I wanted to take in all New Zealand has to offer. So this time around, I didn't take as many pics compared to my previous trips abroad.

One thing I realised during this trip is that to be able to make good, memorable images is to soak yourself in the moment. As others were busy with their shutter-happy fingers, I was completely in the NOW with New Zealand.

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A walk is all you need to discover stuff around you. Look around. Try to fit in. Zoom yourself out of a situation. Take big steps, take small ones. Feel the air. Soak yourself in the surroundings.

I do all that every time I need to get away from the KL I used to know, so I get a different KL every time I go for a walk.

Film: Fuji SS Neopan
Developed in Caffenol-C-M
Leica M6

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I'm getting quite addicted to Caffenol now (hope I didn't sound like a junkie). I got into film photography again a few years back. The very first time was in college. Dad got me the M6, I didn't know how to use it, so I kept it in the dry box FOR 5 YEARS. Little did I know, it has become one of my favourite analogue cameras today.

I've decided to develop my own film, because photo shops here in Malaysia charge you a bomb for each roll. And the service is getting scarce. So I googled DIY film development and Caffenol showed up first in the search results. I did more research and thought - why not - it's cheap enough and it's quite therapeutic I must say.

I experimented on different film types and jotted down the end results. I got better and better with each roll. Some rolls were foggy and others were a bit dusty, which gave the pics an authentic look and feel :P (how serendipitous!)

I've been carrying my film camera with me everywhere I go. It's like a must-have! And with developing my own film, I get the element of surprise with each roll. You'll never know what to expect. Some pics will look foreign to you because you actually forgot you took them. And I like it because whenever I scan the negatives, I get excited when each frame reveals its shot. I love this process! It's simply rewarding. Probably one of the most simplest of pleasures I've experienced :)

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Dear Prime Minister,

I don't usually voice my thoughts out on politics. When I do, it's usually on Twitter and sometimes on Facebook. But this time, I think a little political catharsis would actually help combat some frustration I've had with your government.

As you know, GE will soon be upon us. I've registered and I honestly can't wait for it to happen. But with what has been happening, I know where I'm going to put my 'X' on. And just to let you know, it'll not be for you or your fat-bellied chums.

Cronyism is fucking irritating. Thanks to you, I used to work for pitches I know my agency will not win - because our 'cabel' tak cukup besar . We toiled through the night with honest, great ideas and strategies only to find out in the papers a few months later that your chums stole our idea and made it theirs.

I also heard that you paid people with rice and hypermarket vouchers to vote for you. Who do you think these people are? Let me let you in on a little secret - these people whom you've been bribing, they're gonna take the money and rice plus those vouchers, BUT their 'Xs" will still be on the oppositions' piles! (HAH!)

I think a dozen bar of Dettol soaps will not keep you clean, Mr Prime Minister. Your wife, let's just get her a container full of soaps. And tell her to lay off those hairsprays, because it's getting a bit hazy these days. Oh wait, you'll still be able to see her amidst the haze when she puts on her RM24mil diamond ring.

'Bersih' has been the highlight for many foreign correspondents for many major press. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the Prime Minister, you should be able to undo shit. Be clean, be transparent and be the leader you were meant to be.

I went to the Bersih 3.0 rally and I was appalled by the way you handled the situation. Tell me, how is it that every time we have this rally, you're always out of the country? Are you scared? Don't be! We won't hurt you, we just want you to be clean. Is it so difficult? Have you buried yourself in shit so deep, you can't reach for the flush lever? Just tell us, we'll help flush shit out!

You know, when I was chanting with the rest of the Bersih supporters, I felt at peace. It was an hour of unity. Do you know how difficult it is to achieve unity in a multi-racial society? I'm not talking about those clichéd unity shit we see on TV or in the papers. This one is something. It was so real, I had goosebumps. I was part of that unity, you can too, Mr Prime Minister.

Oh and it certainly didn't help when you closed the main LRT stations. Nice move, asshole! The tear gas? It was real classy. I wonder who'll be tearing when the election results come in. Will you be bolstering votes for your chums? I bet you will. Remember, more bolstering means more Bersih rallies! You don't want more rallies, do you?

But if you do want more rallies, it's ok. We'll just show you more unity on the streets - because we like it, even if it's under the sweltering sun.

Maybe the only people in the country who doesn't understand the meaning of unity are people like you and your chums. It's sad because you're the government. It's even more sad because in a country as beautiful as Malaysia, we have a government like you.

Will you come clean, Mr Prime Minister?

Sincerely with utmost 'cleanliness',
Sue

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I found this tired seal in Southshore, Christchurch. I was just finishing my tea and I chanced upon this cute seal who was stranded by the beach. It was at least 500-600m away from the sea.

So me and my friends plus a Japanese family tried our best to usher it back to sea. This Jap boy was trying to not let the seal leave - well, I think he wants to play with it. So he pulled a long dead leaf from some bush nearby and laid it in front of the seal. To his dismay, the seal waddled towards the leaf and rested on it. Then it waddled again. Each time the boy tried to block the seal, it waddled a few steps and rested on the leaf.

Then it hit me - the tired seal was actually taking baby steps to reach the water. It actually thought or rather made the leaf as a short finish line. It could also regard the leaf as an obstacle. But it didn't! In the end, the seal made it to the water.

Even nature has its own divine ways in teaching us about reaching our goals. I know now that taking small steps is ok because we're human after all. We're bound to get tired sometimes. But we mustn't lose our sight of our goals. All we need is to put our minds to reaching 'little finish lines' in our lives.

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I wanted to take in all New Zealand has to offer. So this time around, I didn't take as many pics compared to my previous trips abroad.

One thing I realised during this trip is that to be able to make good, memorable images is to soak yourself in the moment. As others were busy with their shutter-happy fingers, I was completely in the NOW with New Zealand.

Share