Miri Daily News Wedding Reporter

Today, Eyan and I covered a wedding for Raymond and Grace. Whilst everything else was as any other wedding, I did encounter a strange experience. A Miri Daily News female reporter was also at the church where the ceremony was held. Apparently, she was there as a guest to 'report' on the wedding. Whilst this was normal, what was strange was that this reporter hogged the front row blocking the line of sight of myself of the only angle to capture the Bride and Groom exchanging rings. When asked to move, she refused. Yes, she refused to move for the official photographer paid thousands of dollars to record the moments. She not only refused to move but she was standing about three feet away from them effectively blocking off all visibility to capture the hands of the B&G. Even the groom's uncles commented to me asking me why I didnt give her a piece of my mind. They saw me asking her to please move so I can go in to grab the shot and saw her refusing to give way. Well, it would not have been professional of me to create a scene in the middle of a ceremony in Church. It wasnt professional of her in her conduct but that doesn't mean I have to stoop down to her level. Later, when I confronted her, I told her I was paid to do a job and she should have moved. She replied she too was paid to do a job. Yeah, her job as a journalist is to be as inconspicous as possible so as not to interfere with the normal flow of events but her being where she was seems to me she was trying to do my job. Her new job responsibility should now be official wedding photojournalist for the Miri Daily News. She tried to give me her card asking me to call her editor.. yeah.. if I did, her job would be down the drain. I saw no further point in persuing the matter because the moment was over.

There was another male photographer/reporter there but he was more discrete and professional. Not sure where he was from. Anyway, just a rant for today. Will post pics up once I finished processing them.

Maam, if you are reading this, think carefully about what you just did this morning. Your conduct was entirely unprofessional and your responsibility is to report the news as an outsider. Obstructing the official photographer from doing his/her job could get you and the company you work for sued and ruin the reputation of reporters from your paper. Whilst this matter is now closed to me, I'd recommend you think twice about doing what you just did if ever you are asked to cover another wedding. Some people may not be so forgiving.

Shooting a wedding is easy

Yeah. It really is..

Once you have about 50 weddings under your belt. And even then, the experienced ones still encounter things and situations they have never encountered before. Whilst the technologies for cameras have improved vastly over the decades, it still cannot take your picture for you.. nor will it know how to adjust itself to cater for that huge group photo in a vast high ceiling hall you're about to shoot.

Yup.. you can shoot for free.. and rid yourself of any 'responsibility'.. you can tell them, its for your portfolio.. you can tell them you cannot guarantee any shots.. brilliant.. your ass is covered. However, is it fair for the Bride and Groom and their families. Is it fair for their kids in years to come when they wonder why other people's parents have wedding pics but theirs don't. On top of that.. yes, today, your client says its ok.. never mind.. we dont mind.. but will his/her partner mind? Will their parents mind? Will he or she change her mind and start saying.. " Oh yeah, he took our weddings pics for us.. but they didnt come out ok.. he missed a lot of shots.. our family formals were blur.. oh well.. it was free.."

Being a wedding photographer ISNT as easy as people seem to think. Its carries with it a huge responsibility and commitment. It is hours of on-location work and even longer off-site. The reason why I started this apprenticeship scheme is to allow others a chance to learn without the risk of the B&G not having any pics to show for it. It allows the apprentice to learn and see what its all about. I do not simply take them in just because they asked.. they must have certain qualities.. commitments.. responsibilities... integrity... Learning to shoot weddings is not something you can do in a day or a week or a month.. there are lots of things to learn and understand (as I'm sure Mizi and Eyan have seen). There is also the factor of just being a one-off wedding photographer OR a successful one. Patience is key. Those that are too keen to jump in the sea are those that often down first.

Would you trust your memories to just anyone?

You've:

1) Spent a fortune on food and entertainment for your guests
2) Spent a fortune on your wedding attire to make you look your best
3) Hired the makeup artiste to bring out your beauty on your day
4) Spent the last few months of your life planning now the coming few days would be
5) Endured stress and hardship quibbling and squabbling with your loved one and your family about how your wedding should be

Now the only thing left is to have someone capture the happenings and moments of the day... tens of thousands of dollars spent on everything else.. who would you trust to capture your day for you?

Someone who is:
a) Expensive but experienced and proven track record
b) Moderately price but with some experience with multiple weddings as second shooter
b) Cheap, green and new photographer with a wedding or two of experience as guest
c) Free photographer looking for portfolio

Who's photos would you want to show your friends, family and children one day?

Anyone want to discuss this? Its the same issue here as in the US, UK and rest of the world.

Pricing of Wedding Photography

Most of you have read the tag boards.. what are your opinions on it?

Panasonic DMC-LX2

I recently acquired a new camera :) Everytime I see my wife trying to lift up my SLR just to take pics of my son made me wonder why i had to put her through this. My cameras with lenses are seriously heavy. Part of me also wanted a rangefinder type camera (something light and small + point and shoot but with some manual controls) but just couldn't find the will to fork out USD5K for a Leica M8 body and another $4K for a lens. So.. Panasonic with Leica lens it is.



A small pool along Jalan Sungai Akar that I recently visited with some photobloggers. I just wanted to test out the Panasonic in high light conditions. ISO 100 f5.6 HDR






This is a HDR made from a single RAW file taken this afternoon. Color balanced and fine-tuned in photoshop. Just to prove that its not the camera that makes the pictures. A lonely but active dragonfly poised on a stalk wonder what the hell is that photographer doing.



HDR from a single RAW from the LX2. I've always passed by that dead tree and thought about all the possibilities of the shot but never had the opportunity to stop. Today, I went to StationEight to pick up some prints and had the LX2 with me so I made a quick pitstop.

HDR Landscape II

New life

Congratulations to Jeff and Jennifer Ng on the birth of their new baby boy, Javier! Welcome to the club!

HDR?

Tell me which of these three images are HDR images?


View of Kg Bolkiah and Sunset


View of Subok Valley into Bandar Seri Begawan


View over Kota Batu area


Royal Tomb


Maximising HDR

Jan 2nd Outing

This fella was curiously wondering why all of the sudden interest in his domain.


The big hill to climb. Not really that bad la.


Ok.. its a bit steep.


But the view is great :)

Links

Anyone who wants me to link up their blogs here.. put your blog name and url here.

Brother-in-law's nikah

(Sign here!)

Oh yeah, my brother in law got married recently. My heartiest
congratulations to Bibi & Rahima. Hope you guys will find all the
love and support from each other as I have from my wife.

Your child's first image

(Adam at 3 minutes old)
Ever wonder what is the first thing your son or daughter first sees the moment he or she comes out of his or her mother's womb? Try guess what Adam saw when he first opened his eyes?
Its now over eight months since that day and every day to me has been as enjoyable as the first. Over time, his mother and I have watched him grow and learn just as we once did when we were born into this world. I begin to understand now what my parents and every parent must have felt and experienced.
(Adam's grandmother giving him a bath)
Sometimes I wonder if I had not become the person I am today.. i.e. a photographer.. would I have been able to record these moments?

In my journey through life, I had many options and opportunities open to me. I could have been a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, a scientist and even a fighter pilot in another country. Instead, I chose this path. A path with a camera. Have I ever gotten a hint of regret for not chosing the other? If I did, i would have never gotten these memories.

Lost in her own thoughts

This picture was taken at Yasrina's place during her bersanding. Concidence and luck with quick reactions allowed me to snap this moment of a family member looking out the window at the hustle and bustle below as the preparations for the event was full motion. The ladies in the room were all having their make-up done and she was awaiting her turn. What i like about this shot was the window light falling across her face exposing all the necessary details like the color of her clothes, her hair, her expressions and where she was looking.

In this picture, notice the eyes of the kid by the window :D Priceless.

Welcome to OneSixtyth

I created this blog to serve as a commentary to some of my favourite pictures taken whilst on my journey through life as a photographer. I hope it will entertain you as much as it will pleasure me to write about it.