Of Lighting Angels – Stella Matilda

It’s amazing how busy life can get. Very soon days become weeks, and weeks become months, and before you know it, the only sign of the fact that time has indeed passed, are the signs of age on your health, and the amount of taxes and/or bills you’re paying each month.

And then you get a sweet message asking you very politely, “Could I see the photos please?” *falls over chair*

Anyways, I did this shoot some time back. I think it was July *peeks at the EXIF*.

Strange trivia about this shoot: it’s the first time I participated in an arranged shoot by a privately run modeling agency. Can’t even quite remember how I found out about it. Hmm, that reminds me, I still owe the organizer his thumbdrive. *gasp* I’m seriously all over the place.

So needless to say, it was a fairly simple shoot. The model, Stella Matilda, is simply gorgeous, and she already knows darn well how to pose. I just merely had to be there (to a certain extent-lah). Usually these kind of shoots aren’t immediately my cup of tea, but the reason I got involved in this one anyway, was to try and pick up a few pointers on how models pose, i.e. get portrait experience. Frankly, it’s something I’m still learning, and have ways more to go. I reckoned, back then, that this shoot would give me an opportunity to learn from a professional model. And technically I did learn.

Only thing with the absent minded person that I tend to be these days, I forgot what I learned. Ah well, it’ll come back to me. =)

In any case, before I keep going on and on, thanks Stella for being a wonderful model (not to mention be patient enough to wait 2 months for the images). I hope that these images will at least redeem me a tiny little bit *angelic halo*. =)

PS: Is it just me, that by sheer coincidence, this isn’t the first shoot I’ve done since the D700 acquisition that involves an angel theme. And just for the record, I had nothing to do with the planning of either. I’m just saying… =)

Posted at 9pm on 09/04/09 | No Comments » | Filed Under: Portfolio |
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Fashion by Cassey Gan

In what can only be described as a pretty long absence from my relatively new start in the blogosphere, I am finally back to at least brush the cobwebs off this website. So what happened? Well, let’s just say in a nutshell, the day-job caught up with me.

One stint included me being away for work from Malaysia for 18 out of 22 days in a row. There’s a fair bit of glamor to business travel, but I have to admit, during those 3 weeks, I was poof-ed beyond belief. I nearly felt I could hit someone on the head if they said the phrase ‘Wah, so nice’ to me in response to my 18 days away. The grass is indeed always greener.

And then there’s the fact that I’ve been going through a photographic slump. It’s very much the weight of expectation that shrouded the new camera. Some from the peer, mostly from myself. It got so bad, I didn’t want to shoot just because I feared I couldn’t do the camera justice. Sometimes, it would get the better of me in that even after a shoot, I refused to look at the shots because it just didn’t quite click. It’s as though I was staring at an extinguished flame, somehow hoping it’ll rekindle by some miracle.

Yes, it was a low period. I did some shoots in between, but the inspiration only came like little droplets from a drying sieve.

But last weekend, in what was a culmination of two amazing close friends, two incredible talents in their own right, and me being fortunate enough to be a part of the equation, I was part of a fashion shoot. In some ways, as one of them keenly told me, it’s what I’ve needed for a while, which is to take the wheel again. So happens that Lady Luck was on my side when I did this time.

The shoot, in short, was inspiring and reinvigorating. There was just so much positive energy emanating from it. Frankly, if all shoots were like this, I’d consider taking up photography full time quite seriously.

So onwards to the shoot. My dear friend Cassey is one who’s simply passionate about fashion. So much so, she’s pursuing it now with the vigor and energy which I haven’t been able to muster in quite a while even for my own passion; photography.

It started off as a simple idea of shooting her creations; a lineup which I’d personally describe as very casual and wearable, yet with a bit of character and uniqueness about them, that you won’t find in any ordinary boutique.

The outcome? Well… I’ll let the images speak for themselves. My only wish is that I did her work justice. So without further ado, I present to you the tops by Cassey Gan. And she can take the credit for not only designing them (with the exception of the jumpsuit), but also amazingly modeled herself.


Top designed by Cassey Gan || Modeling by Cassey Gan


Top designed by Cassey Gan || Modeling by Cassey Gan


Top designed by Cassey Gan || Modeling by Cassey Gan


Top designed by Cassey Gan || Modeling by Cassey Gan


Top designed by Cassey Gan || Modeling by Cassey Gan || Shot courtesy of Huey Yee


Top designed by Cassey Gan || Modeling by Cassey Gan


Modeling by Cassey Gan


Top designed by Cassey Gan || Modeling by Cassey Gan

Thanks so much Cassey and Huey Yee for reminding me of what joy there is to find in a passion that seemed lost to the many everyday pressures of the contemporary corporate world, and everything else in between.

Till our next collaboration! =) *big hugs*

Posted at 11pm on 09/02/09 | No Comments » | Filed Under: Portfolio |
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