How true it is that daily life filled with chores, workload and family concerns may seem long and tedious! However, when you look back at how fast the months and years go by you find yourself yearning for time to slow down. That baby you hold today will be a young man or woman in a blink of an eye. Here are some phases in life you’ll want to capture and cherish forever:
BABY STAGE
Whether it is a maternity, newborn or baby stage, it is usually a very special time for the parents. Documenting the natural glow and protruding tummy in the later stage of pregnancy can remind you of how you felt throughout the pregnancy. Capturing shots of your precious baby sleeping in her crib, breastfeeding her or those of a gurgling baby will remind you of the happy (and tough!) times as a parent in the early months. It is also a good opportunity to share the journey with your child when they are older!
TODDLER STAGE
This is the stage when your child starts to discover new things and experiences… like the joy of cooling off on a hot day with the water hose in the backyard, or doing hand-painting in playschool, maybe even digging in the garden with their plastic garden tools. Having keepsakes of them in the midst of these activities is what you’ll treasure later on when they have grown up a little.
PRE-SCHOOL STAGE
At this stage in life, your little one is developing in character and is capable of so much more. They’ll be selecting their own attire for the day, helping you make cookies, learning to cycle, going for piano or ballet lessons! The list is endless… and there’ll be so much to photograph.
PRIMARY SCHOOL & BEYOND
Time zooms by once they start school proper because life takes over and days are filled with ferrying them from one place to another. But don’t forget that even as they grow into teenagers, documenting moments like holidays and achievements will give you something to hold on to before they leave the nest to lead their own lives. As a parent, you’ll want to capture every milestone with your child. Sometimes, you may remember to whip out your handphone to snap a picture or two, but most times the moments just pass you by. It is a good idea to make it a point to get some proper shots of the family together, in various phases of life. You will not regret how it made you feel to be reliving those times again!
Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting. – Richard Paul Evans –
In 2016, I photographed Justin and Nicole’s wedding at the Westin in Langkawi. I am honoured that they contacted me again to photograph their little dinosaur munchkin end of last year. It’s just so wonderful seeing families grow through the years. The quote above resonates with me and reminds me that life needs to be cherished daily. In a blink of an eye, our child is no longer a baby but a toddler, then they become a teenager…
So I love what I do because I get to capture this fleeting moment in time through my lenses. Memories are forever immortalised in that one frame.
On Christmas day last year, I went to meet Jamie and Ann, long time clients turned friends. Their pre-wedding session shot in 2011 at the Gold Coast, Australia is still fresh in my mind as if I did it yesterday, because they had transported a couch and a canoe to the location for the photos! I also loved every detail of their wedding at the Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove in Gold Coast and Sails on the Bay at Melbourne, Australia.
So it’s been many years since we met, but I love how social media keeps everyone connected and I could always keep up to date on everyone’s lives. So it was only in 2017 that I managed to meet them again, this time with two little cutie pies in their arms! It was also wonderful to see Ann’s family again.
Lots of love to the both of you, and I will definitely see you again in the future, perhaps with my kids in tow instead!
If you are looking for new ways to make your wedding or family photos stand out, how about a driftwood and air plant photo frame? It is an alternative idea to displaying your beautiful photos. I have always loved succulents, cacti and air plants ever since I knew of its existence, so what better way to combine to passions than to create a new product like this? Each driftwood frame is unique, as no piece of wood is exactly the same. The one displayed here is about 10 inches in length and can hold 2 photos in 4R size.
Some interesting facts about air plants, also known as Tillandsia.
1. Native to the forests, mountains and deserts of Central and South America, the southern United States and the West Indies.
2. They normally grow without soil and can be placed on various surfaces without harm.
3. They love well ventilated areas with lots of open space.
4. Air plants enjoy indirect sunlight or filtered bright light and do not require frequent watering.
5. You can water your air plant by misting it twice a week but you would also need to soak it in water for a few hours once a week.
So it’s pretty easy to care for, but here’s some other info you can read about air plant care. Let us know if you would like to order one for yourself! Prices start from RM150.
Our air plant displays will make a debut this 10th and 11th March at the StarWow bazaar at the Starling, Damansara Utama. You can purchase our photography packages, baby gift book or our driftwood frame there. Do let us know on our social media pages what you think of this alternative framing idea!
This was our first wedding for 2018, shot on the 1st of Jan! We were glad to have met Kingston and Delia, both very personable and friendly towards us as a team. The both of them live in Melbourne but came back to Malaysia for their wedding. We filmed their Chinese tea ceremony and banquet at the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. The games were pretty hilarious, with lots of great moves from the guys!
Here’s the story of how they met:
Delia: Kingston and I met in high school but it wasn’t until the last 2 years of high school that we finally got to know each other. This was probably because our paths finally crossed when he was appointed a prefect in the last 2 years. It was at a prefect’s camp at the beginning of the year that we started talking to each other as we were put in the same group. I remember thinking what a nice and funny person he was, always joking and making me laugh. Conversations were pretty superficial at that stage, but the unusual thing about it was the way he made me smile all the time and made me feel exceptionally comfortable around him. One day after camp, we were both put on prefect duty at the back of our school canteen. I remember that being the first time we got to talk to each other- just the 2 of us. I felt as if we had known each other for years. I think I told him my life story that day! Clearly we were not very good prefects.. we weren’t even paying attention to our duties the whole time! Since then, we would talk almost every single day.
Kingston: We became best friends. We would hang out every morning on roll call, see each other on breaks and the funny thing is, I always know that she’s looking at me when we happened to be nearby on our prefect duties. She laughs at most of my jokes (which doesn’t happen with a lot of people) and I always (and still do) get that warm fuzzy feeling when we are together.
Delia: Towards the end of college, it was time to decide what we wanted to study in University and where. Many of our friends had either already gone or were preparing to go overseas to complete tertiary studies. This was the time when I started to think about my future seriously and who the most important people in my life were. It was during this time in 2006 when I realised just how much I cannot imagine not having Kingston in my life. It really put things in perspective for me and I guess Kingston felt the same way too. So August 1st 2006, that’s when we decided to take our relationship further.
It was also the time I started Medical School in IMU and Kingston started studying Chemical Engineering at Monash. We spent the first 2 and half years together in this relationship and it was bliss. Beginning 2009, Kingston moved to Melbourne to continue his studies there and our long-distance relationship began. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through and 6 months later, I then moved to Southampton, UK to continue my medical degree. The hardest part about being apart was, to me, meeting him once a year for no longer than 2 weeks and having to count down the days before we had to part again.
Kingston: Spending time together in that short stint was amazing. We appreciated every single ticking second in each other’s company and we would go on dates like how we used to when we were younger. Of course beautiful moments like those were never enough- and the reality of the situation would always set in towards the end of our holidays together. The hardest part is having to say goodbye every single time, and knowing that by sunrise the next day one of us would be leaving for another full year. These were extremely difficult moments for us, but we both know that they made us stronger individually. Although this phase of the relationship is the most difficult and challenging one, it made us grew not only as a person, but together as a couple.
Finally, Delia completed her stint in the UK in 2014 and made her move to Melbourne. I still remember waiting for her at the airport, full of excitement and happiness, knowing that we won’t have to endure the hardships of long distance relationship anymore. Fast forward to today, it still amazes me that we are still together in this 10+ years of relationship and have persisted so much in life. I always knew that I wanted to marry Delia and with us finally being together, I decided to propose at the end of 2016.
Delia: I waited for a long time! It was an amazing, romantic and well-planned proposal with the help of all our family and our friends. Kingston decided to put me on a treasure hunt for a whole day. My two best friends and one of his best friends drove me all around KL to pick up clues to the next stop from his friends who were all stationed at our most memorable ‘spots’ in the last 10 years. It was very nostalgic for me going back to these spots where memories were created and that meant so much to us like our high school, our favourite place to eat, my old house before my parents moved away… I was in tears most of the time. We ended up in Tamarind Springs where we spent our first 3 years celebrating our anniversaries, and he finally got down on one knee in front of our family and friends. That was truly one of the best days of my life.
