Author: Stephen

AGWPJA Q1 2009 results

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3 more international awards from AGWPJA Quarter 1 2009.  This time round, the photos are really something cutting edge and looking at the other entries is a reminder that one should keep inventing and exploring new styles and techniques.  I’m very glad to  be placed overall 6th this time, Dino Lara as usual securing the top 3 places (well done Dino!).

3rd place under Ceremony  sc420a

4th place under Engagement  & Wedding Portraitsc431a

 6th place under Engagement  & Wedding Portrait (my favourite of the lot, can you spot 2 balloons there?)

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Glutinous Rice

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Was watching some of those travel shows on Discovery network and it really amazes me how some of these food joints can exist for so many years – from buffalo wings to ribs to waffles, and folks bringing their grand children to places that they have been patronising since they were kids themselves.  There’s this interview with an old couple who have been having the pancake and waffles for the past 50 years and every piece of it still taste just as good.

Can’t really say the same for Singapore though and finding a food joint that still retains its standard after decades is closed to impossible, and there are so many factors – rent, children not wanting continue the family business, profit driven over a quality driven biz, etc, etc.

The glutinous rice store in Kreta Ayer Food centre is about one of the rare few that is still around, the same familiar guys who were as old as I am right now back in the 70’s when they were still paddling those packets of glutinous rice along the streets of Chinatown, push cart style.  Now, the queue is about 15 minutes wait at least and they no longer serve the free Chinese tea that compliments the glutinous rice.  I brought Kyan to try out daddy and grand dad’s favourite dish, and this is something that still tastes the same after all these years – the fragrant, pearly grain of rice with soft peanuts, topped with crispy fried shallot and garlic, with a final splash of sesame oil and soya sauce.

Our just-woken-up Kyan with the plate of rice.  Sorry, daddy had to wake you up, 20 minutes on my shoulders is enough and food can’t turn cold…219k3281

 Tristan and Mummy’s so going to be jealous 😛

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My biggest achievement so far… WPJA Worldwide Ranking #5 for 2008!

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First of all, thank you very much for all the well-wishes that I’ve received over the past week.  Just last week, I’ve received some really great news from the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) and better late than never, they have ranked the photographers based on the points scored throughout the entire year of 2008 in their quarterly competitions.

I’m very pleased to announce to be been named as one of the top 5 photographers for the year!!!

This is probably the biggest achievement for me so far and unlike the quarterly ranking, this result will be etched permanently on their Hall of Fame here .  It’s an honour to be ranked together with photographers like Shane Snider and Matt Adcock, and I love the works of these guys.

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Good news come in pair and last month, the ranking for the Artistic Guild Wedding Photojournalist Association has placed me overall #10 for 2008 as well.

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Once again, competitions like these are the best form of reassurance that our work are of certain standing in the International scene because they are judged by an overseas panel of substantial credibility.  WPJA in particular look out for the story-telling elements and how well a moment is captured, thus explains the panel of photojournalists and editors, some of whom are Pulitzer prize winners themselves.  In other words, it is far from any of the popularity contests out there that are based solely on voted by the consumers.

Now that I’ve settled down from the Hong Kong photoshoot and clearing up some the backlog, I can finally go celebrate with a bottle of Dai Jin Ju Sake that’s waiting to be opened 🙂

Cheers!

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Cindy & Kenneth

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Some photos from the outdoor session, you guys did a great job, esp Cindy, who wasn’t really bother by the torn ligament.

And yes, the very talented Dax for designing the gowns and his makeup (moi only good at photography, our friend here can do a lot of other things as well, hehe)

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5 awards from WPJA Q4 2008

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5 images from WPJA Q4 2008 to share, competitions getting stiff these days, and we’ve seen more and more photographers from the Asia pacific region being named in the top ranks for this competition.

15th place under Engagement Portrait

This is the second award received by this image, shot right next to Tower Bridge in London in August 2008. Not the kind of images we would expect from this site (where’s Tower Bridge?!?!?!) 🙂

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8th place under Full-frame (B&W)

This is a wild card category that accepts any journalistic style images, so long they’re not cropped and in black-and-white. Shot this while Jean was walking out of the hotel suite, image is a real moment and the difficult thing about these shots is to get it right without giving directions to the subjects /telling them what to do just for the sake of getting the photos. Best part is, she was probably too nervious to even notice me taking this photo as she walked out of the hotel suite to the solemnisation venue.

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6th place under ‘Other Vendor’

This photo is a tribute to all vendors, especially those who are perfectionists, like this banquet manager preparing the glasses for the Champagne pouring.  I love the way those funky colors from the stage light work in this image.

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15th place under ‘Emotion’

The next 2 images are very typical of the kind of quirkiness that’s underscores most of my images.  The whole mix of reactions and expressions that really make us wonder what exactly is going on in the scene, and in anyway, most people would have focused their cameras on the flower girl in this part of the ceremony, I’ve just offered the other perspective …  looking at things from an obtuse angle.

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and from the same wedding as the previous image, 3rd place under ‘Toasting’

I’ve shot countless toasting pictures at a wedding, but this particular one really caught my eye because of the expression of the bride’s brother in the picture.  I like the graphical way in which the hands holding the glasses is presented, and even the judges have mentioned that it is a very different angle from the others.

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Time for a little celebration, 9 awards in total for WPJA 2008, and 3 of which came in top 3 placing, I can’t wait for the overall ranking to be out 🙂

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Soo Kiat & Maggie – 7 March 2009

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Soo Kiat & Maggie met while they were studying in UK and this long distance relationship has certainly come a long way (Maggie’s from China and Soo Kiat’s our home grown Singapore boy).

Some pictures that I like a lot from their series 🙂

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More kids photos…

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With my recent promotion to ‘Uncle’ status, I’m getting a little obsessed with kids photo 🙂

Here’s one of the flower girl from the last week.

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What makes this shot difficult is that it’s 100% unstaged and neither did I get the flower girl to stop and do something for the camera 😉

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