Never trust your Lomo

before i say anything... ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

and AAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH again!!!!!!!!!

I had 2 rolls of film which I have put off developing for some time. One roll was shot with my Nikon F100 at my good friend Marc's wedding in Dec 2007. The other was shot with my Lomo LCA during my delivery of Dylan in the labour ward and his first few weeks thereafter. I was so looking forward to the pictures from the latter roll as some of the shots were shot WHILE I WAS IN LABOUR, from my point of view. Damn, those images keep flashing in my mind now as I think of what could have been, the shots now gone forever because the stupid film got stuck on the 3rd frame so any shots after that are all over frame 4 :'(

So many questions, why then did the winder still advance? Why didn't I use the DSLR? Why why why? Too late. Now I am seriously contemplating another baby just so to get those shots again hahaha, yes I must be mad.

Off to get the Lomo checked! :s
You have yourselves a great weekend!

(the roll from Marc's wedding)

A Letter to the Hatemailers

My father taught me that in business, even if it were not my fault, to just apologise. So I say sorry to you for making you upset, angry or unhappy.

I am sorry that we cannot give you another saturday slot when you miss your scheduled saturday appointment by not showing up at all or giving us less than a day's notice. I miss spending saturdays with my family because of the nature of my job which has fullday shoots lined up on saturdays. When you do not show up, that is an hour of time I could have spent with my boys.

I am sorry that I did not receive your email, I do not know why some emails get lost in transmission. I will check with my service provider to make sure this doesn't happen again. Generally I reply all my emails within 24-36hours of receiving them. Please call us in the studio for faster response.

I am sorry that we "force" you to wear certain clothes for your shoot. We were merely offering our professional opinions and suggestions on what would turn out better in your photographs. You need not show your displeasure by refusing to smile or cooperate, simply telling me how you feel there and then would suffice. We would have respected your decision, thereby resulting in less friction during the shoot and a better outcome altogether.

I am sorry that we are "unoriginal" in using certain props/fabric/poses over and over again. If we can take your suggestion of pasting your faces over the same props/fabric/poses, that would really make our job easier, thanks for the brilliant idea.

I am sorry that I wasn't Singa the Courtesy Lion when replying your SMS as I was busy shooting when your text came through and had to multi-task. I apologise for the typo in my text which you repeatedly made fun of by posting it on my forum thread.

I am sorry that you feel the need to pass judgement on me or my business when you have never met me or come for a shoot before.

I am sorry that I am too direct when speaking and that I am no good at honeycoating words. I wear my heart on my sleeves and I understand now that this is not a good trait for running a business. I will try my best to improve in this area.

I apologise that I have no training in customer servicing, marketing or running a business. This shows up as flaws as I try to do all these roles while being a mother and wife. And no, I do not have a maid.

I am sorry again for all the above but will continue to learn and improve as I go along, taking all that you will throw at me, because I love what I do and for the 2 reasons below.

Turning 8

Little Dylan boy is now 8 months old
Two more teeth now peek from his gums above making him a cranky soul

He crawls on all fours around the studio like he's king
Stopping to stand by holding onto any sturdy thing

This little boy will have you know that you are friend or foe
By allowing (or not) you to hold

He flashes you the sweetest smile and chuckles too
When you are someone he loves and wants a cuddle with

His afternoons of 3 hour naps
Are now replaced by longer attention spans

Everyday with him brings joy to my life
He is my lovely cutie pie

Showers of Love

Happy Valentine's Day!


It's extremely tough to get a good shot of my sons together, this was the best I got after screaming myself hoarse trying to get them to look at the camera or smile :s

something sweet, something light, something happy

***Pls note that I am no longer baking these for sale. If you want to eat them, bake them ;) recipe below***

The years before the kids/studio came, I was an avid baker. My quiche and desserts were most sought after by my friends (not shy right?) and I often make them when I had the time. One Valentine's Day, I baked these delightful shortbread for friends as well as for sale. If I recall correctly, I sold about 20+ jars and it was real hard work! Cutting the shortbread was tough as this recipe required you to cut them after baking. I think I make easier money as a photographer hahaha! Anyway enough talk, I thought since it's Valentine's Day, here's the recipe :)

Cranberry Shortbread Hearts

Ingredients
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen 1 3/4-inch hearts
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries or cherries

Directions
Heat oven to 325 degrees.with a rack in center. Combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until combined but not too creamy. Stir in dried cranberries.
Pat dough evenly into an 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake until just beginning to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Place pan on cooling rack until cool enough to touch, about 20 minutes. Run knife around edges, remove shortbread, and transfer, right side up, to work surface. Use 1 1/2- to 2-inch heart cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Use a paring knife to trim stray bits of cranberry from edges. Cookies will keep for 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

The Little Monster

Happy 8th month Dyl Dyl!
Mummy is so tired from work this week to write your monthly blogpost, will do it tomorrow.
I hope you had a great day today with me :)

Love,
Mummy

Her Morning Elegance - Oren Lavie

This video by Oren Lavie is so god damn AMAAAAAAAAAAAAZING! During the first few seconds of watching it, I thought it was shot as a video and during post, frames removed to get that staggered motion. But NO...get this, it's actually a video put together by still photos! 3225 of them! I am so inspired to do a video like that, it puts my love for photography and my background in film production together :) Definitely on my TO DO list now, arrrgh, I need more than 24hours in my life!

Fun Facts of the video:
* The video was shot all stills - roughly 3225 still photos for the entire video, using one camera, hanging from the ceiling for the main body of the movie.
* It took 4 weeks before shooting to create an animated computer generated storyboard for the video, with 3d dummies for the characters.
* It took only 2 days of shooting for the live actors on set to re-create the 3.5 minutes computer sequence, frame by frame.
* Some of the bed sheets used in the video were taken from Oren’s own bedroom and are now considered collectors items, worth at the moment not very much and therefore used as bed sheets.
*Each of the wonderfully talented people above have worked on the video for a fraction of their normal rates (except Oren who worked for his normal rate of zero).

My favourite scene is the underwater one :)

Valentine's Day Promo - Day 1

up up and away!




two little friends


my darling dylan boy :)


will you be my valentine? >)












my BLOOMing valentine




sweet nat












my mummy valentine








cheeky megan










my daddy valentine

Valentine's Day Promo