the peepshow machine

I'm late uploading these photos as it's a month after their wedding.... been that busy!





I don't have a fetish for feet or shoes, but I know women love their shoes! So it's always good to include them in the photos... heh...





Just an intimate moment between niece and bride...





The CRAZY sistas! Haha!





See what they made the poor groom do.... stand upside down in lingerie!





Finally, the groom is allowed to see the bride... see how happy she is... like the very first time... looking at each other I mean!





Mickey in a suit & Minnie in a wedding gown! Cute! I once know a bride that had the designer do an exact replica of her gown to put onto a Barbie doll. And the Barbie & Ken dolls were attached to the front of the car with the flowers. That was cool.





The couple sneaking a kiss... okay i admit, it was posed!





The bride and her sistas sizzling!





Where's Wally???





I asked the groom to skip, but looks like he's levitating!





The princess carried by her 'servants'... haha...





It's halloween! Instead of holding candy, there were petals in the pumpkins.





The beautiful bouquet.





The 'evil' couple! They took off the horns just before the walked in... It would have been cute though.





Yummo! Not just the looks but the taste too. The couple was gracious enough to give me a seat... thanks Alvan & Grace!






The couple brought Masquerade masks for their 2nd walk-in. And it was a great idea to use it, just wished they'll break out into a waltz.





Smelling buns!





An uber big hug from a friend!

I am inspired by Ms Martha. I love watching her shows and yeah I have to agree that she's very boring but the things she does on tv makes me just want to quit my job and stay home all day!

Here's what I did for a PotLuck at a friend's place with a borrowed recipe from Martha adding my own little twist.



* slices of bread
* slices of ham
* eggs
* butter
* salt & pepper
* parsley or like herb
* cheese

Flatten each slice of bread and insert it into the cups of a large muffin tray.
Brush the bread with butter and place it into the oven on high to slightly toast it.
Take it out and lay it with a slice of ham on each bread in a cup-like manner. Next, crack an egg into each ham/bread, sprinkle a pinch of salt & pepper. Finally top it with cheese! You can go crazy with various types of ham & cheese. Lower the oven to about 200degrees and pop the muffin tray in. Wait for the cheese to melt and turn golden brown before taking it out. And there you have it! It's really yummy.

My friends come over quite often to try a new recipe they found. And this time round, Alison brought a pseudo char siew recipe.







It was yummy, but a little tough.... Here's the recipe if you want to have a go at it:

* ¾ cup caster sugar
* 2 x 400g pork fillets, trimmed and halved
* 2 tablespoons fish sauce
* 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Place the sugar in a saucepan over high heat for about 2–3 minutes. Add the pork and cook for about 1–2 minutes. Reduce the heat, add the fish & oyster sauce, garlic, sesame oil and cook for about 15 minutes. That's it! Very simple!

I recently shot for the Tan Family and I never quite liked the traditional family portrait... well maybe for it's kitsch factor it could be fun. So I gave it my usual treatment, the lifestyle kind of shoot.








Trying for the cool look. If they were still wearing their formal wear it would have looked like a Sopranos shoot! Haha... I wished I thought of that during the shoot!





Handsome Nathan with my famous swing shot again!





Jay & Vicky still a child at heart. Or maybe cause I made them do it... haha...





Grandparents bonding time with the boys.





Daniel enjoying himself on his daddy's shoulders.





Likewise Nathan is enjoying himself on his mommy's shoulders. I didn't know you were so strong Celine!





Happy Family... And Nathan stopped crying! It can be quite difficult to shoot kids but still a joy!





Some alone time for the parents... but not for long!





Uncle & Aunty k.i.s.s.i.n.g.... so sweet...





I wish I'll still be a romantic when I reach their age...

I just tried out a lomo camera called the horizon and it got stuck! So the film became a little overexposed but still had a kinda cool look...

Here I shot my studio! Or at least the outside of it....






I also brought the camera to Australia on my last shoot, had here are some of the samples:









Looks interesting but not too sure if it's printable material!

Just this past Saturday, I talked at a Pixon 12 Food Photography Workshop in the Samsung Flagship store to food bloggers. It was a blast! Quite similar to lecturing at Lasalle but with free food! I'm always happy with free food. Haha.

I got to try the 12mp camera phone for a week and the photos were uber sharp for a camera phone and it's low light capabilities were not too bad either. I wished it has optical zoom though. Would have made it unbeatable in it's class. Did I mention it's Geo-taggable too? What happens is that if that function is enabled, the GPS will note down the exact location and save the information on the photo. How cool is that!





Here are some of the dishes I 'styled'. They were completely inedible... OK maybe some are but by the way I prepared them, it isn't worth a rating from the cleanliness department. Do you know that the ice cream was fake ;)





Tricia from Tempting Treats baked us some bite-sized lemon cheesecake & brownies... slurp!





We then made our way to The Garden Slug at Telok Kurau for some real food where one of the partners, Sophia, welcomed us. The cafe was very cosy and I'm sure cosier at night. ( www.thegardenslug.com )





Sausages, calamari and the 'made from real potatoes' yummilicious mashed potatoes!





Oh the popsicle brownies made me go oh oh oh pop....






The people at The Garden Slug were nice enough to provide us with some dishes for the hands-on shoot. They looked delish but didn't get to try them. Hopefully next time.






The bloggers hard at work!





The whole group!

A big shout out to Steph & Daniel frm Samsung, Jimmy & Zac frm Silver Bullet, Sophia of The Garden Slug and the bloggers for a memorable day!

About 2 months ago... I tried to grow sunflowers.. they finally bloomed!
So exciting!!!




the bud....





the teenager...







the full bloom!!!! yays!!!! So pretty!!!







I got Mickey & Paris to pose in front of the bed... kawaii!

Just digged out an old Music Video I did for Ben & Yenling. We went to NZ for a shoot and because we took Qantas, we made a stop in Sydney too. This is not the original music I used. But because of copyright issues, Youtube had only a few pieces of music to replace with... so it doesn't really go together but still great fun! Enjoy!

About 2 weeks ago, I brought my classes for a field trip. I love bringing them out as they tend to learn more than sitting in the classroom. And practice makes perfect!

As a good example, I took some pictures as well... at least they can't complain that I'm not doing it with them. But they did complain about the weather. Kids these days can't take hardship... haiz.

So off we went to Commonwealth area as I thought it had a lot of character... really old skool.





traditional tidbits... wonder how long this will last.





eggs.... so many different kinds of eggs...





yumm-o kermit!





frog uncle was so excited to see us shooting that he took out the frogs and posed!
what a natural! i promised him a photo. i've already printed it and bought an ikea frame for him.





another uncle but this time for crabs...





healthy fruits... too bad i'm not very fruity.





little girl practicing to be an air stewardess!





old skool bisquits! i love them as a kid and i still love them now...





kopitiam...





mr prata uncle. ok i'm probably older than him... when do one actually stops calling the store person an uncle or aunty? tell me if you know!






old skool flats...






some painting on the wall in front of an art studio. i thought they were quite cool.





my students at work! so proud of them... well some of them...





one of my students playing with my doggy.





chilling at woking.








my classes...






my cute doggies... this is paris the lab... cute pinky nose!

I have a confession to make, I have a sweet tooth. Blame my mom for that, she adds a little sugar to everything she cooks!

Martha's website (as if I know her... haha) is my primary source of online recipes for anything sacchariferous.

But while surfing the web, I stumbled upon another website called, Sweet Melissa Sundays. They are 'a baking group using The Sweet Melissa Baking Book.' So what they do is they choose a recipe and follow them on a predetermined Sunday and everyone will post the results after.

So one fine day, I asked a friend over for a fun baking session! As with most recipes, I'll always add my own little twist.






Chop some nuts & dark chocolate into chunky bits.





Scrape some vanila seeds from the pod. And mix it together with butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add the egg and beat a little while more. Slowly pour in the flour, baking soda and salt.





Stir in the almonds and chocolate.





Refrigerate the dough until firm, about 1 hour. Take it out and roll into a log. Refrigerate the logs for a further 30 minutes.





Cut the logs into 1-inch slices, and place them about 1 1/2 inches apart on each cookie sheet. Bake for 13 to 14 minutes





The anticipation! And if you could only smell!!!





Tadah! Finally the wait is over! And it is yumm-o!

Bali is a really beautiful destination. And having a wedding there is increasing popular. In fact it's my 3rd time there for a shoot this year. And Thomas & Sarina knew how to throw a fab wedding!





The bluey sea at St Regis...






Father & daughter having a swim... Ain't she adorable!!!





While mama, is glamming up inside...





Final check & all good to go!





This is just sweet!





Wake up little sophie!







The solemnization was sweet and attended only by the closest family & friends.





Rose petals are cliche but pretty nonetheless!





An intimate moment caught on camera...





The quaint chapel by day & night...





My favorite part! The yummilicious dinner!





I've noticed with most brides that a hug brings on the tears...





A goodnight kiss from grandma... awwww.....

This is the famous traditional Lin Heung Tea House where aunties (and sometimes uncles) push the dim sum carts. I didn't particularly enjoy the meal but I did like the ambience or the lack of it. There wasn't any of my fav dishes like pork ribs, chee chong fun, carrot cake or any fried stuffs. The time we were there, only 3 carts made the rounds. Maybe it was Singaporean's way of chowing it down fast. I noticed a lot of HKers enjoy talking and even reading the newspaper while 'yam cha-ing' taking up to 2-3 hours. With that kind of time, yeah... maybe I would have sampled all their offerings.










Boarded the tram in HK Island and went from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai. The cheapest transportation at $2.








And for tea we had wanton mee in Wan Chai... Been here a couple of times before and one of my fav stores. Cheap & good!






Alison always feels at home in a shoe store. And Kent bored but patiently waiting outside.






We took a tram up and had a nice and cooling stroll at the Peak with it's breathtaking view!







And it was the Star Ferry back to Tsim Sha Tsui. Amazing habour views!








And on the last day just before check-out, we had to shoot some photos around the hotel. But not for too long because we had more shopping to do!







A mad dash to the lao po bing store, where my mom commanded me to buy 5 boxes which I hand-carried up the plane. There is another store called Wing Wah with branches everywhere including the airport. But most people prefer this one which is at Mongkok.






And my last lunch at Cafe de Coral eating char siew & roasted pork rice. Crispy skin yet again. Amazing HK!








and this is Alison's last purchase. A box of hairy crabs for her family... and she didn't even share it with us!

Good bye HK. See you soon!

After a night in Macau, we arrived in HK to our modern & uber splendiferous room. A big shout out to my friend Alex who got me a great deal! The beds were so comfy, and we had a choice of 8 types of pillows! Rose scented, lavender scented, Tempur-Pedic, latex, buckwheat (there really is such a pillow!), scented eye pillow, goose feathers etc... I'm already missing them as i type :)





Ladies, Lai Chi Kok is the place to go if you love wholesale shopping! Weekends are crazy! Almost squeezing like CNY in chinatown... Sorry guys, nothing for you here...








Our HK friend brought us to a famous cha chan teng at Causeway bay. The lamp chop & beef brisket noodles were heavenly...











How can we forget about Ms Dim Sum? We're in HK! So first thing in the morning, we went to Tao Heung for that. It's a chain restaurant and well-known for their reasonably priced food. Yummilicious! Look at Kent & Alison gobbling up...






One of my all time fav! Chou Toufu! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....................







My mom's fav roast goose restaurant. The fat on the skin.... to die for.... and the roast pork... crispy! It's just amazing, every roast pork we tried in HK, the skin is always crispy. Must learn their trade secret!





I just like this pic... very chaotic, very HK...














Charlie Brown Cafe... Adorable to the ninth degree! Not cheap though... S$7 for coffee and another S$7 for the cake...

Finally, the 7th month has arrived and it's time to take a break! This trip was almost spontaneous and a great bonding with 2 other friends, Kent & Alison. It was Alison's virgin trip to HK and Macau so beside 'working' as a photographer, I was also the tour-guide.






The famous Margaret's Portuguese egg tarts in Macau! So yummy that Kent & Alison gave a thumbs up!





And who can withstand the power of outlet shopping!!! A&F, Armani, Fred Perry, Ralph Lauren, DKNY... Almost as cheap as the outlets in Los Angeles!





I like this picture taken at Senado Square. It's so cute to see a couple with identical poses. :)





Creepy door... I wish I had one too!





The world famous Ruins of St. Paul's. Pretty at Night, Beautiful in the day. Unfortunately we didn't have time the next day to go back there to shoot.





A sorta tribute to MJ... without the dance move & screaming & plastic surgery...





They don't sell fake medicines here... Like HK, Macau doesn't like to be associated with China.






What's Macau without it's bread & butter, the casinos! Can't compare with Vegas but it's so much more accessible from Singapore. I don't gamble but I just love the lights! So bling bling!






Trying out a few poses we saw other couples doing. Should I use this for my wedding shoots too????









Some of the delish food we had in Macau. I'll miss you the most (except the chicken feet noodles... sorry but just not my cup of tea)!

Now it's off to our HK adventure by ferry!

Ang Hwee & Siew Ping make a very cute couple...












One of the jie meis wearing pink fluffy slippers! I like!






A great looking bunch of siblings!




Cute bunnies. May the couple multipy ;)




I love photos like this because it shows people being their most natural and very unguarded.




The groom is a weight-lifting champ & i like the repetition, lines & symmetry of the medals.

Ryan & Jessica are one of those clients becoming friends. And they are both from advertising which makes it really stressful for me because of their high standards. But phew... I made it through! We still keep in touch and Jessica even recommended me to teach part-time at LASALLE College of the Arts. I love their architecture, very modern!






Hmm... that's a diaper... and I'll never look at peanut butter the same way again!




The bride and her xie meis trying to act cute... hahah




The cute little door-opener boy. Hmmm... Is that really a tradition? Did grooms really come by rickshaws? And I didn't know rickshaws had doors.






The pretty groom and look what his xiong di had to endure! Hehe...






If you look carefully... you'll see me in the reflection! oh and the bride too.




haizz... trying to look cute again... haha.






I really like this picture. It was during the 2nd walk-in and the hotel's spotlight was from the back so it created a really high contrast shot.

Here are photos of the gorgeous Michelle & dashing Jonathan in all their actual day glory. Look out for the handmade church programs, ang pow box and the huge poster their friends painted for them.... so pretty. And Jonathan even played the keyboards and sang a song for Michelle during Church! A tear-jerking moment... sob sob. And for the bouquet throwing, a guy enthusiastically caught the flowers! Michelle had to re-throw the flowers. Haha. The wedding was fab and the lunch looked good too but sadly I didn't get to taste any as I was busy. Even the bride & groom didn't eat. Such are the demands of work!

I'm not a very domesticated person. Especially not neat around the house and unfortunately I don't have someone to pick after me. With maids so easily available today, I feel that we've taken things for granted. And no more moms to do it for you either!

Both of you are most probably working (some may be elevated to the status of tai-tais which I would gladly volunteer for!) And with most newly-weds, household chores are a chore... duh! But from experience, sharing the load is both fair and actually quite fun. Well, I've known couples singing together ala high school musical... but I won't take it that far! Haha...

Each partner is responsible for a particular daily chore (maybe one cooks & the other washes the dishes). And during the weekends, take half a day to do chores at the same time. Those are what I would refer to as weekly chores. Some examples are doing the laundry, sweeping/vacuuming and moping the floor etc.

Instead of one watching tv and the other doing all the work. It will save a lot of nagging! Trust me! And it is fulfilling to do it together as well.

So to start it all off, here is a video I came across that might be useful, 'folding a t-shirt in 2 seconds.' I tried it and it certainly took me longer than that for the 1st try! But with more practice, you'll be having neat stacks in no time! Happy folding!

I love this picture of Michelle but she didn't choose it for the album! But that's ok. :)
The thing about shooting with people you know is that they are so comfortable around you that they trust you completely (well almost). And they'll pose the most awkward positions you can fathom! But you know, sometimes after the couple look at that particular picture, they'll go, "oh wow, I didn't know it'll look that awesome". For example are these two photos... the brides' heads were really tilted all the way back and it was uncomfortable and a little giddy for them. But I love the results! :)




Don't this look like a romance novel? Heh...

I love old wedding photos. It tells a story of a time gone past - the style, the pose, the gown.





And this facial powder, is the one my late grandmother used. Brings back a flood of memories.





Ok, this is not a part of my memory. I'm too old to know Barney! A child of the 70s, Sesame Street and Electric Company is my thing! Haha... Multiple Barneys, now that's scary!