I’ve finally made the purchase of a DSLR – A Nikon D90.

Remember how I was convincing myself not to get one and I could just simply live with my Cybershot H7?

Reality strikes when I was invited for the “Lights of Spring” media event – Only 5 pictures that I have taken painfully with my CyberShot H7 + a tripod are of reasonable quality. Seriously, I didn’t even want to put them up till today, cos I want to show you guys how bad was the quality lah. It’s seriously a camera issue.

Oh, before I forget, I must say this:

我对我的照片效果是很有信心的, OK? 不需要你来提醒我需要给自己多一点信心。

Not that I think my photos are very good. I think they are decent and my composition is not too bad. Criticisms are welcomed. But if your photos are not even there yet, don’t come and make such comments to me.

Kit Lens: AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

AF-S DX Zoom 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED - $299 from Cathay, purchase with purchase promotion.

Anyway, I would consider this as a good buy as it only cost me $1,610 for D90 Kit (cash payment) and $299 for the purchase of the AF-S DX Zoom 55-200mm f/4-5.6 G ED. Thanks @minghao for this good deal! With this 2 lenses, they will cover me both long and short ranges. I was contemplating to get a D90 body and a AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens, but it will cost me $2,450 (cash payment) in total!

My first shot with my D90 was Chingay 2010. With some tips from Clauds, I used the manual mode to shoot the entire parade! Not too bad, I must say! I went trigger happy and shot almost 1,000 worth of photos!

After Chingay, Clauds and Qiquan started injecting more “Buy Buy Buy” virus in me. Tried out the AF 50mm f/1.8D lens and simply love the bokeh effect!

Bought this lens at Bally Photos at $190. I should have waited and buy in JB. Cost only like $175 after currency conversion to SGD! I think my 50mm f/1.8D will be used the most as I wouldn’t carry the rest for casual outings, so I would say money well spent lah.

No, this investment is not going to be a white elephant. I swear!

Photo credit: Clauds

Through Nicole, I was given a sneak peak of this upcoming exhibition at Asian Civilisations Museum – “Treasury of the World” featuring gem stones and other precious objects from The al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait . Early birds like me and DK were invited to put on the outfits and we were brought through some of the exhibition highlights.

Who are the Mughals? If you are as ignorant as me, the legendary Mughal Empire is one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties the world has ever known! One of the significant architecture piece of the Mughals is the Taj Mahal, which was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Rings a bell, eh?

For over 300 years (1526-1858), the Mughals dominated the Indian subcontinent and were renowned for their lavish lifestyle, love of beauty and vast collection of precious objects.

Image courtesy of ©The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait (LNS 2219 J)

In this exhibition, you will get to see the stunning collection of more than 400 exquisite, jewelled works of art – from household items to ornate necklaces and ceremonial swords – from the glorious era of Mughal-ruled India. This blockbuster exhibition has been shown in prestigious venues such as the British Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Louvre Museum in Paris. It makes its Asian debut at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore.

Exhibition details

Date:  12 February to 27 June 2010

Venue: Special Exhibitions Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum

Opening hours:  Mon, 1pm – 7pm; Tues to Sun: 9am – 7pm (to 9pm on Fri)

Admission charges: $8 (adults) / $4 (concession)

Giveaway!

I have been given five pairs of tickets to give away at Vic.sg. Here’s how you can stand to win them!

It’s actually very simple. Just leave me a comment with your real name to tell me what attracts you to this exhibition and I will randomly pick 5 winners!

The contest will close on 6 Feb 2010, 2359 hrs and the names of the 5 winners will be published at Vic.sg on 8 Feb 2010.

A big thank you to Asian Civilisations Museum for making this giveaway possible.

An impromptu dinner outing with Cl0udi3, Qiquan and Clauds! Clauds made her way there on her own without getting lost! Yay!

I particularly like the “1 egg soup” and the Straight Cut Sour Cream Fries! The ham & cheese sandwich tasted yummy too!

Updated: Here’s their website! EverythingWithFries.com