Dear God letters

Here's a sample of hilarious letters written to God by kids........




















See more at this website

Email interview

I had an interview recently and thought it a good idea to post in here since it has some good advice for wedding couples

Here is the email interview:

1) Can you give me an introduction of yourself, when and how did you start out and what is your wedding site about?

I am a wedding photographer who feels wedding photography is about the process and preparations of getting married.

Not just the wedding ceremony itself.

In the past , we see only the ceremony itself and very little of what

happens before and after the ceremony. Today, photojournalism is about the whole event and we cover it as if it is a whole story. To tell that story, we need to string together key events, not just random pictures.

2) I understand you have been in the wedding-related field for quite some time and is now successful. What do you think is the key factor to your success?

To be successful, I feel this string of pictures need to be done both artistically and documentary.

Artistic means there is a certain neatness or unique angle to the picture.ie, the composition, the lighting , the mood, etc

Documentary means some shots are needed although it may not be very artistic. The sucessful combination of these 2 give rise to a GOOD story, a feeling of being at the wedding, of hearing the sounds, of catching the people in their moments etc.

3) When you are working with couples, what is it that you are most proud of?

When couples and I reach a certain level of comfort and confidence with one another…., where in their intimate moments, I become like a cat in the house, you know I am there but you aren’t bothered by me…that kinda of feeling is GOLDEN.

4) What is the greatest challenge that you have faced while growing your career?

The challenge I face at each wedding is how I can outdo myself from the last wedding, how I can beat my past work. So each wedding I do, I am very excited and sometimes a bit nervous. Because there is always the element of the unexpected….and each time, I wonder how I will
respond. It isn’t a premeditated response. I find I can’t quite control that, it’s just very spontaneous.

5) Currently, what is the one wedding tip you want to give to soon-to-wed couples?

And because things are so spontaneous and sometimes so uncontrolled, couples shouldn’t TRY to control everything but just let things flow…….

if you have done your homework, if you have made all the arrangement and delegated everything away from you on that day…..then, you have

done YOUR BEST. Leave the rest to God…….

Its when couple fight against this and try to control everything, they end

up very frustrated. That spoils the mood and spoils the pictures……

6) What are some of the areas do you think wedding couples always overlook when planning their own weddings? (can be pertaining to your own field - in this case photography)

One advice I would offer couples is that they DELEGATE everything to people they trust.

And then, TRUST these people and back them up whatever decision these people helped you to

make…..

7) Your final thought and advice for my wedding blog readers?

Final thoughts for all couples is this :

Wedding is an event, it is over in a day or two.

Marriage is a process, it doesn’t end.

That’s the end of the interview.

Killer Photo

Every now and then we wish we had taken a killer photograph of something....
but this is doing the killing ................


Killer photo

Dual touchscreen notebook

This sounds more like a joke ………………
but these guys are serious about putting this to market. But then again, usually the best things do come out of the blue…………….or in this case , out of the box ( thinking )

read more about it here

Serene & Matthew

Serene and Matthew had a cozy civil marriage ceremony (ROM ) at their home. Its a very nicely done up place and the ambience is up to par with some of the better places out there. Most importantly, it’s the couple own home….and that alone makes it really special.

This couple, as Serene puts it is “entering into marriage with both eyes open and with the Grace of God”. They are practical and knows what it will take to make marriage a success. They have no illusions and knows that it will take effort and compromise and they are ready for it.

After spending time with them, I get the feeling Yes, they will certainly make a loving couple.

Congratulations Serene and Matthew……..I certainly enjoy my time with you guys

Click on picture to view slideshow

This really made my day !

A good friend Kelvin send me this ..............
Man , it really cheered me up.
Thanks.

I hope it do you good too :D


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Samsung Omnia the REAL iphone killer

Sometime ago I wrote about the HTC Touch Diamond as the iphone killer but now, it seems Samsung has the real killer at hand.
Its a killer because for everything that iPhone can do, the Samsung Omnia does ......and get this, its not locked to any telecom operator unlike the iPhone.
To me , that's one of the greatest incentive ( or disincentive ) not to get the iPhone.

Also, any software you buy for the iPhone, you can only do so at Apple ( something ).

Well, any case, OMNIA ( pronounced Ooom-neeeah ) sounds like some hokkian ( Chinese dialect ) phrase :D, has almost the same specs as the iPhone.
Its also incidentally 8GB or 16GB. The HTC Touch is only 4GB.
Omnia has 5Megapixel camera, iPhone has 2Megapixel . etc
Specs wise the Omnia leads in all department.

BUT for some, its not APPLE product....................
Have a look at this video, see how responsive the touch screen is
and the later video showing a direct comparision with the iPhone.
It seems to be the exact size ( almost )









I would like to add, personally I hate korean products

SONY new flash : great out of box thinking

Here's an example why competition is great for the industry.
Sony's latest flash shows the way forward after decades of stagnation
in the camera industry.

This new Sony flash ( has a stupid name which I shall not mention here )
has the ability to turn the flash head ( not the flash ) sideways.
It is not just rotate to the side which is the norm, but it
actually turns to the side.......well, a picture tell a thousand word
See the pictures below:







Read more of it at Digital Camera Resource Page 's website

Do we REALLY have to do this ?

Sometimes the pictures just convey the words
even though we can't say it

Wedding of NoiHong and Daniel

I have decided to do things a little differently, instead of the usual pictures I thought I might try just posting a slideshow , DVD photo movie of the couple.

Do give me your feedback , especially if you have trouble watching a smooth movie.
( to give comments, you need to register yourself. Just click register in the right bar )

Is this cool or what?

I came across this cool website by Liz Chaong..... Simple Arts Planet .
She supply wedding favours, wedding invitations and such. It has some really cool stuff to make your wedding day THAT much more special.

Here's some customized work that she does for couples. You get that extra touch from her.
As I read of her work and philosophy, I get that feeling here is a bride who went through her own wedding and feels that " hey, I wish someone would do this for us and make things so much more convenient." She's really into this stuff as a service and it shows. Check her out.




graphic by PJ

HTC Touch Diamond - Best review I read so far

Have a look at this link for the best review ( comprehensive ) of the HTC Touch Diamond Mobile phone.

It has a long video review. Certainly worth the trouble to view through.

This is the phone you MUST look at before you decide to buy the Apple iPhone.

http://www.theunwired.net/?item=videoview-htc-touchflo-3d-user-interface-for-windows-mobile-professional

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 ......"

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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