iTravel by maplRN

Thursday, February 21, 2019

There's Nothing Like Australia!

Gold Coast - Brisbane - Sydney - Mackay

25 January - 3 February 2019

Sunrise with Wallabies at Cape Hillsborough

Hi guys! It's me again for my first travel for this year! This time, I was able to visit the land down under, Australia! Join me as we unfold the beauty within and prove that "There's nothing like Australia!"

GOLD COAST
QUEENSLAND

Surfer's Paradise

I started my journey walking on the sunny coast of beautiful beaches of Gold Coast. It's summer time, and it's the perfect time to visit this place. Upon arriving at the Surfer's Paradise, I was so amazed by the scenery of blue waters, fine white sand and the people surfing, dipping and sun tanning around. The beach can be reach within 30 minutes of bus ride from the Coolangata Airport.

Coolangata Beach

Gold Coast is widely known for it's beaches. You'll be amazed by the view it can offer as it has the best beaches in the world! Another beach I visited, 15 minutes bus ride from the Coolangata Airport is situated at the far end of the stretch of Gold Coast, the Coolangata Beach. Here, you can find the superb Snapper Rocks where you can witness the waves coming to the rocks.

BRISBANE
QUEENSLAND

It was a sun kissed morning to early afternoon stroll in the sparkling waters of the beaches of Gold Coast and I decided to head my journey to the capital city of Queensland, Brisbane. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia, From Gold Coast, you can reach the city by the Airtrain within 1 hour to 1 and a half hour depending on where will you depart in Gold Coast such as in Helensvale and Varsity Lakes Station.

Me at the Brisbane City Hall

Here, I visited some of the popular places of the city such as the Brisbane City Hall, Cathedral of St. Stephen, Cathedral of St John and Chinatown. It was an amazing afternoon while walking on the sidewalk of the city with the view of the sunset at the Brisbane River and the Story Bridge. At my surprise, I didn't know that it's Australia Day at that time and I just happened to know when I saw the banners around. At night, it is indeed a very lucky day for me as I witnessed the superb fireworks display at the Brisbane South Bank.

Fire works at Brisbane South Bank

Brisbane City Hall

Sunset at the Story Bridge

Cathedral of St. John

Arts on the Streets of Brisbane

Cathedral of St. Stephen

SYDNEY
NEW SOUTH WALES

Who will not get excited if someone will tell you things about Sydney with it's popular Sydney Opera House! I was very excited for this as I really wanted to get a selfie with this popular icon! The next day, I take a 1 and a half hour flight from Brisbane Domestic Airport to Sydney. Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, is the most populous city in Australia. Here I get to experience the double decker trains from the airport to its city proper. I didn't waste anytime upon arriving in Sydney, I started strolling around the streets and finally get to see personally the Sydney Opera House! Wow!

Sydney is indeed a very interesting city as you'll see the intricate structure of some of the oldest buildings. Here, I visited the Sydney Town Hall, Queen Victoria Building, Paddy's Market Hay Market, Hyde Park, Anzac Memorial, St, Mary's Cathedral and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The City of Sydney

Queen Victoria Building

Forgotten Songs of City Art Sydney

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House

St. Mary's Cathedral

Anzac Memorial

Sydney Opera House Roof

St. Mary's Cathedral

Sydney Town Hall

Bondi Beach

Of course, since it's summer time, I also visited the famous beach of Sydney, the Bondi Beach. Bondi Beach is very well known to me as I always watched previously the TV show series " Bondi Rescue". This is one of the reasons why I wanted to visit Sydney, to walk, dip and take photos around the beautiful beach of Bondi. Bondi Beach is a surprising 30 minutes bus ride only from the city.

Misty Afternoon at Bondi Beach

Seagulls Dipping at Bondi Beach

Rocky Side of Bondi Beach

The Bondi Beach Waves

Bondi Beach to Bronte Coastal Walk

The Flat Rock View

MACKAY
QUEENSLAND

Me at the Cape Hillsborough, Mackay, Queensland

After the side trips of the city of Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney, I finally take flight to Mackay, Queensland where my main aim is, to visit my brother and his family and most especially to surprise my mother! Bwahahaha!

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

While in the air, I was amazed with the view below and took a photo of the birds eye view of the city with my phone.

Brisbane City

Bribie, Queensland

Sunshine Coast

Mackay, Queensland is a city centre suburb in Mackay region and is a 1 hour flight from Brisbane City. Here, I visited places such as, Mackay Regional Botanical Gardens, Cape Hillsborough, Eungella National Park, Airlie Beach, Hay Point, Blue Water Lagoon, Slade Point and Mackay Harbour.

Mackay Regional Botanical Gardens

Mackay Harbour

Slade Point

Hay Point

Cape Hillsborough

Eungella National Park

markanthonylim|photography2019
itravelbymaplrn

Canon 5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM

Other selfies at Mackay, Queensland.

Slade Point

Mackay Harbour

Mackay Regional Botanical Gardens and Eungella National Park

Cape Hillsborough

Airlie Beach and Hay Point

Other selfies of my whole trip:

Brisbane Airport

Coolangata Beach and Coolangata Airport

Bus going to Surfer's Paradise

Broadbeach Station Tram and the Sky Point

Surfer's Paradise

Coolangata Airport and Varsity Lakes Airtrain Station

Nomads Brisbane and Cathedral of St. Stephen

Story Bridge and Eagle Street Pier

Cathedral of St. John and Brisbane South Bank

Brisbane Central Station

Brisbane Central Station and Sydney Domestic Airport

Sydney Double Decker Train and Hay Market

Market City and Sydney Town Hall

Queen Victoria Building

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House

iLight Singapore 2019

Singapore

5 February 2019

markanthonylim|photography2019

itravelbymaplrn.blogspot.com

Canon 5D Mark IV

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM

Testing the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM

Flower Dome Gardens by the Bay

January 2019

markanthonylim|photography2019

itravelbymaplrn.blogspot.com

Canon 5D Mark IV

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM

My Works at the #TELTheFullPicture Exhibit

#TELTheFullPicture

Land Transport Authority Singapore x Canon Singapore

Bugis MRT Station

1 - 28 February 2019

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Canon EOS R from a Travel Photographer’s Perspective

A Full Review by yours truly!

EOS World Community Ambassador - Canon Singapore

My interest in photography and my journey began way back before I finish my degree in the Philippines. It is a very difficult situation for me at that time as I don’t have any equipment to use and no background as well in photography. 2010 is the year where I graduated, passed the board examination for Nurses in the Philippines and especially the year when I visited Singapore for the first time where in one of my friend ask me to try his DSLR and told me after that I have an eye for it.

And so I explore more after that vacation. I joined one photography group in my home town and from there I learned a lot about the basic techniques of using DSLR. While practicing my profession, I started loving photography every single day. I was inspired to do travel photography by some of my friends and started my journey by travelling to different cities of the Philippines to witness their religious festivals.

Ever since I started photography I was amazed with Canon DSLR. 2014 is the year when I finally owned my very first Canon DSLR, Canon EOS 70 D. I became more eager to learn at that time. I joined and won different photo contests and some of my photos were published in the news spread.

I started working here in Singapore in December 2015 and my journey in photography blooms as I moved forward. Canon Photomarathon is well known to me as I previously joined this photo contest while I’m in the Philippines. A year after while working, I’ve decided to try CPM here in Singapore and surprisingly bag the top prize, an all expense paid trip to Japan Photo Clinic and the very new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. It was a surreal moment when I first use my Canon Full-frame camera. The time was so fast that I’ve upgraded myself immediately from advanced equipment to professional ones. But this doesn’t hinders myself from learning more but rather put me into a challenge of pursuing my photography journey into the next level.

I was so excited to try it out and I literally go out with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV every single day when I am free until the Canon Photomarathon Asia Championship in Japan finally comes. The CPMC 2017 thought me a lot of things especially from my mentors and co-participants. Photography can’t be learned alone to develop skills, but one must need another photographer to inspire them and learn from their experiences. That’s what CPMC is all about. It really boosts my enthusiasm to upgrade furthermore my knowledge in photography.

With my Canon gears, I always excited about travelling more and bringing back the memories of a place through photography. Being a Travel Photographer makes me feel more enthusiastic to inspire other people. I am always nostalgic whenever people commend my works and will start to ask how things were made possible. Photography requires a lot of skills and passion to compel one’s mind to become creative and unique to others.

After all those years from nothing to becoming one of the participants of Canon Photomarathon Asia Championship 2017, I’m very glad I’ve made it from where I am now, one of the newest Canon EOS World Community Ambassador. I know this comes with a great responsibility and I am very grateful to inspire more people around me.

It is such an honor to be one of the photographers here in Singapore to do a review of their latest Canon product, the Canon EOS R with Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM. Here I will tell you about what I like most and what are the things that I didn’t from a travel photographer’s perspective.

Canon EOS R from a Travel Photographer’s Perspective

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/22 | 1sec | ISO800 | Labrador Park

Being a Travel Photographer requires a lot of patience and effort to carry your equipment along with you throughout your journey. First thing that I like with this superb camera is it’s weight and body. Most of my travels, I will only bring one camera body and one lens because I want to travel less in terms of weight. Carrying heavy items while travelling will most likely exhaust you immediately and it can give you a lot of hindrances while taking a photo. I still have the DSLR feel and it’s very light in weight. Indeed, it never gives me any difficulty while using it one handed.

Since I’m currently using the Canon 5D Mark IV, I can’t help myself but to compare the buttons and dials of it. To me personally I find it difficult to use it at first but when I use it entirely for 2 weeks, I get used to it with ease eventually. Two control dials are at the top and I find it difficult while I’m using the viewfinder compared to my current body where the other dial sits beside the screen.

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/5.6 | 1/100 | ISO100 | Chinatown

Most of the photographers including myself will like very much its tilting screen. It will let us “go low” as possible to capture right moments at the right position and perfect angle. With its touch screen, I can use it also as a shutter button. With the AF touch, I can directly focus to my subject at the right time perfect for street scenes where you can capture unique moments. One thing I don’t like while using the tilted screen is when I’m holding it with my left hand and using my right hand to use the touch screen, the sensor below the electronic viewfinder will likely detect my hand and will turn off the LCD screen for electronic view finder hence I will lose the chance of getting the right moment.

Electronic viewfinder is superb and helps me a lot in composing a photo through the viewfinder itself. It is now the same function as live view where you see what you can get in an easy way. As I travel, I can’t say for sure that I will have the same lighting at the same time like for example shooting from indoors and outdoors. For me it saves time and effort to get the shot at a perfect light and exposure.

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/5.6 | 1/250 | ISO100 | Little India

Subject from streets can be difficult at times because first, they know your pointing the camera to them and second, the shutter sound. I personally like the silent shooting as I can shoot subjects without interrupting their activities. This makes a good composition of natural scenes of people around and respecting the silence of a place especially churches and temples that allows photography inside.

For me I like it when I can change AF modes immediately by simple gestures. With its Multi-function bar, I can customize it as my AF mode control. This bar works perfectly for me while I’m using the electronic view finder. Using this function together with the touch function from the LCD while on the electronic viewfinder, I can do things fast without any hesitation.

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/9 | 1/400 | ISO100 | Marina Bay

As compared with my current body’s joystick, I find the EOS R a bit difficult without this to control and move my AF points from one side to another. But thanks for the added touch LCD function, I can do it while on the electronic view finder by simply touching the LCD itself as a joystick. One thing I don’t like is that it is not as fast as the joystick.

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/9 | 1/400 | ISO100 | Novena

Travel photography requires a lot of things to consider. Batteries and memory cards are the most important things while you’re on the go for a travel. While EOS R have an estimated battery life of 350 shots, it doesn’t bother me as it is packed with LP-E6N which is mostly used for other Canon DSLR’s like my Canon 5D Mark IV and I can have spare batteries while travelling. While some photographers will ask why the EOS R only have single card slot, for me personally I don’t think I need more than one card slot. I always make sure I have my portable hard drive with me to transfer my files after a long day. For me it isn’t a problem as I always standby 2 to 3 SD cards with me whenever I’m travelling.

With the Canon EOS R’s WIFI function capability, it is a perfect on the go camera for me. Whenever I travel, I can transfer photos to my phone directly with my phone application Camera Connect and post-process it with photo editing applications. It also allows me to use remote live view function which gives me zero free vibrations while shooting landscapes and long exposure shots. It also allows me to be creative as possible. Sometimes, a photo isn’t working without a human element in it and an easy way to solve it is to put myself into it by which I find this function very effective.

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/10 | 120sec | ISO100 | Marina Barrage

Thanks to its autofocus range that can do as low as -6 EV, low light photography isn’t a problem with this new camera. I find it very useful where I can still select the focus point of my subject without any difficulties in low light settings.

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/6.3 | 1/200 | ISO100 | Bedok

For me flexibility plays an important role in the usability of a camera and the EOS R has it. The camera is very flexible for me in terms of it’s capability when using EF lenses and using cropping/aspect ratio. With the use of mount adapter EF - EOS R, I can use all my EF lenses without any hesitations of getting a problem like vignetting. The adapter connects EF lenses to the EOS R perfectly. The only downside for me is the lack of the third ring that is newly attached to RF lenses which I used mainly for ISO control. So let’s say you didn’t bring your zoom lens and Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM is not enough to reach your subject, you can directly select and change your aspect ratio from Full to 1:6x (crop) that let’s you multiply the range up to 1.6.

I like it when a camera have its multi-exposure function. Whenever I travel, I always use this function to show some creativeness and make unique interesting photos. It allows me to stack multiple photos up to 9 frames and make it as one.

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM | f/22 | 60sec | ISO100 | Marina Bay

RF lenses like the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 IS USM are superb in terms of its image quality. It delivers all over sharp images and and vibrant color reproductions that totals to a new revolution of Canon lenses. Another thing that I like with this lens is the availability of a third ring in it that can be customized according to one’s preference. To me I used it as my ISO control that surpasses my expectations. It is a very unique feature that saves my time whenever I’m taking photo with different light conditions. Moving from indoor to outdoor and vice-versa makes it easier for me to control my composition by using this third ring as my ISO control.

markanthonylim|photography2018

itravelbymaplrn.blogspot.com

Canon EOS R + Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM