Malaysia Floral Fest - Johor Bahru

Floral Fest posters (left & right) and sea-horse
floral design from Terengganu (centre)

Floral Float from Terengganu which won the 1st. Prize

Floral Fest 2008 (FF2008) Float Procession was held on the 26-July-2008 (yesterday). The procession took place from Dataran Bandaraya JB to Danga Bay, a distance of about 3 Km. The colourful flower floats were then kept inside an air-conditioned Exhibition Hall where they were displayed to the public until 28-July-2008.

Carnation flowers (LHS column) and Orchid (centre-right)

I heard about the FF2008 on Radio Era while I was driving home from KL to JB yesterday. So, this morning, I just spent about 2-3 hours at the exhibition hall at Danga Bay to see the floral decorations. Two of the participants are from Suzhou (China) and Macau while the rest are from Perlis, Langkawi, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johore and Sarawak.

Generally, I would say that Carnation flower is the most common flower used in the decor as it comes in various colors such as white, yellow, green, violet and red. I really enjoy the colour of flowers displayed, which is also a resemblance of our lifehich is supposed to be full of colours too.

Danga Bay, JB

Masjid Al-Azhar, BSPutra

Al-Azhar Mosque on the right - as you enter KUIS Campus

I managed to capture some photographs of the mosque yesterday and this morning. The mosque is part of Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS) located at Bandar Seri Putra, Bangi, Kajang, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Views of the Al-Azhar Mosque from the main round about
Maghrib (Top) and Isyak (Bottom)

The dome and the minaret resemble the Al-Azhar Mosque, UNiversiti Al-Azhar Cairo, Egypt (that is what I was told, I haven't been to Egypy anyway...)

View from the mosque entrance
(after Fajr prayer)

The quality of the photos are not so good as I did not use a tripod and the light was a bit low..anyway, I hope to post better photos within this year.

One of the two minarets (taken before Maghrib prayer)

Salam dari BS Putra..

Images of an Electrical Engineer

I was born in 1958...
Entered Primary One in 1965 ..
Entered Secondary School in 1971..
Went to UK to do A-Level in 1979 ..
Came back from UK in 1982 with a degree ..
Joined JKR HQ in 1982 ..
Seconded to UTMKL in 1985 ..
Transferred to UTM Skudai 1989 ..
Went to Scotland to do MSc in 1992..
Came back from Dundee Scotland 1993..
Resigned from UTM in 1995 ..
Formed SAFF Consultants 1995 ..
Formed SAFF Testing & Supervising Services in 1997..
Working and working ...
Still working as an Electrical Engineer ..
When shall I retire ??
Only God knows ...

Photographs taken during :
Struck by Dengue Fever in 2006 has caused me to be warded in the ICU;
Presenting graduation certs to Al-Fatih Pre-School Graduation;
With wife Norwati Suleiman in Kerteh;
In front of Dundee Univ. building doing MSc.;
Hajj Session 2006;
With the only brother Hilmy during sister Nawal's wedding;
Factory Acceptance Test in France, London & Germany...

Photographs taken during :
Conducting Safety Training at Ethyene (M) Sdn. Bhd. for PASB;
Servicing & Testing of 11-kV System at Nankai Worsted, Terengganu;
With family members during Eid Ramadaan 2006;
KOMTAR JB site inspection;
Testing & Commissioning of USIM Admin. Block LV Board;
Conducting Training at KDRP, Kerteh, Terengganu;
SAFF Special Meeting at Bandar Baru Nilai, 2008 ..

Various images of AFK at different situation and job functions ..

afk-07091858..

Tips for better Photo Composition

Often, the difference between a good photograph and a great one is how you compose the image in the camera's viewfinder. Here are five ways to instantly improve the composition of your photos.

1. Apply the Rule of Thirds

Apply the Rule of Thirds for a more interesting composition. Imagine a grid drawn over the image. Position the focal point of your photo at the point where two lines intersect--anywhere but the middle.

2. Use lines to lead the viewer into the photo

Lead your viewer into the image. Use lines to lead the viewer's eye into the photograph. These can be fence lines, rows of light posts, stairs or a roadway leading into the scene.

3.Explore unique angles

Find a way to position your subject from a different angle than just straight ahead. Capture a portrait in a car mirror or a city streetscape reflected in a puddle of water or a shop window.

4. Get in close to the subject

Your subject is usually more important than the background, so move in closer. Use the camera's Macro feature (usually represented by a flower icon on a digital camera) so the subject remains in focus.

5. Get down low for children and animals

Get down low. When photographing children, small animals or even flowers, get down to their level so you look at them and not down on them.

Tags: digital, photography, camera, image, photo



emailed from :

By Helen Bradley, CNET freelancer
07/15/2008
Level: Beginner
afk..

The Beauty of a Lake Garden

Some lakes were formed naturally while others are man-made. Regardless how they were formed, lakes have provide mankind sceneries that captivated human minds for thousand of years.

By definition, a lake really is just another component of Earth's surface water. A lake is where surface-water runoff (and maybe some ground-water seepage) have accumulated in a low spot, relative to the surrounding countryside. It's not that the water that forms lakes get trapped, but that the water entering a lake comes in faster than it can escape, either via outflow in a river, seepage into the ground, or by evaporation.

The Earth has a tremendous variety of freshwater lakes, from fishing ponds to Lake Superior (the world's largest), to many reservoirs. Most lakes contain fresh water, but some, especially those where water cannot escape via a river, can be salty. In fact, some lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake, are saltier than the oceans. Most lakes support a lot of aquatic life, but the Dead Sea isn't called "Dead" for nothing -- it is too salty for aquatic life! Lakes formed by the erosive force of ancient glaciers, such as the Great Lakes, can be thousands of feet deep. Some very large lakes may be only a few dozen feet deep -- Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana has a maximum depth of only about 15 feet.

Some of the salty lakes were formed in ancient times when they were connected to seas and when rainfall may have been heavier. These lakes have been shrinking since the last ice age. The ancient Lake Bonneville in the United States was once as big as Lake Michigan, and the Great Salt Lake was once about 14 times as large as it is now.

In one of the towns in Malaysia, the man-made lake had provided beautiful sights and people have been using the lakes as a recreational area and getting fresh air. Photographs below try to explain why it is so.

Lake Garden AA

Amateur Photographer

With the availability of websites, the quality of photographs and pictures available to be down-loaded have proven to be very high. Some of the photos taken by professional photographers are really breath-taking ... They are just superb...
One of the benefits that can be learnt by the 'Budding Photographers' is the quality and angle of the object taken and focused on. Of course we must not forget that patience and quality of camera (the lenses, to be exact) must be of a reasonably high quality in order to produce quality pictures. The rest are just how committed we are to learn and learn, as this can also be taken as a life-long learning process ...
Lastly, I hope to receive some feedback from 'new' photographers on hints how to take good and quality pictures ...
Lastly... Happy Snapping and Enjoy Your Shots...... Can u see the enclosed pictures snapped by a a beginner. Please give your comment ...

nikkon D40

Electrical Engineers In Action

Electrical Engineer taking transformer
oil sample for Dielectric Test

When I was a kid, I never dreamed to become an Electrical Engineer when I grow up. Electrical Engineer is alien to me and my family as none of my brother or sisters has taken any course or studied Electrical Engineering.
However, as time gone by, after completing my A-Level at Cornwall Technical College, Redruth, Cornwall, UK I was accepted to do Electrical Engineering degrre course in 1979. In fact, I had applied to do Civil Engineering after I was accepted to Sheffiele University but my application to switch course was rejected.
Alhamdulillah, I accepted the fate and after completing my 3-year degrre course at Sheffield University, Iwas awarded a B.Eng. degree in Electrical Engineering (Power).
I started working on the 27-08-1882 at Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) Headquarters as an Electrical Engineer. JKR or Public Works Department of Malaysia is the largest government technical department employing Electrical, Civil and Mechanical Engineers together with the Architects and Quantity Surveyors.
I left the government service in 1995 after 13 years working in the government department and be on my own. Come 27-8-2008 this year, I have worked as an Electrical Engineer for 26 years, quite a long period isn't it?

Something that still puzzled me is that I have been handling or dealing with something that is invisible, odourless, silent but very lethal if it is mishandled ... i.e. electricity. Electricity is such a hazard to human because as small as 10mA or 0.01 Ampere could kill us if it is not handled carefully.
Thus, electricity could only to be handled by those who really care and treat with respect the existance of invisible, odourless, silent but deadly electrons which has contributed much to human lives since 17th. century.


EEngineer_2008

Macro Photography

Objects snapped under Macro-mode

using Nikon D40 SLR Camera

To snap close-up photos is one of the most difficult ones in photography. However, the results are sometimes rewarding ones i.e. self-satisfaction and feeling of self-admiration.
The above photographs were taken recently during my field-trip to Bukit Tinggi, Pahang.

Enclosed below are some tips from a Professional photographer (Mr. Leonard Goh) extracted from CNET articles.

By Leonard Goh, CNET editor
07/11/2008
Level: Intermediate | 171 out of 183 users found this tip helpful

Getting extreme close-ups -- also called macro photography -- can provide amazing results, especially since many digital cameras feature a macro shooting mode that allows you to focus within inches of your subject.

It may sound easy to snap these close-ups, but there are several factors which could ruin your picture. We took these into consideration and came up with a list of tips for shooting great macro shots with your point-and-shoot.

1) Check your focus
A good close-up shot should be detailed and sharp to show the elements of the subject. So check the user manual of your shooter for the minimal focusing distance of the lens in Macro mode. Some point-and-shoots will give an indication on the LCD via a red box if your shooter cannot focus on the subject.

However, your best bet would be to zoom in on the image while in Playback mode and check if the area you focused on is sharp. It would be disastrous to find all the shots are out of focus when you view them on the PC's display.

2) Hold your breath!
Unless you're shooting in a controlled environment like a studio or room, otherwise you are pretty much at the mercy of nature when out in the field snapping macro shots. Gusts of wind or breathing too hard can make your tiny subject sway, causing motion blur. While there is no way you can stop Mother Nature, you can place your bag or ask your friend to help block and minimize the effect of the wind. For good measure, hold your breath while snapping the shot.

3) A flash of brilliance
Sometimes the weather gets cranky--one moment it's bright and sunny, then just before you press the shutter, the clouds decide to come out and play. Flip the switch and activate the in-built flash, or if you are using a dSLR, attach your hotshoe strobe for better effects. Check your shot and take appropriate action like exposure compensation to reduce the harshness of the light. Alternatively, wait for a sunny day and clear skies to shoot. Natural light provides the best illumination.

4) Clear up the mess
Try to keep the foreground and background clutter to a minimal because they might steal the focus of your shot. Human eyes are naturally attracted to bright colors, so shift your shooting angles or remove any objects to keep your snaps clean. If you're snapping in a park or nature reserve, remember not to pluck or remove any flora.

5) Keep the ISO low, use a tripod
Besides keeping physical clutter to a minimum, you should also reduce digital artifacts which can be distracting. The color on a flower petal should appear as it is, and not littered with spots of noise. Use the lowest ISO sensitivity available in your shooter and pair it up with a tripod to counter the slow shutter speed. To further reduce handshake, use the self-timer mode.

KLIA Anniversary 1998-2008

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is celebrating its tenth (10th) birthday this year. The time has flown by very fast. I could still remember the time when the first plane, a Malaysian Airline System Boeng 747-400 plane touched down at KLIA piloted by a Malaysian ten years ago.

The airport has grown since to become an air transportation hub in the region. The air travellers had increased so much that an LCCT has to be built to cater for this need.
Let us hope the role played by KLIA and LCCT will bring positive returns to Malaysians in general.

A bustling Entrance to LCCT, KLIA

Passengers are in a hurry to catch a plane at LCCT, KLIA