Big Tree or Big Fish? - 10:00 AM
Last night as I was editing this image, I just felt that it was strangely familiar, as if i've seen it somewhere and suddenly i recalled that years ago, i watched this movie called Big Fish..I think all of us are influenced and inspired by the things that we come into contact with everyday. It could be anything!
I chanced upon this excerpt from another photographer's blog..
"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it is you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: "It's not where you take things from - It's where you take them to."
- Jim Jarmusch"
Labels: Personal, Wedding Day Photography
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
WeCallTheShots w 5DmkII! - 5:58 PM
Last month, a group of us, young professional photographers went out for a fun shoot during the National Day.. One of our friend Liwei came up with the name "WeCallTheShots", i think it sounds rather cool! It's always nice to be able to shoot for fun besides the many fun wedding and bridal shoots we have.. If not for the weight of the camera, i would love to bring my equipments out more often.. Hopefully we can have more casual shoots but in view of the busy months ahead, i doubt any of us would have the time to do so..Here, I've got a chance to bring my new 5DmkII for a test run.. I absolutely love it, love the high ISO that produces really high quality images.. Now that I look at the images i shot with the old 5D, they always seem noisy to me.. keke..
Thanks to our friend Celest who avail herself to be our model on that day..
Labels: Personal
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Back from Aussie land... - 1:10 PM
This is Brighton Beach in Melbourne... I saw the picture in a postcard so i thought i had to witness these art pieces on this beach... The beach houses are bought and painted by individuals who simply love the beach and use it to store their seaports equipments.. I heard that each beach houses can go up to $80k aussie dollars...I guess as a wedding photographer, whenever I see such nice places, I wish I can bring a couple to shoot here! haha...
Here's my friend Xiuyi who studies in Perth and we met to travel together..
I'm really amazed at how well the beach houses are painted!
We met Molly.. She is such a sweet dog.. I thought she is still a puppy until her owner, Margot told us that Molly is 13 years old..
Molly asking us to stop talking and move on...
Labels: Personal
Thursday, April 23, 2009
3 Ginger cats... - 4:46 PM
Here's a triplets! Adopted by a friend of mine.. haha.. I love their expressions.. Guess what they are looking at? FOOD! Nothing can capture their attention other than food and birds..
These 3 Kitties hate to take photos.. They just want to look elsewhere except at the camera.. I guess for this photo, I probably gave him a shock when i got so near..
One of them often dash into the glass door when he sees birds outside..
Monday, March 30, 2009
Bali, here I come! - 11:44 AM
I was really excited when I met up with Rini last week to discuss about her Bali wedding in June.. I've never been to Bali but I've heard enough of how amazing the place is! I believe its gonna be a great wedding in such an awesome location! The interesting thing is that Kelvin has planned a company trip to Bali for us in May so we'll be there for 5 days to chill out and check out interesting places to shoot for bridal too.. Wansheng from feldberyl will be joining us! I guess we'll be having lots of laughter with him around! Then I'll be back for a week and before I knew it, I'll be back to Bali again! I'm so looking forward to it!Labels: Personal
Friday, January 23, 2009
musing... - 1:46 AM
Today was a thoughtful day while i mull over the book I read - "Till we have faces" written by C S Lewis (the author of Chronicles of Narnia).. It was such a good read.. Absolutely addictive. I started it this morning and got stuck to it for 2 hours as soon as I reached home after work.I was also looking through a war photo journalism book lying in the office.. Didn't know that such great books are lying in the office and it actually slipped through my eyes.. A friend was sharing with us about a photo which caught the attention of the media in 1992. It showed the body of a couple, Admira Ismic and Bosko Brkic who became known to some as the Romeo and Juliet of Sarajevo.
Here's excerpt which I saw on some website..
"No two people have more exemplified the tragedy of the civil war in Bosnia, than 25-year-old sweethearts Bosko Brkic and Admira Ismic. The only impediment to their love was living in a country who's people are divided solely on the basis of ethnic heritage. For Bosko, a Serb, and Admira, a Muslim, the love they once expressed only for each other was forced to become a secret. The couple, who had been dating for seven years, since high school, were both chemistry students at the University of Sarajevo. Bosko remained in the city to be with Admira despite his families flight from the blood shed. Finally,in the spring of 1993, Admira choose to reward Bosko for staying behind by fleeing Sarajevo with him to Serb territory.
They knew their escape would be a dangerous one. To get to the Serb side they had to cross the Vrbanja bridge, the front line between Bosnian Serb and Muslim Forces. While most who wished to flee the city dared not risk the sniper fire, some had successfully crossed over. On the day of their planned escape, carrying two bags, Bosko and Admira approached the government soldiers on the Bosnian side of "no mans land". They asked the soldiers to let them try an escape, and the police snipers assented.
The young lovers began running as fast as they could across the bridge. They had almost reached the Serb side when snipers opened fire. The machine gun fire came so rapidly that the couple had no chance to seek cover. Bosko was killed instantly, his body laying twisted on the ground. Mortally wounded, Admira crawled the few feet to her lover and wrapped her arm around him before she died."
Here's a song sang by Sammi Cheng.. Pretty old song (as you can tell from the MTV) yet beautifully written about this couple.. Here's the youtube link..
Labels: Personal
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The cat at night.. - 1:01 AM
Yesterday while I was playing with my fat cat, I smell a stench.. That was from Da Fei's mouth.. My sister, Yiyi said that his mouth is like an open grave.. So this coming chinese new year, we're going to clean up the grave in my house.. That will include the grave in my cat's mouth.. We are thinking of where to send him for a make over.. another words, grooming.. Does any of the pet shop do mouth sanitizing? Can anyone recommend? I hope that doesn't freak him out..
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Faithfully waiting.. - 1:20 AM
Monday, January 12, 2009
His favourite toy... - 1:21 AM
A friend was asking what is Da Fei's favorite toy.. Here you go..Everyday he waits outside my room...
... for this weird looking ball with some strands of feathers..
大肥猫
This is a photo of a stray cat i took today... Who says animals do not have expressions? He was looking at me with curiosity.. curiosity kills the cat.. when i snapped a photo of him, he suddenly ran away.. I think he was probably wondering what was that huge black box I was holding..
I wonder if he just had a prison break encounter.. He needs a shave...
Friday, January 09, 2009
Love me... - 4:50 PM
Do animals have feelings? I think they do... I could almost see in their eyes and hear their plea - "Love me.." Especially for dogs.. They are such people-centered animal.. My sister has 3 dogs name Kuki, Krim and Mocha. Even though they have the company of each other, it just never seem to be enough compared to the companionship of a human.. Quite intriguing, sometimes I wonder why God created them this way..Last week, I went to the beach with a couple of friends.. We saw a dog running towards us where we park our mat.. This old man came along to leash the dog that was running away from him.. He started to drag this small frail doggy and kept flinging it into the sea.. Ya, and i mean FLING.. Fling till all the limbs are flying at different directions even though still attached to the body.. The dog just kept crawling back to the shore with a trembling body after being thrown in again and again. I could see the fear in its eyes. That wasn't all. The other old man leashed the dog and dragged it into the water. I saw the poor little doggy, being tossed by the waves and struggling to swim up the shore but the leash just held him back and kept him in the sea that seems to be consuming him.. Well, of course as a bystander, I ran up to intervene..
Perhaps they may be a little naughty at times, they may bite your shoes, tear your socks, dirty your house, pee on your bed and the list goes on.. I guess they are like little kids, you need patience to train them and forebear their mischievous acts but never abuse them or abandon them cos you're the one they ever wanted.. It was a lesson I learnt for myself..
So now, I learnt to spend a bit of time everyday to play with my cat, Da fei (大肥). He sits and waits outside my room with great anticipation to play his favourite toy every night.. He is about 11-12 years old so he is turning yellowish.. Original color was grey.. You can literally see his eyes sparkles at the sight of his toy, his pupil enlarge..
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Missing India.. - 2:36 AM
Suddenly I missed traveling so much.. I guess traveling gives you a whole new perspective to life and even photography where there is no boundary to your creativity.. Everyday new experiences await you that stimulate your mind and leave you dazzled with amazement..I took this photo about a year back when I was backpacking in India.. It was taken in one of the Punjab state called Amritsar where it holds the only gateway to Pakistan from this country.. The temple at the background is called the Golden Temple. As the name suggested, it is not just because the temple is golden in color but it was plated with 750kg of gold which the Maharaja gave for the building of the temple.. Everyday, there are thousands of people visiting this temple.. They come from different parts of this vast land, from all walks of life.. It was a pity that I didn't get to enter the temple as you can see the never-ceasing queue.. I think it'll take me more than a day to queue to get in..
Miss the culture, miss the people, miss the forts and palaces, miss the Himalayas, miss the snow, miss every bit of India, both the good and the bad..
For more travel photos I took as an amateur photographer, click here.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
An empty space.. - 1:35 PM
I was really surprised to receive a belated Christmas present from Kelvin and Beth.. Kelvin got a book for me from Perth and it was really interesting.. The title of the book goes like this - "This is for you".. The author is really talented.. The whole book is made up of papercut prints created by the author Rob Ryan.. Here's one of the papercut made by him..
Here's an excerpt from the book..
When I was smaller
When I was a child, a boy
One minute worrying, the next not having a care
I woke up and got dressed and did all the things that you do all day
All the feelings you feel all day long
Feeling scared and then feeling brave and then feeling scared again
All day long every thought and blink and fear
You only dare to share it with yourself
And then for the very first time
I began to feel very alone
I walk and I thought and I walk and I thought...
And still this feeling of being alone stayed and lingered inside me
It's not that I feel alone because I have no friends
I have lots of friends
I know that I have people who can hold me and reassure me
and talk to me and care for me and think of me
But they can't be inside my head with me all the time -
for all time.
I mean, well what I really mean
I can't easily explain
Except that in here - In this thing called ME.
That's the very problem - It is always just me
Myself alone
And it just isn't enough
I tried to ask other people if they felt this way as well
and they all said no, never, not at all, until i felt as if i was going mad
I cried and I screamed at the sky
I don't want to feel like this for the rest of my life
But the clouds were indifferent to my tears and why should they care
They float and drift and join together and part and reform for eternity
And his mum said to him..
The problem is your heart is too big for you alone
And with only you inside, it feels like an empty space
Labels: Personal
Friday, November 21, 2008
A small world... - 5:40 PM
Last night I went out with one of my best friend, Priscilla.. I know it sounds ironical - best friend can only have one since it is the BEST already but I do have a few best friends, they are just BEST in different ways.. Recent years, we started to hang out twice in a year - once on her birthday, another on mine.. the rest, i really don't remember at all..Anyway, she went around shopping for a friend's wedding gift. Her friend is getting married tomorrow.. This afternoon, we realized that we are actually attending the same wedding which I'll be shooting tomorrow. I'm just amazed at how tiny and puny our homeland is.. I'm extremely excited about the wedding..
Christmas is coming soon but as I grow older, excitement over Christmas fades away gradually, just like how birthdays do.. Significance of it fades away too.. The past 2 years, I spent my Christmas somewhere out of our puny island, in Vietnam and India where lights are not as easily available as here.. I've never notice that so much electricity is used for this special occasion...
Here's an evidence of it..
Labels: Personal
Thursday, November 13, 2008
My panda - 6:48 PM
I love my panda.. When I was shooting him, I asked him to freeze and this was his expression.. He has a huge belly so i have to shoot from top down, if not, his tummy will cover his flat face..He is very supportive of my job.. When I spend hours on photoshop, he supports my wrist..
Labels: Personal
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
dreams.. - 1:45 AM
Another futile attempt to sleep, lied on the bed for an hour trying to enter Lala land.. Woke up to surf around the web and started checking out Kelvin's blog. I used to visit his journal everyday, wanting to be inspired by his images, sometimes even several times a day.. Today I just saw his new entry and my photos of Kyra on his blog.. Beth told me that she loves one of the photo of Kyra with cream all over her face.. It was such a great encouragement.. even though i feel a little inferior to see my photos in a blog that contains nothing but breath-taking images but I'm glad that now, I can be inspired by the grandmaster himself.. I'm really looking forward to follow him on this saturday's shoot..When I start looking back, memories of yesteryear came rushing through my mind.. I recalled those times when I was still a Software engineer, facing the computer everyday, I questioned myself the purpose of it all - dragging myself out of bed each morning and dreading to go to work especially on a Monday morning plagued with a typical "Monday blues".. I can't believe that today I actually looked forward to go to work! Well.. 4 years back, I wouldn't believe that I can have my passion as my vocation but now such an unreachable dream has come true.. and perhaps your dreams await for you too, just a little bit of patience will bring you there..
Labels: Personal
Monday, October 20, 2008
Kyra's Birthday.. - 1:21 PM
Last night we had a birthday party for little Kyra.. She's 2 years old! She was so happy to have so many "Jie jie" to play with her last night.. Totally not afraid of strangers and big groups, she went happily imitating our actions when some of them were playing with Kelvin's wii..
I must say that the lamb chop and steaks were better than those in Tony Roma's and Jack's Place.. I believe many would have agreed with me..
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Narcissism - 12:56 PM
It's my 2nd day working in Lightedpixels.. I'm thankful for this great opportunity that was granted to me by Kelvin and Beth.. of course, not forgetting the fun guys in Avenue 8 especially Bernard who has taught me so many things..My new colleague Alwin introduced me to this fun website (photofunia) that generates these pictures within few seconds.. you can skip all the steps in photoshop!
Someone gazing at my photo with deep sentiments and nostalgia..
Alwin has this picture on his blog too.. I would have gone crazy if someone had a tattoo of me on his body..
When did i become an advocate..?
I love these kitties! I bet my cat (dafei) wouldn't gaze so intently at the TV if it was a picture of me.. anyway, nothing can capture his attention except food..
If only i own this set of tv.. old school.. cool..
u dun need to be Yusof bin Ishak to have your photo printed on a bill..
Labels: Personal
Monday, September 22, 2008
Love = Vulnerable - 1:01 AM
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.~ C S Lewis
This quotation is taken from a book which was written by C S Lewis (the author of Chronicles of Narnia). I read it many years ago and read it a couple of times because it was a too "chimz" for my puny brain. I saw it lying on my table so extracted a part of it..
I find it so true that loving means being vulnerable.. Vulnerable to rejections and disappointments.. Whether or not it is towards our family, friends or anyone.. Yet, despite of that, we are made to love, we are made to be relational beings and nobody can live without it.. Love is the fundamental sustenance of life and the whole essence of life. Imagine a world without it, everyone will be selfish, our hearts will be hardened, impenetrable and unbreakable..
Labels: Personal
Friday, August 29, 2008
Hooray day.. - 1:17 PM
When i received the sms yesterday - "Bring your camera tomorrow, we're going out for a shoot".. I went "hooray!!!" haha.. it was good getting out of the office and being able to enjoy the warm of the sun.. In the end, Sherman became my model of the day.. **actually both of us ended up shooting each other and did some experimental shots..
I love the texture on the wall..
My colleague asked me whether i used my len hood to get this framing.. haha.. nope.. this framing can be found everywhere.. guess where?
Here are some photos of me taken by my colleague Sherman.. I really love them.. Thanks bro for these great shots! See, I didn't disappoint you either.. ;)
This is my favourite of the day!
Labels: Personal