Thank you MC2!

Last year was a fantastic year to be able to be involved in the MC2 building project promoting and documenting the migration into MC2 through photography. It is all finished now. What a wonderful project and really want to thank two people in particular (amongst many who were involved).

First and foremost, Emma! She is great to work with because she is totally organised, switched on, reasonable and even gave me money for lunch when I forgot to bring my wallet on day. I would work for you any day. Thank you Emma and congratulations!!

Another person to thank is definitely Lachlan the videographer. Getting behind his trusty Cannon 7D is not all he does, he does event / stage / FOH management and is an experienced, senior staff at Manningham's YMCA as well. He is the one that saved my life and my cameras' lives when he gave me the raincoat at Carols by Candlelight when it was bucketing down with rain. Thank you Lach, what would I do without you?

I so much wish I have a sound blimp for shoots like this and for many other shoots I do like dance and concerts as well. But they are so very expensive.. :'( I just have to improvise for the time being.

Macro Photography

Went out with friends to explore the world of macro photography at the Botanical Gardens. A friend of mine (Sam) lent me his Sigma 105mm macro because I didn't have any real macro lens of my own and frankly never did macro photography. Thank you Sam, you are a generous man.

I had previously posted here result of a little macro (micro in Nikon's language) photography experiment where a 85mm prime is coupled with a 50mm prime back to front. The magnification power of that set up is approaching microscopic level (about 2.65cm diagonally in FX format). That is more than 50% more powerful than the 105mm macro lens.


Taking a macro photo of the face of a watch which is rather flat is one thing, taking a macro photo of a flower or insect is a different matter altogether, I very quickly realised.

Trying to shoot such as bees and ants, I found it extremely difficult to focus and maintain that focus handheld. Eventually, I gave up automatic focus and went manual. Using rocking motion of the body to bring the subject into focus. Boy, I felt like I was drunk! Because the depth of field was so narrow, I keep winding the aperture number up until it went all the way to f/22 (hence the dust spots) and background details.

Thanks to another friend, Bronson, a great photographer by the way, for the many tips, I think I will do better next time. Must try to catch a bee in flight!

Anyway, for the time being, this is what I have. Enjoy. :)




PS The first pic is not a macro photo, just one that is shot with a macro lens. I hear macro lens can be good for portrait, etc as well. So here you go. :)

PS Sorry, I didn't bother to remove dust spots from the pics. If you know the name of the insect on the leaf in the second pic, appreciate if you would leave a comment and let me know. Thanks a lot!

Jaslyn has a new brother - Jonah

Almost two years ago, Jaslyn was born to proud parents, and good friends of mine, Chong Yau and Lynette. Two years later, God blessed the family with another bundle of joy - Jonah.

Jonah is about 4 days old here. A very pleasant baby, he didn't cry at all and was happy to be carried by me. Jonah didn't seem to mind too much of the flash either, mind you that the flash wasn't firing into his eyes. Chong Yau wasn't there but I think Jonah really looks like his dad!

Go ahead and take a look at Jaslyn when she was one day old and when she was three weeks old and see how they look like each other. Congratulations Lynette and Chong Yau!

Eric and Fen Fen's Wedding Day

What a beautiful couple, Eric and Fen Fen. Congratulations and very well done for putting together such a beautiful wedding. It was beautiful not so much because of the extravagant venue, or the expansive delicacies. It was a really beautiful wedding because it was bursting with love, happiness, and friendship.

Honestly, I can't remember what we had for dinner that evening. skipping all, apart from the main course, I just gobbled it down between the shots without paying much attention. Thanks to my wife, I was kept hydrated throughout the evening.

Of all the photos taken that day and evening, this is one of the most memorable for me and definitely my favorite.

Eric carefully examining (his most precious) Fen Fen's hand for a little prick. It communicates so much love from the groom and trust and dependency from the bride, the perfect picture of the life that is to come after that (wedding) day, for the rest of their lives. It reminds me of Matthew 13, the parable of the fine pearl in the Bible. :)

Another one that I really like is this of Eric's dad, Mr Xu, the word "PROUD" was printed all caps, impact font, in bold type and size 64 on his face! I think Eric's late mom was smiling at Eric as well from above that evening.



Fen Fen's family is amazing, on the wedding morning when all are running around like mad trying to get ready. Instead, they read their Bibles. They were also constantly reminding the photographer to eat!

You have my two thumbs up! :)





Thank you very very much Eric and Fen Fen. I wish you "one" a lifetime of happiness. XOXO

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) 2010 - Backstage - Styling & Make-Up

Shev Kelly from Napoleon Perdis showing off her work on model Amiee. ♥



I love the backstage. In fact, I love the backstage even more than the stage.

There are so much excitement, people concentrating, working hard, emotions are running high. I love it! It is also very crowded and can often be very hot also.

One tip, restraint from firing away before make up is done. After all, models make their money being beautiful, looking their best.

Thank you so much to the team of Kevin Murphy and Napoleon Perdis and of course the models for sharing your precious space behind the stage with us. :)





Great to see the workers taking pride in their work and having fun too! :)

Happy Birthday Reuben

Congratulations to proud father Aasheesh and mother Divya for your beautiful creation Reuben who just turned one.

With much hard work from the parents, a humble warehouse was transformed into a fantastic party hall, Pooh bear themed decorations, cup cakes, and an absolutely fabulous birthday cake, wonderful Indian foods and over 60 friends and family to share this special day with.

Thank you for having us capture this wonderful occasion for you. Hope you love the results! :)

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Reuben!
Happy birthday to you!

जन्मदिन मुबारक रूबेन

Australian Citizenship

Taking out citizenship seems to be the in-thing right now. This year, there has been a real tidal wave of people putting their hands up to become citizens of this great south land - Australia. It is not difficult to understand given the freedom we enjoy, the vast resources and how well we have survived the GFC.

Congratulations Edina and Ritchie!


Programme on the day usually include a speech from the respective city mayor (and a guest speaker), singing the national anthem, getting a little koala bear or kangaroo toy, a flag and a little bottle-brush in a pot.

The last of which is the most memorable for me reminding me or my own citizenship ceremony more than 20 years ago.

No, the bottle-brush is not a reminder from the government to keep our baby bottles clean. It is a native plant (Callistemon Linearis) in Australia nakenamed the bottle-brush because of the shape of its flowers.

Guitar Hero

Undoubtedly one of the most successful video game in recent days. Guitar Hero, Band Hero and more recently DJ Hero. Just about every gamer I know have a set or planning to get it.. immediately.

Just the other day, I saw in a shop stickers you can buy to decorate the guitar also. What are they going to think of next? Violin Hero? Harmonica Hero? Trumpet Hero? or Hot Plate Hero? Can't imagine cleaning the harmonica in Harmonica Hero drenched with silva.. I used to play the harmonica.. do you flick the drool off or let it drip... Sorry for the going into the details... :P

Look at my wife here having loads of fun on the electric guitar.

Another game I played was Trauma Center: Second Opinion on the Wii... Sorry, personally, I thought it was a really boring and laborious game of basically having a time limit to repeat a series of steps from memory to remove a tumour from a patient's stomach. Makes me think I must miss having school work. LOL. But on the upside, it did help me appreciate the work of surgeons and surgical procedures more.

Look at this bunch of crazy people, oops, sorry, I mean friends! It was a fantastic evening and I still can't get this song out of my mind - The Eye of the Tiger. Here is a little trailer from the movie for the fans. :D

The All New Mr & Mrs Bubb

Congratulations to Andrew and Dharshana, the new Mr & Mrs Bubb!


Fourth of July, affectionately known as the Independence Day. However, 4th July, 2009 will always be remembered by Andrew and Dharshana as the day they pledged their love for one another in front of their family, friends and before their God; to love one another in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, so long as they both shall live.

Look at this royal wave from one very proud woman. What about the lucky fella next to her? He is so happy, no one could wipe that smile from his face on their big day.

May the Lord bless you with a lifetime of happiness and ever growing love for one another. May the Lord be the head of your household and your house be always filled with laughters and warmth.

Proverbs 18:22, "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD. "

Love each other with the same love Christ has for the church. Giving to each other, prefering one another over yourself. Giving and forgiving just as in Christ God has forgiven us and continue to bear with us.

Through God, your love will never fail.

Roxanne is moving on!

After 14 months in the team, one of my colleague is switching from a teammate to a customer.. Doh, I have to be nice to her from now on! Well done for enduring with us and all the best with the new position. Good to see you moving towards the direction you want to go.

Andrew and Dharshi are Engaged!

Well done Andrew for putting together a fantastic surprise engagement party for your darling Dharshi! Look at how (pleasantly) surprised the bride-to-be was and a big sigh of relief for Andrew for finding the place and keeping it secret. Great job mate! Good work Jenks also!
We are so very happy for the two of you. Well done for finding each other. We wish you a life time of happiness, love and chocolate (at least Dharshi would say amen to that!).

All the girls were quick to offer Dharshi husband training advice while Andrew wasn't really sure what he is signing himself up to... Nah, he just couldn't believe his luck! :)

Sorry to all the admirers, available bachelors and single girls out there (and those looking to upgrade what they have...), Dharshi and Andrew are officially off the market!

I can't wait til your wedding day and see your new home! We love both of you! XOXO


For more pics, visit here.