Rain

Now that the weather is getting better, with many hours of sunshine and great sunsets, I kind of miss the cool old weeks of rain.

The bad weather makes for some really dramatic pictures though, and it forces the photographer to think hard and improvise. It is always a challenge, but the results can be gratifying. Just make sure it doesn't rain all the time....or else the challenge might become insurmountable!

Time (pieces) is (very) precious

Caught the watch bug since many months ago, but didn't have the budget to acquire some nice pieces. The story started more than 1 year ago when one of my clients works for Richemont, one of the biggest luxury goods groups and owns brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, A. Lange & Sohne, Cartier, Piaget, just to name a few. Through work and casual conversations, I was drawn into the world of mechanical watches and there was no looking back. It was made "worse" when my good friend caught the bug independently and bought himself an IWC chronograph automatic watch.

Some of the timepieces are really beautiful and what one likes and wears also reflects one's personality as well. Unfortunately, like all things in life: so many choices, so little money. I am still learning, still discovering. Luckily, this part is free. There is as much joy in researching it as owning one timepiece.

I still have my other passion in wedding photography! Better still, it's free and I even get paid for it!

Saint Regis

This wedding has its significant moment because it is the first wedding hosted by St. Regis Singapore. The place is nicely furnished and the staff was particularly attentive for obvious reasons....everyone from top management to waiting staff seek to ensure the wedding proceeds without a glitch.

Well, being the first time, there is bound to have hiccups, but I am sure the staff at St Regis will iron them out and improve further.





The above is a limited edition of an original Botero sculpture.

Amazing Races

I think it takes a lot of effort and commitment for two people from different race and culture to come together in a marriage. For Nicole and Zuan, I think they are made for each other because even though the wedding is short, but the emotions on display are more than enough to fill three other weddings I have shot. Jinghui and Yusman, if you are reading this, you are in my thoughts as well.



Wedding Slideshow of Nicole & Zuan

The Reason

The one big reason I wake up every morning filled with hope, why I come home from late night shooting filled with new vigour.

Yu Wen....2 years on.

Alien In Jakarta

This is part two of Wilson and Xiaowei's wedding, held in Jakarta. It was a simple tea ceremony and a evening reception of a scale much smaller than the one they had in Singapore. It was my first trip to Jakarta, and her reputation preceded my arrival. Noisy, dirty, congested and dangerous.....these are just some of the adjectives I heard . To be fair, many Asian cities are all of the above, with Singapore Inc. being an exception rather than the norm.

However, Jakarta turned out to be a very lively and vibrant city. Her architecture is much more adventurous and colourful than the drab and monotonous skyline in Singapore. The great rich-poor divide is to be expected and anticipated, and being a Malaysian, that is nothing shocking or new.

Food is good, and the shopping malls are big and some have very interesting concepts. The diversity of foreign labels is impressive, with some foreign big names having a bigger presence there than in Singapore, if at all.

For example, I was inquiring about watches on behalf of a friend and what seemed to be a rarity in Singapore turns out to be readily available in Jakarta. The stainless steel version of the Rolex Daytona is reportedly hard to get, but it was in stock at all three outlets I visited, and cheaper too!

The skies in Jakarta are notoriously grey, hazy and dirty. Fortunately, it was clear and blue and sunny on the 2 days I was there. Even the locals were amazed.

I had a nice room at the JW Marriott and it offered very good view of the city centre.


However, nothing beats the view at Wilson's 46th-storey apartment. Actually, the apartments have very high ceilings, so it feels more like 60+ storey at an apartment block with lower ceilings.



On the wedding day, due to some miscalculation, I had to cramp inside the Indonesian Video team's Kijang (a kind of SUV), not at the passenger seat, but in the "boot" compartment. There was a lot of equipment there, and the space was made more compact by easels sticking in. I couldn't sit, and fortunately the back-breaking journey took only 10 minutes.


One interesting observation was the sight of many wreaths on display at the entrance of the hotel. They were presented by guests of the family and they would definitely look oddly out of place back home. :)


With today's price of gold, I know where the smile is coming from.


When I first saw this scene, I thought I was in the set of CSI:Miami, or somewhere in California. It was one of the nicest urban sunsets I have seen in many years.


Enough said. Just some random shots to share.








I will surely revisit Jakarta.

Full Circle

Life is full of coincidence.
When Xiaowei and Wilson looked me up, they seemed like another excited couple looking for a wedding photographer.
However, as the date drew closer, when I found out where she lived, her address struck me as oddly familiar. It was only later that I realised that I shot Xiaowei's brother's wedding....five years ago! All of us didn't know, because the brother wanted her to look for a photographer who suited her taste, and the sister wanted to search one on her own. In the end, she decided on me and we came one full circle.

Her brother and his wife was kind and generous enough to want to fully sponsor the photography package. Wow! I'd love to have a brother and sister-in-law like that!







Venues: Au Jardin and Shangri La, Singapore

Some Thoughts II

Examples of photos taken with a mid-tele and opened to f2.

Some Thoughts

I have always preferred to shoot with wide angles, a habit I picked up when I was still working with the newspapers. I guess at one point or another, many "romantic" photojournalists are mesmerised by the eccentricity, dedication, courage and vision of the great war photographer Robert Capa, whose most famous quote is arguably "If your photos are not good enough. you are not close enough".

When used wisely and skillfully, the wide angle lenses are a joy to work with. They draw viewers closer to the subjects in an intimate way which telephotos can't, and makes viewers feel for the subjects more. In my personal humble opinion, it's easier to shoot with a mid-tele zoom, open it to f2 or f1.8 and focus just on the subject itself with the backdrop thrown out of focus. It's such a prevalent practice in wedding photography now that people actually associate professionally-taken photos with those taken with a fast tele (the subject sharp sharp, and the backdrop blur blur).

However, I must admit that I am many times guilty of shooting that kind of pics because it's an easier way out for me, when I run out of ideas. Just please the crowd, give them what they want and everyone will be happy. Yeah...but sometimes I am not happy. I feel that I wasn't strong enough to stand on my ground firmly and deliver something that I personally believe in.

That's why I love Carlo Carletti's photos so much. So classic, so old-school, and none of those f1.8-shallow depth of field-magazine-prevalent kind of wedding photos. I want to work towards that style, and I think the photographer in Singapore who seems to be shooting a lot with wide angles is Ruey Loon (36frames). (correct me if I am wrong).

Way to go.

Beaching About It

At last, there is a small window of opportunity to blog.
But then again, the mind is willing, the pen is weak. Don't know what I can write about, except gripe about the amount of work, the toll it has taken on my body, and the lack of time to recharge and find new inspiration.

Brought my daughter out to the beach for the first time in many months. We listened to the waves, walked on the sand, searched for crabs inside fissures of rocks, spotted fishing boats, a helicopter and an eagle, felt the sea breeze, watched the sunset, and basically just having a good time. I think I enjoyed/needed it more than she did.

Tomorrow, I will be flying to Jakarta to shoot a wedding. The day I come back to Singapore is a short pre-wedding, and a wedding the next day. Even though Chinese New Year to me is a sedated affair, I have never looked forward to it now more than any other time.