan ku perap dan ku pekasam kan bakat ku ini...

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  23. you can now afford a D90 cos the one that u used, is now for sale. I am letting it go to make way for others.

    You certainly have the eye!

    Haza.. you tak baca habis lah the album description masa Snap-attack upload the album.. hehe.. i summarized what Nik wrote in a couple of sentence.. ;-)

    anyway, more chances to come and i really dont mind sharing any knowledge that is worth sharing.

    Thx

    SK

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  24. SK,
    Kalau aku ter-meleleh air liur bila dengar tawaran hebat kau tu... batal puasa tak?

    Thanks again bro. Anda seorang cikgu photography yg bagus. I want to learn more from u. Nanti calling2 ye kalau ada future job (cewah).

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  25. well done on the pics esp on the last one, nik! :) nanti i tunggu you to snap me k? hehe :P

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  26. Nana,
    I dah lama jadi penunggu ni... :)

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  27. i love the last pic! next time if i have girls i will make sure they are tan and wear colorful clothes! :D :D

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  28. those are really lovely shots ... such vivid expressions. You're GOOD!

    p/s - in pic no. 3, i thot u changed your hair-do! :)

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  29. H.Ling,
    Thanks.
    So, u can start shopping now!!! Hihi.

    Ian,
    yeah, i thot i got electrical shock or somethin'...

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