I’m aliveeeeeee!

Albeit a bit more quiet on the blogging front than usual. Like the picture below, I’m here but not really here. Gedwadamsayin?

Photos of me in this post are courtesy of Grazzi :D Thanks housie!

There’s actually tons of pictures from recent shoots that I wanna blog about! Especially R&N’s recent wedding and B&M’s maternity session and my own family session and G&D’s portrait session and many, many more! So much so that I wouldn’t know where to start 0.o

Seeing that I have to start somewhere, here’s quick post of some recent travel pictures, pictures I’ve taken on my days off from work. Yes, I’m working throughout my trip >.< Albeit at a bit more relaxed paced than when I’m in KL. Eeeks!

There’ll be more travel pictures to come as I’m planning to take a roadtrip down south with my bestie after an engagement shoot next weekend. Can’t wait! For now, there are pictures to be edited and emails to be replied (yes, replying all the emails by tomorrow - do or die!) so I best stop this inane babbling and get back to it ;)

Til the next post, chuga chuga choo choo! x

The following 3 collages were all shot at Sculptures by the Sea in Cottesloe.

I was pleasantly surprised when Maria and Christophe brought me to a wee lil street in Chinatown that I had never noticed before. Imagine that, I’ve lived in KL for the past 11 years and Maria and Christophe, who are expats, had to show me where a certain street is *shy* ;p Maria liked the heritage buildings and old walls around the area and when I have clients like that, I am over the moon! Derelict buildings, graffiti-ed walls, construction sites - the more un-pretty the location, the more excited I get :D

As her parents were in town for a visit (great timing!) we took some shots with them before walking around the area for some portraits of Maria. It’s not everyday that I have a portrait session where locations are just sussed out as we walk along the area, so this was a nice change from my usual modus operandi ;)

Christophe thanks again for having me shoot the session (and searching Google for me. Yay for technology again!) and Maria, you are an absolute natural in front of the camera. Thanks for trusting me and just going along with all my suggestions. It was great fun! Glad to hear that you two had a great time in Laos and here’s to more public holidays in Malaysia = more travel time ;p Cheers

Hello there friends!

For those who don’t know (yet), I’m currently in Perth, Western Australia and will be here til end of March 2010 for a bit of work and downtime. Whilst the Malaysian mobile is inactive, I’m contactable via an Oz number and also via email at info(at)anna-rina(dot)com.

For urgent matters or enquiries, just drop me an email and I’ll revert to you as soon as possible as day to day work still continues despite me being away from homegrounds. For previews of the recent shoots, just swing on by my Facebook page here for a glimpse of what’s to come. All this, thanks to the wonders of technology. Don’t you just love it? :)

Ohhh, and please say hello to the chicken rice uncle, wan tan mee aunty, banana leaf rice macha and the owner of the Chinese coffee shop in SS2 and TTDI for despite having been away for only a week, I already miss the food TREMENDOUSLY :( 

Take care friends and much love to all!

Ee-Lyn actually contacted me early last year and back then, she had wanted to have a portrait session as an anniversary surprise for her boyfriend Aaron. The idea was scrapped when Aaron prepared a BIGGER surprise for their anniversary. And Ee-Lyn wrote back to me and said she’ll look for me the following year instead.

Frankly speaking, whenever people say that to me, I think of it as a nice way of saying “Thanks but we won’t be needing your services” ;p So imagine my surprise when I received an email from her in January, saying that she wanted to have a portrait session done to celebrate her 25th birthday. And like Sally Field in her Oscar acceptance speech, I thought to myself, “…you like me, right now, you like me!” (Yes, I’m full of myself. Its my blog, so that’s perfectly acceptable! ;p)

Thank you Ee-Lyn and Aaron, for hanging out with me on that morning, for having pictures taken ‘just because’, for being yourself :) I hope you like the pictures as much as I enjoyed shooting them for you. Here are some of my faves from that day. Can’t wait to share the rest with you when I return to KL in April :) Til then, take care and enjoy the BB and iPhone ;p

Yes they do :)

This might be inappropriate for me to write but when friends are gone, lovers leave you or your job goes down the dumps, family will still be there. Some may say they’ll be there for they have no choice, but I truly believe that however dysfunctional you may think your family is, we’re all bound together by love. Seriously.

So it was with pleasure that I recently met up with a few families to shoot their family portrait session. As each family shared some of their time with me, my heart filled with gratitude that so many people have opened up their doors and welcomed me with open arms to capture a small part of their lives.

I recently said to my brother that I felt so lucky at this point of my life, to be doing what I am absolutely passionate about, that sometimes I’m afraid my luck will run out and one day I won’t be doing this anymore. For now, I’m embracing and enjoying this part of my life as much as I can and it is with utmost gratitude that I would like to personally thank each and every family whom I’ve shot not only recently, but since I’ve started my career.

Thank you :) Oh and please excuse the sappiness. I get a bit emo whenever I’m editing pictures like these and I start imagining what the kids will feel when they see these shots 15 years down the road ;p It’s either that or it’s the time of the month. Hur hur hur ;p

Much Love.

ZOMG.

My workouts have been SOOOO sporadic for the month of February that a gazillion (I KID YOU NOT!) friends and acquaintances have gone “Hey Anna, you look like you’ve lost weight”, “Hey your biceps are smaller”, “Ooo, you look more like a girl now”. Like WTF?!?

The first few times that happened, I ran home and (felt like :p) cried myself to sleep while doing bicep curls. It was THE ultimate insult - its like telling James Nachtwey that his emotional work in wartorn countries is childsplay, telling Anna Wintour that her magazine sucks balls, claiming that James Cameron’s Avatar is not epic. At all.

Then it occurred to me. I’ll claim this as my off season. When I’m too busy with work to workout, like bodybuilders who have months where they let their body rest, I’ll use this time to recuperate (from working out).

So for the next person who goes, “Anna, your muscles shrank??”, I’ll just say “Oh, its my off-season” (and inside my head I’ll be saying “WAIT TILL I MAKE A COMEBACK BUSTER!!”).

Now please excuse me while I go visit the crepe lady in Freo before continuing my editing work. Nom nommm. 

WOD022210
Angie
Pull 13:25 Push 21:00 Sit 25:42 Squat 29:04

Tuesday
Deadlift 1 - 1 - 1
85 - 90 - 95
Was supposed to do 3 sets of 3’s & 5’s thereafter but bailed as I wanted to continue on with Diane :p

Diane 21 - 15 - 9
Deadlift (60kgs)
HSPU
Results 8:45
A minute slower than previously. Sore back. EXCUSES!

WOD021810
13R+3 (HPC 20kg)

WOD200210 Saturday
Power Clean : 30 - 35 - 37.5
Three rounds for time of:
10 Push Press @ 40kg/30kg
20 Push Ups
30 Pull Ups
Results: 17:52 (20kg PP)

Feb 10
WOD020910
Weighted Pull Up 3 - 3 - 3
Results: 12kg
21 - 18 - 15 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3 reps of
KB Swings 16kg
Results: 12:05

Chest to Floor, Thighs, Bar:
11:09

Deadlift 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3
60 - 65 - 70 - 75 - 80

DB Croc Row
35 : 35lbs (20 reps x 2 sets)
Strict Chin Up (3 reps x 10 sets)
DB Shrugs : 20lbs (20 reps x 2 sets)

February 2 (Tuesday)
WOD020110
10 minutes Handstand Push-ups
5 minutes Squats
2 minutes Pull-ups
1 minute Push-ups
Results: 100, 170, 20, 32 (322)
Towards the end had to break down my HSPU’s into 3s and 2s. Couldn’t touch my head to floor, but its improving in the sense that I’m more than halfway there now :D wOOt! Pull ups were CTB but after the first 10, my left wrist had a sharp pain. Its the same jarring pain that I got when I used to climb and FML, I think its gonna be a while before it heals 0.o Absolutely short on breath and felt a bit woozy after this workout. Must be the lack of sleep as I only had 4 hours the night before.

February 4 (Thursday)
Deadlift 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3
Results : 65 - 70 - 75 - 80 - 85

21 - 15 - 9
Ring Pull Up (Single ring, close grip)
DB Press
Results: 11:39 (20lbs)

100 Sit Ups
Results: 3:26

To say that these newlyweds are fun AND creative would be an understatement. Groom shot their own pre-wedding pictures - check. Bride sews her own wedding dresses (no less than 4 dresses, mind you ;p) - check. Bride & groom choreographed a first dance which could rival with a professional performance - check.

To say that I was flabbergasted would be an understatement. The love they show for each other left me touched, their radical dance moves left me speechless (and to have me quiet is quite a feat!) and I am forever in gratitude that they shared the day with me.

Liyen and Michael, thanks again for the day. Here’s wishing you two many memorable pictures, fun dances and great laughs ahead!