20 May 2008

One Baby step at a time towards your Goals

Someone sent this to me today and it really brighten my day.
I would like everyone here to enjoy this.....

"
................After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, ' Daffodil Garden .' We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.





It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

'Who did this?' I asked Carolyn.

'Just one woman,' Carolyn answered. 'She lives on the property. That's her home.' Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. 'Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking', was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. '50,000 bulbs,' it read. The second answer was, 'One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain.' The third answer was, 'Began in 1958.'

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun,
one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived.


One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we, too, will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ......"

14 May 2008

HTC Touch Diamond the iPhone killer

Look Ma, no strings attached.
No binding contracts no locked SIM phone

Here comes the HTC Touch Diamond phone, better known as the iPhone Killer.
They wisely EXCLUDED a demo on how to enter text messages.
There is no mention of how to enter text at their website too....hmmmm

That's the first question I would ask when I see the phone. Let your finger do the texting ?
On a touch screen phone ?......hmmm


09 May 2008

Changes in wedding photography

If we are to flip through our parents or grandparents wedding album, we would be most surprised by how much different their album look. Not only is the album made of entirely different material, the design and layout are completely of a different era. So don't be surprised when our parents look at the wedding photo album of today, it is completely unrecognisable to them as wedding albums.

The new album material is much lighter, the cover are softer, the prints are now mostly in color although some have gone back to Black and White. And the album gets a new name too ....photobook or coffee table album.

Most importantly the shooting or photography style has completely changed. While in the past, its posed shots and group pictures with little to no pictures of what happened before the ceremony starts, the preparations etc as well as the after-party fun that goes on.....and on.....

Now its candid and more " of-the-moment " shots. Some have use the label " wedding photojournalism" which means " telling a story through photo". This entails more than just random candid but actually a string of images that tells a story.

Others have evolved a "fashion-style" to mean poses that are like a high fashion commercial shoot. Those who combined everything into an artistic expression of the photographer has coined a new term "free-style" shooting. Meaning the photographer shoots with his artistic instinct and does not depend on a fixed way. Its more dynamic and takes a lot from the photographer. Its a bit like fusion jazz.

Here in Singapore, there is still a large segment of customers who like the traditional posed and group pictures but increasingly, those who opt for photojournalism are becoming the norm.

As a wedding photographer in Singapore, I noticed there are also changes in the way people are conducting the wedding.
The old days, there used to be a popular civil wedding ceremony which is called Registration of Marriage ( ROM ) to be held by itself. Its typically half a day affair. This is on a different day from the traditional rites and banquet day.

However, recent changes in rules means very few are doing the civil wedding ( ROM ) by itself any more. Its now done on the wedding day together with the banquet dinner, either a few hours before banquet or just before banquet starts.

Hence the term "actual day" which is the date most couple will commemorate as the day they actually got married. The photographer who does the wedding is called " actual day photographer". This is amusing but true. To any foreigner, this is just confusing.
This term is only used in Singapore and no where else.

This state of affairs give rise to another term called "pre-wedding photographer". Instead of engagement shoot, wedding couples in Singapore and maybe Malaysia seldom do engagement. What they have is Pre-wedding shoot where the couple dress up in wedding gowns and pose for pictures in a studio or at an outdoor location.
Pre-weddding shoot are done months before the wedding.

Increasingly trend now is that studio pre-wedding is considered too contrived and stiff. More are opting for outdoor natural light and energy filled shoot. Thus " outdoor pre-wedding photographer" is born.

Not contended with merely going outdoor, some couples want exotic destination for the background. Popular locations are Bali, Phuket,Perth, Brisbane, Paris, Rome and some even going to Santorini. And so we have " destination wedding photographer"

05 May 2008

Will You Marry Me ?

Will You Marry Me ?

This is one great way to propose !
Guys , ( and gals ) take note.......



Will You Marry Me ? ( Nokia Ads ) - video powered by Metacafe

17 April 2008

Good News comes in 3s

Out of the blue, came a spate of phone calls from my ex-brides, all announcing they are pregnant!
I am very happy for them and would like to congratulate them all.


Congratulations Doreen and Henry







Congratulations Carol and Ian ( carol was in the singapore idol )







Congratulations Olivia and Ros


18 March 2008

DVD photo movie

Introducing DVD photo movie.

There is a lot of confusion out there about what this is....so I decided to make things a little bit clearer.
Its a DVD made from Photos into a movie.

There.....I said it.
Some would use the term photo montage or photo collage but these simply means collection of photos .....which could mean a large print with lots of smaller picture.



Here's a sample of my DVD Photo movie.

Enjoy .....

Tristine DVD photo movie

12 March 2008

Website is Up

Phew
After a few frustrating minutes, which seems to be an eternity.......
the website is up and running again.

Thanks for your patience.
Any one who notice the site down and complaints first to me
will be entitled to 10% discount on whatever package you choose :D
( but not when I notice it first ) hehehehee

cheers

06 March 2008

tommyleong.com website is temporary down

Due to some technical hardware malfunctioning, tommyleong.com is temporarily down.
It is being serviced now and should be up in no time.
( that's what the technical people tell me )

Meantime, browse around for some interesting reads
:D

Glorious Olympus E420




Glorious ! Absolutely glorious.....
I knew someone would respond to the market niche , a camera for the photographer to shoot on the weekend..........Before this annoucement by Olympus of this latest camera, most photographers who like a small camera for the weekend casual stroll are not given much choice.
You either go for the big SLR or you go for the small, frustratingly difficult to control Point and shoot cameras.

Today, Olympus announce the smallest DSLR with interchangeable lens that is JUST what we all want......just my size !


Olympus of old film days, used to be a leader but with digital they were behind some of the big names. BUT it seems like Olympus is making a big come back. They are now by far the MOST innovative camera maker.

Lets hope they keep it up.

18 February 2008

Wedding of Adeline & Hock Yong

Here's one photoshoot I did using film.....yes, good old film....see how you like the look and feel of film ...as well as the colours.

It just look different from digital. So far, I can still see that the colours response from film is rather special and can't quite get that from digital.





















17 February 2008

Lets go for a swim.......

There is a nice place for a swim at Zimbabwe's Victoria falls.........
That is if you can stand heights.


Awesome





14 February 2008

Don’t be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin!

Here’s a thought someone sent me. I like it so much that I thought every one should take a few minutes to PONDER it :

“ As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn’t supposed to ever let you down probably will.
You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it’s harder every time.
You’ll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.
You’ll fight with your best friend. You’ll blame a new love for things an old one did.
You’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and you’ll eventually lose someone you love.


So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you’ve never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you’ll never get back.

Don’t be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin! “

18 January 2008

Wedding Trailer

Well, we all heard about Movie trailers , now I am about to introduce Wedding trailer.
While you wait for the photos and albums to be ready, let the Wedding trailer keep you
entertained.

I pick a couple of pictures while getting the rest done and here's how they look.
This just give a glimpse of things to come.
Keep the couple in suspense for a little while too :D

Post your comments here and tell me how you like the Wedding trailer.


17 January 2008

Wedding of Amelia and Kevin

Amelia and Kevin had their christian ceremony done at The lady of Perpetual Succour, Siglap.

This is a very unique church layout.
It probably holds the record for being the church with the shortest aisle but the deepest wings. Both the left and right wing stretches deep maybe into 28 pews.
So from front to back , its maybe 10 pews. Its a short walk from the back to the front. Hence the march-in is rather brief.
With the additonal 2 chairs in the front, the bride could JUST squeence past......there is no room for the photographer to pass ...hehehee.

So to get from right to the left, I need to go to the side, go down, cross to the left then get to the front.
By which time, half of the action is done.

However, as you can see here. Its a very nice church for photography. Lots of potential for Pre-wedding. Just not so good for ceremonies.

Really enjoy shooting here. Hope to come back for Pre-wedding shoot here.



amelia_001, originally uploaded by tommyleong.

amelia_004




amelia_004, originally uploaded by tommyleong.

amelia_003




amelia_003, originally uploaded by tommyleong.

amelia_002



amelia_002, originally uploaded by tommyleong.

amelia_005



amelia_005, originally uploaded by tommyleong.

amelia_006



amelia_006, originally uploaded by tommyleong.

amelia_007



amelia_007, originally uploaded by tommyleong.