Exposure

These days when you go out you will notice more people carrying a DSLR around with them. I am one of these people and I would like to share some basics that I've learned. I am no
expert, but I like to share what I know and if I am wrong I invite you to correct me.

Here I would like to share the basics of exposure. Before we start, if you do not know what an exposure meter looks like then take a look at the picture below. This is the built-in exposure meter (or something similar) that you will see in the viewfinder of your new camera (if you do not know what is a viewfinder, I suggest a trip to some pages on the User Guide of your camera will do some good).



You will see a plus and minus sign. This shows whether the picture you are trying to take is currently in the right exposure. Adjustments are usually made if the exposure is not centered on the bar.

3 main functions in a DSLR controls exposure. They are:
- ISO
- Shutter speed
- Aperture

These 3 functions control the exposure (amount of light) in different ways. ISO controls light by adjusting the sensitivity of the sensor/film. Shutter speed uses time to control the amount of light hitting the sensor/film. Aperture uses different opening sizes to control amount of light entering.

By varying these 3 controls, you can adjust for correct exposure.

Of course each of these controls have different effect on light, therefore it will be interesting to adjust for the right exposure and vary your settings to see what kind of effects you will obtain.

I hope you found this article useful. Have fun experimenting!

Senangin - Demystified

Right after my Pulau Aman post, I googled the web for Senangin and finally found its English name...THREADFIN here.

Sounds fast and strong. It is certainly an athletic fish, I've seen it flip on top of the surface to break the line the last time we went fishing. John had the 1.4kg Threadfin near the surface and it suddenly jumped out of the water, did some sort of spin.

Knowing that it is trying to break the line, our friend Boon Heng quickly grabbed a net and a split second later it landed in the net.

That time was the first time (prior to this I could not differenciate the types of fish for the life of me) I had senangin/threadfin.

Pulau Aman 2

After a long period of dark, gloomy and wet season, we finally have a spell of good weather. When there is good weather, there will be good fishing. So this is my second trip to Pulau Aman.

We met up at 9.30am and headed to the market opposite Sunshine supermarket in Bayan Lepas for a hearty breakfast. The stall selling chicken & roast pork belly rice facing Suntech was delicious. After filling our stomachs with food and Penang famous kopi 'O', we headed to the wet market to get our bait. We bought Kembung fish, medium sized prawns and sotong.

Once we got our stuff we headed to our destination of Pulau Aman near Batu Kawan!

1. Here is a pic of John and Mui Soon getting their gear ready. Can you pick out the kiasu one? Every fishing trip he will be the first to throw in the line! Haha...see the face also know right? kekeke

2. Kiasu is kiasu lah, but champion for the day is John! Hahaha. He caught a beautiful Senangin or "Ngor Hu". I'm not familiar with the English name for it.

3. There were a few groups of anglers on the jetty too. This guy was with his two kids and they managed to catch ikan Sembilan or "Thor Sat". Very good for curry. His kids caught many ikan Gelama too. They just throw their lines in and minutes later get hook up.

4. This peculiar looking thing was caught by another group. They told us that this can be used as bait after cutting it up. I have no idea what it is.

5. I am not sure what sort of fish this is. Looks like snapper but I took a look at this site but could not find anything similar.

6. These people are hardcore fishing fanatics! This is one example of overnight fishing. Look at the amount of gear for 2 person. On the right side (not in this pic) there is another setup, with double the gear! I take my hat off to these passionate anglers.

7. Yup, you're right. Live bait! The best! Live shrimp caught by net. Live shrimp is pretty expensive coming at RM 0.40 - 0.50 each. I heard Red Snapper loves live shrimp. No chance to try it yet though (I meant the live shrimp bait).

8. Heard of handsfree kit for your mobile? How about handsfree fishing rods? I'm sure these were around way before handsfree for mobile :D

9. Here's a pic of John posing with his catch. See, no need muscle to catch, just use stiff action rods and 20lbs line the fish will just fly out and land on your lap!

10. Life jacket aboard the boat that ferries passengers to and from Pulau Aman. Funny thing was that no one was wearing them. Even the Captain.

11. We didn't have chance to eat at the Malay seafood restaurant pictured here. I've tried their seafood fried rice, and it includes 3 super large prawns. Can't remember the price, but should be around RM7 - 9.00 per plate. Flavor is ok, but the prawns are fresh and just a delight to bite into.

12. The ferry stops here.

13. Heres the jetty that we do our fishing. You can see it stretches out about 100m from the shore. Allowing anglers to reach deeper waters.

14. Concrete sign welcoming you to Pulau Aman.

15. Shell fish at a local seafood restaurant in Batu Kawan.

16. Soft shelled crabs. Also at the seafood restaurant. Very nice but we didn't order any.

17. Mantis prawns. These are considered the medium sized ones. They are very nice steamed with garlic or stir fried with butter or salted eggs.

18. Lion fish. Notice the big head. Didn't know that they were edible.

19. This is the seafood restaurant that we had our fish cooked and served with dinner. They will clean and cook the fish you caught for only RM8.00!

20. Here's the Senangin steamed with tomato, ginger and asam. Very fresh and delicious.

21. Everyone getting ready to tuck in.

22. The size of the fish against my hand. Keep in mind my fingers are pretty long. LOL.

23. The full menu. Fish, crabs, sotong, seaweed soup and mixed vege. Simple, fresh and heartening meal.

24. Finally, the remainders. ;)

Champion: John Pang (1 x Senangin)

Mui Soon & Shien Long (eat egg)