SOUTH ISLAND PRE-WEDDING ::: FREDDY AND PRISCILIA’S LOVE JOURNEY PART I
If 2011 was busy, 2012 is doomed to be a busier year. On the first day of 2012, few hours after the New Year Countdown, I had to dash to the airport for a pre-wedding photoshoot in South Island. And the next thing I realised, I found myself landed in the beautiful Queenstown.What a good way to kick off the New Year!
The photoshoot didn’t start until later in the afternoon so I had some quality time to enjoy my brunch, relax and to scout around for new photoshoot locations. The beautiful golden fields got me lost in this beautiful season. If it wasn’t the blazing sunlight at noon I would have forgotten we were in Summer. The colour was beautifully gold. And just like in autumn, it’s windy, very windy and a little bit cold.
It was Freddy and Prescilia’s first time visiting New Zealand. With their family they drove a campervan all the way down from Auckland to Queenstown, where we first met. Prior to the trip I’ve been communicating with Prescilia via email and on facebook so they got to Queenstown with everything well prepared – dresses, gowns, makeup kits, accessories, magazine photos and so on. I was so impressed!
We say a journey broadens our horizon, so what more could a Love Journey bring to us? In this journey we will be exploring Franklin, Queenstown, Arrortown, Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo together and of course the photographs taken and the stories told during the trip…Please stay tuned! 
Shooting bridal portrait in strong wind can be extremely challenging as any kind of hair style cannot escape the fate of getting messed up. However if you are able to hold your hair as much as possible and attach a veil to it, you will see magical results!
Pris looked so gorgeous in this one.
and this one!
Freddy’s just proven he could do the same.
TO BE CONTINUED…
TRADITIONAL CHINESE WEDDING ::: GORDON AND POOILENG
Happy Chinese New Year! I wish everyone a prosperous and successful New Year of Dragon! May all your dreams come true and may this Dragon Year bring you joy, peace and good health!
It’s been almost ten years since I’ve come to New Zealand; it’s been four years since I last visited my family back home; and I’ve already lost count of when was the last time I actually spent Chinese New Year with my family. A long time ago by memory. I’ve spent the most important ten years of my life in a foreign land which I now can call my second home. And it is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most…especially on this day. I remember the happy days we had when we were kids, when families would gather for Reunion Dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve, when firecrackers and fireworks were still allowed to be play at every cornor of the stairwell and courtyards, when cousins and I would plan fun games in grandparents’ house while our parents were watching the CCTV Spring Festival Gala Evening. Good times, memorable times! I still remember how we thought the programs were only entertainments for our parents and never meant for children, so I’ve never finished watching the whole show for once in my life…until today. Perhaps the more grown up we’ve become, the more we respect our traditions. And the everyday things we took for granted became treasures that we are afraid of losing, when everything formed part of the history became a history.
Traditions are only traditions when people are willing to put in effort to keep them. Although it may not be quite a tradition to have a wedding on Christmas Day, having your house decorated with Double Hapiness stickers, the bride dressed up in Qi-Pao, exchanging red envelopes and hosting a tea ceremony as a sign of showing gradefulness and respect to the elderlys would definitely imply bringing good fortune to the couple and their family. And on this festive day, keeping tradition would mean having your household filled with the element of RED! I experienced just that at Gordon and Pooileng’s Chinese Wedding. Traditions. The joy of celebrating for the marriage of a couple, their families and our own traditions!
One of the most interesting part of a Chinese weding is Picking up the Bride. The groom’s true love for the bride needs to be testified before many difficult challenges.
In many cases, the bride is in a waiting position inside her house…
And waiting comfortably. LOL
Here comes the Groom!
The groom is fully charged, ready for what’s to come.
And Gordon made sure he did not come alone. Every successful groom is accompanied by many warriors who put themselves forward to fight.
Because chinese wedding never goes easy on the boys.
Look at how well-planned the girls are…they are the ones who sets the challenges!
The groom needs to be very careful with his answers when facing challenges, because for every mistep, there would follow consequences! Various kind of conequences! They involve the ones you can imagine, and the ones you can’t.
So in order the pass through the gate, the boys would need to wise up and strategise their moves.
Every stage you pass, the Groom is one step closer to seeing the Bride.
The brave knight who stays put will eventually see the light of dawn! And pass the gift of love to the hands of the bride.
Bride’s mum was filled with happiness.
Congratulations Gordon and Pooileng, you guys are stars! And I can’t wait till your Western style wedding. : )
AUCKLAND PRE-WEDDING ::: ALBERTON HOUSE SPECIAL ::: JAMES AND ZILING
As far as weather in NZ is concerned, Summer is still MIA. Where is sunshine? Where is walking along the beach? Where are heatwaves and ice-cream? Where are volleyballs, surfboards and all the things that are supposed to make me picture a nice Summer? Stop! Let’s not go there. In the reality, I am sitting in front of my computer, editing pictures I took from December and in the middle of blogging. As I was working throughout the Christmas and New Year holidays, I didn’t feel cheated by the upsetting weather. Well I did work on some of the statutory holidays too, but remind me why didn’t I charge double pay for those days? PASSION! That’s the reason. Well I really like what I do. And being responsible for the couples and individuals in front of my camera has always been what drives me forward. And I am so honored to have many of my friends and friends’ friends who trust me in capturing many splendid moments of their lives.
I’ve got to know Ziling from SHOWTIME, an online platform where models, photographers and makeup artists collaboratively work together to achieve certain photoshoot projects (See our previous projects by clicking the links below). She’s fun, smart and willing to sacrifice anything for a good photos. So when I was asked to shoot her and her fiance’s pre-wedding photos I knew this was going to be interesting. And since we’ve set the location on Alberton House and Muriwai Beach, there’s no reason why wouldn’t it be…
SHOWTIME MODEL [ MAY ISSUE ] ::: ZILING
The history of Alberton house can be traced back to as early as 1863. It was latter expanded to 18 different rooms, each decorated with matching Victorian style of furniture and ornaments without compromise. For couple who are interested in some places special to get married or have a photoshoot, you may want to check out this beautiful venue. : )
People are usually not settled for just one location, so we headed to my favourite west coast. BEST BEACHES there!
A SOLJANS WEDDING ::: KEVIN AND R-DEE
December on the Southern hemisphere side, where the stormy days were supposed to be so last season. But when sunshine and blue skies are still feeling a bit camera-shy, the best thing you can do is perhaps to prepare a Plan “B” and hope you will never have to use it. The weather in this early Summer hadn’t been exactly great as it had been raining the entire week leading up to their big day on 17 December. Therefore, raining on the big day would not be a surprise to anyone at all, but the question remained – is the rain going to stop, and when.
It seems like the unwanted rain had invited herself to the ceremony that day. When the bridal and her wedding car arrived at Soljans, just a few minutes before the ceremony start, raindrops started to fall from the sky. Sensing the need for a backup venue, the venue organiser were about to initiate Plan “B” – moving the ceremony indoor. “Can we wait till the rain clears?”, asked the bride. With a degree of confidence in her voice she still seemed to believe the situation will soon change despite the current weather outside.
Sometimes life puts us on a test only to help us find wisdom, strength and confidence to over come it. Other times, we need to realise our limitations and leave things to God, trusting that He is in control. Somewhat within less than five minutes, the weather cleared and the bright sunlight was shining on the beautiful garden of Soljans. Wines were waving in the wind as if they were saying, ”It’s time. Let’s start!”
At the wedding, “the Celebration of Love”, we revisited the testament of faith. While to others it’s a reminder, for some of us it’s reassurance. Absolute reaassruance. Congratulations Kevin and R-Dee. I am so proud of you two. And I hope the Slick will look slick like never before and the Charm will stay charming forever. : )
I took so many photos on a wedding day and it really hurts not being able to post all of them. But here are some of the photos I loved and picked and I hope you enjoy viewing them.
Every wedding is unique, so is this one started off at Braemar. There are heaps of fine details to photograph and I adore places like this.
The bride’s mum was around for the whole bridal preparation sessione, watching her daughter getting make-up and hair done. What could be on the mum’s mind? I guess it must be a complex feeling. But the smile on the mum’s face told us at least that. She’s proud of how beautiful her daughter looked that day.
A few more portrait before the bride heading for the ceremony. GORGEROUS!
Here comes the most anticipated moment: father holding the daughter’s hand in the clear sunshine, slowing marching towards the red carpet. Everybody’s attention was drawn by her. Imposing, elegant, imposingly elegant.
Pastor, celebrant, groom’s father…Uncle Albert plays his triple role pretty well that day.
I have no idea why they smile at the camera like this. Good job boys with the teeth and identical poses.
I have photos to prove how great the weather turned out to be during the ceremony.
It’s NOT the kiss, it’s the moment before…and right after.
If I had to pick one photo to define the wedding day I would choose a wedding recessional shot like this every time. Abundance of happiness and the overflowing of joy and love completely revealed on the couple’s faces. Nothing can cover that.
A simply WOW…
17 December 2011. One big great day to remember!
AUCKLAND PRE-WEDDING ::: ALPHA AND SUKI
Just as we thought Summer was here, Auckland welcomed another rainy day. Gentle breeze enters my room through the window gaps. Cool and comfy. What can be better than lying in bed reading your favourite novel, editing photos while listening music and blogging? Luxury time.
Ever since the Rugby World Cup, the cityscape of Auckland has changed a lot. Revising downtown Auckland would always mean new discoveries and new surprises for me. Today’s blog features the latest photoshoot from last weekend Alpha and Suki’s Auckland Pre-wedding.
Alpha and Suki met each other back in university, about 4-5 years ago. They spotted each other at the campus and the invisible bond was immediately formed. She was always cheerful, lovable; his easy going personality was perfectly reflected on his big smile that he carries anywhere he went. It wasn’t a coincidence that they both ended up in the same accounting class, giving them the opportunity to get to know each other further… and deeper. On their first dinner date, they knew they were meant for each other. And now several years later, they are now engaged to each other, excitedly looking for their big day in March next year, where they will hold each others hands, sharing life together as husband and wife.
BRITOMART
VIADUCT
AUCKLAND MUSEUM
IN THE WOODS
The sweet couple, in such beautiful light
MURIWAI BEACH
I was particularly moved by this shot as I was reviewing the photos I took from that day. I feel so happy for you.
AUCKLAND PRE-WEDDING ::: NIGEL AND SAMMI
This will be my 150th blog on this website. 150th only? I feel I must have a lot to catch up on. Recently I indirectly heard feedbacks from a Bride who mentioned that there are a lot of non-wedding related work on my blog. It is so TRUE. Because photography currently by far my biggest hobby and will remain to be for a long long time, so I would tend to diversify my portfolio a little bit. Wedding is a big part of most people’s lives, it’s so important that it may affect the rest of our lives. But it’s not an end itself. It sets a new milestone of 2 people’s lives, and their families of course. Wedding photography is not an end in itself either. The true photography passion should exist to document life, with life and through life.
Nigel and Sammi are in fact my current landlord and they are one of those nicest landlord ever. One day they kindly asked if I would be able to do a wedding photoshoot in Auckland and South Island. I looked at my fulled booked October schedule and said “sure”, knowing that they are flexible to listen and follow my directions. So we managed to squeeze in one in for the pre-wedding photoshoot in Auckland. And one day was all it takes.
Auckland, known as the City of Sails, is charming at its best in nice weather. And Westhaven is one of the best places for capturing such beauty. We hired a wedding gown from Anyi and headed down to the waterfront to capture the blue sky with Auckland skyline, to Auckland CBD to experience the urban city look, to One Tree Hill to appreciate the romantic cherry blossoms and lastly to Muriwai Beach to see the golden sunset.It was a wonderful day, wonderful couple and we had a wonderful time.
A little bit of adventure is sometimes required during my photoshoot. ; )
HERA BRIDAL 2012 WEDDING COLLECTION PHOTOSHOOT
For me personally, the busy wedding season kicked off a little bit differently this year. You know if you are in the wedding photography business, sometimes all you do is shooting bride and groom in their suit and dresses, or perhaps shooting an engaged couple in a park or doing their pre-wedding photoshoot at the beach. Inevitably you would occasionally think: Would it be nice to shoot something different other than wedding or portrait for a change? Sure! So…Exactly one month ago, I ended up shooting wedding gowns! (Told you it was a LITTLE BIT different this year. : )
Well maybe the job nature was a bit different, but it was definitely an interesting leap for me as I was getting more and more experienced in flash photography than ever before. Luckily enough, we were having everything done indoor at White Studio because of the unstable weather. White Studio has amazing facilities and it’s the place to be for photographers. And it was proven to be a right choice to shoot indoor because it rained throughout the entire day. So we arrived at the studio at about 7:30am and started setting up the equipments etc. Kelly and Sarah from RensFx did an awesome job in doing models’ makeup, and also speedily, constantly changing hair styles for the models Chloe and Sarah. However busy we were, we had blast that day and all the hard work got paid off after seeing the satisfactory faces from Katie and Cliff from Hera Bridal. The photoshoot would have been so successful without the support from Katie, Michael and Kelly’s teams, and of course the two amazing supporters Joshua Fang and Roy Hu. Here is a glimpse of the final work and the beautiful wedding gowns (Hera bridal) and evening dresses (Joli Collection). Click here if you wish to check out more of their dresses.
I really like Chlo’s smiles and her lively poses!
Okay I know nothing beats the behind the scene photos. And I also know the models in these photos just look as cool as those two professional models above! Thanks Roy for capturing these valuable shots.
If I can just live in this studio…I would!
Trust me we are all happy people and we were very happy. It’s just that when we get serious in what we do (and we are!) we look a bit tense!
WEDDING DAY ::: SANDY AND STUART
It’s just a gradually developed convention that I would normally put guy’s name in front of girl’s when I blog about couples wedding or engagement photos. Interestingly for this couple it feels like their names sound better when you put the hers before his – so it’s Sandy and Stuart not the other way around.I think I am not the only person who has agreed to that. : )
When we were told by Sandy that they were getting married in September back in July, we were all excited and had been looking forward to this day. Sandy and Stuart have been knowing each other for over 20 years, and finally had their ceremony at Brigham Cafe in Whenuapai, Auckland. We were still in transition from Winter to Spring, so the rain was still on and off that afternoon. However, unpredictable in some way is also a prediction, so we had the entire ceremony semi-indoor that comfortably accommodated everybody, and everyone could still get to enjoy the beautiful garden around and without getting the rain. If I were to describe their wedding with only one word. “FAMILY” would be it. It was a simple, relaxed, family-surrounded fun wedding that (officially) brought everybody into one big family.
Laughters wereHere it’s quite hard not to laugh when Sandy said to Stuart in front of everyone, “Now let’s get serious!”
After dinner we headed towards a heritage house for the wedding party.
Here comes the highlight of the night…The band! The band that Sandy and Stuart are in marched into the room with exotic musical instruments, many of which I have probably never seen or head of. The music was drumming my ears because I was so close to them. We were on the 2nd floor and I could VIVIDLY recall the floor was LITERALLY vibrating PHYSICALLY up and down, plus there were many high-spirited people who were EXCITEDLY jumping around me…so as much as I enjoyed getting the cool band shots, I was SIMULTANEOUSLY worried about the stability of this building. Did I mention it’s a heritage building?? The band TOTALLY rocked it! I was told afterwards only half the band (approx 13 people?) turned out that evening. Pheww…I really wonder what would have happened to us if the whole band was there! HAHA! The band will be performing in Europe next year.
Just to around up today’s blog post here’s the evident of other people calling them “Sandy and Stuart”! Whoever baked this must have a super-sized kitchen because it’s very very HUGE!
LOVE JOURNEY ::: JERRY AND MIMI (PART III)
As portrait and wedding photographers, our eyes were trained to multitask. We need to see and consider many things at one go – compositions, lightings, colours, DOF, emotions, poses, clothings and the list just goes on…and as our eyes become more and more sensitive, the supposedly easier job could sometimes take longer than expected. Well then, I think we will just have to trust in our own artistic instinct.
If you are a loyal blog reader you would have read about Jerry and Mimi’s Love Journey – their engagement photoshoot in South Island. You can find the previous episdoes here:
LOVE JOURNEY ::: JERRY AND MIMI’S SOUTH ISLAND ENGAGEMENT PHOTOSHOOT (PART I)
LOVE JOURNEY ::: JERRY AND MIMI (PART II)
LOVE JOURNEY ::: JERRY AND MIMI (A BEAUTIFUL INTERLUDE)
Now when I reflect back on destination photoshoot journey, a lot seems to really have happened. We stood in front of Mt Remarkables; we sat by the reflective Lake Wakatipu; we explored the beautiful Queenstown; we walked along of the bushes of Arrowtown; we not only tasted the infamous kiwi fish-n-chips, but also had delicious Japanese Kohan Bendon box for dinner; and to conclude the day, we had a tour at the Mt John obervatory to see the amazing sourthern night sky. A lot of happenings, but most importantly, we had fun. These are our priceless memories, all in DAY ONE!
Jerry and Mimi will be doing their pre-wedding photos in Auckland in September, but anyhow, on the sunny DAY TWO we’ve decided to bring in some pre-wedding flavour into our photoshoot. Mimi put on a white dress she prepared in advance matched with a veil while Jerry was in suit and looking smart. They have put in a lot of thoughts and efforts into their photoshoots which made me think it is such an hornor be able to photograph their enagement photos.
So here continues their love story…
Well, even though they began their relationship, it was not an easy ride and Jerry did put in lots of effort to make it work. There was a day when she was studying hard at home and someone knocked at the door. And to her surprise, it was a delivery man with flowers from Jerry. It was really sweet and unexpected.
The first time they met in real life as a couple was really hilarious. He travelled all the way from Auckland to Singapore just to spend a memorable few days with her on Bintan island in Indonesia. He bought her a bracelet from Auckland and surprisingly, that was the very same bracelet that she had been looking for but was sold out in Singapore. Perhaps this is destined.
They are a blessed couple. When they both thought that long distance relationship was hard to maintain, miracles just happened. The faithful God opened doors for Mimi to successfully take up a job here in Auckland, and that lead to the beginning of a brand new journey for them…
by THE CHURCH OF GOOD SHERPHERD
LAKE TEKAPO
MT JOHN OBSERVATORY
All the best for Jerry and Mimi. THE END
LOVE JOURNEY ::: JERRY AND MIMI (PART II)
It was an utter excitement to review this entire set of South Island photos. I mean literally. It felt like a dream. “Unreal” was probably the most common vocabulary I used during the two day South Island destination photoshoot because it was just soo PPERFECTTT! I understand sometimes we think that it’s the location, or the lighting, the techniques, the glamour, the outfit, the poses, the props or the photographer etc, but it wasn’t. While having all these elements combined can probably yield some stunning portrait photos, it wasn’t about them. It was about the true, genuine love between the couple being photographed. Love is the heart and soul of photographs in such nature.
When you are out and about you are always restricted by something called schedule. The sun can be your best friend or it can be your worst enemy, depending on how your relationship goes. I approached this set by allowing the two of them freely interact with each other. By doing so not only saved us a lot of precious time (for the delicious local fish & chips in Queenstown) but also brought us more natural looking sweet photos.
Here their Love Journey continues…
So after a few years of working at two different places, they somehow got back in touch and that was when she found out that he had moved to Melbourne. Towards the end of 2009, she and her good friend were planning a visit to Melbourne and contacted him to meet up. But thing was, he was moving back to Auckland around that same time.
Fast forward another month, they finally met each other in an ex-classmate’s wedding in Kuala Lumpur where they enjoyed chatting and cherished each other’s company. Since then, they started sharing more even though there was 4 – 5 hours time difference between Singapore and New Zealand. He always appeared on MSN at 11pm Singapore time, which was actually around 4am NZ time. And of course, he kept coming up with ridiculous excuses on why he needed to wake up so early.
Despite being thousand miles apart, they felt connected to each other. He sent her a song that was close to her heart, just in time to encourage her when she was feeling down. They supported each other and sharing their part of the world became a daily habit in their life. They were attracted to each other. One day, he told her how he felt about her. That’s how their relationship officially started.
Things happen when you least expect it. After a big detour, who would have known that the person they were searching for would be someone whom they used to go to the same class with…
(TO BE CONTINUED…)
QUEENSTOWN
It’s Queenstown, it will be beautiful anyway!
I think the Starbucks background works for this photo.
Work it out Mimi. ; )
ARROWTOWN
Did I tell you Arrowtown is one of my all time favourite shooting spot? This is 200% true in Autumn!
Unreal! Unreal!
So sweet ; )
Ahhh…isn’t it beautiful?
This concludes our Day 1 of the South Island engagement photoshoot, and the Jerry and Mimi’s Love Journey continued to carry on.
Coming up next…something totally unexpected. Stay tuned!
TO BE CONTINUED…
LOVE JOURNEY ::: JERRY AND MIMI’S SOUTH ISLAND ENGAGEMENT PHOTOSHOOT (PART I)
Remember in one of my previous recent blog entries I mentioned about a perspective client found my portfolio on the internet and miraculously turned out to be someone that I could have possibly met? That’s Mimi.
It all happened really fast. Literally. Mimi approached me to find out details about having an engagement shoot in Auckland, but I was very busy then. Mimi insisted me to be their photographer so therefore she tactically posted blog comments, sent emails, text messages and then followed up by phone calls. So she caught me! The next thing I knew, we were drinking coffee in St Lukes mall and discussing about their engagement shoot in Auckland.
It’s always nice to talk about photoshoot and the possibly of getting some unique photographs and we had a good time there I must say. Few hours after our first appointment I received a message. Mimi asked about the possibility of having their photoshoot down South Island. I was like ARE YOU SERIOUS? The next thing I knew was that we had our flights, accommodation and rental car all booked, and we were on our flight to the amazing Queenstown, in the beautiful Autumn. It’s worth to mention that we managed to board the Air New Zealand All Blacks plane. There are only 2 of this kind in NZ. I know, it’s all very exciting and happening so quickly!
They were classmates back in year 1999 and 2000, and he was her class monitor. He was a really nice and responsible person, but sometimes he did misused his powers. Once he took the attendancec for the whole class when only a few people actually turned up. Funny thing was, the teacher actually believed him…
They were not closed friends back in high school. They seldom talked to each other, maybe he was too nerdy for her liking. Jerry strongly denies this till these days….
After high school, they then went separate paths with literally no contacts at all. He went to Auckland for his tertiary studies while she had hers in Malaysia…
(TO BE CONTINUED…)
While this is a good back lit shot, it fails miserably as a story telling photo beacause nobody could tell this is the All Blacks version. Hehe..
Let’s heck out the crew…as you see, we don’t have a fancy team. Mimi was responsible for her own makeup and hair, Jerry did 90% of driving
I had two camera bags, one for lenses and one for camera, strobe and wireless flash triggers. Flash stays on tripod, camera bag stays in the car.
Mimi suggested I should give my assistant a name, so I have been called him Trusty. ^^
THE JACKS POINT
Mt Remarkable as a back drop, love it!
Then we discovered a spot with all the long grass. O my favourite long grass!
LAKE WAKATIPU
Beautiful reflection…
Mr Remarkable in the mirror 
Together, Jerry and Mimi started their Love Journey…and I was honoured to be the one who can document this.
Coming up next…more photos in Queenstown and in the ever beautiful Arrowtown…stay tuned ; )
TO BE CONTINUED…
DONALD AND KYLIE ::: A ZEN GARDEN WEDDING
You know how sometimes when you look at the weather it makes you feel good and you know that is THE day? That was exactly it – a perfect sunny Saturday morning for Don and Kylie’s wedding. Despite the fact we have now entered into the season of rain and it has been raining throughout the week, this day was so special that even the rain had to take on a one day short holiday.
Don and Kylie not only picked the perfect date, but they’ve also picked the perfect venue for their wedding – The Zen Garden. In our initial pre-wedding consultation I was already excited to hear that they’ve chosen a wedding venue that was new to me. Then when we went out to scout around the venue I was completely blown away by its tranquil surroundings, unique landscapes, character architectures and the defined details with an Orental flavour.
Here comes the beautiful bride Kylie and her father walking towards Don and the guests, with the amazing Zen Garden architecture as a backdrop. This could well be the longest distance grand entrance I have ever seen at a wedding. ^^
The happy couple…
I like how they were looking into each others eyes while exchanging the rings. A sweet moment.
For the grand exit, Don suddenly decided to be spontaneous and headed for a new path “on the water”!
The charming boys and girls : )
The light was just lovely. I call this the shadow shot. It generally works quite well with cool guys.
Beautiful light!
WEDDING STORY ::: DONALD AND KYLIE
Where shall I begin? Sometimes you’ve got to admit that our world is getting smaller and smaller, this is especially true for us who live in Auckland. A friend of mine on the internet turned out to be an old friend of my homestay parents. And thanks to this friend Brian, Tom and Imelda met each other and they became Mr and Mrs Dixon. I believe there’s always some kind of connection between people. It’s like how Vincent and Summer bumped into each other 3 times in a roll and Vincent took the courage to go up to ask for her phone number. I also believe that God has a plan. It’s just like how last week a client was searching for wedding photos online and happened to click on one of the photographs I took in the past. So she found me. In our first meeting, I found out that she has visited my mother church before and we’ve in fact probably already met each other before. How two people could meet each other on this planet is really a miracle. No really. It’s miracle that we know each other. : )
This miracle took place 14 plus years ago when these two had their lives intercepted each other, miraculously through a common friend of theirs. She was a young wild child wanting to experience the world. He was a maturing senior who’s always a few years ahead of the game. They attended the same University together, well technically they did, but no. Because one was in Palmy while the other one was in Welly and in a totally different year. From Palmy, Welly to Auckland, climax after climax the friendship and courtship between Donald and Kylie unfolded as they faced many challenges. A miracle wouldn’t be called miracle unless it had been tested, tested and tested…and will eventually see victory.
On Saturday the 7th of May, together with other 250 guests at Zen Garden, we’ve witnessed the fruit of this relationship, in joy and in happiness.
To be continued…^^
Thanks to Remi and her team. They were so busy that day! Well done!
Some “behind” the scene revealed
Bridesmaid No.2 – Pinny was caught by camera.
The elegant look.
Kylie and her stunning Kay Po.
Busy preparation before the tea ceremony.
The girls…
The cool boys arrived at the waterfront apartment. Don and his “Hing-Dai” (brothers) survived the games!
Despite the “rain throughout the whole day” weather forecast, I think we rocked the weather that day pretty well!.
AUCKLAND PRE-WEDDING TEASER ::: WILSON & NICOLE
It’s a thrilling feeling to get through your week knowing that something exciting and something I am extremely passionate about is just around the corner. Last Saturday we had an awesome time shooting pre-wedding photos for a stunning couple in and around Auckland area for a lengthy 8hrs! And here’s a teaser! One more great wedding coming this Sat and I am so excited…Rain or shine, it will be an awesome wedding held at an unique venue! Stay tuned.
MATAKANA VINEYARD WEDDING ::: FRANKIE AND LISA
My previous blog entry I mentioned about going to their wedding. I did, and I was late. The wedding was held in Ascension Wine Estate in Matakana, about an hour drive away from Auckland City. Although ocassionally it rained, the weather was generally fine. I had an hour awesome music and driving time on a early Sunday morning and I was completely switched to my holiday mode. By the time I reached there ceremony has already started. Opps…I was so glad that I was just a guest! And later at the reception I found out a few of us at the same table had had the same fate – driven towards the wrong direction at some point. 
There’s nothing wrong being a guest with a camera I guess, especially the photographer and videographers are my peers and I have worked with some of them. I didn’t shoot much with my camera because I had more fun with my photo-video-editing-all-in-one gadget – the Apple Iphone4!! It’s a mighty little tool and I produced the simplest slideshow that contains both photo and video footage, then had it uploaded to Facebook within the shortest period of time.
Anyway, congratulations to Frankie and Lisa for this joyful occasion.
Lisa’s looked away moment. She’s smiling towards the main photographer, Richard.
A very spontenanous happy moment.
The flower girl and the page boy – I captured this just before the page boy got taken away by the parent to wipe the mouth
And some vineyard shots…
The hilly vinyard really “ascends” and form a nice romatic backdrop for wedding photos.
We also headed down to a nearby beach for photos and a sudden shower got us all wet. So the bride and groom ventured into the water despite the freezing water. I would have thought so because they survived the South Island pre-wedding photoshoot.
After the clouds got cleared away the light became very photographer friendly.
A
A really fun shot to end the beach shots. Frankie unexpectedly threw Lisa into the air, and I just happened to be still holding a camera with the right setting at the right time.
A happy wedding!
THE DAYS AFTER TOMORROW
If you are a movie-holic like me, DON’T read it wrong. This blog entry has got nothing to do with that movie! If you have been following this blog from last year you would know that I spent two and a half days down in South Island with Frankie and Lisa. They were basically there to have their pre-wedding photos taken and I was fortunate enough to get tagged along the entire trip. It’s a trip that brought me a lot of happy memories. You can visit the previous blog entry “Remarkable, life as it ought to be” here. I wasn’t their photographer but being a photography enthusiast, I of course did manage to capture a few shots here… : )
and there… : D
Our relationship was interestingly more friends like rather than a purely business-client type. When I bummed into them on Korean Day about a month ago I was told that they were getting married in April, at a vineyard in Matakana! They invited me to come. So here I am, going for a wedding not as a photographer, but as a guest! It’s a strange feeling I tell you, because out of the many many weddings I went to, I’ve only been a guest for a few times. It’s good to do something different. Exciting!
Tomorrow begins their marriage life, and the days after tomorrow they will enjoy and spend the rest of their lives together. Hopefully I will upload some photos of their wedding day as soon as I loaded them into my computer.
SUMMER RECAP ::: BLACK AND WHITE
I have been sick for the past few days. I cough (and I still cough), I had fever, I had allergy (and I still have some) and I went to the doctor. So because of this I think it’s probably a good time to do a summer recap (there’s such a strong link between my sickness and the need for a recap). By recap what it means really is to post some photos I took in the last Summer. ha!
I remember when one of the clients asked me to show her some of my work I said to her “Have you visited my blog?” “Yes, but I don’t see many wedding photos”, She said. “But I am sure there are many!” After responding her I took a careful look of my entries and I found a lot of them are in fact non-wedding entries, which made me realise sometimes how distracted I was. LOL… Summer is such a popular season for weddings and photoshoots. In fact started from the beginning of Sep a lot of bookings and jobs started to stack up. It’s amazing how a photography job can be even more busier than a regular full-time job where you have to go out there shooting all seven days. The weather wasn’t all that great last summer so the occasional rainy days would mean there’s a break for us. Despite the amount of photoshoots I did, I hardly blog about them. So that’s why Summer Recap is actually useful for.
Denise used to partner with me as a stylist. She’s creative, very young, very quiet and very quiet. Yes, she’s quiet not because she’s day-dreaming in fact, she’s keeping her thoughts to herself, very much like what I like to do. So how does it work when two quiet people partner together in a photo shoot job? My answer would be: Quiet photographer + Quiet stylist = Not So Quiet Clients. It’s interesting how human chemistry interacts with one another! Click here to see one of our crazy client couple. They are just simply fun! So I am not here to discuss about the quiet nature of Denise, rather, I want to emphasise on how beautiful and elegant she looks, combined with that quite nature of her, in a wedding gown.
In stillness and elegance, there she is…
AUCKLAND ROSE GARDEN WEDDING ::: MICHAEL＋APRA
A great wedding inspires, so do great people. There’s nothing more encouraging than hearing your clients tell you how much they trust you even before your challenging day begins. There are times when I finish shooting a wedding I feel like I want to upload the photos and post them on my blog right away. And this is TOTALLY one of them. If not because I was caught up by so many other jobs this blog would have been posted a lot sooner. They are the couple who came for an appointment and for the shortest time expressed a strong interest in our photography service. Yet interestingly, they the couple who have had their deposit paid for the longest time ever and couldn’t decide on which package to choose, until a week before their actual wedding day. They are the couple who have a simple smile on their faces and give you a strong assurance that they trust you. They are a happy, lovely and the luckiest couple.
Here it is…introducing the luckiest man…
And the happiest bride…
Apra is such a polite and adorable girl who has a contagious personality and an amazing smile. And she takes it even further. When I arrived at her house that day Apra was already in her gown and everything looked almost ready. As I asked who’s the makeup artist and Apra told me she had a course at MAC cosmetics so she did her own makeup! What a fantastic job!
She’s gorgeous, and stunning.
The lovely bouquet fits perfectly in her hands.
After the church ceremony we arrived at the reception venue in advance to have some photos taken.
Cute…
A 10/10 natural, happy smile.
As part of the Indian culture, Apra’s family helped her to put on the wedding Saree, which was previously used in her mother’s wedding.
A different look brought her charm to new level.
Here they come, for their wedding celebration!
ANGEL’S TOUCH ::: EDISON + JANE
This isn’t the latest photoshoot. As I was doing album design in front of the computer this afternoon, I was so pleased to review through Edison and Jane’s pre-wedding photos. They two surely are photogenic people and I just had so much fun photographing them. Not only that, I feel so blessed to have clients like these two who really know what they want. I say this because our clients get to choose their favourite photos for digital retouch, not us. So I feel good EVERYTIME when my clients focus less on formal (full body facing the camera type) portraits and more on artistic shots. I know, i know people have different tastes but the artistic shots are ARTISTIC! I know, I know it takes education and training to discern the good ones from the bad. So thanks for being so awesome and chose my favourite photos. : )
When I was doing their album design I was so thrilled to see Edison and Jane chose this as their back cover page! As I was reviewing their photos I was quite surprised to see this shot. Doesn’t Jane look like an angel? Look, it’s angel’s touch! ^^
I AM LOVING IT ::: ANDREW + WINNIE
The photoshoot ended at 8pm.
We arrived back in studio at 8:40pm.
We finished servicing the last client at 9:15pm.
I then spent some time organizing photos.
I left the studio after 1am.
Above is my auckland FULL day!
By looking at my clients happy faces my heart is filled with joy. When people asked me how can I keep my passion at work, I feel I could steal McDonalds’ commercial line, beacuse “I am loving it.” I am glad that I have a job that I love, at least for now. : )
Below are some of the photos I selected from yesterday’s photoshoot, with some Lightroom adjustments.
AUCKLAND DAY & NIGHT ::: VINCENT + SUMMER
Overcast with passing showers and occasional sunshine – this was basically how the weather looked like yesterday. It’s quite a once in a blue moon consider the weather in Auckland has been constantly so good in the past. I felt the weather understood me because Mr. Weather must have sensed the fatigue from my frequent photoshoots recently. In contemplating whether the shoot will proceed as planned I rang up the clients. After listening to them I gave them a few pieces of advice and it was sweet as – the photoshoot will go on!
I knew exactly what I could achieve under such weather condition and I was convinced that the red umbrella Hanson and Colleen left me would be a fantastic prop so I brought it along.
10hours, 5 locations…our Auckland Day & Night
First up, Westhaven…
I am not a fan of green grass and blue sky so I think we had a perfect weather for the style I like to achieve.
Raiway Campus…
the classy interior
Chancery – O’connell St
Muriwai Beach…
Aotea Square…
There‘s interesting story behind this couple and their ceremony will be held on 26th March next year.
What a wonderful day!
MURPHY + BARBARA
I am taking a break from updating my South Island trip for this moment and I have decided to post some pre-wedding photos I took from…guess what?…the South Island!
Okay. During my 2-week trip to South Island I bought a pair of this…
And in my subsequent photoshoot down South Island I finally wore this pair of new “Sandals” in the hope that it would do some good to me. And it totally rocked! Haha!
On this comfy Sunday morning in Central Christchurch, we had just everything we needed available for a perfect photoshoot – the right temperature, excellent light, relaxing atmosphere and a wonderful couple.
After we departed for Lake Tekapo we noticed the weather was beginning to change, rapidly. Back in my mind I was thinking if this bad weather remained unchanged then we would be in deep trouble! We were just about 20 minutes away from Lake Tekapo and the weather didn’t seem to have any improvement at all, if not getting worse. There wasn’t much hope as all we could see were endless dark clouds. There was shower, rain, heavy rain, and then snow! Wait, SNOW? Did you say snow?!
Why not have photoshoot in the snow? Yeah, why not! Not everyone could have such chance after all. So Anna helped Barbara change into another gown that fitted perfectly in this snow environment.
The snow made everything look so white, clean, pure…This is my first time photoshooting in actual snow. : )
Simply looking at this smile you couldn’t think of how cold it was to be standing there…
The new pair of shoes I bought was so handy when it comes to snow walking…XD
Church of The Good Shepherd in its white cloth…
the end… : )
ALEX & JENNY
I like photographying fun couples who really are not afraid of expressing who they truly are. Simply by observing how they interact with each other during the shoot makes the photo session so much more relaxed, fun and enjoyable. Yes it really motivates me as a photographer and creative ideas would just roll in my head! Alex and Jenny has just formed such a perfect example.
The lighting was adorable, and the beautiful pose by Jenny was what made this photo work.
Big tree…love it.
Jenny always has this natural smile in her.
And she’s also got some authority over Alex. ; )
To show their fun spirit they’ve also decided to buy Jerseys and a rugby ball to support the upcoming Ruby World Cup 2011.
Alex is trying to show how good he can kick…but from this angle it seems he’s not going to hit the ball but Jenny…hahaha!
NORTH ISLAND PHOTO ADVENTURE ::: ANDY AND CHERRY
Over the weekend Yiyu and I took off to Hamilton Garden, Whakapapa, Lake Taupo to photograph Andy and Cheery’s pre-wedding photos. At the start of the trip we had a nice clear blue sky with some beautiful white clouds but not long after we arrived at Hamilton Garden it disappointingly started to rain. Being Hamilton Garden it just doesn’t have that many areas providing shelters so we mainly spent out time shooting at Japanese and Indian Gardens.
Since it’s raining the lighting is very very soft and therefore the photos also turned out beautiful. Based on Yiyu’s suggestion we let the Cherry sit on the fence and even with the wedding gown she managed to balance herself yet smile gracefully.
Backlit shots are usually my favourites
The rain was just getting heavier…
Photo of the day! We didn’t foresee the weather would get any better so we’ve decided hit the road. This was my last shot just before leaving Hamilton Garden. Usually this place is full of tourists during weekends but because of the rain we had a nice undisrupted photoshoot. I really like the effect of the rain and it made everything so soft and reflective.
Our original plan was to do some photoshoot in the hotel after we got there but there were way too many guests at the ground floor because they were holding a private function that evening. After a long day of driving and taking photos I was really exhausted so we decided to call it a day.
The next morning (Sunday)…Praise God, the ground floor was clear so again we had an undisrupted session. The interior of the hotel is so glamorous so we had to pose our clients according.
There were so many plan changes but we are flexible people! We drove up the mountain but discovered the visibility was way too low for photos, not to mention how cold it was up there so we headed to another location. On the way to the waterfall Andy and Cherry were praised to be a very photo adventurous couple.
We had our second attempt going up the mountain and this time the weather condition had improved with improved visibility etc. I quickly got the couple climb up the hill and they did! Standing on top of the hill in a foggy kind of the mood just gave me nothing but stunning photos! Andy and Cherry resisted the cold, the wind, and conquered the valley and the hill.
As visibility continued to improve we could see more scenery at the back.
The rain never stopped trying to get us. As we reached Lake Taupo the place was like expecting a storm. So we changed our plan again and went for food instead. All that waiting was worth it because finally we received a wonderful reward – a huge rainbow appeared in the sky after the rain. What could be more sweeter than kissing your loved one at the rainbow’s end?
The sun finally had its appearance and I simply adore taking pictures under such soft warm sunlight.
It’s autumn. Yes the red leaves made the photo colour look so vivid.
A nice gorgeous smile from Cherry to conclude this 2 day photo trip.
Photographing at a dozen of locations like this is quite tiring, but looking at the beautiful images made me think it was all worth it.
