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I conduct Photography classes on a regular basis, most of them jointly with the PJEFC Photography Club and in one of my recent classes, I met Judy. She wanted some family portraits done and soon, I was at her doorstep.
Your own homes make one of the best family portrait locations as they are usually distinctively yours and recognizable. Many clients have whom I’ve had portraiture shoots over the years have used their home “portrait” canvas prints as part of their heirloom or family treasure.
Judy has a lovely home that brings nature in with it’s wide windows and landscaping. She also has two lovely children. Anyways, we did the group portraits at the living room and later had a few different variations over the house. We spent two over hours and had lots of fun and Judy’s a real hospitable client!
On a gray, overcast day, 15 participants were eagerly waiting at the basement of PJEFC Heritage Center. They were all ready to participate in our first ever PhotoWalk trip. Eddy, our friendly bus driver was already there waiting by the roadside.
The benefit of the cloudy sky was that the usually harsh sun that blights tropical Malaysia from mid-morning till late afternoon was turned into a giant softbox. That allowed the colors to pop. All the following shots were minimally processed — straight out of camera with a bit of contrast and level tweak. For many of the shots, I wanted an old-time look to it so they were mostly desaturated and faded. For a couple of shots, I did boost the colors slightly, namely numbers 17 through 21.
Most of my white balance was set to shade with the occasional usage of daylight and cloudy. If you don’t know what I’m writing above and the settings below, time to attend the 101 class here.
4. EF85mm f/1.8 lens at f/3.2, ISO 320, 1/60
5. EF85mm f/1.8 lens at f/2.2, ISO 320, 1/50, 580EX II flash with full CTO Gel, EV-1 on right.
6. EF85mm f/1.8 lens at f/3.2, ISO 320, 1/60
7. EF85mm f/1.8 lens at f/3.2, ISO 320, 1/100
8. EF24-105mm f/4 lens at f/4, ISO 800, 1/40
As part of the PJEFC Photography Club activities, we are organizing the first ever Photo Walk to Petaling Street.
Petaling Street Photo Walk.
As Jalan Sultan and the heritage buildings are slated for demolition, this trip aims to capture those buildings and places before they are consigned to history books.
Event itinerary is as follows:
08:00 – Meet at Heritage Center Basement Parking – Briefing, map distribution, etc
08:30 – Bus will arrive and pick us up
09:15 – Drop off at Jalan Sultan / Petaling Street
12:00 – Bus will pick us up at rendevous point
13:00 – Arrive back at Heritage Center
13:30 – Pizza lunch at Concourse with Photo sharing by participants
What to Bring
1. Your usual photographic equipment (camera, lenses, etc)
2. Don’t forget memory cards and spare batteries
3. Water
Who can join:
Open to anyone with a digital camera. Participants below the age of 18 require a parental consent form.
Fees
RM25 per participant for the transport and lunch.
FAQs
Q1) What if I rather take photos of food than buildings?
A1) Not a problem – this is a totally free shoot event. You are welcome to take photos of anything that you fancy, be it food, people, buildings, merchants, fellow participants, whatever…
Q2) Can I join if I only have a point-and-shoot camera?
A2) Of course. It doesn’t really matter what camera you have. The only caution I have is if you are using a mobile phone camera. We need to be able to download photos for viewing and sharing after the shoot.
Q3) Can I invite my friends?
A3) Of course. I highly encourage you to invite your friends. It just gets more enjoyable!
Q4) Will I get lost? I don’t know where to walk or shoot? I’ve not been there before.
A4) A map will be given as well as a short briefing. The map will be marked with highlights and the drop-off and pick-up points. One or two suggested walking routes will also be given.
We’re currently busy working on several photo classes and workshops for August, September and November. There’s a lot of details, planning and material to get ready so do be patient. Our classes and workshops will be held in conjunction with PJEFC’s photography club. The topics or areas we will be covering include kids and family portraiture, digital workflow, basic photography classes, flash and speedliting and landscape photography.
On probably one of the most popular wedding dates of 2010, I was covering a very unique wedding ceremony. Unique not because there were 10 couples on that date but because all of them are already married. The oldest couple had been married 37 years and the youngest couple, just nine.
It, was however, a marriage vow renewal and blessing ceremony. The page boys and girls were the some of the couples’ children and so were the special song performances. It was a touching and special way to declare your continuing commitment to your spouse before family and friends. With many marriages breaking up before even the fifth anniversary, it’s good to see these couples renew their vows.
It was interesting to see the ten couples walk down the aisle — no fathers’ giving away the brides anymore and no veils either. I do admire the effort taken to get all made-up and all the wedding dresses again! Overall, it did look like a large mass wedding! Thoroughly fun and the oldest couple, Robert and Jenny Mah were absolutely fabulous and he was giving her a bend over kiss!
The light the church, I had three 580EX IIs and RadioPoppers. For the group shots, I had a master 580EX and two slave 580EX IIs firing into reflective umbrellas. Again, my RadioPoppers provided wireless ETTL.
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