A Prisoner of Beauty

I shot this Brazilian model about 6 months ago but didn't get a chance to do some post processing since I was too busy back then. Today, I was cleaning up the files in my Mac when I chanced upon the folder where I saved this model's images.

I tried a very simple post processing of just adjusting the levels and curves and did a little bit of sharpening. Since I always shoot RAW, I was able to adjust the white balance and made the skin tone a little bit warmer.

By the way, the same model posed for FHM Singapore sometime in 2008.

Tokyo Cherry Blossoms

It's that time of the year again when foreigners and local people alike flock to the famous spots of Cherry Blossoms in Japan. One of them is the Chidorigafuchi Moat in Tokyo. It is the North-Eastern moat of the Imperial Palace. This was my third day visiting the same place. It's really hard to find a good spot because of the big crowd. So today, I got up early and went to the place. The sky did not cooperate as it was very cloudy, so I turned away from shooting landscapes.

Shaking Off The Rust

Last time I went out with friends to take some photos using lighting, I got really frustrated. I can't get the lighting effect that I want. I know in my mind what I want to achieve, but I just can't make it to materialize.

This time, I went back to basics. I setup a mini-studio in my home. I used 1 600-watt strobe with softbox, 1 Canon 580 EXII and 1 Nikon SB 900 (both barebulb) and a white seamless paper. All lights triggered by my ever reliable Pocket Wizards.

The big strobe with 80cm x 120 cm softbox was placed on camera right and the two small strobes were placed behind the subject on both sides to light the background. Used a lightmeter to set all lights to f8.

This time, I was quite happy with the results.

Tsukiji Fish Market

My Tokyo trip would not be complete if I didn't visit the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. I went with my friend and we planned to catch the tuna auction so we got up at 5:00 in the morning. Unfortunately, we got a little bit lost looking for the place so we missed the auction.

This place is really a one of a kind, and it's very normal to see a fish as large as 4 ft. I believe this market has the widest variety of seafoods in the world.

Transform: A Video by Zack Arias

I am my own worst critic. I had been doing photography for more than 3 years now, but I am still not happy with my images. I really want to do photography full time but I can't leave my full time job because of fear that my images are not of commercial quality yet. Most of the time I can't help myself but wonder: Will I be able to make that jump? Will I ever have the skills like my idols Chase Jarvis and Nick Onken? It's really easy to feel down. But there's a lot of reasons to cheer up. This video by Zack got me really inspired. Thanks bro!

My Favorite Photographers

I used to have a lot of spare time and I used those spare times to browse the internet.  I have read limitless number of blogs and checked a lot of photographers' portfolios.

Inspite of all those blogs and portfolios I have read and seen, I noticed one thing to myself. I only keep on coming back to 3 blogs and view 2 portfolios when I seek inspiration. Since nowadays, I don't have much time browsing the web anyway, I try to make use of my time efficiently.

So who are my 3 favorite photographers? They are:

1. Chase Jarvis - www.chasejarvis.com

2. Nick Onken - www.nickonken.com

3. David Hobby - www.strobist.com

So why are they my favorites? Very simple. They are all great photographers, their imagery is amazingly beautiful, I love their style and they ADD VALUE to the community of photographers!

Coincindentally, Chase Jarvis is both a friend of David Hobby and Nick Onken. Nick even calls Chase his friend/mentor.

Check out their blogs and sites regularly. I assure you that you won't be wasting your time. You might even find yourself glued to your chair once you start reading their blogs. Amazing contents!

I Love Tokyo!

It's my first time to visit Tokyo and I'm lovin' it! The people are just very nice, very polite and helpful. Most might struggle to speak English but it does not hinder them from helping people out when you're asking for directions or ordering for food (most menus are in Japanese).

Here are some of my observations during my short trip:
1. Customer service is very good.
2. They (Japanese people) say "thank you" ("arigato gozaimasu") a lot of times.
3. The trains in the morning are VERY packed. Though they queue up while waiting, once the train comes, they would really push you and try to squeeze in.
4. Although most have been influenced by the Western culture, I still see very 'traditional' Japanese companies. While walking to work every morning, I'd see employees exercising outside of the office, which by the way I did for a year when I was still working for a Japanese company 8 years ago.
5. Most toilets are very advanced, equipped with seat warmers and a lot of buttons to press: to spray water, to change the water pressure, etc.
6. EXPENSIVE! :-D

I will be uploading some photos pretty soon!