Good friends are hard to come by, especially outgoing, spontaneous, fun and free-spirited ones like Fiona (no, not me, my frend aka Teff). I’ve known Teff for a long time but we’ve never really hung out till late last year, when I bumped into her jogging in the park. It all began with jogging at the park and that’s where our friendship blossomed. I discovered we have a lot in common; jogging, of course, partying, traveling and eating. Most of all, I like how she’s spontaneous and sporting, up and game for anything! Maybe that’s why we get along so well! In the past 8 months, I got a chance to get to really know Teff and have found a really good friend in her. Today, As much as I’m saddened that she’s off to Europe to start a new career and get married (I’m convinced it’s more for the latter), I wish her all the best life has to offer in this new & exciting European adventure! And as hard as it was to say goodbye just now at lunch, I’m consoling myself that we are just a flight away and the next time we meet, we’d probably be rockin’ Amsterdam!!!

A few weeks back, Jason and I shot Hani & Nathan’s pre-wedding. I’ve never met the couple before but have been communicating with Hani online and from her bubbly, I knew we’d get along! I had been looking forward to their shoot since she told me that one of the locations was going to be the Heritage Station Hotel at the old KTM station! I’ve never shot there before and I was stoked!!! And without a doubt, we had fun and so did they! As the saying goes,  ”Absence make the heart grow fonder” and that, I think, is very true. Hani is from Seremban and is currently teaching in Johor. Nathan is from Miami, an engineer. They met while playing online games and their love blossomed over IRC chat. IRC CHAT?? The last time I logged onto IRC, I was 16!!! ( Yes, apparently it’s still around and it’s a big network run by mafias! Who knew?! ) God works in mysterious ways and these two were destined to meet! If it hadn’t been on IRC, I can betcha it would have been at some other random place and time! As someone said to be once, “God can be cheeky like that sometimes!” and I totally agree!

I’m looking forward to photographing their beach wedding at the Avilion come June!!!

Here are my favorite shots!!

I’m totally psyched for the Energizer run tonight, my first ever marathon! My legs and feet are well rested ( I’ve rested them since Monday! ) , I’ve been loading up on carbs and I’m all ready to go!!! Of course, I’m not looking to win any prizes but I’m hoping to finish within the time limit which, if the trail is similar to the one at KLCC park, I should be able to do it within an hour or so.  WISH ME LUCK!!!

Prior to the first class, students were asked to submit their best photo. The last assignment involved a reshoot of the same subject, and the objective of the assignment was to demonstrate their understanding of all the theories, tips and techniques learned in the past 3 weeks and incorporating them into the photo.

Here are the shots! (Pls note: no editing was allowed, these shots are straight out of camera!)

Please vote for the photo you think has improved the most!!! Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Poll closes tomorrow (Sunday Mar 28) at 12pm!

Photo #1 – Before

Photo #1 – After

Photo #2 – Before

Photo #2 – After

Photo #3 – Before

Photo #3 – After

Photo #4 – Before

Photo #4 – After

Photo #5 – Before

Photo #5 – After

Photo #6 – Before

Photo #6 – After

Awaiting Submission for the following photos:

Photo #7 – Before

Photo #7 – After

Photo #8 – Before

Photo #8 – After

Today, I ran 10km. And the real accomplishment, is that I did it within 1 hour and 10 mins. Today’s run is the very first time I’m gaining confidence that I would finish the Energizer marathon (my very first participation in a marathon!) this Saturday (I’m doing only 10km of course) and to be able to finish the run within the time limit of 1 and a half hours is certainly a bonus and an ego boost! Fiona, Ming and I have been “training” for this marathon for the past month, but not diligently enough of course and before today, I never really thought I’d be able to finish it within the time frame. Honestly, it’s more of a mental thing than your physical ability. Seriously, before this 10km, the furthest I’ve run was 8km and that was way back in November when I was on holiday in Melbourne. The furthest I’ve done at the KLCC park is 5 rounds, which works up to be about 6.5km, and that was last year too. In the past month, I could hardly make 4 rounds and even till last Friday, I only did 3. Today, i kept pushing myself, and kept re-setting my goals after I reached the previous one. It’s all about psyching the mind. It’s all about telling yourself you can do it! I’m feeling really good tonight and am all pumped up for the race this Saturday!

Here’s a commercial shoot I did a few weeks back for Beaubelle. I was excited to do this shoot as I can’t remember the last time I shot products! And it reminded me of how much work and precision these shoots are compared to photographing people, especially when working with reflective surfaces, which required quite a lot of digital imaging! All in all, I had fun a look forward to more of such challenges!

The week flew by so quickly I don’t know where it went! It’s been a good week though, amidst work and training for next week’s Energizer marathon (I’m doing 10km), I had the chance to catch up with a bunch of my old friends from KL at Calvin’s 30th surprise birthday! It’s amazing how some people haven’t changed a bit in 15 years and how others have overcome drastic changes, such as, being married with kids. Either way, I realized that true friends are those who you may not have seen or kept in touch for the longest times and you can still have the same kind of conversations as though not a day had gone by!

Last Sunday’s class was on LIGHT. We talked about soft vs hard light and its different characteristics. We talked about the different light sources and how we can manipulate them. We also had a practical session within the studio and everyone got to play with various lights and color gels!

The objective of this assignment was for students to demonstrate their understanding of light, its characteristics and how to use it creatively.

Here are the shots! (Pls note: no editing was allowed, these shots are straight out of camera!)

Please vote for your favorite photo, leave a comment and tell us why you like it!!!

Poll closes tomorrow (Sunday Mar 21) at 12pm!

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Photo #4

Photo #5

Photo #6

Photo #7

Photo #8