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For this second part of the Alpha Convention post, I would like to share more pictures than words.
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Below is the Terracotta warriors replicas that is present at the China booth.
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Apart from dancers there was also performance by a couple of young shaolin monks. I noticed that these monks seem to have hair whereas those monks from shaolin I've seen on TV have no hair. So I do not know how authentic these shaolin monks are.
Nonetheless, as is evident from the pictures, they do have a couple of tricks up their sleeves or robe or whatever you call their attire. Bending a spear with your throat is no mean feat and below we see that they can break metal strips by hitting them against their heads.
You can see the broken off part in the picture above about to fall onto the floor.
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Above and below : The most expensive lens available for sale in the Sony Alpha stable - the Sony 300mm f/2.8 G lens. The picture above shows the lens with its hood attached while the one below shows it without its hood. This lens costs over RM 20k!!
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On the weekend of March 11th 2011 to March 13th 2011, Sony Malaysia organized the Sony Alpha Convention 2011. This is the second time that such a convention is held. The first ever Alpha Convention was held in 2008.
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I attended both the conventions and had a great time at both events. What is the Alpha Convention? Well, it's a event where Sony invites photographers from all walks of life and covering all types of photography to speak. They will share their experience with the participants and give insights into the photography industry. And you know what the best part is? The Alpha Convention is absolutely free! Yes, you heard right. It's FREE. Paid for by Sony for all its Alpha camera customers! Non Alpha camera customers are invited too.
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So if anyone tells you that Sony DLSR cameras are no good and suggest you to buy either Nikon or Canon DSLRs, ask them whether Nikon or Canon organizes any such conventions for their users. That's why I love my Alpha cameras! Haha! Just kidding! Nikon and Canon makes great cameras too but currently only Sony organizes a convention like this for its users.
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The Alpha Convention 2011 was held in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. Below are some shots of the venue.
Above: Shot from one end of the convention hall. In the foreground are the counters by Sony Style selling various Alpha cameras and accessories. Further into the picture you can see booths with themes based on various Asian countries where one can check out and test the various models of Alpha cameras available for sale. At the other end of the hall is the main stage where some of the talks are held.
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Above: The convention hall shot from a little stage in the middle of the hall.
Below : Another view of the convention hall showing the Japan booth where the Alpha NEX cameras are displayed.
Below: A shot showing the centre stage where some performances are held at regular intervals throughout the day. 
Here are a couple of shots of some of the speakers that Sony has invited to speak at the convention. From left to right are Gary Friedman, an experienced photographer and authors of several books on the Alpha camera from the USA, Steve Chong a landscape photographer, Jessica Chan, a travel photographer and editor for a travel magazine and Kim Mun, a fashion photographer.
In this shot are Azrul K. Abdullah who specializes in portraiture and architectural photography, Nikt Wong, a street photographer and Mohd Rizal who does macro photography. There are a lot more speakers that covers topics from nature photography, documentary photography and wedding photography.
Having an opportunity to hear all these speakers and gain an insight into their jobs and passion is invaluable. It is also very inspiring.
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Here is a shot I took showing 3 Carl Zeiss 135mm f/1.8 lenses. The one on the left has a hood attached so it looks longer. They cost RM 5k a piece thus in this picture alone there is close to RM 30k worth of equipment. Yup! Photography is not a cheap hobby!
Here's a shot of some Sony staff helping participants to fill up some survey forms.
And we also had dancers who will appear at regular intervals to put on performances so that we can take some photos and also for interested buyers to test out camera models that they are interested in.
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There is also a Vietnam themed booth that is selling food and drinks. Above is a shot I took of a table from the Vietnam booth and below is a shot of the decorative item in the booth. The convention starts at 10am and closes at 8pm each day. If you don't mind eating the same food for lunch and dinner you can basically stay inside the convention hall the whole day. That's actually what I did on Saturday 12th of March. If you don't fancy the food here at the stall, Sony provides refreshments at each of the talks. You can fill yourself up with cakes and sandwiches after every talk.
Of course apart from all the above, Sony also hires pretty models for the convention so that you can keep yourself busy in between the talks by taking pictures of them. Below is a shot of a couple of these models posing with the Alpha NEX cameras at the China booth.
Stayed tuned for more pictures in Part 2!
And of course some pictures of some of the models at the convention. 
Above : A trio of beauty. If you thought that the girl in the middle seems a little pale, you're right. She's wearing makeup ala the geishas of Japan but hers is not as thick as those you see in Japan. 
