Monday, December 11, 2006

Coventry with Rosli and Hila

Our weekend was just splendid! Hila and family came to visit and stayed with us. Everyone was excited. Babah couldn't wait to have an "educational" conversation with Rosli. And as per usual my normal topic with Hila are about our kids, recipes, fashion (!) and,... you know what women are like. We could just go on forever.


Sarah was the happiest one of all. Sarah and Danial hit off well immediately. Running around chasing each other. Stopping occasionally for a little fight and then continue running around again.


Our dear Amar, was in a world of his own. Those were the words from Hila. He didn't care what was happening around him. He watched dvd or tv and played by himself most of the time.


Pity it was raining the whole weekend. Otherwise, we would have gone out more for photography shoots. Luckily the kids didn't complain. They happily played with toys,


and did some colouring and writing too.


To be quite fair, we did go out for a bit on Saturday morning. Our first stop was the Memorial Park. It was very cold. And I really mean COLD!


When we reached the park, Danial was sleeping. Hila and Inah (Hila's helper) stayed in the car. While the rest of us braved the cold weather and sadly (or was it willingly?) some of us had to be the models on the damp lawn.


Amar was very still in the pushchair. He was already wearing his furry coat, but I topped him up with an extra layer of blanket. I bet it was all nice and comfy for him.


Sarah was the only kid 'alive'. She was anticipating a treat at the playground. Unfortunately, we shortened our visit at the Memorial Park, and headed to the Old Cathedral.

We stopped at Coventry University first where we promised to meet Ariff. All three of them (Babah, Rosli and Ariff) are using Canon camera. And they are very proud of their cameras and kept on and on about why people should opt for a Canon camera.

While the ladies' topics were more towards what and where to eat? And worrying about the children, masalah negara and the future (yes, I exaggerated a little bit there).

Honestly, it was a straightforward event. The guys took some photos and compared some notes with each other. And later, we had our lunch at Nando's.


On the way to Nando's we met this little fellow! I've always wanted to take a close up photo of a squirrel at the Cathedral. And as far as I can remember, Sarah has always tried to chase and catch one. This time, Rosli managed to photograph the squirrel from a relatively close distance.


It was a pleasant lunch. I'm sure by now you can guess correctly the main topic among the guys. More about photography! Don't they get tired talking about the same thing all the time? But one thing for sure, I overheard Babah saying that he's not intending on becoming a professional photographer. So he will not invest on those expensive lenses and gadgets. Phewww! That's a relief.


Anyway, thanks to the three people - I have nice photos to put up on my blog. Their work are simply superb. I wish I have their imaginations and skills.

Even though we didn't go out much, it was still a nice mini gathering. We really hope that our guests were happy staying at our place, as much as we had fun at theirs previously. I know it's still early to say, but we have already made plans to meet each other again soon. Real soon!



17 comments:

Ikelah said...

One thing these guys did not tell you when they brag about how good canon is.... the most important is that canon produces excellent bodies but it cant match nikon lenses. thats why there is canon-nikon adapter ring for canon users who are itchy to use nikon lens.... hehehe.... bergurau je... tapi betul.

justeru itu kenalah beli high end canon body untuk dapat high tech canon dslr, canon 1d mkIIn or 5d.

u all ni hebat ye... banyak outings dengan friends. berbeda di malaysia... semangat kejiranan kurang sebeb terlalu sibuk dengan kerja dan.... entah lah... its just something is not right with the 'world view' most malaysians.

Anonymous said...

Excellent photos as usual, especially the last one. I love closeup photos of kids. Their expressions are priceless!

Sherin de Souza said...

Nice MS. Selalunya this will happen when you abroad. Jalan-jalan dgn friends. I jarang tgk friends in M'sia doing this. We pun normally berjalan dgn our own family je. :) Good for you MS.

I miss reading your entries. I have been so busy. How are the kids?

Anonymous said...

Thanks a million for having us over the weekend..A very pleasant stay indeed and delicious meals! look forward to meeting you guys again.

mynn said...

what puan mama sarah didn't mention in her post is that all the pictures above are combinations of pictures from Rosli, Arep & yours truly also known as members of the Fotografi UK Canon Kelab. (betul ke I eja bie?)

ikelah
to be honest with you, puan mama sarah and i seem to prefer the pictures produced by nikon DSLRs (sorry arep & rosli!) however, several things good about going canon are:
1. it seems to be more affordable
2. high-end technology are tested in lower end models and thus, high end features are able to be purchased at relatively cheap prices. case in point: lenses with Image Stabilisation are available from around £300. The 400D is a 10 megapixel camera and the 400D has the 9 AF point system etc2.

i think we are very lucky to have friends like fazuan & Aida, Rosli & Hila as well as arep and dina - they all seem to love travelling & photography. in the UK it seems the family we have are each other.

Rosli
can't wait for our cardiff project!

Ikelah said...

mynn
nikon memang kedekut especially the unefficient nikon malaysia. its very difficult to get local nikon lenses. luckily we have retailers who get them from neighbours at better price.

FYI until now its difficult to get a D80 body whereas the newly launched D40 can easily be seen in their showcase. kan ridiculus tu.

agreed! canon body memang bagus especially the focusing points. dia tak kedekut macam nikon, just sebelah tangan, nasib baik tak tak 1 jari.

dith said...

Nisak,

Bila agaknya topic entry awok akan berbunyi : Coventry with Dith and iKelah??? hehe

Anonymous said...

ikelah
pardon this question: in malaysia, is buying stuff over the internet common practice? over here i buy almost EVERYTHING except groceries from the internet ... stuff seems alot cheaper there.

anyway, Nikon, if you're reading this: what's up with the delays and shortages man? you seem to have lots of fans but unless you get the supply problems sorted, you're going to stay number two :p

canon - elok utk orang on a budget.

by the way ikelah, the pictures above are all from a mix of different canon cameras: 400d, 350d, and 30D - i bet it's difficult to tell the difference :)

dith
wow - jom lah datang dith, would love to have you guys around. we could do a whirlwind tour around UK. remember to pack extra batteries and memory cards ikelah - and get ready to expire your shutter's half life.

Anonymous said...

ps dith
ajak ok and KKL, or are they still "busy".

Ikelah said...

mynn
actually its cheaper to buy from an retail outlet than through the net. the volume is not big therefore they cant offer a good bargain.

as for secondhand stuff and occasionally new goods, have a look at this site. its a direct user/photographers trading in malaysia. transaction is by direct contact and its reliable.

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/ftz/index.php3

mama sarah
thanks kerana beri laluan.

Syikin said...

salam,

cam biasa, teruja ngan entri2 bergambar mama ni

si Sarah ni ya Allah, aktif memanjangkan..anytime, anywhere..ready for photoghraphy hehe

Syikin said...

Salam,

i come here once again hehe..

eh mama, nak mintalah resepi muffin mama ni. nampak sedap tu.saya ni mmg tgh try buat semua jenis muffin yg ada..

lagi satu, saya dah try buat mee laksa (meenya tu), silalah ke http://masakansyikin2.blogspot.com

Mama Sarah said...

1. Ikelah Suatu ketika dahulu, kami tinggal setempat- Cardiff. Kini, kami terpisah. Di waktu2 cuti, seronok kami berkumpul. Samada di tempat kami atau di rumah mereka. Merekalah keluarga kami di sini.

2. Moby The last photo was taken by Ariff. I like that photo too.

3. Sherin Ya lah, di Msia ramailah pula family and extended family members yang kita nak entertain.

The kids are fine alhamdulillah. Hope yours are well too.

4. Rosli Thanks for coming again. Hari ni, Sarah cakap "Sarah suka Danial. Sarah suka Kak Inah."

5. Mynn Mana you dapat ni Fotografi UK Canon Kelab??

I like Nikon for its vibrant colour. sebab teringat sangat the photos we took using OK's D50(kan?) sharp and colour sangat cantik.

I wonder though - ramai msian beli Nikon because they prefer the same aspects sedangkan you all cakap body Canon lagi baik? Adakah Nikon lebih murah di Msia? Mungkin Nikon lebih mudah didapati di kedai? Saya perlu buat bancian dgn pengguna Canon dan Nikon.

6. ikelah Pelik - rata-rata Msian lebih ramai menggunakan nikon. TApi payah nak dapatkan barangannya.

Apa kata saya jadi agent Nikon dan Canon? Sila datang ke kedai saya ya? Harga boleh runding.

7. DITH I am sure I will have the hardest time of my life writing up the entry. I can so imagine dictionary.com will also fail to give me the correct adjectives for your presence.

DITH, thinking about you coming seolah-olah nak pergi mengadap raja! Berdebar rasanya.

8. mynn your statement about I like macro previously. I think your 50mm prime lens dah good enough (excellent sangat!) utk tangkap gambar makanan! and portraits of the kids. Tahun depan lah pulak kita fikir pasal macro lens. (tahun depan in 2 weeks time, hmmm...)

9. mynn semalam mimpi KKL sibuk buat writing up. Pastu dia ajak pergi dinner rumah EDORAS!!! Apasal ntah?

10. ikelah bincang fotografi boleh. jangan hasut suruh beli barang sudahlah. kami masih belum stabil seperti ikelah, OK dan sahabat yg lain. Perlu beringat tatkala membeli.

11 & 12. syikin Sarah anti gambarnya diambil. Sangat pantang. Mcm2 trick yg kami perlu buat supayadia menoleh ke arah camera.

resepi muffin saya asalnya dari Sherin :) blog masakan syikin sgt menarik! Saya bagi cadangan agar gambar2 diolah seperti membuat step by step.

Cik Tat said...

patutla lama x berupdate, rupanya ada tetamu.. ammar mmg senang jaga yek...dok dediam jer kat mana pun..

Anonymous said...

Lamaya saya tak jengok blog kawan2..Busy sgt lah konon2nya. Nice picas..saya suka pic yg pertama.

Mama Sarah said...

14. The Singa Amar tu tengok mood juga. Setakat ni, kebanyakkannya memang elok ajelah dia dalam pushchair. Tapi nantikanlah entry saya yang entah bila saya nak buat khusus pasal Sarah dan Amar.

15. Ajzie Project apa tu agaknya sampai busy sesangat tu ya? Nak datang "UK" ke? ;)

1st gambar taken by Rosli.

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