Ahhhhhh it finally feels like a proper Sunday! Today was the first time in a long time I had a good 10 hours of sleep and woke up feeling refreshed and will be relaxed right after I head off to my foot massage as soon as I update this post!! The past week has been really hectic for me, shooting almost everyday of the week and at the same time, trying to juggle everything else on the backend, and not to mention, my whirlwind personal life. It’s been madness, in a good way, I suppose… but it certainly feels like year end (work-wise, I mean)! It’s quite amazing how I get an adrenaline rush from being behind the camera, so much so I forget i’ve had only a couple of hours of sleep the night before and been running on low batteries for a few days in a row! I guess that’s what they all “passion”?

Selberan launched their new collection, Ilona and Adra last Wed at the Gardens Club Lounge. I can’t remember the last tine I personally shot for them as David was the one who shot most of their events and locations. It was good seeing a few of the familiar Selberan faces again; Sylvia & Joanne, who both couldn’t recognize me coz of my new hair ( which isn’t that new actually, I’ve had this cut for more than a year already, which shows how long it’s been!)

I got to meet and shoot 3 fantastic models, Jasmine, Diyana and Daphne who modeled the new collection. It was a breeze shooting the girls as they posed relentlessly with little direction. I also got to take home a delicious Delectable chocolate cupcake, which I ate for supper (not a good idea if you’re on a diet but I couldn’t resist!!) They are very sinful but super yummy!!

The shoot ended early and I rushed home to feed Bam-Bam, backup my photos and was off for the next shoot for Swarovsky’s runway show at the Islamic Fashion Festival (will blog about this soon!).

The models looked stunning in Syaiful Baharim‘s new ready-to-wear collection

Jeff greeted us with a warm smile as we arrived at Pangkor Laut Resort (PLR). Ahhhh… We are back! The last time Steve and I were at PLR was about a year ago, to shoot a wedding and we fell in love with the island and of course, the people. So for this year’s FIFOTO company trip, there was no better place than to spend a relaxing weekend at the lovely PLR!

And surprise surprise! Just as we stepped in for breakfast, I was greeted by another familiar face! Fellow wedding photographer, Jon who was scheduled to leave on the mid day boat! As luck would have it, we now had a professional photographer who so willingly and happily agreed to help us with our group photos! Having someone take the photos for us beats our ever-so-faithful Mr Tripod but what’s more, we had the talented Jon Low shoot us!

We headed to Emerald Bay and had a blast ! (as u will see in the photos to follow!)

So here we go… FIFOTO Trip 2009 @ Pangkor Laut.

WARNING:PHOTOS RATED PG18. YOU MUST BE 18 AND ABOVE TO VIEW THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS.

Arrival at Lumut at 8:30am!

Thanks Jon for the amazingly fun-filled group portrait session!

For those who don’t know who Jon is… he’s the pimp daddy in the middle

It’s a rat race!!

FIFOTO is all about LOVE!

… and action-packed too!

Meet Jeff… he was the one who made our trip a spectacular and memorable one!

That evening, Jeff had organized a sunset cruise for us and 4 other girls (who happened to be my friends as wel!) We enjoyed wine and canapes on a boat, watching the sunset…

Meet Aja, Mel, Gwen and Mabel

Day 2 – We went sailing!!! I absolutely loved tanning on the boat!

And of course… we enjoyed FIFOTO weather! (Blue skies, fluffy clouds!)

Mabel celebrated her birthday on Saturday and we were invited to join em!

Day 3 – Steve, Aips, Emilia & Kit went on the jungle trail… (while I slept in)

I bumped into the girls at breakfast and I decided to do an impromptu mini portrait session for them!

We headed to Emerald Bay…

Steve enjoying the company! (Look at the big grin on his face!)

… and we found a mermaid on the beach!!!!

… it was a tranny mermaid!

Chillin’ by the pool…

The 2nd Villa from the right is the Purnama Sea Villa, the largest sea villa suite which I had the chance to stay in!

Our last dinner was a private, candlelit one by the beach, at sunset. We enjoyed BBQ Lobster!

Our last day was spent relaxing and unwinding at the Award-winning Spa village, a perfect way to end a perfect FIFOTO getaway!

Sunday as you all know is usually reserved as fun with the family day. And that’s exactly what we had in the studio with Lysha and the family. While the girls (Kaitlyn insisted) had their makeup being put on, the boys decided to get warmed up with some shots of their own. Once the girls were ready we went straight into it. All along the way it seemed baby Kayven needed some coaxing so we must have promised him 2 of every flavor of sweets and ice-cream known to man and alien (1 for Big Sis).

The kids took a break and Lysha and Kim had a few shots of their own. I had to insist because I liked Lysha’s hair and hubby Kim was being such a good sport. Then it was off to the changing room for the 2^nd look; white on denim. This was my favourite because it looked like a GAP ad!

By this point everyone was pretty much warmed up and into it so we just went with the flow. Somehow, we ended up playing Simon Says and everyone got their turn. This was where the inner director from baby Kayven came right out as he demonstrated over and over again how everyone should perform a twirl for the camera.

Kaitlyn and Kayven are no strangers to the camera having been in the studio once before. Kaitlyn in particular remains one of the best models I’ve ever worked with. The girl can hold a pose for minutes on end and take instructions while having seemingly limitless energy.

Throughout the shoot, everyone had insisted that Kayven’s favourite flavor of ice-cream was chocolate. I’d been told that they were going out for Ice-cream as soon as they were done. So for the last shot I asked Kayven what his favourite flavour was. He gave a shy smile. Vanilla…

And here are some shots from a couple months back when I first met Kayven & Katelyn…

Aviators from Witchery @ the Melbourne airport. Hat from roxy at 40% off. Kiehls kids SPF 25 sunblock spray. Neutrogena body mist sunblock SPF 30. Banana Boat tanning oil SPF 8. Bobby brown face lotion with SPF25. Holidays are just expensive but it’s all worth it in the name of relaxation! I’m ready for the sun, sand and sea!!

It’s been a long time since my last beach holiday. In fact, it’s been so long I really can’t remember! That IS bad!! Like my friend once said, he needed a holiday from my holiday and that is exactly what I need right now after a fun-filled-hectic 10 days in Melbourne! It’s time for some unwinding and I’m taking a chill-pill!

We’ll be heading to Pangkor Laut Resort for this year’s FIFOTO company trip! (We went to Phuket last year and it was a blast!)

I’ll leave you with a preview of the portrait shots I took in Melbourne!

Pauline & Ben

Michelle & Gerald

Gia