d'Reyanz Colour: Azrul Helmy & Noraini @ Selayang/Sungai Buloh

Tagging along to the big boys...

As usual, Boss Redza (foreground) takes the lead while Ben (background) seconds.

Beautiful dais, but am so totally NOT into it!

The event was held in a community hall- lighting was troublesome and the design made it almost impossible to bounce our flash or shoot it from multiple angles.

The welcoming committee, ready to usher or wish guests farewell...

When I see this scene, it makes me wonder at how easy life is nowadays in certain respects. Almost everyone can afford to take photos.

A bit of entertainment, courtesy of the couple's work buddies.

Azrul and Nani posing for their friends.

The wedding ring- first time I edited a photo ever, but necessary to make the image stand out.

Ooh... I didn't enjoy this dais either. Like the other one, beautiful but... I'll tell you why in the next few paragraphs.

The food served was delicious! Absolutely loved it! I simply have to get the name of this caterer...

This shot was the reason for my dislike of the dais. I was behind it, must have nudged something somewhere and, 'geDeGaNG!'- separuh pelamin angannya musnah :P

Luckily we bitches were born with 'Decorations 101', with some help, I managed to put it back into some semblance of its former beauty.

Kalau tak, biaq pi la dengan pelamin hang pak andam oooiii! Sapa suh pakai ornament angin tiup dah goyang? Sentappp!!!

Most photographers would choose to take pictures of the wedding cake. I chose to take photos of the plate that they will be serving the wedding cake on- go figure!

It just seemed appropriate at the time... :P

Ooh... Ben took this photo on my camera! I just love it! It's a very typical scene of makcik-makcik gathering.

But then I usually like the images Ben captures :)

It rained in the evenings- the outdoor shoot had to be cancelled without a chance of rescheduling. It was disappointing that were not able to deliver the full range.

Azrul dan Nani, mungkin tiada rezki korang di sini tapi moga dimurahkan rezki dari segi yang lain...

d'Reyanz Colour: Izura & Rizalmi @ TTDI Jaya

Saje-saje ikut Boss sebab nak merasa amik foto nikah waktu malam.

Tu diaa... Papan tanda siap menunggu untuk dipacak sempena majlis esok hari.

Sebenarnya, ni assignment Azril (t-shirt kelabu), tapi sebab second dia, Rizal (t-shirt coklat), kira first timer buat shoot untuk group, so Azril pun hantar S.O.S.

Alih-alih, Boss lead, Azril second, Rizal dengan aku tag along aje ler...

Sementara Boss dengan Azril makan, Rizal dengan aku amik peluang hentak makeup scene.

Rombongan Tok Imam sampai 3 orang dengan seragam lengkap. Mau tak berderau pengantin laki. Tapi Tok Imam ni funny orangnye, melawak aje... kemungkinan besar untuk relaxkan pengantin.

Berjaya!!! Gembira campur sedih si pengantin pompuan. Dah jadi bini orang, kena ler let go skit family sebab tanggungjawab sekarang pada suami.

Rizal pasang gelang emas kat Zura...

...Zura balas dengan cincin zamrud (kot? hijau jer batu dia) untuk Rizal.

Orait, settled! Esok, Azril amik lead balik, Boss nak kena cover event lain ;)

Big Screen Breakdown: Avatar

Another CGI loaded movie- oh yeaaah... Opened to rave reviews back home so I wondered what it's all about.

Image courtesy of avatarmovie.com

I'm a fantasy junkie. Duh! Of course I jumped at the opportunity to watch this! :P

Don't, I repeat, DO NOT go for the story! Just another simple 'spy falls in love with native lifestyle (not to mention, native female) and decides to turn traitor' thing.

However, DO ogle at the landscape, the flora, the fauna, almost completely CG of course but, damn! it sure is breathtaking!!!

I'd buy the DVD just to be able to study the images... :P

Kerja, kerja, kerja!

(catatan balas buat seorang teman)

To quote Rudy Bluehikari no otomodachi,

"Jinsei iroiro, hito sorezore"

Lebih kurang maknanya- hidup itu pelbagai macam, manusia itu pelbagai ragam.

Di mana sahaja kita berada, pasti akan berhadapan dengan ragam manusia. Baik secara langsung mahupun secara tidak langsung (iaitu daripada kesan tindakan mereka).

Yang berbeza cuma dynamicsnya sahaja: mungkin di sini lebih individualism, di sana lebih favouritism, di situ lebih cat-fighting, di tempat lain lebih back-stabbing...

Dan setiap daripada kita juga berbeza dari segi kesesuaian diri serta kesabaran:

Sesetengah daripada kita akan memilih untuk bertahan.

Sesetengah daripada kita akan berusaha mencari yang lebih baik.

Sesetengah daripada kita akan berjumpa dengan apa yang dicari.

Sesetengah daripada kita akan terus mencari dan mencari.

Mana pilihan yang betul? Bertahan atau mencari? Sebenarnya, tiada pilihan yang salah. Jika betul kata hati anda, betullah pilihan yang diambil.

Yang lebih penting adalah pengalaman dan pengajaran yang telah dikumpul sepanjang kita bertahan atau mencari.

Tidak kiralah jalan mana yang lebih membawa kebahagiaan untuk anda, asal anda menggunakan seluruh pengalaman dan pengajaran yang didapati untuk membuat pilihan yang terbaik.

We can only do what we can, to the best of our ability. The rest...

Big Screen Breakdown: Storm Warriors

Sedang ramai insan gigih mengumpul pahala di malam yang barakah ini, aku pula gigih beratur membeli tiket untuk tayangan gambar tersebut :P

The first movie, Storm Riders, was a disappointment. I gave this a chance because I'm still a fan of the original Fung Wan story-line and am glad to find that it fulfilled my expectations!

Image courtesy of singtao.com

There are certain criteria to enjoying this movie:

1. Die hard fan of the original comic series

2. Die hard fan of the stars involved in this movie

3. Appreciates artsy cinematography

All others please stay away- I don't think it'd be worth your time or money. Plus it's annoying to hear you moan and groan about something that you didn't like in the first place :P

And here's the breakdown...

Story- oversimplified to fit into a 2 hour time slot, but was rendered coherently.

Acting- mostly bland but there were shining moments.

I loved Aaron Kwok's expression when he was about to deliver the killing blow in the final scene. You could see the warring emotions: the anger at Chu Chu's senseless death, the sadness and reluctance at having to kill a 'brother', at the same time a determination to prevent things from getting worse.

Martial arts choreography- there was more to see this time, not so flashy and presented in a way that is reminiscent of the movie 300.

Computer graphics- this time it's effectively used to visually enhance the fight scenes instead of 'becoming' the fight scenes (I think you'd understand what I mean if you'd seen the first movie).

Overall, a surprisingly good watch- 7/10

Mengenangmu...

Mood banyak lari oo minggu ni.

Adakah di sana kau rindu padaku

Meski kita kini ada di dunia berbeda

Bila masih mungkin waktu kuputar

Kan kutunggu dirimu...

Hakikatnya sebuah lagu tentang cinta dan kerinduan setelah pemergian orang tersayang.

Namun lagu ini kutujukan khusus buat beberapa orang teman yang pernah akrab denganku kerana ia paling sesuai serta amat mirip dengan apa yang kurasai...

Yang kelakarnya, daripada ramai-ramai orang yang aku kenang tu, hanya Abang Apai sorang aje yang tau pasal blog ni :P

Tak mengapalah, sebab utama mereka menjauhkan diri dahulupun adalah kerana aku telah membebani mereka dengan emosi yang tak mungkin dapat mereka terima. Jadi biarlah aku seorang yang menanggungnya. Mungkin lebih baik dan ada hikmahnya...

Aku menulis di sini sekadar meluahkan perasaan, supaya tak terlalu berkecamuk dalam diri...

d'Reyanz Colour: Maliza & Fuad @ Seberang Takir

These past few months have been pretty eventful.

Though mentally and physically tired, I choose to go on another work/study trip with d'Reyanz Colour Photographers just to 'get away' from it all...

The event was to take place at Seberang Takir, Kuala Terengganu. We were provided residence, courtesy of the bride, at a home-stay in Kampung Telaga Batin.

Concerned about the cholera outbreak, we also hauled along a bundle of food and some water :P

On duty this round was Boss Redza (on the right) as lead and Abang Hadi as second.

Selamat Pengantin Baru to Dr. Maliza and Fuad!

A smile of satisfaction as the groom successfully completes the solemnization in one try.

The outdoor shoot was done at Masjid Kristal upon the newlywed's request...

...as well as at Pantai Teluk Ketapang upon our request ;)

In case you didn't notice, I'd like to point out that the bride and groom went through 6 outfit changes for the 2 days ceremony. Only 5 outfits are displayed here.

The cake cutting ceremony.

Taking a break while entertaining guests.

The bride's sisters and in-law wearing uniform blue kurung Melayu.

Overall, it was a great session. A lot of beautiful photos were taken. The bride and family were most accommodating.

However, the trip back was something I'd love to forget. A 10 hours journey where 3 of them was spent crawling painfully from Kijal towards the bottleneck at the Sungai Cukai bridge!

Despite all that, I look forward to another assigment like this :)

Serupakah kami..?

Baru-baru ini berkenalan secara siber dengan seseorang...

Apa yang dapat kutelah mengenai dirinya adalah dia mempunyai agak ramai peminat. Malah ada di kalangan mereka telahpun mengajaknya untuk bertemu dan didapati serasi.

Sedangkan aku masih sibuk mencuba untuk berkenalan dengan seberapa ramai orang. Malangnya, tiada seorangpun yang sudi bertemu apatah lagi untuk mendapati jiwa yang serasi.

Namun aku dan dia masih sepi sendiri, masih terus mencari...

Kadangkala terlintas difikiranku, dalam 'dunia kami' ini, adakah keadaannya yang lebih baik atau adakah keadaanku yang lebih baik?

d'Reyanz Colour: Azme & Dilla @ Rawang

Assignment sambil belajar yang ketiga bersama d'Reyanz Colour.

Kali ini aku mengikut Boss Redza (kiri) dan Mr. Nik (kanan) ke Rawang...

...untuk merakamkan ingatan di majlis bertandang Azme dan Dilla.

Aku memang belum mahir menggunakan flash! Gelap muka pengantin walaupun kelilingnya cerah.

"ON DUTY"- antara yang turut membantu serta memeriahkan majlis...

...adalah sanak saudara, jiran-jiran...

...dan juga AJK surau yang turut bertanggungjawab menyediakan hidangan.

Bacaan doa setelah selesai marhaban dan berzanji.

Dilabel dengan terang dan jelas. Sangat bagus! Aku pernah tengok tetamu tadah air basuh tangan buat minuman di kenduri yang lain :P

Merenjis air mawar serta menepung tawar pengantin.

Kelopak bunga bertaburan menandakan laluan pengantin menuju ke pelamin.

Lauk pengantin nampak begitu menyelerakan. Ku perhatikan terdapat unsur-unsur masakan Siam dalam penyediaan santapan tersebut.

Kek biru pengantin baru.

Pasangan mempelai terpaksa akur apabila kek yang mereka sendiri tempah telah mencuri tumpuan daripada mereka! Huhuhu...

"Eee, Pakcik! Dia baring la! Dia baring!!!" jerit Azfar yang berbaju belang putih oren.

Aku memang suka ambil gambar Boss yang sedang tergolek begini :P

Lead photographer dan second sedang bekerja keras. Aku? Bateri flash habis daa... sekadar mampu tengok dan ambil gambar sampingan sahaja...

Outdoor shoot ditangguhkan ke masa yang lain sebab pengantin ada booking baik punya tempat untuk tujuan tersebut.

Diorang akan buat semasa hari bekerja- alamatnya melepaslah aku... :'(

Bintang-bintang di hamparan...

Gambar ihsan daripada shw.zura-azmi.fotopages.com

Sedang menunggu Pak di surau Isya tadi, perhatian ku tertarik oleh kerlipan bak bintang pada hamparan dewan solat tersebut.

Oh, ya! Pagi tadi berlangsung sebuah Majlis Ihtifal di sini. Pastinya ruangan tersebut dipenuhi makcik-makcik dan adik-kakak yang bergaya dengan baju kurung 'liplap' masing-masing.

Terimbau kembali kenangan di tempat kerja sekitar pertengahan tahun ini. Akauntan kami bergaya dengan baju 'liplap' pada hari tersebut. Kami dapati laluan bintang-bintang daripada meja beliau menuju ke setiap kawasan pejabat.

"Ini la buktinya saya bekerja encik!" balas beliau apabila diusik tentang perkara tersebut.

Ah, seronoknya bekerja dalam kumpulan yang serasi dan komited. Sampai bilakah mungkin ia berterusan?

P.S. Baju kurung tersebut tidak lagi kelihatan di pejabat selepas itu... :P

d'Reyanz Colour: Dayana & Azlie @ Batu Caves

My second live and learn assignment with D'Reyanz Colour Group brought us to Dayana and Azlie's wedding at Batu Caves.

MRSM Kuala Kubu is the spot where these two met and fell madly in love ;)

Especially for the bride and family- Thanks for all the hospitality you've shown us while we were on duty!

For a Malay wedding, the bride's reception is usually a 2 or 3 in 1 ceremony.

This one was no exception, having a majlis cukur jambul (ceremony for blessing newborns) piggyback onto the main event.

On duty that day, roll call from left: Boss Redza as lead and Mr. Ben for close-ups...

...along with sniper, Mr. Hadi (wearing black skullcap) ;)

Baby's all rested and calm for the ceremony.

Mr. Redza and Mr. Ben hard at work during the ceremony.

Now it's time for the bride to make her entrance!

Royal yellow songket offsets the beautifully intricate henna design on the bride's hand. However, my angle was off so I failed to focus on her wedding band.

"Waaah... Cantiknya Nana!!! Nanti dah besar kita pun nak pakai macam ni lah!"

The bride with some of her friends and flower girls.

I didn't get a lot of good shots this time around :( Probably was a bit daunted at the prospect of having to work with 3 semi-pros. Hazukashii na...

Boss and Ben looking for a good spot to shoot the outdoor photos. We were somewhat pressed for time because there was a roll of dark rain clouds heading our way fast!

Groom's a bit shy but together the newlyweds managed quite a few brilliant poses for us to capture against the wonderful background.

And the most important thing again is that we all had fun :)

Rensyuu

Mata rensyuu da! Berlatih lagi dan lagi...

Melihat dunia melalui lensa 50mm banyak mengajar aku erti komposisi. 3 gambar di bawah mungkin kelihatan sama tapi setiap satu ada perbezaannya.

Gambar pertama kurang menjadi kerana bunga yang menjadi subjek utama terkeluar daripada fokus. Sudut tersebut juga kurang menyerlahkan lengkungan ranting berdaun pada latarbelakang.

Gambar kedua juga kurang menjadi kerana tompokan bunga pada latar belakang telah mengganggu tumpuan terhadap subjek utama.

Beberapa cubaan selepas itu, akhirnya, suatu imej yang boleh kuterima walaupun masih ada rasa kurang puas hati.

Miso shiru: Sudut pandangan 50mm juga amat sesuai untuk memaparkan salah satu subjek kegemaranku- makanan :D

Kappamaki sushi: Namun jarak fokus tetap ini begitu terhad. Walaupun aku ingin mendapatkan imej yang serapat mungkin, setakat inilah sahaja yang dapat kuhampiri.

Yaki sake: Tetapi, dengan memperbanyakkan latihan, pasti akan terhasil gambar yang cukup menarik, insyaAllah...

Ghost House: Pameran sempena Halloween di One Utama.

Jack 'o Lantern: Pemandangan 'ngeri' kepala-kepala labu yang terpacak.

These shots did not come easy for me. Masih perlu lebih banyak latihan...

Random musings...

WARNING: Picture free entry, loads of insecurity and self pity ahead!

New responsibilities at work.

Crappy time management is a serious failing!

(evidence: giant heap of unfolded clothes, from THREE days ago plus yesterday's, and I'm sitting here writing a blog entry)

List of things to do:

- detail out tasks to determine if staff are actually doing their work competently.

- system upgrade: prepare info sheet explaining 'pilot run' and 'going live' because seriously, none of the staff have a fucking clue and people who don't have a clue tend to mess things up! and am I project manager? of course not! I'm just the lucky bloke who gets stuck with the work.

- survey staff satisfaction with their job. I know for a fact that most are not but I need written evidence. unfortunately, i designed it to be anonymous so I won't be able to sort out the fakes. hope it all works out anyway.

- train my replacement. again I really, really need to detail out what my duties were so that I can measure how fully the newbie will be able to grasp all tasks involved. it will also serve as reference when another takes over.

- increase my proficiency and creativity with the camera. I'll need it to be of help and value to the group. after all, this is gonna be my sole source of backup funding once I retire.

- set aside time for piano practice everyday. I'm rusting. yeah, right! remember pile of clothes? crappy time management is truly a serious failing!

Can I cope? Will I even be able to perform??!

It's times like these when I strongly feel the need for someone to be by my side...

Allahumma a'innii 'alaa zikrik wa syukrik wa husni 'ibaadatik. Amiin.

Revisit Suria

My original plans for today fell through so I decided to practice taking pictures at Suria.

There was a makeup promotion at the central court.

And right outside, Petronas and Yamaha were promoting the ongoing superbike race.

This young lady was kind enough to give me a pose. Much appreciated! You're lovely! (yang lagi sorang tu kekwat tul! wei! toksah jadi race queen le kalau tak suka diambil gambo! cehhh!!!)

Opps! Stop for lunch break ;) Here's (one of) my favourite- sizzling chicken noodle.

Though I really shouldn't, I relented and had a banana split for dessert *sigh~ bila ler nak hilang 6kg yang dah bertambah ni...

I thought of capturing a reflection of the Twin Towers but it was still too huge! Impossible with the 50mm lens I had on and I was too lazy too switch to kit.

This gentleman looked so serene, I just had to take a shot :)

Sebenarnya mood aku lari sangat-sangat. Tengah nak cuba gembirakan diri ler ni, huhu!