Relationships

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Relationships

Chinese New Year Memories

As I was growing up, every Chinese New Year would be a season of laughter, good food and memories. Strangely, in my Peranakan family, ketupat and rendang was one of our staple Chinese New Year cuisine, together with tosai and idly. I never really thought too much of it growing up (till I went to KL and found out that normal Chinese families don’t do things like these!). But the months leading up to Chinese New Year was also a season of stress because my mom would be up for many hours from 4am till midnight baking cookies in her little oven pictured below.

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It was her passion and also her business. She would bake hundreds upon hundreds of butter cookies, prune cookies, pineapple tarts, love letters and lots of other types of cookies to sell. Amazingly, she did most of it single handedly. Unfortunately, I was the little grumpy kitchen helper who hated to meticulously place lines across pineapple tarts for hours on end.

And my dad… well, he needless to say, he gave my mom added stress because he wasn’t really supportive of her long hours, especially after she fell ill with heart problems. He wanted her to rest and give up this business but my mom really loved doing this. On hindsight, I wished I helped her more in the kitchen those days instead of just running away the moment I had the chance.

Now that I’ve moved to KL and left Malacca, I kind of miss the days when I had lots of cookies to eat. My mom no longer bakes and my dad is in his advanced stage of Alzheimer’s. Do cherish the little moments in life, especially with your family members this festive season. Have a good celebration with your family and friends, and remember to take lots of photos.

Love,
Grace

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What Motivates Us

If I could sum up everything in one word, it would be LEGACY. What connects us and brings us together as visual storytellers? It is the idea that we are creating something that will far outlast ourselves. The love that you share as a couple, the memories of your parents, your child as she takes her first step… we want to record these precious moments and build a family legacy that you can look back on, years from now… and remember.

I hope this video will give you a glimpse into our thoughts and motivations and why we keep on doing what we do.

Lots of love,
The Stories Team

Credits:
Filmed by: The Stories Team, Edited by Felicia.

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, For Photographers, International, Life, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

The Maze of Marrakech, Morocco

Within the fortified medina walls, lie little stories and hidden adventures at every turn. It is truly a maze, and if you are not careful, you’d easily find yourself walking in circles, trying desperately to navigate your way to someplace familiar. When I landed in Marrakech, my senses were just heightened. I love the energy of being in a country like Morocco. Reminds me of my travels to Egypt in the past.

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Looking at Google maps within these walls would be completely useless. It’s just a blob of emptiness…seemingly no roads, but in reality, there are hundreds of pathways leading down alleyways where some merchants try to sell fig, dates or bread.

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Honestly, I am not too big a fan of their tajine dishes… after a while, it started tasting alike to me. Krysta traveled with us, and she was a trooper!

On the first day, we were led through these pathways, through a small alleyway that was less than 6 feet in height. There were times when Alex had to duck his head because the ceiling was so low. But then, we came to this huge door that revealed a beautiful riad inside.

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, Relationships, Running a Business

Stories Family Feature: Johan Sopiee

It’s time for another feature on one of our longest serving Stories family member… Johan Sopiee! Years ago, I got to know Johan through a photography workshop. We didn’t know each other very well, so it surprised me one day when he emailed me to ask if he could shoot with me. Honestly, I had just started out in the wedding photography business, and wondered why would anyone want to shoot with an unknown photographer like me who was still trying to define her style? (also, we didn’t have too many confirmed bookings at that time).

So for reasons unknown to me then, Johan and I started photographing weddings together. We had to adjust to each other’s shooting style and colours (I was with Canon and he was with Nikon, until one day, he said, I will switch to Canon if it made your job easier! Hurray!). Eventually, an unlikely partnership turned out really well.

Johan is one of the most humble persons I know. He always says that he is learning, but he has more experience in photography than anyone else in my team. I really admire that spirit of his, always desiring to do better, and always wanting to learn from others, even if the person he is learning from is the most junior in the team.

He always contributes ideas to make things better, which I appreciate a lot. Johan has shot so many weddings, so he is well versed with all sorts of cultural traditions from many different wedding ceremonies. Initially when you meet him, he seems like a really serious person, but he does have a wacky side to him (which usually surfaces during shoots!).

Johan, I am really happy to have you as part of the Stories team. You are indeed such a blessing to us, and we really love you very much.

Read more about Johan’s background here.

1. Describe what you do at Stories and what you love about your role as a photographer

I’m a Stories photographer and I enjoy photographing couples in love and loving family moments with flare, bokeh and reflections.

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View more images from Chris & Anusha’s Hindu wedding and garden wedding.

2. Why do you like shooting weddings?

I like shooting weddings because every event is a new experience, with unique challenges and filled with joyous moments to capture. And they’re such fun too!

3. What was your most exciting / memorable experience with Stories

Photographically, the most exciting time for me was when I discovered how nicely flare can engulf and yet gently caress the loving couple in the photos I capture. The best weddings are when the newlyweds and their family are so happy with their photos that they are lost for words. Sometimes we can even see them “say” it with their smiles and it shows in their eyes.

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Relationships

Welcome to Holland: Life with Down Syndrome

My first encounter with a Down Syndrome child happened while I was in Malacca, growing up as a teenager. I visited the Salvation Army frequently because of church. It was there that I met this boy… who seemed rather different. It’s sad to think that as a child, I was never educated about loving everyone equally, no matter how different they seem to me. Recently, I photographed a child with Down Syndrome, and honestly, I didn’t even realize it until her mom told me about the situation at the end of the session. She was still beautiful in my eyes. As a mom now, I felt an ache in my heart, and yet, I also wanted to pour out my love to this child… to tell her that she is very, very much loved.

This set of photos and story about Nella’s birth really touched my heart.

But the analogy below really stirred me. I never thought about it that way… it is so beautiful.

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WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by Emily Perl Kingsley.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this……

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.