Yearly Archives: 2009

Fishes in love

This was a shoot I’d been waiting for ever since meeting Kelvin and Ailin. Instead of a traditional pre-wedding shoot, they wanted to do family shoots for their album. When we were brainstorming locations, I got all excited and hyper. Kelvin and Ailin really did their homework, scouting around different prawn fishing farms in Singapore until they finally found this one. Super Rustic, Super Singapore in the 1980s, I just Love it!
Here are shots to share, and will be updating the post as I go along.

_MIN0923

_MIN0954

_MIN0702

_MIN0621

eileen - thanks mindy! i hope i looked good! :)

[Reply]

27th dec

Took a long walk with Maddy today in a huge park in Steglitz in Berlin. We came across this lovely, luurrvely bridge hanging above a frozen lake, with with branches of bare trees draped beautifullly across the scene. The light was golden, and colours were oh- soooooo……!!
All I needed for the camera were two people in love, standing there, huddled.
I didn’t have a camera, but it was just tooo real imagining that shot

Do you feel it? When the light is just right, and this moment right now reveals a small truth

blog20091206

APEC

Last month, Singapore played host to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings so I was there to shoot it.
Somehow, there’s always an air of excitement at international media events when photographers from all over the world gather, I totally dig this.
It’s the sort of infusion you need to have once in a while, like going out to a big party with fab electronic music that thumps your heart out. My last one eye-opener was at the Paralympics in Beijing a year ago, so as a photographer working mostly alone, could not help but feel it was time for some good company.

I can’t tell if I enjoy the pushing, shoving or sticking of lenses up each other’s heads and having to clamor for a spot all the time. But I suspect it’s the gathering of geek gears, seeing all these lenses and equipment all at one time is a bit like having lots of Pradas and Guccis displayed in front of you all at once.
I always try to talk the guys up, where do you come from, what were you shooting before, this guy relates his riot adventures in Nepal and how coming to Singapore is like a massive holiday, always interesting stories to hear.

For most of the media covering APEC anyway, the treat really came at the end of the week when Barack Obama finally arrived.
Meeting him was for me, the man-moment of the year! I have to admit, did go a little ga-ga.

Favourite first lady vote goes to the with the very charismatic Miyuki Hatoyama of Japan.

US President Barack Obama with Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong

US President Barack Obama with Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong

Kevin Rudd

(Intimate) Close up of Australian’s prime minister Kevin Rudd

Miyuki at Jacob Ballas

Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama meets Nanyang Primary school girls who give her a rundown on the history of soybean

Ho Ching meets Miyuki

Prime Minister’s wife Ho Ching meets Miyuki

First Ladies on Singapore Flyer

L to R: HK Chief Executive Donald Tsang’s wife Selina, Taiwan’s former Vice-President Lien Chen’s wife Lien Pang Yu, Indonesia’s Susilo Bambang’s wife, Ani Bambang Yudhoyono, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon’s wife, Margarita Zavala

_DSC3308

Just trying to get the job done
Ho Ching with Australia Prime Minister's wife at Peranakan museum

Tommy Tan introducing the museum's architecture to the First ladies

Ruff!! - You shot Obama??? OMG OMG OMG… *gasp gasp gasp* SUPER GREEN WITH ENVY~~~~ LOVE HIS SMILE!

[Reply]

Berlin Pre-Wedding shoots

Dear friends, as the year is closing, I’m really really hoping it will snow in Berlin! Will be heading there for Christmas and New Years, and inviting you to join me on a pre-wedding shoot for anyone looking for a white, wintry album.

I’ve spent two summers there so this time, views will be different and I’m extremely excited.

berlin-ad

Jit and Brell’s wedding

Excerpts from the lovely wedding of Jit and Brell.
Among the many details, I loved Brell’s vintage dress sourced from Hong Kong – the ease of movement it gives her, how well it fits her body, and how her look would outlast wedding trends when she looks back at her album 20 years on.

Then, there was Jit’s neatly shaved sideburns, which I noticed and tried to get a shot of from the moment he stepped out of the bridal car.

Hope you enjoy this little slideshow!

November’s end

November’s been such a big month for me.
In some sort of a whirlwind, I have been most privileged to witness the poor and sick, the rich and powerful, as well as the joyous ties that bind.

Just as I was choking up sympathy and heartache from the dire conditions in a Siem Reap orphanage and the flooded beaches of Sihanoukville, it was onto visiting a cancer hospital in Hanoi where patients so badly need proper beds and better treatments.

I landed in the comparatively posh Changi Airport of Singapore and was into the next flight to the madness of Bangkok.

Then back in Singapore, a string of APEC shoots await. I finally, finally saw dear Mr Obama, all the other white house guys and a whole string of Asian politicians.

They aren’t worlds apart – The helpless and those in power – but never the twain shall meet.
But what prevents action to bridge divides?
Administration, jurisdiction, all the problems invented for the man, by man.

There is just some time alone to sit down now and pen some thoughts down.

I shall start with simple, simple things that do not cause a headache, like wedding photography.

The joyous occasion of Jit and Brell’s wedding, held at the Peony Jade and the wonderful garden of LaVilla.

blog-jitbrell1

blog-jibrell2

UP UP and away!

Onward to Hanoi tomorrow, later on to Bangkok, back for a shoot, then hopefully off to more places before more shoots. It’s been a fairly exciting travel period and I’m looking forward!
Create those opportunities if you want to travel, I say. Work to live, live to work and work to travel.
The latter being, of course, the most important. It can be done and must, I live only once!

Then, comes the packing.
I am standing in front of multiple camera bags of different sizes. How many lenses to carry? Flash? Which camera body? And a laptop, or travel light with just an iphone? Oooh, how about mini speakers for dancing in the hotel room, in case I need to, or in case there’s time to lounge by the pool?

Plus essential albeit peripheral items like batteries, battery charger, laptop charger, card reader, plug adaptor, external hard drive. All these add up.

My hand carry weighs a cow, but I always put on a good show in front of customs in case they check and realize my pack’s over 10kgs.

ok.. back to the marathon of more post-processing work before the trip/s!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Trish - Hi Mindy, just stumbled across your blog and love your work! I’m from Sydney Australia and I think I share your love for travel (and photography haha). All the best, keep up the great work!

[Reply]