We have moved!

Dear readers,

I have created a new blog at www.greymatterphotoblog.com.
This will be my final post here.
I hope you will continue to give me your support!

with thanks,

kc wong

Wrong side of 30

I am genuinely touched by the well wishes of friends and clients who have wished me a happy birthday.
I think I've mentioned this before, my wife and I have the same birthday, and also the same age.
Birthdays don't mean much to us after we passed 30, and I've postponed our celebration today because I have a football game coming up (guys out there, I've set a low benchmark for you)!

Being on the wrong side of 30, I find that I am taking longer to recover from shoots and football games. Exercise is of paramount importance at my age, and diet is to be strictly observed if I were to keep my body in good shape.

One thing that no amount of cycling and football-playing and pills can help is the deteriorating performance of my favourite organ.

Nowadays, the brain can't remember things very well. Sigh.

Morning Scare

When my wife and I were at a lift lobby this morning, we overheard a woman on the phone (speaking in Mandarin):

"I'm sorry.....for the past two days, I had to stay at home because my family was served a notice to stay home for 7 days due to the H1N1. My son's school was affected.

I couldn't stand it, so I came out of the house after two days and I'll be faxing the document to you right away!"

When the lift door opens, I whispered to my wife not to follow her into the lift.

Such irresponsible behaviour. I'm sure there are many such examples around. I think this virus will be amongst us for a long time to come.

Afternoon Fun

Finally decided to bring the kids to the Singapore Flyer, after passing it by almost everyday while sending Yu Wen to and from school. We would often talk about it, referring it as the gigantic ferris wheel.

I have been confronted with questions such as:

Q:" Who are those people inside the ferris wheel?"
A:"Tourists."

Q:"What are tourists?"
A:"Err....people who travel to another place and have fun."

Q:" Why are some (cabins) empty?"
A:" EERRR....there are not many tourists nowadays. The economy is not doing well, and people have not enough money to fly on an aeroplane."

I was trying to use some big words here to stump her, otherwise I don't know where all these questions will lead to. Luckily, it worked. (Bad daddy)

And when we were actually inside one of the cabins, she asked:"So, are we tourists now?"
Bravo! Yes, we are tourists now! (Good daddy!)

We brought along Yu Wen's cousin Xin Ying, a spritely 6-year-old who has wanted to hop onto the Flyer for the longest time.
They had a wonderful time, not so much awed by the view but (I think) more by the novelty of it.

After that, it was water play (again!) at Marina Barrage. I reckon after spending $60 on a 30-minute ride on a giant bicycle wheel, a free-and-fun place of interest is certainly high up on my priority list. True enough, I think they had more fun with the water than the air at 400m above sea-level.

But never mind, it's fun playing local tourists and doing the touristy things once in a while.

Water Play

What better way to cool down from the sizzling heat these days than having a dip in the pool? Both of them enjoy it so much that the parents were made to promise to bring them to the pool more often. My pleasure.

Who's watching, really?

I decided to bring Yu Wen to the cinema today because it has been a long while my wife and I stepped into one since the birth of Yu Hao.Not knowing when I'll be able to watch a movie with my wife inside a cinema, so, running out of patience, I "cheated" on my wife by dating my daughter. There isn't much common choice for a 35-year-old AND a 3-year-old. For a second, I was tempted to buy tickets for "Drag me to hell", but the prospect of getting hell at home after my wife finds out diverted me to the more family-friendly "Monsters vs Aliens".

Coincidentally, just as KC is bring his girl to the cinema, CK (39east) is bringing his too.

I think a 3-year-old is too young to appreciate a full-length movie inside a huge, dark chamber. At least she didn't complain loudly, neither did she fidget about too much in her seat. The only parts that caught her attention were the female protagonist Susan's distress and fighting scenes. In the last 10 minutes of the movie, she eventually fell asleep on my lap.

On the whole, I had an enjoyable afternoon. I think "Drag me to hell" would have given me more bang for my buck. The cartoon was too short.

The day I felt like an EPL star

Not the money, not the booze, and certainly not the lap-dancers.
Injury to the knee ligament. Now I know how it felt to be an English Premier League star, when injured.
The left knee just refuses to bend, making it virtually impossible to put on my shorts on my own. Determined not to traumatise my girl to see her daddy walking around the house naked, I somehow contorted myself to put on some loose fitting undergarments. If you think it's easy, try it yourself.

The story was plain simple and stupid. I was forced off the bike path by a teenager who thought his grandfather owns the road. I think he was relishing his school-holiday freedom on his bike when he suddenly veered towards me just when I was trying to overtake him.

Watching me tumble head over heels on the tarmac road must have freaked his young mind out somewhat, or that he was a former voice actor who tried his best to provide a voiceover. I was quiet throughout (in my mind cursing) but this boy just refused to shut up by screaming "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" in a variety of pitches, as if he was the one who was bleeding on the forehead and knees. I was trying to come up with the most original expletives but in the end it was a mere tame "Next time please cycle in a straight line!"

I thought my injuries were just superficial abrasions and I was still able to cycle the 20km back. Unfortunately, the pain got worse and worse and the next morning, the left knee just refused to obey me anymore. The only upside to all this? Heehee....I am exempted from all kinds of chores and people actually brought me water and fruits without me lifting a finger.

Wonder how long I can fake it.....

Lost.....

my handphone at Alexandra Hill this morning during a shoot.
Some numbers are missing, some calendar entries are gone, some sentimental messages/pictures/videos vanished.

If they somehow surface on the internet somewhere, let me know. Thanks. :(

I might only be contactable later today, after the replacement SIM card kicks into service.

Error of Judgement II

It seems that Singaporeans (at least from the look of 'mainstream' media) are quite cool about losing (buckets load of) money in bad investments. Temasek has lost US$4.6 billion on a US$5.9 billion investment in their Merrill Lynch-turn-Bank of America stakes. Given the fact that Temasek professes itself as a long term investor (10, 15, 20 years), it is puzzling why they should choose to realise their loss at this moment. Ironically, BoA share price has risen to US$11.81 since last night.

The Straits Times wrote a mildly worded piece on the episode to act as damage control, but I shudder to think what the citizens of other countries will be saying if this has happened in their countries.

Kudos to Singapore government for pre-empting any salvo being fired though, by graciously orchestrating a stepping down for Ho Ching. Let's hope the new CEO Chip Goodyear can live up to his name, literally, by providing a very "good year" to the people's investments.

Funny....

...the kids!

Yu Wen pretending to be the patty in the burger.


Yu Hao letting reap one of his dinosaur-like screams again.


Clap clap hands. Many times he'd clap too close to his nose and keep slapping himself on it. Silly.


In one of her "zombie" poses. She said she learned it from Kung Fu Panda, at the part when Shifu tosses a dumpling at Panda.


Fooling around in front of the camera.


Sis wants to hug him, but bro tries to fend off the unwanted attention. Notice the clutter in the background. My home is a junk yard!


He's always tickled by his sister.


Wish they can be happy like this forever.

The weather: my enemy, my friend

At this moment, the thunder, lightning and the rain are wreaking havoc on my scheduled pre-wedding shoot later in the afternoon. The groom-to-be Xinwei is calmness personified when he sms'ed me "blue sky from north coming over (Botanical Gardens) now....should be ok in 2-3 hours".

Visibility looks to be less than 1km now. I wish I can see the sun soon.

Talking about the sun, I had plenty of it last week when I went on a mini walkabout on a sunny afternoon. Time to time, I need some stimulation outside weddings to hone my skills and to think outside of the "wedding box". Even though I was perspiring like crazy, I discovered some quaint little spots as well as rediscovered the street photographer in me.

Joy Kids Bring

Following up on the last post on family, this is an update on the 2 kids back home.

The little boy is a cry baby/whiner/complain king all rolled into one.

Sleepy, he cries. Wakes up, he cries. Hungry, he cries. Want to eat some more, he cries. Head knocks lightly on hard objects, he cries. Change clothes, he cries. Put him alone in playpen, he cries. Sun shines on his eyes, he cries.

His constant whines and cries have become so consistent, regular and mundane that the only way to deal with it is to treat it like we treat road traffic hubbub as background noise. After a while, it really works! I don't hear him now like I don't hear the cars zooming past on roads below my flat. We are however, very glad that he is getting along fine with "jie jie" Yu Wen. In fact, she is the only person who can guarantee a hearty laugh from him, no matter how cranky he is.

Talking about the sister, she's fast becoming, if not already, a chatterbox. Being chatty is one thing, being LOUD is another. If being loud does not catch our attention, she'd sometimes spew amazing words that make me tear. For example, I always like to tease her. One day, I was reading Little Red Riding Hood (English version) and when it came to the dialogue parts, I purposely spoke in Mandarin. Seeing that her face turned blank and emotionless, I asked her if she was angry (that I am pulling her leg).

Then came her reply with a deadpan face:" I am not angry. I'm just disappointed." Suddenly, I was like this stand-up comedian who just told a joke that nobody laughed at. I quickly apologised and got on with the story.....in English.

All pictures taken with Sony Ericsson k770i

Yu Wen, with what she called "leaf satay".


Baby Brother sits on grass for the first time, and you guess it----he cried.


The Sheik

Here's Mini-Me

We do have many similarities.
Some say he's as cute as me. He's a glutton. He always cries to get sympathy.
And we're always fighting each other to get mummy's attention.

Flying Pigeon

I have modified a "Ah Pek's" China-made steel bike into something really cool (in my opinion). I love the look of this bike, but not the attention it gets when I cruise along roads. It was meant to be my bike, but wifey has just unceremoniously acquired it from me. Oh well, that gives me an excuse to build another one. It should be ready next week.

It's made possible with the help of the guys from TR Bikes. Check them out if you are interested.

The jitters

Even though I have been in this line for a number of years now, I still get jitters before every wedding shoot.

I think it's a good thing. The worst that can happen is when familiarity breeds contempt. The easy thing to do is show up on the wedding day, shoot the usual stuff, pack up, collect cheque and wait for the next shoot. Right?

Well, I can't bring myself to do that. I'll be a bit anxious and thousands of thoughts will run through my mind: will the light be good on that day? Will there be chemistry between the "players" at the wedding? How can I outdo my last shoot? What's that "something different" for this wedding?

I am not sure about the other photographers, but I feel that this fear helps with achieving something that brings me closer to perfection (I'm not saying it is).

Without this fear, we'll just be going through the motions. Fear keeps me on the toes. Luckily it doesn't keep me awake before the big day.

Away

Leaving for HK today for a wedding shoot. Back on Sunday.
I'm not sure if I have internet access (I am not bringing my laptop to cut down on the weight). If I don't, please be patient with the reply of emails.

Yu Wen just bid a tearful farewell. When she was younger, it was still easier because she didn't know much. Now that she's a spritely and "matured" 3-year-old, she knows the significance of the luggage and airport and that "see you later" isn't measured in minutes.

See you later.

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.