A call from someone far away yet not from heart's distance..

by: Azri Idzuandi @ www.azriec.tumblr.com

Ayie called from korea a few minutes ago. I was really touched by his sincere generosity and warm friendship.

:)

This proves that u dont have to SEE or meet the friend to know him. We can be honest if we choose to.

p.s: i've never met ayie before. how miraculous can friendship be.

oh by the way.. suara ayie sexy la.. hahahahhaah :D

salam!

maaf zahir batin my friend. :)

EOS 5D MARK II

Neck Breaking 21.1 megapixels! At full frame!

Oh what a beauty. Have been waiting for the news of it's coming for quite some time.

With my current 1.6x gear, i could use a FF camera. But hey, i dont need it. YET. hmm I suppose it's all in the mind.

The current gear:

EOS 30D is simply superb as it is!

Minus LIVE VIEW. Minus the cool body. Minus Full Frame capabilities.

But do i need them? nope. :)

But damn that 24-105 could sure be a kicker. Great feel. Though, my trusty 17-85 still bears strong with me!

So i'm just gonna let time pass by and maybe get a DAMN good one in years to come. :) maybe in 10 years. there might b a  CANON EOS 1D MARK 10? hahaha. dream on hilmi. dream on.

But thats what's been keeping me going..

dream ;)

BCU BUAT GILA............

University saya buat kerja gila..

Dia kata minggu ni registration..

tapi dia bagi brief assignments minggu ni..

Saya terasa gelabah dan pressure..

di malam yang nan indah ini..

tekanan otak dan kesakitan jiwa..

oh..

ku merana..

ARGH!!!!!  ni belum sampai lagi! dah ada dugaan.. MasyaAllah Kuwata Illa Billah

Salam Aidilfitri

Aidilfitri 2008

Saya, Hilmi Ramlan, ingin mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya kepada semua umat Islam di seluruh dunia.

Maaf Zahir dan Batin. Mohon maaf beribu-ribu ampun kepada semua kalau ada tersilap kata atau tersalah anggap. Maaf banyak-banyak. Saya hanyalah manusia biasa namun saya mohon maaf sama sekali :)

Thousand apologies to everyone out there. If i've accidentally or purposely hurt anyone. 

Selamat Hari Raya to all! Eid Mubarak to all!

Europe

Rome - Italy - 2008 May

Heading back to the UK soon. Another adventure awaits! Milan? Perhaps Paris please. :P

A dream.. i chase.. insyaAllah

One of the things that i chase in dunia. But insyaAllah, i wont forget my akhirah ;)

That's how you do it in style.

BMW M5

Three scholars...

It's hard to get the three of us together like this. Didn't get a snap of kak jijo though. but will do next time ;) hehe.

an accountant, an actuary and a designer. Me n dd usually meet each other for the past year in London. Now that she's back, i'd have a hard time finding anyone in london :(

Didi

DD's back! And she's just finished her master's degree in london recently. Glad to have her back home ;)

Leaving? Not yet.. :)

Ramadhan 2008

I'm still around by the way. Not going anywhere. YET!

It's a week left for me before i head back for ye ole England. Sounds fascinating. But sort of sad in a perspective. :(

Anyways, Allah strengthen my soul insyaAllah.

Hilmi

From the book itself..

Today's Jum'ah Khatib, spoke of husband and wife. Directly from the Quran itself;

excerpt from Surah Al-Baqarah

Ayat 187

" Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and ye are their garments."

The interesting part about this ayat which struck me was. How Allah swt has put into words a subtle yet deep meaning of words.

Garments. Pakaian in malay. A husband is the wife's garment. The wife is the husband's garment. What is the purpose of a garment if i may ask?

Garment

noun

an item of clothing

Garments are used for/to:

PROTECT us from the heat/cold/wind/etc

In other words, to warm us up during winter. To cool us during summer. You get the idea.

Prettify ourselves

Everyone loves to look adorable, handsome, pretty and nice. So is the duty of the husband/wife. They need to make each other look beautiful by covering their aurat. Aurat ie: Things not meant to be seen. Im not talking in literal means here. As in, face hands and etc. Im talking of the metaphorical concept of it. Everyone has their 'bad' side right? So im sure someone needs to cover it up with something good so that people wont talk bad about it and etc.

These two are some of what i can remember from today's lecture at the mosque. :) i find it really astonishing!

I learned something new today :)

OVA's Bosses

Sheila

She has a spice-red walled office. That's so cool. She's one heck of a boss!

Sulina

Can Can Can. Everything can. :D hahaha so very friendly and baik. 

Dharma

The art director of the company. Journalist turned art director cum copywriter cum everything lah. :P

Woooh had  a photoshoot today for the ovums. Took all of them one by one. But just had the chance to edit three for now. The bosses of course. Dharma, Sheila and Sulina :D

I dont know bout them, but i enjoyed taking photos of all of them today :D hahahah. Especially tums and niena.. hahahaha and ms.art director adelyn :P Had so much FUN!

Lemme know what u think of the compo and photo. Till then!

hilms

Syakirah's take on herself.. :P talking about spot the difference :P

courtesy of: Matahatiseni "Shabby Cottage"

Flowers

Blooming flowers.. have always enticed me to come close.

Be careful of what's to expect. Come closer. And you'll find out.

Getting started

It'll be three weeks till i get back to the uk to continue what i've set out to do. InsyaAllah, it'll be yet another great adventure!

This year, i hope to learn more and be more kind, friendly and much more understanding to those around me.

Being nice would be a start i suppose. hahaha

Anyway, ill be changing gears these few weeks. Watch me drift ;)

15th Ramadhan

Today marks the middle of this holy month. Alhamdulillah, so far all has been really well.

This morning was spent on the bed. As usual, woke up, got ready and drove off to KL to pick up my grandparents. Tonight we're supposed to head to my aunt's place in Putrajaya. Fortunately, the road was empty. NOT as USUAL. ;)

Anyways, picked them up at half past three. And got home right after. Spent some time watching a cartoon with ilham and ira till papa and mama gave the signal :P

We took two cars to putrajaya today. So i drove mine. And papa drove the Estima.

After a slow drive, mind you i rarely drive SLOW :P we reached putrajaya a few minutes before breaking fast.

This time, many was around. Nearly EVERYONE was there :D

There were lots of food on the tables. And also the mini table. And the coffee table. hahahhaa

Ate and ate. We then all agreed to go to the famous PUTRA MOSQUE in putrajaya for Tarawih and Isya'. And off we went at around 8.15pm.

Came back from prayers, and saw how lovely the moon looked today. Really dazzling.

Nways, will post the photos soon. :)

Happy Fasting everyone!

Photography gear update

Hey !

An update on what's in my camera bag since 2006.

I didn't even think of  photography seriously back then. Enjoyed it to the max ever since.

Found peace and of my own mind when i hold the camera. And thanks pa for everything. Not to mention the amount of time he had to sit down with me to decide on which lens. hahaha

EOS 30D (2006) - First used it in photography class in Limkokwing Univ.

A flash gun. I had very little knowledge on using this. But alhamdulillah, i've learned alot! (2006)

The big gun. Stretching out to 200mm, this has served me real well. So far, my only L series lens. ;) (2007)

My favourite walkabout+travel lens. Thousands and thousands snapped with this one. My very first lens. (2006)

The newcomer 1. A prime with great aperture control. Great for indoor photography and portraits as well ;) (2008)

Newcomer 2. I think papa was interested in the effects of a macro, so we decided on this as well. The sharpness this lens creates is superior in it's range. (2008)

The two newcomers were actually a sudden buy. My original thought was to get a :

24-105mm f4 L IS USM

For the price of this lens up here, i bought two different lenses instead. Ok ok i lost an L lens, but hey, if it's just gonna give my already good 17-85, then might as well i just shut it.

Anyways, that's my current gear set up. Was thinking of getting a diffuser for my flash unit :)

Till next time!

Hilmi Ramlan

Poyoz Reunite : Afiq's 20th

Birthday Boy + Founder Poyoz :P

Naddy

Oh.. i shall miss thou...

Mrs. H

Le Pizza

Mr. H

Chicken Wings!

BURPPP!!!!!!

The big two-oh struck mr.poyo n0.1 today.

Happy birthday bro. Allah bless you ;)

Afiq picked us up (me and naddy) and headed straight to Pizza Hut in Kota Damansara. Met with Mr and Mrs. H for buka puasa.

A small gathering to also celebrate afiq's birthday. Though we were missing one person in the scene. Ms.Vancouver and Poyo Junior :P

nways hope ur reading this J ;)

here are the a few photos i took during the night. :) 

10 days of commitment to Allah swt...

Faith in Fate - 2006

Alhamdulillah, it's been 10 days since the start of Ramadhan. Filled with fasting, prayers and zikir for Allah s.w.t.

I've never had so much commitment in my whole life. I can't remember when was the last time i enjoyed putting my head on the floor, and sujud to Allah for what he has given me and what blessings given upon me.

So far, alhamdulillah, Ramadhan hasn't been silent for me. With splendid food and great company from friends and family.

MasyaAllah, imagine people out there. The other believers out there who are doing the same. But without the same. Imagine them having to think of HOW to get their next meal. HOW to even AFFORD a meal.

Astagfirullah, sometimes i ponder on how lucky i am to actually have such a life. Filled with everything. More than enough is how i'd say it.

Unfortunately, it saddens me, seeing that some post smiles on their faces when it comes to Ramadhan. Smiles where they would only put up for the month. Or maybe even till dusk. 

Syukur alhamdulillah.

a famous dua/prayer:

" Oh Allah, i am not worthy of your Heaven. 

But i am not willing to enter Hellfire. 

As such, forgive me of my sins. 

For you are the Most caring and Most Forgiving."

hilmi

Dizzy zeeee

Oui... pink pink pink :D

credits:

Matahati seni freebies (textured papers + elements)

I'm getting addicted..

credits: Matahatiseni (zakirah)

To digital scrapping?? omg.. zakirah. it's all ur fault :P hahaha

nways.. did a page for my little niece here.. Eryne.. :)

Dua Gigi Hadapan

hahaha a promo for mr. xiong.

http://www.twofrontteeth.net/

hehehe his photography is absolutely astonishing. a style of his own. do check his website out ;) worth the time.

Hilmi

Matahatiseni

Hey guys! Just want to promote a friend of mine. Matahatiseni a.k.a zakirah!

hmm she's been crapping.. i mean.. scrapping in the digital world since 2007. and she's doing REAL dang good!!! :D hahah

nways my full support for ms.zakirah!

www.matahatiseni.blogspot.com

please PLEASE do go and visit. :) you wont regret it ;)

ta!

hilmi

Eryne Balqish

Hah! Congratulations to Along and Kak Erol. Their daughter alhamdulillah was safely brought into this world on the 28 . 8 . 2008.

ERYNE BALQISH

She's one of the most adorable babies i've ever seen.

Unfortunately, i have to start playing as uncle hilmi. oh my... lol!!

we had fun finding new titles and names for each other the other day hahaha.

Me: Uncle/Om Hilmi

Syakirah: Tante Ira

Ilham: i shant mention :P

Mama: Omma

Papa: Tok Uda ( like LOL!!!)

and yeah. lots more :P Acik would now be called WAN CHIK.. hahahha it was so hilarious hahha

nways.. congrats again. My prayers are with you and grow strong little one.

May Allah bless you all the way insyaAllah.

Uncle Emi

My First Digital Scrap

OK people, i know it looks like some kid's game. But have a go, and you'll know it means business.

A good friend of mine, Zakirah or MATAHATISENI.blogspot.com, has been scrapping since 2007. She taught me how to get started.

Okla, it looks like some kids/girls game, but if you look at it. It's somewhat a form of design. No?

hahaha nways, i know my first try looks a lil awkward. but hey!.. im gonna go look for more freebies and try out more.

Oh and yes Zakirah, ill be having a DIGI SCRAP File soon. hahaha ;)

thanks zakirah!

hilms

Super Cars Series : Merdeka Millenium Endurance Race

These hot cars were somewhat the spotlights of the day. Imagine 30 supercars racing at neck-breaking speeds.

The cars include:

Lamborghini Gallardo

Porsche Carrera GT / GT3

Ferrari F430

Phew.. these sexy yet screaming loud machines shook my hand whilst holding the camera. Being just two feet away from these cars showed how nasty it can get. The scream was just amazing!

The drivers and cars of the PFX Merdeka Race

Car 11 - Muhammad Ilham Ramlan

Had an enjoyable weekend! Received passes from VW CARS to photographs of the petronas formula experience support races.

The event goes as follows:

Thursday Qualifying+Race 1

Friday Race 2

Saturday Race 3 (final)

The event was in collaboration with the Merdeka Millenium Endurace Race, which is held annually before the Independence Day.

As such, the supporters comprise of family members and friends.

=)

The boys did really well on those days. Exceptionally well. Was very entertaining as well.

Hilmi