Over last weekend, I managed to get an opportunity to shoot this beautiful car during an automotive workshop organized by Live Life Drive magazine. The entire workshop was held at the new Renault showroom over at Section 13. There were about 13 participants in total (I think) and most of the time, we never really had our alone time with the car.

Hence the lack of interior shots as well as the white Megane RS which was in the showroom itself. The instructor was Sherman who guided us through from shooting cars in an outdoor location, what are some of the tips that we needed to be aware of.

After that, we moved into the showroom where Sherman then explained to us about the things to watch out and what to be aware off especially when shooting cars in the showroom itself as well as in an indoor location.

In between shoots, I managed to have a chat with Sherman about shooting cars and what I thought about it. He did give me some insight about shooting cars and I learned that cars alone are as much as shooting a portrait session. Instead of looking at the couples as just another human being, we tend to learn more about them, find out their history, what their likes and dislikes are in order to capture "them". The same goes for cars, the history behind the car, what car is it, what does the car represent.

At the beginning of the workshop, the participants were also informed that there will be a winning shot competition where each participant would submit their best photo. I took this time as a challenge and made a complete fool of myself because I shot it RAW and forgot to change it to JPEG. Another surprise was that the image was going to be straight from camera so there was no Photoshop manipulation.

After shooting in the showroom, we moved on towards the back of the showroom where a Renault Koleos was waiting for us to photograph as well as the yellow Megane RS.

At the end of the day, this was the image I submitted.


Although the image I posted up here was a slightly touched up version as the original image had a bit of a yellow hose which was left on the ground where I cloned it out.


Photo credit: Live Life Drive Magazine

Here was a photo of my shot being displayed on the projector during the end of the workshop and when the judges were giving their comments.

A little bit of technical stuff here, I shot mainly with a Canon 5D Mk2 in full RAW. I used mostly the 17-40mm F4 lens throughout the shoot with the occasional change to the 50mm. I wanted to use the 70-200mm lens but couldn't get the right angle and shot that I wanted. All of the photos were shot in natural light, placement of the cars was done by the showroom guy so even if I wanted the car at a different angle, I couldn't.

At the end, I was glad as my photo was selected as one of the top 5, woohoo!

Photo credit: Live Life Drive Magazine

Thanks to that win, I received a small goody bag and of course a big boost in terms of confidence. I did recall that one of my projects last year was to start shooting more automotive themed shoots so this was one of my initiatives. Can't wait to shoot even more cars especially if the opportunity arises!

Do check out some of my shots below.
[gallery link="file" columns="2" orderby="rand"]

More photos and information about the workshop is available here.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.306430839427798.68914.199088550162028&type=1

If you have noticed my posts lately, I haven't been for any photography workshops for a while already and not because I have stopped learning but I am a little more selective in what I want to learn and also pursue a new area in photography as well. When I received an email via WPPM that Nigel Barker was having a workshop here in Malaysia, the very first thought that came to my mind was, "Who in the world is Nigel Barker".

Of course, thanks to Munz who was next to me at that time, she told me who he was!

Anyway, for those of you who still don't know who he is, Nigel is a judge on Tyra Bank's reality show called "America's Next Top Model" which he does on top of other stuff as well. But most importantly, he was a photographer. A good portrait and landscape photographer as well, stronger in the field of portraiture in my opinion.

And the next thing I noticed was that it was not his workshop but more like a 1-day seminar. He had a workshop in Langkawi but it was held during the weekday and it fell during the same time I was away in Chicago hence it didn't really suit me (ok, the price was the main deterring factor as I knew I couldn't afford if :P).

Held at the Ritz Carlton in KL, I left my apartment late as it was a Sunday morning and I knew that traffic would be clear. I was right, I reached there within 15 minutes. Making my way to the conference room, I bumped into familiar faces at the conference such as Johann Sopiee, Patrick Low, Jim Liaw, Ning Liaw, Matt Marzuki, Eric Ooi, Fiona Lim and many more. Of course I made new friends such as Chen WS and Darren Chang as well.

Due to my super efficient "just in time" manner in which I arrived at the location just 10 minutes before the start time and I was seated all the way behind together with Fiona. What was shared wasn't the usual technical mumbo jumbo which you might have heard from workshops. It was about Nigel's life, his experiences and what he does now that inspires us all to be better photographers and to also see that there are things to life that are a lot more worth it than just money alone.

Overall, this conference had one of the best food served! Ritz Carlton provided yummy and delicious food while lunch was at Shook! at Starhill. The amount of food there was amazing and I definitely overate especially on the soft shelled crabs and risotto.

My only feedback to the organizers is that I did wish that the project screen on which Nigel shared his photos and presentation were projected to the back and not just on the TV at the front. Also it would be good that the photos which Nigel shot during the conference could be projected up as well.

On a last note, I managed to help Fiona win one of the three lucky draw prizes by calling out her number. Talk about freaky.

Registration Info 2011

Conference Dates:

17 - 20 March 2011 (Thursday morning - Sunday evening)
Conference Venue:

DUMC Dream Centre,

2 Jalan 13/1, Seksyen 13,

46200 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor, Malaysia

Click here for directions and map to conference venue on DUMC's website.

Click here to see where DUMC is located on GoogleMaps.

Streams:
A1. ADVANCED SOUND
B1. BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY

B2. INTERMEDIATE PHOTOGRAPHY

C1: VIDEO PRODUCTION

C2: VIDEO POST-PRODUCTION

D1: BASIC DESIGN (limited to 30 participants)

E1: MOTION GRAPHICS - AFTER EFFECTS (limited to 15 participants)

E2: MOTION GRAPHICS - FLASH (limited to 15 participants)

F1: 2-DAY MEDIA FOR SHEPHERDS TRACK

Conference Fees:

Regular rate:

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM400
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM450
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM500

Group rate (4 or more in a group):

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM350
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM400
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM450

Student rate:

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM300
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM350
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM400

2-Day Media for Shepherds Track:

Registration with proof of payment by 20 Jan 2011: RM100
Registration with proof of payment by 17 Feb 2011: RM100
Registration with proof of payment from 18 Feb 2011: RM150

Note:

* Conference fees include 10 meals and 1 t-shirt & does NOT include transportation or accommodation.

* Delegates from out-of-town will need to make their own accommodation arrangements.

* Delegates whose registrations are received after 17 February may not be guaranteed their shirt sizes.

* ChargeUp! Conference is being held at the end of the Malaysian school break in March, and there will not be a Bolt Youth Media Camp in 2011.

Registration & Payment Process:

1. Register online here.

2. Make your payment by depositing cash/cheque or transferring funds into the Livewire Media Sdn Bhd account, or by credit card (incurs an extra RM10 fee per registration).

3. Email your proof of payment to talk2us@livewiremedia.org with subject heading "ChargeUp! 2011 payment".

Payment by Cash/Cheque:

You can deposit cash/cheques at Maybank ATM kiosks (Acct: 514271253491), then email a digital copy of the deposit slip to talk2us@livewiremedia.org after you have registered online. Cheques should be payable to LIVEWIRE MEDIA SDN BHD.

Cheques can also be mailed by post to:
56, Jalan BM1/4, Bukit Mayang Mas, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Payment by Funds Transfer:

You can transfer funds into the Livewire Media Sdn Bhd Maybank account (514271253491) via ATM kiosks or online banking services. Then email a digital copy of the deposit slip to talk2us@livewiremedia.org after you have registered online.

Payment by Credit Card:

https://pay.integricity.com/livewire

Note: Type in "CUC - your name" when asked for Transaction Code / Invoice No.

Please include an extra RM10 fee per registration for payments by credit card.

Confirmation of registration

will be sent upon receipt of proof of payment AND submission of registration. Please note down on your fax, email or image of your transaction slip your name, mobile number & cheque/transaction number. If you're paying for a group, please also list down the names of your group members accounted for in that particular payment.

Participants below the age of 18

are required to submit a signed Parental Consent Form.

For Further Enquiries:

talk2us@livewiremedia.org

or call Goh Choon Ean (+6012-2687795) or Saw Poh Sim (+6016-4050353)

Click here to download the pdf version of the image above.

Organized by Models Inc., this exclusive workshop gives you the opportunity to work with models one on one. If you are looking to expand your portfolio, experience, learn how to ’see’ the light, and network with other photographers, PLUS get an opportunity to go on live shoots after the training, this event is for you! If you are an aspiring model, this is also an event for you! I am excited to share my experiences with all of you during this workshop.

Day 1, learn how to make a good portrait even better by learning different lighting & posing techniques. You will be utilizing different lighting techniques from available light to off camera flash and also video light to create your portraits. From theory, we will move on to a practical on-location shoot as the photographers will have the opportunity to photograph the different models. Each photographer will be assigned to one model so you have maximum control, and the ability to build your own personal portfolio!

For models, an up and coming stylist will coach you on hair and make-up application and will be giving tips on how to spruce up and keep looking fresh even on a hot day out on set.

Day 2, learn about how to create a good workflow after your shoot. You will be learning some cool post processing skills using Lightroom and Photoshop. A panel of renowned photographers will be invited to review the images so that you can maximize your learning experience. After the review, one photographer will be chosen to go through an apprenticeship period with myself (T&C apply) – to learn from live shoots! Models will be given a professional portfolio worth RM 200 within two weeks of the end of the workshop, including a fashion show line up in October.

Limited to only 10 photographers and 10 models – you are guaranteed a personalized experience.

If you wish to sign up, please email fiona@themodelsinc.co.uk with the following subject and body.

Subject : Re: Visual Depiction

Body : Full name, contact number, alternate contact number (if any), e-mail address, IC number/ passport number, photographer/model.

Final Update

At the end of the session, everyone just stayed back and chit chatted about various areas as well as catch up with one another. Tune in to RedNinja.tv to find out more about upcoming events!

Update #3

After the sharing session, the panel then went through various business cards that were submitted earlier for critique and there were plenty of learnings that I personally gained through this session. A lot of them have to do with a sense of purpose why a design is in the card and even the fonts used and the spacing between the fonts would then make sense. Definitely a real eye-opener to me, especially one who has zero design background.

Update #2

Jon and Grace are sharing about how they have recently undergone a rebranding with their own personal businesses lately. Both of them went through a big change in terms of how they branded their own personal businesses and also how they started off with a single focus and focused on that starting with their business cards and websites.

Update #1

I am blogging live now from Integricity's office at Centerpoint, Bandar Utama on the RedNinja.tv's event called "First Impressions: The Art of Business Card Design". At the moment we have Shirley and her husband together with Kris Wong from "That Special Occasion" and "Weddings Malaysia" as well as designer Mike Lian from Integricity sitting at the panel sharing about business card designs.



There is a big group of photographers and none photographers here at the event.

Yes I didn't manage to squeeze in a blog post last week. Why? Mainly I was busy with work, late teleconferences as well as preparing with the RedNinja.tv gang for the got Mojo? seminar and camp over the weekend. Definitely had an amazing time with the participants and all of the great fun and sharing that we had. Totally sapped all of my energy from me until I got sick on Monday when I returned to work.

It was such an honour to have Wiki and Ilona over as the main speakers and I am very sure that the participants had an equally fantastic time as well. Just search for the #gotMojo on Twitter and you will see their responses :)

Anyway, since a post should not have no images on it, I am going to post some shots which I took over the weekend.









I also liked this shot which Grace shot of me. She said I was doing the macarena which I don't recall that.



Big credits goes to:

Models: Rachel & Ser Young
Make Up & Hair: Shinny Ong (her work is amazing, just look at the models!)
Gowns by: Pretty In White (Pretty in White was one of our sponsors as well)

Couldn't have done it without them

Do you want a chance to win passes to the got Mojo? seminar that will feature Wiki Lee of Australia?

It's a simple "Tweet & Blog" contest.

STEP 1.
Tweet this phrase: "I want ninja training! I'm gonna win a pass to the @RedNinjaTV photography seminar here: http://bit.ly/gotMojo"

STEP 2.
Put up a blog post about the seminar / camp - you may use any of the images from this page.

STEP 3.
Leave a comment on this page with your Twitter ID and blog URL.

First 5 to tweet & blog will win 1 pass each to the seminar held on the 23rd of April.
From the remaining contestants, we will pick another 5 most creative blog entries to win 1 pass each.

All seminar passes that you win are transferable - even if you have already signed up, you can win and give it away. Good luck and we look forward to seeing you soon!

I guess my blog has been reduced to about 1-2 posts a week and most of the time its just 1 post but that is because I have been quite busy at work, multiple projects and activities to run and also weekend shoots but now I am glad to introduce to everyone, RedNinja.tv! In late 2009, when the stars and planets aligned in perfect harmony, it was then that 5 young and enterprising individuals banded together to discuss a common idea that had been brewing in their minds. The rough and sketchy idea was to bring quality, fun training camps and workshops to Asia.

After all, why should all the quality programmes by held in the US or Australia?

As the idea was birthed over various meals (we are very much Asian-foodies at heart!), it was decided that the training would focus on three areas: creativity, technology and business. With that, we began brainstorming on a name and late one night, RedNinja.tv was born.

And by we, I mean Alex Lam, Grace Tan, Jenny Sun, Jon Low and me with Mun Tzin helping us in the background.

Our first event that we are organising is not one but two events, the got Mojo? Seminar (23rd April 2010) and the got Mojo? Camp (24th and 25th April 2010). The got Mojo? camp is a highly experiential and fun weekend away at Port Dickson. It is a 2-day retreat for intermediate, semi-professional and professional photographers. The camp combines two vital elements that every photographer must master: the ability to identify their style and also the secrets of marketing your business successfully. The anchor speaker is Wiki Lee who is a famous wedding photographer from Australia.

Here are some examples of Wiki's work.















So head over to RedNinja.tv to sign up and register for either the seminar or the camp or even better, both!



Stay tuned for more updates!

Warning, more images to come :)

As a continuation from my previous blog post, after a heavy buffet lunch at Shangri-La (believe me, the food there was so good that it was so difficult not to want to try everything!), we all proceeded with our own individual assignments. Individual means that we split up into various groups and each group consisted of 4 team members. Each team would have a model assigned to them and we had to split our time to photograph the model.

Both Shen and Hafiz were in my group and I was the 3rd person to have a go. Part of our assignment was that we were able to borrow any of the equipment available there. From the image below, you would know that we took an Ezybox softbox with an SB-900 and an external battery pack together with another SB-900. We also made used of our own equipment as well. Since we only had an hour, we had to decide on our location as soon as we could. We had the beautiful Melissa first.

Here was Shen attempting his shot with us helping out by carrying the C-Stand

This was my attempt within 10 minutes. Wished I had more time to get the lighting set up a little bit more elaborately ;)

After the hour was up, we moved back into the workshop room where we were assigned another model to work with and we again had the usual 15 minutes. Our next model was Shirlyn who was a professional dancer (you can guess that Joe really likes dancers especially if you have read through both "The Moment it Clicks" and "The Hot Shoe Diaries").

My first attempt to begin with one light first before adding in additional lights. The first idea that came into my mind was to try out a multiple exposure shot but with movement but after consulting Joe, that setup would have taken me more than 15 minutes of my allotted time. I then decided that I would stick with the simple double exposure and the results are shown below.

Double exposure, courtesy of a Nikon technology ;)

Since I managed to set things up pretty quickly, we then experimented with a few other shots with a simple two lighting system. Again still sticking to small flashes.

After the assignments were over, we gathered downstairs for Joe to show us a little bit more of his concept and his ideas and how he actually came up with the shot.

Joe took out the big gun for this, the 200mm f/2 lens which is a huge lens and cost a bomb!



After the workshop ended and Joe had to rush over to Business.FM for a radio interview, we quickly had our books signed as well as took photos with Joe.

Not forgetting Drew as well :)

Ok, I definitely need to lose lots of weight. Totally put on too much recently.

After the workshop, I had to stay back a while for a secret performance practice which was due to be showcased the day after at Joe's Seminar. This portion was for Louis' talk on guerrilla lighting. Whilst waiting for Joe to get back from his interview, Ian was toying around playing with his Alien Bees and while he was still setting up his lights, I took this shot of Melissa using available light.

After a brief and expensive juice at the cafe, practice started and I somehow managed to spy this guy in the ballroom taking shots of the practice using an unmarked camera. Some say that it could be a Sony Alpha but others might say that its actually a new Canon. I don't think it was a Nikon because of shape of it but before I start to speculate, we can't really really tell what camera is that.

An unknown person with a Sony Alpha 5D Mk2

And of course Johan was assisting out the whole day that after almost 16 hours of carrying light stands and small flashes, it seems that he has really gone bonkers ;)

This was how I spent my birthday this year with those crazy photographers as well as the honour and pleasure of meeting Joe and Drew as well as learning from him. I must practice what I learned so do drop me an email if you are interested in having your personal portraiture done.

I spent my birthday which was on the 5th of February at Joe McNally's workshop here in KL a couple of weeks back. This is of course thanks to Louis from Wedshooter as well as the Wedshooter team who made it all happen. The workshop was a hands-on as well as a full day course which grouped 15 photographers on a Friday in Shangri-La in KL to learn about lighting and get to know Joe a little better.

In case you do not know who Joe McNally is, Joe is the most amazing photographer I have met and you might have probably seen most of his work on the cover of the National Geographic magazine. He is also the author of two amazing books, "The Moment it Clicks" and the more recent "The Hot Shoe Diaries".

When I got wind that Joe was coming to KL, I was quite excited but a little hesitant as well as I thought that the workshops were going to cost a bomb. Frankly, it was a big sum for me but it was an investment for me. The best part was that I managed to schedule the workshop on the same day as my birthday! (Joe had five 1-day workshops here spanning from the 1st of Feb till the 5th of Feb).

Here is Louis introducing himself as well as Wedshooter.TV before introducing the man of the day.

Joe started off the session with some quick introduction about himself as well as his assistance, Drew Gurian. He then went on to get to know each of us and asked us what are our expectations for this workshop. This was good start I felt as I managed to see who the other participants were. There were of course familiar faces in the group as well.



Friends in the photography industry such as Ian, Shen, Edwin, Hafiz and Gabriel were also attendees of the workshop. Funnily, Joe mentioned that our group was the only all guy group. I can see the testosterone levels shooting up, I guess the mix and the environment was a lot more different compared to this workshop. Look at all the female participants there!

Louis, listening intently to the participants as they introduced themselves

That's Drew over there!

After the rounds of introduction, Joe shared with us some of his videos as well as showed some of his latest work which was absolutely incredible and amazing. What made me smile was that he also had a couple of photos in his portfolio which was shot using available light which was what I normally do. Joe then mentioned that he himself also continued to learn by attending workshops such as the recent one where he attended Jay Maisel's workshop in NY.



At every workshop which Joe teaches, he carries with him lots of gears. And when I mean lots, I really mean lots! Frankly I didn't take the rest as there are way too many equipment about to capture it all. But what he had prepared for us included around 16 flashes for us to use, an array of Justin clamps and battery packs, Lastolite softboxes and many many more.

I spy the Twin Towers in the LCD screen of Joe's Nikon D3s

The workshop began with Joe showing us the various equipment that were about in the workshop and then teaching us on how to use them and what the effects of using these equipment would do to an image. After trying out several shots indoor using both a white and black background, we proceeded outdoors to learn more about light shaping tools there.

We also had a journalist in our midst, Jan Shim, hailing from Brunei who was covering the workshop

Then we moved indoors for another shoot again. This time it was in a service corridor where Joe showed us how to use our surroundings to create an amazing shot. Of course Ian had to pose for the shot as he would normally do.

Then we headed out again. Here we have Joe's camera setup to tether on his MacBook Pro which was very helpful for us participants.

We even had fantastic props to use as backdrops and for our models to pose with. I wish!

After an intense session of learning how to use various light shaping tools as well as understand various light placements, the group adjourned for lunch.

More photos from the workshop as well as our own personal shoots coming soon!