Musings

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, News

LiveWire Media: Charge Up Conference 2011

It’s here again! Charge Up 2011, organized by LiveWire Media is back to inspire, charge up and equip people interested in all forms of media. If you have never heard of LiveWire Media before, do click on the link above to find out more. Their vision:

The LiveWire! media network exists
to link up talents and resources,
to raise up a spirit of excellence,
to lift up positive values.

Charge Up Conference delegates, 2010

I have been involved in every single Charge Up conference since 2006. It’s part of my commitment to give back to society. The conference is open for all to attend, even if you are not a Christian. You can be a student in your teens, a young adult who has no experience in media whatsoever, or a person in your 50s wanting to learn a new skill. All we require is an open heart to learn. Speakers are there on voluntary basis, and that is why the rates for the conference is so affordable! RM500 for a 4 day conference, including meals! (RM450 if you sign up before 17 Feb, and more discounts if you are a student or register in groups!)

Date: 17-20 March 2011
Location of conference: DUMC Dream Centre, 2, Jalan 13/1, Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya
Registration info

You can choose one of the various streams offered at the conference.
Advanced Sound
Basic Photography
Intermediate Photography
Video Production
Video Post-Production
Basic Design
Motion Graphics – After Effects
Motion Graphics – Flash
2-Day Media for Shepherds Track

Ok this is where I do some shameless advertising. I am in charge of organizing the photography stream this year, and I can say that it will be an exciting time of learning… this year, our photography speaker line up consists of Louis Pang, Ke Wynn, Chun Chung, Andrew Chow, Arden Khoo, Aaron Lam, Goh Choon Ean, Mark Leo and myself!

My two presentations are titled “Shooting with a Mission” and also “Creating Multimedia Presentations that Inspire”. The topics are not about wedding photography specifically, but about using your photography skills with a mission. Are you using your gifts and skills for a purpose? How can you think beyond still images and create presentations that are meaningful and with a message? What are the tools that you need?

Whether you are in the Basic or Intermediate Photography stream, you will be given a project to complete within those 4 days. For the Intermediate Photography stream delegates, you will have the opportunity to create multimedia presentations for non-profit organizations… such as the sample below. This video was created during last year’s Charge Up conference.

[flv:http://www.stories.my/wp-content/uploads/2010/slideshows/crisishome.flv http://www.stories.my/wp-content/uploads/2010/slideshows/crisishome.jpg 700 394]

Alex will also have a speaking session, but his is for the Shepherd’s Track, a stream designed to equip pastors, ministry and mission leaders to walk the creative paths that God is laying down for their church, ministry, or organization.

Hope to see you there!

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Relationships

Chinese New Year Musings

I am always really happy whenever my family gets together and is complete. Chinese New Year is one of those times… when my brother comes back from the States and we can all sit together, enjoy a Starbucks coffee or o-chien and laugh over silly things. This year, he’s only in Malaysia for a week. The problem about time is that it just flies by so quickly. Soon, it’s time to say goodbye. Unwillingly.

Speaking about goodbyes, my entire family, including my brother’s friend Ariel who’s visiting from the US, helped to clear up our Malacca house over Chinese New Year. Some say that it’s pantang or bad luck to do that during CNY, but to us, it’s about being practical. I wrote about my home in Malacca some time back. This Chinese New Year, we cleared a lot of things, and said goodbye to many items that held memories. Some things will be kept purely because it’s sentimental, but lots of stuff will just need to be put aside, just like these plants that were left to fend for themselves.

My mom’s collection of recipes. Sadly I did not inherit her cooking skills.

Continue Reading

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings

My Love for Photography

I was still studying in university when I saw my first stock photography book. I was just so amazed at the photos in the book. The images seemed to jump out at me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was then that the seeds of love for photography were planted. In university, I studied Film and Television, but my interest in photography prompted me to take one class in Black and White photography, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The only thing I hated was standing in that pitch black darkroom sweating to get the roll of film into the film reel. I often felt claustrophobic and just wanted to get out of the space. But I enjoyed printing my photos using the enlarger and then seeing the image develop in that room.

After I left uni, a friend of mine introduced me to Lomography, a niche type of photography. I loved my little lomo camera and experimented with all sorts of lomo cameras. But the best was the Lomo LCA, which was a cute little camera that I brought with me everywhere I went. I photographed all sorts of things, from my cat, to the plant sitting on my office table, beautiful landscapes while I was traveling… snippets of life. Lomography helped me see life from the perspective of a little camera.

I never owned any SLR of my own, but when I was about 21, my sister bought me my first digital camera, a prosumer Olympus camera. With that camera, I photographed my travels, friends, and even disaster areas in Kedah affected by the tsunami. My first DSLR was the Canon 300D, which was purchased second hand.

And so it has progressed. That little seed grew into a tiny plant and now it’s become a tree.

I’d like to share with you some of my early images taken using my lomo camera. These photos are not touched up in Photoshop in any way. Most of them were taken using slide film and cross processed in a photographic lab. Have a great weekend!

Grace Tan In Life, Musings

Resolutions and Goals

On 31st December 2010, I was at a private condo in KL with friends, ready to usher in the new year with gusto. I don’t usually fancy going to huge street parties on nights like these because I am not really the party-going type of gal. Plus, I am a weeee bit older… ahem, past my 20s. We thought we had a great view of KLCC from the poolside deck. And when the clock struck 12, we heard the fireworks… but didn’t see anything. It was then that it struck us… we’re on the wrong side of town! There were buildings blocking our view of the fireworks!

Close, but missing the mark.

I guess it reminds me of life, and how we often wait for a spectacular moment to happen… only to realize that we were close, but just missed the mark. What is it in my life that I am seeking? In the pursuit of success, am I missing the mark on things that should be important to me, like relationships? I vaguely remember this quote (or was it a comic strip) saying something along the lines of… “If you don’t have a mark to aim for, you’ll definitely hit your target”.

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Running a Business

Stories is turning ONE!

God is really good. Just one year ago, I was fretting away about what to call my new wedding & portrait photography brand that was due to launch in January 2010. Just one year ago, I wondered if I could really make it out there just focusing on wedding and portrait photography and choosing not to shoot any actual day wedding videos and less corporate videos. Just one year ago, I wondered who would come and fill my empty looking calendar?

But as I review the year that is almost coming to an end, I am pleasantly surprised. And completely grateful.

Three years ago, if you met me and talked to me about what I was doing with my life, I would say… “I am running a photography and videography business” – I was dabbling in all sorts of work, but deep down, I was conflicted. I knew that my love for weddings had grown over the years. Slowly but surely, the conviction that this industry is right for me grew stronger by the day. But I didn’t have the skills, nor the confidence to venture into it wholeheartedly. That was why I was conflicted.

Fast forward 3 years. Now, the bulk of my work comes from wedding and portraiture shoots, and about 20% from corporate videos and photography. And now, I am so happy doing the things I do.

In 2008, I had 10 clients who wanted wedding photography. In 2009, the number of clients who wanted me to shoot their weddings & also pre-weddings doubled to 20. These numbers do not include all the wedding videography jobs that I was also doing, and other shoots like family portraits.

This year, I counted that I have 39 different wedding clients that I have photographed – whether it is their wedding, pre-wedding or both. The family, maternity, and other types of photography work has increased too! I really thank God for the wonderful team I have, some of whom have come and gone in the past to other ventures. I must definitely give credit to Mark and Johan, our key photographers who have made a huge impact to the Stories brand by the amazing images they create. And of course, to Weiming, our Digital Artist who works hard to make sure all the clients get their images touched up quickly and delivered as soon as possible.

This blog post is not meant for me to brag, but to really show how awesome God is. I know that to some photographers, 39 weddings is the norm, but for me, it’s an achievement. I am sure these blessings could not have happened without Him having a hand in it. I truly believe if you love your work passionately and work hard at it, it will really pay off so that work becomes a pleasure, not a pain! I absolutely believe life is meant to be fun, and we should be doing things in life that we are passionate about. Why slave away for hours on end on a job you absolutely hate? (Considering how many hours we work compared to our leisure time). Sure, I have had my share of disappointments and heartaches but life is meant to be lived forwards, not backwards.

Well, having said all that, life IS unpredictable, and tomorrow, I may not be here. So, for what it is worth, cherish TODAY.

I have been meaning to showcase 2010’s pre-wedding & wedding highlights but haven’t had the time to create a slideshow yet due to my crazy schedule. Until I find the time to do it, here are some teasers from recent shoots from the past 2 weeks that have yet to be blogged about.

Eric & Mun Wai’s pre-wedding in Singapore & KL

Ben & Jun’s Singapore Art Museum wedding

Kwan Seng & Jasmine’s pre-wedding in Malacca

Have a wonderful countdown to 2011!