Pages of INK

Ashley celebrated her 4 year old birthday last Friday (22 Jan) and the first thing we did that morning was to stand side-by-side in front of the mirror to see how much she had grown over the year. She’s only an eighth of my age but turns out that she is over half my height already. I remember that when I was around 12, and about a foot taller than my mum, people used to mistake me as her brother. Not sure if my mum felt flattered (for looking so young) or insulted (for being short), but I imagine the same thing happening between us and Ashley one day. Zhiyi, on the other hand, is trying to delay the inevitable by constantly reminding me to control her food intake.

But back to last Friday, and the weekend for that matter, it was cake and food all the way. On Friday morning, the teachers were kind enough to let us celebrate her birthday at school with her classmates during recess. Ashley had a “princess cake” from Bengawan Solo which, as expected, was pink in colour.

Ashley and the girls in her class, looking very eager for me to get the photo taking over and done with.

And, another with the boys. Didn’t realize that there were two of them hiding behind!

After the cake (and more photos), the kids were allowed half an hour of playtime in the school gym. The school gym was pretty awesome compared to what I had when I was a kid with all manner of slides, see-saws, a foam-rubber-ish running track and other contraptions for the kids to flex their legs and get into fights over (some things never change). And when gym was over, Ashley did another thing that I couldn’t do at my age, wear her own socks and shoes. If her shoes had shoelaces, I bet that she would know how to tie those herself too!

To continue our fun filed Friday, we then brought Ashley to Wild Wild Wet at Pasir Ris, a water-based theme park. Wasn’t expecting much to be honest, but to our pleasant surprise, the park was pretty huge and there were tons of slides for us to try out.

The attraction in the background is called the Professor’s Playground. We spent most of our time there.

That was until we discovered this humongous slide, starting from about 50m off the ground, the Ular-lah, which turned out in the end to be Ashley’s favourite!

Simply looking up at it makes me weak in the knees. That kid really knows no fear!

On Saturday, we had a family lunch at Swensen’s at Vivo City. This time, Ashley had a nice ice cream cake from Angie The Choice. We didn’t realize when we arrived that Swensen’s doesn’t normally allow you to bring in cakes from elsewhere as they sell cakes too, but kudos to the manager for being flexible and making an exception for us!

Whoosh!

To distract Alicia from the cake, Zhiyi resorted to letting her play with her sunglasses.

After the lunch, Ashley opened her presents and received 2 new dresses from her grandparents and Zaccheus’ family. You should see her wardrobe now – I think she has more dresses than her mum!

Nothing like some exercise after a big lunch!

Check out the rest of the photos here.

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Ashley will be turning 4 this coming Fri (22 Jan) and we’re now in the midst of planning her birthday celebrations. First up will be a celebration in school with her classmates, then we will be bringing her to her favourite water playground at the zoo in the afternoon and finally a celebration with the family and care group in the evening. In short, she’s gonna eat lot’s of cake this Friday!

2010 also marks the end of pre-school and the 1st of 3 years of kindergarten. She will be continuing on her education at Chinese Kindergarten which sits on top of Jubilee Church at Outram Road. It is one of the better schools we have researched, and it being a Christian school means that part of the curriculum would be the imparting of Biblical teachings and values. E.g. Love your enemies, honour your parents, do your homework and clean-up your room kinda stuff… (I added the last bit)

Here are some photos from her graduation concert held back in Nov 2009.

Ashley taking charge of introducing her class’ performance. She didn’t get “arrowed” to do it, she volunteered!

Tee-hee, look everyone is clapping!

Everyone trying to hit the high notes for the combined song item.

Complete gallery here.

To top it off, she received very good feedback from her teachers. Direct from her report card:

Ashley is a natural leader. She uses verbal and nonverbal strategies to initiate cooperative activity and encourages peers to participate. She encourages others to share/exchange or assist one another with play materials.

Ashley is always creating something new when they pay. She is an inventor and takes risks in trying something she has never tried before (e.g. celebrating birthdays in the tunnel). Through play, she is developing creativity and thinking skills besides social interactions.

And, here is out favourite Ashley artwork to date – a portrait of the family. That’s her on the left, followed by me, then mummy and finally Alicia. I’m still wondering though why I’m the only one in pink…

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Lake Tekapo

Almost didn’t shoot this (tired, too early in the morning, foggy, etc) but for wifey’s incessant reminders that "we made it this far". We were just about done shooting when the gorgeous sun came out from behind the clouds, and thankfully dad-in-law was on hand to hold my huge reflector, filling the shadow’s nicely.

On the image, I received a few comments that the scenery looks almost unreal. Yes, New Zealand is that gorgeous. With the right equipment (an ultra-wide angle lens) and enthusiastic subject, it all simply came together.

Wanaka

Received a wonderful tip from the hair stylist, Debbie, on where to take pictures around Wanaka and it’s almost certain that I wouldn’t have found this place otherwise. The hills were filled with tussock or snow grass (their equivalent of our lalang, except much nicer). If Zhiyi looks extra elegant in this photo, it’s thanks to the wonderful makeup and hair services of Carla Lucas and Debbie Forrest respectively. You can contact them here if you’re ever thinking of doing a shoot around Queenstown or Wanaka.

Note: See the larger version by clicking on the image, and going to “All Sizes” in the next page, as the facial details just look mashed in the thumbnail.

Opotiki

It was dreadfully overcast when we decided to shoot on our 2nd day in Opotiki, but as we were about to wrap up, the sun miraculously decided to poke through the clouds just as a flock of seagulls entered my frame. And to top it off, we wouldn’t have returned to the beach for a second round had we not discovered that Zhiyi had dropped her earrings at the very spot she is standing in the photo above when we were there earlier. Serendipity!

More to come!

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I’m now typing this post from the room of our hotel in Christchurch where Internet access is going for $10 for 2 hours. In this day and age, I’d thought that free wireless Internet was almost a given in “branded” hotels or tourist hot spots but I guess some things still take time.

Anyway, we’re now a third through our holiday in New Zealand and having loads of fun so far. More than half of the time has been spent on the road driving from town to town so it’ll be an understatement to say that we’re pretty tired. E.g. the drive yesterday from Queenstown to Christchurch took almost 8 hours! And tomorrow, it’ll be another 4 hour drive from Christchurch to Blenheim. Better get some much needed rest tonight!

Here’s one picture from our trip so far that pretty much summarizes Project New Zealand. Been getting many lovely shots so far of all the 3 girls in the family (wifey, Ashley and Alicia) though I must say, the real star has been none other than my long suffering wife who agreed to model a stunning wedding gown for this particular shoot.

As to how I managed to haul this humongous gown all the way from Singapore, drive hundreds of kilometers with it together with 5 suitcases and other bags, convince my wife to model for pictures in between taking care of 9 month old Alicia, find a make up artist and hair stylist on Christmas Day and end up at this picturesque location is quite another story! Now just praying that the weather continues to stay on my side…

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16 Aug 2009 – 2009 has been a really eventful and rewarding year for me photographically. I started the year from where I left off in 2008 – doing test shoots for models, the odd paid portrait shoot and numerous paid and pro-bono wedding gigs. I also made massive investments in gear, lighting and education, with the hope of further honing my craft to a level where I have the confidence to execute my vision without worrying too much about the technicalities. And, of course, to also further enhance the revenue generating capabilities of my passion.

Speaking of revenue, one thing that surprised me this year was that I managed to sell a few canvas prints of some fine art street photographs I took in Shanghai. As a people photographer, I earn from photographing portraits, events and weddings, so this reaffirmed the fact that to be a good photographer, one must really stretch himself to go beyond his comfort zone and train his eye in other photographic disciplines.

Anyway, that aside, I think the biggest highlight for me this year was being invited by Lance Lee, a prominent local fashion and commercial photographer, to participate in a joint fashion photography exhibition with a few other local professional photographers. The T-Show was the brainchild of Luke Elijah, a prominent local stylist, featuring wardrobe from his boutique and shot on location at The Cathay. The experience of shooting for the exhibition can only be described as gruelling and I must admit, there were times I did feel that I was in way over my head. Nonetheless, the experience really thought me how to work under pressure, solve problems on the spot and take control of a shoot.

I’m proud to say that not only did I survive (want to see my scar? ), but I also managed to contribute 6 out of the 15 photos on exhibit. The exhibition is now headed to Hong Kong and the pool of photos has since grown to about 20. Really hope I get the chance to do something again like this next year!

The first group of colleagues – Jowena, Fendy and Hendrik – coming to see my exhibition.

Hendrik trying to look cool like the photo whereas Jowena is tickled by the topless twins!

My long suffering and ever patient wife and daughters finally seeing the fruits of my labour.

Click here for a link to all the photos I took for the exhibition.

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A few months ago, Ashley’s school had organised a trip to the zoo, and this was soon followed by a trip to McDonald’s as a way of making sure children learnt where everything falls into place on the food chain. Not that Ashley really cared as all that mattered to her were the French fries. No surprises if she chooses to major in languages over science when she grows up.

The day started with all of us gathering at her school, and while waiting for roll call, I had a chance to photograph Ashley in her classroom. I also got to know some of her friends and put faces to some of the names she usually mentions over the dinner table.

It then dawned upon me that in no time, she would be inviting friends over for study groups and Wii sessions.

A bit too young for this though…

And so, we waited some more. And got a little bored…

But, finally, we were underway!

Upon arriving at the largest McDonald’s outlet in Singapore at King Albert Park, we proceeded to occupy the most strategic seats in the joint.

There’s just something about munching on a Happy Meal on a Monday. A brief burst of joy to drown away the blues. A mix of melancholy and fond nostalgia as the taste buds are suddenly reminded of a time not too long ago. A feeling that the weekend isn’t really over, though the lingering realisation that 4 days of school remain before the next one.

Unfortunately, there was to be no pictures of the kitchen tour as McDonald’s staff are highly trained to detect any form of industrial espionage. As they quite rightly sensed upon me pulling out my camera, I was really planning to use the pictures of my kid looking around their kitchen as research material for the next McCurry outlet opening in town.

Hamburglar would have been proud had I got away with it.

Nonetheless, it was still all smiles as we wrapped up the trip with a customary pose with the red afro clown himself.

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This was taken right outside our room at the Pemberton Best Western Motel.

The most notable thing about our trip home to Singapore was how we were stranded at Perth International Airport for close to 10 hours, after 2 delays. The delays caused many passengers to cancel their New Year Eve plans, but what made it worse was that no one who had already entered the check-in area of the airport was allowed to leave until a few hours later in line with "immigration clearance laws". Needless to say, there were many many irate passengers that day.

See this calm and serene picture of a lone tree on top of a hill? Everyone was feeling the exact opposite!

According to the captain, who was very transparent about the whole thing, there was damage on the valve of an oxygen tank that supplies the masks that drop down from the overhead compartments in the event of cabin depressurization. As they didn’t have spare parts on hand, they had to fly one in from Sydney. After a few hours of waiting, to our dismay, we were told that the initial fix had failed, so they had to try again with another spare part that was to be flown in from Melbourne. Another few hours of waiting, and much to our relief, the fix worked and we were on our way back.

When bored at the airport, spend the time taking long exposure shots of planes landing, while practicing holding your breath at the same time…

We counted down to the new year over the Indian Ocean.

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Pemberton, a few hours drive south east of Margaret River, is home to the majestic karri tree, the 3rd largest hardwood tree in the world. Not for the feint of heart, there are 3 climbable kerri trees that are over 60m tall which were formerly used as fire lookout posts. Only 20% of visitors ever make it to the top, with a majority turning back after reaching the halfway point. I tried climbing 5m, looked at the huge gaps between the makeshift steps made out of metal pikes and decided that I wasn’t so brave after all…

The tallest of the 3 remaining climbable kerri trees, the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree is 71m tall.

I was really really really worried when taking this shot… Look at how much space there is between steps and nothing to catch you if you were to slip.

Pemberton is a very small town and it is possible to drive from one end to the other in less than 5 minutes. It is a pretty popular tourist destination for Western Australians due to the fact that it is surrounded by 5 national parks. Unfortunately, due to Zhiyi’s size, any thoughts of trekking were quickly put on hold!

One of four remaining V Class 2-8-2 Mikado type Steam Locomotives left in service. This one operates from Easter to the end of October on tourist trains to Eastbrook Siding on Saturdays, and to Lyall Siding on Sundays.

Waiting at the Pemberton Station

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Dunsborough is a small seaside town about a 2 hours drive from Margaret River and is one of the more popular holiday destinations for Perthites due to its beautiful surrounding beaches that face north towards the Indian Ocean.

Along the way, there is this “must-visit” place for ice cream lovers called Simmo’s Ice Creamery. It’s got ice cream flavours that can rival Ben and Jerry’s like Swiss Choc, Whisky Prune and Orange Choc Chip. There’s also a large lawn at the store where families can have picnics and a small playground nearby with an antique carousel. Good fun for the kids!

It was here that I also bumped into an old friend from Kuching. I must admit, I was slightly envious to learn that she migrated there not so long ago. Sun and surf, what’s not to like?

Just south of Dunsborough lies the town of Yallingup, which has bred many of the regions best surfers. We would have spent more time here but not for the fact that it was getting dark and we wanted to avoid driving after sundown.

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Date of Birth: 24 Mar 2009
Time of Birth: 13:39
Weight: 3.64kg
Height: 51cm

Yay! It was a very very smooth delivery compared to the first one. Alicia was out after only a few pushes in a personal best time of just under 15 minutes for Zhiyi!

Mission accomplished!

Alicia’s first family photo

Meditating about the meaning of milk.

Here’s where all the babies hang out in between drinks. Alicia is in the middle getting changed.

Visitors

I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who dropped by and showered Alicia and wifey with gifts and well wishes. Also, apologies that I didn’t manage to catch everyone’s picture (Zhiyi’s colleagues, Allan & Hsueh Ting, Anthony & Canny).

From left: Guoming, Erwin, Thomas, Fendy, Zhiyi, Jowena, INK, Alicia, Doyle, Lloyd and Rajen

From left: Alicia, Zhiyi, Cryst and Gab

From left: Livi, Merv, Alicia, Zhiyi, Tze Wei, Hillary, Yee Leong, Virginia and Vincent

From left: Alvin, Charlotte, Cheryl, Zhiyi, Alicia and Ashley

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