Ari does New Zealand…

Hey there peeps…

 

Let me tell you.. It’s bloody cold there. Sunset was around 5.30pm and it was cloudy and it did rain sometimes.. 

 

What am I talking about..? Well, I was in Auckland with a few friends.. We decided to drive around and snap some pictures. Pretty cool idea rite? Ok..ok.. Yes. I know we dont have to be a rocket scientist to know that the scenery in New Zealand is breath taking. But.. because I dont want to be like any other Tom, Dick and Harry that shoots landscapes (actually.. in all honesty, I cant shoot landscapes.. even if I copy it from a postcard also it wont work.. sad right??), I’ve decided to shoot what I saw as we drove along heading south from Auckland.

 

Ok.. So, I was the designated driver. We drove for over 800km in 2 days. Massive. And we did take some short stops along the way for smoke break laa.. wee wee break laa.. camwhore break laa.. and so on and so forth.. but, the most cool stop we did was when one of my friends wanted to take pictures with the cows in NZ. I was like.. Ok. Lets pose with them cows.. So.. after we got off our car, I went straight to chatting them up. As you know, before we shoot models, we need to make them comfortable kan..kan..

 

Ari: Hey Cows..

Cow: Moo.. (Yo man.. what’s up..? Havent seen cows before..?)

Ari: Of course seen before.. but just asking if you guys wanna pose for my Nikon? I can make you and your friends famous…

Cow: Moo..moo.. (Yeah.. Sure thing buddy..)  

 

So.. after my brief conversation with them and a couple of ciggies later.. we drove off heading further south. 

After several “beep beep” warning from the GPS saying that I was 4 km/h over the speed limit, we stopped again. This time was to snap some pictures. Nice scenery but I’ve decided to post this picture of my friend. I kinda like it. 

Nice kan? Thanks for the compliments peeps.. 

Oh please.. enough flattery.. You guys and gals are making me blush laa praising me too much.. Hahahahahaa…

 

Anyway.. I’ll continue my story laa ok.. So, basically, we went to Huka Falls, Lake Taupo, and this beach called.. called what eh? I forgot laa.. The name sounds like.. Wakarinauo Beach or something like that.. Later I check the map again.. So please dont scold me if I got it wrong.. not my fault.. 

Anyway, here’s what I got from the beach.. it was nice.. the sunset and all.. Wanna see?

 

Of course you wanna see… Coz it’s nice 🙂

 

The life of the people there seems very laid back. Relaxed. I’m sure their stress levels are low compared to say.. my hometown in Manhattan.. LOL..

 

At the end of the day.. After driving for 2 days and seeing part of New Zealand, I’ve concluded that it is indeed a nice place to visit. If only we had more time there it would’ve been better. But.. I’m not gonna complain.. I was happy to even be there.. 

 

Ok lah people.. I think I’m gonna catch some zzz soon.. I hope you’ve enjoyed this very educational and intellectual story coupled with superbly taken photos but before i end this.. as usual.. I’m gonna include one last picture. This is the kind of picture you’d want on your desk top. Super Nice. You can email me and buy this picture and I’ll sign it for you plus I’ll also include a hemsem picture of me as a bonus. Hahahaaa… Nite peeps..

And for the Daddys that’s reading this.. Happy Fathers’ Day..

Cravings, morning sickness and sour grapes…

Ello people…

 

Hmm.. what do you think of the title? Yes.. It has to do with my ex-GF. And yes.. it has to do with her 3rd pregnancy. 

I dont know why but for the previous 2 pregnancies, she never had any issues with morning sickness but this one.. wohoo.. She frequents the toilet to throw up more than a drunken person having tequila shots after 3am (not that I know anything about being drunk but stories from friends laa..) And NO.. Its not only in the mornings but the afternoons and evenings too. They should call it “all day” instead of just “morning”… 

So.. Let this be a warning to future hubby wannabe.. be prepared ya guys.. It’s not only the best part aje ok… hahahahaaaa…

Now, what else you may ask comes with pregnancy.. hmmm… Mood swings and cravings too.. Now, lets leave out the mood swings and chat about (in my wife’s mother tongue)… “Mengidam”. 

You see.. mengidam can come at any time. Her recent one came at 3am. 

“Baby.. I want Mozza Burger..”

I was like… “Now????”

“Yes.. Thanks baby.. I’ll wait for you until you come back..”

Goodbye sleep and hello A&W 🙂

 

According to my father, I have to try to fulfill her cravings as it’s not her but the baby. And the very next day.. she said she wanted to eat steak. Jake’s. Ok sayang.. Let’s go Jake’s. But when we got there..it was closed. So, we went to Victoria’s Secret.. eh.. wrong.. Victoria Station 😉

When our food came, she lapped up everything within minutes.. And when the waiter came..

“Umm… Not yet.. Come back later…”

 

“Ok.. Now can clear the table…”

 

Hahahahaaa… She’s gonna be furious with me for posting this up… Hahahahaaaa…

 

Guys… we also have cravings too.. As for me..  Its speed. 

“I feel the need.. the need for speed..” (Top Gun style) wohoo… 

So, after starting up my very speedy “R”, off I went up to Genting with my good buddy Putra and his wife Shue. 

The ride up there was nice. Clear, cooling and my revs was always near the red line. While I was negotiating the corners at blinding speed, an Iswara (1.5cc) overtook me. Man, he was quick. Or.. was I slow..? Either way, I ignored him. Then, a Proton Persona overtook me too. This time, the guy at the rear seat was taking a video of me. Without wanting to look like a sissy, I gave him a nice V-tec sound from the engine but again, the Iswara was infront of me. All the way up, the Persona was shooting a video of me trying in vain to overtake the Iswara but cannot 😦 

Now fellas, that’s embarrassing. A 2.0 litre 225bhp monster lost to a 1.5 litre Iswara pushing maybe 100bhp.  But, me being a grown good looking adult, I’m not going to be all immature and try to prove a point and race on the road. It’s dangerous. So people, dont race on the road ok. Dont be sour grapes. Drive nicely and if you want to race, go to the tracks. (hahahaa… dah kalah, ada aje excuse..)

Anyway, we shot some pictures up there in Genting. Here’s to share some..

That’s Putra and Shue. Posing while having coffee at the Old Town White Coffee in Genting.

 

Nope.. I’m not done yet. 

“Why Ari.. why not done yet..?” 

Is that what you’re all saying..? Well.. last story ok. As some of you know, I entered a reality show called Double Exposure. It’s about photography. The reason why I entered it is because one of the prize for the winner was a chance to shoot a magazine cover. I really wanted that. Its something I’ve been catering my photography for. Now, the show ended already and they say it would be on TV soon. And the winner shot the Magazine cover already. I’m damn jealous. I feel like I can do it. I feel that nobody can beat me in photography. I feel… like I’m being a sour grape. A sore loser. And because of that, I did my own shoot just to release some stress.

Now peeps, I know in life, you cant have everything but could you all do me a favour and tell me if my shots below would make the cut if it were to be in a magazine. Honest answers please.. I’m a grown good looking guy.. I can take criticism..

 

Once again.. thank you for reading and spending your quality time on my blog. Even though I’m feeling down when I got booted out of the competition, I feel that someday, my pictures will grace the cover of a magazine. Someday.. Nite peeps.. 😦

Beauty lies in the eyes…

“of the beholder…”

Now, wouldnt you think that saying is true..?

Ok.. here’s what happened the other day.. a friend wanted to shoot a model. So, he gave me a ring.. “toot..toot..” 

“Ey Ari, you free ah..? Wanna go shoot a stewardess..?” Then I said..” Hmmm.. let me check my very busy schedule first.. ”

then after 3 long seconds.. “Alright!!! Lets do it bro..” (hehehe…) 

So, off we went scouting for a decent location and after we found it, we brought the models over and did a shoot. And here’s the product that came out of my Nikon D3 😉

Oh well, there’s more laa rite but I cant post all of it here kan.. 

You see, the model’s name is Hafiza. She’s a stewardess and I’ve never flown with her before but she seems very friendly and even for a non pro model, she could pull off many different poses for me. And her best features are her eyes.. It was further enhanced by a Makeup Artist who is also a stewardess by the name of Azila.

And then.. after lunch, we headed over to Show-Off Studio (my wannabe home  studio laa..) to try and capture her in studio environment. And this is what my 24-70mm came up with..

So… Nice or not..? I think nice laa kan.. I’m very happy with the shots but if there’s any comments or feedback from you guys/gals.. it would be great..

Anyway, tomorrow, Sunday the 18th, I’ll be heading to Central Market Annexe Gallery. Photomalaysia’s Vanishing Heritage Exhibition will be doing it’s launch there. Oh, and one of my pictures was selected. It’s their 2nd time doing it and last year, 3 of my pictures was selected 😉

So, that’s all for today.. I hope everyone can chip in a few words to help make me a better photog would be helpful. Thanks peeps.. Nitey nite..