The Lunar New Year is the Christmas or Thanksgiving for Chinese. We travel home from afar to spend time with family and to EAT. Yes, eating is a big part of the Chinese culture. We don’t even enter into any business discussions until we have had a fantastic meal.

Since Jasmine and I relocated to Kota Kinabalu 17 months ago, life has become a lot busier. I yearn for some quiet moments and down time where I just hang out with family and friends.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, our office will be close from January 24 to Feb 1. It will reopen on February. If you are writing to us, please be patient. We will get back to you when our office reopen.

GONG XI FATT CHAI!

Hong Yi is our intern a.k.a. slave for the last couple of months. When an architecture student at Melbourne University, a high achiever and soon-to-be renown architect wrote in volunteering to be an intern, I expected a girl with a big attitude. I am glad to report that she proved my perception wrong. Not only is she down to earth, cheerful, she is willing to slog it out with my heavy camera bags and long shooting hours. Nothing was too small a task. She brightens the office with her cheerfulness, smiles, pro-active approach. And she asks the best question, “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Jasmine and I are so impressed with this young lady. Hong Yi will be a STAR in any team/company she joins.

Happy birthday Hong Yi. It’s been a pleasure to have you in our office. We wish you God’s richest goodness on your life. Your best years are still ahead of you. Pursue your dreams. You’ve set a very high bar for internship at LPS!

For the second year in a row, we have produced our very own limited edition of Hong Bao. It is a token of our appreciation for your support & love. Generosity begets generosity. God knows how much Jasmine and I have been blessed by the kindness & generosity of others.

This year, our Hong Bao features Voon Ping, the lovely bride I photographed in Johor Bahru and Kota Kinabalu.

Jasmine and I really appreciate the thank you text messages, emails and phone calls we got for the Hong Bao. Isn’t nice that instead of bank statements and bills, we get a nice little gift? We’ve been getting a lot of requests for our limited edition of Hong Bao but unfortunately we just ran out. Use them wisely to put a smile on others.

This is not a joke. It happened this morning when I opened my bag right before a family portrait session. “There’s smoke,” said Melvin. My brand new Bronic video light was accidentally turned on while it being was transported inside the camera bag. A unit of SB-800 placed next to it was melted from the heat. I am glad that was the only damage to this little accident.

Fellow photographers, never transport tungsten lights with the power/battery attached. I have learned my lessons today.

What a weekend it was. “Shoot Like a Pro”, a one-day portrait photography workshop in Kota Kinabalu was once again sold out. We had participants from all over the place: 2 from Sweden, 2 from Brunei, 3 from Kuala Lumpur & 1 from Lahad Datu. I salute their desire to learn and improve. Mun Tzin (from KL) was totally on fire. She always squeezed through the crowd and get a front row position to see me worked.

We also had three participants from the previous “Shoot Like a Pro” back at the workshop. Judging from their feedback, they loved the revamped version of this workshop, which included 6 hands-on exercises and plenty of one-on-one time with the models. The participants were even divided into three groups, led by a group leader. The small group environment really helped the learning process.

As a teacher, I am motivated to see excitement and hunger in the students. The more they desire to learn, the more I wanna teach! While we finish at 7:30pm, many linger on till 8:30pm to chat and grab photos. This is the best workshop I had ever taught. I could see satisfaction and sparkles in the eyes of these inspired souls. I walked away from the venue a very happy teacher. Thanks for coming! To my Brunei fans, I will do one in your lovely country in Q2 2009.

I want to give special thanks to Audrey & Sheila from Iro Iro Cosmetic Gallery who sponsored the makeover of our models. Thanks also go to our models: Reuel, Sharon & Vanessa. I must thank Ellis, Melvin & Ted for leading & helping the participants in the small groups.

Check out these pictures. We had a BLAST!

“Oops I did it again.” I don’t like this Britney Spear-ish mic but it is good. I will pick up a Countryman E6 soon.

We had a nude session with Reuel Nah. He had a bet with me that he would not be topless in our workshop. Well, he lost when I got him to swap his white t-shirt for a black one.

Sharon Er…model #1…you are a pleasure to work with.

Vanessa…model #2…another darling to photograph. Future models will have big shoes to fill in.

She is just beautiful.

Weighing 200 pounds at this corner of the hall, is REUELLLLLLLLLL!

He is less intimidating when he smiles.

Example of how to setup a group shot.

I was talking about professional posing techniques.

Then we went into three different groups to practice. Everyone gets plenty of chances to photograph the models one-on-one.

Mun Tzin was really having fun!

Ted and his group of participants.

Ellis with another group. Reuel likes flexing his muscles. Do modern chicks dig that?

Martin (left, from Sweden) & Mark (from KL) having fun with Martin’s brand new AF-S 50mm 1.4. Sweet glass!

Posing and photographing Sharon with available light. Remember, just because it is available, it is not always the right light to use.

Shooting from the short side. Ted held up the black side of the reflector to cut light.

Available + artificial light. A very simple shot. Yet the simplest shots can be the hardest to execute.

Then I took the class out on two inspiration shoots where the entire class get to see how I work.

Lit by a simple billboard on the left, I created this shot of Vanessa.

Same setup, a different shot with Sharon.

Now I like getting the most out of a good spot…another shot.

Then out to the Waterfront to capture Kota Kinabalu’s amazing sunset.

When I construct a shot, I do it step by step. First I expose for the background.

Then I add in TTL flash & viola! Lighting changes everything.

This shot is lit with a single video light.

Then we gathered a bunch of tea lights for the next two pictures. Lowel ID light is used as a kicker light to illuminate Vanessa’s hair, separating her from the pitch black background.

From the most mundane places, these two shots were created. They were completely unplanned.

We’ll be releasing more “Shoot Like a Pro” workshops around the country in the coming months. Stay tune!