Since its Father’s Day weekend, Daddy here’s a quick note to remind you that we love youuuuuuu :D

It was nice staying back a few days after my clients’ wedding last week to be there for your 71st birthday and I wasn’t joking when I said you are going to be around until the day I get married…which means you’ll be around for quite awhile. So you better take care of yourself, stay healthy, drink loadsa water, keep up your fitness regime at the gym cause I want you to give me away when the day comes :) Now you just need to give me some time to find a man. Heeheehee…

I meant it when I said that what you have done for us, all the hard work that you put in last time is immeasurable and in my lifetime, I would never be able to repay you back. You always say that you wish you could’ve done more for us, but Daddy, what you and Mum have done for us is enough for me. Parents don’t get manuals when they have kids and I reckon parenting is something you learn along the way. You and Mum have done the best you can and I totally appreciate that, and way more.

You gave me the love of reading and funnily enough, the older I am, the more I eat like you. I used to find half boiled eggs, tomato juice and dragonfruits disgusting. But now I love them :D And not forgetting, being active and travelling! I still remember when you used to lift weights and now I’m doing it. Yay! And Daddy, I plan on going to all the places you’ve travelled to and take pictures of the exact same spots where you were standing. I just need a few more years to cover all the countries! Frankly speaking, though I love being like you, I sure am glad I didn’t get those Mickey Mouse ears! Kidding Daddy, juuuuust kidding ;p

I’ll see you again next month, then we’ll go have sashimi and eat ‘ngiu chap’ together k? You have a good weekend with fatty and Adam koko :D Love you!

Oh and before I forget, here’s one of my favourite shots of you and your ‘girlfriend’ ;D

xoxo
Lil One

Have recently been receiving quite a number of emails and also Facebook comments from photography enthusiasts asking me what sort of gear I use to shoot the pictures that are on this blogsite. Instead of repeating myself like a broken recorder ;p I decided to write up a quick blogpost to share what gear I’m currently on and answers to some FAQs.

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Below’s a list of gear I bring along with me on actual wedding day shoots. Yes, the last item is extremely important to me. Fo’ real! ;)

Why two bodies?
I frequently carry two camera bodies during actual wedding days so that I don’t have to waste time switching lenses and to capture 2 different perspective of (almost!) the same moment at once.

Having two bodies is also a back up, just incase one dies (touch wood!), at least I can continue shooting with the other one. As a wedding photographer, it’s extremely important to have back up. Your clients’ memories are in your hand and that in itself is such a huge responsibility that one shouldn’t be joking when it comes to having enough gear on the big day!

What lenses do you use?
A brief run through on the lenses that I (currently) use:-
24 - 70mm f2.8: Mainly used during actual wedding day when I want a wider range to play with. I use it mainly during wedding ceremonies, for group shots and also when I need wider shots of the venue.
85mm f1.8: Apparently an awesome lens for portraits BUT I use this mostly when I’m shooting wedding receptions and want to capture candids from a distance. Much lighter than carrying a 70-200mm which I had for a month. It was back breaking 0.o Distance is lengthened when used on a cropped camera so yay!
50mm f1.4: My absolute favourite lens (as of now that is ;D). I use it almost all the time - for portraits, during reception, details shots. On a full frame camera, this lens is absolutely orgasmic!
10 - 22mm f3.5: Fun wide angle lens, paired with a cropped camera, it gives you a reaaaaally wide scene but not to the point of fisheye. Distortion does occur on the sides but once you get used to the lens, you sorta know what angles to get to avoid really yucky distortion :D Usually used when I’m in a (literally!) tight spot or for wide angle shots of venues.

Why wear a belt pouch?
Errr….because I think that wearing the photographers vest is THE ultimate no-no. Ok, so this belt isn’t exactly a fashion statement, but its uber comfortable and extremely convenient when I need to whip out lenses in a flash! No pun intended there by the way. With additional compartments, besides lenses, I also put my car keys, extra CF cards, camera batteries, AA batteries, phone, wallet, granola bar, my pet koala (kidding!) and lip balm inside. Best thing is, I feel like a cowboy whenever I wear this. Yeehaw!

How the ThinkTank modular belt with pouches look when in use. Behind the scenes shot by AT (who wants to remain anonymous -_____-”)

Why do you have snacks in your bag? (ok so its not part of the FAQ, just incase you were wondering ;p)
Because I get hungry every few hours! Whilst most of my clients feed me (YAY!), I’ve had one experience where a client thought that it wasn’t necessary to feed the photographer (even though it was a 10-hour shoot AND we were on an exclusive island where there was no convenience store around *gasp* ) and I nearly had gastric from the hunger. So better safe than sorry! Many photographer friends of mine are extremely noble and say they don’t mind not eating as they think it’s not nice. Frankly speaking, I would be sad if I didn’t have food :( Even cars need petrol, machines need to be oiled, moreover human beings. So don’t be hatin’ me for having granola bars in my bag, its a backup plan. After all, a hungry photographer ain’t a chirpy one! Well, in my case anyway ;p

What camera/lens/accessories would you recommend?
I’ll be honest with you. I am not a technical photographer, ask me any technical details and I’ll be stumped. I don’t even know how many megapixels my camera has or what’s the max shots it can take when its on sports mode. All I know is, I shoot from the heart. I know, I know, it sounds absolutely corny, but that’s how I feel. Of course, having nifty gears help a lot too! 

I’m not pro Canon or pro Nikon or pro other brands, it’s just a personal preference for me that I use Canon. I’ve got photographer friends who are using Nikon and even Sony! If you’re interested in buying or upgrading your camera/lens/accessories, I would suggest thinking about what type of pictures you like shooting. Then start by researching the gears which would help you do so. I usually check out www.fredmiranda.com for reviews. Also test out the gears at the camera shop before coming to a conclusion, even better if you have a friend who has the gear you want to buy, then you can borrow it from them to test it out :D Hehehe…

I’m a firm believer in constantly upgrading my gears whenever the budget allows for it. But what Ken Rockewell said is something I constantly remind myself of too, “No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want“.

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If this post out as sounding snobbish or know-it-all, please excuse me. Whatever’s written above is just my personal point of view, personal preference and all I hope is that it sheds some light to the questions a couple of photography enthusiasts have emailed to me previously :) If you have any other questions, just leave a comment in the box below, and I’ll update this blogpost with your question within the next couple of days :)

If you’re ever in doubt about any technical information or gear, my best advice is - Google it (Fo’ real! Google’s like one of my best friends :D), wOOt!

Y’all have a super duper day ahead!

Mother’s Day is just around the corner!

And to celebrate all the mama’s in the world, Elevyn (a fair trade online store which also provides an innovative platform to raise money for social causes) has organised a contest whereby one of the prizes is a family portrait session from Anna-Rina Photography (that’s me, d-uh). wOOt!

Head over to http://www.elevyn.com/mom for more details :) You can also check out KLue’s write-up on Elevyn’s efforts here, their article is waaaay more comprehensive than my errr…substandard writing.

The ironic thing is, I won’t be celebrating Mother’s Day with my Mum this year. Since I’ll be busy shooting this weekend, here’s an early “Happy Mothers Day” wish to her…

Mummy, ok fatty might have to translate this for you since you’re much more comfortable with reading Chinese, but I just wanted to say I love you. Sure, we were all terrified of you as kids, but I know beneath that Hokkien loud mouthed, tough demeanor, you’re just a big ol’ softie inside. We’re alike that way ;) Even though we don’t show it that often, remember that Daddy and us kids appreciate every single thing that you’ve done.

You always decline offers of help from others, choosing instead to help others even back when we didn’t have much money at home. You gave me your blessings when I was 18 and wanted to leave home and start working in KL. And when you were going through your chemo a couple of years ago, you didn’t complain one single bit and even though I couldn’t spend much time with you then, you never put me through a guilt trip. That, I could do myself. Sorry for not being there more :(

Now that you’ve recovered, you’re so independent it drives me nuts sometimes when you say you still wanna continue working at your friend’s shop even though I say you don’t need to and that you should be taking it easy at home. And even though you complain about Daddy sometimes, no wait, make that all the time, you are still around, taking care of him. So yeah, its quite obvious you still love him despite all the nagging you do ;) But cut down on the nagging k? It ain’t good for your blood pressure :p

Thank you for raising me up and constantly reminding me to be (I hope) independent, (somewhat) hardworking and (sometimes) humble. From you, I’ve got my gift of gab and like your younger days, I am quite the camwhore ;p However, there’s only one thing I didn’t get from you and that’s the art of cooking. Mummy, you’re too good of a cook and you spoilt me in that aspect by never letting me enter your kitchen! 

In the recent years, everytime I made a birthday wish or whenever I saw a shooting star (yes Mummy, I am very cheesy), my main wish is that you and Daddy are happy, truly happy. Take care of yourself, don’t stay out too late and don’t worry too much about me k? (don’t I sound like you? ;D)

With all my heart, I love you. See you in June! xoxo

This short trip back to Kota Kinabalu wasn’t only to recce out locations for my next pre-wedding session here, but also to celebrate my 30th birthday with those close to my heart - my parents :) It has been a quiet celebration this year but i must say, with 3 birthday cake surprises 3 days in a row from family and friends, I’m a bit ODed on the cake front ;p Much thanks to friends for the warm wishes via sms, FB and twitter. My heartfelt gratitude for that :) 

It’s funny how different people view being 30 differently. Personally, it feels great to be 30! I’m at a point of my life where I’m so much more comfortable in my own skin and don’t feel the need to have a facade to please everyone around me. Like Dr Seuss said “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

And I had a nice surprise 2 days before my birthday when Sharmilla from The Star emailed me an article from The Star’s Stuff@school pullout. I was one of those featured in an article about awesome jobs. Yay! Thanks for the feature :D

30 does indeed rock!

Scanned from the Stuff@School pullout and image by Asyraf Lee.

First published on March 11, 2010:

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, around Perth and Fremantle as well as a roadtrip up north to Jurien Bay and Pinnacles. Loving the fact that I’m actually taking some days off work just to chill out while I’m here :) A good respite during a time when it’s much needed!

There’ll be more travel pictures to come as I’ll be taking a roadtrip down south to Busselton and Margaret River with my bestie after an engagement shoot in Swan Valley 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

Edit: Personal travel pictures from this trip will be constantly updated on my Facebook page here, so check it! ;)

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

Edited on March 31, 2010:

I’m back in Malaysia after being away for 5 weeks 0.o Nice to be home tho :) Here are some pics from the final leg of my stay in WA. Enjoy!

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” — Lin Yutang

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’