Jiali and Vishal’s Spectacular Sunshine Engagement Shoot

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Jiali and Vishal’s Spectacular Sunshine Engagement Shoot

Post by fotolistic on May 20th, 2010 In Category : Engagement, Photography

So… here are the photos from the engagement session I told you about in my last post. I always thought that the most beautiful light comes just minutes before the sunset below the horizon. However, I can now say that if I am able to train myself to wake up before roosters in the morning, I would shoot ALL my engagement sessions at sunrise. Not only is the light magnificent, giving everything it touches a golden, fairytale-like glow, it lasts twice as long as a sunset (plus, there’s hardly anyone around). Combine that with an enthusiastic couple, you’ve got yourself an awesome engagement shoot.

My awesome couple for that day was Jiali and Vishal, who are set to wed this July at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I still can’t believe the couple was able to haul an 80 lb vintage bicycle from midtown all the way to Brooklyn Bridge Park at six in the morning. Yup, the bicycle and the balloon was their idea. I love it! Everything when so well with this shoot. I can’t wait to photograph their wedding.

On the Brooklyn Bridge, the sun was just peeking out.

As the sun inches its way up, a blanket of light seem to wrap around Jiali. Accented by her incredible smile, it made for a beautiful shot.

Hot pink handbag and heels?…He’s a ladies’ man.

My hallmark moment of the day. The couple catches the sunrise.

And they sealed the moment.

Some of my signature portraits.

Silly. Some couples take at least an hour to get comfortable in from of the camera. Jiali and Vishal…they were ready to pose as themselves as soon as I pulled my camera out.

Postcard.

Here’s an example of the golden glow I was telling you about.

She told him that she’s in love with him the old fashion way.

Action shots of the day.

She said she wanted a big red balloon. He said it’s in the car.

Some of the more iconic scenery of the Manhattan Bridge.

Did I mention there was a second location for that day as well? We headed back to Manhattan to finish up our engagement session in the streets of the meat packing district.

I told them I wanted to wrap up the shoot with some sexy shots, and this is what they did.

And lastly, the Highline. It was about 10am then. I told Vishal that he can take over as photographer for a bit while I take a little nap. JK.

I hope you all enjoy their engagement photos. Stay tuned for their upcoming wedding photos.

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What am I doing at Brooklyn Bridge Park at 4am?

Post by fotolistic on May 2nd, 2010 In Category : Photography

What was I doing at Brooklyn Bridge Park at 4 in the morning? I was scheduled to do an engagement shoot for this lovely couple who wanted to capture the beautiful sunrise from the Brooklyn Bridge. I never get up before sunrise and the thought of possibly oversleeping got me feeling a little nervous. Tossing and turning in bed for hours. Finally, at 3:30am, I left the apartment and drove over to DUMBO and thought I’d catnap in the car. Nope, didn’t happen, I know that it take a miracle before I’d come out this early again in the near future. I took full advantage of the currently desolate neighborhood usually swamped with tourists. So there I was, with all my camera gear, walking up and down Old Fulton Street like a lost rat. A police officer, parked by the ice cream factory, actually drove up and as if I was lost… must’ve been the confused look on my face. Anyway, I think I got some great shots that night/morning.

All photographs were shot in Raw Format with my Canon 5D
I used either a 16mm – 35mm f/2.8 Lens or the 50mm f/1.4 Lens at ISO 100-3200.
Full Manual shooting mode.
Post processed with Aperture and Photoshop CS4.

For the follow two shots, I set the camera down on to a railing for the long exposure.
ISO 400 f/5.6 30sec 16mm

ISO 400 f/13 30sec 16mm

Closer crop of the above photo.

I used manual focus and tried out some bokeh effects. Pretty cool. These are handheld shots.
Probably what Manhattan would look like from Brooklyn if you were extremely nearsighted.

ISO 1600 f/1.4 1/100sec 50mm

ISO 1600 f/1.4 1/100sec 50mm

Looking down from Old Fulton Street. I set the camera on top of a USPS mailbox for the following shots.
I couldn’t resist doing one of those streaked light photos; the ultimate cliche for nighttime photos.
And now, I got myself a cliche light streak shot just like everyone else. And I love the results.
ISO 100 f/11 10sec 50mm

ISO 100 f/11 10sec 50mm

ISO 100 f/20 30sec 50mm

ISO 100 f/11 10sec 50mm

Finally I wandered into the park and kept seeing things moving from the corner of my eye. Suddenly, a thought came to me, "this is usually how horror and murder mystery movie begins", and I am the star of this scene. Then, something really did caught my eyes, the first light of the day, the time when vampires goes back into hiding. And it just made me feel a whole lot better.
Handheld
ISO 3200 f/2.8 1/100sec 16mm

ISO 1000 f/1.6 1/100sec 50mm

ISO 800 f/1.4 1/100sec 50mm

At this time, my clients just arrive. Such a relief, I’m not walking around by myself anymore.
Stay tuned for their sunrise engagement shoot.

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The Wedding of Jen and Vincent Poon

Post by fotolistic on April 26th, 2010 In Category : Photography, Weddings

Congratulations to Jen and Vincent. This had to be one of the most surreal chinese wedding I’ve ever attended. Not your usually chinese banquet experience. Fancy chinese banquet feast, live contemporary music play on the Erhu— a traditional violin like chinese instrument that complemented the evening, and a limbo dance-athon that wrapped up the evening. So much fun. So many photos. I had to charge my camera battery 3 times just to keep up with the night.

Hope you enjoy the photos.