Post Processing

Taking pictures may be fun. To some, its a job that needs to be done and delivered. But, how much time is actually spent during photographing and post processing? How fast can you post process the photos and deliver to your client? Most clients want their photos up and ready as soon as after the photo session is done. Some photographers require such a short time post processing photos, and some, may take their own sweet time post processing those photos.

In this digital age, delivering photos has never been much easier than those negative photography days. Back then, pictures are post processed in a dark room. I never had a chance to go through that when I first started photography. It was dSLR for me when I first started. dSLR? Digital Single-lens Reflex Camera.

Combining the use of digital imaging softwares like Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw, ACDSee, Aperture 2, iPhoto etc, with those fancy digital imaging devices helped professional photographers to improve their speed in delivering photos to their clientele. Photos can be batched processed in one single click, and voila! These days, photos can be delivered within hours after the photo session. The digital era has definitely speed up things in life.

To some of us photographers, conventional film photography is still used in some occasions. Just to get the feel of how hard it was to shoot using negative film. To us, it was, one shot, one kill. Unlike using digital cameras, continuous burst is now commonly used. Don't like the picture? Just hit the delete button. In fact, money can buy memory. These days, memory cards are getting cheaper by the dozen, and the more memory it is, the cheaper it is. Nowadays, 8GB SDHC cards, can store about 1.5k+ shots in large 10.2 Mega Pixels jpeg compression photos format. And with the available 16GB & 32GB cards, go figure!

Well, that's all for now. Gotta get back to work. Some photos to "Batch Process" and layout on the canvas for printing. Talk about taking our own sweet time post processing.

Malay Wedding, The Javanese Culture in Malaysia...

It is a norm in most rural community, as they say, the "kampung" people of with javanese culture. As the long awaited celebration day comes, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, those directly related, and those indirectly related to the bride & groom to be, and especially, neighbors within the community start to get busy, preparing for the festival.

The preparation starts as early from months ahead. Responsibilities are being divided equally between family members and the neighbors. Weeks before the wedding event, family members sit down together, once more, to check their positions, to update on the progress of their responsibilities. There's the food and beverage division, invitations, make-up, stage, entertainment, and most importantly, the bride and groom.

24 hours and counting. All the tents are up and installed. The raw materials for food and beverage prepared. The chief cook makes one final check. Chopped onions, garlic, chillies, lime, spices, chicken, beef, prawns, ginger and all the necessary ingredients are prepared in mutual aid between the family members and the local community. Commonly known as rewang within the community, this takes place all night long before the main feast. There's food prepared for the community all night long, with cold drinks, roti canai, COFFEE, snacks and karaoke as well for entertainment to relief themselves from the stressful night. Food is commonly cooked in big pots over firewood.

A typical malay wedding ceremony spreads over a period of two days. There's the akad nikah, berinai and bersanding. During the berinai session, there's the reciting of the Qur'an by the bride the night before. On the main feast day, its the bersanding event which is most important besides visiting friends and family enjoying the feast of food. The groom will be accompanied by the beating of the kompang making his way to the bride's house and being held up by those visiting at the door, with the toll ritual. The best man will then have to give them money and gifts in order for the groom to pass. In some occasions, there will be the pencak silat, a traditional martial arts performance at the gates. After the toll and pencak silat performance, the groom will join the bride sitting on the dais and sprinkled with scented water and yellow rice by family members, relatives and guests, known as merenjis.

The bride and groom then makes way to the high table joined by family members. Guests will then be attended to, by the newly weds, as they are greeted and thanked for their attendance.

Finally, it is a custom, for the newly weds, to make themselves useful at the end of the day. Their task is to clean the big pots used to cook the food. They will have to scour the blackened big pots until it is clean as it will be used in future coming events.

Hectic Day Out...

Last sunday was relatively busy. Thought of just a laid back lazy sunday, but so happens, to be a really busy day out with family... Unplanned, had lunch at Tarbush @ Sunway Pyramid with my wife, Luqman, mum & dad. then, got back home to prepare food and feed Luqman his dinner.

@1730hrs, had to rush off to Mid Valley, it was our friend's farewell dinner before she's off back to UK to continue her studies. We had the usual tasteful Bountiful Beef Ribs. Almost all of us ordered the same. It was good! It's GOOD!



then, as it was getting late, we rushed straight to my cousin's. Have got a family meeting on her daughter's wedding which is coming up real soon! by the time we got back home, it was really late. Luqman is way fast asleep. He grumbled for a while... then dozed off with us on the bed...


I am pretty tired. it's been a busy sunday, almost all week... this weekend, another wedding to attend... and to shoot as well!

i'm off to work now. ttyl.

full blown wedding job

hey there readers... last week, was the most gruelling weekend i've ever had! it was my first time taking pictures of a full blown wedding event entrusted by my very own friends, faizal & iezma. thanks y'all!

anyway, it was a great experience. it started early last sunday the 5th of July. had to wake up early and get ready for somewhat a long journey to the event location. woke my lovely wife up, got my son up as well... and we were off to kajang. Got there just in time for the nikah ceremony that morning. The bride & groom were both also slightly delayed due to some unforseen circumstances.

The event started at 0900hrs and ended for me at 1600hrs. it was a very long day. took shots of the event mounting the d80 with the nikkor 17-35 legendary lens, while the 70-200mm on the d2X, courtesy of jerry's, a fellow photographer. some 500+ shots were taken. it was my first time using a pro camera, the d2X. superb! awesome! un-buh-leave-able! the colours look more natural. and when mounted with the 60mm macro lens, astonishing!

well... gotta finish editing some pictures of the event and get it prepped for publishing on photobook. hopefully, the newly weds will love the photobook that i'm about to produce. get back to you soon!