SamBehindShutters | Looking Forward & Beyond

Switch

2006-11-24T23:33:00.000Z

Ok polls closed.

moved bloggie to: http://littlecameraboy.blogspot.com (nickname: lilcamboy).

Regards,
Sam

Blogger Beta??

2006-11-17T10:25:00.000Z

Hey.... i realised that almost everyone has blogger Beta...

I tried to merge the accounts but it doesnt allow....so i have had a new blog... what do you all say...switch to new blog?? I would really love to switch for the final time .... promise no more for 365days. Blogger beta is soo cool makes life much easier....
you can take a look at: (http://littlecameraboy.blogspot.com)

I'll run this pole of 1 week...

pls comment...

thanks.

EURO TOUR: Final Evening In Paris

2006-11-15T13:57:00.000Z

... Continue

FINAL EVENING AT PARIS, PHOTOS TAKEN USING PANASONIC FZ20

BY RAYMOND WONG.

www.flickr.com/photos/rwong2u

After the long travel in the morning and the long day travel around Paris, evening we spent roaming around and around the Luovre area. Above is the Ritz Hotel that i was talking about in my earlier post. The Last Mean Princess Diana ever ate was here, before the car crash.

Its a very grand hotel as you can see taxis ain't Wira's.

This is the Louvre on the wide panoramic view. Beautiful isnt' it.

Behind me its the acutal Arc De Triomphe build many many years back.

The original piece of art after the war.

Despite its been built years back, its covered with very refine detail even on it's roof inside the arch.

This original piece of art is aligned with the newer version, much bigger one which we had visited eariler in the day when we first arrived. Take a look closely you'll see the arch down the street at the far end.

There you go...thats what zoom's are for. thats the newer Arch.

This is the most beautiful sight, i suppose its about 8pm now... still bright huh... but again as i've said before this structure Eiffel gives the feel when your in Paris. The mighty feeling, seeing it on picture you may not feel it but when you're there you'll realise the awe it this tower is so great. What the whole Paris respects. It may not be the tallest in the world but surely the most mightly one. You can like feel the invinsible power radiating from it...hahahaha... its really different from viewing pictures. It changes the way and feel when i see this structure on pictures.

The a very beautiful bridge when night approaches. Les Invadiles is behind where we had also visited earlier during the day.

The night view is way cooler and colder not to forget. Beautiful street lights once they are all lited up.

This is the glass museum, huge one.

This is Montmartre, located on the top of the hill of Paris. Not much high grounds in Paris you know. By this time my eyes are barely open, im just too tired i couldn't keep it open i did actualy stand and sleep for a minute or two while my dad took this shots and please not forgetting its cold here and we are at the top of the hill, winds are strong. The beautiful thing is we could see the whole of Paris by night. Wow its beautiful, sorry no clear pictures of that just in my head ahahaha...

A little history of this place;

Saint Denis, a Christian martyr, the bishop of Paris and the patron saint of France, died around 250 on Montmartre.
Denis was executed by beheading on the highest hill near Paris (now Montmartre), which being the highest hill in the area was also likely to have been a druidic holy place. The martyrdom of Denis and his companions gave the name of Montmartre, in French literally the mountain of the martyr.

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmartre)

Then it was a long way walk back down hill, through old shops like petaling street cheap stuff....not really actuall after convertion...then to the bus and definatly slept there.

Its a good thing there was noise about the bus when it reached the tower... Eiffel by night was awesome beauty... blinking lights flashing strobe on the top. It does this every hour. The most amazing thing is when Hitler took over Paris he didnt go up the tower because of his pride, he could have walked up. The French spoiled the elevators when he came ahahhaha...

Thats all for central Paris and night shots.... beautiful isn't it. Tomorrow morning we'll be moving outta Paris into the outter-skirts of France.

take care c ya tomorrow.

to be continued...

Dad's New Olympus E-500

2006-11-15T01:03:00.000Z

Finally after much long decision my dad decide to get the Olympus E500, bought for RM2900 with Two Lenses. 14-45mm and 40-150mm which all this figures has to be times by two to get the acurate distance.

The front of E500 with 14-15mm Lens.

This with the 40-150mm which in total makes it 300mm.

This the 300mm with hood on. Cool huh.

Yeah now its my turn to take some photos with it.

Its a superb camera.

HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY: Ying Roe

2006-11-14T01:10:00.000Z

Im sure i was a rush for Angeline to get this wonderful piece of job done. Absolutly beautiful. Looking for the right pictures was tough too.

Finally its was done, after 1st service we got everyone to sign this stuff up.

All busy thinking and writing their sweetest words.

The board was so full that Jack had to fill a general note from all who weren't present.

Josh, never fail to face in.

Hahha, Roe you must be greatful we used this tank to pump in the gas instead of using natural gas. :)

This was awesome, it came from Angeline.

I was blocked for a few moments just managed to get a few candid shots. Actually Roe, we were waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.....until service was about to begin and we decided to pull off the plan till after service which then i wouldnt be around to take the shots.

Suddenly Steven came running in, she is here! Then i peep through the doors of the main hall i saw you standing there in shock, I bet you were thinking "what, where is all my cg memebers, all missing for 2nd service, probably they were to busy for my birthday" ahahha whatever you were thinking, time was closing on us so with in a few moments we decided to close in.

So were you suprise? HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY, HOPE YOU LIKED EVERTHING YOU'VE GOT. AND MANY GOD BLESS YOU IN THE YEARS TO COME.

Well the i think i missed the part where you cried...if you ever did ahahahha... :)

HAPPY 21th BIRTHDAY: Xuan Han

2006-11-14T00:16:00.000Z

It came to this Saturday where we all had planned a suprise party for Xuan Han where he thought we all had forgotten about him. hahahha hey no way man.

For worship today it was Ian song leading, a good first try huh?!

Then after sharing and lesson, SUPRISE!! Its not his cake...Josh just carrying it ahahaha :)

It's a Happy Birthday to Xuan Han who's birthday was last Saturday and Ying Roe who's birthday is this coming Sunday.

The November Babies cutting of cake ceremony.

Its a new flavour cake, Teh Tarik.

Now then its opening present time for the Birthday Man who just turned 21 last saturday. We suprise this potential Marketting Director with a Pen. Look at Josh behind....

We even got his name engraved on it.

There he goes, its pure Parker, see the trademark designs on it.

Have a great birthday and may God Bless! Sign it well.

EURO TOUR: Red Light District, Paris

2006-11-09T22:13:00.000Z

...Continue

Photos of Red Light District of Paris were taken with Panasonic FZ-20

by Raymond Wong.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwong2u

My camera is still charging.

After the river cruise and cold wind, we headed to the red light district of Paris. Its still cold by the way but not too bad, at least over here there are buildings blocking.

The Red Light district here is a famous place with lots of theaters with acts of adult content and obviously lots of pornographic shops which operates legally.

Cafe's will never go missing for sure, thats France.

Moulin Rouge is a very famous Theather in Europe one of the best known. People just hang about, lots of bad hats around. Rough people, man you should see what we say they could even fight a cop.

Lets see what Wikipedia got to tell;

The Moulin Rouge is a symbol of French Culture as well as the Bohemian influence on Western Europe. The building has a rich history that is still being added to today. Over the past hundred years, the Moulin Rouge has remained a popular tourist destination for many visitors each year. Today the Moulin Rouge offers musical dance entertainment for adult visitors from around the world. Much of the romance from turn-of-the-century France is still present in the interior environment. The design and name of Paris's Moulin Rouge has often been imitated by other night clubs worldwide.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulin_Rouge)

At every square there is at least two petrol units standing by, lot of rascals in this part of Paris.

We came here actually to drop half of our tour who wantted to see the theater while the rest of us wantted to roam Paris. So we had to wait here and our tour guide drop them off before we move on to the Lourve again. Earlier in the day we hadn't had a chance to walk about the lourve so now we going there.

to be continued...

EURO TOUR: Seine Cruise Pt.2

2006-11-08T15:19:00.000Z

...Continue

ALL CRUISE PHOTOS ARE TAKEN WITH PANASONIC FZ-20 BY

RAYMOND WONG

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwong2u

My camera was left in the hotel to charge.

As we flow through river Seine, remember this building? Notre Dame de Paris. The front end. The last time i showed you the photos it was too close to get a full shot of the front end.

Lots of small bridges in Paris, and very beautifully decorated.

This a more metal one, dont see much of these bridges.

Like i said tonnes of them and all are unique in its own way, by shape, design and name.

The side of the huge cathederal, Notre Dame. The Stain glass is the round big thingi and a smaller one at the top.

Old time french design, i love this design not more than 5 stories high for all buildings in Central Paris near Eiffel.

As for its a Saturday, people go strolling around Parks.

This the modern end of Paris with much taller buildings on this side, and right opposite the river is the oldder buildings which are much shortter. Cool huh.

From a distance you could still see this huge structure standing tall. Other than Eiffel this is the next biggest and well respected buildings in Paris today.

The river behind and boats docking by the jetty.

Now Eiffel could be seen standing tall and mighty as ever. Infact last time people rated it as a tall structure of scrap metal, but now its one of the top touristism spots in the world. Not forgetting its also one of the 7 wonders of the world.

A french police petrol boat.

The French train line. One of the best railways in the world is in Paris too. They have most orgainze railway system.

A unique building i spotted at the modern area in Paris.

Statue of Liberty, some ignorant people on the cruise says its a fake one here.... New York has the real one. Well history says, The French gave one to America as a gift (for various political purposes of cause) and this one standing here is the sister to the Statue of Liberty in New York.

Yes she is indeed smaller but its a exact replica of the one in America which was much more well marketted though out the world.

As i said other than being able to see Notre Dame from a far, Eiffel is definatly the structure you'll see from far when you're in Paris.

Another cool building which i spotted when I was up at Eiffel this morning. So slim i wonder how it stands the winds?

Here now we came to the end of the River Seine Cruise... Im Glad you joined us, let hop out for dinner....

to be continued...

EURO TOUR: Hotel 2 River Seine Cruise Pt.1

2006-11-02T06:36:00.000Z

...continue

After a long tiring travel from 8pm in Malaysia to the airport, up the plane, slept only 4hours or less, then down to the bus, and all around Paris till Notre Dame and hot blazing sun which i didnt sweat a drop because its just hot skin burning but not humid due to cold breeze. Now finally we took the coach to the outskirts of Paris where normal people lived, to the hotel we went and got 2hours of rest.

ALL PHOTOS FROM HERE AND THE RIVER CRUISE ARE TAKEN BY RAYMOND WONG, USING PANASONIC FZ-20.

http://flickr.com/photos/rwong2u

I left my camera to charge in the hotel thats why.

Most people who work in Paris, lived far away at the outter parts of Paris where cost of living is lower then the central. They travel every single day up and down about 1hour drive with packed jamn roads.

Above is the view from our room outside the hotel main entrance.

Here is the other side of the road from the hotel room.

After that wonderful rest and still amaze that last night i was in Malaysia and now im in Paris ahahha... we had to moved out for the river cruise. This is one of the mega churches in Paris ont he way to River Seine.

Aha...i've always wantted to know where Diana crashed, and here it is, under this road is an underpass where the accident happen. This flame mornument is dedicated to diana, because of her beauty burning like this flame. this design of this flame is the exact replica of Statue of Liberty.

Tada, finally on the Cruise on River Seine, one of the largest rivers in Paris. The most famous one here of cause. Trust me out here its cold. This is Paris okie in the evening, winds are strong tempreture is constantly dropping as evening approches.

The other cruise and just a little bit more about this river from my pal, wikipedia;

The Seine (pronounced /sɛn/ in French) is a major river of north-western France, and one of its commercial waterways. It is also a tourist attraction, particularly within the city of Paris.

The Seine River was one of the original objectives of Operation Overlord in 1944. The Allies' intention was to reach the Seine by D+90 (ie 90 days after D-Day. That objective was met. An anticipated assault crossing of the river never materialized as German resistance in France crumbled by early September 1944. However, the First Canadian Army did encounter resistance immediately west of the Seine and fighting occurred in the Foret de la Londe as Allied troops attempted to cut off the escape across the river of parts of the German 7th Army in the closing phases of the Battle of Normandy.
Dredging in the 1960s mostly eliminated tidal bores on the river, known as “le mascaret.”
The Banks of the Seine in Paris were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1991.

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seine)

The buildings along the way.

A very nice clock....i wonder its pretty good of them to up keep this building even the clock. So yeah now you know what time it is. About 545pm.

THis quite common especially in summer. Back home we have lepakers, this .... worst i guess, they are under the bridge.

Cool shot, i like this buildings so black and white was a good idea, made it look olddie, acient.

low bridges are very common in Seine River, Paris and most parts of europe. Especially the oldder parts.

As for it was supposed to be summer, but looks like spring loves to stay people enjoy hanging out, socializing, outdoor study and etc. Asian will never understand where they find so much time to do. Definatly this country is not unproductive, its an advance country and a very productive one. So free time for them is all planned out, they make the efford to socialize, so this why asians find it strange to see soo many people whiling time sitting around, well thats what they like to do, money not everthing.

to be continued...

Taman Wawasan

2006-11-01T05:40:00.000Z

One bright afteroon out to the park to take some pictures...

The path

By the lake side, this place has already been cleaned up, so no complains please...

Coconuts

From the other side...

The Lake

Behind the weeds & flowers too.

Took a few macro shots of the flowers.

Pretty nice plant here.

The Tower for Taman Wawasan (Vision Garden).

The bridge barrier, i wonder how this wood could last soo long through rain and sun.

Thats where we were earlier the tiny island on the right.

Now lets walk up the hill to get a better view.

Take one step at the time, you wouldn't wanna go falling all the way.

Yes, we made it at the top.

The view is great isn't it. The lake, blue skies, bright sun and the greens below.

Modern Roman-Malaysianize architecture.

Beautiful from this side, the stream flowing out to the lake.

I think its one of the most beautiful parks around this area.

The other pathway.

Back down hill the otherside of the lake, nope we're not going this way.

Cute little fella...

Some bright yellow flower.

From the top of the hill you could see the horizon, we are surrounded by city, concreate but inside here its so peaceful...seems like at least.

Shady spot.

An old shot...very old isnt it?

I thought this was a very beautiful tree. What do you think? the branches spread out in a very interesting way.

Macro, mode ISO 100. I like this leaves.

The strom is comming, btw this hill you see here is a jungle on the right the largest jungle in the city and Klang Valley. If you dont believe use google earth to check it, Gasing Hill isnt that big you know. Its not even a jungle is a Park. Sorry no offence to PJ people hahaha :)

My Birthday Celebration by PCG

2006-10-31T04:53:00.000Z

It was a friday night, usual CG meetings. Today was Free CG so we decided to watch video and bought some chips. Wow thats alot of junk food to go around.

All couldnt wait for the movie to start and Josh is already half a sleep.

The movie went on until halfway through the power seemed to have failed. And what a suprise they gave me with a cake. Thanks very much you all. It was my favorite banana and chocolate cake. Then the movie continues.

This shot was after the movie where all junk went down out stomach. A mess huh, see Steven and Roe checking their teeths.

Two jokers ahahaha...my whatta mess.

Then i thought that was it, but no... i as i was about to leave the house they were all out there station with water guns and buckets. I was drenched wet in moments. Water bursting out from all angles, soaked. Thank God some how they managed to sneak some of my clothes out of my house last night so i had extra to change in.

2 not just two suprises but now a third one... presents. Thanks alot this was a day full of suprises. Night i would say.

Group pic of the guys. Joel always messing around.

Rachel gave me a FILA Jacket, thanks very much its really great, fits prefectly.

Then this was from the rest of them, thanks very much it was really thoughtful and it meant alot to me. So now i have a proper camera bag to place my camera in. This fits prefectly with my camera too. HDR SHOT.. cool huh?!

HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY STEVEN

2006-10-30T14:05:00.000Z

To our dearest friend Steven, blessed birthday from Puchong CG.

Hop you have a great week, enjoy the cake and all the best in you STPM.

It's been great knowing you since Primary school. Then lost contact for about 3 years or so.... and great to have you back as a friend.

Look at your usual shy expression ahahah :)

Common, here's you cake pal

Hahha good boy Happy 19th Birthday.

yeah your gang photo.

Hope you loved the cake, tonnes more for you.

19th Birthday

2006-10-28T10:34:00.000Z

Well on today's my 19th Birthday...but among all these years this year is different. There wasn't a big outting or a party and spend the whole daylight cleaning up my room which i was very satisfied at the end. Night maybe we'll go out for dinner but it's ain't a party.

The thing is ahahaha.... last night i had a suprised party by Puchong CG, thanks very much. Well i sort of knew that there maybe some sort of celebration but i was more suprised when there was water involved and even big presents. Thanks you, thank you i really am glad and appreciative. In fact the suprise was coordinated very well, they got my clothes from my sister the night before. (more pics on this celebration on TUESDAY, stay tuned).

So party with my family will be tomorrow instead of today since my uncle wouldn't be able to make it today. For today its just light and easy.

Ohh my...that also reminds me, exams are coming very soon!

Clear Skies Are Back

2006-10-26T13:16:00.000Z

ALL PHOTOS IN THIS POST ARE TAKEN WITH FUJI S5600, ISO 64 Rest all on Manual Adjustments.

Finally after much rain these days, we are able to see the skies, so blue so bright.

Thank God for the clear blue skies.

Lovely aint they.

Now i could see the hill so bright and clear, 100% clearity of sight.

Sharp, bright greens as the sun hits its cells and more oxygen could be generated.

Say hello, when everyone opens their windows and see the birds flying freely in the blue skies.

flowers blooming brightly with beautiful colours under bright sunshine and blue skies.

OK this shot i had to put ISO 64, fast enough shutter speed to allow ligth for this plant and not washing out the sky. Cool aint it?

Same goes with this, a fast enough shutter speed to capture the plant and the sky both clearly.

I just love the blue skies and the flowers in the garden.

This one is the best i like (above).

A red one, happily bloomed under bright sunshine.

EURO TOUR: Notre Dame de Paris

2006-10-26T02:53:00.000Z

...continue

After spinning around those French Cafe's in Paris we finally arrived at the largest Cathederal in Paris. A huge landmark and a well repected place in Paris.

It's crafted with Gothic Design in the classic era and a design build to stand with less pillars inside the sanctuary, will talk about it later.

Notre Dame de France means; Our Lady of Paris which was builded dedicated to the virgin Mary. It has spectactualar stained glass on the inside. Was built between 1250 and 1260.

As we walk to the back fo the church here i spotted some beautiful flowers that we don't get much in Malaysia.

Nice, beautiful bluish purplish flowers. Its just so wonderful, even the weather the sun is up and shining and im begining to feel the heat but no sweat, just the burn on the skin.

This the back of this mighty cathederal, gothic design is claimed that only the back looks beautiful the front is plain.

This cathederal has it's pillars build outside pulling its main walls outwardly. The walls are builded with a slight slope outwardly as the pillars support its weight. In those days the for such a big structure like this all these pillars will have to be inside and it's a huge obstruction to people, now with such a design people could worship freely inside without pillars obstructing.

As you could see out here there is a statue of the Virgin Mary on the right.

At the back of this church is a beautiful park, with birds, trees, benches to sit.

Its a saturday, and they are having life performance and people do watch and sing along at times.

Another cafe, just look at the crowd.

This the street beside the cathederal, as we are using this way to get to the front, lots of shops along here.

This the front main enterance, an arch crafted to it's very tiny detail and its amazing how its been preserved for years. In the center you could see the left side are the saints and the right are the devils.

This the front stucture, its really high, flat and plain but has crafting on everywhere till the top.

For more pictures and the huge interesting history of this gigantic building check wikipedia.

The Notre Dame de Paris stands on the site of Paris' first Christian church, Saint-Étiennen Basilica, which was itself built on the site of a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter. Notre Dame's first version was a "magnificent church" built by Childebert I, the king of the Franks in 528, and was already the cathedral of the city of Paris in the 10th century. It constitutes the style of Gothic Architecture.
Notre Dame de Paris is 130 m (427 ft) long.

(sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_de_Paris)

my journey to be continued...

EURO TOUR: Cafe's

2006-10-24T01:21:00.000Z

...Continue

On the way to the biggest cathedral in Paris known as Notre Dame, this is one that we passed by. All their churches and cathedrals are very refinly decorated with designs that every single one of them has a meaning and purpose.

As we are on the way there, along side the streets there are stalls supposly selling cheaper stuff like ones here along side the roads.

As i've said before every major city in the world faces this same traffic problem but what's different here is people on the road dont cut que. They stick to their lanes as you see above the line is straightly define and in whatever condition people crossing the road is given the priority.

Cafe's are a popular thing in France, tonnes of them everywhere. People enjoy sitting and watching other people passing by, a good way to find out fashion trends as for fashion in Paris is the major subject known to the world.

A little more about cafe's:

A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or cafe (also spelled as café from the French, Spanish, and Portuguese or caffè from the Italian) shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on providing coffee and tea as well as light snacks. Food choices range from pastries and muffins to soups and sandwiches. In some countries, cafes more closely resemble restaurants, offering a range of hot meals, and possibly being licensed to serve alcohol.

(sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafe)

Some of the streets in Paris, a more modern one. Roads are very narrow but walk ways are wide. The thing there is people respect the law and other people, what we dont here.

A family about the cross the road. See they dont need traffic lights or overhead bridges there to cross the road.

A big florist by the conner of the street.

In the modern area of Paris, where glass skyscrapers stand high lies a clock tower, beautiful isn't it.

Streets are filled with people and cafe's.

Yeah now you see what i mean, people enjoy sitting and watching the busy street. This a big cafe and its also a sign we are getting close to Notre Dame.

to be continued ...

PCG: Dreams & Faith

2006-10-21T07:21:00.000Z

PCG was great this Friday. Many came though some did not.

Some shots i found interesting.

Our unfailing worship leader. Josh Burp.

Our lively CG leader always exited to Praise God.

The girls, could start a choir i would say.

Yeah our facilitator for today, he has interesting plans. Jack too, always comes up with interesting demostrations.

The Race Begins, girl's vs. guys. They have great engineering skills too. What you expect, top designer on their team.

Girl Engineers & architects.

The guys structure. Almost the same only difference was at the tip.

future engineers. but the sad story was....

... The girls tower beat the guys by 2cm. Somehow the girls made better construction, engineers, architects and they did it way faster than the guys. Amazing huh.

The winners, what do they get, FREE PHOTOGRAPHY AS A GROUP ahahah.

Rach protecting her precious tower from the demolishers.

Boom....its all gone down to the ground by one hit from Ian's slab of concreate ahahaha.

Josh, wants to know if he could fit into size 2.

Our second facilitator for the night. A great person we value in CG.

Give an applause to Jack SQ.

Prayer for Josh.

Penguin Hop-

Good night, its getting late, c ya next friday.

EURO TOUR: La Colonne Vendôme

2006-10-20T06:29:00.000Z

...Continue

What i keep saying about Paris is, the beauty of its designs in every structure you see. Its always there, always complex, always beautiful.

Thats the Ritz Hotel as you could see. The Hôtel Ritz is a hotel located at 15 Place Vendôme, in the heart of Paris, France. The building was constructed in the early part of the 18th century as a private dwelling. In 1854 it was acquired by the Péreire brothers who made it the head office of their Crédit Mobilier financial institution.

(source: www.wikipedia.org)

Ritz Hotel was the place late Princess Diana had her last meal of her life before ending up in the box. Well they even had a mornument for her where the accident happen. In France they have mornuments of everything, you name it they have it. Probably for even their dogs, but no doubt their mornuments are of quality and rich architecture.

La Colonne Vendôme what they call this stucture.

After some false starts, the Place was laid out in 1702 as a monument to the glory of the armies of Louis XIV, the Grand Monarque and called Place des Conquêtes, to be renamed Place Louis le Grand, when the conquests proved temporary; an equestrian statue of the king was set up in its center.
Napoleon erected the present column, modelled after Trajan's Column, to celebrate the victory of Austerlitz; its spiralling veneers of bas-relief bronze plates (by the sculptor Pierre-Nolasque Bergeret) were made out of cannon taken from the combined armies of Europe, according to his propaganda. (The usual figure given is hugely exaggerated: 133 cannon were actually captured at Austerlitz.) After the Bourbon Restoration the statue of the Emperor was pulled from the top of the column and refinished as a statue of Henri IV, which can be inspected on the Pont Neuf. A replacement statue of Napoleon, however, was erected by Louis-Philippe, and a better, more augustly classicizing one by Louis-Napoleon.

(source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_VendÃ´me)

Architecture of the war and the armies crafted in detail at the bottom of the pole.

It still stands tall today, sign of glory and power.

Some of the expensive places you could find in Paris its all here at Place Vendome.

On the other side you could see the big and famous brand, Dior. A brand established in France. Despite it is home, the lot it has is very small. In Paris rental are expensive, Place Vendome is even greater the price for many rich and famous flock here to The Ritz Hotel which is just around the coner.

Christian Dior (January 21, 1905 – October 24, 1957), was an influential French fashion designer. He was born in Granville, Manche, Normandy, France, heir to a fertilizer fortune.
Dior attended a Catholic school, after which he established his main house in in 1946 with the backing of textile magnate. In twelve years he expanded his business to 15 countries and employed over 2,000 people. He had three children and was married four times.
Christian Dior is known mainly for the look which employed narrow shoulders, a constricted waist, an emphasized bust, and long, wide skirt, all in striking contrast to the severity of wartime fashions. His designs represented consistent classic elegance, stressing the feminine look. The New Look revolutionized women's dress and reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world after World War II. Dior spread his fashions around the world.

(source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Dior)

By The way Christian Dior is a guy for those who get confused viewing too much advertisements which has female figures.

By the fountain which we passed by, Paris a Romantic city, weather you're fat, thin, short, tall...

Ok this im not sure why egyptian structure was erracted here.

Gardens of some great buildings. Lovely isnt it, so well taken care of.

No doubt when you are in France, a flag you would want to respect. Simple and easy to draw, its suprising for the French when they have all the complex detailed architecure they flag is plain, simple. Much simpler compared to our Malaysian Flag. Show that they are simple on the inside but beautiful on the outside, and we the opposite.

to be continued...

Bandar Puteri On One Clear Day

2006-10-19T01:22:00.000Z

I know for one thing, this pictures below is of value for this current season that Malaysia is going through.
Its taken just before the horrible haze strike caused by our neighbours.
Awesome skies from Bandar Puteri Puchong. Taken with Fuji S5600 on Manual Mode.
I've some great panoramic shots of the valley to be uploaded soon.

The road up to the highest residential area in Puchong.

The view from the top.

Parts of Puchong, and further on would be Shah Alam and Subang after the high rise.

Still little haze hanging around but this the hill on the other side, Shah Alam would be just after the hill.

On the way down, houses up there has great view of the valley. I dont think they will be enjoying it now, with such thick haze around lately.

At the borders of Bandar Puteri (Town Princess) and Pusat Bandar (Town Centre).

Beautiful clouds which i noticed before the days of haze.

Hope you'll enjoy them here while you cant out there.

HDR Flim Rolls

2006-10-18T01:34:00.000Z

Experimenting with Bracketting and HDR Rendering. This what i got. The spots on the table are dust. HDR what's dark comes out bright and the opposite. I've done a few others on KLCC which came out more outstanding.

Penang Pt.4: The Way Back Home

2006-10-17T06:03:00.000Z

...Continue

Its been a great short trip to Penang, Along the road the new business area opened up called E-Gate. A lovely place with branded food shops and pubs.

We spend the night at my cousin's place on the island and left in the morning.

On the Old Penang Bridge.

At the Peak for the bridge in betweent he poles.

Now here we go all the way back down, into the hazy road. Looks like fog huh?! Cold morning a cross the straits- yeah right, full of humidity and haze.

Long gone into PLUS highway late afternoon. Into the tunnel, finally got a clear shot of it.

The haze creates a wonderful effect on the pictures. NO EDITS.

Roads are never flat in Malaysia expect lots of interesting roller coster rides.

By evening, really hot, the sun breaks out a little through the thick haze.

Believe it with full 10x Zoom (380mm) and all i see is this!

Back in the Klang Valley, only we have the lagest tolls, MEGA TOLL to collect MEGA Money Daily. Even at my widest, i couldnt get the full view of this toll.

Penang Pt.3: The Old Side

2006-10-16T01:58:00.000Z

...continuing

Haven't had enough of the old parts, this are really old shop lots on the way to Seberang Prai.

You could see the structures and design of its windows compared with the newer ones beside it.

Not very well kept but still lasting. Suprising.

Even this lasts, used for racking and storing.

The Market Place, smells.

The richer side, UMNO land.

The big field of Seberang Prai.

With great clock tower.

F&F manufacturing. Its been here for over 40 years since my mum's primary schooling times.

This their Primary school, Convent....

...to be continued.

Penang Pt.2 : Kampung Hujung Batu

2006-10-14T01:07:00.000Z

After arriving at Penang main land for sometime. My aunty decided to go out and get somethings done, aswell as by a birthday cake for the october babies.

She brought us here to the old part of Penang main land where my mum and here brothers & sisters use to travel to school back 40 years or so. Kampung Hujung Batu.

Now being invaded by developement, the new bridge has been constructed through this old village.

Water tide was much higher back in those days, less muddier. Now it stinks badly, but for pictures i would go futher.

Right ahead is the pier and some old village houses, across the straits would be the Penang Sugar Factory. Thats where you get the Gula Penang from.

The other pier, where a small boy stands under muddy waters.

Its a real stinky swamp land here.

The ferry repair depo.

A fishing village i would say- piss, dont buy fishers from Penang especially after seeing this condition, crabs too.

I believe this are the older boats, wooden ones and the river that flows in was at a higher tide before.

A wider view of the small river. My mum claims to have sat in one of these boats before, but during those times they did not have motors, water was cleaner, dolphines and flying fishers were to be seen, fog was around the early mornings-not haze.

Yes Penang, there is less haze up here. Just a shot of whats old and whats new.

The other smaller pier and a park behind me for this small village children to play.

Mud skippers. Is it a fish or what?

Crabs, now you understand why i said not to buy Penang crabs.

Lots and lots of them in this swampy land.

Lazy cat- seem pretty clean to me.

Unusable boat by what they call the shore.

Penang Pt. 1: On The Way

2006-10-13T06:26:00.000Z

PHOTOS TAKEN WITH: FUJI S5600

SATURDAY 7th OCT.

We had woken up early, had breakfast and hit the higways. At first we thought this was Fog, but since when in Malaysia that Fog was on highways so thick? Intially when the day got brighter we realized, its haze all over West Malaysia not just the Klang Valley. Terrible isn't it?

At Tapah stop, with current haze condition i managed to get a shot of the sun. This pic above won the most interesting in my flickr site.

With Digital Zoom, I captured the sun a big ball of fire. It isn't perfectly round, imagine the energy it edmits.

Europeans find this interesting, alien lights. Very common to locals here, all over the highways.

Wow, Malaysia experiencing "winter". Yeah wait till you stick you head out.

The tunnel, has always been my favorite place since young.

Roads aren't straight over here, lots of bends and up's and downs.

I managed to get a chance to drive my Dad's car- all the way till Penang Toll, actually without realizing, he was also busy taking photos.

Finally after 4 and a half hours or so, we made it safely.

EURO TOUR: Louvre

2006-10-12T01:51:00.000Z

...Continuing

ALL EUROPE TOUR PICTURES ARE TAKEN WITH SONY COMPACT

After roaming here's another place we came across during the day. Old side of Paris....well I made the pic black and white.

cars here are pretty new 21st century. All its streets look beautiful to me.

This one of the museums in Paris. They have tons of museums for everything you could name under the sun.

This the original Louvre a very small gap for traffic to pass through. Its a Meseum, a very huge one.

This part of it, the new structure, Piramid which was claimed to be build to scale with the Giza and 2 other smaller piramids beside it. You should ask Levine more, he's been in it.

Very well architectured, right till its detail.

This the bigger Louvre, its quite hard to get this clear on a small camera.

One of the 4 queens of France long time ago.

A street stall something like the ones in Petaling Street here.

Traffic Jam, well thats common in Paris too.

Ok now Wikipedia's turn to explain more about the Louvre,

The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is one of the largest, oldest, most important and famous art galleries and museum in the world. It is famous for holding several of the world's most prestigious works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Virgin of the Rocks and Alexandros of Antioch's Venus de Milo.
In 2005, the Louvre received a record 7.3 million visitors in part due to the success of Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code [1]—a significant boost of 22% compared to previous figures, placing the Louvre as the most visited monument in Paris.

Source: Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre)

to be continued...

School & Back

2006-10-11T13:18:00.000Z

Today had not much choice I just had to go to hopefully collect some good trial exam results. What really suprised me was we combined class and my class still looks half full. What did not shock me was I screwed up my Economics paper by 6 marks from passing and BM was of cause a failure. What was good news was General paper i made it! Praise the Lord. Now I'll have to wait for next week Tuesday to get my Business Paper. Hopefully I'll make it in that one.

On the way back Dan followed me and for the first time we talked less about football, not much but spend the rest of the trip talking about studies??? Ohh man, exam is really getting to us. He has 33Days from not to his SPM and I have about 38Days from now to STPM. Seriously thats suprising for today, i couldnt believe we did talk about studies most of time traveling back home.

I See The Blue Sky

2006-10-11T12:25:00.000Z

Wow, for those living in Malaysia you'll understand what I mean when I say "I See The Blue Sky". Finally after weeks of haze, created rain was successful enough to clear up the haze. No doubt there is still minor levels of pollution but its much better from Sunday.

Praise God, now I can breathe cleaner air.

(above): from such weather on Saturday morning on the way to Penang to...

... this. Finally some clear blue skies.

EURO TOUR: Paris for Lunch

2006-10-10T13:26:00.000Z

... Continuing from the old blog of mine

This one of the things i don't feel stress talking about. OK so after visiting the Eiffel Tower, its about 1230pm in France and everyone was hungry. So we moved to a Thai restaurant our tour group booked (I wished for a French one).

This by the street where the restaurant was located.

French Windows with lovely flowers.

creativeness displayed even on vehicles.

Long buses which you don't get over hear, but when I was in London I heard it used to catch fire.

Cool Vespa's in France, lot of cool big-small antique bikes around.

its an afternoon and I feel soo cool! Lovely weather despite the sun shining so bright temperature is about 18 Degrees now.

This one cool Roman Architecture church very old one.

It has pillars build to the amont of weeks in a year.

From the front-side view. its huge.

lets allow wikipedia to explain a little more:

The Madeleine is affiliated with a Benedictine abbey, and masses and the most fashionable weddings in Paris are still celebrated here.
The church has a celebrated pipe organ, built by Aristide CavaillÃ©-Coll (1811-1899), which is widely regarded as one of the best in Paris. The composers Camille Saint-SaÃ«ns and Gabriel FaurÃ© were both organists at the Madeleine, and the funerals of FrÃ©dÃ©ric Chopin, Saint-SaÃ«ns, and FaurÃ© were held there.
To its south lies the Place de la Concorde, to the east is the Place VendÃ´me, and to the west L'Ã©glise Saint-Augustin.

Source: wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ãglise_de_la_Madeleine)

to be continued...

Sweet Birthdays

2006-10-10T00:35:00.000Z

In Penang we celebrated all birthdays in October, on the way back I had Dunkin donuts. It was sugar for the 3 days in a row. Yesterday Celebrated my Mum's Birthday again with my Uncle's. My sister and I, we bought chocolate Banana Cake hmmm....Should taste great but I still haven't eaten my share yet. Too much of sugar for these past days.

After my exams I'll load up the Penang photos, do remind me.

Asteroid Dust Everywhere

2006-10-09T10:02:00.000Z

What had formed the asteriods had also formed the earth. Great now our neighbours are spreading these dust all over the region. The haze was really bad yestarday. I was in Penang the weather was fine, on and off we had haze but when i was on the way back to the Klang Valley it was horrible, could hardly even see 1000m ahead. The sun was Orange at first and soon disappearing. The weather is dangerous! That neighbour of Malaysia has to be taught a good lesson.

Once Again Welcome

2006-10-02T14:05:00.000Z

Welcome to my blog, sorry for causing another inconvinence but im getting ready for after my exams here. I really dont wanna remember all the stress i go through when i view my past blog.
Will post more after exams (STPM). Which takes place 20NOV -7 DEC

Once again welcome to my new home ready for Christmas and 2007, I'll make sure its a better year than before.

Feel free to leave me a message, i will reply when i check back every morning or late night.

regards,

*SBS*