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.

First day of the Chinese New Year and this year, it coincides with Valentine’s Day as well :)

Truth to be told, I was feeling a tad bit lonely when I woke up on the eve of CNY, thinking to myself what a pity it was that I wasn’t back in KK for the reunion dinner with my family and not having someone to share Valentine’s Day with (not that I’ve ever celebrated it :p). As the day went on, I realised that I was looking at it  the wrong way.

It occurred to me that I am so so blessed to have all that I have - time to go for a workout in the morning, an awesome shoot with a sweet couple in the afternoon (the light was bee-yoo-ti-fool!) and my dear ‘Monkey’ friends who had reunion dinner with me. And today, I celebrated the first day of CNY by having Bodega’s (overpriced!) big breakfast AND a slice of Alexis’ tiramisu to myself *burp* and for Valentine’s treated myself to some photography related purchases online :p 

So what’s the point of this post? Just a(nother) reminder to myself that I should always, always be thankful for what I currently have and whatever else comes along, it’s a HUGE bonus :D Of course, like others I have moments where I’ll wallow in self-pity but who am I kidding? Life is as good as how you view it! 

My Monkeys & I :D Shot recently by Rudy.

Here’s wishing y’all a Happy Chinese New Year!

My wish for you (and me!) is that the year of the tiger be a roaring success in terms of career, health and love. And may you be blessed with friendship which fill your heart with gratitude, like the one I have with my Monkeys :p For those who celebrate Valentine’s Day, enjoy the day with your loved ones. Nom nom more chocs on my behalf k? K :D

Much Love

When I was (muuuuuch) younger, I used to buy the past issues of National Geographic and linger over the marvelous pictures they had in each edition. This was way before I ever thought about being a photographer, it was just the pull of the pictures that had me ooh-ing and ahh-ing over each copy repeatedly.

Back then, I didn’t even know who it was who shot some of my favourite images in the NG. It was only when I started to dabble in photography in 2005 that I started to find out more about the photographers behind some of my favourite images. One of them was Joe McNally.

So imagine my excitement when Louis Pang announced over Wedshooter.TV that they were organising an edition of Joe McNally’s Hot Shoe Diaries workshop in Kuala Lumpur. I was thinking to myself, “ARE YOU FO REAAAAALLL???”. Within a couple of days, I signed up for it.

Frankly speaking, nearer to the date, I had second thoughts - what could I absorb in a day, could I really afford this, I need the money for something else, I’ve got a mountain of editing to catch up with, I don’t have a day to spare for the workshop, I’ve got some crazy deadlines to meet, yadda yadda yadda.

Am glad to say that after much thought, stuck to the plan and attended the one-day lighting workshop.

It was quite a thrill to watch Joe in action and also to hear him speak about different lighting options, etc. And I know this sounds kinda like a teeny bopper, but I was starstruck. Like whoaaaa 0.o This was McNally - he who has not only been shooting for National Geographic for yonks, but for LIFE as well as multitude other magazines and corporations, he who is not only highly awarded but highly respected in his field.

Dayum! I was attending the workshop of a living legend!

McNally’s a great speaker (after a gazillion workshops I reckon it comes naturally to him), articulate and willing to share his knowledge. And I’ll let you in on a not so secret secret. He is absolutely down-to-earth! Like sincerely! Even though you could sorta tell he was jet-lagged, he just answered everyone’s questions and taught with gusto throughout the session. Together with his assistant, Drew Gurian (gaffer tapes rule!) as well as Louis Pang and the rest of the Wedshooter.TV team, the one-day workshop proved to be a great learning experience.

Do hope that more workshops by internationally acclaimed photographers are organised in Malaysia! Kudos to Louis, Jasmine and the Wedshooter.TV team for organising this. And thanks again Joe for being such a great teacher :D From one your ‘vertically challenged’ students :p

Was teamed up together with Naqib, David and Khairul (nice meeting y’all at the workshop :D) during the shooting session in the afternoon and thanks to their suggestions (and also McNally’s session in the morning. d-uh!), managed to get 2 shots which I’m not shy of posting here. Yes, I know they’re nothing to shout about, but these 2 shots are TOTALLY outta my comfort zone, and I’m kinda happy about nudging that zone :)

And y’know something, this may sound sacrilegious, but I think I might be starting to like external lighting. Gasp. The horror :p

Though Joe McNally’s one-day workshops are sold out already, I’ve heard that there’s still a few seats left for his lighting seminar this coming Saturday. Check out Wedshooter.TV here for more info :)

I *heart* you…and you…and you…you too. Yes, I ate. A lot. 
Catalyst for the trip - The Image is Found’s Shootshop :) L-R: Nate, Linda, Jenny, Jaclyn & I shot by Eadwine

The world’s best hosts, Laura and David whom I actually shot earlier this year. Thanks again you two :D

Did the tourist thang!

It dawned upon me that it has been two years.

Two years since I said goodbye to the corporate rat race, two years since I leaped into the unchartered (by me anyway) waters of life as a freelancer. Personal sacrifices were made, lifestyle changes happened. Gone were the days where I had the security of a steady pay to cover my expenses, medical coverage to rely on and in rolled the days where I would be editing till the wee hours of the morning, shooting 10 hours straight with heavy gears, feeling absolutely sore after a full day shoot.

And you know what? I have no regrets AT ALL. Sure, like those who run their own businesses, I do have my down days. When those days happens, I mentally slap myself and remind myself that I have what I deem as one of THE best jobs in the world. Seriously.

When I reached my first year of being a full time photographer, I sent out an email to my clients. This time round, I decided to write this blog post for I not only want to thank my clients but basically everyone!

To my family who despite being far away, are supportive (and I hope proud :D) of what I do. To my close friends who have become my family away from home. To those who check out my blog and leave your kind words (or constructive criticism!), thank you for making my virtual world less lonely ;) To my clients who have given me the opportunity of being part of their big day and the honour of capturing their most intimate moments, you don’t know just how happy I am to be part of it all.

I know this sounds totally cliche (but since its my blog, I’m allowed to be ;p) but seriously, it is thanks to everyone’s endless support and God’s grace that I am blessed to be doing what I am doing now. I’ve had the opportunity to meet (and shoot!) so many wonderful people in the past two years and sometimes it seems like I’ve got THE best clients in the world.

I’m way far from being the best photographer in the industry (work in progress!), but one thing’s for sure. I love what I do with a passion. You know how it is when you feel like you’re about to burst with joy and you wanna hug someone and share the happiness? Well, sometimes when there’s no one around, I actually say ‘Thank you’ out loud. And I would be smiling to myself when I say that. Call me crazy but that’s how you make me feel and I feel so lucky at times that I’m afraid that all this is just a dream.

I used to think that only fools would believe that dreams come true. I’m glad I was that fool, for this, what I’m doing now, is a dream come true for me.

Thank you for sharing the journey with me. Here’s to many more awesome years ahead!

With Mucho Love & Appreciation,
The Cheesy / Corny / Crazy Photographer

Warning. Emo post caused by having three hours to kill before my next shoot 0_o

I was looking for a shirt of mine which I thought might be in Mum’s cupboard. Then I came upon some old postcards stacked together. They were postcards Dad sent to Mum when they were courting. I read through them and realised that despite having been separated for more than 15 years, once upon a time, my parents were in love.

Instead of signing off with his name, some of the postcards ended with the countries - Holland and Italy, even though the postcards weren’t sent from there. Curious, I asked Dad why that was so. He laughed a bit and said ‘HOLLAND stands for Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies and ITALY stands for I Trust And Love You’. I laughed along with Daddy for fear of tearing up. I went back upstairs and wondered whether or not he still remembers what it felt like to have been that much in love.

Looking at my parents volatile relationship and having gone through a serious one of my own previously, I’ve come to realise that maintaining a relationship, not only a marriage, takes a lot of effort. After a few years of being together, people tend to forget why they fell in love in the first place, what attracted them to the other person, their partners good qualities. Instead, the positives are replaced by negatives, where once you would find your partners lil quirks cute, you just find it annoying as years go by. 

They say that there’re different stages of love as a relationship progresses and I believe that to be true, that its important to have date nights, spend time with each other, encourage and make the effort to make the other person feel cared and loved even after yeaaaaars of being together. It’s not enough to assume that your partner ‘knows’ just cause you’ve been together for years, every little gesture counts.  

Truth to be told, for every wedding that I shoot, for every couple that I meet, for every family portrait session that I capture, I make a silent wish. A wish that they’ll be able to come out stronger and more in love despite whatever storm comes their way. A wish that they’ll be happier and more content in the years to come.

Call me an optimist viewing life and love through rose-tinted glasses if you will. But if I don’t have this to believe in and hold onto, I don’t think I’ll be a wedding photographer ;)

‘Omnia Vincit Amor’

I was recently back in Kota Kinabalu and not only did I have the pleasure of shooting an uber wonderful couple’s wedding when I was back there, I got to celebrate my Mum’s 60th and Dad’s 70th birthday as well. It was a great trip home for me, for though I was shooting and editing in KK, I managed to take a couple of days off just to catch up with the family as everyone managed to go home at the same time this year.

And like I always tell my sister, however dysfunctional our family can get, I love everyone to bits. Albeit I’ll annoy the crap out of them too :p

The beeee-yoooo-ti-fool ‘welcome home’ sunset on the first evening back to Kota Kinabalu.
Mum & Dad’s birthday celebration at home. The below two pics were shot by Nigel. Thanks :D

I think my younger brother was trying to score additional brownie points so that he can get the car more often -__-”

Being home also meant lots of ‘nom nom’ sessions :p

Brought Dad to his optometrist to get his glasses fixed. And guess what? The shop owner found my records from 1992! That’s when I got my first pair of (uber fugly!) glasses. Dad and I had a good laugh over how long ago that was. I also complained to Dad that he ruined my childhood by picking really geeky glasses for me. 
He said cos they were cheap -________-” Fail!

Hello sexy! I get these cupcakes from Bits & Bites in Wisma Merdeka EVERY SINGLE TIME I’m back in KK. On day 4 of my cupcake crusade, Mum saw me munching on a new batch of cupcakes and said “You’re STILL not sick of them?!” Hehe…

Went to Salut for seafood dinner with some friends (nice seeing you all again :D), but was too busy pigging out & I forgot to shoot the food :p

Took breaks from editing to go swimming as well :p Yay!

Sunset off Tanjung Aru Beach.

It’s true what they say about ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’. The longer I’m away from KK, the more I miss that place. That being said, I’ll be going back to KK again for a couple of wedding and portrait sessions in August 2009 and January 2010.

Can’t wait :D

In May, I took a couple of days off and headed over to Manila for a short break with my friends Sherrie and Soon Wei. There, we were hosted by hostess extraordinaires - Francis, Stacey and Kristine. They showed us part of what Manila has to offer and the best of Pinoy hospitality. And when I say the best, I mean THE best!

Francis, Stace & Kristine, I know I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, thanks so much for the awesome five days and it was great to see Manila thru’ your eyes ;) I’ll definitely be back. Till then, take care and we’ll continue our ‘Philippines/Malaysia Friendship Channel’ soon. Heheheh…

Sherrie had some pesos from her Dad and it turned out that they were soooo old that many merchants didn’t accept them. We had a good laugh looking at people’s amazement ooh-ing and aah-ing whenever they saw the notes.

Cafe Breton! My new-favourite dessert place. That dessert you see below is called “Fantastic Pinay” - a concoction of crepe with mango slices, nutella and whipped cream is to die for! I call it “The Love of My Life” :p Nom nom.

With our wonderful hosts at Tagaytay :) L-R: Soon Wei, Francis, Stacey, Sherrie & I


Some shots from our hike up Taal Volcano Island. It was absolutely gorgeous!

With my travel buddies, Soon Wei & Sherrie - waiting for our ferry to Corregidor :D (yes, my wide angle lens was extremely dusty :p)




‘The Feet Series’ goes to Phillipines ;)

You know how it is when you have a crush on someone?

You think about them day and night, you hang on to every word they say, when you see them, you can’t seem to tear your eyes away from them.
Alas, when you have a crush on someone you never do a thing. Nada.

Perhaps its a fear of rejection, or just lack of self-confidence. Whatever it is, I’ve seen too many people go through crushes and not do anything about it.

So after more than a year of pining for you (yes, I’ve been thinking about you more than a year!), I said to myself, “Dammit Anna, it’s now or never!”

And so I did it.

I made my intentions known about how manly I thought you were, how much more exciting you would make my life be and just how much fun we would have together!

And ever since having you by my side two weeks ago, I’ve been smiling like a giddy teenager.

Freimut, I can’t wait to get to know your full frame sweetness better *bats eyelashes coyly* and here’s to many, many awesome wedding and portrait sessions together :D

Oh and if you’re thinking I’ve dumped my other boyfriends - Paco (400D) and Onni (40D), no way jose!! We’re one big happy family and we’re gonna rock your world with many more yummy-licious shots!

wOOt!

The past couple of weeks has been absolutely crazy.

Shoots throughout weekends, midnight editing marathon sessions, working out, meeting couples, sourcing new suppliers - I wanted to do it all. Wanted to do it all to the point where I’ve only been getting an average of four to five hours of sleep a night.

But I’m not complaining. I’m just writing this down to remind myself that though I absolutely love what I’m doing now and think that it all can be done, a break needs to be taken. A break to refresh myself, to work those kinks outta my body, to clear up my mind, body and soul……oh yes, I am super cliche.

I’ll be outta town in a couple of hours for a short break and I’ll be back next Tues. At the same time, I’m already anticipating coming back refreshed and recharged for I’ll be shooting quite a number of awesome people in the coming weeks. Can’t wait!

Till then, live long and prosper…….been wanting to use that line for a blog post for awhile now ;p

I’ll be checking my emails regularly. So just drop me an email if you can’t reach me via my cell. Ta!