David and Dorothy: Engagement

WOW, what felt like just yesterday was last sunday.

As I peered over to my clock moments ago, I realized that it was already friday! How DID it get to this point of the week so fast? Where DOES all the time go?? Is there a black hole that time gets sucked into, that is oblivious to us humans?? :p If I am not careful, I'll be 50, old, fat (gosh, I hope not!) and won't even realize it! :p

Anyhow, I thought I'd better post some photos here, before this week officially bulldozes past me in sprint-like fashion :)

Meet David and Dorothy! Who came from Singapore for their pre-wedding/engagement and rocked a session with me in KL and Malaccca! This was all done in 1 day people! Yes, thats right, 2 states in a day :) We're craaaaazy, I tell ya! :p

Here were my fave shots from our time together! Thank you David and Dorothy for gracing your awesome faces and personalities for my camera :) You were both fabulous!

We struck gold, in the morning. There was some rock-a-licious light waiting for us! We all know what KL is like... polluted, grey, polluted, grey. You get the idea :p So, my eyes were doign the whole cheerleader dancing thing, when I saw this light :) It's rare I tell ya!




More of that delish light! Mmmmm :D


Yummo flare!!


Off to do something a little more urban :) I love ghetto spots!


There's that new post processing that is slowly making itself comfortable in some of my photos :)


Dorothy looks stunning, no? yes? That was a rhetorical question by the way :)


Something a little more fashion-y. I love fashion shots, and will always try to attempt it, if the stars alight for the shot! :D




























Travel out of KL a little, and you will find that the weather totally clears and you get some beautiful light like we did in Malacca :)


Now, I've said it time and time again on this blog, I rarely EVER take wide shots. This is mostly because I love shooting up close. Getting right in there with my clients :) Its a really good indication of how I like to interact with whom I shoot. But now and again, I'll pull out that good ol' wide lens, and play around a bit. Just a bit :)






We were lucky. The last spot of the day was a beach in Malacca (after the original beach had been taken over for a makeover!!) that we found, JUST as the light was disappearing. We managed to get some shots in the last 2 or 3 mins before the light went :)


Dusk. Just moments after that previous shot.




One more wide shot to end with :)


Happy Friday everyone! Have a fabulous weekend! And Happy valentines day to everyone!! Not just those with partners. I believe if valentines day is about love, we can share this day with anyone we love. Parents. Friends. Siblings. Anyone :)

Pebbles and Rocks

Life is like a series of instances. Moments. Photographs of these split seconds that gravitate towards each other, strung together by time.

I sometimes, when this rope of life slows down enough, allow myself to deliberate the course of things, and how I got to be where I am today. At times, in these junctions, I am so happy. As if I am perched upon a high hill, overlooking an ocean expanse that has been coloured by purple and pink glistens of light, smiling, and wrapped by an incredible bubble of warmth and love. At other times, I am heavy hearted, weighed by the worries of the world, as I try to push past the stones that get cast on my beaten path. During those moments, when it is so tempting to shrink back into our own quiet shell, I like to be given breath, and renewed in prayer and song.

And because I am a huge believer in being real, especially on this space that I can call my own on cyberspace, I wanted to pen down my thoughts about this week. This past week or so I have had pebbles and rocks, litter my walk. And I have to admit, it has been hard to pick up and move on with one's chin held high. Tears were present. It isn't easy as an artist when you get put down, or made to feel like you are unworthy...that what you have worked so hard to build means nothing. It broke my heart to know that there are people out there who will bring you down in their fight to feel better for themselves. In those moments, it takes all you have to take a deep breath, and just say nothing, and walk away. I walked away shaken.

No, it isn't easy at all.

So, in my usual pauses of life where I like sit to muse and make sense of things, I turn to the bible, and my love for song. And here is what my great God let me stumble across. I walk away now, so encouraged. I will not be put down... I will soar on wings like eagles :)

I hope this provides some encouragement for those who have had a rough patch in the past week or so.

Much love from me,
Jenny

Lift Me Up - By Kate Voegele
(this song is incredibly beautiful. You are missing out, if you do not pause to listen to it. It gave me goosebumps.)



Lyrics
This road is anything but simple
Twisted like a riddle Ive seen high and Ive seen low
So loud, the voices of all my doubts
Telling me to give up, to pack up and leave town

Even so, I had to believe
Impossible means nothing to me, yeah

So can you lift me up,
Turn the ashes into flames
Cause I have overcome
More than words will ever say
And Ive been given hope
That theres a light on up the hall
And that a day will come
When the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun

Somewhere, every body starts there
Im counting on a small prayer,
Lost in a nightmare
But Im here, and suddenly its so clear
The struggle through the long years
It taught me to outrun my fears

And everything thats worth having, oh
Comes with trials worth withstanding

So can you lift me up,
Turn the ashes into flames
Cause I have overcome
More than words will ever say
And Ive been given hope
That theres a light on up the hall
And that a day will come
When the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun

Oh, lift me up
Oh, lift me up
Oh, lift me up
Lift me up
Lift me up
Oh, lift me up

Down and out is overrated
And I need to be elevated
Looking up is not enough
No, I would rather rise above

So can you lift me up,
Turn the ashes into flames
Cause I have overcome
More than words will ever say
And Ive been given hope
That theres a light on up the hall
And that a day will come
When the fight is won
And I think that day has just begun

Oh, oh, oh, just begun
Lift me up, yeah, oh, oh, oh, yeah, now
Oh, oh, lift me up
Lift me up
Lift me up


Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

But those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

------

Happy post with photos next time, promise :)

ps: I am still battling a war with my inbox, so please be patient! My fingers have been typing a million and one letters in this past week, with steam coming from the tips - I am completely swamped by all the messages (thank you to those who have written from corners of the globe so far away - I am so blessed to know there are incredible souls out there who drop such kind words to someone whom you don't even know. My heart goes out to you!), so just hang tight and bear with me. We'll get to your message as soon as we can :) Lol! I joked recently, that I really should hire a PA to answer all these emails that pour in... but that wouldn't be so personal would it? :)

Kevin and Agnes: Wedding

WOW, I am sooooo sorry! I was supposed to have posted this entry, like, hours ago. But I got distracted by my rockstar of a photography Idol: Jasmine Star who was doing a live video chat earlier today. She answered so many of my questions, and in the rare chance that she is reading this corner of cyberspace - Jasmine! We were so laughing WITH you, not AT you girl! When I said I was laughing like heck in my office, it was because you are so endearingly funny in the best of ways :) And you SO have awesomeness! We don't care what you say! LOL! Thanks for rockin' it out in the session just now! :D

---------------

Onto the photos....

As the world was sleeping in, and ushering a new 2009, I packed my bags that afternoon and scurried into the car to join the brooding clouds that were sending us ominous warnings of an impending storm outside, for a lovely union of two beautiful souls. Even as the grey rolled over and over, thickening the air with the smell of rain laced on the edges, there was no dampener to be found on the happiness, joy, and enthusiasm Kevin and Agnes shared for each other and their families.

Thank you so much for trusting me to take your photos Kevin and Agnes. I know we couldn't meet before your wedding due to our crazy schedules, but your confidence in us nonetheless was noticed and really really appreciated :) Plus, Agnes, you are the most rockin' bride ever for giving me free reign on your location shoot - what kind of bride would follow their crazy photographer into a field of dirty, ghetto, abandoned houses and actually be excited about it!?? Only you and Kevin :) LOVED that! I only hope more brides can follow after your fine example! Thank you again for your time... even though it was just a very few short hours, we had fun! Much love!

Kevin and Agnes, got married at Petaling Jaya Gospel Hall. And when I got there, there were so many photographers already! Look at some of them, chimping and comparing shots :)


Some pretty details that caught my eye on the way in :)






For some reason, I found this synchronized pinning of corsages, amusing :p I knoooow, I'm weird!!


I love the colours of the light in this shot.








There was a lot of heartfelt singing at the ceremony.












Agnes is a really fun and bubbly bride. The below reaction is typical of what we saw from her. I love happy brides who are completely unafraid of letting us see their joy... and teeth! :D


Kevin and Agnes had balloons hanging all over the church. Here is one of the helpers trying to take it down. I vaguely remember some of them trying to convince me to take it home... or was I dreaming??? LOL :p


I've been trying some new post processing of late. Here is one example!




I have to admit, I dont normally shoot with a plan. I shoot on the fly ALOT. In fact, almost ALL the time. I don't like having a plan, and I don't like seeing a place before I shoot. It takes away the raw joy and excitement my eyes feel when I see a place for the first time. So here we were, doing my usual on-the-fly type of location shoot, wandering the streets of PJ, and just stumbling upon site after site after site along our stroll. It was great :)




This is dirty urban malaysia style for the next few shots. You gotta love it. I know I do!






Heck, I'll even shoot in front of a bus if it means something fun and different! :D




This was one of my favourite shots from the day.


Another example of some new post processing :)


These last two shots were probably a tie for my favourite shots from the quick session we had with the two lovebirds :)




ps: A couple of shoutouts: shoutout to my friend, Eric, who sent Kevin and Agnes my way! :) And a very thankful shoutout as well goes to Edwin who was my 2nd shooter for the day. Cheeeeeers!

pps: Okay, back to being crazy office lady again, in order to keep ploughing through this crazy to-do-list! I am defending my work station with pitchforks and clubs, and a zealous protectiveness, so beware if you get in the way while I continue to labour away here! :p

I'm brewing!

Here's a sneak peak to what I'll be blogging, right around the corner! Blink and you'll miss the update! Unless you have an RSS feed, of course! ;)

Alright, I have to go back to being crazy office lady now. This will be my permanent role for the next week or two, as I try to tackle this INSANE to do list that never ceases to amaze me!! Is it just me? Or do these to-do-lists never end? The moment you finish a set of things, another whole lot of other must-dos takes its place! It's incredibly crazy in the JSP lair, I tell ya!

25 points of Self

Okay, so I got tagged recently. Thanks Anna, for adding to my already Mount Everest sized to-do-list! :p

This means, you blog readers all get the joyful news that to open up the blogging week, I have to write 25 things about myself. And we all know how much I love talking about yours truly. For those that can't smell sarcasm on the internet - I was being sarcastic :)

But to appease the tagger, and to show that I do keep my word, here are the random 25 things about me. Have fun doing the JS download!

1. I am a complete closet romantic. I put on this tough, realist exterior so I don't get hurt or disappointed. But deep down, I believe in happily ever afters, walks on the beach, getting flowers, falling in love, and knowing that you can be everything to someone else.

2. I have itchy feet. Not literally. I am such a gypsy at heart. I love travelling the world and seeing new sights, meeting new people, experiencing new cultures, and just being immersed somewhere completely different to everything I've known. I tend to get restless if I am in one place too long. I need this sense of adventure every now and again.

3. Funny enough, I also need a good dose of home. Crankiness pays me frequent and painful visits whenever I am away from home too long, and not settled. I need the regularity of life, and loved ones, with both feet planted in the ground.

4. I am a dreamer at heart.

5. I can be quite naive. But never stupid. I just trust people alot - sometimes that is a good thing, and sometimes it hasn't been so good.

6. I moved continents, and left behind my life of 20+ years for a boy.

7. I ended up marrying him :)

8. One of my greatest loves (I have many :p), is being able to wake up late on any given day and have absolutely nothing to do. It is a rare occurence. Much like a solar eclipse. But very beautiful and appreciated when it happens :)

9. If I wasn't a photographer, I would have run off and done a masters in English, and become a writer. I wanted to be a journalist when I was younger, and almost applied to do it at university but my parents didn't think it was such a good idea. So now, I take pictures, and give fruit to my writing in other ways like my blog, my poems, my song lyrics, and my dream to one day write a real story :)

10. Being a singer song writer would be my other dream occupation if I wasn't a photographer. Since I am a photographer, I live vicariously through singing lessons and sources of inspiration like Sarah McLachlan, Eva Cassidy, Alicia Keys, and Norah Jones.

11. I love my food. I couldn't go on a diet to save my life. My biggest weaknesses are grilled and marinated chicken wings, french fries, and chocolate dipped strawberries (yeah, the big juicy kind drenched in milky belgium chocolate). I can never ever say no to those. So if you want to bribe me, you know what to do :)

12. Ironically, I am scared of getting fat. So I exercise. When I can :p

13. I have an unhealthy love for clothes. Shoes, accessories, and the like don't do it for me. But pretty fabrics in the latest trends, a beautiful frock. That will tempt me every time. Thankfully my bank account prevents me from going completely crazy. So does my husband.

14. I love the smell of books. New and old. Walking into a used bookstore (the kind you see in American movies :p), would send me into complete rapture. Trying to get me to leave would be mission impossible. It stems from my love for reading. I especially love reading books that grab the heart, and explore life and love in profound ways. My favourite pieces of literature while growing up were Anne Of Green Gables, The Power of One, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and the Diary of Anne Frank. If I walk away from a novel, with my thoughts still planted in its world days later, I consider it an experience in itself.

15. I am a TV series, serial watcher. I made that phrase up. But you get the drift. I will watch almost anything under the sun. Or at least give it a try. Shows that I have taken under my adoptive wing, and hugged tightly to my heart have been: Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Buffy, Smallville, House, Bones, One Tree Hill, CSI (all of them), Alias, The Nanny, Southpark (I am so ashamed! haha), Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Prison Break, 24, Heroes, Ghost Whisperer, Ugly Betty, America's Next Top Model, American Idol, Amazing Race and any other type of challenge reality show, Friends, Numbers, Pokemon (yes, children's programs are not exempt from my crazy serial habit), The OC, Tru Calling.... okay, I really should stop. I get the feeling this will never end.

16. When I was a teenager, for a period of time I had an eating disorder. I felt ugly. I would never eat. Then I started to binge. So I went from very skinny, to rather chubby. I understand the pressure girls feel to be beautiful. Then I became Christian, and found new friends. And realized my worth was never in how I looked. But who I am.

17. People who know me well, have often termed me as really talkative and bubbly. But I am really, a thinker deep down. I love to reflect. To ponder. To give deeper meaning and thought to what I experience, what I know, and that which I don't understand. Without it, I sometimes feel less of a person.

18. At the same time, I love being around people. To laugh with them. To share with them. To connect with them. Without this, I also feel less of a person. My contemplative self, and my social self are interdependent. Each without the other, for too long a period, provides a source of restlessness which I do not enjoy.

19. When I was 10, I slipped on the floor at a shopping center, and broke my left wrist. I cried from the intense pain. And the boys who saw me where I fell laughed. At that point, I understood what humiliation felt like.

20. I have found that I say yes to the things that don't matter so much, and no to the people which are more important. I have been and I am working on swapping that :)

21. One of my worst traits is that I can sometimes be opinionated and very stubborn (its the other side of the double edged sword of my determined nature). It makes for saying sorry very hard when I hurt those I care about. My heart is always ready to make amends, but my pride prevents my mouth from opening. I am always praying to God that He will help me change this on a daily basis. Forgiving is never easy.

22. Traits I admire in people are humility, generosity, consideration, sacrifice, honesty and courage. I abhor with a zealous distaste, those who are the opposite of this, and end up hurting others because of it.

23. When I was small, I believed we as humans could hatch chicken eggs. As a result, one afternoon as a child I tried sitting on one. Ended up cracking it. And making a huge mess. My parents and family found out. That was when I understood stupidity. The story ended up being one of the inspirations for my illustrative piece in my 4th year major project at university. We scored with flying colours! :D And don't worry, I am not that stupid anymore.

24. I am very afraid of spiders. VERY. Okay, so that one was really boring. Let's try again? I need loads and loads of encouragement. And I mean, football fields worth. Even when I am doing well, because I sometimes don't believe I am good enough. I am not very self confident. I attribute this to the fact that I am a perfectionist to the core. And that I am my own biggest critic. So when I say I love your encouraging emails, and comments (especially comments!!), I mean it. Truly, madly, deeply :)

25. I love Jesus. He is my greatest source of strength, inspiration, and love. I am nothing without Him and all that He has given. I am, because He is.

-----

Now since I am the world's lousiest tagger, I am instead opening up this 25 point tag to anyone who wants to share. If you do, please leave a link in my comments box. I love reading about people! :)

ps: I am back, after a week out of the office. Email replying begins tomorrow! :) So hang tight!