Thursday, December 9, 2010

Burst Angel - The 2nd Impact




Time sure passes by quickly. It's going to be nearly a year since I first worked with Yang, and before long I would be moving back to my hometown.

This was our first shoot since DOGS, and it felt different. Maybe because I am have finally completed my studies? Who knows? :P

Hope you like the shots, been getting a lot of inspiration from photo and fashion magazines lately as well. Been catching up on a lot of reading, felt relaxed as well.

Album: Here

Coming up, STGCC/EOY/CF. Then it's all over for 2010.

Till next update. :)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Makai Kishi Garo





Richfield and Su Gwan, two of the most epic cosplayers that I have ever met.

Album: Here

I also posted some photos on my Facebook page, do drop by if you are interested in the updates that I posted once in a while. :)

Saturday, November 20, 2010

AFA X


It's been a while!

Photos from the recent Singapore ACG event: Here

And now, back to work!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Sept/Oct Update

Hello everyone. Currently taking a break until mid-November due to exams and a few odd projects, I have already completed all of my shoots and have uploaded them to my Multiply gallery. Two of them were taken during my Sydney trip.


RG Veda - The first manga that I read seriously, this series from CLAMP left a deep impression in me with its unique artwork and memorable characters. You can say that I have been a long time fan since 1993!

So basically when I was given the chance to work with the awesome Australian cosplayers, I took it and thus the shoot was held at Sydney's Chinese Garden of Friendship. The place looks pretty awesome, even though you have to pay to go in and there's a quite a number of tourists roaming around.

Album: Here


07-Ghost - Held on the same day as the RG Veda shoot, it was a good chance to work with one of the WCS finalist groups. Because we are all not natives of Sydney (they were from Brisbane and I am from SG/MY), going to the St. Mary's Cathedral was a first time experience for us.

The shoot was short but we managed to get a few decent shots due to the amazing lighting there.

Album: Here


Black Rock Shooter: Dual - A two-in-one shoot, showcasing both versions of the black-haired heroine.

This is my second time working with Crestryn, so we had a number of discussions prior to the shoot itself. Everything went well in the end despite the rain earlier that day.

Album: Here


Vocaloid: VN02 - For my sole October shoot, we went to NTU on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Not many people were hanging around, so the area's relatively quiet.

Because we started pretty late, the level of lighting dipped after just an hour or so of shooting. We wrapped things up quickly and left before the entire place turned dark.

Anyway, the VN02 costume is much love and it's DIY too! Wow.

Album: Here


Onto non-cosplay photography stuff! My company recently brought us to the Universal Studios (Singapore) for a day of family fun. Each of us got a free ticket as well as a bunch of retail/food vouchers for use within the theme park.

Album: Here


The right-side photo on the collage above was taken using a Panasonic LX5. Yes, I finally got myself a digital compact camera for casual snapshots and for times when I felt that bringing my DSLR would be a hassle. The image quality is very nice and the responsiveness of the camera is pretty good too. I have posted some shots in the link below, hope you will like these 'test' shots.

Album: Here

***********************

So that's all for now at least until the next update in December. See you guys around, and keep on shooting (photos, that is).

Friday, September 24, 2010

Back from Down Under



A rather 'short' recap of the Sydney Trip: Here

Animania Photos: Here

PS. The trip's really fun!

Friday, September 17, 2010

August Photoshoots Update


Had a Rozen Maiden shoot in the heart of the Toa Payoh town, was a really sunny day but there's a lot of decent covers nearby so it was quite bearable. I never really worked with most of the cosplayers except for the leader in this shoot, but they are pretty friendly.

Album: Here


Yang asked me out for a shoot before the Natsu Matsuri event, so I met up with her at the Xiao Gui Lin near the Bukit Gombak MRT station. Probably one of the rare places in Singapore with some kind of China feel, we took advantage of the many rocks and the cliff background to produce the shots. It's not too bad but I was feeling sleepy due to my late night editing the day before.

Album: Here


The day after Natsu Matsuri, I met up with my cosplayer friend who did the Listen! ED version of Mio Akiyama from the series K-On!!

We had two helpers (her boyfriend who is known for making some epic armour cosplay, and a mutual friend of ours called "Yui" heh) who made the shoot very manageable. We went up to the Pinnacle@Duxton, well known for its nice view of the city as well as a rather clean feel. The shoot went well, except for the water spout incident. Haha.

Album: Here


A few months back, there was a group shoot involving the different characters of the game series Guilty Gear. However, because of the size of the group we ended up shooting at a generic location in town. Because I wanted a gritty feel to the series, I asked Evie if she's free to do another shoot in an abandoned location. She gamely agreed to the shoot, and it went well thanks to the help of her boyfriend who carried the reflector and bag.

A lot of people didn't believe that most of the shots were made without the use of a flash. Initially I had wanted to shoot using the flash, but the presence of several concentrated beams of light in the location led me to use them instead. Result's pretty decent although I would have preferred the location to be bigger.

Album: Here


It's time to visit the Final Frontier (aka Tuas) again. We were lucky to get some really decent weather because the last few times I was there, it was raining cats and dogs!

The area we shot look less desert-like than before. I guess in about a year or so, the entire location will be remade into an industrial zone much like the ones in Loyang and Changi. But I love the place anyway, it felt vast and peaceful.

Album: Here


Bad weather turned this concept shoot into an indoor one, so we had the shoot in Yang's house. Not too bad but the room's really small so framing's really important.

During the shoot, we also joked about people owing money and what the three would do in such situations. Well, random stuff can be fun sometimes.

Album: Here

I'll be writing about my Sydney trip soon, so stay tuned! :)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

The KL Trip


The time that I have spent recently in Kuala Lumpur proved to be a rather interesting, tiring but ultimately fun experience. Instead of a usual week of relaxation, I decided to challenge myself by having a shoot every day. Although that didn't really happened, I completed six shoots in total... each presenting a unique set of challenges that I tried to tackle as best as I could.

Here are the results of the week long 'marathon'. I would like to thank Misao, Victor, Razrig, Lavena, Kikyo, Ayase, Mbek, Teri, Bunny, James, Reno, Mieko, Byou, Huko Yee, and Cappy for their assistance and willingness to take part in any of the shoots shown below.

Also, a special thanks to Solomon Freeman who have kindly loaned me his D3S, lenses and SB-900 during the two night shoots that I had. The day shoots were done using my usual gears.

DGM Lavi: Here

Post-Mortem: The old train station has its own fair share of photoshoots, but the main attraction of the place (the Heritage Hotel) was closed a few months back, so I utilised the dark corridors to get the 'Bookman' effect. :P

In addition, we somehow created a Korean drama feel for Reno... this is what happened when Lavi's without his hammer, haha.

Macross Frontier: (To be updated)

Post-Mortem: A last minute change that turned the evening shoot into a night one, we still had it at Putrajaya due to its amazing night lighting that gave the city a character of its own. Victor was nice enough to pick up Kikyo and Ayase from the Mines Wonderland, while Misao drove me, Solomon and Mbek to Lavena's house to pick her up. We reached the location on time, although additional preparation delayed the shoot a bit.

I really like the D3S, it is a very capable camera if a bit too heavy for my liking. Noise level's pretty clean even until ISO3200, there's a lot of details that can be extracted during post-processing. Sadly, the zoom mechanics for the playback seem to be a bit archaic for my taste, but overall it is still good.

One thing that I learnt from the shoot was the fact that the humble reflector can do magic sometimes. Heh.

Note: The photos are not ready yet due to a delay in editing, apologies for that.

Pandora Hearts - II: Here

Post-Mortem: More laughs than seriousness, we spent quite a long period of time catching up on things after getting the necessary shots. There's a lot of random stuff that happened during the shoot as well.

Bukit Jalil Park is a very quiet place, seems like nobody goes there except for cosplayers. :P

Town Lolita - Mieko: Here

Post-Mortem: Gotta love Melaka... for the food, the historic architecture, and the relaxing riverside. Mieko was fun to work with, and the place really suits the lolita feel... we even went into a church to take some shots!

I missed out on the epic chicken rice balls though. There will be a next time!

Chang An Huan Ye - II: Here

Post-Mortem: We went to the Thean Hou temple for the shoot. It seems like the place's a regular for photoshoots as there is a marriage registry there, and a regular stream of tourists. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my flash, but we carried on and I am glad Byou like the shots. :)

Durarara!! Here

Post-Mortem: Having a night shoot for DRRR, especially in Kuala Lumpur, seems like a daunting thing because of the recent spat of crimes in the city. I took a gamble in using a rather quiet car park to do the shoot because it was my first time going to that place.

As this shoot took place on the same day as the Chang An shoot, Byou was pretty tired but she soldiered on till the end. Huko Yee is pretty friendly too, it was my first time working with them actually.

One of the local cosplay photographers, Razrig was kind enough to ferry us around the city, as well as bringing everyone back to their respective homes after the end of the shoot. Good job, dude. :)


And finally, before I head back to Singapore I decided to drop by a local ACG event organised by the students of the International Medical University (IMU), which was located pretty close to my house. It was a really small events, but it looks like everyone had a good time there.

GAMP 2010: Here

Ended the whole epic trip by watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on the bus trip back. The movie felt a bit boring though, so I am curious if the Deathly Hallows will be an improvement.

Hope you enjoy reading this entry and looking at the photos, as I wrote this while waiting for my plane to Sydney tonight. I will be at there for the entire weekend (plus a day or two) to attend Main Animania, so till next time folks. :)

Friday, August 27, 2010

July Update #2


After nearly two weeks since my return to Singapore, I finally have some time to write about the shoots that I did before my trip to Kuala Lumpur.


The Trinity Shoot - Due to my busy schedule, I suggested to hold three photoshoots within the same area, within the same time.

Crazy, isn't it? Even though it felt really tiring, I managed to complete the shoots and edited each shoots in a different manner. It was also a fun day because the cosplayers that I worked with (Vanda, Yang, and Angeline) are very nice people.

Burst Angel: Here
Shana V: Here
Lucky Dog 1: Here


ARIA - Another crazy photoshoot, mainly because we went to the beach really early in the morning (6AM) to prepare for the shoot. Sadly due to the rain the previous day, there weren't any decent sunrise for us to grab some shots but we went ahead with the shoot anyway. A very wet experience!

Album: Here


Kuroshitsuji - We had this photoshoot on the other end of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, because usually most of the time people had their cosplay shoots on the main side (near Gleneagles hospital).

We encountered curious onlookers, random gardeners, young children, and black swans. Yeap, the swans were pretty cool with random people hanging around them.

Album: Here



Chang An Huan Ye - One of the Chinese novel series with many elaborate outfits, Yang and Ah Jia invited me to the shoot at the Chinese Garden. Quite frankly, I lost count of the number of times I have been there to shoot.

The shoot finished early due to the weather and also due to the fact that we were hungry. The photos turned out well though, and would lead to another shoot of the same series in Kuala Lumpur...

Album: Here


Tainted Memories - And last but not least, I had a conceptual shoot with a friend of mine which is about loss of love, betrayal and the embracing of madness.

Some editing tweaks enhanced the mood perfectly, although my friend recruited another friend to do the main editing. I contributed with an alternate edited version, hope you all enjoy it. :)

Album: Here

Stay tuned for the next entry, which will be about my trip up North. Till then!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

C.C.


GREY WITCH

Album: Here

Cosplayed by Yang.

Initially I had wanted to blog about several of July's shoots, but only one series have been completed so far. The rest will have to wait until I return from my KL photography trip this weekend or if I have the time to post them up while I am there.

This shoot (which took place a week after TGX) went pretty well despite the torrential rain earlier that day. After many shoots with her, I feel that we work well together. A blessing indeed. :P

Anyway, till next time. Have a happy National Day celebration for Singaporean readers this weekend. :)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

July Update #1

It has been a really unbelievable month, with so many events and shoots occupying my time that it made June look like a cakewalk (which it isn't) but I finally have a bit of time to do a quick writeup.

My Little Robin

Hundred Man Killer

Cosfest IX

My 7th time attending the event, I can't help but to feel a bit nostalgic. Maybe because a lot of things happened over the past few years, both good and bad. Anyway, met up with friends from both Malaysia and the Philippines, made a few new friends, and even get to pose with the epic Franky cosplayer from the series One Piece. He's cool! ;)

Day 1: Here

Day 2: Here


The Games Xpo (TGX) 2010

Nothing much to write about the event, apart from the fact that it was crowded and boring in general. But the cosplayers did a good job once again, even if the location doesn't seem suitable for most of the series being cosplayed.

Day 1: Here

Day 2: Here

July photoshoot updates to come soon, hopefully! :)

Monday, July 19, 2010

June Update #3

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, been busy (as usual) with a few shoots and cosplay events coverage.


Yang, seen here cosplaying as Pandora from the classic anime series Saint Seiya. I was surprised that she cosplayed the earliest version of the character, as well as learning that she cosplayed as Athena in the past too!

Link: Here


Finally, a Pandora Hearts shoot featuring Vincent Nightray, Echo and Sharon Rainsworth. Had a blast of a time working with Yukiharu, Janice and Germaine during the shoot as we joked around for most part. I hope there will be more shoots of this series in the future!

Link: Here

LION

Delayed for many months, this shoot was finally underway! Special thanks to Krisgage and Suki-luna for their equipment and direction support, it helps a lot especially when the shoot continued into the night.

I learnt a few more things about flash lighting, especially in terms of positioning and adjusting the strength of the flash output. It was a fun experience, although tiring as well.

Link: Here

June photoshoots done, events next!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

June Update #4



Besides Starfest, there were 3 other events held during the subsequent weekends of June. Although not everyone turn up for these events, but there were a lot of photographers and curious onlookers!


One of the longest running events apart from Cosfest and EOY, Streetfest has changed its venue this year to Plaza Singapura. In the past, there were more J-rock related cosplay although the focus have somewhat changed to more general cosplay series. As usual I have a very busy time that day, doing two photoshoots in the morning and covering the event as much as I can later in the afternoon. I fell ill the next day, took me a while to recover.

Album: Here


*SCAPE is a new building located next to Orchard Cineleisure that caters to the youth. An event was held on the 19-20 June to officially open the building.

Originally I didn't want to drop by, but I changed my mind after Yang got interested in the event. Arrived there early only to find a small number of cosplayers wandering around. There were a few good ones though, so I didn't count the trip as a waste of time.

The location's generally not that bad for shoots, especially for series that are urban-based. I was told that there's a nice rooftop as well. Anyway, I left the place after catching a few stage performances and bidding farewell to Yang and the rest.

Album: Here


Finally, Japan Fiesta 2010 (held at Orchard Central) was the event with the least number of cosplayers because many people are still preparing for Cosfest IX. The most interest thing about the event was the Japanese and Korean cosplayers showing their stuff on stage.... some pretty amazing performances there. You can check them out at the Youtube links I provided in the Multiply album listed below.

Album: Here

*phew* And that's all I have for the June updates... I still have some things to write about for this month (July) so stay tuned to the next update!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

June Update #2

When Yang returned back to Singapore, we planned a few more photoshoots and here are some that we have completed so far. :)


A night shoot based on the pairing of Shinichi Okazaki and Reira Serizawa, we wandered around the streets of Orchard to get the necessary shots. I must admit its a tiring affair because the shoot took place on a weekday (meaning right after work). But nonetheless, it was a fun learning experience so more night shoots in the future!

Album: Here

Kuroshitsuji: VII

A Kuroshitsuji mini-shoot held before the Starfest event, it begun raining heavily right after we began shooting. We didn't go to the City Hall building in front of the Padang as it was closed due to the upcoming Youth Olympic Games, so the shoot was also cut short.

After the shoot, we went to the event but the event was relatively so-so. There's a lot of photographers and cosplayers, and I spent more time talking to friends than getting some shots.

Album: Here

Starfest 2010: Here

***********

There will be more updates to come, been a bit busy clearing out the remaining backlogs I had with Yang as well as with other cosplaying friends. Till next time! :)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

June Update #1


Last year, I had a photoshoot with Shuki (who was cosplaying as Al Azif from Demonbane).

Al Azif

This year, it is a K-On! shoot with her as Azunyan! XD

Azunyan

It's quite hard to get hold of her due to her busy schedule, so I would like to thank her for accepting the invitation to the shoot as well as the helpers for their hard work.

Album: Here


Spent some time hanging out in town while waiting for my friends so that we can watch Prince of Persia. The movie's not too bad, a bit too rushed for my taste but competently done. At least it's quite entertaining!

Album: Here

Finally, I made an important update on DA. This might be my last update for now, as there will be a lot of upcoming events and shoots to cover during the next 1-2 months. Till next time, folks! :)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

May Update #4


One more update to go before ending the month of May, although there might be a few stuff to write about (I'll leave it for the June updates instead).



One of the last few shoots I had before the exams period, it was actually months in the making because we weren't able to find the time to have the shoot. But finally, we did and the results turn out okay despite the sudden rain. It was my first time working with Jing, and my 4th time with Kula (the last one with her was back in 2007, that's a long time ago).

The location that we used is simply gorgeous, and gave us a feeling of peace high up in the sky. I will definitely go up there again, one of these days.

Album: Here


After a long time, I finally had the chance to attend a photographer's gathering in Arab Street. The sheer amount of the cosplay photoshoots kept me busy, so I took the chance once I have some spare time.

It was a fun gathering despite the rain (again), so I hope to attend more of these in the future.

Album: Here


And finally, I went for the Navy Open House recently. As it was my first time attending this yearly event, it was an eye opener for me. Apart from the searing heat, the event was well organised and there's an ample number of drink/food stalls available.

I even had the chance to go aboard some of the docked ships and venture into the depths, finding out that the corridors and cabins are really, really small. The seas are rough so in anticipation there are many amenities available such as gyms, relaxation rooms and even a place with washing machines!

I highly recommend the open house next year for those who are interested. :)
Album: Here

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

May Update #3

I had two more photoshoots with Yang before she went back to China for a short holiday. :)

Angel Sanctuary: Belial

It's been a while since I went to Fort Canning, so I suggested to Yang to have the shoot there. It was fun (one of the workers recognised the series that she was doing), although there's a lot of mosquitoes flying around.

The photos are a departure from my usual style of photography, aiming at a darker, mysterious feel. Belial is an enigma, indeed.

Album: Here

Shana Gaiden - III

Portraying Yang's Shana as both strong and vulnerable in my photogoraphs is a challenge for me. Since the both of us weren't that satisfied with our past shoot, we had another shoot at one of the old abandoned locations that I found. It went pretty well, the weather's just right... not too hot or not too cold.

Thanks to Mikyo (who provided the necklace) and Lexis (who provided the prop) for making the shoot a success. Owe the both of you a drink. :)

Album: Here

PS. Final May Update coming soon!

Monday, May 24, 2010

May Update #2


Here's another round of shoots I did for this month.

Ludwig Kakumei

A photoshoot based on the 4-volume series by Kaori Yuki. A compilation of twisted fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, I quite enjoyed reading it. Yang and Xiao Lu also did a great job portraying their characters.

Album: Here


Had another Katekyo Hitman Reborn! shoot, this time with Kiwiwi-chan as Superbi Squalo. We went back to "Area 4" (the location of some past shoots) and the shoot proceeded well although the weather's pretty humid.

Album: Here


For this shoot, I joined my friend Nouffer for a shoot at Changi Beach. Originally we were supposed to be at the Tampines Biking Trail, but the location's currently under renovation for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games. Anyway, it was another fun shoot but the lighting's really challenging.

Album: Here

More will come soon, stay tuned. :)

Friday, May 21, 2010

May Update #1


Some of the shoots which I did recently before the exams mugging period.

WAWA

WAWA (which is Chinese for Doll) was an idea conceptualised by Yang, so we spent a day to get the shoot done. We had fun although we ended early due to tiredness. :X

Album: Here

Queen of Kendappa

I am very fortunate to work with Deliri again for a photoshoot based on one of my most favourite manga of all time, RG Veda. As the Queen of Kendappa, she portrayed the character with dignity, grace and beauty.

Album: Here
Get Paid To Promote, Get Paid To Popup, Get Paid Display Banner