Most of the photographers thinks
that the best Camera & equipment is the key
to in becoming a respectively good photographer....Well,
what do you got to say about that ?
I had owned and used a few camera
since the first day i started off shooting until now as a
professional photographer. My first camera was a fully
manual SLR function Pentax, k1000 which I bought in 1987
when i was a graphic design student who were just starting
to learn about photography.
I most confess that i was not very
impress with my first camera Pentax k1000 that i trend it in
for a second hand SLR camera which was the Pentax MX which
look more styleless and more function like motor drive.I
actually ended up in buying another Pentax MX since i like
the feel of the camera !.
As a student at that time, i only
started shooting with two lenses, a f.2, 50mm smc Pentax
standard lens and a smc pentax f3.5-5.6, 35mm - 80mm zoom
lens.Due to two lenses, photography to me at that time was
quit boring at first until i can experiment with almost a
full range of extra lenses like 28mm,35mm,135mm and 200mm. I
became much more wilder in photography at 1990 when i manage
to get some very affordable Petaling Street Russian made
series lenses like 16mm,CAT 300mm, CAT 500mm, CAT 1000mm and
a 120 SLR medium format with four lenses.Lenses i bought at
Petaling Street was just RM 300.00 each.altougth it was
cheap and the finishing was quite rough but the lens optic
was good and proven taken some very sharp pictures !.
Photography went to a higher stage
when i started shooting pictures using only my Russian made
Kiev 60, medium format together with my 4 lenses like
45mm,80mm,150, and 250mm.The Keiv 60 which i had spend just
RM 450.00 may not be a well known or as luxury as any medium
format but i had exposed hundreds of rolls of 120 black
& white,negative and slide to create some very high
resolution 120 master piece.
You can say that it was a heaven
to me in photography that i really involve myself by turning
my bed room into a darkroom and investing an black &
white enlarger in printing my work which i had actively
taken at that time such as "The surviving Chinese opera" and
"Yesterday" in my photography site.
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This period was so significant
that i call it "The black & White period". I was just
like a fine art photographer capturing the nostalgia feeling
by applying design element like shape,line,form and texture
using 120 Tri-x 400 black & white film . The black and
white period was really the opening of my third eye in
photography, it was not only sharpen me into taking better
pictures...it also help me in getting closer with the
universe.
During the "black & white
period", i had spend a lot of money in film,processing
chemicals, printing papers and other traveling expenses in
searching for creative images.Since i was doing free lancing
at this period as a graphic designer i had difficulties to
survive due to the economy down turn which made my business
turn ugly.Most of the graphic job that i had completed were
facing difficulties when comes to payment.The "black &
white period" only last for 3 years until i have no choice
but to start working full time in The Sun news paper in
1993.
I start working in The Sun with my
Pentax MX which was a very good starting experience when
comes to meeting with some senior photographers from other
press using expansive camera like Nikon F3...Believe me, you
would not like this experience when you notice that you
don't even exist as a photographer infront of those
giant.Well i make this situation as a reverse force since
nobody give any attention to me in creating good pictures,i
scooped others in page one !.
Finally, i give up using my Pentax
when comes to sport photography where i really needed a
faster lens like f 2.8 180mm, as a result i borrow a brand
new Nikon FM 2 camera and a set of lenses like
24mm,28mm,85mm,180mm from a good friend and used the Nikon
set for 9 mouths until The Sun invested in the Canon EOS
camera equipment in 1994.
Recently,i am using the world
fastest camera equipment which is the Canon EOS 1n with 3
lenses f2.8,17mm-35mm,f2.8,28mm-80mm, f2.8,70mm-200mm.which
is the second batch of camera The Sun invested in
1998.
Canon became the stantard
equipment in the press line since The Sun started to use the
Canon in the English daily follow by The Star and New Strait
Times due to the competition in getting the best pictures in
the news paper.
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