Snapping Dreams

The first time I came across “The First Look” concept was through an online class by Jasmine Star. It’s not something big nor complicated, but instead if put bluntly, is simply a moment where the bride and groom sees each other for a while before the wedding ceremony.

For most people, it is most probably against their culture to do so but on a personal ground, I’d definitely encourage my brides and grooms to go for it.

I believe that my part as a photographer is not only to capture images but also to help my brides and grooms achieve the perfect experience through their wedding. No doubt the shots from “The First Look” are always really good (and I personally love them to bits!) but I know what my brides and grooms get from their little private moment is much more than that. It’s priceless.

To me, celebrating with friends and family has in it its own value but it is as (if not more) important to have a private moment, away from the crowd. After all, a marriage is not only about hosting a big celebration, but about two people who decide to spend the rest of their lives together. Thus, I believe my brides and grooms definitely deserve a moment of their own.

With love,
SE

Did my very first crazy booth recently at a wedding and decided to create a fun slideshow out of it. Not sure whether the participants found it fun, but I’m quite sure I looked as if I was on sugar high or something throughout cos I HAD FUN!! :p

Oh and by the way, I’ve created a Facebook Page. Just wanted to share more of my works and thought Facebook Page would be a nice platform to do so. Hope to see you there! :)

Am here at the laptop, with the aircond turned on, fan at full speed, enjoying my cold Milo, thinking of my weekend in Wakayama. It was blazingly hot and all, but definitely a wonderful weekend. Think beach, seaside view café, paddy field, fireworks with the great company of friends (and dogs!). Here’s a sneak peak at some SOOCs. Will post up more photos soon! :)

Nope, not a 52 Breakfast post. I know whenever I post food pictures here, it’s always for the 52 collection but today I just thought I’d share something nice to end the week. One of my experiments – Scrambled tofu egg sandwich! :)

For those who are wondering what scrambled tofu egg means, beat an egg and add in some mashed tofu, soymilk, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pan fry it (but don’t overcook it) and there, you’ve made yourself some scrambled tofu egg!

A&K were here for a holiday and decided that they would take a day off from all those sightseeing and get some portraits done. I was more than happy to do so for them. Afterall, I’ve known A for more than 15 years (17, to be precise!). And what could be better than to do a portrait shoot with her and her hubby to be?

It would have been great to include some really Japanese background (e.g. famous tourist spot) but it was the Golden Week in Japan when they were visiting. And believe me, any Japanese would have told you to avoid sightseeing spots simply cos it would all be so fully packed with people.

I don’t remember whether A suggested it or did I give her the idea, but we both liked the idea of having the photos done in a park with lots of nature. And so I suggested the Expo Commemoration Park.

When we arrived at the monorail station near the park, there were so many kids in their school uniform (probably some kinda field trip). We both went: “oh no! The park’s gonna be filled with kids!” Surprisingly, the park was exceptionally quiet, with very few people.

I’ve been to the park several times already and this was the first time it was this quiet. It was pure bliss – to be away from all those city noises and people, and to be surrounded by nature and good company.

Anyway, here’s some of the pics from the day:

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Been so busy I barely have time to blog. Even this post isn’t a fresh post but one that has been lying in Drafts for a long time now. It’s been lying there for a long time simply cos I just couldn’t find a right title for it.  But today, I just really feel like sharing them. So bear with me, please.

I have this special liking for simple yet colourful flowers simply cos they are such gems of nature. Pair them up with blue skies and and they effortlessly blow all your troubles away. Although quite different from being surrounded by  these poppies in person, I hope the ones here still bring a bit of sunshine to you.

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I’ve never felt too much for sakuras. But this year being the last year here, they somehow appeared to be more beautiful than ever. And so, I decided to go out snapping and put together a collection of them.

I spent the whole morning and afternoon (skipping lunch!) snapping these little gems here. Yeah, that’s me. When I start snapping,I tend to forget about food. :p

Anyway, presenting to you Sakuras by SE Teoh:

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Another post sharing portraits of Jason & Stacy.

This started out with Jason & Stacy indoors but ended with a tiny unplanned casual portrait session of Stacy at a local boutique. You see, we were supposed to be there shopping.  But I really liked how the boutique owner transformed part of her boutique into a corner for coffee, and with good taste I must say. And since Stacy still had her make up on (and not to forget the huge windows were giving me beautiful lights), I suggested we take some pictures there. And she said yes! Talk about spontaneity!

While shooting away, I heard Jason saying “My wife used to not like having pictures taken. What have you done to her?”. Oops. haha. :p

Anyway, here are some shots from the day. You can find more pictures from the day here. And just in case you’ve missed it, here are the pics of J&S at Cameron Highlands.

Stacy and Jason is the type of couple where there are times where you feel you are shooting a pair of best friends but also times where you could feel so much love in the air.  Sometimes I’d catch them acting cute and making funny faces at each other and sometimes I’d catch quiet moments where it seemed as if there was no one else but them in the world.

Spending a day with Stacy and Jason, shooting their portraits was a day filled  with much laughter simply because they are such a nice and fun couple to be with. Thank you, Stacy and Jason. I really had a great day! :)

Here are some shots from the day. You can find more photos here.

At Boh Tea Plantation

At Boh Tea Plantation.

At Boh Tea Plantation.

On one of the trucks at Boh Tea Plantation.

At Boh Tea Plantation.

This was at a place where we took a break and had scones. Don’t remember the name of the place. (Sorry!)

At Cameron Highlands Resort.

At Cameron Highlands Resort.

At Cameron Highlands Resort.

At Cameron Highlands Resort.

At Cameron Highlands Resort.

What was supposed to be a sakura hunt turned out to be just another flower photowalk of mine around the neighbourhood. I just couldn’t resist all the other flowers that I saw along the way, especially when it’s been ages since I went for one of my flower photowalks.

Lately, I’ve been very focused on portraits (which I’ve yet to post onto the blog) and my 52 Breakfasts project (which frustrates me). So much so that I find difficultly juggling my time. But, taking this photowalk made me realize how important it is to let go once in a while and just shoot whatever we like freely.

It felt really nice to be shooting flowers again. Sharing with you some of my favourites.

Here’s a white flower. I liked the many layers of petals that it had, and so I took a close up pic of it. Too bad I didn’t have my macro lens converter thingy with me, if not it’d have been fun.

Here’s one of them peeking out of the fence. I took a shot from both sides of the flower but liked this better cos of the bokeh-ed leaves in front that gives the photo a bit more colour. The other shot was just a common shot with bokeh-ed fence all the way and this little flower peeking out at the end of it.

Some might say this photo’s a bit overexposed due to the strong sun I was shooting under but I actually like it that way. If it was not this overexposed, the whole picture would have been of a very different feeling. Perhaps much softer. Whereas, I like how strong it feels right now with the strong purple colour.

Found this funny looking thing. My 7th year here but yet I still find things that I’ve never seen before back home. I have a liking for green things + texture so I just had to put this up even though it was just a so-so shot.

Pink flowers. Found these at the cafe under my apartment. They have nice flowers all year round and really pretty ones that never fail to make my day.

I always try a low angle with flowers and most of the time, they have something nice to offer me. Found these really beautiful from underneath. They were in a dark shade of purple underneath but light from the top. It just made a perfect contrast. Not to forget the lines underneath the petals made such pretty details too.

Lastly, pink flowers with tiny tiny petals. These would have been fun to play with too if I had the macro converter thingy but I like them like this too. It feels like they are composed in a way to receive sunlight. :)

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P.S. If you happen to know names of any of the flowers up there, please share!

P.P.S. Feel free to share how you would have shot the flowers differently. Different angle? Different lens? Different approach?