AUDREY MARISSA - 6 MONTHS

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Audrey Marissa | Hello Kitty Collector Wannabe

" What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God "

- Hans Urs Von Balthasar -

Alhamdulillah, rezeki dari Allah, my Audrey Marrisa kini sudah 6 bulan, membesar dengan sihat dan ceria. As per latest picture above, paha tu memang gebu begitu. Sedap picit - picit. Haha. As per now, dia dah pandai meniarap, dah pandai tidur mengiring, dah pandai minta dukung, dah pandai panggil kalau abaikan dia, dah pandai senyum / ketawa bila berkomunikasi dengan dia, dah pandai sebak kalau "marah" dia, dan bila dah 6 bulan, semalam, her first food, Puree Epal ! Hehe. Kesian juga tengok dia tersedak sedak. First time makan agaknya.

Being a father myself in 6 months, banyak perkara dipelajari sebenarnya. Menjadi suami juga belum habis belajar, datang pula Lil Khalifah ini mengajar menjadi seorang ayah. Melihat Audrey umpama melihat diri sendiri sebenarnya. Dah la rupa ikut ayah, perangai pun adaaaaaaaaaaaaa la juga ikut. Haha.

Kadang - kadang dia meragam pagi - pagi buta, bukan sebab sakit or gangguan, tetapi sebab dia dah tido awal, pukul 2 pagi bangun dia dalam keadaan segar. Nak berdukung pula, merengek kalau tak dukung / main dengan dia. Kita ni yang tengah tidur, terganggu, ada juga nak rasa MARAH. Tetapi bila fikir balik, kita dulu waktu kecil, begitu juga la keadaannya. Arwah mak dan abah juga la yang menjaga begitu. So dukung la dia, or alihkan perhatian dia dengan movie Star Wars. Hahaha. Bila dah tak larat sangat, pas baton pada isteri. Haha. (Tapi selalunya isteri la yang lama, hahahaha)

Kadang - kadang bila kat rumah, dok leka tengok handphone, layan Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, dan Clash of Clans serta Whatsapp, terlupa sebentar kehadiran Audrey. Bila terpandang dia, tidak sedar yang dia sedang pandang kita dari tadi lagi. Rupanya dia pandang je ayah dia ni. Dalam hati agaknya Audrey berkata, "ayah tak main dengan Audrey ke". Tengok muka dia rasa kesian / sebak. Letak phone, nak dukung dia, dia punya happy, senyum habis. Macam menari jadinya. Baby, mana tau berkata - kata, tetapi kehendak / keperluannya melalui ekspressi dan pergerakan mereka. Ok, I need to somehow, less time with my phone. Play it when she's asleep.

Yup, itulah ragamnya ketika ini. Jujurnya, penat menjaga baby. Tetapi penat itulah yang menjadi kebahagiaan hidup. Menjaga, mendidik, bermain dengan dia. Rasa seronok.

BIG MIKE - SS15/8

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Big Mike Cafe | A Must Visit Cafe

 " There is no sincerer love than the love of food "

- George Bernard Shaw -

Buat masa ini, saya dan isteri umpama "Cafe Hunter". Kami gemar untuk "Test and Error" bagi cafe - cafe yang kami nampak sama ada ketika dalam perjalanan ke sesuatu tempat atau media sosial seperti Facebook, Blog or Instagram. Biasanya kami "Screen Copy" or ambil gambar sahaja dahulu dan pergi ke cafe tersebut bila berkesempatan atau sehala  dengan tempat yang ingin dituju.

Al - kisahnya pada Sabtu yang lepas, kami ingin ke cafe X (saja rahsia), tetapi malangnya cafe tersebut tutup kerana bercuti. Change of Plan, kami ke cafe yang terletak di SS15/8 Subang Jaya. Berdekatan dengan Starbucks dan bertentangan dengan McDonald, cafe tersebut terletak di ground floor Bangunan Rajawali diberi nama Big Mike.

Kami tiba agak awal juga. Going for breakfast actually. Jadi kami beranggapan kurang pengunjung kerana masih di awal pagi. Rupanya Big Mike agak kurang pengunjung kerana student universiti sedang cuti semester. Yup, Big Mike sering dikunjungi oleh student universiti berdekatan terutama Kolej Antarabangsa INTI Subang. So, it's just the three of us (includes Audrey my little bam bam baby).

At first sight, cafe ini sangat simple designnya. Tidak terlalu serabut dengan decorations, just simple and nice, teratur dan kemas. Hendak kata sibuk atau tidak, unlucky for us, waktu tersebut memang tiada orang. So I reserve my comment on that. Haha. Looking at the menu's on the board, secara jujurnya saya tidak tahu bagaimana rupa makan tersebut. Kami order berdasarkan gambar di instagram. Yes, it's better bagi mereka yang hendak ke sini, lihat Instagram or Facebook Big Mike to choose the foods and drinks. Suasana di Big Mike juga diceriakan dengan lagu - lagu yang soft. Sesuai bagi mereka yang hendak buat assignment di sini.

Me? I ordered the Colourful Mini Ice Cream Burgers and Caffeine Dose Ice Blended. Ok, the Caffeine Dose was really great ! Rasanya yang balance. Tidak terlalu coffee dan tidak terlalu milky. Just nice ! Its big enough for a person to drink it. My wife pula ordered..can't remember what's the name of the food, but it's kinda like a sandwich.

Kedua - dua makanan tersebut sangat la seeeeeeeeeeeeeedap. Haha. Memang kenyang sampai ke malam. Owh, really. Sangat kenyang. Gambar diambil dari atas, so the sandwich nampak sekeping, tetapi yang sebenarnya ia sangat tebal seperti burger.

The colourfull mini ice cream burger. Dengar katanya menu ini yang top di cafe Big Mike, dan saya tak nafikan perkara tersebut kerana rasanya memang sedap. 

Well, dunno what to write more about Big Mike. Secara keseluruhannya yang dapat saya katakan, Big Mike merupakan cafe yang saya akan selalu pergi. Will try others menu as well next time. But surely I'll miss the Mini Ice Cream Burgers and the Caffeine Dose Ice Blended. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

HELLO KITTY GO AROUND - MALAYSIA

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Hello Kitty | Viva Shopping Mall

" Keep calm and Hello Kitty ! "

- Hello Kitty -

Masa bersama family di pameran Hello Kitty di Viva Shopping Mall. Si ibu yang perasan pasal event ni. Berkali - kali dia sebut pasal ni, tandanya dia nak sangat pergi. Haha. Katanya sebab Audrey, tetapi rasanya yang terlebih excited si ibu dia. Haha. 

 

Mulanya rasa macam malas juga nak pergi sebab dulu pernah ke sini waktu pameran Doraemon. Memang agak sesak, tetapi waktu tu pergi time masih bertunang, naik LRT je. So pasal parking, takda masalah. Tetapi bila dah ada anak ni, nak around KL dgn LRT (langkah berjimat) sudah tidak sesuai. Tetapi alhamdulillah, parking agak banyak dan waktu kita datang, masih tidak ramai pengunjung. Kesempatan itu juga diambil untuk snap gambar banyak - banyak dengan all the decorations dan props yang disediakan. Huu hee...as per gambar above, boleh tengok, siapa yang terlebih happy sebenarnya. Haha.

Overall, pameran dia agak menarik. Those who loves cute things will love the place. 

More pics and stories will be update by my wife..haha

STAR WARS MONTH

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Star Wars Month | May The Force Be With You


" These aren't the droids you're looking for "

- Obi Wan Kenobi -

PANGKOR SITE VISIT

 

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Pangkor Island | Site Visit

" The beginning is the most important part of the work "

- Plato -

 I've been expecting this kind of site visit when I'm working at the ministry in Putrajaya. A site visit to watch over the things under your management. KLIA will be my 2nd home perhaps or my office's car. Last week, I've been ordered to go to Pangkor Island to attend a meeting regarding a project that will be 100% completed in 2016. It was a 4 hours drive from Putrajaya with the speed of 140km per hour. I stayed at Star Bay Hotel for a night, RM80.00. Its a budget hotel but very comfortable.

Its kinda fun actually the site visit. But the travel kinda..tiring. Will go for site visit to Pangkor in January 2016. Thinking to bring along my DSLR to take some photos or not. Depends.

Somehow, I miss Travel Blogging.

FAMILY QUALITY TIME

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Supergirl | Supermom

 " I don't think quantity time is as special as quality time with your family "

- Reba McEntire -

I MISS BOTH OF YOU

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - The Three of Us | Family

" A happy family is but an earlier heaven "

- George Bernard Shaw -

Pernah tidak korang semua, bila kita rasa tertekan dengan kerja, korang rasa rindu pada isteri dan anak? Betul, tidak dinafikan, isteri dan anak bukan boleh bantu kerja kita pun. Bukan satu pejabat. Bukan sama pekerjaan. Tetapi somehow, bila tengok gambar or dengar suara or berjumpa secara fizikal, it does help you to cheer up. Ah, even time writing ni pun ada rasa lega sedikit. Lupa sebentar masalah pekerjaan.

Tertarik dengan post di blog isteri pasal You Are My Superman. Am I really a Superman to both of you? =)

Yup, walaupun setiap hari jumpa, still, rasa rindu itu tetap ada. Rasa nak cepat siapkan kerja, balik rumah dan bermesra dengan isteri dan anak. Sejak duduk bersama ni dan bukan lagi "weekend husband", terasa hidup lebih teratur dan kurang penatnya. Kalau tidak dahulu, kelam kabut dibuatnya. Rushing sana sini. Ada cuti sehari tapi tak balik, hati rasa tidak tenteram. Isteri sakit, nak balik tengok pun tak dapat. But now, Alhamdulillah, things getting better. I Love You Enny and Audrey. Thanks for being part of my life. !

*Notakaki : isu - isu tekanan yang dinyatakan tu semua berhubung kerja di tempat baru. Malam ni la ada masa saya cerita sedikit. Huu Hee

THE TALE OF NOBITA

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Nobita | Adventure

 " The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams "

- Oprah Winfrey -

Pheeeeww...agak lama juga tak upload gambar - gambar Nobita Photography. Gara - gara sibuk dengan Lego Photography, haha. Sudah la dulu bukan main susah payah mencari Nobita Figure ni. Bukan mudah since dia dah stop production. Kalau beli dari luar negara, sangat jauh beza harganya. Berganda mahal. 

Owh, topi tu bukannya datang sekali dengan Nobita. Topi tu ditempah khas dengan orang di Sarawak. Itu pun berminggu cari orang yang boleh buat. Haha

This is my hobby bila ada masa terluang. Lego and Figure, something that I love to do. Owh? Isteri? Isteri pun ada figure dia sendiri. Hehe. Nanti tau la apa dia. Tunggu dia upload. Dia busy sket skrang since anak banyak akal sekarang ni. Masing - masing dah macam burung hantu dah sekarang. haha.

Will upload more Nobita soon ! Toodles !

SUPERGIRL AND SUPERDAD

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Supergirl | Superdad


 " I hope I am remembered by my children as a good father "

- Orson Scott Card -

Melihat anak membesar setiap hari selama 2 minggu ini memang berbeza dengan semasa menjadi weekend husband untuk 4 bulan sejak kelahirannya. Perubahannya begitu pantas terutama dari sudut kelakuan. Entah dari mana dia belajar, saya sendiri pun tidak tahu. Currently, kelakuannya suka menjerit. Baru dapat suara agaknya. Jerit pun comel sahaja bunyi dia. Macam kucing. Lagi satu kemahiran yang baru dipelajarinya, sudah tahu meminta untuk didukung. Kalau dia sudah lapangkan tangannya sambil terangkat angkat itu, nak dukung la jawabnya. Tak didukung, menangis jadinya. Haha.

Satu perangai nakal dia sekarang ini juga, tidak boleh letak, mesti akan meragam. Hendak dukung sahaja kerjanya. Sudahnya, kerja - kerja lain tidak dapat nak dibuat. Yang pelik tu semasa letak meragam nak nangis, dukung terus senyum jahat. Haha. Owh, rambut dia ada dua pusar. Ini agaknya kata orang - orang tua, kalau ada dua pusar ni banyak akalnya. Saya setuju kalau orang kata baby itu "Natural Stress Relieve". Bila rasa sedih or tekanan, bila peluk anak sendiri, bau dia, memang akan rasa satu ketenangan. Didepan mata pun sudah rasa rindu.

Sekarang ni bawa Audrey ke mana - mana, semua kata muka ayah dia. Haha. But seriously, bila tengok dia, terasa macam melihat diri sendiri. Tapi apapun, tak kisah la muka siapa pun. Audrey tetap anak ayah dan ibu. Hee

Membesar dengan sihat ye Audrey. Love you ! =)

LIVING LEGEND - WAZARI WAZIR

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Wazari Wazir | Dataran Underground

" Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller "

- Ibn Battuta -

Minggu lepas, saya dan isteri pergi ke Dataran Underground untuk FSK 2015 di bawah Dataran Merdeka. Yup, bagi mereka yang tidak tahu, di bawah Dataran Merdeka ada beberapa shop lots yang berhawa dingin. FSK lebih kepada pameran/aktiviti/jualan barang untuk kanak - kanak. Terdapat pelbagai aktiviti dan pertunjukkan yang dibuat sepanjang program tersebut berlansung. 

Semasa di FSK, tetiba terlihat satu icon yang diri ini follow blog dia. Yup, as per pic, its Wazari Wazir. The photographer who loves to travel. You may visit his blog here wazariwazir.com 

Apa lagi ambil peluang untuk bergambar. Hehe. Keadaan agak sibuk di situ plus masing - masing sedang memegang anak, tak dapat nak borak panjang. Ingatkan nak minta autograf, tetapi tak bawak lak buku dan pen. InsyaAllah ada masa dan rezeki lagi, pasti ketemu. Haha.

By the way, dengar kata bro Wazari join Digi WWWOWAwards 2015. Lets vote for him here ! 

Vote for Wazari

Good luck Bro !

METAL BOX - EMPIRE

 

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Metal Box | Empire

 " You are what you eat "

- Michael Pollan -

Kalau bab makan, Pirates of Hasif Rahman ni memang "Number One". Habis semua tempat makan hendak di serbu. Dah macam dalam program Jalan - Jalan Cari Makan. Ini semua isteri punya perancangan kali ini. Katanya nak keluar makan dengan kawan - kawan dia sekali. Seharian juga dia search di Google. Macam biasa, dia kalau tanya kita ni, kita jawab boleh je. Haha. Jawapan tak membantu. Iyo la, dah tempat makan yang tak pernah pergi, macam mana nak komen. Kalau komen pun just kata, taknak tempat jauh dan kalau boleh pada waktu pagi untuk elak kesesakan lalu lintas. Al maklum la, KL. Akhirnya dia jumpa satu tempat so call Metal Box di Empire. 

Tempat tak pernah pergi, so seperti biasa, kita pakai Google Maps di phone. Entah apa kena hari ni, Google Maps tu bawa ikut jalan taman perumahan. Short cut agaknya. Tapi diri ini dah menyumpah jugak dalam hati. Kejadahnya ikut taman perumahan. Haha. Sebab sebelum ni ada kes, cari kedai Mee Ketam di Shah Alam guna maps, tetapi sampai ke rumah orang yang tiada kaitan. Haha.

Sampai di tempat kejadian, owh, parking tidak la susah untuk dicari. Ke sebab hari ni cuti Deepavali, ramai orang KL bercuti di kampung. So here's some of the foods yang kitorang makan. Peace !

Personal review, a friendly place. Staff di kedai pun sangat friendly dan sporting. Boleh juga nak buat sambut birthday di sini as tadi pun ada orang buat. Siap lilin cake tu ganti dengan bunga api. Haha. Price berpatutan. Well, KL Price. Overall, a nice place to eat ! =) 

THINGS TO DO !

" Plans are nothing ; planning is everything "

- Dwight D. Eisenhower -

Lego minifigs, props and others related almost complete. Just two major things still waiting for my budget to buy the Macro Lens and Lighting. Once completed, I'll start the project seriously. I estimate I'll start it by March 2016. Well, its not easy to start something, but doing the things that you love the most, the harder the challenges, the happier you'll be.

There are a lot of " Things To Do " before March 2016. First of all, train yourself to be creative. Lego Photography is all about creativity. If you have the best camera in the world, the most advanced lighting system, and the most expensive Lego in the world, but you lack of creativity, you can't create the masterpiece. I've seen several Lego Photographer in Flickr, they did a great job ! If you see the behind the scene, you'll be amazed. It not easy to create a photograph. The set up looks complicated and lots of it was using DIY set up.

One of the way for me to get creative, I need to read a lot of books, watch movies and cartoons, learn to see something in different perspectives and think out of the box. Instagram is one of the best place to get inspiration for photography. Just look out for #lego, and you'll see a lot of Lego Photography from all over the world. Yes, I don't deny it. For now, maybe some ideas I've " Steal It Like An Artist ". It's something that I need to do in order to trigger the creativity.

Other than that, I need to set up a mini studio for my project. A table, a box and several equiment. It's not expensive, just for now, I don't have the space to set it up. Well, I have the time till March 2015, maybe at that time, I'll get a new place to live with a room reserved for my photography. (One of my dreams)

Can't wait for March 2016 ! May The Force Be With Me !

Toodles

SHIFT WORK !

" If you try hard enough, you can bend the spoon  you can shift reality "

- Christopher Meloni -

Currently I'm feeling like I'm working in shift and its difficult way of life. A shift work as Government Officer, a shift work as husband and father and a shift work as Toy Photographer. Sometimes, I'm a bit jealous with those as Full Time Photographer. I don't deny it that it's a busy job but doing the things that you love the most, its a satisfaction in life. Well, for now, even I'm having a lot of shift in life, I don't regret it. Each of it give the best happiness to me. The best part of it, my wife supports me in anything that I love to do. She even bought me Lego. 

I can't wait to start my project. There are things yet to be purchased before I can 100% focus on the project. The Macro Lens and several lighting. Ideas has been sketch as per previous entry. It's just the matter of time to start the war. Hey Ho !

Toodles

If you try hard enough, you can bend the spoon; you can shift reality.

Christopher Meloni

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY QUEEN

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Soul Mate | Enny Nursuliza

" You don't get older, you get better "

- Shirley Bassey -

1 November 2015. It's my Queen birthday ! Happy Birthday to you Sayang. Semoga menjadi isteri yang solehah. Terima kasih atas kasih sayang yang diberikan sepanjang perkahwinan kita. Semoga dimurahkan rezeki dunia akhirat, diberikan kesihatan yang baik, dipermudahkan urusan dunia akhirat, dan sentiasa dirahmati dan diberkati Allah.

ps : Get ready for second child =P

SKETCHING THE IDEAS

" I have an idea of who i want to be, I have a vision of my own success "

- Wiz Khalifa -

When you want to start something, the most important thing is to know your goal. Its normal when you're having a headache to think about your goal. You tend to change it in the middle of the journey. Sometimes our goal is to general and not focus. For example, me and my photography. My goal is to be a world class photographer. Its a goal that I dream for. But it's to general. As you know, there are many types of photography in the world of photography. Portrait Photography, Landscape Photography, Street Photography, Macro Photography, and others. Each of it can be divide into several photography for someone to master it. As a photographer, you can't be " Jack of All Trades, Master of None". If you try everything and not focus, you'll end up giving it up. Trust me, I've been there. But ! Its ok try everything at first in order to see which photography suit you the most.

When you have choose the best photography for you, you can set your goal and that's the time you can start to answer "How to Reach Your Goal?" The answer is, Sketching The Ideas.

Ideas are not a one straight path to reach your goal. There will times, your ideas will failed and you'll start thinking a new idea. The most important thing is, never give up as the goal will never run away, its the path that you need to change when you meet a dead end.

Ideas are like drawings, you need to sketch it before you can turn it into reality. You need to somehow, write it down when you think of something, or take a picture of a scene that give you ideas, or bookmark a website that can be the source of knowledge for you ideas. The point is, never keep it in your mind because you'll forget about it later on and sometimes its hard to remember about it again. When you have have multiple of ideas, write it down, and start the number one in the list of ideas as soon as possible. Procrastination leads to failure.

Lets start the work. I have an idea of who i want to be, a Toy Photographer.


Toodles.

THE JOY OF LIFE

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - 4 Months | Audrey Marissa

" The little feet make the biggest footprints in our hearts "

- Anonymous -

Audrey Marissa, kini berumur 4 bulan. Anak kesayangan ayah ini membesar dengan sihat sejahtera. Alhamdulillah. Seorang yang suka senyum dan friendly dengan orang lain. Talk to her, and she'll smile and sometimes she talks too ! (in baby language). Meniarap belum boleh lagi, tetapi asyik nak suruh dukung or sokong dia untuk berdiri. Ikut step la Audrey please. Cepat sangat nak jalan dah kenapa. Ayah risau Lego ayah habis diambilnya bila dah start jalan. Nanti nak shoot Lego pun dah susah, kena nyorok - nyorok. Haha. Lego ayah tu untuk business purpose ye. Kalau nak, ayah beli lain. Haha.

One day, kalau Audrey dah besar, if you read this post somehow, know this that Ayah and Ibu, Love you soooooooooooooooo much ! You're the joy of life !

Toodles

HERE COMES THE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Nobita and Doraemon | Childhood Memories

" Friendship keeps the bad day away "

- Hasif Rahman -

Pheww... Lama sudah tertinggal dua mainan ni gara - gara sibuk mengejar Lego Rare. Kini ada masa terluang untuk bersama Nobita dan Doraemon yang tersimpan rapi di dalam kotak masing - masing. Hee... Here comes again, Nobita and Doraemon, one of the best childhood memories. Membesar pada zaman cerita ini popular, sedikit sebanyak meninggalkan kenangan dalam hidup. Sampai sanggup ke sana ke mari untuk cari dua mainan ni yang sudah stop production. Tapi hari tu ada nampak lagi satu kotak Nobita. Thinking nak beli as for back up since yang ini selalu pakai untuk Toy Photography. Nama pun mainan, sampai satu masa rosak juga. Haha.

The best thing about this action figure, ada beberapa mimik muka yang boleh dipakai dan bentuk tangan. Next post saya akan tunjukkan. 

Toodles

THE BEGINNING OF GARY

" I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light "

- Helen Keller -

Memperkenalkan kawan baik saya yang baru, Gary. Dia akan menjadi "partner in crime" dalam kehidupan seharian. Tahun depan 2016, Gary akan terlibat dengan 365 days project. Its not easy, but we will make it happen ! So lets train him to be a model in Lego Photography. See you later peeps !

1st ANNIVERSARY - HASIF & ENNY

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - 1st Anniversary 11.10.2015 | KL Tower

" I love my wife, she deserves anything and everything "

- Aaron Spelling -

11.10.2015 - Happy 1st Anniversary ! Love you till Jannah !

THE COMPLICATED

" The time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be yourself "

- Douglas Coupland -

Well, sometimes when you're in the middle of complicated things, its better to sit down, relax and think about it slowly. No need to panic. No need to rush. Call your love ones. It should be ok. Sigh~ Its a sudden call for my job. Feeling a bit not ready for it actually. The job getting heavier and risky. Whether I'm afraid of it or I'm just in shock. Need to stop over thinking about it. Lets play some Lego. Can't wait to start my project soon ! Hey ho

SERAI AT EMPIRE

© 2015 Hasif Rahman - Dinner at Serai | Empire

" Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good "

- Joe Paterno -

Its been a while I'm away from this blog. I'm a little bit busy to travel for now. But hey, I have time for my Lego Photography. Yes, you can visit my 2nd blog here at The Figaura. Its a blog totally about my Lego stuff. Feel free to follow it.

Back to the story. Last Saturday, my wife brought me and the family to dinner at Serai, Empire. This is the second time I ate at Serai. Well, to be honest, the food is tasty, and the service is good, but..its a bit expensive and the traffic kinda busy on the way to Empire. 

Well, a treat from my wife is always the best. She never made me disappointed. She's good at giving the best service from the day we met, till now. Thanks for the treat ! xoxo

A cup of Latte keeps the happy forever~

THE PAST

" Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future "

- John F. Kennedy -

Being a failure for couple of times really made my past haunt me somehow. Sometimes, even before you start something new, you'll think about all the negative things rather than the positive which cause me losing great opportunity to be successful. I have a lot of dreams, and I don't deny it, some of my dreams come true. Some of it I'm still waiting for the right time and another part of my dreams I need to totally forget about it. Its not that I give up, its just my condition is not suitable for it. But I believe that I'll get better dreams in times. 

Now, I'm happy with my new project as Lego Photographer. I'm really happy with it. Even I'm still new, I have invest quite a lot for it. Its all because I love it so much and my wife supports me. Still, somehow, that past, being a failure haunt me somehow when I think about people's perception even I did post something about it WHY BEING DIFFERENT.

I've been thinking about it for some time but recently my wife post me a picture which I think its kinda true to hold on to as per pic below :

Maybe it's time for me to focus on what's matter. Focus on my dreams. The start is always hard. Yes, I did say that. Cheer up, and lets do this ! 

THE WONDERLAND ONLINE BAGS FOR MEN

" People will stare. Make it worth their while "

- Harry Winston -

Keep calm and say, Arrrrrr...

Hey ho, guys, listen up. When it comes to man holding a woman's handbag, there will always be a war between The Gentleman group and The Awkward group. A war that never ends, as long as there are stars and the moon in the sky. But fear no more guys, now days men needs to carry their own bag everywhere they go. Sayonara girls, you need to carry your handbag by yourself, the gentlemen now days are busy with their stuff. Its cool for a man to carry a bag as a fashion. Its just the matter of choosing the right design to suit the purpose and where to get it ! I have a little secret about the place. Here it goes !

Welcome to the Fashion Wonderland so called the ZALORA ! An online shopping fashion store for man and woman. There is a wide range of choices from many brands. You just need to look, click, and pay, Zalora will settle the rest. 

Lets talk about bags !

First, come with me to online bags for men collection where you can take a ride to choose the exclusive bags to make you look great in the eyes of your dream girl, rawwrrrr. Take your time, there's nothing to rush. There's a lot of designs that you'll be amazed. While looking at it, there's a legend that I want to share with you. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

There's a legend, told by a wise man, a man needs three types of bags that need to be purchase. There are :-

1. For the active individual
2. For the daily usage or short trips
3. For the long vacation

1. For the active individual

Those who is active with sports, a sport bag is a must if you're the type of person who carries a lot of stuff with you such as sport shoes, water bottle, a change of clothes and sport gears. Come on guys, you have the looks, you wanna look cool in front the blonde girl, but you pack your stuff in a paper bag or even worse in a plastic bag? That's so not cool man. The force is strong with you. Spend a little bit at Zalora to make it worth their while. Sports bag is definitely a great investment. Store everything you need in the sports bag and start burning off those calories with no worries about your belongings.

2. For the daily usage or short trips

It was told that every man needs a nice backpack. Whether you're a student, a working man or a man who loves to walk around for a short trips, the bag is not meant to fill your belongings only, but it also serve as a fashion accessories to make you looks great and masculine. Backpacks are the suitable fashion item for men to own as it is a versatile bag to show off. There's a lot of trendy backpack designs available at Zalora from many brands. Check it out !

3. For the long vacation

Lastly, the wise man said, the bag that any men should have is a nice luggage bag. There are days when we have to fly off somewhere due to work or vacation. If you're attending a meeting and you need to somehow check in a hotel, you need to bring the professional looks too which the luggage bags at Zalora can give you that. You can choose the "balik kampung" style or the trolley luggage bag to suit your needs and preference.

Pheww.. that's a great legend told by the wise man. Now I really need those three bags for my usage. A sport bag, a backpack and a luggage. Its time to impress the blonde. Lets go to Zalora. No time to wait. Toodles

DARTH VADER : THE DARK SIDE

" The force is strong with this one "

- Darth Vader -

After about 3 weeks I bought this Lego Battle Figure : Darth Vader, today I have the time to open the box and build the bad ass Darth Vader. Play with some lighting, take a picture of it, and tadaa ! The Dark Side has returned. My personal review about the Lego, its awesome ! It looks cooler with Darth Vader than Obi Wan and Luke. Its about 30cm tall, and its easy to play with.

I grew up with Star Wars. Starts from Episode IV, V, VI and I, II, III. This year Episode VII will be coming soon. Talk about Star Wars, the characters that I love the most is Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers. Even they are at the Dark Side, they look interesting. Even lots of Lego Photographers prefer to use this two figure.

The new episode, Kylo Ren as the bad ass looks cool. But the Lego minifigure doesn't, for me at least. The only Star Wars Lego minifigure that looks cool enough at the moment is Captain Phasma. You gotta have it !

THE BETTER PATH ?

" I don't know what my path is yet. I'm just walking on it "

- Olivia Newton John -

Somehow, today I'm a lil bit happy with my life. A wife that fully supports your hobby is the greatest gift in the world. I'm really touched to see how she's really interested with my dreams in photography. Its something that I can't get it from a friend. It all happened last Thursday when my wife texted me and said, lets start a project with my Lego Photography. At first I thought she wanted me to print it into custom album or make it into printed canvas. I was like, nothing new I guess but I was totally wrong. She gave me a link to a certain website which I can't tell you about it right now, and I love it so much ! Its an opportunity for me to be the first with Lego Photography. I need to grab this opportunity. Its time for a new project. I need a long term planning. Start planning and make it happen ! There may be times where I stumbled, but that's not the end of it. I'll keep on walking till the day that I have something to be proud of. See ya later peeps !

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY

The first official date of International Coffee Day will be on 1st October 2015 which is today ! It is expected an occasion that will promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage in places across the world. No wonder those in Malaysia, if you turn on your radio, pick the Era.FM, you'll hear WONDA Coffee promoting their brand. If I'm not mistaken, they even selling it at RM1.00 per item. That's cheap !

The International Coffee Day will be launched in Milan, Italy. Later I'll google it to see how happening the event in Milan. Yeah, coffee is my favourite drink ! Something that I never get bored with.

HAPPY BATMAN DAY

Happy Batman Day !  I was told to make a post about Batman. Anything related to it. I'm a little bit busy with my work now, so here's a picture that I took months ago. Since this blog is new, its kinda a new picture even I've upload it somewhere before. May the Gotham City be at peace with the guardian.

Psst, love to see the arts posted by the Batman fans especially in Instagram. They look awesome !

ENERGY SAVING MODE

" I'm not lazy, I'm just on my Energy Saving Mode "

- Anonymous -

I think it's normal to feel your mind a bit slow after a long holiday. Everything seems to be, " I'm not in the mood to.. ". Things that supposedly can be done in five minutes, took me about half an hour. Sometimes I feel that, I don't have any work to do even there's a lot need to be settle as soon as possible. Mr Figaura, can you stop blogging and start working ! Finish your work, and later on, you can have a nice weekend without any worry. Haha

Actually its easy to get rid that "slow mode". It's simple. Get started. Once you start your work, you'll eventually building up the momentum and don't forget to start your day with breakfast. It helps.

STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST ?

Steal like an artist? I'm interested with what Shelly wrote at stuckinplastic.com. I don't deny it, at times, I copied some photographer's ideas and mix it up to create a new idea. It's not wrong to do that to be honest. But it's wrong if you copied it 100% and claimed it as yours. For me, I prefer to learn "Behind The Scene" rather than from the picture itself because you can do more with it when you know how it works. Thanks to those photographers that share behind the scene for every masterpiece artwork they produce. Here's some of the examples that I stole from them.

DIY

Before this I thought some of the professional Toy Photographers use expensive lighting, a big studio and other related expensive equipment. But as I blogwalking, I managed to learn that, most of them using DIY lighting and mini studio and several DIY props to make the pictures great. For example, I don't need a RM2000.00 external flash to get as per above picture, I'm using a LED light that cost me RM5.00 only. For the backdrops, it's just a DIY mini studio using a used box that I took from my office. I bought a white paper that cost me RM2.00 to wrap it.

Realistic Snow Effect 

I saw some photographers shoot Star Wars Lego with snow effect. I thought they were using Photoshop to make the effect. I was like, wow, nice skill of editing. I look at their Flickr Account, and I noticed that, its not a photoshop editing. They using props to make it happen. They used Baking Soda most of the time with printed background to create a wonderful scene. I also managed to learn how to create snow effect using an aquarium with baking soda. The effect is awesome !

Printed Background

I also learned how to use printed background for indoor shots to make a wonderful scene. Not everything you need to build (DIY) for the props to make a scene, sometimes printed background is more than enough.

Using Food

We can also use foods for the props such as poppy seeds to create a street look alike. 

That's some of the ideas that I stole from the professional photographers. Its not the artwork that I stole, its how to create it. Easy to say, it's the knowledge that I stole. For me, that's the true meaning of steal like an artist. We respect their artwork.