My First Wedding Job

Huhu, who would have thought...me...doing wedding photography? Well....I did that twice before, once as a favour (so that doesnt count as 'official') and the other was to bail out a friend who had to leave early while on the job (so that doesnt count as 'official' too). Guess that makes this one 'THE ONE' (official that is).

Understandably I was nervous. Why? I am not sure really. I think it may be because I dont know whether my 'taste' appeals to the bride & groom. After all, photography is a form of art and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Well I guess the groom's family had seen my work (my 2nd 'unofficial' job was during the eldest sister's wedding) or maybe they were just doing me a favor.

I couldnt sleep that night. At 2am I was still busy cleaning lenses and charging batteries. Just like a small kid with his 'new' toy. At last, I managed to put in about 3 hours of sleep. Borrowing Catz's favourite expression..."crazy"...haha.

The groom is the son of Dato' Sham & Datin Saadiah, fondly called Ijan (not sure of his full name though). The bride and groom had insisted there will be no 'bersanding' ceremony on either side, so it makes it more challenging for me to get good shots.

I would like to share with you this unique wedding reception on the groom's side. Why unique? It was a BBQ reception, with stalls serving BBQ stuff, beriyani, char kueh teow, sotong kangkung, tauhu bakar, ice kacang etc etc.

The groom's reception




The families

The groom's family


The bride's family

To the bride and groom, I wish them "Semoga bahagia ke anak cucu. Amin"

Bali Revisited....Part 2

Gunung Kawi

Tanah Lot

Ulu Danu

Pura Luhur (Uluwatu)

Taman Ayun

Jimbaran

....to be continued...final part

Bali Revisited....Part 1

I took a trip to Bali as a closing for the year 2008. I had planned it sometime back. Everytime I went to Bali, it was to visit the various dive sites and never had a 'real' opportunity to see the various land attractions. I had seen what Bali had to offer underwater and now its time to see things topside.

This time I didnt even pack my underwater housing. Instead I brought my D80...finally...had enough money to own a DSLR and what better place to test it than Bali.

Originally I had wanted to write a diary sort of writing, depicting every step that we took. Then I found out that its hard work doing that. Catz also commented that the very idea of blogging is to tell things as how it is, and not like writing a report. Hmmm...

Well, here are a few pictures of the places we visited:-

Malaysian Owned Spa

Surprisingly the owner is a Malaysian...from USJ. We liked his shop, as it was nicely decorated, clean and...with your own personal multimedia console where you can watch cable TV or your favourite DVD. For 2 hours of foot massage, facial, Balinese massage and body scrub, including refreshments, it costs Rph150,000.

Nasi Sunda

I cant remember the name of the rice package (i.e. the one in the basket). In this picture also including Gado-Gado, Pekedil and Sup Buntut.

Hard Rock Cafe

Went there to take photos and buy some souvenirs. I kind of like this place for its live music and the showmanship of the grinder girls (which simply means...girls using grinders against the armor plate they wore)

Pacung

Nice place to eat with a commanding view of the valley below. The food is served as a buffet package. Halal food as evident by the steady flow of local muslim tourists.




Kecak Dance

A famous traditional dance performed during sunset, it depicts the stories adapted from Ramayana. After the kecak dance, a man performs the Sanghyang Jaran dance. Riding a wooden horse, and under trance, he charges through a pile of burning coconuts shells.




Barong Dance

Another entertaining cultural performance. This dance is performed in the morning around 9am. The Barong dance depicts an ancient folk tale which includes a scene where a group of men, evidently under trance, try to puncture their bodies with Keris, an ancient Malay weapon.

Rice Terrace

Here there is a cafe overlooking the rice terrace. Open air concept with the splendid breeze blowing while you sip on your coffee. Priceless

....to be continued

Another new year...2009

Hmmm....at last, a new year is here...2009. Again, I have made another vow for 2009, that is to update my blog at least once a month. I hope I can stick to it after failing in 2008. Some of my friends had given up on me and my blog.

Again, let's re-cap what has happened in 2008...with regards to my life that is...

2008 was the year when I got to meet my ex-schoolmates, thanks to Facebook. One particular person was Shariman Samad, my best friend way back in 1976-1981.

2008 also saw the numerous certification of divers at different levels...open water right up to divemaster. To all of them, I would like to congratulate them again.

2008 was also the year my 4wd 'anak gajah' got stolen, right in front of my house and directly under the street light. Fortunately it was stolen for a couple of hours, having recovered it abandoned by the highway. Of course, they took everything there was to take...radio, walkie talkie, siren, strobe lights...my trauma bag, dive gear. Saddest part was, as I had lost my trauma bag, I could do little when I came across accidents. Until now, I am still replacing those things that I had lost bit by bit.

2008 was also a year where a few friends had some major changes in their life i.e. marriage and newborn. Well to all of them, I wish them success.

2008 was also a year that I was involved in the numerous rescue operations. The most 'memorable' ones were all near to the Hari Raya celebrations. The 3 boys drowning was a few days from Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and the Bukit Antarabangsa land slide was a few days from Hari Raya Korban. Coincidence or what? Believe or not....

Well...since I was not an avid blogger, what I had jotted down here is only a fraction of what has transpired in 2008. Let's hope the new year brings positive changes and good luck to everyone... and that this time around, I can actually achieve what I set out to do each year..that is to blog my life actively.

Ops Landslide - Gombak

I was at Sg Wang, window shopping, when the call came at 1745hrs. It was my Ops Officer, asking me to report to Bilik Gerakan (BG). The case...a house had partially collapsed into the swollen river, taking 1 person with it. I then proceeded straight to BG which located nearby at Jalan Semarak.

Our RIM (Rapid Intervention Motorcycle) had proceeded to the location to do the primary assessment. It was then followed by our RQ (Heavy Rescue Vehicle) and lastly by the Land Rover of which the Water Rescue & Scuba Unit was in. The roads were heavily jammed... even with the siren & flashing strobe lights...sometimes Malaysian drivers are so occupied either on their phone or chatting with their GFs that they hardly notice what's happening around them.

Arriving at the location, the water level was still high. Upon inspection, the back toilet and part of the kitchen are gone. Slabs of concrete and bricks lay in the river. The victim is a 40 yrs old male. He was in the toilet when it happened. We then decided to wait for the water level to recede a bit. After discussion with other agencies, 4 of our guys from JPAM (Jab Pertahanan Awam Malaysia) and 2 from JBPM (Jab Bomba & Penyelamat Malaysia) conducted the in-water search. The search went on until midnight. Still no body in sight. After that, its time for me to have my dinner.

Today (Friday) was the final day...Day 4. Either we find him today or we have to wait until someone finds him. We were all very tired from almost 4 continuous days of searching.

Me giving briefing to my team including RELA members joining us for the search

River search

The search party coming back after the operation was closed down.

Actually, yesterday (Day 3), a body was recovered somewhere in Puchong/PJ area along the same river. The family said that it was not him. Even though deep down inside our hearts, we knew that there is a very high possibility that it was him, we had to continue our operations. I could not write that here yesterday, as the family had not verified that it was him.

Even though we have been conducting our search localize near to the red zone, there are people looking along the river from Gombak right up to Kelang, esp the rubbish collection areas. JPAM, JBPM, Skuad Penyelamat DBKL, JPS...almost everyone.

Finally today, at 1130hrs, as the search team was in the river, the brother of the deceased came to inform me that the family had verified that the body found yesterday was actually him. Alhamdullillah. Now the family can prepare to give the deceased a proper burial. Al-fatihah.