Bride and groom was slowly fading into the background. I was watching them… quietly sneaking out of the dinner venue. So I decided to follow them as they headed for the dark carpark. Just as I thought maybe I should leave them alone *lol*. They started embracing… and did a little dance! That was so sweet.

The regular la-la for the weekend. If you find the title offensive, then you are right, it may turn out a little offensive if you want to interprete it that way:)

I was talking to a friend and had a little discussion about “positive criticism”. Everything sounds good till this,

me: you know if you want to criticize, it’ll be good to provide some form of solution. Not just say “you suck” and stop there. Doesn’t make people feel good.

x: yeah, that’s right. Like, “how not to suck so much”.

me: ?!?! or like, “how to suck better?”

(ok, I’m stopping here… you can figure out the rest of the variations on your own)

Man, I wonder what’s in my brain. I believe it’s full of crap… but if it’s making me happy… so be it:D

I am a wedding photographer. I take photographs during a wedding. I always feel like I’m part of it, part of the celebrations. It feels really nice there and then. I liken it to drinking alcohol. Don’t you just love that feeling of being high and carefree? That’s exactly the same kind of feeling I get everything I’m on the job. That is perhaps the reason why it’s impossible to stop me from shooting once I start. And that is where I get all drunk in that ’love is all around’ atmosphere.

After the wedding last night, I went home feeling all emo and out of sorts. Not the best feeling really. Even though it was an awesome wedding. Lots of love, lots of emotions, surreal and almost like a dream come true for everyone who attended. Love every single moment of it. Perhaps too real. Getting married is like a being accepted from a prestigious school. As with the latter, for every one that graduated, there are hundreds that didn’t make it. To those that didn’t make it, my heart is with you. To those whom I wtiness success, I’m happy to be part of your dream.

But eh eh! I felt I have to do something about it. So I popped in Damien and Jean’s wedding DVD and blast the music from Mika! Now we’re ready to rock the weekend again!:D

Photoshop CS4 64bit is supercharged.

WordPress 2.7x rocks!:D Didn’t know upgrading is so so simple now.

WD Black Caviar Harddisks are not as noisy as reviews claim (maybe I’m deaf). And it feels zippy… all 4 terabytes of them.

My ipod dock may not be the most expensive, but it gets the job done: put me to sleep.

Alright, I’m really tired today. I’m going to sleep now. Blog you tomorrow!:)

Six foot across, that’s enough water to satisfy my thirst for diving… before my next trip!:D

…and the two boys provide the sense of scale. Dull boy Kenji! Smile Kenji! Don’t give me that constipated face Kenji! Duh…

Today I had my first 3-meal day for the longest of time. Can’t remember when was the last time really. Anyway, I hope this will last for awhile. And yeah, my GI-NORMOUS canvas print arrived today. Now I have MANADO in my living room, right above the couch! Feel like putting on my dive gear when I sit on it:P *lol* Ok, I promise, pictures soon!:D

Here’s another one of my fave picture from Sebastian and Eunice’s shoot. Gives me that “end of the world” feel. I think I’m begining to like shooting in the dark:D

Before everyone gets weary of waiting, here’s one wedding slideshow for you guys:) If you remember, Damien and Jean did that Matrix vs 100plus shot for pre-wedding. It was my last wedding of 2008 and it was a blast!! What better way to end 2008 than my wish come true. They actually did a Mambo dance sequence for the guests. It was so so so good I wanted to put down my camera and join in:D Everything for the wedding is unique (even the vows! I shall not disclose too much:P). Never quite seen something like that.

Thank you for having me there. It was truly an eye opener.

Good rider, butter smooth water… and we’re just waiting for some amazing lighting. It came and stayed for awhile.

There you go Andy:) Land your 3 and I’ll get the videos done:P

Bunaken (Manado). Little island with plenty to offer. This year, I’ll make another trip there.

Sunrise at Bunaken (Manado)

Taken during a trip to Sydney in 2004. I was in the midst of changing jobs and decided to visit my sister in Sydney. In a day trip to the  famed Blue Mountains, I stumbled upon a trail that led me to Wentworth Falls. While walking down the path by the side of the fall, a beam of sunlight hit the waterfall. The water droplets looked like millions of little gold coins falling off the cliff. 

Wentworth Falls during Spring

November that year, I bought my first DSLR. I did my last dive in September where I came back with a perforated eardrum (again!). But this time round, it was much worse than the previous time. Since I have to stop diving till it heals (which typically takes 2 weeks), I decided I’ll go windsurfing:D The seawater caused further infection and I have pus flowing out of my ear at work one day. 2 days later, I was half listening (half, because I was almost deaf on the right) to a lecture from the specialist. So mesmerised by the world undersea, I asked him “if I don’t mind being deaf on one side, can I still dive?” (his facial expressions and hand gestures became more animated at that point).

That was pretty much one of the lowest point of my life (at that time). I had saved up for a underwater digital camera at that time, but it seems like it’s not going to happen anymore. So on impulse, I bought an entry level DSLR. Coming from an engineering background, I have no problems understanding how a camera works. That helped alot in the initial months. Google and the library are my best friends when it comes to photography.

I started taking photographs of my labrador retriever (Triever) and bringing the camera to my weekly trips to the beach with him. Went to the Botanic Gardens as well. Like every new camera owner, I plan trips to take photographs. Just me and Triever.

Triever getting a little bored with all that shooting.

The usual weekends where I brought him to the beach.

The very first shots I took at Botanic Gardens. I liked this alot but I was told by a friend that it sucks (i suspect she doesn’t like green).

I remember when I first bought the DSLR, I have friends who commented “wah… turning PRO” (add two tablespoons of sarcasm and stir well). I was a little disturbed by comments like that. Come to think of it… they’re pretty good with predictions:D

I’m spending my weekend archiving my personal images from 6 years ago. As the computer churns out the little thumbnails, it felt like a slideshow back into the past. Everything seemed like yesterday. Where I used to stay, my dogs, my travels, my family, the sunflowers I grew, the very thoughts that went through my mind when I took those images. Oh yes, and the self portraits… man! what happened over the past 6 years!!?!:P

How long have you been doing photography? This question almost never fail to pop up whenever I meet clients (the 2nd most popular question to… “what does feldberyl mean”). I picked up my first serious camera in November 2003. Prior to that, I bought a TWO MEGAPIXEL (ok, it’s big deal at that time) digital camera when I was studying in Brisbane. Main purpose of the camera was to have fun. There was this time when my housemate left used plates on the coffee table, I’ll use masking tape to tape out the perimeter and put a card with a number on it (just like a crime scene). Then I’ll take a picture and send it to all my housemates and ask, who did it (ok, all for good fun).

2003, I started off with my first DSLR, a very modest Canon 300D. I bought it because I broke my eardrum and doctor told me that I can’t dive anymore. I was angry with myself and I went, screw it, let’s go spend some money. I walked into Cathay Photo, told the guy I wanted a DSLR (the cheap one). While fiddling with the camera, I asked, where is the LCD screen (for preview)? I think the sales guy must’ve laughed his head off after I left. I still cringe whenever I think about it. Dumbass…

I’ll post more over the weekend when I have time. 6 years is alot of crap to talk about ok.

giving away the bride has never been easy.

Didn’t post anything over the past 2 days. Like, big deal right? Actually not. I’ve been pretty busy with some stuff of late. Partly trying to extinguish that burning desire to get a MINI cooper. All thanks to kelvin and my recent obsession with go-karting.

I’ve been wanting to write about this awhile ago. But I thought I’d try to confirm it before I talk about it. The topic? The dreaded cold sores. Disclaimer, I’m not a doctor so this is not a medical advice. It’s just based on my personal experiences.

For people who suffer from occasional attacks from cold sores will know how it feels. It SUCKS big time. Every attack usually last at least 1 week. Although it doesn’t affect the functionality of the body, but it kills the aesthetics (or whatever’s left:P). They usually appear under certain circumstances, common ones being, immune system down and overexposure to sunlight.

Recently I bought some Vitamin C pills and found that it actually reverses the cold sores even after lesions appear. It works ALOT better than the creams that I’ve bought OTC. Initially I thought it might just be an one off incident but it saved me more than once. It may or may not work for you, but I think it’s worth a try (I got Redoxon Vita Immune). I know how terrible it feels to have one.

Now I have them on standbys for the late nights and prolonged outdoor activities.

…and I can’t control the weather, give you blue skies, fluffy clouds and east wind:) You’ll need a little luck for that. What we can do is, make the best out of a situation. In this case, the haze worked very well. I can’t ask for more really:D Think, positive.