I shot a birthday party last weekend at the Third Floor, JW Marriot. Being such a blurnoid, I even managed to not find the restaurant (who ever said i was a human GPS?). Third Floor restaurant on the 3rd floor right? Went to the 3rd floor and still couldn’t find the place. How am I supposed to know that the Third Floor restaurant was not on the 3rd floor? The button on the lift also said 3 (and another button that said Third Floor restaurant!).

Anyways, finally found the restaurant and boy, didn’t realize that the Third Floor restaurant was this nice! Add to the fact that the organizers of the party, Malique and birthday boy Dinesh of Louis Vuitton blinged it out even more with customized placards for each guest, a little gift, black table cloth, candles, flowers and even a pink couch with balloons and a carousel horse as a backdrop for people to take photos! How cool a photowall is that???

Guests started trickling in, dressed to the nines, all ready to have a good time. Bubblies was served and friends and family had a great time mingling and catching up! All the guests were also quite amazed when the curtains were drawn to reveal the fancy dining area. And they were treated with a special degaustation menu which was made up from the best of the Third Floor menu, plus, more bubbly and wine. Guests were also serenaded by a live jazz band belting out favourites specially hand picked by the birthday boy!

All in all, it was a nice, cozy and intimate party with close friends and relatives who were there to celebrate Dinesh’s big day. And to end the night, they had DJ Goldfish spin some retro tunes for everyone to get their groove on. Plus! A surprise birthday cake for the birthday boy and a special birthday announcement…..

Last Sunday, we kicked off our FIFOTO 101 class and learned all about exposure and the basic functions of the camera. The objective of this assignment was to show their understanding of aperture and/or shutter speed. I am impressed by the shots and am looking forward to what everyone comes up with for the next assignment!

Please vote for your favorite shot! Polls close this Sunday at 12pm! VOTE NOW!

NOTE: All photos are straight out of camera and have not been edited.

Vote for your favourite photoanswers

It’s been a week of late nights and late mornings and the air at work throughout this week has been pretty calm, albeit the two days of full on UBS training on Mon and Tues. With the installation of this accounting system, it means I have to change my workflow to accomodate this program. Learning new things (especially complicated and accounting stuff like these) is no fun and it just adds to my headache of keeping track of my accounts. But I guess in the long run, it’s a good system to have in place and besides, i think it’s a requirement from the tax department if your sales exceed a certain amount. Whatever it is, change is always good, although it may be a painstaking process to get used to!

I’m off to Singapore tomorrow to attend Kelvin & SeSe’s wedding. Kelvin is a friend from UT and I’m looking forward to meeting all my other S’porean UT friends most of whom I haven’t met for 8 years since I left Austin! It will be a nice mini-reunion!

And in keeping to my new year resolution of updating my blog regularly and clearing out my backlog of photos waiting in line to be published, here’s a shoot I did for Joy & Anderson as part of their wedding gift – a family portrait session with their two sons, Boy & Max. I call this shoot “JAMB”. It stands for Joy Anderson Max Boy

Boy is Joy’s Shih Tzu. Pampered expensive collars, cute outfits and yummy treats, Boy is the apple of their eye, has the whole run of the triple storey house, and sleeps with them on the bed. Max on the other hand, is Anderson’s puppy and if you look pass the hyper-energetic, playfulness and all that slober, he is a very sweet dog. Unlike most Dobermans, Max’s ears are not cropped so he’s got the goofy pity-me look which I think is super adorable! Sexy should meet Max one day… It could be love at first sight but unfortunately Sexy, my mom brown Doberman lives in Penang!

See that goofy look? Isn’t he adorable?

There’s something about SF coffee, especially the one in KLCC. Good coffee and good food aside, the place is simply magical. Ok, I might be exxagerating but there is certainly something special about that place. Perhaps it’s the familiar faces that make the place warm and cozy. Yesterday, I saw four tables of people I know! First was Gale, general manager at Prada. I sat right behind her and we started chatting for a bit (she’s quitting Prada, boohooo!). Then, there’s this elderly lady from my yoga class, waiting patiently for her better half to arrive. I see her there at times with her husband who probably works nearby. Looking to my left, I noticed a fee familiar faces from Help Desk @ Exxon. And when I was about to leave, I bumped into another group of my ex-colleagues/friends from Exxon.

Gale mentioned she goes to SF coffee for some solitude, which I agree with her completely! And perhaps it’s the friendly people behind the counter who starts making my ice latte even before I can start ordering it, and knowing how I want my sandwich done and wrapped. I think that’s part and parcel of the “magic” that happens at SF coffee. (I swear I don’t have a share in the company!! It’s pure love for the food and ice latte!!)

Friday couldn’t come soon enough. It has been a hectic but productive week and I’m glad I’m easing myself into workaholic mode.  With only two more items on my TO DO list for the rest of the week, I’m looking forward to a chilled out weekend of no traveling nor crazy party plans and am super excited to kick start our FIFOTO 101 class this Sunday!

Here’s a project I took on a month back with Primeclass Landscaping for their portfolio. Inspired by their impressive portfolio of landscape and design, I was busy exploring a number of places in Cyberjaya and Mines Resort. Their extensive portfolio consisted of mostly commercial work such as Cyberview Lodge and Prima Avenue but also included some really interesting residential units. From the places I’ve visited and photographed, their signature style seems to be the patterned concrete walkways embedded in grass. My favorite of them all is their innovative and eco-friendly Vertical green walls where plants grow on a stainless steel planting modules, complete with an irrigation system! Different plants are grown on these modules to create patterns and not only are these walls used for aesthetic purposes, they are also environmentally friendly, providing insulation against heat and noise pollution! I would sooooooo love to have one of these green walls!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

This is cool Verticalgreen system I was talking about… how pretty is that!