I used to have a piece of disposable tablecloth to act as a backdrop whenever I took photographs of still objects like the photos of my new Oakley Specs. The problem with this method is, it is a hassle to fold and pack away the tablecloth nicely before the ladies in my house start nagging at me. The crumpled tablecloth also does not help in making my photos nicer with the roughness of the background.

Buy a light tent? Spending a few hundred dollars on some enclosed fabrics that cannot help me during times of emergencies (like hiding from my gf) does not sounds reasonable. So I put off the idea of having a dedicated light tent and keep using my old dirty tablecloth until I realised I can actually build my own! (Credit goes to DPS ).

We all know Donnie hate his boss after he had called him back for an presentation in Volume 5. Now Donnie is going to make his boss pay back in errr Photoshop.. by making him fat and round all over. And he sound like someone is doing something to him!

Volume 6: Liquify

I was nearly roasted red when I stood under the hot afternoon sun yesterday to take photographs of fighter planes flying around in the sky. Together with hundreds of photographers, we were all armed with our telephoto lens, trying to "shoot down" the planes with ultra high shutter speed. While many were armed with their big white bazookas, I am just equipped with my little Sony Alpha 200 and a tiny 75-300mm kit lens.

In case you are wondering what Air Show I am talking about, it is the Singapore Air Show 2008, which Singapore is organising for the first time at Changi Exhibition Center after Asian Aerospace had moved out.

My photos didnt turn out as great as I thought it will be, I had made a few mistakes in the settings and planning. Since this is my first try at an Air Show, I had learnt many tips, which I thought it will be good to share around.

Ten Tips for shooting an Air Show

Tip 1: Research before you go

Go to the offical website, find out the timing of the aerobatic displays. More importantly, you must know where the planes are coming from! It is also good to know if it is going to be a solo flight or group flight performance. This will help you decide what kind of lens you should prepare first.

Sony Alpha DSLR A200 was first announced by Sony Corporation during Janurary 2008 this year at CES 2008. Alpha A200 is the direct replacement for the older Alpha A100, which has been in the market for almost 2 years since 2006 after they took over from Konica Minolta.

As compared to A100, Sony Alpha 200 possesses several notable key improvements in features and specifications

The most significant differences can be summed up as below:

Available only in kit lens packages, Sony Alpha A200 is obviously targeting first time DSLR users, rivaling competitors models like Nikon D60 or Canon 450D.

The following video shows an interesting review of the Sony Alpha 350 by Dave Etchells of Imaging Resource . In the video, he will describe the layout of the controls in Sony Alpha A350 and also talk about the various functions.

Also note that Sony Alpha A350, A300 and A200 share almost the same kind of body. The only differences between A200 and the 300 series are the Live View Function and the Live View Display Panel while A350 boasts a higher pixels packed sensor. Those looking into having a DSLR without the Live View Function should just look at Sony Alpha 200 as these 2 higher end models do not significantly show any stronger performance.