Hello all, so i know i said i'd upload more pics from pod ball. so here goes!

look at the details on the strap! love!

my dearest amanda n i posing aha

So coming up are photos at actual ball...

we attended the ball together again, 3 of us! Me, amanda and qimin.

Look at how skinny Min is now! and tall! (always has been lol)

We booked out tickets with Steph and Kat, and we knew we'd be put with randoms.. but guess who we ended up sitting with!

James 1! and...

James 2!

We sat at the same table last year so this was a delightful surprise (: And to top it off... Michael appeared midway into the night.. turns out he belonged to our table too.. but late!

Mike!

Met Simon..

and Peter.. one of the first dudes i knew in pod in 1st year. along with the James'es

Jess came to visit... and thats steph to the right (:

And there's Kat..

that's almost all of us at the table. pity we didn't have a full table shot!

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I'm just about to cut abruptly into another topic now.. :P I was thinking hard what to blog about... something that was hopefully informative as well as fun. Then I remembered, i haven't officially introduced my camera yet! My new baby!  

Introducing... the Olympus Pen E-PL1 :D

It's a semi-pro with interchangeable lenses... promises quality of DSLRs (well.. u gotta cut it some slack of course) and the functionality and convenience of a compact auto-digital camera. If you're looking to take extremely high quality shots and know all your photography lingo and how to use all the settings to take a good photo, by all means.. get an actual DSLR.. but knowing myself.. i want a camera i can carry around.. and really, i'd admit it's for more frivolous use.. like, camwhoring for instance :P

It gives u good enough quality to take artsy and sharp photos of places u go and sights u see. (it has manual function, and u can also change the P, A, S settings) but it also has an iAuto mode that makes for good lazy, idiot-proof shooting.

Additionally, as some of the olympus cameras do, the e-pl1 also has art filters!! Namely, 1. Pop Art, 2. Soft Focus, 3. Grainy Film, 4.Pin Hole, 5. diorama, 6.gentle sepia 

I'm gonna demonstrate to you how each of these filters look like with photos i took when i was first playing with this baby of mine..

1. Pop art accentuates every colour in the photo... I don't know the algorithms behind this, but it picks up every colour in the photo and seems to make it brighter and way more obvious.. TIP: this doesn't work well indoors and with people.. (i.e. Asians like me will have very yellow skin!! no matter how fair skinned u r. trust me!) i'd suggest on food or scenery (imagine the amazing green-ness of grass and trees!)

snacks in normal iAuto mode

Snacks in pop art filter. Very vivid colours, no?

The same flash is used in both photos.. so the difference is not attributed to flash OR lighting.

Another instance of instantaneously yummified food:

Assorted sushi and the "pheonix roll" at sushi tei in Singapore

It does seem a whole lot more appetising here doesn't it? Like those you see on menus.. except those required photoshop to work it to look like this. aha

2. Soft Focus gives you a white aura around your objects and everything looks misty and ethereal in your photos (: best used in natural lighting.. but there'll still be a misty look even when used with flash.. (: this one's one of my favourites.. 

with flash. (yes that's my old hair for those of you who've not seen it. :P)

it's a dreamy look, but has more defined features and shadows.

without flash, indoors. very dreamy and misty look. tends to lighten eyes..

3. Grainy Film is like its name suggests, grainy! it's really more than just black and white.. comes out with way higher contrast. and it's grainy (not plain monochrome with smooth texture). like from an old film!

yes i know i'm having fun with it :P

4. Pin Hole is also exactly what its name means. it changes the photo to a slight vintage-ish yellow tint(w/o flash), and comes with a little shadow outside of a ring of the image.. hard to describe. so let the photos do the talking.. i personally love it for almost anything! i think they make stuffed animals mighty cute for instance:

with flash. how cute!

This is Ted, everyone! :D (without flash)

see what i mean by a vintage feel.. i think it enhances the vintage look. i also love how it's focused on the center, so it has a very mild fisheye effect. or at least an illusion of it.

5. Diorama focuses on an object(most likely in the center) and blurs out everything else around.. if taken well, it can give a "zoomed in" effect.. unfortunately i haven't had much chance of playing with this filter.. so i don't have a good photo to show u guys!

6. Sepia is well, sepia. it gives a bronzish tinge to the entire photo... but it's really pretty. and just for the sake of it, i posed for a photo :P

Other than art filter, iAuto and the manual modes, there is also a video mode and "scn" (scene) mode.

Under "SCN" u'll most likely be able to find the usual point and shoot modes like "beach", "outdoors", "macro", "night mode"...etc. let me just highlight 2 modes that come under the SCN for the olympus epl1

The e-pl1 has an "e-portrait" mode. with one click of the shutter, it takes one shot and produces two photos for your perusal. the original, and the edited(smoothed) one. this is super useful for people who do not know/ are too lazy to photoshop their blemishes in photos. No matter how smooth your complexion already is, it still doesn't look perfect when taken on photos don't u agree? this camera does this nifty trick for you in a matter of seconds! of course, u can choose to look more natural and still pick the original, it gives u the option of both!

original. (i've coloured contacts on. that's not edited or any effect of camera :P)

Edited. the difference might not look too big on your screen, depending on your screen pixel quality. But also, these photos are a tad too small to see the fine details.. on the blown up pic, u can definitely tell they've smoothed my skin quite a bit!

I also found another mode called "DIS mode", it is meant to be anti-shake and sharpens motion. i've found this mode to be ultra useful with jump shots! Mostly cos it snaps the photo right at the moment u want it to. i haven't tried it on other moving objects. but i will soon. n maybe one of u could? (i know u can tweak these manually too.. but if ur not trained/ professional, this is a good mode to work with)

Now you can capture such moments without hassle! :D

Another recommendation would be to use the "high key" mode in dimly lit indoor places, u'll find that photos come out with great lighting and great colour even without the use of a flash. again, this can be tweaked manually, but i'm just saying! I also like that night modes come in two: night mode and night mode with portrait. many times, u try to take a photo outdoor at night and u either capture just the person with a completely black background or just the background with a really dark person whose features can't be seen. but the night mode + portrait just works beautifully! i tried tweaking it manually with aperture, but the effects don't turn out as good as this mode.. so u guys should try it out if u own one of these!  Do note that these last 2 modes may require a firm grip and steady, level hands. u can use a tripod or just keep your arms close to ur body. alternatively, find something to lean your arm weight against!

If any of you own the same camera, please let me know! and share your experiences with me! I've been looking for a lens filter for my 14-42mm m.zuiko lens too...tell me more if u can! or if ur tempted, i'm pretty sure this can be found at Ted's (aus) for 700+ right now with their birthday celebration!!

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In another abrupt change of topic, i've another ball to attend this saturday!! so excited, cos i'll see more of my other international friends then.. and relive memories from last year (: as usual, i'll post photos then!! so excited cos i think i've decided which dress to wear!!