So a friend recently gave me the whole 4th season of So You Think You Can Dance. I started watching it right before I left toronto…then continued to watch on my friggin loooong flight and i’m finishing it right now in the homeland. WOW! SYTYCD is SUCH an awesome show! Not only does it display amazing talent but there’s so much one can learn as an artist. That’s right! I learned so many amazing lessons through the show. I realized through the show that talent isn’t everything. During the early episodes this amazing dancer came to audition and he was an amazing dancer….but he was soooo full of himself and had an attitude. He didn’t get picked. I was surprised but it makes sense. If i was a photographer just so full of myself with enough pride for a nation then who would want to work with me? Here are some things I learned:
- have a great attitude
- receive constructive criticism well
- polish technique but more importantly pump out honest work. If people can’t connect with my photos then I’ve failed as a photographer boohoo

anyways, on a side note I needed an agenda so i went out and got myself the perfect one. I love agendas…too bad you only need only one per year. I also got the cutest stamp! It’s a jar! LOL i don’t know why I think it’s so awesome. Maybe because it’s not the conventional pretty + girly stamp… There’s a lot of awesome stationary in korea and it’s hard to resist them.

Terry Richardson knows this. He appears at a shoot with a Yashica T4 LOL yea and people would laugh but then he produces this:

I think it’s especially hard as a young photographer to really let that sink in. It’s so easy to let your ambition speak through what kind of equipment you have. When I started out I started with the Canon xti and I would always dream about getting a better camera. Now I shoot with a D700 and I dream about lighting equipment and lenses. So when I see photos taken by Terry with the Yashica T4 I’m reminded and challenged once again to try to pump out photos that pushes me and not let the equipment limit me because a lot of the times it’s psychological. I’m almost tempted to go and buy a film point and shoot camera :D

I’ve been doing a lot of research these days into other photographers…trying to learn as much as I can and I’ll admit I’m having a blast! I love photography!!!!
so Terry Richardson…you have a new fan. I love his raw and gritty style, it really speaks to me and there’s something so honest about it.

I took these shots while walking back home from buying some bread. For some reason I was craving bread…maybe cause koreans eat rice even at breakfast lol
The post on these photos are completely different from what I usually do for weddings. Just thought I’d try something different :p
what do you think?

so…i’ve been meaning to go rock climbing for the longest time! My brother used to do it when we lived in pakistan (which i now realize is a crazy place to go rock climbing) and my friends kept asking me to go. However, I have a fear of heights and though I really wanted to try it I let my fear stop me. Well I finally bit the bullet and did it and i’m so glad I did because i had SO much fun. Initially it didn’t grab me but once I attempted a more difficult climb i understood why this sport is so addictive. It’s for the reach. When you make that reach and you get a firm grip and you pull yourself up it’s the most satisfying thing and you just want more and more. Now i’m wondering how i can combine the two things, photography + rock climbing. Anyways, it’s great fun and it’s a great workout. If you’ve never climbed before go do it now! lol
So after my first climb i came home and was watching a bunch of videos and I stumbled onto a video of Erik Weihenayer a blind climber. It’s quite incredible! Anyways I just read something he said and thought it is SO TRUE!..

“People get trapped into thinking about just one way of doing things.”

This applies to so many things in life. We think there is a “normal” way of things and try to follow it but just end up feeling dissatisfied with life and trapped. What I noticed about succesful and thus famous people is that they all did things in their own way. So people! don’t trap yourself. Don’t get in your own way :)

(the picture below is a picture of a random girl climbing but she looks pretty cool and hard core kekeke)

I got myself my very own blend of coffee..mmmmmm coooffeeee
my friend Will started a little company of his own! he blends and roasts his own coffee. He can also blend one to match your personality which sounds pretty cool to me. Keep this in mind for the next time you get your special person a gift, you can tell Will their personality and he can blend one for them too! I think this would make a cool wedding favor.
He also has an AMAZING tea collection. The website is still in construction so I’ll post it up once I get permission :)
I thought the sample jar was so cute so I had to post a picture kekeke

I’m off to korea next week. I’m so excited to go see my parents and my brother and his lovely wife :)
I think i’m more excited to see my sister in law than anyone else hahaha. I’ve always wanted a sister and my brothers choice in a bride couldn’t have been more perfect. I LOVE HER! She’s the best sister a girl could want.
She’s a composer, more specifically she composes for musicals. When I was in korea last she took me to some amazing places that only locals know about and I was absolutely thrilled because that’s exactly what I had always wanted. I hope to post a lot of photos while I’m there of the sights and sounds of korea as well as the people I meet. Hopefully I can collect some interesting stories too.

claudia + wilson’s dominican republic wedding is up!
there’s a lot of very random photos that i took for this wedding. i LOVE random shots and i know claudia understands and appreciates like me.

enjoy!

i like this one. the men holding umbrellas while the girls get ready to pose LOL

one craaaazy family :)
this father and daughter photo cracks me up every time!!! LOL

hello! yes I was away for a week to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for a vacation/attend/shoot claudia + wilson’s wedding :)
I had never been to a resort though I have done much traveling. There are definite pros and cons to going to a resort ;P one pro is that you eat pretty much whenever you want. I came back to toronto and met up with a friend at a coffee shop. I almost left without paying LOL!
It was just sooooo awesome to get away and lounge around in just a bikini *sigh*

So the first half of my time there I was pretty anxious about shooting Claudia’s wedding. (shhhh she doesn’t know this so don’t tell). How am I supposed to shoot claudia’s wedding? Of course they were sooo laid back about it they weren’t even going to have a photographer. But because she didn’t outline her expectations I was left with a blank in my head…in that blank I filled it with so much of my own thoughts of what she would want. hahahaha! In the end I think it turned out well. The day itself was a little stressful as a photographer because last minute the beach wedding was switched to an indoor wedding because of all days for it to rain in that week it HAD to rain on their wedding day. It was great getting to know claudia + wilson’s family and friends. Hopefully the wedding photos will be up soon! I caught the flu as soon as I got back and i’m recovering. Apparently several other people from the trip got sick as soon as they got back.

In the next couple days I’ll post up some photos from the trip :)

*sigh* I miss the sun :`(

Here’s the engagement shoot i did yesterday with grace and eric in Toronto at kensington market. They’re a special couple because they got engaged on dec 17th…my birthday!!!! Although they live in Edmonton now they’ll be getting married in Toronto next year!
it was fun eating chinese buns and beef patties with you guys :)

What a busy day it was! The day started off with the usual walk with Pilot then had to prepare for the day. I had an engagement shoot today! Yes that’s right…an engagement shoot in december. I didn’t expect to be doing any more of those for 2009 but I booked a wedding for next year for a couple who lives in Edmonton. But because the next time they will be back in Toronto will be for their wedding (oh and they’re flyin out this saturday) so we had to do the engagement shoot pronto! Grace and Eric were troopers though, they did the shoot without a winter jacket on. In the end their fingers were so numb they could barely write a text message on their phone…and there I was wearing two layers of pants and a very warm winter jacket… For the shoot we scoured around kensington market. Kensington market is awesome if you want an urban eclectic feel :)

also, i bumped into more than the usual amount of crazy people today…one at kensington market and another at a starbucks where I was having a meeting! Quite unpleasant to have someone swearing at you saying a whole bunch of obscene things but at the same time it’s quite sad too. Hopefully they have a caring family who take care of them.

Anyhoooo here’s a sneak peak from todays shoot. I’ll post more tomorrow…can you believe they’re not even wearing a jacket??? crazy i tell you…