Now that we have our own little convertible natural light + artificial light studio, I am really quite excited to do shoots here. It is definitely a challenge when you only have 4 walls to play with. Shooting in a studio gives you flexibility in the sense that it can be pouring outside but the shoot still carries on. It’s air-conditioned and comfortable. Tomorrow, I’ll be shooting my first boudoir studio shoot and I am looking forward to it!
Amanda and Ivan are no strangers to this blog… you might have seen her family photos here some time back. She’s a good friend of mine, and I was really pleased to do a portrait shoot for her. It’s been quite a while since I posted some maternity photos here. Incredibly, I know so many people who are pregnant this year and targeting to have a ‘dragon’ baby. So, in accordance to that theme, I’ll try to post a few more maternity shoots in this blog soon!
Amanda has since delivered a healthy and gorgeous baby girl that I have yet to meet. :) Congratulations to the both of you and enjoy parenthood!
I read this article from a friend’s blog, and unfortunately, I do not know who to credit, but it’s such a great article that I felt I needed to share it here. It’s worth your 5 minutes reading this article on marriage. Deep down in my heart, I feel truly satisfied and happy that I married Alex. In almost random moments throughout the day, I tell Alex that I love him. I break into a silly grin when I hear him say the same thing… almost like young kids in love.
6 years of marriage and counting… Love you, dear!
PARTNERS AND MARRIAGE by Eduardo Jose E. Calasanz
I have never met a man who didn’t want to be loved. But I have seldom met a man who didn’t fear marriage. Something about the closure seems constricting, not enabling. Marriage seems easier to understand for what it cuts out of our lives than for what it makes possible within our lives. When I was younger this fear immobilized me. I did not want to make a mistake. I saw my friends get married for reasons of social acceptability, or sexual fever, or just because they thought it was the logical thing to do. Then I watched, as they and their partners became embittered and petty in their dealings with each other.
I looked at older couples and saw, at best, mutual toleration of each other. I imagined a lifetime of loveless nights and bickering days and could not imagine subjecting myself or someone else to such a fate. And yet, on rare occasions, I would see old couples that somehow seemed to glow in each other’s presence. They seemed really in love, not just dependent upon each other and tolerant of each other’s foibles. It was an astounding sight, and it seemed impossible. How, I asked myself, can they have survived so many years of sameness, so much irritation at the other’s habits? What keeps love alive in them, when most of us seem unable to even stay together, much less love each other?
It was a beautiful day to get married at Passion Road. Tears rolled, hugs were given and laughter filled the air. Heartfelt, handwritten vows were uttered by Roger and Cheryl… deep down, our own hearts swelled with love. This is why we do what we do. To record moments like these…
“We are very very happy with how the same day edit pictures and video turned out. The way your team worked on our wedding day was truly impressive and very professional. We especially want to thank you for the energy and enthusiasm that you brought to the shoot, the way that you were directing us on how to pose and your creative ideas really shows in the pictures. We sometimes forget that you are pregnant and i think sometimes you forget too, when you were moving furniture and items out of the shots. The level of commitment that we have seen from you and your team in order to get the best shot is truly amazing, from your team being exposed to the heat and rays of the sun, to lying down on the floor or grass to get the best angles, to scouting for the best spots, and directing us not so photogenic people to look good in your shots.
On behalf of Roger, he would also like to say thanks for your patience during the shoots. As he was quite tense but you were always there to remind him to smile and relax.
We cannot express how much we love the same day edit photos and how much we appreciate the hard work that your team have put in.”
The team at Stories is making a stand to stop violence against women! Together with a few other photographers under the branding of Bloom, we have decided to participate in a campaign that fights for this cause.
“Portraits for Pixels” is a collaborative fundraising campaign with photographers worldwide to raise funds for The Pixel Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness, funds and volunteer power for the cause to end violence against women (VAW) worldwide.
The “Portrait for Pixels” campaign involves participating professional photographers to hold special “Portrait for Pixels” charity portrait sessions in their community where they will take family/individual portraits/headshots for a one-off special price.
In support of the Pixel Project, Bloom will be running the “Portrait for Pixels” campaign for the month of September, 2012. For every “Portraits for Pixels”shoot, RM100 will be donated to the Pixel Project and photos of the campaign will be published online to raise awareness about VAW.
We hope that you will stand alongside us and help us make a difference to those in need. Do email us if you’d like to book a portrait session with us. Thank you in advance for your love!
Their love story began as a chance meeting – two strangers enrolled as classmates back in 2001 during their A-Level studies.
“Aldrian was just hanging out with his cousin, Johnny, and refused to enter the classroom on his first day. – no pretty girls lah – he said. Minutes later, I brisked by with a friend, feeling truly nervous about my first day of college. As I passed Aldrian, I noticed that he was quite handsome too – but you don’t say these things out loud of course! Not long after, Aldrian sat next to me in that class…. and we have always been side by side ever since. Throughout the years we have truly become each other’s best friend and soul-mate.
After college, we came to the UK together to further our studies. Finally, after 10 years – after completing my PhD and all that hoo-ha of trying to settle down in London, we thought that the time was right. And it was just perfect.
We now live together in our very own love nest in Canary Wharf with our baby rabbit, Bijoux. Bliss :)”
– Mei Mei –
I got to know Aldrian and Mei Mei through a friend of mine, Adelene, who was Aldrian’s sister. I had never met them before, and all correspondence was done online, until they came back for the wedding itself. Since they were not in KL, it helped that they had a wedding planner to coordinate everything. I first heard about the winter wedding theme from Mun Tzin of Milestones… and I wondered how it would really look like. Frankly, I was a little hesitant at first, as coloured lighting in a ballroom can either work for you or against you. I have photographed some events with extremely strong multi-coloured lighting shining on stage, and the results… well, let’s say I was less than pleased with it.
Some colours tend to bleed onto skin tones, making people look overly purple or green. I was quite concerned that the light would be too strong and we would end up with shots that look like we were at a Smurf convention (sorry, Mei Mei!). But when I arrived at the ballroom that day, I was pleased to see that the blue light was not direct lighting, and that the stage had yellow light, which added warmth to the skin tones! So I loved the end results!
Be prepared, this is a super long post with heaps of photos! Sorry if it is taking too long to load, but I can’t help myself!
