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Grace Tan

Couldn’t have done it without teamwork

The past few weeks have been hectic, to say the least. On the 9th of October, I delivered a beautiful baby boy, whom we named Kyle Ezra Lam. My birth story is really a huge testimony unto God but I’ll save that for another blog post! And just last week, my dad fell ill, was hospitalised and passed away at the age of 81. I have been emotionally and physically drained from all that running around AND recovering from a c-sec operation. Before going on maternity leave, I hardly had time to rest because September was a busy month with 10 wedding shoots, lots of lifestyle shoots, a photography exhibition at Art Square in Bangsar, and an Ibu Tots fair at Publika.

It’s times like these that make me even more thankful for a wonderful team of people who have walked alongside me. Without them, everything wouldn’t have been possible.

Diane – For holding the fort when it comes to enquiries, communication with so many different clients and all with their own different needs, and for making time despite all of my demands to even do family shoots. Juggling this role is a really difficult and extremely time consuming one, but you never complained and you give 110% all the time. Thanks also for coming to take photos of my dad’s funeral last week.

Weiming, Nigel & Jamie – My core photography team! For tirelessly working on wedding shoots especially, editing till your eyes go a little blurry from seeing thousands of photos and creating albums and slideshows diligently. You guys (and gal!) are the backbone to Stories. People usually only see what happens in the forefront during a shoot, but they don’t see the hours of dedication that you guys put into every single image that comes back after that. I am so proud of all of you and how well you’ve done. I am especially pleased whenever I see beautiful images coming back after every single wedding.

Weiming, you are juggling many roles as well, but what I admire most is your sense of excellence that you place on everything you do. You always want to give your best, not just to the work that you do, but to the things you hold dear to your heart. Nigel, I love your can-do attitude, and really easy-going nature that makes you such a joy to work with! Jamie… you add fun and laughter to the team and always welcome a challenge, even though I sometimes place you in difficult situations! 

Chi Yin – Though you are new to the team, but your dedication, hard work and efficiency can be seen clearly! Keep up the good work in shooting videos and editing them!

Johan & Ben – Your support through the years has really humbled me. I appreciate everything you have done for the team and for your ideas, energy and always giving your all! You are like family, no matter how far we go, the bond is always there.

Delvin, Nick, Felicia, Wee Liem, Joshua, King, Lester and many more – An amazing video team that always strives for excellence. A special mention to Delvin, Nick and Felicia especially as they have been really hardworking the past few weeks. Thank you for your contribution! Love all of your work!

Sara, our intern – Every little thing you do is a big contribution to us. Hope you are learning heaps and enjoy working with us!

And finally, my husband Alex – you are my everything. Enough said!

I look forward to more years of shooting together, and creating magic behind the camera!

If you’d like to read more about the team, please check out everyone’s profiles and work here.

Stories_teamoct2014A few of the team members here – (Left to right): Sara, Jamie, Nigel, Grace, Weiming, Chi Yin & Diane

ArtSquareExhibition01Art Square Exhibition of my images

20140920_IBU_TOTS_FAIR_004Ibu Tots Fair at Publika. 

20140920_IBU_TOTS_FAIR_09120140920_IBU_TOTS_FAIR_00920141009_KYLE_BIRTH_02The arrival of my 2nd child, Kyle Ezra Lam.  

 

Wedding Video Highlight, G Hotel, Penang: Desmond & Elizabeth

You know the saying, “You mess with the bull, you get the horns!”. That, apparently, is Elizabeth’s life’s mantra. I wouldn’t want to get on her blacklist! But as a lawyer of 11 years, I would definitely want her on my team. Realistic and sometimes cynical, she said she can’t help but sometimes be a smart-ass! Elizabeth was born and raised in Indiana, USA. To give her credit, she has a really soft side to her tough exterior… she is an old-fashioned romantic…an extroverted person who loves to make people feel comfortable and at ease. She loves to travel, eat and is totally into sports… more than most guys!

Which are all of Desmond’s favourite activities! Traveling, eating and sports! (Tennis, specifically!). The only other thing in his list is that he adores shopping, but mostly for other people! He is an introvert with extroverted tendencies (not too sure how that works!), is kind, caring, thoughtful and a romantic at heart. Born and bred in Penang, Malaysia, Desmond moved to California when he was 19 for college and medical school.

It was there in the States that they met one night through a mutual friend. It was trivia night, and he came with some colleagues from the hospital. His first impression was that she was easy going and fun to talk to, though he thought that she was a smarty-pants through out the whole night!

Her favorite memory about that evening was when the question “What does the ‘A’ in DNA stand for?” came up and how all the doctors at the table looked at each other and said “acid?”. It made her concerned that the lawyer knew it was “acid” but the doctors were not so sure! Elizabeth is bad with names, so she had ‘labels’ for everyone to help her remember better – there was a ‘guy leaving early’, ‘guy with no sleeves’, ‘Yoba’, and Desmond was apparently the ‘hottie doctor’.

Despite the smarty-pants label, Elizabeth made an impression on Desmond, and so to enlarge his social circle, he asked for her number before leaving (which made her think that he was trying to pick her up!). But I guess she gave him a chance because they started hanging out more often, and the interest kept on growing…and the rest, is history.

Desmond & Elizabeth: Wedding Video Highlights from Stories on Vimeo.

Credits:

Videographers: Nick, Delvin & Ivan
Location: G Hotel, Penang
Photographer: Alex Tan
Wedding Gown: M.H. Pomander’s Bridal, Indianapolis, USA (Designer: Lea-Ann Belter)
Groom’s Attire: Blaine’s Mens Apparel, Ohio, USA (Designer: Canali)
Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo (Groom) & Nina (Bride)
Make up & hair: Stella Inn International (Leslie Hong)

Beach Wedding, Avillion, Port Dickson: Nickson & Angel

A beautiful wedding like Nickson and Angel’s deserves to be featured on this blog! (Unfortunately it took us a while to do it!). While I wasn’t there personally to witness the wedding, I do sense the joy on that day by just seeing the images taken by Weiming, Ben and Jamie below. Despite Malaysia’s humid weather, the team loves covering beach weddings, I guess because everyone is in such a relaxed mood when they are next to the sea with the sand beneath their feet. And from what I know, the ais kacang at Avillion Port Dickson is really yummy and diabetes-inducing!

Nickson and Angel are both doctors serving in Kapit Hospital, located in the interiors of Sarawak. I have to admit, I had to google where Kapit was, really! It amazed me that to get to this location, you have to take a 2 hour express boat ride from Sibu along the Rajang river. But their story didn’t actually start from the interiors of Sarawak. Here’s their love story as told by Angel…

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It’s a Merry, Merry Christmas…

What? Christmas in October? Well, for us at Stories, yes! This October and November, we’re feeling a little generous! If you book any of our Lifestyle Portrait sessions for your maternity or family shoots within these 2 months, we’ll gladly print 30 personalised postcards / greeting cards for you for free! All you have to do is book and slot in a shoot date for October and November with us, and we’ll get the images and cards ready before Christmas rolls around in December!

Even if you do not celebrate Christmas, you can have a personalised greeting card printed for your family! Just choose from one of these templates below.

Option 1:

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Option 2:

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Option 3:

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Option 4:

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And a choice of 2 options for the back of your card:

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Contact us to book a session

Pre-Wedding at Sekeping Serendah: Jimmy & Rachel

20140627_PRE_WEDDING_JIMMY_RACHEL_139Jimmy and Rachel first met while they were both working in the same hospital. She was a freshy, only 5 months into the job. Jimmy was the medical officer in charge of the infectious disease ward at the time. Her first impression of him was that, ‘He surely talks a lot and comes across as being quite bossy!’ Naturally, they didn’t really hit it off then and Rachel was mostly preoccupied with surviving through working in that particular ward. It was only a year later when their paths crossed again. By that time, they were both in different departments.

It was a tragedy that brought them together eventually… a tragic Genting car crash that happened one day.

Rachel had to accompany one of the patients who was in critical condition for an MRI scan in the radiology unit while Jimmy was the doctor in charge of doing the scan at the time. The scan took more than an hour to complete, and while waiting for it to be completed, they had some free time to talk and sort of hit it off after that. Over that one hour, Rachel got a glimpse into a different side of Jimmy which she never noticed before. Her heart eventually softened towards him, and she thought, he is actually quite charming and easy to talk to.

Soon, another unexpected encounter in the hospital brought them together again. They started messaging each other and then went out for a movie date a few weeks later.

Jimmy and Rachel are total opposites in terms of character. Jimmy is a very meticulous person and very detail orientated; Perhaps that’s one of the reasons he is attracted to the radiology field while Rachel is more spontaneous and usually goes with flow. It is their differing personalities that make this relationship blend well. They just complement each other so well! Rachel can definitely attest to the fact that Jimmy has certainly helped her be a more organized person!

They have been in a long distance relationship for almost 2 years now since Rachel had to move away from KL for work. Despite the challenges of frequent traveling and their busy work schedule, being in this long distance relationship has taught them to be more thankful and appreciative for the simple and little things they are able to do together like having a quiet dinner or maybe just buying groceries together.

Rachel says, Looking back at how we met, I realized it was really fate that brought us together as I was actually reluctant to accompany the patient to the radiology department during that fateful day and had wanted to switch with another friend.

What a way to get together! Congratulations, both of you!

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