Cute.........No?

Hey hey, long time no post!

Thank you all for wondering how we've been. We're all doing fine, but lots of work and preparing to move residence has taken away all Deb's and my spare time. Moving to our new home (finally) this 25th and hope to have everything settled by end of the month.

Sorry we haven't had time to update our blog and visit you guys and gals, but we hope we can make up for it somewhat with this ultra-cute clip that I am certain will bring a smile to your face.

Have a happy Sunday!


This is Nagi. from Knock Knock on Vimeo.

Till next time.......

Pete

Poon Choi (Big Bowl/Basin) Celebrations

On Saturday, 16 February, I attended Tong Fuk Villages' annual end of Chinese New Year celebrations and Poon Choi dinner.

'Poon Choi', literally means 'meal in a basin'. This type of meal originated in Hong Kong, when Zhao Shi and Zhao Bing, brothers of Emperor Gong of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) were forced to flee with their court from the invading Mongols. The natives in Hong Kong welcomed the brothers and their accompanying army, and collected a variety of food for them - but could find nothing large enough that would fit all the food in - so they used their large wooden basins (that was traditionally used to wash clothes, amongst other things) to serve them. Nowadays, this 'poon choi' is still served mostly by the few remaining traditional fishing/farming villages such as Tong Fuk, but in recent years urbanites have helped revive this disappearing style of cooking.

The celebrations started at 11am, with the worshipping of the village temples and gods and goddesses, followed by the evening poon choi itself. The event ended around midnight. This poon choi gathering, is now the largest held in Hong Kong, and is attended by the natives of Tong Fuk Villagers, as well as guests from neighbouring Shui Hau, San Wai and Lo Wai Village.

As with last year, there were dragon, lion and unicorn dances - Tong Fuk presented their dragon and 2 lions, with Shui Hau bringing their 2 lions, and San Wai and Lo Wai bringing their Unicorns.

I brought a few friends this year - Christina, Cindy, their parents Shirley and K, as well as Mun Mun and Christine. The first time they'd attended such an event.

The celebrations I attended last year and the year before I had still photos to show you. This year I present you with HD video!

Sadly, unlike last years event, heavy clouds came in and there was a slight drizzle in the evening. I'm still thankful that there was no downpour though.

Come join me, and 2,000 other people in this fast vanishing tradition. For me, having an authentic poon choi dinner in century-old celebrations such as this, is far far better than having a poon choi dinner in, for example, a restaurant.

Click here for the nice Hi Def version, or below for the normal one (for those with an older computer or slow connection). Click on 'Full Size' if you so desire.


Chinese New Year, Hong Kong - Sanyo Xacti HD1000 from Pete L on Vimeo.

I feel very honoured to have been able to attend, and be part of such an important event that is usually reserved solely for the villagers. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for having always been so receptive of me, and treating me as one of them.

Special thanks to Ah Sun and Nicole for looking after my friends, and 'Monkey' for the staff badge. :D

And many thanks to you too for watching the video. Hope you enjoyed it!

And if you guys and girls can join us next year, it will be my treat. :D

Pete

Quick Hi And Our 2nd HD Camera!

Where do I start? Hmmm......

Super busy 2 weeks. Work, seminars, big end-of-new-year festivities, illness, rest.

But it wasn't all bad news - I went out to buy my second HD camcorder to make up for everything. :D One slight hiccup though, a video I did of a 'Poon Choi' (Big Bowl/Basin) festivity, that took me 1.5 days to edit, ended up being corrupt so I'll have to start all over again. -_-

Why did I buy another HD camcorder? First of all, my right wrist hurts too much for me to be able to operate a DSLR anymore and anytime in the near future, so I got rid of the D200 and D3 and everything associated with it (except for the tripod) and decided to go for the lighter video cams instead. My Speed HD7 that I had used for my previous videos was great fun, but I wanted something with more manual controls.

I borrowed a friend's Canon HV20 as well as a Sanyo Xacti HD1000. Both does full 1080i HD but the HV20 has nicer, crisper images, better low-light performance, optical image stabilisation and 24p. The Sanyo uses the inferior electronic image stabilisation, does not have 24p nor the ability to lock exposure. But I got the HD1000 after playing with the two over a few days for one reason - the HV20, as much as I really liked it, was just too large and impossible to put in a pocket. The HD1000, on the other hand, I can just put in my pocket which, for me, was what attracted me most. I wanted a change in that I would not be burdened with a bag full of things anymore. And so far, I'm really liking that feeling. It also does 720p at 60fps, as opposed to the HV20's 30fps at 720p. My HD1000 comes with 3 years unconditional warranty with it, so even if I drop it in the sea, or from a building and it shatters into a million pieces, I'll get a new one - no questions asked! That's good for someone like me, since I never pamper any of my gadgets.



Overall, I'm really happy with the HD1000. My initial plans were to use this with the Manfrotto Modosteady - a glidecam device similar to the excellent Merlin Steadicam - but at 1/5th of the price, for the 'Poon Choi' festival, but it was not available and won't be till mid-April. I'll just have to be patient. But when it does arrive, I'll have lots of glidecam fun!

Anyways, here's my first test shoot with the HD1000 at the Hong Kong Park near home. I was very fortunate because that was the only day, in more than a month, that the sun ever came out.

Shot at 720p 60fps. Nothing special, but hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Click here for the nice Hi Def version, or below for the normal one (or if you have a slower computer).


Hong Kong Park - Sanyo HD1000 from Pete L on Vimeo.

Thanks for watching!

Pete