RUGBY WORLD CUP 2011 OPENING NIGHT
New Zealand is crazy about rugby. So we bought the world cup to us, and now are hosting the largest ever sports event in the nation’s history. By memory the only rugby game I watched properly was about eight years ago, the night before sitting my final exam? It was England vs Australia at RWC Final. I can’t even remember who took the trophy in the end. But regardless whether you watch, like, play rugby at all, the wide spread of excitement has certainly infiltrated every person in the country. And when it finally arrives. Boom! It lid up the whole Auckland City!! Streets, bars, the viaduct, downtown Auckland were so congested that it was impossible to move. It felt like any push from people would have broken the equilibrium of safety and literally cause people to fall. It was over crowding! But that’s why I was there – to soak in this RWC atmosphere. You know how we say NZ has more sheep than people right? This feels like the once in a life time turn around. ; )
I was fortunate enough to have a friend who lives nearby the CBD and offered for me to park at his carpark. This really saved the hassle of waiting for buses when retreating from the city. I’ve heard people stood hours before getting into a bus or a train. That would be a nightmare. NZ’s transport system was never really prepared to handle this amount of people, and this is based on common knowledge. But I am sure same thing would have happened to most other countries too.
The fireworks were a little disappointing. They were coming from all angles but most of the time it felt like lack of boosts. As I was viewing it from viaduct it seemed scattered and a bit weak. I was expecting more to be honest. By comparison the laser lights really added much more dynamic to the show. I was standing too far from the screen so I missed the opening ceremony at Eden Park. So I watched the Youtube video when I got home. It was amazing!! Go All Blacks! Go NZ! Make the kiwi nation proud!
Some short-lived peaceful moments before hyper-excitement begins…
Auckland was extra vibrant in this evening of celebration.
Here comes the All Black fans…
Then more tried to jump into the photo…
As I set up my tripod trying to take some shots, people on the street always want to come in your way.
The Tonga fan club is here!
It’s pretty intense playing against NZ All Blacks. ^^
Look at their expressions…haha!
Try!!
ANOTHER PARADISE
零下一度的氣溫是否能凝固悲傷
南半球的繁星是否不會覺得孤單
匆匆劃破夜空的流星是否在趕場
曾經錯過的美景是否能重新欣賞
相信遙遠的異鄉
那未知的另一端
在雙手無法觸碰的地方
必定存在着另一個天堂
致逝去的爺爺奶奶
DREAM, EVEN IN REALITY
There are many things and experiences in this world that are life changing. For me, photography is one of them. Throughout the course of pursuing my dream and passion in photography, I began to see people with a fresh perspective. I put more attention to notice values, potentials, opportunities in others. I respect their skills, expertise and experience more and more even at times when they can be difficult to identify. And I am inspired by people who are determined to embrace their dreams and go all out to follow the paths. Dream, even in reality!
A joyous sound came from the entrance of Borders bookstore Queen Street on a busy Saturaday night. It’s the sound of violin, came from a small group of 3 young violinists! In a short conversation the girls told me that they are from Whangarei and are performing to raise money for their tertiary education in Waikato. They were calling for people to support music. It’s lovely of what they did and they caught a lot of people’s attention. Many passengers even gave their donation generously. Blog readers if you see them playing violins again in the street please kindly give them your support. Because it’s priceless.
SHOWTIME MODEL ::: MIKKA [ NO RESERVATION ] PART TWO
「 NO RESERVATION 」
Part Two
One Model, Two Styles
One Photoshoot, Two Locations
this Winter…
It’s SHOWTIME!
beyond what you can be
be all whom you can be
No Limitation
Without Hesitation
BE YOU.
「NO RESERVATION」
MODEL: MIKKA WONG
MAKEUP ARTIST: VIVIA (Rensfx)
PHOTOGRAPHER: FELIX WU
ASSISTANT: SHERMAN LU
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[ THE END ]
SHOWTIME MODEL ::: MIKKA [ NO RESERVATION ] PART ONE
「 NO RESERVATION 」
２０１１年
南半球的冬天，奧克蘭。
曾經黑暗中徘徊的一人
如今決定尋找碎片般的記憶
重拾殘存的舊夢
命運畫出了我們生命的焦點
曾經相聚時的快樂，臨別的傷悲
在人來人往的街道
嘗試追尋着那未曾講述完整的故事
雙手握着暖暖的咖啡
希望能感受離別前擁抱過後的餘溫
在這奧克蘭的冬季
我要將一切美好的記憶記錄下來
徹徹底底的與世界分享
讓承載着我們生命的旋律
在高空飛翔
MODEL: MIKKA WONG
MAKEUP ARTIST: VIVIA (Rensfx)
PHOTOGRAPHER: FELIX WU
ASSISTANT: SHERMAN LU
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8a : )
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to be continued…
THE BEGINNING OF A LIFETIME JOURNEY
【The Beginning of a Lifetime Journey】
遠離繁忙的街道與交通
城市熟悉的聲音似乎仍在迴盪着
迎面吹來微微的涼風
這次要講述的會是屬於誰的故事
昨日，今日，還是明日
晴天，陰天，或是雨天
故事當中的甲乙丙丁
是誰讓你們放慢了步伐
期盼充當主角的你我他
又尋找到新的起點了嗎
我們無法改變太陽升起的方嚮
春季的花兒也不因我們而提早開放
不過請一定要相信遠方
勇敢的邁出腳步
踏上屬於自己的旅途
模特: Crystal Ng
化妝: Crystal Ng
攝影: Felix (Me)
文字: Felix (Me)
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THEME OF LOVE ::: JOLIE SHI
愛之主題 「 THEME OF LOVE 」
這次以清新，柔和，朦朧爲主要風格
以一樹山的銀杏樹爲背景拍攝了新的作品
命名“愛之主題”
名字來自於Final Fantasy IV裏面音樂，曲名又叫“通向光明”
雖然第四步遊戲自己沒玩過
不過我也算是最終幻想系列的粉絲吧
因此同樣能多多少少感受到音樂想要表達的內容
淡淡的憂傷中帶有堅強，對未來充滿這期望
等待這美好的到來
新作「愛之主題」
希望大傢喜歡
攝影: Felix Wu
模特: Jolie Shi
化妝: Yiyu Wang [安藝映像]
特別鳴謝 Photo4U 提供服裝
在空中的盡頭
嘗試躲開那心的車輪
在遠方的同時
誰也不會想到
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雨聲中
一邊澄清耳朵一邊發現
被封閉起來的語言
似乎已被埋沒
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注視着心跳
空虛的瞳孔
看不透的心
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對方在遠方等待
思念着我
提早的構想
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爲了曾經的約定
我要打開被封閉的門
奔向遠方
儘管路途艱險
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取出的盒子
在拿鑰匙的時候
不知道什麼時候被弄碎了
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號召的聲音
唱着被愛的歌
現在什麼都不用做
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曾經的約定
隨着船沉入黑暗
對方的指引
在有光明的地方
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SHOWTIME MODEL ::: SMILY AND CINDY [DIGITAL AFFINITY]
[ DIGITAL AFFINITY ]
MODEL: SMILY & CINDY
ASSISTANT: ZILING, TRUSTY, SLIM (new tripod member)
PHOTOGRAPHER: ME
POST-PRODUCTION: ME
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
For such reason we never give up pursuing
Let us connect, beyond time and boundary, through the power of music
Let us sing, rock the world with our musics
For this is our arena!
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True Elegance. 「BLUE」
True Elegance. 「BLUE」
【藍】是永恆的象征，代表純潔，清澈，寧靜
【藍】即是無際的天空，又是海洋之心，不挑剔，心胸容納一切
身為三原色的一員，与【紅】【黃】二色相比，【藍】顯得沉穩，和諧，低調
卻又充滿深度，神秘与多變
它反映出人性的大方，理智，冷靜
同時也夾雜着傷感和憂鬱
【藍】帶有一種強烈的現代感与時尚感
紫藍散發的是獨有的高貴
淡淡的藍述說着淡淡的優雅
帶給大家新作
【藍】
MODEL: ZILING
STYLIST: AIKO. (Rensfx)
PHOTOGRAPHER: ME
POST-PRODUCTION: ME
ASSISTANT: MR.TRUSTY : )
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SHOWTIME MODEL [ MAY ISSUE ] ::: ZILING
MODEL: ZILING
MAKEUP ARTIST: VIVIA
PHOTOGRAPHER: ME
ASSISTANT: MY TRUSTY TRIPOD : )
POST-PRODUCTION: ME
LOCATION: AUCKLAND DOMAIN
[ PART ONE ]
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[ CHAPTER TWO ]
記得那個關於秋天的許諾嘛
暖暖的下午的阳光
山上那片黃草地
樹上金黃的秋葉
是你心中最美麗的場景
你還記得嘛
是不是再美的夢也有醒來的一刻
睜開雙眼才知道，原來夢見的是現實，所見的是夢境
籃子里的小野花，究竟一直為誰而準備著
信仰般的等待，是無所謂值得或者不值得
深秋時分
葉子漸漸凋零
拾起一堆葉子往上空拋起
並不是期待它們會乘風飛揚
只為了一睹它們最后的光彩
飛吧，在這金黃的季節
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[ THE LAST CHAPTER ]
風停了
剛才沙沙的葉子仿佛變得很安靜
昔日絢麗的山丘如今只剩微弱的光
流動的光影顫栗的心
是哪裡傳來遙遠的聲音
原來成長后才明白
只要用心聆聽
便能感受
這季節獨有的神秘色彩
於是披上心愛的圍巾
与金秋并奏
演奏那
屬
於
～
最
終
的
樂
章
～
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THE END.
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!.
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!
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…
GREAT MOMENTS ::: HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!
Today before I left for photoshoot I signed up an agreement with our new clients. And it’s a strange feeling to actually write down the year “2011″. Farewell 2010, you have given me a lot of memories. I want to celebrate you. Celebrate the fabulous moments in the past year. As much as I am going to miss 2010, I look forward to the new year. Although uncertainties are always ahead, the future has far greater attraction to deserve my anticipation.
Happy New Year everyone! Wherever you are, I believe you have come through your 2010 well and worthy. : )
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!
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!
MICHAEL + AMY
When you are exposed to something that is trying kill you and you have nothing to protect yourself you need to run. You need cover, you need shelter. It was the case when I was photographying Michael and Amy. After the ceremony we headed to North Shore for photo shoot and we were under direct harsh sunlight and it almost kill all of us. It was so hot that it made your head literally want to explode. We are talking about physics here. It was so COOL that we walked all the way down the hill and we found a perfect open shade, where we picked up our momentum again and took some sweet photos. I was also using Andy’s mighty beast lens Canon 200L F2 IS. Hmm…it made me want an 85L. Honestly, I want this effect. After we finished the shoot I headed back to the studio and spent about 20mins in front of the computer and I was able to deliver over 50 images to the clients right away. So they were about to display them at tonight’s reception. I haven’t done this same day editing for so long. I now feel very efficient. : )
Amy is amazing. I really like the how she could naturally pose in front of the camera and give the exact result that I want.
CLASS, CLASS, IN ITS OWN CLASS
For a long time I have been wanting…wanting and waint to hangout with local photographers in Auckland. I started of by googling on the internet for NZ photography forums but to my disappointment I hardly found any good ones. There’s hardly any in existence and even there are they are not so popular and relatively small. Maybe I am missing out something? So here was I continually searching for photography related community and I was suddenly reminded to join local photography clubs. So I googled again and there were plenty and top of the list there was this Auckland Photography Society (APS) located in Remuera. WoW! WOW!!
So I went ahead by myself and attended the first night of their meeting and it was their last formal session in 2009. I was so blessed because tonight’s workshop topic was about FASHION. 5 of the members previously had an opportunity to go through a series of short fashion classes and had opportunities to shoot about 20-30 models, a few among them were even professionals. So basically they shared the challenges and stress they were put under even though there was one professional fashion photographer at present to guide them. It was quite fun learning from their trails and errors and they even put together a slideshow of their work. Fun! After the workshop I had chance viewing some of the photos took by the Michael the fashion photographer and we had time asking questions etc it was really rewarding. Their final gathering will be their End of Year Award Evening and I think I am definitely more than interested, if time allows after a full day photoshoot that day.
For probably the first time ever, my favourite photographer Jasmine Star will be hosting a workshop in January 2010. What’s more? She’s put up a contest on her blog and THE winner will win a seat to her fabulous workshop. How fabulous (not my fav vocab but that’s the word she uses often) is that? I will need to put some thoughts in planning my shot and try my best not to forget about this contest! Thanks to Justin I now have some ideas to work with and hope it will work. The funniest thing is that over here in New Zealand we are actually living in their future (compared to US). That’s what I call an absolute (time) advantage! It feels like I am getting an extension. But only feels like it. Haha!!
Since the very first day photography was introduced to this world, photos were presented in black-and-white or in the form of sepia only. Till today, B&W never loses its charm. It’s still the most favourite colour theme especially to people who desire to achieve artistic and classic effects. While there are millions of colours available nowadays B&W stands in its own class. It’s just like when you are meeting a line of people from left to right, the ones that have the most characters in its colour and interesting features may stand out. However, B&W is like that person who’s standing at the 2nd place to the right who remains cool, quiet and calm. This is a person who doesn’t give you much “popping effect”, but the more you talk to him the more you want to know this person, and interestingly the more you get to know this person there are more left to be discovered. That’s the magic of B&W.
B&W doesn’t always work. There are times it just won’t work in photography. But when it does work, it’s magical. While some of the clients in our demography welcome B&W, there are still a huge amount of people who prefer the popping colours. Personally, I really like B&W or even the low saturated, muted colours which bring in a sense of depth and substance to the image. Rebekah Elena, a young photographer in US told me how much she adores B&W and she said “if you shoot in colour you are shooting their clothes, but if you shoot in black and white you capture their souls”. Well said Beki!
THE RUNNER
After a quick nap this afternoon, I went for a walk at Auckland Domain. It’s getting dark and there’s still this lady running in the field. She was actually running at a not-so-slow speed which I presumably might not be able to follow to be honest. And I sat down with my tripod together with my only not-so-tele (85mm) lens attached to my camera. I had my lens close to wide open (F1.4 to 2.0) and ISO cranked up to iso1600, attempting to get a feel of being a sports journalist. From these photos below straight away I am sure you could tell I am far away from being one. LOL…
In that very last photo, her eyes were actually looking towards the camera which gives a sense of “focus” and “determination”. I actually quite like the original shot (you could see her eyes) but I think the noise ISO1600 plus underexposure produced is not so pleasant to the eyes. Despite all that technical stuff, what I enjoyed most was during her last few loops we started talking to each other. She was of course aware of that I was taking photos while she’s running and she asked me if I’ve got any good shots and if she needs to run another around, and then in the next round she said she couldn’t run anymore. Haha. Yes, when she ran, she did not just run for herself.
NEW YEAR, NEW START!
The year 2009 totally deserves a new start, hence a new Creationheart blog, with the first time ever, a personalised domain!!! I am so excited to see this happening. I can’t wait to fill this blog with exciting photos and articles about what’s happening around my life. Sure the path ahead can’t always be smooth but what’s important is that we will learn to appreciate both the blessings and also the difficult times, for they are the memory fragments and pieces that make our life complete.
