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I went back home last weekend. It’s been almost two months since the last time I did. Ahh…there is no place like home.

The only problem is that I ate more meat in those two days than I would normally eat in a course of a week. No joke.

I took some photos of the plants in my mom’s mini garden. Well, it used to be mini but it has grown quite a bit now. If she continues to add in more flower pots, my dad will have to vacate his car porch and park his car by the side of the road.

All photos taken with my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF lens. Ten months ago, I was dying to get my hands on one of them. I made some phone calls to a few camera shops in PJ and KL but none of them had it in stock.

I was desperate. I almost bought a second hand unit. Thankfully, one was available soon after. I made my purchase and it was delivered through mail.

I really enjoyed the bokeh that the 50mm f/1.8D produced. Now, if only I can get my hands on a good (and cheap) telephoto lens and a flashgun, I’d die a happy man.

Flower in a blue plastic pot

After finally getting my Nikon D40x, I was determined to learn more about photography and ways to take better photographs. Even after taking thousands of photos with my now retired Panasonic DMC-FZ3 for the past three years, I realized that I still do not know much, if any about photography at all.

Take for instance the mode on the digital camera. Apart from taking “macro”, portraits, landscapes and some other preset modes, there are P, A, S and M. I have always shot in the P mode because that was what I was taught when I first got the digital camera. I never knew what the other modes do and what difference they make. I guess I wasn’t that enthusiastic to learn about them back then.

I have since joined ShutterAsia to learn more from the other shutter enthusiasts. There are many great tips and photos uploaded by the forum members that I find very interesting. When I was going through the forum looking for more information on the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D lens, I notice a thread inviting members to participate in photography challenges. There will be a different challenge every month where cash vouchers and other prizes await the one who comes up with the best photo. This month’s theme is portrait.

I was very interested to join the challenge but hesitated in doing so knowing that it would be a head on collision between Kancil and Mercedes-Benz. After considering the idea for a while, I decided to take up the challenge anyway. It wasn’t for the prizes but to challenge myself to experiment and learn more about taking presentable photos.

The rule of the challenge is that the submitted photo must be taken within the challenge period (1 November to 25 November). I went to the beach and my local mini zoo to take some photos last weekend. There are two photos that I am quite happy with. Thankfully, the organizers mentioned that portraits of animals are acceptable. This is my submission to the challenge.

The photo above was taken at the Teluk Cempedak beach. I spent around 10 minutes taking over a dozen photos of monkeys at close range. The monkeys were hanging over my head only a few feet away. I was worried that one of them may suddenly decide to jump on my head and start chewing into my skull. Anyway, I didn’t have an alternative since my kit lens isn’t capable of a further zoom.

There is nothing special about the photo, really. Apart from being lucky that one of the monkeys decided to stretch its jaws and having a glimpse of its balls, there is nothing much to it.

I had a nice long chat with Jason two nights ago about him having problems with his VMI card in PayPal and some other stuff about digital cameras and photography. Only then did I realize that the price for a D80 kit was only about RM3,500.

All this while, I thought the Nikon D80 was at least RM4,500 an above. If I know about it before I bought my D40x over two weeks ago, I would have definitely opted for the D80 instead. I will only have to pay less than RM100 extra per month. Furthermore, the D80 is more powerful and (if I am not mistaken) do not have problems with auto focus in older lenses that the D40x has.

Boo-sheet betul.

Anyway, it is my fault for not researching enough. Sheeeetttt!

If you want to know the latest prices of digital cameras in Malaysia, you can check out this price list of digital cameras in Lowyat.

Yes, it is official. I am a proud owner of a Nikon D40x. I bought it at Lowyat last Friday. I went in every single store that sells Nikon digital cameras and asked for the cheapest price they can offer me. After weighing the pros and cons of each offer, I decided to buy from ENATA DIGITAL.

ENATA DIGITAL is the second shop (if I am not mistaken) on the left as you enter Lowyat from BB Plaza. I was served by a guy named Andy. I can’t help but to notice his ridiculous long eye lashes. Besides that, he is a really nice guy who has helped me in purchasing my first dslr. Below is the list of things I got with the purchase.

• Nikon D40x Kit with AF-S DX 18-55mm lens
• 2GB SD Card (Toshiba)
• JENOVA DSLR camera bag
• STEINZEISER SZ-88 tripod
• LCD protector

I also got two vouchers for Fotokem’s Fotobuk offer. It is a 20-page 6″ X 8″ photo album that we can customize with our photos. You can create the photo album using their software. There is no limit on the number of photos that you can fit in. You just need to decorate the photos for each page and they will print it out for you.

The Fotobuk costs RM59.90. The first voucher entitles me for a FREE Fotobuk and is valid for two months only. The second voucher offers a 30% discount and is valid for three months.

The cash price was RM2,450. I am not good at bargaining so I am quite sure you can further reduce the price if you are good at it. I bought the camera using credit card on a 12 month installment package. In the end, it cost me RM2,550 for the camera (bank charges included). I will need to pay RM210+ for the next 12 months for it. I say it’s worth it.

Actually, there is another shop that is willing to sell me the camera for RM2,450 (12 month installment). It is just a few shops away. The sign board indicates that it is a Digi shop but they are also selling cameras in it. I end up buying from ENATA DIGITAL because they gave me more confidence.

The Digi shop has a poster outside their shop that advertised the Nikon D40x was selling for RM2,399. So, it is possible to get the digital SLR for under RM2,400. You will just need to bargain your way to it.

After playing with the camera a bit, one of the major disadvantages I notice is the lack of zoom. My old Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 had a 12X optical zoom that makes my new 18-55 lens feel like a kindergarten boy. I am already thinking of getting a 200mm VR lens. That will cost me around RM1,400 I think. A macro lens would cost another RM1K.

Shit. This new hobby is getting expensive.

I have seen many photographs of individuals published in blogs and websites online. I am sure you have as well. Sometimes, the person (or people) in the photograph may be a stranger to the photographer.

I have always wondered if there is a legal issue regarding this where the photographer must seek the approval of the “model” before:

1. taking the photo
2. publishing it (online — blog, website, etc and offline — magazine, newspaper, etc)

There are many photos that I see online that I am quite sure the photographer didn’t get the approval of the person in the photo before publishing it. In this case, is it legally wrong or just ethically wrong of the photographer to be doing that? Or maybe the photographer isn’t wrong at all since they were in a public place?

Do you ask the permission of the “model” before taking their photo? Did you inform them that you may publish it online for the world to see? What are your thoughts on this?