Musings

Grace Tan In International, Life, Musings

USA, here we come!! And of course, WPPI 2010!

I absolutely love traveling. It is the first genre of photography that captured my heart. I am always excited to see new places, faces and experiencing different cultures. This 24th February, I’ll be leaving Malaysia to travel to the US for a few weeks with my husband Alex.

The main highlight of the trip is the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) conference in Las Vegas from the 4th till the 11th of March. I can’t wait for this conference. It is such a huge event, with thousands of photographers traveling from all over the world to listen to world-renown photographers on topics such as portraiture, lighting, posing, business, commercial work etc.

I believe in investing money for education, and year after year, the Stories team attends various workshops. In order to improve, I believe I must always have this ‘learning’ attitude, even in years to come. At the end of the day, our clients are the ones who benefit, and if they are happy, we are happy too!

If you are living in the States, I’d love to meet up and get to know you – whether it is for a drink or chat, or if you’d like to have some portraits taken.

Do send me an email through the contact us page and I’ll be in touch with you! I’ll be blogging regularly from the States, so do keep watch over this space!

Grace Tan In Musings, Running a Business

Joe McNally in Malaysia

What an honour to be able to learn from one of the world’s best photographers. Joe McNally is not a new name to the photography world. His works appear all over the National Geographic, and he’s done portraits of so many amazing people & celebrities – including our famous Dato Michelle Yeoh. Thanks to Louis Pang, many hungry Malaysian photographers were able to meet the man himself, on our home ground, Kuala Lumpur.

I only managed to attend the seminar on the 6th of February, where over 300 photographers came from all over Malaysia and some from other countries to hear Joe speak. Joe is a really funny, down to earth man. I can’t believe he is 57 years old! You need a lot of stamina to do this kind of work, AND do things like speak for 8 hours x 6 days a week! (referring to the entire workshop, of course!)

There was a grand start to the seminar when 3 groomsmen and bridesmaid danced into the ballroom, followed by Joe McNally himself, with beautiful Evon at his arms!

Didn’t really get a good shot of the guys dancing in, featuring Mark Leo & Ian Chong! :) Too many photographers blocking my short perspective.

Here’s Louis Pang, the man who made it happen.

After this seminar, I am sure Lastolite’s sales in Malaysia will skyrocket drastically.

Joe says, “80% of photography is not about photography. It’s about managing people.” How true.

Some amazing models who were there that day.

The ever so hardworking and creative media team who were shooting the entire seminar, as well as doing the live video stream so that the people at the back could see what’s going on on stage.

And of course, I had to join the 300+ people in queue to get my standard ‘pose with Joe’ shot. AND get my Hot Shoe Diaries book signed.

What an amazing day. I learnt a lot about lighting that day. I truly believe in investing money for education such as seminars like these. I am always on a quest to improve myself, and I believe that you can always learn something, even if you are 80 and been in the business for years.

In a few week’s time, I will be leaving for the States to attend the WPPI conference – where thousands of wedding & portrait photographers will gather to learn from the top in the world. I can’t wait!

Grace Tan In Musings, Relationships

Light Hearted Readings

Every now and then, I receive an email with some really hilarious jokes. Since the dawn of age, men and women have had their differences. Hence the need for books like “Men are from Mars, women are from Venus”. And also courses like these…

Summer Classes for Men at
THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED
by Friday, August 28 th 2010
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM

Class 1
How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays–Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2
The Toilet Paper Roll–Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub?–Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor–Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
Dinner Dishes–Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM

Class 6
Loss Of Identity–Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7
Learning How To Find Things–Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch–Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost–Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined

Class 10
Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations.
4 weeks, Saturday’s noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live–Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12
How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy–Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You’re Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7 :00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven– What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.
Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Grace Tan In Life, Musings

My first WPPI Accolade of Excellence!

To have won a WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) award means international recognition. It means that your work is amongst the top of the world. This quarter, over 1900 prints were sent in for judging. And I’m so proud to say that many Malaysian photographers have made their mark in the world. Amongst those who have won 1st, 2nd or 3rd prizes in various categories (in recent competitions) – Louis Pang, Jenny Sun, Kenneth Tan, Shen, Edmund Tham… gee did I miss out anyone else?

And those who have garnered Accolades of Excellence in this competition and in the past… Jon Low, Zach Chin, Paul Kong, Andy Chin… These are at the top of my head. This recent quarter was the first time I submitted prints for a competition. I usually don’t like joining competitions because I am rather afraid of failure. But recently, I learnt that doing things like this helps me better myself as a photographer. It helps me be more critical of my work and aspire to improve in the future.

And so I was quite happy to find out today that one of my prints received an Accolade of Excellence from the judges. Of the 6 submissions I entered, I thought that this photo was the strongest and my instincts was right. This was the photo that received an AE.

4 other photos of mine were each 2 points away from receiving an AE. I wish I could hear the judge’s critique on the images though. That would be a great learning curve. Anyhow, I am glad for this experience and for all industry colleagues who have made their mark internationally. I am looking forward to my trip to Las Vegas in March 2010 to attend the WPPI conference and learn from the best in the world.

Grace Tan In Life, Musings

Jerry Ghionis Seminar, KL

The room was packed with photographers. Of course, who would miss out on the chance to meet world renowned photographer Jerry Ghionis for only RM350? Naturally, this wasn’t a personalized workshop with Jerry, but we had the privilege of hearing him speak for a full day. Before we started, the kiasu 3 of us – Mark, Ian and myself got a photo with Jerry. I was surprised when he lifted me! Must have been easy peasy since I am really light.

Jerry shared with us his life, about how he started in the business of wedding photography, how to market ourselves, how to pose, how to look at light… etc. In a couple of hours, we absorbed as much as we could. If you sign up for his 5 day workshop, you’ll get to learn all these in detail.