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!

Anna-Rina Photography (that’s me!) will be in Perth, WA for 5 weeks come 2010!

I’ll be down under for wedding photography and a couple of portrait sessions between February 24 - March 30, 2010. Seeing that I’ll be there for quite some time, I’m opening up bookings for additional portrait sessions.

If you’re interested in getting a fun-filled, relaxed portrait session with your significant other, family, friends or even a solo session, gimme a holler at info(at)anna-rina.com for more details. You can also check out some images from recent portrait sessions here.

Spread the love and have an awesome week ahead! x

Thanks to Enrick for the image & Chak of Foldees for designing the below ;)

The past week has been absolutely great! I didn’t have any shoots during the weekend so I took the opportunity to take some time off editing to have a bit of personal life ;) Spent Saturday afternoon on a photo outing with my friends Sherrie and Bang Qin. It has been aaaaaages since I last went on a photo outing just for fun. 

There was no set plan and we just wandered around town and finally ended up at the National Museum which I love, love, love! Didn’t have much time to check out the whole place as we were in a rush but I’ll definitely head back there again :) Here’s some images from our aimless wanderings ;p

It ain’t over til the fat lady sings! - shot on right by Sherrie

The museums guard kitten. Shoooo cuteeee! I want a kitty cat but my housemates all voted against it. Meh -_____-”

Psychedelic tiles at the entrance of the National Museum. Feels like its moving huh? 

There’s currently an exhibition on traditional children’s games. 

There are a lot of school kids at the museum during weekends….

…and when I say a lot, I mean ALOT! So don’t go on weekends if you’re planning to visit ;p

More artifacts - Isn’t it amazing how simple life used to be? Everything seems so complicated thesedays, as we try to make our life more convenient with more and more so-called-helpful contraptions. 

Not only was Saturday great but Sunday was awesome as I reconnected with my first love - bouldering. Headed over to MadMonkeyz Bouldering Gym in Wangsa Maju and realised just how much I miss bouldering :) Bouldering used to be my first love and I sorta forgot about it when photography came into the picture. Hoping to balance things out a bit by taking some time off on a weekly basis to get reacquainted with it.

Anyway, the fantabulous weekend was topped up with 3 icings on the cake come Monday as I found out the following features had been released.

Ashley & Svan’s gorgeous garden wedding was featured on The Wedding Guide.


Chris & Chelle’s beautiful beach ceremony is featured in the latest issue of Bridal Guide magazine!

And yours truly is featured in this week’s Life & Style’s People section.

When the editors for both Bridal Guide and The Wedding Guide contacted me recently about featuring my recent couples in their respective media, I was absolutely ecstatic! I mean who wouldn’t be? It’s not everyday that one gets their work and their couples featured in bridal guides so this was definitely something that I got really excited about.

A huge thanks to Habeebah of Bridal Guide and Stephanie of The Wedding Guide for the features :) And much thanks to Shan of Life & Style as well for featuring me in the current ‘People’ section. Much much appreciated!

Oh, before I forget, am organising ANOTHER sharing session this Saturday. But its for working out :p Hehe…do come join if you’re free! Details here.

—————————————————————————————————-

Edit on Oct 30: I’ve reverted to everyone who wrote to me about the sharing session two days ago. To those who wrote in, thanks for your email! Though I would love to, I’m sorry to say I can’t accommodate everyone but I’ve sent you details of some of my fellow photographers workshops which might be of interest to you. To those whose slots are confirmed for this Sunday’s session, can’t wait to meet up and talk shop! See you this Sunday! Cheers :)

—————————————————————————————————-

I recently reactivated my old blog* and looking back through my old posts of shooting my first ever wedding (assisting Tom Hayton), having my pictures published in a magazine for the first time, being a gear head (where there’s a shot of me with my external flash pointing straight ahead, which is apparently what noobs who don’t know anything about flash do *shy*), etc, made me smile as barely three years ago, I didn’t even think I would be doing this for real. Along the way, I’ve met many awesome people, individuals who shared their knowledge with me and in one way or another, moulded me into who I am today. Ok, before I get too emo about this, let me get straight to the point.

To pay it forward, I’ll be organising a pro bono sharing session next weekend for photography enthusiasts who want to learn more about shooting portraits.

Who? Photography enthusiasts who want to learn more about shooting portraits (yes, I like repeating myself). 

What? This will be a small sharing session whereby participants can ask whatever questions they may have regarding portrait photography, not so much on the technical side, but more on the practical side such as interaction with people, poses, locations. Session will be done over a period of 2 hours and if time permits, we’ll have a short portrait session.

When? Tentatively next Sunday afternoon cause by then, I should be done with all my editing & layout work! Hopefully >.< 

Where? PJ, exact location will be emailed to confirmed participants

Why? Well, when I was out of town recently, I spent a day with a photography enthusiast who picked up portrait photography and while sharing tips with her, I realised that I enjoyed it and that I was learning while sharing as well. The questions that she asked me made me think why I shoot the way I do and how one can improve in terms of photography. Having received quite a number of photography related questions from photography enthusiasts, I reckon that having a sharing session would be more conducive than just emailing back and forth (which I haven’t had the time to do consistently!). Please note that I am NOT AN EXPERT on all things photography, but I’m just gonna share whatever it is that I’ve learnt along the way. After all, photography is a never ending learning process and it helps a lot when people are open to sharing.

How? For the session to be more conducive, this sharing session is only open to maximum 10 photography enthusiasts. For those who are keen on participating (only the ones who are sure they can make it), drop me an email at info(at)anna-rina(dot)com and please title your email ‘Sharing Session’ with;
- your contact details
- a link to your blog or wherever it is that you store your pictures online
- questions that you might want to ask during the session

As mentioned, this session would be more suited for photography enthusiasts who have just embarked on their newfound interest and who are keen on learning more about shooting people (not literally of course).

So if you’re keen, just drop me an email with the above details and I’ll revert to everyone by middle of next week on the location and exact timing (it’s gonna be next Sunday afternoon). Have a good weekend ahead :)

Back when I first started shooting, I shot myself aaall the time.
Yes, vainpot I am :p

*for those who happen to read through my old blog, yes, there’s a lot of rubbish there. Don’t be judging me on what I wrote yo for my mouth (or in this case my fingers) moves faster than my brain does :p

Edit: I think most of you would have heard of Louis Pang, who’s one of Malaysia’s top wedding photographers and educator. His constant passion about his work and willingness on sharing his knowledge with others has been an inspiration to myself and I believe to many of my peers as well.

Besides sharing through his regular workshops, he has just launched an online education portal which offers videos on all things wedding and portrait photography related at www.wedshooter.tv. Do check it out if you’re keen on learning more about wedding and portrait photography. Congrats on the launch of the site Louis and thanks for sharing :D

Another local photographer who constantly organises workshops is none other than Ted Adnan, who’s like the lighting guru of KL ;D He’s organised numerous workshops on basic as well as advanced lighting and information on his latest workshop can be seen here.

G’day everyone :D

Just a quick update that last night my Twitter account was hacked into and data of all those who have subscribed to my Twits has been ‘hijacked’ and spammed endlessly (with offerings of online *cough*cough* services. Eeeks!). You would need to click onto the spammer’s Twitter account and block it to prevent the spam from appearing on your Twitter page.

I’ve managed to get back my Twitter account at www.twitter.com/annarina. So feel free to follow my constant short updates there instead. And to friends who have been joking that I have a part-time job offering *cough*cough* services -________-” it wasn’t meeee! 

On another note, I’ve just updated my calendar of booked dates for the second half of 2009. It’s slowly but surely filling up so I would like to say a hearty thank you to the couples and families who have booked me for your respective portrait sessions and wedding day! Yay! I’m really looking forward to hanging out with you on that day itself and feel free to email or call me if you have any questions before our shoot :)

And just cause I don’t like having blogposts without any pictures, here’s a straight out of camera, unedited shot of a bee-yoo-ti-fool sunset on the first evening of my trip back to Kota Kinabalu recently. I like to think of it as a ‘welcome home’ sunset. wOOt! Lucky me!

Have an awesome day ahead! x

Yup *pinches self again to make sure I’m not dreaming*

That’s me together with fellow wedding photographers Zach, Kenneth and Jon. Like for real! We’re on the cover of a magazine dudeeee! 

To be asked to shoot a fashion spread together with three of my peers whose work I admire is already a huuuge thing for me. But to be on the cover of that magazine? Whoaaaaaa! Absolutely unbelievable!

Utmost gratitude to the Hote team for featuring us in the magazine and much thanks to Malaysia’s three rising photographers (yes, you three!) for putting up with my endless chatter and tokkok throughout the cover and fashion spread shoot. I learnt a lot from our time together and I hope we can work together again soon!

Below’s a shot of the four of us (took this from Kenneth’s Facebook! Hehe…thanks Kenneth!) after our cover shoot at Show Up Pictures’ studio.
And yes, the guys are as silly and fun as they look ;p

Besides being featured on the cover and collaborating on a fashion spread for the magazine, we each had a double page-spread interview about, what else?, our involvement in wedding photography. As I can’t possible have a large picture of the spread online, I’ve included the Q&A’s from the article below.

Below are the questions from the magazine and my replies to them were returned via email. The answers were actually edited slightly by the editorial team but below’s the original replies. And before I forget, Hote is “an off-rack magazine and it is mailed free directly to the carefully selected Genting WorldCard member. You may contact vida.lim@pmgasia.com.my if you are interested for a copy” ;)

Even though it’s a member’s only magazine and not widely circulated, I’m still very excited about this :D After all, this give me a chance to tell my future grandkids “Don’t play-play arrr! Your grandma was once a covergirl!”. Heheheheh…yes, I should be crowned with the award for being the most narcissistic photographer ;)

Thanks again Hote magazine. It was great fun and we’re glad you like the pics in the spread! Here’s to an awesome week ahead! Cheerio~

How did you start off with photography?
I purchased my first dSLR with winnings from an episode of Fear Factor Malaysia back in August 2005 and was just shooting casually for a year as an enthusiast and posted up my pictures on a personal blog. My first wedding shoot was in early December 2006 when I assisted photographer Tom Hayton on a Malay wedding and my first solo wedding was end December 2006 when a good friend of mine got married. I basically shot 6 weddings while I was still working in the corporate line and after months of contemplation, decided to take the leap into full time photography.

What inspired you to become a professional wedding photographer?
I still remember the exact moment I thought to myself that I wanted to pursue this on a full-time basis. It was right after shooting an engagement session in Malacca. It was night by the time I hit the road and while driving back to KL and I had plenty of time to think. I realised that no matter how tired I was at the end of a long day of shooting, I was happy. I was happy to be part of my client’s special day, I was happy to be given the responsibility of capturing their memories, I was happy to be given the opportunity to meet so many people from different walks of life and to have friendships grow from there. Was happy and still am :) I know this sounds morbid, but I also thought to myself that if I were to have one year left to live, I would rather do something I am passionate about and earn less than be somewhere I am not happy and earn more. I didn’t want to look back on my life with regrets or thoughts of ‘what-if’. The following day, I tendered my resignation and started pursuing my dream, which has become reality (yes, I know I sound really corny, but thats how I felt ;p). It has been one of the best things I’ve done in my life thus far.

What is your photography style that differentiates yourself from the rest?
It varies as I constantly evolve and learn new things as a photographer. If I really need to define it, I would say that my style is a mixture of photojournalism and fun, posed shots. As cliché as it may sound, my main objective is to record the moment for my clients and also to capture them at their best so that they can look back on some of the most important and special days of their life and relive sweet memories through the pictures.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Life in general – friends, family, love. I could be watching a beautiful sunset or sharing a joke with my girlfriends and be inspired. I believe that life’s too short for us not to be inspired by all these simple things. Inspiration comes easier to me especially when I’m shooting newlyweds. What could be more inspiring than witnessing the love and commitment of 2 individuals starting a new journey together?

Would you say Malaysia has good outdoor sceneries for a wedding photoshoot?
Indeed! Being on the equator line gives us awesome weather for outdoor shoots all year long and having travelled quite a fair bit around the region, I must say that Malaysia has a wide variety of great outdoor sceneries for wedding photoshoots. Within the city centre itself you get urban landscapes with a variety of great architecture. On the outskirts, you have green lungs such as Kiara Park and Lake Gardens. Besides that, we’ve got beaches and islands accessible at other states as well.

What was the best wedding theme you ever experienced in your career? Please describe.
All the weddings and portrait sessions which I’ve shot has been absolutely fun. They each have their own funny anecdotes which I can’t really explain in words, its moments which you have to be there to appreciate. Having the opportunity to record down someone’s most memorable day like their wedding or even just a couple or family portrait session means a lot to me. It’s not everyday that someone opens up their door for you to capture their most intimate moments so for me each shoot that I have is an experience in itself.

What do you think of Malaysian newlyweds?
They’re getting savvier on what they want for their wedding. With the online research dominating most bridal researches, I think newlyweds are spoilt for choice when it comes to what they can get for their wedding day. And that, I believe is excellent as this means that getting the dream wedding is a possibility. And one thing I love about more and more couples is the fact that they’re going for ‘meaningful’ and intimate weddings where they invite family members and close friends instead of having a circus wedding where hundreds of guests are invited and they hardly know any of them.

What would you say is lacking from the Malaysian photography culture?
The fact that at the end of the day it’s the photo which matters and what others interpret when they see it. Having the latest camera bodies or the best lenses in the market wouldn’t matter if you can’t capture a moment which will be forever treasured by a couple or family.

What do you wish to achieve in your career?
Besides wanting to continue improving in photography, I would also like to inspire others through my photographs.

What are your words to those aspiring making photography a career?
While having passion is really important when it comes to photography (especially when you’re working with people :D), I believe that its important for photographers to be business savvy as well. I learnt it the hard way as I started out with only passion and almost zero knowledge on how to run the business. I quickly learnt by reading up on how to start small business and it has helped me with my workflow as well. Besides that, having a website showcasing your best work will also help a lot as thesedays, most couples would actually surf online for information.

You know what?

I had actually typed out a whole paragraph about how cool bridal gown makers Pretty in White (PiW) are. Then when I read back on the paragraph, it felt like I was hard-selling even though what I typed out was true -_-”

So instead of bombarding you all with just how awesome PiW are, go check out their site and their shop at Hartamas for yourself :) With personalised service and one of a kind designs being their forte, even the most nit-picking bride would be able to find their dream bridal gown for their wedding.

And why am I raving on about them? Cause there’s good news for all brides of Anna-Rina Photography!

PiW is now one of our preferred partners. wOOt!

Brides-to-be, whose pre-wedding sessions that I’ll be shooting, would be able to rent a bridal gown (off the rack) at uber special rates starting from RM500 a day.

Here are some shots taken recently in Genting when a team of us worked on a bridal spread together. The gowns featured in the pictures are all from Pretty in White and they’re absolutely gorgeous!

If you’re keen on getting more info, just drop me an email at info[at]anna-rina[dot]com. Cheerio! 

My regular lunch buddy Chak is one of the founders for Foldees, an online card company that runs regular contests to encourage designers from ALL over the world to submit original cool card designs. Shortlisted designs are then put up on the site where public can vote for the best ones which will in turn be printed and sold online! I guess you could say Foldees is the card version of threadless (which I love, love, love for their witty designs!).

Anyway, I was recently at his place to pick out some cards for friends and upon seeing these awesome designs, decided to blog about them just cause they are oh so awesome!

I got the card below for Sherrieberrie the Musictionairie cos it’s so apt! “Earplugs out please” by Jordan Too

And the one below for Nee On. So farneeee! (Yes, I’m all for lameness!) “Cake Me to Your Leader” by design by a guy (yes, that’s what the designer called himself :p)

I didn’t buy the ones below, but cos they tickled my fancy, I just had to take a pic of the cards and share them here with you :D

For those who plan on getting this card for their crush, all I can say is, “Godspeed!” ;p “Please Say Yes” by milkberry

Saw this & immediately went “Awww, shooo cuuute! Wish I had a crush on someone now so that I could give them this card”. Chak’s reaction? “-______- WTF??” LOL!!
“You Are So Cute” by milkberry

I’m sooooo gonna get this card for someone’s birthday. It’s soooo meeee :p “The Birthday Machine” by salchipunk

Of course, not all the designs were to rave for. So drop by foldees site and check out the rest yourself. After seeing some of the cool designs there, I’ve decided to start sending cards out during birthdays instead of email :D What?  I should save trees by just sending out an email instead? Sorry, you can’t use that excuse on me for all Foldees cards are printed on environment-friendly paper. Nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh nyehhh!

Here’s to a great weekend ahead :D

Sometime in the third quarter of 2008, I realised that while I had time to update my blog, I had not touched my website at all since it went live in late 2007.

It was then that I thought I either had to;
a) update the pictures in the website at least every 2 months to keep it fresh
b) hire a minion to do it for me (yeaaaa riiiiigghhttttt)
OR
c) follow in the footsteps of one of my idols Jessica Claire and combine my blog and website for convenience sake.

You now know what my choice was. So, here’s a spanking new blogsite which I hope will not only be more convenient for me but for you too :)

Some new features/sections include;
Media - Narcissism. Enough said.
Booked Dates - Sorta like an online calendar so that my clients know my schedule
Testimonials - Cos like cats, I too like pats on the head and neck rubs. Purrrrrrrr.
Twitter - For bite-sized updates
Fitness - A fitness journal for the fitness junkie!

This blogsite was customised by Jing Kai of Krizalis Creative from a wordpress template. Jing Kai’s a fresh graduate who has worked on various projects and he has endured A LOT of amendments and requests from yours truly in the past two (or was it three?) months.

Jing Kai, here’s a huuuuge thank you for your patience and assistance on this :) Anyone who’s interested to get a new site design up, do contact Jing Kai at “jingkai[at]krizalis[dot]my” now before he ups his pricing. Hahahaha! Just kidding…..I think.

This blogsite is still being hosted through Density Professional and it’s on local servers. I’ve been using them since late 2007 and the service has been top-notch as I’ve also contacted them (on several occasions) in the middle of the night for tech help :p

If you wanna have a look at pictures from the past my previous sites are still up on the following links :)
Ye Olde Website
Ye Olde Blog

I hope with the new site, you’ll join me as I embark on more adventures for the spanking new year of 2009. And to celebrate, I’ll be blogging every day for the next nine days (cos 2009 mahhh ;p). Woot!

XO