HOW TO TAKE BETTER UNDERWATER PICTURES

As taught by Jacky, Olympus Malaysia's underwater photography instructor. 

Malaysia is truly a blessed country. We have so many beautiful beaches and islands, surrounded by lively corals I've never seen before up to this point of my life. And just at the beginning of this month, I've been to this island that's possibly the most beautiful island in Malaysia's east coast - Lang Tengah Island.

Open season from March till end of October, Lang Tengah Island has only 2 resorts so far, and we're staying at this luxury resort called Summer Bay Resort. October consider low season because of the unpredictable weather, hence we get to enjoy the place mostly by ourselves. 

Isn't this scenery something that we usually see on a postcard?

One of the famous activities to do at Lang Tengah Island will be snorkelling. I love snorkelling a lot! I've snorkelled at Phuket, Krabi, Tioman and Christmas Island and it's really fun seeing fishes swimming around me but I always feel sad when I saw corals bleaching. It was when during my first snorkelling experience at Krabi that I tell myself I should not apply any sunblock whenever I go into the sea, I rather get tanned than brings unwanted pollution to all those precious corals. 

So this trip is mainly a photography workshops trip, thanks to the generosity of Olympus Malaysia and Summer Bay Resort Island, we get to experience and record our precious memories using various Olympus camera around this beautiful island and resort. I've heard how my friends uses disposable cameras to take underwater photos and I still can recall how blurry and blue they are. It's really unpleasing to look at and I was wondering is there anything I can use to capture underwater moments without worrying the device gone haywire. 

Underwater photography gears of Olympus, owned by Jacky
He's a scuba diving instructor and underwater photography enthusiast
check out his instagram HERE

Olympus TOUGH series cameras
Red: TOUGH TG-5
Green: TOUGH TG-TRACKER

I guess underwater photographers with small budget are loving these babies. The Olympus TOUGH series cameras are one of the best underwater cameras that cater to every needs of underwater shots, even for a newbie like me! These cameras are waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof and dustproof you can use them in any conditions!

TG-5 is the latest addition to TOUGH camera series and its high image quality has won hearts of many. In order to familiarise ourselves with these cameras, our workshop instructor - Jacky teaches us all the modes available in these cameras since most of us were first time using TOUGH series camera, getting know the devices before we go into the water is crucial for taking good shots. 

insufficient lighting around the object/backlighting

flash on if the subject/surrounding is too dark

Here are some advices given by Jacky for taking a good underwater photos:

• flash on if it's gloomy
• always take photos of fishes from the side or 45 angle from its head (like the blue green fish from the photo above)
• photos directly from the top of the fishes are less interesting (snorkelers should know lol)
• be patient and wait for your shots/hit the shutter as much as you could for not missing a moment
• know what modes to use (wide angle for big pictures of corals or macro modes to focus on certain fishes, sea slugs and sea objects)
• relax and enjoy! 

I love using macro mode because it's so easy to focus on fishes who are swimming far from me when I'm floating on top

While most of them are trying to figure out the cameras, my heart literally has wandered off to the sea. So when Jacky announce it's time for us to depart to the snorkelling spot, I'm the first one rushing to our speedboat because practical is always the best practice. Sorry for my impatience. lol.

Here we go! Water as blue and clear like sapphire, can't wait to dive into you!

Finally reach our snorkelling spot, which is literally just beside our resort, like 5mins away
That's how clear the water is for any sort of underwater activities

Being the first few to jump into the sea, I can't wait to see the fishes and corals and once again experience the total freedom and relaxation of body, heart and soul. Of course, this time with a mission: to try out the TOUGH series camera and hopefully I can get some good shots. 

Selfie with TG-5's Underwater Wide mode
Selfie taken to another level hahahaha

This time selfie with my cat
I'm so glad he could come along with me this trip and dare to snorkel even though he don't know how to swim
It really takes a lot of courage for non-swimmers to participate in underwater activities

Here some of the first few shots that failed hahahahah:

Didn't know fishes moves so fast

Fish photobomb or rather I have no clue what I'm aiming at lol

Okay finally fish in frame but too close to the camera and it's out of focus lol

Slowly I'm starting to get the hang of underwater photography. Underwater currents that day were quite strong hence the waves are pretty rough, pushes us back and forth I just can't really aim and point my camera towards the fishes I wanna snap photos of without swaying left and right.

By the way, did I told you about lively corals? This is like the very FIRST TIME I saw corals with colours, which is alive! I felt so touched seeing these corals that aren't bleaching and white. All thanks to the resorts and divers who protects and replant the corals around this island so travellers get to witness the beauty of it.

Such a pretty sight of these beautiful corals and fishes, I keep on snapping photos of them and chose a few that's not blurry (sky getting gloomy and I'm not a fan of flash)

After trying some shots with the corals, I start aiming at fishes (ambitious hahahaha). And these are some among those beautiful fishes I saw during that snorkelling experience:

Are these anchovies lol

Saw this vibrant coloured fish that looks like it's painted with rainbow!
It's called Rainbow Parrot Fish
I have to take more shots of this fish!

Failed shot due to I shot its back but I think this photo delivers a nice composition of corals and subject lololol

more anchovies hahahaha

can you imagine how happy I was swimming among these fishes?

Here's a clear shot of the rainbow parrot fish! Did I nailed it? 

After tons of fish photos, I decided to change my subject to human:

Free diving is my dream!!!

Here's nice frontal shot of my cat

And what my cat took of me
LOL! Where's my head!

Okay this is better lol
I had to swim out far just to position myself for a good shot from a good angle
Imagine how tired I was that day 

Our instructor of the day - Jacky
He took some nice photos of us 

Hahahah still trying to get used to snorkelling, it's been awhile 

Wahhhhh my cat posing for photos wor
Not afraid of water already eh? lol

My favourite photo so far!!!
Jacky literally have to dive down so near to the bottom just to get this shot
Appreciate the effort! Thank you!!!

And this is the best shot I get!
Clear fish subject with beautiful corals as background
Love this photo to bits!

One of the reason underwater photographers like the TG-5 camera is because the red captured using this camera is so vibrant and contrast that outcome of the photos is so lively and you might only need minimal editing such as cropping or brightness adjustment. I'm really satisfied with the underwater photos I took with TG-5 and decided to try take some artistic shot without a dome port attached.

Can you believe that my cat took this photo with just a TG-5?
Of course it requires a lot of patience, luck and sea water drinking hahahaha

This kinda sums up my snorkelling and first underwater photography experience. It's really a magical one and I hope I can do it more often. I've yet disclose the underwater footages I took with the Olympus Tough Tracker (video editing needs a lot of time and effort, thank you for waiting sobs) I hope I can show you the wonderful videos I took soon!

So in the meanwhile, don't forget to follow my other social media platforms to get the latest updates and infos of my traveller life:

FOLLOW MY INSTAGRAM

WATCH MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS

For more information:

Summer Bay Resort Official Website

Olympus Malaysia Official Website

Photos taken with:

Olympus TG-5

Olympus OMD EM1MK2

FEIFAN HOTPOT, SS15 COURTYARD, SUBANG JAYA

I wasn't a hotpot fan till recent years because there are so many hotpot lovers surrounding me and influencing me that I slowly understand the beauty of hotpot dining experience. Hotpot is like an addiction, I'll crave for it once in awhile, and hope there will be people sharing the same craving as I do then we can eat hotpot together as our outing itinerary. lol.

It's true happiness when you found people to eat hotpot together with. Really. 

My latest hotpot dining experience will be at Feifan Hotpot, located inside SS15 Courtyard (previously known as First Subang). The place has changed so much since my last visit years ago and there are so many shops inside SS15 Courtyard now. Feifan Hotpot is one of the shops. It's a Hong Kong buffet hotpot dining concept, so you can eat all you want for a VERY affordable price!

Located at Ground Floor, with its eye-catching logo

We arrived slightly earlier that day, before lunch time and get to enjoy the quiet environment a bit and snap a few good photos before the lunch crowd comes in. The environment is spacious, good air-ventilation and bright lighting because there are french windows to let in natural light. Not to mention there are both indoor and outdoor dining areas too.

More than 40 types of fresh daily prepared ingredients, Feifan Hotpot strive to deliver the best quality in terms of food to their customers. The chefs will prepare their signature homemade meatballs, homemade noodles and udon noodles as well and specialty noodles like the fish noodles. And those who like to eat pork innards, this restaurant serve them too! 

Aside from fresh hotpot ingredients, what makes a hotpot delicious is the hotpot broth. Lucky us we get to try all 4 types of broths prepared by the restaurant:

Signature Pork Bone Soup x Spicy Szechuan Ma La Soup

Tomato Soup x Pepper Pig's Stomach Soup

All the broth came in taste slightly mild (except the tangy tomato soup) because they know as the eating goes on, the flavour will become richer and richer. Its better start off with mild tasting broth to get the best taste from the freshly prepared ingredients. If you're interested in adding some Chinese Wine in your pork bone broth, they are selling 2 different types of Hua Diao Jiu Chinese Wine. 10 years RM120 per bottle and 3 years RM46/bottle. We are dining with pregnant lady, me and Fei are pretty much alcohol intolerant so we gave this option a skip.

Chinese Wine
Green jar (10 years)
Brown jar (3 years)

 We keep on adding the handmade meatballs and beef slices because they are so delicious. As I mentioned above, the ingredients are prepared daily so there are no single weird frozen food taste, each and every meatballs and meat slices are tender to bits.



Aside from the main ingredients, there are also buffet line that serve various of mushrooms, vegetables and wide selection of side dishes:

buffet line ingredients will change from time to time so there's always something new during their next visit

 And when it comes to hotpot, don't forget about sauces too! Feifan Hotpot does have their signature sauces as well and I love it!

You can make your own sauces too!

Since it's a Hong Kong buffet style, there are few types of free flow beverages selections for the customers. Lemon and mint sky juice, peach juice and Ribena! Ribena is my favourite!!! Later on after Ribena finished (everybody loves Ribena and keep taking Ribena only lol), they replace it with orange juice. You'll never get bored of what Feifan Hotpot have to offer.

Aside from these free flow drinks, the restaurant serve also add-on beverage options such as Chinese tea in pot (RM6 per pot), Coca-Cola and Sprite (RM3 per can) as well as Tiger Beer (RM15 per bottle).

Last but not least:

DESSERTS

Chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream and mix!

The perfect ending of a hearty meal

Here's the pricing for Feifan Hotpot:

Lunch 11am-5pm: Adult RM35.90+, Children (90-130cm) 50%, 90cm below free

Dinner 5pm-11pm: Adult RM45.90+, Children as above

120mins per session

Pricing are subject to 10% service charge

On-going promotions are:

• 20% student discount for lunch session (Monday-Friday except Public Holidays)
• FREE Buffet for Birthday Guest with 3 paying adults (valid on 3 days before/after and on actual day itself, ID card for authentication procedure needed)

For more information:

Feifan Hotpot Official Facebook Page

Contact number: +603-7496 6438

Lot G-10, SS15 Courtyard, Jalan SS15/4G
47500 Subang Jaya

50GRAM x SWANICOCO: SHOW THE VELVET LIPSTICK

We all know about positive quotes about woman and her lipstick, such as " Give a woman the right lipstick she can conquer the world" or "If you're sad add more lipstick and attack" etc. Since when I'm a little girl, the very first thing that I stole from my mum's makeup table and apply it on my face is a stick of lipstick. I personally think that lipstick has this mysterious attraction to all the women and we just wanna collect every colour, every design.

In year 2018, THE lipstick that you shouldn't miss collecting is the 50GRAM x Swanicoco Show The Velvet Lipstick. Swanicoco is the hottest brand in Korea this year and they are famous for producing natural cosmetics products with their natural biotechnology research. The name Swanicoco represents elegance (Swan) and natural ingredients (Coco), the brand's cosmetics products with Bio-Fermentation process received a huge hit. With more than 80% fermented extracts from natural source such as grains, fruits, vegetables and Korean medicinal herbs, Swanicoco's eco-friendly products helps improve skin conditions.

Back to the lipstick, Swanicoco's Show The Velvet Lipstick series come in 3 shades: #PinkBlossom, #ShineOrange and #JulietRed. The shade that 50GRAM is bringing into Malaysia will be the #JulietRed and it's a limited edition colour as there will be no restock for this lipstick once it's sold out! I was wearing this lipstick when I went to tai tai afternoon tea session with my girls last week and its colour made my whole look popped!* 

50GRAM x SWANICOCO
SHOW THE VELVET LIPSTICK
in
JULIET RED

I like the sturdy packaging of the lipstick, plastic with matte finishing outlook does add on some classy touch. I was surprised by their twist-to-open lipstick cap because I love cap like this! Although it may causes some slight inconveniences (touch up with one hand with mirror in another hand perhaps?) but I wouldn't find the lipstick cap fly off inside my bag and all my stuff were smudged by lipstick. I don't have to tell you how many times I had to clean my bag and stuff because of a loose lipstick cap. Definitely a yes to a secure lipstick cap like Swanicoco's!

This fiery bold red with a hint of orange lipstick is perfect for the summer ( yays to Malaysian for having summer all year long!) and also for those who wanted their skin to look few shades fairer. The colour does compliments certain skin tones to make whole appearance looked brighter and cheerful! Not to mention the lipstick colour is super vibrant even I apply only a layer on my lips!

One layer and my lips looking so kissable!

swatch it on my hand

This lipstick gave my lips a velvet finish with tons of moisturising ingredients such as carnauba wax and castor oil to protect my lips. I can feel that my lips are as in covered in velvety duvet, lips looking more supple because powdery finishing lips shows lesser fine lines too. This aside, it's a super long lasting lipstick as well because I remember I don't even have to do any touch up after the high tea session! Perfect lipstick for a lazy girl like me lololololololol.

So if you would like to achieve some K-Beauty makeup looks, just apply the lipstick at the inner of your lips and smudge them! (will try to do makeup video using this lipstick soon!) As someone who loves playing with colours when it comes to makeup, Swanicoco's Show The Velvet Lipstick is definitely worth the value! And thanks to 50GRAM, I don't have to fly all the way to Korea to get this lipstick, and you can own this beauty at just RM88.85 deliver to your doorstep (nationwide delivery!)

Let's be an effortless beautiful girl! (speaking from my lazy but still wanna look pretty persona hahaha)

Buy them HERE!



For more information:

50GRAM Official Website

50GRAM Official Facebook Page

Swanicoco Official Website