Man Utd Asia Tour 2009: Malaysia vs Man Utd REMATCH!!

Watching Manchester United playing twice in two days was like a gift from god to us, Malaysian. I definitely would not miss the chance to see my favorite team playing in front of me. Live!. The rematch was not in early plan of Man Utd Asia Tour 2009. It was a last minute plan because Man Utd canceled their trip to Jakarta.

I actually work on Monday and finish at 1900 (GMT +8). Due to not feeling well, I took half day emergency leave and a rest before I headed to the stadium. I reached there about 1700 and straight away queuing to get the tickets for me and a friend of mine. I paid RM58 each, RM40 lower than first match.



We entered the stadium and we got a better seat than previous match. Maybe because of Monday, peoples have to finish their work before heading to stadium. I was waiting about 2 hours inside the stadium before the kick-off. I had nothing to do inside the stadium except shoot candid. Lucky, I have a friend to talk with.











About 15 minutes before the game started, the screen showed the line up of Malaysia and Manchester United. Not much different from Malaysia but totally brand new first eleven for Sir Alex Ferguson's side, except Johnny Evans. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Michael Carrick, Michael Owen and other 6 were in the first eleven for Manchester United side.





The game played by Malaysia was not good as the first match but still, Malaysia had a few good chances to score goal. It was not because of lack in finishing, Bukit Jalil stadium would be crazy as the first match when Amri Yahyah scored twice.

The game was ended by 2-0 to United, goals from Federico Macheda and Michael Owen. The crowd was not pack as the first match, about 40000 in the stadium. Enjoy the action on the rematch day:















For full set of pictures, kindly visit My Flickr Gallery
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Man Utd Asia Tour 2009: Malaysia XI vs Man Utd

I have been waiting for past three months for this game, Malaysia XI vs Manchester United. I was not expecting Malaysia to beat Manchester United, but I was hoping Malaysia to score at least a goal against Manchester United.It was not because I underestimate our national team but I had to be realistic here.






When I looked at the starting line up of Malaysia and Manchester United, I thought Malaysia would not have a chance to score or even shoot on target. It was because Manchester United was playing their EPL stars.





Surprisingly, Malaysia played a very good football against United, champion of England. They controlled the game, they attacked United, and they managed to put the ball inside the goal post, not once but twice. Both goals scored by Amri Yahyah.

The match was ended by 3-2 to United. United was leading 2-0, thanks for goals from Wayne Rooney and Nani before Malaysia level at 2-2 via Amri Yahyah. Five minutes before the time, United new player, Michael Owen scored a goal on his debut to seal a victory against Malaysia.





The capacity of Bukit Jalil Stadium is 100000 and it was full house during the game, Malaysia vs Man Utd. What a great atmosphere when the crowd singing United song, screaming their favorite names, and also the Mexican waves.

Enjoy the pictures on the match day:







For complete set of picture Malaysia vs Man Utd from My World Thru My Eyes, please visit My Flickr.

Thank you for your visit.
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Man Utd Asia Tour 2009: Training Session

July 2009 is a month to be remembered by me and all the Red Devils fans in Malaysia. It was because Malaysia was one of the destinations of Man Utd Asia Tour 2009. I did not let the chance away to see my favorite players and team playing in front of me. I was at the stadium for three times, training session, match day and rematch day.
In this post, I will focus more on training session, which was held on July 17, 2009 at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Kuala Lumpur. I just shoot from the crowd seats because I was not the official photographer of the event. I had no idea where can I apply for media pass for the MU Tour 2009 because I am too new in photography world. July 2009 is just my 5th month as photography hobbyist.

Let get back to the track. I was there at 1500(GMT +8) and it was pretty early because the training session will be started at 1730. I just spent my time outside of the stadium while waiting for friends. I was shooting (candid) the crowds from the long range, using my Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS USM lens.





Around 1630, my friends and I decided to get into the stadium via green gate and unlucky, the center seat was full by the crowds. We had to walk to the right side of stadium to get our seats and yeah, the angle was pretty good. :).

Scholes, Giggs and Nani were the first three entered the pitch for the training session.



The training session was attended by 40000 crowds and they were screaming their favorite players' name such as Rooney and Giggs while the players were running and kicking the balls on the pitch.







For complete set of Man Utd Asia Tour 2009 to Malaysia, please visit my gallery at http://www.flickr.com/afhamaziz

Thank you for your visit.
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Again, In Putrajaya...

Hi All,

It is great to have a chance to post again. How are you? I hope you are doing fine. :). Ok, let straight to the point.

If you read my previous post, I could not get the objective done, a colorful sunset at Masjid Putra. So yesterday, I was there to accomplish incomplete objective but again, I failed to get the desired result. It wasn't because of lateness but it was because the sky didn't colorful enough as a few days ago. Again, I have to plan another trip to Putrajaya.


Jambatan Seri Wawasan

Moral of the story, as photographer, either hobbyist or pro, we have to be patient in order to get the best output. You need to keep trying no matter how many time until you get the result. Do not worry about your shutter count, it is just a gimmick. Another thing is discipline. Discipline in terms of time. For instance, if we have to be at a location at 6 in the morning, then we have to. Prepare yourself and gears as early as possible and plan ahead your journey. A minute late will affect your photos. Compare the first picture in this post and the picture below. I was at the same place, same spot but different time, about 10 minutes gap.


Masjid Putra

Sorry, I can't give you a post full of photography tips, I am still new to photography and still learning. I am neither a pro photographer. I just write through my experience as hobbyist, what I think right, and what I feel wrong. I hope, you gain something from reading my posts and I would like to learn from you if you have tips to share.

Please do not hesitate to post if you have a comment or two. I really appreciate every single comment, either it positive or negative.

As usual, for more picture from my eyes, captured by my lens, visit My Flickr Gallery.
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An Evening in Putrajaya...

Yesterday, July 10 2009, was a bored day. I had nothing to do until I decided to plan a trip to Putrajaya in the evening to capture the colorful sunset at Masjid Putra, Putrajaya.

I checked the sensor to make sure it clean from dust, and packed my gear before heading to Putrajaya. The plan did not goes as planned. On my way to Masjid Putra, I have stopped a few times before I reached Masjid Putra, no more sunset. :(.

The first stop was at Masjid Besi, as far as I concern, this is the name given. Metal was the main material in building this mosque, shinny and different from the others. I was shooting a series of it but this is the best I could get, simple and straight to the point:


I continued and rushed heading to Masjid Putra but again, I stopped at Seri Saujana bridge to capture first image in this post. It looks something different with the colorful sunset as the background. I kept shooting until the sunset slowly went away from my eyes and lens. :(.


Finally, I reached Masjid Putra but I was late. The sunset leaving me and mosque with a dark sky. Masjid Putra is one of the main attraction in Putrajaya, so, I don't want to back home with empty hand. Lucky, the sky was not that dark and I took tripod out of my car. Set my camera on Manual settings with long shutter speed to make the dark sky looks a bit blueish. Click!


It was the last click of the trip before I headed home. I did not get the plan done but at least, I have a few good photos to share with you guys. :). I will stop here and as usual, visit My Flickr for more pictures from my eyes, captured by my lens.

Thank you.
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Photography is a Fun Hobby but Painful....

Photography is good. Photography is unique. Photography is fun. I love photography. I started to love photography when I was a student in MMU but at the time, I did not have money to buy DSLR camera. My first camera was Canon S3IS, before I changed to my first ever DSLR camera, Sony Alpha 300, a camera for beginer. SONY, like.no.others. They providing free workshop class for newbies in photography world for free of charge. The only ticket to get into workshop is just a camera of Sony Alpha (of course you need to apply for a seat but yes, at no cost). They not only organize it in Klang Valley, but around the Malaysia, from west to east Malaysia.


After using Sony A300 and I have enough basic photography skill (I think so), I have changed to Canon EOS 40D, semi-pro DSLR camera. The only reason I change to Canon is because they have a large number of user, thus, it makes the lenses and accessories cheaper than Sony and Nikon. Talking about cheap lens, it is not that cheap. Photography is a luxury hobby. Imagine, a single lens would damage your pocket at least RM300 (cheap Canon 50mm f1.8) and those L lens (high end Canon lens is known as L, and G for Sony, but I am not sure about Nikon and others) would cost you at least RM2000. Max price? It can be RM50k or even RM100k. That's a lot man!

In photography, you not only need a body and a lens. Flash gun should be in your gear list if you are serious hobbyist. How much does it cost? It is not as much as the cost of lens. For original flash gun from Canon would cost you at least RM1000 or below RM2000 for high end model. Yeah, below RM2000 for a high end model. Cheap right if compared to L lens? But, are you sure you only need a flash gun? You need at least 2-3 or even more flash guns to produce creative pictures. But do not limit your creativity just because you own cheap lens and a flash gun. Photography is all about your creativity, the man behind the camera, not the equipment been used. :)



I myself do not have a lot of money to spend on this hobby. Rather than getting Canon flash gun, I am owning a third party flash gun, Nissin di622. It only cost me about RM450, half of the price of low end Canon flash gun but it is good enough for me. It can be triggered wirelessly, by built-in flash where Canon flash gun cannot. You need an additional flash trigger for Canon flash gun to work wirelessly. Wanna see the different of wireless flash? I will post review about it once my time allows me. :).

I have not talk about how to store your camera equipment, camera bag, clean the sensor, etc. You need a large sum of money if you are serious in photography. For starter, RM2000 would be good enough to invest in your first DSLR camera. You have plenty of options with this amount such as Canon 1000D, Sony A330 and Nikon D60. I recommend go to Sony if you are newbie and join their workshop to learn more about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, etc.

whatever painful I have talked above, once you get desired result, photography is a fun hobby. Enjoyce!





As usual, for more pictures from my eyes captured by my lens, visit my Flickr

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HTC Touch Diamond2...

Hi guys,

How are you? I hope you are doing well. Let straight to the point. In previous post, I have told you that I was looking for a phone to replace my broken HTC Touch Cruise. After I few days of reading review, I decided to get a HTC Touch Diamond2. I was shortlisting a few models from HTC, Touch Pro, Touch Cruise 2, and this model, Touch Diamond 2. Why HTC Touch Diamond2? The answer is simple, it is new model, it has everything I need especially GPS and Wifi, and it is good looking phone (opsss, my girl does not like Diamond2. She said it is burukkkk!!!). :P.

Let start my simple review of HTC Touch Diamond2. I bought it at RM2499 (oh, a gift from my abah actually but I have to top up RM499 because he just banked in RM2k for my birthday) with free 8GB SDHC card, cheap car holder and car charger.


Box of HTC Touch Diamond2


Inside the box

In box, we have:
1 x HTC Touch Diamond2
1 x Battery
1 x Ear phone
2 x Stylus
1 x Charger and USB cable
1 x HTC leather
CDs and manual booklet

HTC just providing standard accessories in the box. It would be a lot better if it comes with a cradle like Sony Ericsson P1i. Ah, I dont like the provided case. I name it as cheap-looking-leather-case. :P. Rather than using it, I was getting a case from Melkco at RM50 (according to seller, this is bargain price because I bought it as purchase with purchase. Standard price is RM120. I am not sure how true is that but who cares, I like it), cheap but alot better than cheap-looking-leather-case.


Front view

In front of Diamond2, it has only 4 buttons as above picture. It does not have a D-pad key as previos HTC models, make it different from the others HTC model.


Back view

At the back of it, it has glossy surface. Looks good but it makes the back surface finger-print magnet and easy to scratch. The word "HTC F2.8 AUTO FOCUS 5.0 MEGA PIXEL" is well placed at the back of it. Honestly after 2 days owning this device, I just press the shutter for twice. I am waiting for my gf to pose in front of this f2.8 5.0mp camera. :P. So, I can't really comment about its performance. The only thing I don't like so far is the way we release shutter. There is no physical shutter button on its body. I have to tab on the screen to snap, make it hard for self-portrait.


This is how Diamond2 looks in Melkco case

I have nothing much to say about my 2 days old HTC Touch Diamond2, but here are the conclusions why I get Diamonds2 instead of the others:

Pros:
1. I was owning HTC Touch Cruise before it died a couple of months ago and I absolutely pleased with its performance.
2. GPS, yeah, I need GPS to survive in this big city. :P.
3. Wifi, indeed I need this especially to buy wayang ticket online.
4. Good looking phone on my eyes even my gf says no.
5. Windows mobile, I feel cool when using wm. :p.

Cons:
1. Finger-print magnet
2. Cheap-looking-leather-case
3. Lack of cool in the box accessories. Unlike HTC Touch Cruise that comes with original HTC car holder and charger.
4. Suck battery life. I'm not really tested it but from first impression, yes it is.
5. Expensive if compared to Acer or Asus PDA phones.

Cheer!!!.. [READ MORE]