Wow…I was suppose to only post a teaser image but I was sooo excited to blog about this awesome session today.

As you may already know from this previous post , I am currently in Taiwan with Lucy, Albert and Sandy. Now, since Sandy and Albert’s wedding back in July, they have been talking about doing a trash the dress shoot. Locations and ideas were suggested here and there but nothing really materialized until we found that our off season trip/their honeymoon overlapped in Taiwan. It was then that we decided that Taiwan would be the country for where this shoot would take place.

Lucy, being from Taiwan knew that Yehliu Geopark in Panchiao City would be the perfect backdrop for such a creative. Unfortunately, getting to the park took much longer than originally expected and by the time we got to the location, it started to rain slightly and we were losing light fast. Thankfully, Sandy was a true trooper and braved the rain and cold as I created these images. Now although these sessions revolve around the bride and the dress, I needed to get Albert in there with his wife as they are such a sweet couple together.

Now, we may not have trashed the dress…..yet…but we are planning session 2.0 soon. Check out Lucy’s sneak peak of this session here
Small Sandy, checking out Big Sandy =)

We moved in closer to find out that this place was selling beef parts.  Me not being a fan of such delights wanted to move on, but Lucy and Karen were intrigued/curious. It’s not like they have never tried eating this kinda stuff before, but trying from this particular place was different. So they made their order and the guy sniped away at the bits with an Edward Scissorhands like motion.

Lucy and Karen asked fo some hot sauce and I take it that his original supply was depleted so he needed to go to the source. Out came a huge tub, just about spent, which he shuffled back and forth to get out. It reminded me of those ketchup commercials where people had a hard time getting it out of the bottle, a little entertaining.

So, how did it taste? Well again, I am not a fan so I did not try it out, but according to Lucy and Karen, it was all pretty good.

So I have been over seas on vacation with Lucy for the past couple of weeks and although I have been blogging like usual, I have been trying to come up with a creative and fun way of telling all of you that I am away without saying…”umm…hi…I am on vacation..” or something to that effect.

It was not until some friends showed up tonight that gave me the fun way of saying…”hey..some friends are over…and not over at my place kinda way” hmm…maybe I over thought this whole thing.

In any case, guess who just arrived!?!?

Sandy and Albert!!!! Of course, we could not have started the trip without some late night snacks!! This is why I love travelling in asia!! It’s 1am and we can still get tasty street food!! More about the trip soon. If you can’t wait for “official” blog posts, follow my Tumblr here with quick snapshots.

ohh..so…hi…I am on vacation =)

The event began with an award ceremony that recognized emerging leaders in various fields. Among the many awards, Joshua Silvertown’s caught my attention the most. Josh was awarded the Ivey emerging leader in community advancement for his company, DreamCatcher Mentoring,which brings e-mentoring and leadership programs to high school students. I think that is pretty cool! Check out the other winners here.

After the award ceremony there was no shortage of entertainment from the The University of Western’s own live Jazz band, to Canadian Idol contestant Mookie from Mookie and the Loyalists as well as some really cool ribbon dancing and live art. Furthermore, the food catered by Daniel et Daniel was simply amazing!!! Here are some of the images of the evening!

With images all complete, albums designed, delivered and files all archived and stowed away, I look back at what an incredible year it has been and how fortunate I have been to not only be given the opportunity to document, but to be a part of all my couples special day and lives. It is such an honor and I cannot thank you all enough. Speaking of thank yous…I received an little note from Andrea and Edward that I wanted to share with you all.

Andrea, Ed, thank you so much for the thoughtful note…and on that note…heheh..(get it?!) Have a great weekend everyone.

whew……what a night!! Lucy and I just finished documenting Global Ivey Day at the Design Exchange in Toronto and it was a blast! Although we were at the DX, Ivey Day was taking place in various venues in 20-plus cities around the world! I just had to post a quick snapshot! More to come soon.

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself packing for a long awaited mini get away to Miami and the Bahamas with Lucy and a couple of other friends. I was watching one of my favorite car shows, Top Gear. The episode I just so happen to be watching inspired me. They have a segment where they put an individual (mostly celebrities) in what they call a Reasonably Priced Car and see how they fare with it on their test race track.  ding din ding….It was then that I decided to challenge myself to see what images I can create with a reasonably priced camera.

I was not ready to go full automatic point and shoot, although my iphone does a pretty good job of that. So I picked something with modest image quality and with pretty good functionality, above all, it had to be small and pocket-able. Enter the Olympus XZ-1!

I am no expert so I cannot begin to give an in depth review on the camera but what I can say was that I was overall impressed with the camera. It was still a little large for my tastes, however the functionality of the camera made up for it. My only ask now, was that I wish it were water proof!

Here are some images I took with the camera.

My seat mate, Buddy.

Finally….there were many fun times on this trip but I wanted to share one with you guys that I found amusing when we were using the bathroom at a local restaurant in Miami…don’t judge =)

Thanks Felicia for having us over, Albert, Sandy, thanks for showing us around!! Here are some images of the getaway. 

There is something nice about high school sweethearts who get married. For starters, the stories they tell of their past are always filled with fun memories, from dates sans car to keeping each other it a secret from suspecting parents, all the way to getting caught together. The stories are unique but familiar as we all generally experience something similar. Joanna and Terence are no exception.

Terence is a super cool, easy going guy, and Joanna super sweet with an infectious giggle/laugh. Although their wedding day was the first I have met them, we connected quickly and had a great time helping Joee out on this wedding. Here are some images of the day.
The games were quite unique and unusual….but the guys handled them like champs!!Terence preparing his speech at Liberty Grande

Currently out of town to attend and document an awesome wedding!!! YAY!!! I have limited access to email but i’ll will get back to you when we return on August 8th, 2011.

Andrea and Edward got married on Saturday June 25, 2011 and what a ride it was!! Like all my couples, I met with Andrea and Edward a couple of weeks before the wedding to catch up and see how things were going. Everything was in place, it was just the little things here and there. No worries though as they were not only a super prepared and organized couple, they invested in a professional wedding planner so that they would enjoy their special day together.

I remember driving over to Andrea’s parent’s place the day of the wedding with a feeling of anticipation and excitement, the same if not similar type of feeling for a friend’s wedding. If it was not meeting for dim sum, or climbing down into an abyss (i kid, i kid..) in Toberymory, or showing them my latest attempt at making scrambled eggs (i swear i can make eggs..just not as good as Andrea). The culmination of gatherings and communications we have had throughout the year added up to one thing…A great friendship and trust. That’s the only way I can explain it, if I need to explain the feeling I had throughout their wedding day. This was no business transaction, this was a friend documenting another friend’s wedding. This is why I love what I do and why I am doing it.

Totally went off into a tangent there…so as I was saying. I arrived at Andrea’s parent’s place to document her preparations in the morning. Calm as she was, Andrea was sitting for Karen Chen Richardson, who is an amazing make up and hair specialist and all around nice person. They have been up since at least 5am and the house was quite calm. Breakfast was being served constantly as if it were a buffet, bridesmaids were preparing for the madness that was about to be unleashed upon the guys.

As Andrea’s make up session concluded, we heard the arrival of the limo with all the boys. The madness began and Andrea had a front row seat peering through the blinds of her window. I have to say, the girls were quite creative with the games. The little race in heels and other womens garments was new, the grapes and socks….a little gross…hope the guys wore clean socks =P.

I think I have said enough so I will let your eyes do the rest at filling in the day…i’ll chime in here and there. Enjoy…

absolutely love this next photo of Ed getting ready in his parent’s room with old photos on the mirror of his brother and himself.I know that the format of this next image is unorthodox of me, but, I saw no other way to best show off this amazing dress!!

If there was a theme to this wedding it would be “laughter”. Both Andrea and Edward have the most infectious smile and laugh. I love even more that they still make each other laugh.Andrea told me that her parents also got their wedding photos taken at Edward’s Gardens so she gave me this photo and wanted something similar. It appears the bridge has gone through some changes through the years so I wanted to show a “progression”  from her parent’s photo to theirs, so I placed them a little past where her parents were placed and create the image below.

Special thanks goes out to Ron and Lucy who helped me out on Andrea and Ed’s wedding. You guys were awesome!! Be sure to also check out Eugene from Cinematic Wedding’s Same Day Edit HERE

Give up?

It’s Stephanie and Chuck‘s gallery wrap that they ordered (mind my the creepy hands holding the wrap).

Now to Andrea and Edward‘s gallery wrap (with less creepy hands)!!

I have to tell you that these photos do these pieces no justice. You just have to see this up close in order to experience the colour rendition, sharpness and texture of these wraps. In addition to that size alone…Both couples chose to pick up the 20×30 which is an awesome size for all homes!! Although all my packages include a disc of high resolution images, my couples value and understand the indescribable feeling of having something tangible like a print or an album that represents them. Thanks guys!!!

The days leading up to the wedding day, we were getting rain…and lots of it. My fear was that the rain forecast would spill over to the Saturday. We had a couple of backup locations planned, something I ask all my couples to consider as it is something that no one has control over, but it just wouldn’t be the same. Thankfully the day came and we could not have asked for better weather, thanks Mother Nature!

As I arrived at Wendy’s hotel suite at the Royal York, I was greeted by her bridesmaids Shaoyee and Joanne. They had just gone on a coffee run and the mood in the room was nothing short of calm and relaxed. Lucy was also there as she was the hired MUAH but offered to tag along to shoot after her MUAH duties were complete.

With the TV on the girls were chatting about recent events as well as reminiscing about the past as I captured moved through the room invisibly to capture some details. Here are some of my favorites of the day.

Kevin looking quite dapper. Although scheduling was tight, Wendy and Kevin opted for a first look/reveal which I think was great decision. It gave them opportunity to spend a couple of minutes to themselves it was was Wendy’s most memorable part.

Wendy and Kevin thank you for having us be part of your special day. We had an amazing time with your family and friends.

Around this time last year I had the pleasure to share and document  Rachell and Jim’s wedding. Now because they live in Chicago, we’ve been keeping in touch via email and facebook but never had a chance to catch up like I do with many of my other couples. It’s just nice to see how things are going you know?

Besides, after sharing and participating in my couple’s special day, we tend to become friends and make time to catch up here and there over coffee or dinners. Well, as luck would have it, Rachell and Jim actually decided to come back to Toronto a year later for a quick visit and we managed to get together for lunch. Thanks guys!!! Happy one year!!

I have to say, I kinda dreaded the first day…we were going to be trapped in the confines of my car for a minimum 8 hours. Not fun…however, with good music and good company, I surprised myself and drove the whole way there in 10 hours…with a couple of stops of course. Without more, here are some of the photos from the trip.

The next images depict Lucy in a nutshell…she’s into food, into beer and into shooting….cameras of course. (pew pew pew)

One element of this trip I did not mention was this…there was a secret plan that just came to be on this trip. Selina, Albert’s sister, was proposed to by her then boyfriend (now fiance) Kelly. Wanting to throw her another surprise, he wanted Albert, Sandy and Kai’s visit to New York a surprise too! So he devised a plan that involved hiring a “local photographer” by the name of Ken Wong…(the first name that came up?) played by myself to take engagement photos of them! I, Ken Wong, along with assistant Lucy met Selina and Kelly for the first time at their hotel lobby. We welcomed them and began our photo session, we took a couple of steps toward the main doors, turned the corner when out popped Sandy, Albert and Kai! Selina was totally blown away!!! Mission accomplished Kelly! With that, our group took to the streets in search of good food and good light. Here’s what we came up with.

And now, Albert and Sandy’s turn =)

For those who know me, know that I love noodles and pastas. They are my carb of choice. I remember having this conversation with Wendy and Kevin recently on one of our catch up sessions. They had just come back from eating Ramen and the conversation went from there. It gets trickier when I visit a vietnamese pho restaurant as the rice options are appealing…but 9/10 times, I will pick a steamy bowl of hot pho. It’s my kinda comfort food, in fact, that is actually a wedding tradition that I started with my team a couple of years ago. So far without fail, after every wedding, we will hit up on a pho restaurant and enjoy.

When people find out, they are often surprised, and I am not sure why…I tell them that I can’t cook anything elaborate and that I can only really cook for myself. Since I am the only one that I know of who can have meals the way I do. You see, the reason why I think I can do better than the recipes on the magazine is because I can live off noodles and some seasoning. Simple..like what I just made today. Yummy no??? Just me? took me 8 minutes flat!!! Take that!!

What’s your favorite simple food that you can just live off?

They both moved to Canada shortly after they got married as Hiro was transfered from Toyota Japan to Toyota Canada. Chie keeps busy as hair stylist who has worked with Lucy from time to time. We quickly became friends through our love of Japan and food. It is with them that Lucy and I get to brush up on our Japanese (more Lucy than me) and reminisce about Japan every time we meet.

When we learned that Chie was pregnant, we were ecstatic. When asked to do a maternity shoot, we were honored! With that said, this Lucy and I did a little role reversal on this shoot. I played second shooter and voice activated light stand while she lead the shoot. I have to say, she lead the shoot with confidence and fresh ideas which makes me so proud of how much Lucy’s photography has developed.

Here are some the photos I took.I know I posted these already but the effect is so different when you seem the images individually.

Meet Jovie and Adrian! When they approached me about an idea they had, I was left intrigued and excited! (More about this in a later post…don’t want to spoil it.) Part of the idea involved an enagement/maternity session which was amazing!!

Jovie is an awesome wedding planner and together they not only make a great couple, but a great team. They not only make sure that the bride and groom are enjoying their day but they go the extra mile to make sure everyone else who is involved, be it the DJ, the emcee and of course, the photographer is well informed and taken care of. I have worked with them enough to know that if Jovial Events is on the job, I know it’s going to be a great wedding!

Like many of my sessions, my couples are relaxed and comfortable. This was no exception as Jovie actually took a little snooze part way through. She said it was too comfortable…hehehe..I’ll take that!! =)

Here are some of my favorites from the session.  Special thanks goes to Lucy for helping me out on this one.

My personal favorite…

Wait…where was I?  Well, I was in Las Vegas for an amazing…let me re-iterate..AH-MAAAAY-ZING time at WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographer International) with my two friends Sandy and Albert from Sandy Tam Photography. Enveloped by photographers, established and budding, the whole experience was uplifting and inspiring. What’s more is that I had the opportunity to meet with my awesome vendors who have been an integral part of my business.

Despite all the WPPI events, we still managed to check out some of the casinos and other sites in Vegas while taking photos of each other.

Here are some photos of Sandy and Albert.

Now, those who know me know that I don’t get really “star struck” but I was just happy to be around so much talent. I was lucky enough to have my photo taken with some of the photographers whom I absolutely love….pardon the iphone pics.

Quinn, myself and Dave from DQ Studios

Joe Buissink and I

Jasmine Star and I Myself and Susan Stripling (Please mind big face)

Thanks you guys!!
I am definitely looking forward to WPPI 2012.

Wow…Where to begin?! It’s been a crazy 24 hours but it was all worth it. I have known Ron and Jen for  about 12 years. As close friends we grew together and I have watched their relationship flourish. Seeing my two close friends get engaged yesterday afternoon was definitely something and Lucy and I were so happy and privileged to be a part of it.

I know that Ron had been planning for nearly a year now. He had so many ideas of how he would propose to his love of 13 years. However, what he finally chose was simple and brought it back to what was important to them.

You can imagine, being together for so long, a couple must have shared so many memories together. It was for this reason that Ron decided to take Jen on a little journey of their relationship before popping the question. Guided by little arrows, hearts and photos of their past, a path was created in which Jen would follow in order to reach Ron who was waiting at the planetarium at The Ontario Science Centre. The photos were an amazing, covering everything from when they first got together, graduation as well as their trips and adventures.

The staff at the Science Centre were amazing. They were super helpful in making this happen. While we were putting the photos up, the staff would come by to share some kind words and support to Ron. They were all behind him 100%.

I have to say that this experience was quite a challenge to document as we chose to have Jen experience this journey without knowing our presence. At one point, Lucy was shooting from a sniper like position, but the sound of the camera shutter almost gave us away. Phew…Here are some photos…

literally seconds after this photo was taken. I ran for cover as Jen suddenly turn and looked around. I thought that I gave it away somehow. We found out later than this is when Jen heard the sound of Lucy’s shutter.
This is one of the first photos of them taken.They finally came out with the good news!!!! The suspense was killing me!!!

Congratulations guys!!!!!

Happy Thursday everyone…Due to the cold cold cold weather we’ve been getting here my mind has been wandering to warmer climates which lead me to share with you this blog post of my trip to Cuba with Lucy and two of my close friends Jen and Ron.

I have to say that I was never one for a “relaxing” type trip. I always much prefer the trips that involved exploration and the experience of different cultures, not to mention the food of course. However, in keeping with trying new things and just having a trip with friends, the Sandals Royal Hicacos resort in Veradero was the place we picked to get some much needed R&R.

I must say that my first all inclusive experience was quite awesome. I now know what people mean when people tell me they did absolutely nothing on their vacations. At the resort, I was spoiled with soft sand, gorgeous weather, falling asleep on the beach, having drinks served to you with those tiny umbrellas (it does not take much…i know). Of course, the company was not bad either.

In any case, please enjoy the photos…

As a photographer, I find myself behind the camera more often than in front of one. As a result, I, let alone Lucy and I don’t have very many photos of each other together. Such is also the case for Ron and Jen. It was then that the idea of taking a day and taking photos of each other was born and here are the results of Ron taking photos of Lucy and I.

Photos of Ron and Jen will follow soon.

Thanks Ron!!!

I have yet to meet someone who does not like to travel. Even if you are not adventurous per say it’s nice to see or experience something new. This being said people travel very differently. I recall my last trip to Japan a couple of years ago with Lucy. The trip was focused around trying new food and getting immersed in the culture. Tourist attractions served as guidelines, not the main destination. I remember there was one time where Lucy brought me to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. I was a little let down by the fact that we could not tour the inner grounds. Of course not! Lucy exclaimed, the imperial family still resides there! duh! While accepting her logic I noticed something in the distance. It looked like a radio tower, yet it was lit in such a way to draw special attention. I asked her what it was and she guessed that it may be Tokyo Tower. Being curious, I suggested we walk towards it to confirm my curiosity. The tower on the horizon was our beacon, we did not know how long the walk would be but along the way, we detoured and stumbled upon a unique shrine and an awesome coffee shop. About an hour of walking later, we discovered that the tower was in fact Tokyo Tower. For us, it was more about what we would find along the way rather than just going to see it. Yes,this involved a little bit of walking but we found that stumbling upon things were much more rewarding than if we mapped out the route.

Segway to the present time and I am delivering this blog post to you while I am on my way to Osaka via Shinkansen (bullet train). As I feel the train catapult myself and the other couple hundred or so passengers forward I am pleasantly reminded about a decision I had to make recently, allow me to share. A little over a month ago, I chose to leave my place of full time employment to pursue my passion of becoming a fulltime wedding photographer. I have never left a job before, the concept was so foreign to me that I needed to google “how to write a letter of resignation”. Actually submitting my resignation letter was equally foreign and scary to say the least. I recall having to print a second copy of my resignation letter because I clutched onto the first one for so long that i made creases on it and it would have looked like something typed up on a napkin. With the support of family, and friends near and dear to me, I was reminded that doing something one is passionate about is an important part of life’s journey. The thing is that I loved my work and I loved the people I worked with, it was just that my passion was now more focused, and in order to fully pursue it, I needed to pick one. I drew inspiration from Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Tim Ferris, Stewart Brand, Cheri Huber, Benjamin Disraeli, to name a few. Let me tell you, taking the risk is never easy, and there is never a good time to do it, but looking I know that I made the right decision. The next couple of weeks after submitting my resignation was difficult, leaving the work was one thing but leaving my extended family was tougher. My three years at my workplace seemed short but during this time, I forged many lifelong friendships and learned a great deal on a world I never knew existed. For this I am eternally grateful. Below is a quick slideshow of photos I took of the individuals I had he pleasure of working with over the years. They were taken with my iphone courtesy of Hipstamatic. Thank you so much for everything guys. There are a few photos of people that were not taken sorry. Thank you so much.

IMG_0327 IMG_0242 IMG_0240 IMG_0239 IMG_0237 IMG_0201 IMG_0200 IMG_0195 IMG_0194 IMG_0193 IMG_0192 IMG_0189 IMG_0187 IMG_0186 IMG_0184 IMG_0182 IMG_0180 IMG_0179 IMG_0175 IMG_0173 IMG_0172 IMG_0166 IMG_0163 IMG_0162 IMG_0161 IMG_0160 IMG_0159 IMG_0158 IMG_0156 IMG_0155 IMG_0150 IMG_0148 IMG_0142 IMG_0131 IMG_0130 IMG_0129 IMG_0127 IMG_0114 IMG_0113 IMG_0112 IMG_0110 IMG_0099 IMG_0093 IMG_0092 IMG_0090 IMG_0089 IMG_0087 IMG_0085 IMG_0084 IMG_0082 IMG_0081 IMG_0079 IMG_0078 IMG_0077 IMG_0076 IMG_0075 IMG_0073 IMG_0071 IMG_0066 IMG_0063 IMG_0057 IMG_0055 IMG_0049 IMG_0047 IMG_0044 IMG_0043 IMG_0042

Now on a little lighter note. Spend time with family and friends guys. Re-connect with past friends and see what’s up. My brothers and I realize that time is going by so quickly that we decided to take a brother trip. Unfortunately my younger brother Patrick could not make it due to exams so it’s just Robert and I in Japan. Surely another trip for the three of us will be planned. For now, this trip has gone well. I must say that hostel life, albeit more affordable and exciting as we get to meet other travelers is just not for me. Something about it that I can’t quite articulate or put my finger on. I am not saying that it’s a bad way to travel, no, I have already met a few backpackers who have shared their world travels with me, I am jealous of the 30 stamps they have on their passport. I am just saying it’s not for me.

My “travel” phone (iPhone) proved to be one of the best travel tools. You don’t know how many Japanese language and transit maps I have loaded on this thing. Where it fails is that many of the applications require a data connection,something that is super expensive in Japan. If you plan on traveling here, don’t even think about getting free wifi as there are far and few between. I am also very thankful for my brother Rob, as he always manages to keep things fun and light with his somewhat immature behavior. I could only imagine how it would be like if Patrick was here too. Rob is some what of a foodie. Because of him, I have eaten soba noodles from a place that has been serving it for over 220 years, tried chicken sashimi (don’t know it till you try it), hormone, among other foods. Not sure if I will be creating a dedicated blog post for my travels but you can follow my random photos here on my Tumblr account. The majority ofthe photos will be of food and stuff that I come across as interesting. I plan on maintaining it to a photo a day of some sort when I get back.

Traveling and life have many parallels. At the end of the day, we all share the same inevitable destination, however how we chose to get there is really up to us.

Stay Hungry.
Stay Foolish.

Kevin

As I went through the photos from this session, I relived many of the moments I shared with Andrea and Edward and their friends that weekend. It became apparent to me that there was no way this would be an ordinary post, there was a story to be told in this session, as a result I will be posting images mini adventure in addition to the engagement photos. Enjoy!

After loading the cars full of food, clothing and supplies, we were off! It did not seem long until the convoy needed make a pit stop for some food.

After photographing Andrea and Edward a little, I was reminded at how hard it is for this couple to be serious. They were always making each other laugh and smile. See what I mean?The cottage was beautiful. It had a rustic kinda feel to it but was also very warm and cozy. I have to admit that I would totally consider going to a cottage after this experience.After an amazing hot pot meal, the group (Andrea, Edward, Derek, Joanna, Benet, Karen, Lucy and myself), enjoyed a beautifully star lit sky and warm fire outdoors where Andrea and Edward shared with everyone their story of how they met and how Edward proposed. It was a great evening.Something I forgot to mention, there was the promise of good food, and at first I thought it was a bunch of take out. Not the case here, Andrea and Edward are amazing in the kitchen and the BBQ. Andrea makes these light and fluffy eggs they are to die for, as for Edward, when he puts on this hat, he becomes king of the BBQ. He made home made mini burgers, an amazing rack of lamb and flavorful steak a la “SPM”. After an amazing lunch, we set out for the town for some photos. There were the “usual” photos, but upon our return, Lucy and I noticed this magical light in an open field. We had to pull over frogger over some traffic to get the following. Andrea and Edward were amazing to be so, cool with these spontaneous mini shoots.On our last day, we hiked 30 minutes and spent another 20 minutes strategically climbing down a rockface into a cove. I have to say it was quite dangerous given we were travelling with everything. There was one point where I thought we would forgo this location because it seemed too dangerous, but Andrea and Edward did not let this roadblock stop them. We figured out a way to get down there and boy was it worth it!   

Phew, we are at the end of the post! Thanks for taking the time to check out this unique engagement session. Andrea, Edward, thank you for inviting Lucy and I to spend the weekend with you both and your close friends. We had an amazing time together and we cannot wait till your wedding!!!
P.S. Happy Thanks Giving everyone!!!!!

Ok, so I am not going to make a habbit of posting a wedding related video but this came to me from Ron and when I saw this, the first thing I thought was, man I hope that photographer has backup equipment (brides, future brides, please please please…make sure your photographer has backup equipment!). Second thing that caught my eye was the man who was helping the photographer get out of the water at about 25 second into the video is awesome!!! Not sure if he was the second shooter or assistant but that guy sprung into action and had nothing but the photographers best interest at heart because the first thing he went for was to get the camera out of the water! I hope his quick actions saved the camera.

Funny enough, I was talking to a photographer friend and the topic of back up equipment came up. The example I used was, if I fell into water with my equipment I would need a fresh set of everything (which I have), to which he replied, we are in Toronto, where would you fall into water? Well dude…case and point… ; )

Happy Friday, have a great weekend everyone!

Last Wednesday, June 2 to be exact, I found myself at SpiceSafar Lounge on King West where I attended and documented the Hip Urban Girl launch party + Co-ed networking event hosted by Lisa Ng, founder of Hello DJ and online marketing and advertising consultant, Wendy. Despite the torrential downpour there were easily over 200 people who attended this awesome event. If you are a foodie, travel bug or just want to know about great events in Toronto, be sure to check out http://www.hipurbangirl.com/

Here are some of the photos.

Thanks Lisa, Wendy for inviting me to this incredible event.

It is just the beginning of the wedding season and already things are busy. I love work and blogging, but time is always too short. For a while now, everyone in the Fung residence has been busy with work, school and just life. I too have been guilty of getting side tracked with work most times and am reminded by my close friends, it’s not about how much money you make or how much you have in the bank. What it comes down to are the people you love and relationships you cultivate. It is for this reason that this impromptu backyard “bbq” was perfect. The whole family was together and we were not only able to enjoy the beautiful weather, but each others company. These are the moments in life I cherish the most. Happy Tuesday!!

I was honored  to get the opportunity to document the Red and White Ball again this year. As I mentioned before, this is my third year covering this wonderful event supporting Rethink Breast Cancer. It is cliché to say but this event gets better and better each year, there were so many people attending, in fact, when I left the event there was still a line to get in. It was great to see sponsors like Yellowtail, Red Bull, Rosa from White Lioness Media among other return and show their support. Also have to mention a So Into Cupcakes who’s baked goodies kept me going all night. They had a total of 8 flavours to try from! YUMMERS! (as Lucy would say). Enjoy the shots of the evening.

Orange and Mango Cup cakes

Cookies and Creme, Green Tea, Vanilla

Chocolate Ganache, S’mores, Red Velvet

DJ Navin Nice

Took this at work today and wished that I could take some time to lounge. Been crazy busy these past couple of weeks, work has been keeping me on my toes so much that I am behind on blogging a couple of weddings.  Excited for tonight as I will be shooting the Red and White again. Hope to blog more soon, Happy Friday!!!!

On the menu was:

Goat Cheese & Roast Pepper Triangles
Herb Roasted Potatoes
Grilled Shrimp and Lobster
Fillet Mignion with Red Wine Pan Jus
Chocolate Espresso Mousse with Mixed Berries

Lucy and I loved this awesome experience and would love to do it again. Thanks to our Chef instructors Susie Reading and her amazing assistant Steve Wilson. Here are some pics.

thanks for taking this photo for us Trixie.

Alright, so Parti numero deux for Greece (part one here)! This one’s a big one so bear with me. Like every morning while in Santorini, I got up early to do some exploring, this was the time to catch beautiful light, it was also the time where the tourists and locals alike were not out and about yet.

This island across from the one we were staying at was part of the landscape. More on this later though…

I later joined the boys for breakfast which is always good times. We later on attended the wedding rehearsal which was a good opportunity for Joee and I to scope out the area and the light as it was located in a different part of the island.

I loved observing Michelle and Vince. It was never a dull moment, they would always make each other smile and burst out in laughter, they are so goofy and cute together, as a result it was not hard to photograph them just being them.

Shortly after, we found ourselves on the Thalassa, which was a beautiful ship headed to explore the surrounding areas. What Joee and I did not know however was this…you remember the island that I photographed at the beginning of the post? Well, it turns out it was a volcano! The Thalassa docked at the base of the volcano. From there we were guided on what felt like a two hour uphill hike (i kid, 45min) on rugged terrain, and the sun beating down on us to the rim of the volcano’s crater. I must say, the view was worth it.

After scaling the volcano, the ship took the group to the hot springs where the group took turns jumping off the Thalassa into warm volcanic waters

Near the end of the cruise, we had a chance to enjoy the beautiful sun set. It was the perfect way to end the evening the day before Michelle and Vince’s big day.

to be continued…

got my colleague Brigid a photo with Ron MacLean.

A couple of months ago, I was briefed by Joee on one of his top secret missions. The mission was to document a live engagement. The challenge was not only to be discreet, but to know who to photograph! I have never met Dave and Elna before and although a live proposal is not something one would miss, it took place in the middle of Brookfield place where there is generally a lot of people walking around.

I met Joee after Margaret and Tamer’s engagement session and we scouted the area and came up with a game plan to get the best possible coverage. As the time drew near we split up and took our positions. Shortly after the targets I mean Dave and Elna showed up with a bunch of their friends. It took every trick in the spy book to maintain visual while not being seen. Dave motioned for Elna to be by his side, as soon as that happened, friends surrounded the couple with rose petals and it began.

Success!

Congrats guys!!

It’s been nearly a month since I last blogged. YIKES!! Since my last entry, I have been spending a lot of time working as well as just spending more time with family and close friends. I trust all of your holidays were well and that everyone is back into the swing of things. Before I begin my foray back into the blogosphere, I wanted to talk about the importance of keeping in touch. You may jump to the photos below as this is one of those babbling on posts =P

Every year, I make a list like many do. I took a hard look at my list for 2009 and you know what? I did not make it out to the gym at least once a week, nor am I a White House photographer (not yet), but rather than focusing on where I came short, I found that I accomplish a lot. I exceeded some personal goals, I got things done around the house, I even created (now perfecting) my work flow. All this was great, but the one thing that I was most proud of was that I was able to make some time to re-connect with some old friends I have made along the way. It’s always way too easy/convenient to just live our lives, we seldom take the time to just chat and touch base. This is important to me because I value all my relationships with people. They help me do better, they help me be better and heck, it just fun to catch up. I do have a point to all of this, although it played out better in my mind. The re-connecting/staying in touch reminded me about my recent trip to Greece. I was there to help Joee out for Michelle and Vince’s wedding. I like Joee found myself packing like mad a day after Roselle and Stephen’s wedding.  I left on the Monday morning, armed with my Boda bag and Think Tank Airport Takeoff loaded with all my gear. Two layovers, a myriad of security checks and 3 planes later, I was greeted by amazingly warm weather in Santorini Greece! Here’s a photo break…

Joee and I spent the day getting the lay of the land and exploring the island. We were later invited to have dinner with Michelle, Vince and the rest of the gang. Over copious amounts of wine, beer and what seemed to be an endless supply of Ouzo I learned that everyone has known each other since high school and that they were all really close. They shared stories and had their own inside jokes, yet they were all very accommodating and made me feel like part of the group. I know how easy it is to have life get in the way of keeping in touch, they all gave me advice and stories about how they stick together and there is no way to articulate it other than it was nice. Enjoy the rest of the photos, there is definitely more to come.

Be sure to check out Joee‘s take on it here.

Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed during the climb up so I don’t have any photos of the event at all. I encourage everyone to take part in this event at least once in your life. I leave you with a photo of my souvenir.

Happy Monday. I wanted to start this week off with the Photo of the Week post in order to get back on track with it. I had a great weekend spending time with family and trying new things…ie. making apple crumble!

Those of you who know me, know that there is no way I could pull something like this off without some help. Right you are!! My apple crumble experiment was one of those box mixes where I had to mix it in a bowl and put it in the oven, “set it and forget it” style! Yeah! For the real chefs and people who know their way around a kitchen I attached a recipe for apple crumble I found online.

Hmm…my plating skills need some work…In any case, wedding posts will follow as I had some time this weekend to get through some editing. Enjoy!

I don’t like posting out of focus shots, I really don’t…this is the result of trying to focus in pitch black while moving. I was so close to deleting this image when culling through the day’s take, but there is just something to this image that I like, and I hope you can appreciate too.

Good night everyone.

daily ritual…

Recently, my boss told me that she started a photo a day blog. Every day she would challenge herself by taking a new photo and posting it. This is exactly what I did in the past (http://www.pbase.com/fungke) and I figure this would help push me to be more creative, to practice more and shoot for myself again. However, rather than a photo a day, I am going to ease into it with a photo of the week and I will start it off today.

I took these early morning after last night’s rain. The rain drops look almost jelly like.

My boss always says that we live “just in time lives”. We catch the bus…just in time. We get to work….just in time. We meet deadlines…just in time. Between all the responsibilities we have, it’s generally hard to find time to enjoy life with family, friends and loved ones. Just yesterday, I found myself editing on the subway of all places. Generally this slice of time is reserved for me to take a little nap or catch up with Lucy, but lately there is just so much to do. I am not complaining here, what I am trying to say is thank you. People generally have so much to do and so little time that I really really really appreciate Jeff’s email. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to send your thanks and appreciation. You guys are great!

Despite being so busy, I managed to carve out some time for a little getaway with Lucy. Some of you may/may not know but I don’t take much time off, however, I had to make an exception this time around as it was not just time off, it was the day Lucy and I were to celebrate our 5th year anniversary. We decided to stay local so we went to Ruth’s Chris. I love steak but for some reason I barely finished my Filet. A sign that the bottomless pit my stomach used to be is not so bottomless after all. We did not bring a camera but our kick ass waiter had one handy and took a photo for us right after he surprised us with dessert!

I was busy on the weekend assisting Joee on another awesome wedding (photos coming soon), but I still wanted to do something special. Seeing that Wednesday was Canada Day, I took Monday and Tuesday off as well, making it somewhat of a long weekend. As a result, I surprised her by bringing her to Langdon Hall in Cambridge Ontario. The staff here were awesome. Truly, they just made everything so easy and everything happened the way it was suppose to. I chose Langdon because I wanted to get away from the city for a little and it was only a hour drive away. Needless to say, the getaway was short lived but nice anyway despite the crazy on and off rain the whole time. As a result, we did not get to wander through the whole property but what we did see was just awesome. The architecture was beautiful, and there was beautiful light everywhere during the day.

Rather than post a mess of photos, I am just going to post a small series of montages.

The property is just amazing. Great place for a wedding!

We loved our gorgeous room. There was even a small terrace where we could enjoy some fresh air, too bad it rained so much. We were even greeted by a nice bottle of wine and a note addressed to Lucy and I. Later than afternoon, we enjoyed our spa appointment which was really welcomed as my whole body has been aching from all the shoots lately. We had time before dinner and wanted to go out to discover Cambirdge a little, it was then that the hotel offered us a vehicle to drive. It was meant to be a test drive, but they essentially handed us the keys and said, have fun! It was a Lexus RX 350. I am not a huge fan of SUVs but it was a pretty sweet ride. It was practically brand new judging by the total mileage on it. There was nothing much to see since it rained even more but we passed by a Little Caesar’s pizza, something Lucy apparently had never tried we had to go. Alright, I have babbeld enough….enjoy the rest of the photos.

next “exteme” adventure? Sky diving is next on Michele’s list but Kate, Jimmy and I will need to do some research about that.

ok, ok….so Elaine and Alex are not engaged…but they might as well should be, they’ve been together for 5 years, 3 months and counting! In any case, they were kind enough to have me photograph them as a couple, we had a great shoot planned out. Would have been some off camera light action, some urban concrete like backdrops, some urban grunge stuff and a lot of mainstreeting but…something we did not account for was the weather. It rained so hard that day the all day shoot turned into a 30 minute session indoors in her condo. Boooooo! The upside was that it was an overcast day and she had pretty nice light coming through her windows. Regardless, the session was fun and full of laughter. It was just nice to see how great this couple got along.

And finally, the family shot. Elaine, Hagu and Alex. Thanks so much for letting me document your love.

Ron and I covered this event last year and the organizers thought we did a great job, so we were asked to do it again. Ron was unfortunately busy so Lucy came along as a second. Here are some photos of the evening.

Part way through the evening there was an pole dance performance by Alyson Joy. It was Ah-may-zing! Check out the video Rosa Park from White Lioness Media created of the night here. She shot it all with the Canon 5D Mark II

Enough about me…Last week Lucy and I made some time to photograph some gyoza’s. I love gyoza’s, they are so easy to make and taste so good! It’s a very versatile “food” to work with! You can have it in soup, sans soup, pan fried, deep fried…I am starting to sound like Bubba from Forest Gump when he talks about shrimp.

Bubba: Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.

if you still don’t know what I am talking about. Check the video.

Almost forgot…the gyoza pictures!

i think these are not bad but does not really tell a story. It is what it is, should add some extra props next time. Yes…we ate the props after. om nom nom nom

Chad is a firefighter and so obviously, the wedding would not be complete with an appearance of a firetruck!

Here we go…

May 7, 2007 – Sophia and Han’s Wedding Reception

I never thought that I would be an image maker. Traditional mediums available at the time were never appealing to me, they generally took too much time, space and I lacked the patience to work with it. However when I played around with Photoshop 4.0 way back when…I was hooked. I had instant gratification for my work, I could play with filters and effects to see what looks best to make my art. What’s best…I could clear the canvas and start over any time. My experimentation with photoshop branched into web design. Free geocities websites and custom asian avenue pages became my world. The attraction was that I could create my work and I could share it with others around the world instantly! Genius! The technology was so easy to work with and it just got better and better. My love for creating interactive multimedia naturally evolved into print design. I have been working online so long that I wanted to make something tangible. Print was the answer. Not only did I have the design aspect but you had the luxury to pick the papers to match, creative folds and so many more ways to display work. It was not long until I picked up photography. My friend Ron was the avid hobbyist, he convinced me to pick up a digital SLR over the prosumer type digital cameras. The moment I held the camera and took a photo, it was blissful. It was a crappy picture I can assure you, but the feeling of reading one’s surroundings, setting the camera to work accordingly was so gratifying. Ron always refered to it as working for the shot.

I have been shooting since 2005, “professionally” so to speak since 2007. After a season of following various wedding photographers, I believe that this is the stream I want to follow…I have been trying for the past 10 minutes to articulate my attraction to photographing people, especially during a wedding. I will have to come back to this.

In any case, I have babbled too much…I will be posting photos in the coming weeks of weddings which I have assisted this past season. Please feel free to leave comments. Thanks!