Simaaron Photography | The Blog

Real World Review Coming Soon

2012-01-02T23:10:00.001+08:00

Source: Google Image Search

Happy New Year Dear Friends.

I hope all of you had an enjoyable new year's eve and managed to stay out of trouble.
In the last couple of months a lot has moved within the digital camera world particularly within the premium compacts followed by the semi-pro compacts and of course compacts (at least one is released every week I guess). Some of them were good and some of them were bad. I had to learn a very expensive lesson in 2010. It's called a ' G12 purchase '.

What is a 'G12 purchase' ?

In 2010 I purchased a Canon G12. Back then, after countless reviews and testing it myself, I was convinced that the G12 is THE camera to get. I wasn't quite accurate. Although it had a million functions to tweak my photos and explore my creativity, the problem is, it had a million functions which I will take half a minute to scroll through looking for which effect I might want to use and when I do decide on one, the picture was already gone. My dad is using it now. Heh.

So in looking for a compact camera that would some what perform close to a DSLR ( I had the 5D MK II not too long ago before I sold it off to a lady ) it was near impossible. To tell you the truth, no pro-compact cameras WITH a fixed focal length lens can perform as good as a DSLR. No there isn't. Really. Unless what I'm writing here gets outdated tomorrow. So what I'm actually looking for in a camera is

MORE PORTABLE THAN A DSLR i.e I do not have to carry a huge bag with a big sign on my forehead that says ' Hello I have a huge camera in my backpack '. I've been there and I've done that. I want the shutter to be silent and a camera that looks like it was from my dad's stash of retro goodies.

FINE TUNED FEATURES - BASIC IS GOOD i.e I do not want a million features in my camera with 20 page menus and 100 page sub-menus. What I want is a once in a life time set up and then focus on getting the image. I find fisheye, tint etc features utterly hopeless because you can do it all on photo editing software. Also iPhones and Androids are doing a way better job in tinting. What I need is specifically fine tuned settings e.g shutter speed of 1/56 because 1/60 is too dark and 1/30 gets me blur images. Stuffs like that.

DOES NOT ENCOURAGE ME TO BUY MORE LENSES i.e Stop me from spending any more money on buying more lenses and focus on getting the image. This is pretty much the most important thing really.

These 3 features may be a little uncommon because normally other reviews would say " I want a lightweight camera, portable, long battery life, nice colors, good grip " Whatever. I need those too in some way.

Therefore, I'm going to come back here in about a months time and tell you all about it.

See you in a month !

Yoda Mark II Bids Farewell. Hello Others.

2011-09-24T21:10:00.002+08:00

Last November (2010), I bid farewell to my good ol' Nikon D300. Ultimate DX camera, unbeatable (I take it that the Nikon D300s was just an equivalent sibling with an extra kidney). Nevertheless, I blogged about jumping ship, balance in the force, Yoda Mark II and Darth Vikon. (Refer to Balance In The Force)

This year (2011) however, I've decided to let Yoda Mark II go. Puzzled you are. My new role as an operations engineer has not given me even a tiny peek out of the window. And things are just getting busier. Music photography what ? Concerts what ? But am I missing out all the fun ? I don't think so. I've come to realise that I am falling back to street photography and documentary-ish photography. No I am not getting old. Wiser perhaps.

Yoda Mark II barely hit 3000 shots. Deftones was the only concert photographed using the Mark II, a couple of weddings, a couple of cars and the rest of the time, it stayed in a cold dark cave. Way too much money was in that cave and I am also in need of a smaller and easier to carry-around camera. Will I buy another DSLR in the near future ? I suppose not unless it could pour me wine, do my laundry and wash my car.

Digital Image from Canon Rumours Website.

So you might ask, what is my new found love ? The Fuji X100 ? It's pretty obvious I'd go for one if my finances allow me to. Overpriced ? Under-powered ? Burn the technical sheets because it's worth every penny.

I still love photography. No doubt about that at all but time is not exactly on my side at the moment. After 3-4 years of non-stop photography, I can share with you this, the camera will never make you a better photographer. Ever.

p/s : New photos coming soon. I'm back to the days where I simply pick any camera and shoot.

Song Of The Week - Jay.Z & Kanye : Otis

2011-08-20T16:18:00.001+08:00

Here is my song of the week. Woohoo !

Bravo One One - Series

2011-08-16T23:37:00.005+08:00

The steady march of new and more affordable cameras in the photo biz often makes my head spin. I am having a hard time keeping up with the latest technology in cameras. Waking up to this morning's update, photographers can now capture an image first and decide on the focus later. I hope it is not for a mind-bending sum because it would come in really handy for someone who doesn't bother to turn the focus ring any more - engineers especially.

While I was out at sea the other day, I did not have the luxury of choosing what camera I wanted to use or what lens would I prefer. It was either a mid-range entry level Canon camera or a Nikon and they don't come with a fancy lens either. I had my fair share of concert and club photography and most of the photos are what you see on my SpaceBook and MyFace. I'd like to share something different, photographs that even the best photographers out there would probably never be able to experience or capture. Welcome to the rig.

Note : All photography on site has been done with an approve permit and from a safe location. Photographs have been filtered before publishing to avoid any confidential equipments/design from being shown.

Lines, lines and more lines.

Strobes ? What strobes ?

When stress gets the better of you.

A 52mm lens cap, AA Eneloops and what not would fall right through those steel gratings.

Deftones Live

2011-02-22T22:15:00.000+08:00

Here are some of my best photos from the performance. Simply put, Deftones has one of the best front man I've ever seen !

I got a call me mate Peteh, 4 hours before the show if I was interested in snapping some photographs at the Deftones concert. Why not ? About time I tested the Canon Mark II in concert lighting conditions. I gladly say yes and hung up only to realize that I ~~actually don't have any lenses !~~ have only the Canon 50mm. All the shots you see in this post were shot with a fixed focal length lens.

Chino Moreno is one awesome front man. Two words. Endless, Energy. It was a joy photographing Deftones. Enjoy the photos. One more thing, just in case you're wondering where's the photo of the drummer and the bassist ? I couldn't get them or maybe I did but some other bloke jumped into my frame in the photographer's box.

Deftones Teaser

2011-02-17T00:41:00.003+08:00

Yes I was at Deftones on Valentines night. My apologies if I've missed some of you guys while trying to squeeze my way into the hall. I tried my best to say hello. It was madness, The amount of people waiting outside to enter.

I'm going to take a while with the photos. Trying my skills at a preview video with Corel Video Studio Pro X3

Expect the photos to be up by next week and the video in the next couple of days (if my software arrives in time). Shot the entire concert with a 50mm lens on a full frame camera because I didn't have any other lenses with me. Big risk ? Yes. Big challenge ? All the better.

Thanks to Grayscale Graphic Photography and Fat Boys !

Two Light Source And 10 Minutes

2011-02-09T00:41:00.012+08:00

Over the winter, I sit in front of my fire place sipping my hot Milo trying to figure out what I could come up with for the new year. I switched system, I have no lens and I no longer have the CLS system with me. Worry not, I tell myself. I'll have to get some other light source for the mean time. What ever light that I can get !

I know how some of you would want to see the behind-the-scene stuff but I really don't have much time to come up with something organised. There's a couple more sessions coming up so I'll make this a quick one. This isn't exactly a tutorial, some of you could even pull this off better than I can. My lighting laws may be wrong. I do what I can with what I have to get the shot that I want.

This is pretty much what reality has to offer and how I manipulate what I can to come up with an image. I do not know the rules from text book. I just fit in what I can to get the desired effect. For now, I offer to you my recent session with Anthony Noel, CEO Producer of BIG A Productions.

Anthony is a very busy man. We somewhat manage to squeeze a studio interior shoot and one portraiture shoot in between his recording schedule. In fact, on that day, he had to get a guitar track done for Meet Uncle Hussain. I wanted to keep things simple for this shot.

I added one light source from the left which feathers to the back of the LCD and the back of his head and another light source high above the camera to get a nice fill and to give the 2 audio speakers some highlight. And a black 'screen' to absorb some of the light to avoid reflection.

Took a couple of shots and it's done !

Why am I sharing this ? It's simple. Because I care ! I would like to learn from you too so do drop in your comments on this one. I know it isn't perfect or something a lighting yoda would do but at least it's what I wanted.

Cheers and until then, take care !

thanks to Jason.L for the tripod, lighting and the lens.

The Balance In The Force

2010-11-27T00:37:00.012+08:00

Important note : The Yoda image has nothing to do with Canon at all. It is merely being photoshopped for this post's purpose only.

As we know, the country might just be heading for its election much earlier than expected. Apparently, our economy is doing fantastic. This all sounds very sensible but because I've experienced a number of continuous disappointments, I doubt I'll put much into this one.

Good news is gadgety-gadgets might just go for cheap next year, as revealed in the new budget but I just cannot wait any longer. Even if it means paying 15% tax on imaging products, then so be it.

Here's why. Ever since I took this Yoda-ma-jiggy tool for a spin, I've been having sleepless nights. And as most of you may already know, the Canon 5d MK II. I've been fighting Canon 'all my life' and here I am having a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker moment. A tad earlier ofcourse than poor old Vader. He had to lose his arm before he brought balance back to the force.

It's extremely annoying. You've been snapping away with your current tool and editing those photos to be as good as possible, spending countless period of your life making it perfect, and suddenly came along this tool that gets the job done at that instant! It simply works for you there and then. Every time I get behind a new piece of Nikon glass, oh gawd, it gives you that hope, that one last hurrah from this leviathan to assure you that the darkside is the pathway to many powers.

So it's back to the financial board. I am no longer performing liposuction on fat. I'm cutting away bone and muscle. Important stuff. This then boils down to the biggest question just before the end of 2010 which many of you would ask

Why jump ship ?

I hated the term 'jump ship'. If jumping ships was a major sin then I would have been crucified more than once.

The History.

A long time ago ... far away in the galaxy .....

I started photography with this awkward ugly piece of thing, the Fujica SLR. It's film all right and every time you load a film in, you have to make sure you turn the ISO dial to the film's ISO that you bought. And then you look in that view finder, of course everything looks fine and dandy so you click the snap button, mirror flips and when the photos are out, they were all black.

I then played with the compact camera for most my years growing up as a teen. 4 years ago I went into those large cameras you see kids hanging around their necks today. New blings I call it. I started off with the help of a French man, Malik.B. He was kind enough to lend me his Olympus e-510 and boy I was brave. Covered an entire fashion event with the 14-42mm and 40-150mm Zuiko lenses. Results ? Wasn't that bad.

And then there was the Canon 350D and Canon 400D with the 18-55mm lens. Those cameras were huge to me at that time. I was a young boy, nearly joining Yoda on a quest with a Canon 40D. I even had the opportunity to train with an Indonesian fashion photographer using the Canon 1D series. Along the way, just like Anakin, I was tempted to join the dark side.

I bought the Nikon D300 2 years ago and it served me well. Beyond well really. Took me to places that I never thought I would be able to go and meet people that I could never imagine. Top of the line crop frame DSLR camera. What more can I ask for? They call it the ultimate DX camera from Nikon. The flagship. I told myself that I could use this camera for life. There is no need for an upgrade except buying new lenses. I was right on the lenses part but wrong on the body.

The Reason.

It is basic finance calculations. My main objective is to move to the full frame zone as the assignments I receive today are much more demanding and it gets more demanding from month to month. I need something that could reduce, significantly, my time spent on editing those photographs. Full frame is the answer and it is easier on the pocket to jump ship rather than to go for Nikon FX.

(I spent many sleepless night working on the finances)

Conclusion.

It appears that I will most likely return to the force. The simple truth ?

If you're a Canon user, you will jump to Nikon.

If you're a Nikon user, you will jump to Canon.

I do have to sacrifice a number of technologies once I join Yoda. (You know how it is in the Jedi, you can't use this, you can't use that). I suppose I will be missing the following;

51 AF points + 3D tracking.
Grid lines and horizon.
Built-in CA management.
Ability to cap auto ISO.
Every other colour except red.
Nikon CLS System.

And this battle that begun long before the war in the middle east will never cease until one of them decides to join the agriculture industry. Therefore I now present to you my lovely set, the set that took me to Japan, the set that took photos which appeared in various magazines across the world, the set that help me make new friends and the set that brought my photography to a whole new level,

1. 1x NIKON D300 BODY

Condition : 9/10. Fully Functional

Warranty : No more

Nikon Screen Protector and everything else that's in the D300 Box.

1x NIKON MB-D10

Condition : 7.5/10. Fully Functional

There is a light scratch on the corner as seen in the photo.

Warranty : No more

AA Battery Tray, Pouch for the tray and everything else that's in the MB-D10 Box.

1x EN-EL3E Battery (Came with camera - 100% Charge Capacity)

1x EN-EL3E Battery (Bought July 2010 - 100% Charge Capacity)

Due to the inseparable D300 and MB-D10 since birth, I would love to see them go together.

PRICE FOR THE ABOVE : RM 3600

2. NIKON 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 VR 1 + Filter (Cannot recall brand name as it came with the lens).

Condition : 8.5/10. Fully Functional

Warranty : No more

Everything else that's in the lens box.

PRICE : RM 1850

3. NIKON 50mm F1.8 + Raydawn Filter

Condition : 9/10. Fully Functional

Warranty : No more

Everything else that's in the lens box.

PRICE : RM 290

4. NIKON SB-800

Condition : 9/10. Fully Functional.

Warranty : No more

Everything else that's in the flash box. Pouch, 5th battery slot etc.

PRICE : RM 1100

Take all for RM 6840

All prices are firm. Drop me a mail at sim.aaron@yahoo.com

My apologies if there were mistakes in my English grammar. Been writing technical essays for the last 4 years.

All images from Google Search.

Wondering Backstage and On Stage - Arthur's Day 2010

2010-10-17T00:56:00.011+08:00

LOL Rudy.

Sold Out Arthur's Day Celebration In Malaysia

Arhutr's Day Celebration 2010 Photo Series

Wondering Backstage and On Stage

Mizz Nina & Colby O'Donis with DJ Fuzz On The Deck
Thaitanium
Flo Rida
Sean Kingston

Thanks to Rudy PopShuvit for snapping all the photos with me in it =)

Rudy PopShuvit

Partial Thaitanium, Partial PopShuvit and DJ Cza

Amar and Rudy

PopShuvit

Flo Rida's DJ

Way of Thaitanium

JJ and Ean of Hitz.FM

Colby O'Donis

Flo Rida

Sean Kingston

2010-10-08T01:57:00.009+08:00

Sold Out Arthur's Day Celebration In Malaysia

Arthur's Day Celebration 2010 Photo Series

Sean Kingston

Follow Up Post - Check out the photos of Sean Kingston from Shout Awards last year

Mizz Nina & Colby O'Donis with DJ Fuzz On The Deck

Thaitanium

Flo Rida

Wondering Backstage and On Stage

About a year ago Sean Kingston was in Kuala Lumpur to perform at ShoutAwards. He walked pass be backstage, I shook his hand and did not realise who he was until thee two girls who saw me shaking his hand threw me a surprised look and said ' Oh my gawd, that's Sean Kingston '. And so I missed a photo opportunity with him.

This year, he is back to perform at Arthur's Day. I bump into him at Sunway Pyramid, talked to him, shook his hand and forgot to take a photo. Another photo opportunity gone. I was also afraid of his >6 foot bodyguard. Anyway, some of the best and sharpest shots of him performing were from last year. I do not intend to repeat my shots therefore these few photos are from a different angle.

" I've been trying to move my music photography to shots that showed more emotions. It's getting there but I do not know at what speed. Every summer, I throw hundreds of ideas on the wall hoping that something would actually stick. The month of October is filled with weddings and therefore the lovey dovey photography mindset has to set in.

Juggling between being an engineer on weekdays and a photographer on weekends is tough but I thank God for his grace and blessings and I thank her for the wonderful support.

On a quick note, I'll be releasing some of my music photos as exclusive and limited prints. Interested in purchasing a particular print ? Please do not hesitate to drop me an email or a message on the chat box below. Have a great weekend ! "

Thaitanium Arthur's Day

2010-10-03T22:26:00.016+08:00

2010-08-30T12:55:00.006+08:00

" Shibuya 109 - Probably one of the best place in the world for ladies to go shopping. The building is operated by Tokyu as a 'Fashion Community' with small retail stores targeting early 30s female. The 109 basically stands for 'To' which is 10 and Kyu which is 9 in Japanese. Pretty much means Tokyu. There are over 5 floors of women retail stores. 5 because I accidentally went in there last year and it took me 5 floors to realise that this is an all women department store. These days, retail stores cater to even teens in their early 20s from the gyaru subculture. "

Shibuya, Tokyo - Japan

Fancy Cars - Ginza, Tokyo

2010-08-11T00:07:00.003+08:00

" A fancy car in the streets of Ginza "

Ginza, Tokyo - Japan.

Paul Reed Smith - Shibuya, Tokyo

2010-08-02T15:04:00.003+08:00

" I couldn't remember the music store name but they had the entire floor filled with PRS guitars. There was another section of the shop with every effect pedals you could ever imagine. I sneaked out this photo while looking at the guitars "

Unknown Music Store.

Shibuya, Tokyo

Ginza Wako Clock Tower - Ginza, Tokyo Japan

2010-07-28T12:09:00.002+08:00

" Ginza is an upmarket district for shopping, entertainment and dining. Built in 1932, the clock tower of the Ginza Wako building is the symbol of the Ginza, standing at the northwest corner of the district's centrally located junction of Chuo and Harumi Dori. Lots of jewellery and other luxury items are sold. "

Ginza Wako Clock Tower

Ginza, Tokyo

Nikon House - Ginza, Tokyo Japan

2010-07-26T00:36:00.003+08:00

” My Nikon D300 visits its ancestral home, the famous Nikon House right across the crossing from the Ginza Subway Station of the Marunochi Line. Second hand lenses were displayed below the white banner "

Sukiya Camera - Nikon House

Ginza, Tokyo.

Bunta Fujiwara - Ginza, Tokyo Japan.

2010-07-22T23:36:00.002+08:00

" Walked around Ginza area for some street photography. I thought he looked like Bunta Fujiwara from the Initial D anime. Ginza is a high society and high fashion area. This street is closed during the day for shoppers and tourists to walk around and it reopens at 6pm "

Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

PopShuvit - Tokio Hotel Opening

2010-07-02T15:26:00.004+08:00

Back log photos from Tokio Hotel's concert. Popshuvit did a superb opening. Here are some of the photos. Oh hey ! The black and whites are in Ilford XP2 Super 400.

III BumSquad DJ Latin Prince - Phuture, Zouk Malaysia.

2010-05-13T23:31:00.000+08:00

It was nice meeting DJ Latin Prince again before he headed home to L.A last week at the Tokio Hotel concert. Here's the last set of photos from his gig in Zouk Malaysia.

Do check out WWW.SIMAARON.COM for more club photography. I've just opened up a new section under club DJ which features and event like photography of random people I took in clubs. I'm still collecting portrait photos of musicians to fit into the Studio section of the site. I'll update it on the news section once I get stuff going. It'll be a little quiet for the next couple of weeks as I finish my masters. Wish me luck !

Tokio Hotel Live In Malaysia

2010-05-05T09:38:00.004+08:00

The photos for Tokio Hotel are up at my flash site. Click on any of the photo below and it will directly take you there. Click Live Concerts and then Tokio Hotel (Germany). The flash web may be a little slow depending on where you are accessing it from. You can always drop your comments on this post using the open ID function.

It wasn't the best stage lighting for a band that hit platinum across Europe. And I was having a hard time trying to squeeze in between other photographers while trying to get a shot free from the stage props (e.g monitors etc). Then again I think the sponsors did a great job by bringing them here. The back line was superb though I would leave the back stage opinions to the musicians.

Incase you're wondering if I brought the entire arsenal of mine from home, no I did not. I brought what was necessary and the right focal lengths for the shots that I already imagined in my head before I got there. I was interchanging between the 24mm and 85mm focals. For a 3 minute shoot, it turned out pretty good.

Thanks to YZ International for the passes and Adrian YCL for his lenses.

II BumSquad DJ Latin Prince - Phuture, Zouk Malaysia.

2010-04-30T12:47:00.008+08:00

More photos of DJ Latin Prince from last week's event.

BumSquad DJ Latin Prince - Phuture, Zouk Malaysia.

2010-04-24T23:30:00.011+08:00

2 days ago I was invited over to get a couple of shots of DJ Latin Prince (US), president of the BumSquad DJ world wide presented by YZ International. Timing was just about right as I handed in my thesis Friday afternoon. Bout time I get some photos up the site. It's back to project work again today, Saturday morning in a stuffy, non air-conditioned room.

The lighting in Phuture wasn't what I'd like it to be. Not much laser lights this time around and I'm a little upset that a couple of important shots were blurry. Anyhooo, the crowd was awesome and so is the music. Here are some photos from the event and more photos to come of LP when he goes on the deck with a rocking playlist.

Stylo 2010 - Designer Melinda Looi

2010-04-22T03:15:00.003+08:00

Ola ! I am back with more photos ! I know I have been missing for the last couple of weeks due to the project work. If all is well, I should have some pretty interesting stuff coming up in the next few weeks.

Here's a couple of photos from STYLO many weeks ago featuring designer Melinda Looi. Keep watch !

II : Stylo 2010 - Designer Michael Ong

2010-04-09T06:55:00.005+08:00

Here's another portrait photo for one of Michael Ong's brilliant design and a few photos of the Mercedes Benz STYLO Fashion Show Runway.

Designer Michael Ong - Stylo 2010

2010-04-05T23:10:00.011+08:00

Designer : Michael Ong

Sundays Record (Australia)

2010-03-29T04:47:00.008+08:00

Indeed the blog update has been pretty slow and I'm looking forward to be back into the photography scene again end of May. I've been doing a couple of test shots with upcoming bands in the country and perhaps when the opportunity comes, it'll be nice to work with international bands.

Few weeks ago I manage to catch this 3 man band from Newcastle, Australia. I was at KL Life Centre (or was it Live Centre?) to let off some steam from project work. Couldn't be bothered with long telephoto lenses as I could get onto the stage if I wanted to. I shot this band, Sundays Record with the Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye most of the time. Here are a few photos and you can view the complete set on my portfolio web WWW.SIMAARON.COM

I'll continue with my photos from Tokyo, Japan from last summer so keep watching !

Rosevelt (Studio C)

2010-03-23T10:28:00.004+08:00

Here's a few photos of Rosevelt's performance from Studio C. A talented bunch indeed. Now these guys are recording a couple of tracks and they've been passing around their latest single Medicine so if you want to get them, look them up on their twitter account "roseveltband" or facebook fan page for more information on that.

Moving Units (Studio C)

2010-03-17T23:40:00.001+08:00

Finally my design work is getting somewhere and dateline is approaching real fast. Thanks to the lead singer's mom who emailed me couple of days ago to express how she would love to see those photos from the KL Live gig, I quickly run them all through photoshop before I start to disappear from cyberspace. I'm taking a short breather to post this set of photos of this band, Moving Units from United States.

A few more set of music photos coming soon - Part 2 of Popshuvit , Rosevelt and Sundays Records all from Studio C and latest addition , photos of Car Crash Hearts playing live in Nottingham University. I'll fill you guys up as I post. Enjoy this for now and I'm off to continue my work !

An Honest Mistake, AHM (Studio C)

2010-03-13T02:40:00.004+08:00

PopShuvit (Studio C) 1of 2

2010-03-10T14:01:00.003+08:00

PopShuvit (Studio C) Sneak Preview

2010-03-07T11:26:00.013+08:00

Huahaha ... I can finally take pictures of myself at an event.

I have to say this, Studio C lighting system was awesome and I think this is the best music shoot so far for me for the year 2010. Here are a few photos of Popshuvit preparing to hit the stage with Anthony (Big A Productions) mixing magic from the second floor. And yes, the return of the 'mata ikan' (err ... fish eye) thanks to Yaniz.

There you go, a sneak preview of what's to come in the next couple of weeks. More photos of Popshuvit, Rosevelt and An Honest Mistake after I finish my reactor size calculation. Nevertheless it was a good night out to release some stress.

SIFE Fashion With Passion

2010-03-02T18:43:00.016+08:00

Here are the photos from the SIFE Nottingham University Charity Fashion Show. Ever changing lighting situations makes setting up my camera, manual white balance and flash power a huge challenge but nevertheless a great experience.

I was earlier on shooting from the pit directly facing the runway. However, I wanted something different than everybody else so I moved to a different position for something different. ~~Next up would be a couple of pictures of what was happening backstage and after the event.~~ Enjoy the photos !

Note that some of the photos are featured on my official flash page SIMAARON.COM under 'Fashion' and 'Runway'. Do look it up !

Sneak Peak : Fashion Show

2010-03-01T10:23:00.004+08:00

Yesterday, Students In Free Enterprise a.k.a SIFE of Nottingham University Malaysia organized a charity fashion show titled Fashion with Passion. It was a well earned experience for myself shooting under yellow lights and there were quite a lot of photographers bursting their flashes from the pit when the model hits the runway

.... but that doesn't mean that I have to stay in the pit the whole time getting straight forward portraiture shots. I went for a different angle instead, some say it was a bad idea (I don't normally do this for fashion week shoots). To be different, I took the risk. Keep check on this blog for the next couple of days as I will upload pictures from what's going on backstage to the tip of the runway !

Fellow photographers who joined me were -

William Sudhana (Indonesia)

Jason Lau (Malaysia)

Nicholas Chee (Malaysia)

So do check out their photos as well.

Bus Company - Haiti Lifeline Charity at Nottingham U. Malaysia

2010-02-28T00:05:00.008+08:00

"Tsunami alerts all over the world right now as moments ago, an earthquake hit Chile touching the 8.8 scale which was larger than the one measured in Haiti. I urge all of you to pray for the safety of the people in Chile and for the people around the world that the huge tsunami waves will dissolve under the sea and not cause any further destruction to planet earth. I am extremely worried as I have friends and relatives living in different parts of the world,"

A few days ago, Bus Company came down to Nottingham University Malaysia to perform and help raise funds for the Haiti earthquake tragedy. Here are some photos from the performance and it was really nice meeting their official photographer Adrian Yap. He is pretty much a young lad with a lot of talent waiting to burst out into the photography field. I look forward for a collaboration with him sometime in the near future.

Rosevelt - Haiti Lifeline Charity at Nottingham U. Malaysia

2010-02-25T01:12:00.004+08:00

Rosevelt played live for Nottingham University's Haiti Lifeline Charity concert. It was good meeting up drummer Bryan Chin as we hardly get to chat these days. Found out that guitarist, Josh lives one housing area away from me and a new friends Nick, lead singer and Kush, bassist for the band.

My music photography experience kicked off at this very stage. The stage lighting was always a challenge. I guess I must have got used to a string of challenging lighting experience over the last few music shoots. Here are a few photos from the show.

Sim Family Gathering CNY 2010

2010-02-17T06:07:00.017+08:00

I was more than happy to have 3 days of Chinese New Year celebration and it was a time well spent with my family and friends. Highlight of the celebration was pretty much the Sim family gathering in Malacca and meeting up with my relatives couldn't have made me happier. It was a good time to get out of town, unwind and get my mind off work. I am fortunate enough to have a family and a place where everyone could relate to each other and feel belong. Here are a few photos of the old and new generation plus a couple of silly acts.

Evening Photos From Japan

2010-02-11T01:36:00.013+08:00

I've been trying to keep a balance between project work, personal life and photography. It was almost 7 months ago that I was in Japan with Becky and one of Malaysia's most successful music band, Popshuvit. It was a good opportunity to capture a few photos of Shibuya City although it was a really short trip. There's still quite a lot of photos from Japan. Here's some more photos from Japan.

Took some time to play around with the tilt shift effect.

Adidas Concept Store in Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan.

Yoshinoya - More or less like a fast food chain restaurant. You'll see one within a 3 block radius of the city I think.

simaaron.com is now LIVE !

2010-02-09T03:31:00.005+08:00

And so, I am happy to announce that Simaaron.com is now officially online and you can visit it by clicking the picture below.

My web engineer Dan Shader and myself have been working hard on designing the web. Dan Shader will continue to work on the web (so that we can move over completely to 'add-free' status) therefore, in the mean time, I've decided to fall back on the Wix Editor. It's a superb tool and it is giving me the results that I've always wanted. I don't quite fancy the toolbar advert below but hey, I'm on a budget and I do not plan to spend a huge amount of money on a website.

Yes I had to design everything from scratch myself and it took me quite a while. Now that it is here, I have one less thing to worry about ! Hoorah !

So hey, here we go !

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Tour w/ PopShuvit (part 7)

2010-02-02T19:56:00.003+08:00

There isn't much of a view to begin with if you're staying in a hotel right in the middle of the city. So if I look down to my bottom left, I see the ramen shop.

And if I look to my upper right, I see more buildings. So we head back down to the city for more street photography. Some say that if you're shooting Asia, shoot it in color. I'd prefer to see things rather differently which is why the following photos would be in black and white.

KEY Music Store.

Around Shibuya City.

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Tour w/ PopShuvit (part 6)

2010-01-28T01:34:00.007+08:00

Just incase if you're wondering where were we for the last few posts, we are actually still in Shibuya City. Now did I mention about the music stores in Japan because it is definitely bigger than the ones you've seen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. If you step into a guitar store, it's pretty much like a guitar sanctuary. The same goes for drums, acoustic guitars, amplifiers and so fourth. Now I think I wasn't suppose to be taking pictures in the stores but hey, can't miss this one chance while I'm here. We head down to some of the biggest music stores around Shibuya where rockstars from all over the world have shopped.

The 246 Guitar store. Single floor for acoustic guitars, another floor for bass guitars and so fourth. The whole building is filled with guitars. Go crazy !

And then there's KEY Music. Awesome place with tonnes of stuffs.

Fenders only store.

Couldn't recall which music store was this but all the stores are pretty much something like this.

Drum station. Look at all the snares ranging from customs to titanium finish snares. Talk about rare and collectibles, you can go blind !

With that kind of marketing for music in Shibuya, it is not strange to find atleast 1 in 20 person walking around Shibuya street carrying a guitar case. There's live performances on the street and so fourth.

And then we're off too lunch. Becky had a great meal with her friend's parents !

While I went for ... umm ... this.

This wasn't where the ramen above came from but yeah, check out their stalls. Everything pretty much resembles a vending machine !

Thank you for viewing. I'm off to bed now. More work to be done tomorrow ! Keep check !

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Tour w/ PopShuvit (part 5)

2010-01-20T13:30:00.005+08:00

More photos from my Japan Trip in 2009 ! Come to think of it, I do actually have quite a lot of photos for such a short trip. We spend most of our time in the city so you'll see more buildings than scenery, if there was any at all in my camera to begin with. Here's some more photos from Shibuya City, Tokyo.

The famous Shibuya crossing.

I saw about 20 of these in Shibuya alone.

You can't miss this fellow in Japan.

I thought she looks interesting. Cigarette in the hand, a tiny plaster on her left knee, headphones and a pretty face. (at Shibuya JR station)

And another random street photo.

PopShuvit (RTW9)

2010-01-12T22:30:00.005+08:00

Aight. I know some of you guys were asking me where are PopShuvit's photographs from Rock The World 9. Well, different kind of angles really this time around, more shots of the drummer Mr.Rudy ( yay! or finally! ) because how often can I be on stage to get shots of the drummer right??

Anyhoo, the lighting conditions were very challenging but I manage to go around here and there to get these few shots. Thanks to PopShuvit for the opportunity, here's some photos of them from RTW9 !

The Intro.

Now look at that crowd !

One Buck Short (RTW9)

2010-01-09T17:31:00.003+08:00

Here's some photos of One Buck Short's performance from Rock The World 9 last year.

Republic of Brickfields (RTW9)

2010-01-06T04:45:00.007+08:00

Republic of Brickfields played at Rock The World 9 with a surprised appearance from Amy of Search. Here are some photos for now.

Well this is the emcee for the main stage.

MacBeth Footwear - The Brighton

2010-01-04T21:43:00.006+08:00

MacBeth shoes are now available in Malaysia !

December, 2009 - MacBeth opened up a huge booth at Rock The World 9 concert event sponsoring 2 of Malaysia's most popular band PopShuvit and One Buck Short. And so I was sent by these 2 bands to head down to the MacBeth booth (slightly messed up cause of the rain and people pushing under the tent to get shelter) to grab a couple of pictures. Was thinking of checking out and getting one of em' T-shirts too but darn it there were so many people !

MacBeth footwear co-founded by Tom DeLonge known for fronting bands like Blink 182, Box Car Racer and Angels & Airwaves.

Below is the Tom DeLonge MacBeth Studio Project - The Brighton and if that's what I think it is, Tom DeLonge's signature (correct me if I'm wrong) on the side of those shoes. You would wanna grab this 'Ay aS Ay Pea' cause it's going to be the next sold out sneakers in a couple of months time. (Birthday present hint alert XP!)

Find out more HERE

Here are some photos that I shot from the booth. I wish the conditions that day would allow me to get better pictures but it was just awful, wet and slightly muddy caused by the rain. Thank goodness these awesome pair of shoes were kept well !

OHAIYO 2010

2010-01-01T18:45:00.007+08:00

Ohaiyo 2010 ! The first sunrise of the year !

Here's a few photos of the hike up Broga Hill, Semenyih with a few of my friends.

A panaromic view of the sunrise.

Rock The World 9 : Part 1

2009-12-28T04:03:00.007+08:00

Rock The World 9 this year takes it to Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, multi-staged and ..... a heavy down pour. That's right. Things would have been great, I could have gotten the shot that Rudy and I was talking about weeks before this event but looks like that million dollar will have to wait. I suspect the Nikon Gods are telling me to get that fish-eye lens for the million dollar shot. I'll get to the fish-eye story later.

PopShuvit played one of the best sets that I've ever heard live throughout the year of 2009 and perhaps the energy was even greater since I was up on stage. No from-the-crowd-view shots this time around. But I think I manage to get a couple of unique shots along the way. ( Haven't taken a look at them yet thanks to this bloody coursework I have due on the 31st of December 2009 !).

Thanks to Bargo Photography for the superb Canon 70-200 2.8L & 400D set, YZ and Frank for the 10.5mm 2.8 Nikkor fish-eye, Rudy for the 17-50mm 2.8 Tamron and thanks to PopShuvit and One Buck Short for the invitation. The wait was long, very, very long. Here are some photos of what was happening as we waited. Don't forget to check out PopShuvit Music for a superb video of the performance.

We begin with Mr.Rudy.

Big A looking BIG.

Vanessa and Moots.

Vanessa and myself.

(Very very cold air conditioning)
Vanessa : " Yeah I'm fine. I'm trying to think that its really warm in here. It's like when its hot you think that it's cold,"
Moots : "Somebody got a jacket ?"
Simaaron : " Here take this jacket,"
Vanessa : " Thanks !"

" Eyes on me ! I am dangerous,"

JD, Rudy and Frank.

JD, Rudy, Frank and Yaniz.

The lovely and sweet miss Zee Avi and myself.
Someone : " Hey Rudy, have you met Zee Avi ?"
Rudy : " Yeah on Youtube "

Who would've thought. Rock legend Amy Search and myself.

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Night Part 2

2009-12-21T23:45:00.008+08:00

Here's a few more photos on what actually happens backstage before a rock show starts. Lightings backstage were really, really harsh.

Basically we were pretty much mixing around with other bands, talking, fooling around a little bit, taking lots of pictures and just enjoy the atmosphere backstage. It was one experience I would never forget. Look at it this way, guys from PopShuvit, Tokyo, Club Asia, backstage of a rock concert and with some of the greatest J-Rock bands.

I manage to catch performances from UZUMAKI, GARI, BOMB FACTORY, a quick moment with Jesse from RIZE and of course our very own POPSHUVIT.

DJ Uno - Onward to the backstage !

Some of the other guys in the chill out room. That's Uno and AJ. The lad with the hat is the MC for the night and the other nice guy, he's a rocker =)

A.J - Bassist of PopShuvit with Fujimoto - Bassist of Japanese Band G.A.R.I

Mr.Fujimoto !

" Look at the length of his tongue !" G.A.R.I guitarist.

Waiting to get on stage.

Becky enjoying herself very much.

DJ Uno and Edwin Raj

Duutch - Drummer of Japanese Band UZUMAKI

More pictures in the next coming post !

Tokyo, Japan, Gangima Night Part 1

2009-12-21T04:22:00.004+08:00

We take a few steps back to the month of August 2009. End of August actually where Becky and I were in Tokyo, Japan with the boys from PopShuvit. Well, Ryan (far left in the picture below) filled in for Rudy because Rudy was welcoming his beautiful baby girl in to this world. I must say it's a small world indeed because Ryan and myself have a few common friends and of all the places to meet him, it was in Japan thanks to PopShuvit and Celcom Xpax.

Here are some of the photos taken right before PopShuvit performed in Club Asia, Shibuya. The place wasn't so far from where all of us were staying. More like, "Walk 100 meters to the right of this picture," and there it was. To the left is the ramen shop and further down there's a Korean restaurant, which I'll explain in later posts on how we got there and how it relates to the whole AMAZING evening.

Taken outside Shibuya City Hotel, Tokyo Japan right before we head up to Club Asia for Gangima Night. Left to right, Ryan, AJ, Anthony of Big A Productions, Becky, Myself, Jd, Uno and Moots.

Waiting for everyone to gather up. I forgot who we were waiting for again. That's Yaniz of Yaniz International, the band manager of Popshuvit.

Ryan, filling in for Rudy this time around. Last minute writing. Check out the Converse shoes and Uno's HUGE Nike Dunks !

Oh shoots, it's 5am. Got a coursework to submit by 10am so I'll check back in 24 hours with more photos !

Updates From The 2009 Photoblog Award

2009-12-19T13:26:00.003+08:00

Thank you , thank you , thank you all of you who voted for this blog as the 2009 Photoblog Awards. Keep watch for the results !

Studio 2105 and AXN with Cyril Takayama

2009-12-19T05:00:00.002+08:00

Cyril Takayama heads down to Studio 2105 for more filming with the AXN crew and recording of PopShuvit's 'Magic Man' track. Here's a few photos of what happened at the studio and don't forget to check out that short video.

Intense Tweeting with the Blackberry Curve.

The Boss.

Here's a quick video I did which include, as said in my last post months ago, the Magic Man dancing. Surprisingly at such low lighting the video recording feature from the Nokia E71 could still come up with a pretty decent quality.

Audio tracks by

PopShuvit - Pump Up The Stereo

Chris Daughtry - Everytime You Turn Around

Anno Domini Beats - Theatrics

What To Expect In 2010

2009-12-12T15:48:00.013+08:00

2009 is coming to an end in about 2 and the half weeks. It has been crazy so far. Good kind of crazy. I've uploaded tonnes of music photography and I'm glad you've been following those photos. For 2010, I'll be looking into something with more emotion, more soul and a whole new level of music and fashion photography. Here's a preview of what you can expect in 2010.

Simaaron Featured On The Star R.AGE

2009-12-10T20:15:00.006+08:00

Sharing the 2 page spread column with 2 other young and very talented photographers.

2 days ago, Simaaron got featured in the youth section in one of Malaysia's biggest newspaper company, The Star. Many thanks to columnist Ian Yee for the opportunity ! If you missed out on the print of Wednesday's The Star R.AGE column, you may find the write up post here instead.

Left: A shot of DJ Joey G. Right: Photo taken by Bargo Photography. Your hero in action which has nothing to do with music photography at all. I now realized how little pictures I have of myself.
With the boys from PopShuvit. From left: Guitarist JD, Frontman Moots, Drummer Rudy and DJ Uno. Bassist A.J not in the picture (cause I think he went off right away for another gig)

Thank you everyone for supporting my photo works and for the many opportunities and privileges that you have given me, that is to photograph you ! Hopefully more features in 2010 ! Hoo-ah !

Correction: Chemical Engineering and not Mechanical Engineering. Hehe !

Clive-Turn It Up at 7atenine The Ascott with DJ Joey G and DJ Gabriel

2009-12-06T10:15:00.006+08:00

Last week I head down to The Ascott, Kuala Lumpur for a quick shoot out at 7atenine with Joey G. A little last minute call up but I'd snap anything to get out of project stress. Had the opportunity to meet up with DJ Gabriel as well. Here's some photos of the Clive - Turn It Up Masquerade event at 7atenine. More photos later !

My Web Engineer Is Busy Making A Robotic Tank

2009-12-03T18:00:00.008+08:00

Oh that's right. My web engineer, who lives in the next room is busy with his robotic tank project and I dare not bug him to finish up my web. Well he will finish it eventually before Christmas. As promised, he will be treated with 10 Dorayakis and I'll give him extra incentives for a job well done. (That's if his robotic thank doesn't comes into my room and start destroying my stuffs).

Alternatively, I will re-route www.simaaron.com to www.simaaron.daportfolio.com

Good news ! For a html blind person like me, I've manage to get this blog linked to the web so, only the blog link is working for now. (Owh I did the flash by the way. Wee, an achievement!)

WWW.SIMAARON.COM

WWW.SIMAARON.COM - Temporary Web.

Furthermore, if you are interested in purchasing large prints, do drop in MyDeviantart page to get a full view of the picture that you would like to have.

Again, thank you and I appreciate all of your visits and to those who has subscribed to this page !

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Tour w/ PopShuvit (part 4)

2009-11-27T02:32:00.005+08:00

Hello Shibuya City, Tokyo !

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Tour w/ PopShuvit (part 3)

2009-11-24T02:59:00.004+08:00

In the JR ...

Taking a short break from work. Here's a few more photos from Tokyo, Japan.

Fujiwara Tofu Shop ? ....

A little bit of here and there ...

Got a little lost ...

Almost there ...

Oooh, check out the cool ticket machine ...

British House Trio - Dirty Vegas in Color 2/2

2009-11-18T03:17:00.002+08:00

Here's the final set of photos of Dirty Vegas. Oh! And if you happen to know any of them in the crowd, do tag them :) Enjoy !

British House Trio - Dirty Vegas in Color 1/2

2009-11-16T00:34:00.007+08:00

Oh my it's Monday ! And tomorrow, once again, is one of the many longest days of my life. I'm taking a bit of time before I head to bed to post up a few more photos. I'll take a short break with the supercar pictures. Updates to look out for is part 2 of this color series and more pictures from my Japan trip and some pictures of the AXN film set with Cyril Takayama down at Studio 2105 with PopShuvit. Got a video of Cyril dancing to the tune of ' PopShuvit - Magic Man' too. Don't forget to catch the magic maestro aired over AXN this 19th November !

Enjoy the photos and on that bombshell, Goodnight !

British House Trio - Dirty Vegas in BW

2009-11-11T23:26:00.006+08:00

Taking some time off from work, here's a few photos of the Grammy Award winning band based in the U.K, Dirty Vegas Trio Steve Smith, Paul Harris and Ben Harris (no relation).

British House Trio - Dirty Vegas

2009-11-06T13:00:00.005+08:00

Hooyeah ! I found em'. Couple of days ago, I thought these photos were gone. It was hidden in one of the few hundred photo folders that I have dated 2007. No idea how it got there when this was in Summer 2009. Here's a quick post to what's coming from this backlog post.

Subaru Impreza Blue

2009-11-04T09:38:00.002+08:00

Subaru Impreza Black

2009-11-02T04:04:00.003+08:00

Here's 2 shots of the Subaru Impreza in black.

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Tour w/ PopShuvit (part 2)

2009-10-30T22:07:00.006+08:00

This way to ... The Skyliner.

Here's a few more photos of the Japan trip. I know there's not much pictures of Japan yet but I can assure you it's worth the wait. I've been terribly busy trying to model the ventilation flow of a room and the team project. I hope things start to loosen up a little in the next couple of weeks.

That's right. That is The Skyliner.

The journey from the airport into Tokyo city took apprx 90 minutes. We were standing the whole time inside The Skyliner. Mmm.

Oorah ! Train change ! Onward to the Yamanote Line. The Yamanote Line is a circular railway line that runs in a circle around Tokyo city in a smaller scale. Among its stops are Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, Harajuku and many more.

Trains are almost never late in Tokyo.

There you go.

Onward to Shibuya City !
Check that out. Display screen ya'll !

I'll be missing out on American band, The All American Rejects concert tomorrow evening and great music acts from local bands Disagree, One Buck Short and PopShuvit but to reward myself after a hard week, I've decided to purchase PopShuvit's latest "Oh! Sizuka" tshirt weee !~

Porsche Cayenne Gemballa GT650

2009-10-29T02:52:00.005+08:00

Here's some photos of the Gemballa I spotted parked beside the starting point of the hill climb. Right, I'm off to bed now. It's 3 in the morning !

Xuan - The Flower Photo From 2008

2009-10-27T11:13:00.007+08:00

It looks like I'll be spending most of my time from Monday to Thursday simulating a bunch of stuffs on the fluid dynamics software. On top of that, I now have a market research to do for my chemical plant design and posting up photos in bulk on facebook like I used to is not going to happen anytime soon.

I was deleting some photos on my hard disc and came across this shot of a good friend of mine Xuan.

Audi R8 Hill Climb

2009-10-27T02:19:00.003+08:00

This is the only photo that I manage to get of the Audi R8. Nevertheless, I think it's a good shot. Hehe.

Ferrari 360 Spider Hill Climb

2009-10-26T20:08:00.002+08:00

Taking a short break from work, here's 2 shots of this sweet ride.

Nissan Skyline R-35 GT-R Hill Climb

2009-10-25T00:54:00.004+08:00

Here are some photos of the Nissan Skyline R-35 GTR from the Bukit Tinggi Hill Climb.

Tokyo, Japan. Gangima Tour w/ PopShuvit (part 1)

2009-10-23T10:10:00.007+08:00

Narita Airport, Tokyo.

Last summer, Becky and I visited Tokyo, Japan thanks to the boys from PopShuvit and sponsors, Celcom XPAX. It was an opportunity of a lifetime to catch them perform live at Club Asia, Shibuya, their last stop of the Gangima Tour 2009 before flying back to Malaysia.

Here are some of the photos of the trip and I'll update in parts because I've so much to share !!

Narita Airport is located pretty much like KLIA and Kuala Lumpur. It's far alright to the city.

Ooh! A Japanese bus! XP

Mmm. Bus ride is definitely not an option.

Emoticon and Friend.
Meanwhile, Edwin Raj takes a break in what we might not see in Malaysia, a smoking booth! (Edwin Raj was our tour-guide and finance minister for transportation costs. Cheers Ed!)

Now how do we get to Shibuya? ... Kensei Line?

Or how about this. Narita Express. Say, I see the Shinkansen.

Check out the ticket booth !

Onward to find the right railway line to Shibuya !

Japan Railway companies were born in 1987, when Japanese National Railways was privatized, and then divided into 6 regional companies and Japan Freight Railway Company. Although Japan Rail was split into 6 companies, fares and regulations are standard for all companies and every region of Japan except Okinawa is covered by the railway network spanning approximately 12,400 miles.

We should change our system to a one fare one destination system, I felt so much easier as a tourist to move around in the city !

Shereen Michelle 2009 Series 3

2009-10-21T00:20:00.006+08:00

Here's a few colored photos to wrap up the photoshoot. I'm definitely going to fix another time with her do an indoor shoot ( don't worry Shereen, in an air-conditioned room this time ! ) But for now, this is all I have. Look out for revisions of the pictures as I have a couple more editing ideas that I would like to try out during my free time (because it takes a lot of time and I don't have any this week, boohoo). Thank you for viewing and keep check !

My favourite picture of the entire shoot.

If you like my photos and if you like this blog, vote for this site

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Step 1 : Sign up
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Step 3: Go back to the link above and click the tiny little link 'vote' under the number of votes shown.

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Shereen Michelle 2009 Series 2

2009-10-20T11:26:00.005+08:00

3 more additions to the black and white. Thank you all for the comments on my messenger (post it on the blog post! XP), I'll be posting up some colored ones after this hehe, don't worry, I didn't ditch the color pictures to go all black and white with tints.

Here are some more photos of the black and white series.

Shereen Michelle 2009 Series 1

2009-10-19T20:37:00.005+08:00

I kicked off the Shereen Michelle photoshoot with the aim to achieve a higher personal goal in the high key fashion photography field while trying to minimize shooting time, number of shots and post processing time spent for every shot. Thanks you Mikael and Jenn for the quick advice 15 minutes before the shoot ! It's been a while since I attended a spontaneous portraiture shootout.

Thanks to brother Kweys and Eugene for the invitation.

And thank you Shereen for spending some time enduring the hot weather and the blazing sun light.

I'll be releasing these photos in sets not because I think that they are that damn good or that it is jolly good fun for me to keep you guys waiting and anticipating but it is because I have major engineering project datelines for the entire week.

Here are some of the photos. Hope you all enjoy them and please, do drop comments. It's always wonderful to know what's on your mind when you view my pictures. Cheerio !

U.S.A.F Thunderbirds Air Show

2009-10-14T02:51:00.012+08:00

Oh yes, this is another back log. So while waiting for the green light to post up more flower and nature photos of the awesome JPM Event last week at Bukit Tinggi, I've decided to take a look at some of my photos from the USAF Thunderbird airshow (Thanks Matt).

If you are 7 and you have an ambition to be a jet fighter pilot, this is probably a good show to see what you could probably pull off in a F-16 in 20 years time, provided if you succeed pulling off the maneuvers for the first time.

I am not a big fan of air planes probably because for one, nothing inspired me to be a pilot and two, its 10 times the fun driving a LP640 at a jet fighter speed. Then again, it's a whole new opinion when it comes to airshows with real fighter planes.

Overcast sky with a slight drizzle, my attention was more towards watching the acrobatics with my own eyes rather than through the camera. Here are some of the photos that I took - which include a couple of snapshots of my friend Jason and his girlfriend Stephanie. A very big thank you to Matthew for inviting us over.

The Malaysian owned Sukhoi (or was it Sukoi) taking off.

That's 4 and the other 2 was circling around the back.

Ah yes, the bombing pose. Jet fighter inspired perhaps.

Mmm. Something doesn't look so good.

An emotive shot.

Bukit Tinggi - First Hill Challenge Since The 70s

2009-10-12T02:00:00.011+08:00

Well this week, we take a look at some photos of the scenery at Bukit Tinggi

What was I doing standing at a hill on the way up to Bukit Tinggi?

A couple of attempts to get some nature shots

What was he doing walking around with a red tshirt and a pink cap?

What are all those cones doing on the road?

And for the first time ever, why isn't there any pictures of the French Village for visitors who goes up to Bukit Tinggi ?

Oh yes, if you are thinking what I'm thinking, then keep watch because it's definitely going to be beyond what you can expect !

Digi Ultimate Bday Bash

2009-10-10T00:01:00.006+08:00

Cheers to those who gladly posed for me and also for tagging the pics on facebook !

Appreciate it a lot !

On The Deck w/ DJ Joey G

2009-10-06T19:27:00.005+08:00

Here are some of the coloured photo. Enjoy !

On The Deck w/ DJ Joey G (Simaaron B&W Sephia)

2009-10-05T00:53:00.012+08:00

Saturday night I was out with DJ Joey G at Club BarCelona, Sunway Pyra to do a quick shoot of him spinning a 60 minute set at DIGI Birthday Bash. Some of you might have caught me wearing ear plugs, that's because I was very near to the speakers and I would like to save my ears as I use it to listen to fine voices of ...... gossip and of course I play music too ! Just kidding there bout the gossip.

After watching him, now I wanna go to his school and learn from him how to work the deck too Busy hands are good. What else can I say, the mix masta' blew me with his 60 minute mix !

Here are some photos in the very typical Simaaron B&W and Sephia style. Hope you guys like it.

The deck at BarCelona.

The next mixtape cover.

Caught in the moment.

DJ Joey G kicking things off.

The crowd.

Epic ending to the mix.

Thank you for viewing the photos. Color photos are up next ! So keep check !

Hari Raya With Cyril Takayama

2009-09-30T23:13:00.010+08:00

" Arehhhh???!!! "
is probably the expression you will get from Japanese girls when Cyril performs his magic in the streets of Japan.

" OMG (clicks the replay button on Youtube) "
is what I'd do when watching his videos on Youtube.

" ....... (stunned with a jaw dropping expression) EH, how did you do that la? .... "
is the expression of most of us when we were at this open house couple of weeks back when he showed us his magic.

That's right. About a week ago, I head up to Bukit Damansara for PopShuvit's raya open house with Cyril Takayama's AXN episode shoot. He's touring Asia filming episodes for his show on AXN so look out for him if he is at a town near you !

If you are expecting some videos or pictures of him performing his magic, I would have to disappoint you by saying no, I do not have any of them as we are all not allowed to take pics or vids during the filming. On the other hand, you could catch his episodes on AXN in November.

However, I do have some backstage videos of the AXN crew playing around in the studio and Cyril himself dancing to the song MAGIC MAN by PopShuvit.

It's really good to see him again since Gangima Nights' dinner at Tokyo, Japan.

Here are some photos that I took when I was at the open house.

DJ Fuzz making the kuih raya disappear.

The Raya cake and the butter & vanilla icing cake baked by Nina.

Ean enjoying the butter cake very much.

Rudy on the cam. I wonder how I would look like when I'm taking pictures.

" Believe In Magic "

A little Sony moment with Lynn

I was anticipating this moment ever since I left Tokyo and I've been wanting to see his magic live! Thanks to the boys from PopShuvit for this invitation. Appreciate it alot and the food was good too. Hehe. More photos later after we hit the studio.

Toyota Supra (1000bhp)

2009-09-14T14:23:00.015+08:00

" I'll follow up with the pictures from Japan after this one! "

This is what happens when you have DaVinci interfering Darwin's work

Ooh, the cynical and Brit sarcasm writing style is back. I think all of us assume that evolution is a long and dragging affair and that it took many years for the gorillasaurus to mutate into what might be the person sitting next to you right now. But new evidence from ... me, suggests that evolution in fact moves at what might be a flick of time.

For example, my mom presses the keypad of her blackberry with her index finger while my sister is way off pressing with her left and right thumbs. Of course, those of a little less comfortable with the move to the new age will now be thumping the newspaper in a harrumphing tone about their ne-var do-well teenagers that "If the BB's black box of witchcraft and wizardry can play havoc with the hand, imagine what it can do to the brain,".

Well, I'm sorry to rant it all out all over you due to happenings of yesterdays, but let me assure you that there will be pictures along the way to help you escape from this bizarre boredom of words you find in this posts. But anyhow, car modding is endless. It is the same as Monopoly, except Monopoly is like the middle east, well there is no end to it. I truly believe that people who can finish a game of Monopoly has overcome multiple levels of boredom to a point where it can drive a man mad. And the rules were never clear to me. So where does the money from income tax goes to? If it goes to the bank then will I get it back if I stop at a free parking? And since it's a bank, can I loan some money if I stepped on Mayfair with 4 hotels on it? There was once a manual for Monopoly but I'm afraid it was lost in 1969.

This then brings me to the 1000, yes one-thou-sand, bhp Toyota Supra.

What's under the hood is probably what I think a massive compressor borrowed from a jet fighter and pipings and tubings of a fire hydrant. In the middle, quietly sits (well when it's turn off that is) a little orange 'qube' that conjures performance that would trigger car alarms as it goes by. On the inside, there is no satellite navigation, no cruise control, no fingertip remote system, you definitely wont be needing a stereo, no cup holders and the seats have all the body to butt-hugging grip of Michael Schumacher's F1 chair.

Now then, here are the pictures from the set taken couple of weeks back. (For more detail photos of the interior and engine of the car, catch it at my Facebook page Simaaron Photography)

Special thanks to POWERQUBE

GANGIMA 5th Anny Tour 2009 - GARI (JAPAN)

2009-09-07T00:56:00.015+08:00

GARI Front-man Yow-Row on the vocals

http://www.gari.net
http://www.myspace.com/garijp

Sometimes, publicity and marketing for a music band is so good that it led some people to believe that average international bands are actually making great music. If you've never gone through the whole publicity part, you might not even pick them out for a listen.

GARI is one band that I've not heard of until a fortnight ago when they played live in Club Asia Tokyo, Japan. GARI is an electronic band or more so like Club/Electro/Rock - That's the genre they're in or what most people would call, mixture. Yes I might not pick up their CD from HMV by just looking at the cover of it however, if you just pause and take a listen, their sound amazes me.

I consider myself blessed to be able to meet these guys in-person and listen to their sounds for the first time, LIVE. Smokey and bad lighting condition is not stopping me from getting a couple of shots. Here are some of the photos that I've manage to get.

Check out Yutaka Dokko's headless guitar. Direct plug-in to ProTools, so I've heard.

GARI Bassist Naoki Fujimoto - We sort of chatted, though we didn't understand each other. Loads of hand signals but he's a very polite and nice guy. I think we showed more thumbs up and smiles to each other above everything else..

GANGIMA 5th Anny Tour 2009 - POPSHUVIT

2009-09-03T10:59:00.034+08:00

www.popshuvitmusic.com

Last weekend I was 3000 miles away from home at Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. I spent the last 2 days after returning sorting out over 3000 photos. The event was hosted by the UZUMAKI crew at CLUB ASIA featuring UZUMAKI themselves, GARI, RIZE, BOMB FACTORY and our very own Malaysian rock band POPSHUVIT.

I did not manage to get photos of the bands setting up/sound check (as I was in Akihabara with Bex looking for my Japanese robots!) however I do have some backstage photos which I'll be posting up soon but for now, check out these photos I took when POPSHUVIT from Malaysia rock the sold out show at Club Asia that night.

PopShuvit Frontman Moots - Creative stuffs coming from this man

Popshuvit rock the socks out of Club Asia that night.

Popshuvit bassist A.J and Guitarist JD

Now who said our local bands can't go international? I hope these guys would inspire upcoming bands. We had the edge that night thanks to sound engineer Anthony mixing right at the back. Well done!

Back! Frm GANGIMA 5th Anniversary Tour 2009

2009-09-02T01:07:00.006+08:00

Special Thanks To : Popshuvit & Celcom XPAX. Quick shoutout to host - Uzumaki crew !

I am back.

This weekend (my friend Bex and) I flew all the way to Tokyo, Japan for this, Gangima 5th Anniversaty Tour 2009. So for the next few weeks, there's gonna be pictures from this event featuring a few of Japanese biggest rock bands

UZUMAKI, GARI, RIZE, BOMB FACTORY

and not forgetting our very own and in my opinion the best Malaysian export band POPSHUVIT.

Also, I'll be having a special column on travel (besides the music, fashion and cars) to share about the quick weekend plus an invaluable experience with CYRIL TAKAYAMA (trust me, youtube him right now). 3000 pictures to sort out so hold on to this blog address alright.

Expect behind the scene shots that you have never seen before and insight on how rockstars roll in Japan.

I need some sleep now. My ears are still ringing !

Xuan - A 'Guess' Concept Shot 1

2009-08-26T22:14:00.008+08:00

" If it was by Marciano, there would have been more lights, skin, class and sex appeal. Then again, this is not an attempt to replicate his shot. The Simaaron style makes single way lighting amazing which gives a dark yet glamorous feel to a picture. A lot more to learn but he is moving up in the world, "

Mikael, Fashion Photographer (Finland)

Mithra - A 'Vogue' Concept Shot 2

2009-08-26T06:31:00.002+08:00

Mithra - A 'Vogue' Concept Shot 2

Shot 2 of the Mithra (correction to Mitra, Thanks Kazu) 'Vogue' Concept Shot. This new experimental photoshoot kicks off with the objective of creating glamor effect portraits with single way lighting. Hope you guys enjoy this set.

Mithra - A 'Vogue' Concept Shot 1

2009-08-24T21:19:00.005+08:00

Mithra - A 'Vogue' Concept Shot 1

PopShuvit at CapSquare Part 2

2009-08-18T20:54:00.007+08:00

Here are more photos of Pop Shuvit's performance.

PopShuvit at CapSquare Part 1

2009-08-15T11:26:00.007+08:00

Here are some of the photos from PopShuvit's performance at CapSquare last weekend. It was a spontaneous plan as I picked up the phone to check up on Rudy and found myself the next day picking up the camera heading to the city center. Thanks bro.

Center Stage with Joey Ghazlan a.k.a Joey G

2009-08-12T07:22:00.001+08:00

And so I shot 1 member out of the dynamic duo, Cosmic SpaceMonkeys. Joey G, Senior Resident DJ of Twelve SI. Now this kid from London has been making waves across Malaysia and Singapore and last weekend, I found him around CapSquare.

There's more to him than just mr.DJ. Being a TV presenter before for Channel V, he can really talk ... a lot ! You got to hand it to him that he can keep you occupied for quite a while when he's on the mic and you won't even realise how fast time flies.

I struggled for a couple of shots when he was in action due to the disappointing center stage lighting. Nevertheless, if you just close your eyes and listen to the sound, who needs em' lights anyway, its Joey G on the deck mate!

On The Deck With DJ Ray Soo

2009-08-10T01:29:00.001+08:00

Saturday night I was out and about at CapSquare. Around the corner - RedSquare, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's first Russian theme vodka bar.

That night, I shot DJ Ray Soo, one of Asia's leading DJ winning Best DJ award 2005 in Juice magazine. The man spun his tracks across Europe and Asia and that's nuff' said. I had to climbed up a huge speaker and walked along 5 of them stacked horizontally on the floor to get these shots.

You got to give it to the man, he's got style and since I came back in one piece, I think he is definitely cool with me pointing a huge lens and flash at his face while he is spinning. Keep the beat running Ray !

A World Tour Blast From The Past

2009-08-06T23:50:00.002+08:00

Exactly this month a year ago, gospel music band Passion went on a world tour and I couldn't have picked a better time to put this up together with this new blog because I thank the Lord for the talents that he has blessed me with. And I felt the header of this photo blog couldn't be any other.

It was my first time attending Passion's live concert and to say it in words is indescribable. The atmosphere in the convention center was overwhelming. Cameras in a way was disallowed during the event. I was not notified of that until I found myself a meter away from the stage. Quarter through the concert I simply forgo the photography and went on singing and worshiping. The camera was held up at shoulder length and all these photos you see were shot without looking through the viewfinder.