Small is Beautiful

Who says Singapore is not a romantic place? I shot yet another small and intimate wedding recently. There seem to be a lot of foreigners getting married in Singapore (at least from my experience). I myself, a Malaysian, was married in Singapore, for more than seven years already. Our ceremony was held at the roof-top function room of my sister-in-law's condominium and the ceremony was witnessed by families and close friends. I remembered it occured very quickly and before we knew it, the ink on the cert was already dry. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful day and I hope Roberta and Santi had the same, if not more intense, feeling than I had on their small and intimate wedding as well. Theirs was even smaller, with Roberta's father a long-distance witness in Rome, via skype.

The Vanilla of Wedding Photography

There are many brands of bicycles around, notably the aptly named Giant, Specialized, Trek and Scott (just to name a few) who serve a huge market, and with factories and distribution network all over the world.

On the opposite side are those one-man bike-maker-designer or small teams in some obscure scenic villages expertly welding some really fantastic bikes for a selected clientele whom do not mind waiting 5 years for the delivery of their bikes. (Yes, 5 years!) Examples are Independent Fabrication (IF), Vanilla, Dave Kirk and Seven.

I am naturally attracted to the latter group of bike-makers because I respect their dedication and time and effort to perfect a piece of art for the clients. I hope to be like them, in my field of wedding photography. I'd want my clients to be filled with joy when they receive the album, just like I would when I receive my custom-fit bicycle.

When I delivered the DVD slideshow to Jason and Tessalin, I cycled to their apartment (which is not too far away). In my mind, the above-mentioned thought ran through my mind and when I watched their expressions as the slideshow played before them, I knew for sure I want to be the IF or Vanilla of wedding photography.

Fortunately, they need not wait 5 years for the album.

I'm Still Alive!

Hi, I'm well and truly rested after the long break! It's back to business (reluctantly) but have been so overwhelmed with issues both official and personal that I have placed the blog in the back seat!

Also, during this time, I have been somehow bitten by the cycling bike and am very into road bikes and cycling. I think this is a sport that can help me keep fit no matter what age I am. I've been playing football but it gets too intense as I age; golf is too time-wasting and cycling is just nice. I can cycle in the wee hours of the night/morning and yet still have time for breakfast with wife and kids. I just sold my entry-level bike (even though my cycling skills is entry-level, but there are many mediocre photographers using Leicas too) and am now in the process of building my first road bike. Will show pictures once it's done. And readers who share same interest or have cycling groups, pls feel free to contact/invite me! I am AVAILABLE!

What I can show now are wedding pictures (aha!). Walter is a friend of many of my clients and I am very happy to shoot his wedding to her lovely bride, Linda from Tianjin, China. They live in a lovely historical neighbourhood and for the first time in my wedding career, I could just walk to the bride's apartment in the morning.




The bride had to pop a candy, to signify "tian tian mi mi" (sweet loving).


The family members from China do not know about the "gatecrashing" practice here, so they happily opened the door for Walter. He got in easy!







The tale of the good daughter-in-law, the good banquet manager and the "bad" father.