I’m hooked to the 2010 BMW Z4 since I first lay eyes on it (thanks to the April 2009 Top Gear magazine). It is sooooo sexy and gorgeous. I can see myself driving down the Likas coastway on a Sunday with the roof down or perhaps up to Mt Kinabalu national park on its manual transmission.

It is a dream. I will have to work triple hard to earn it no thanks to the prohibitive import duty on foreign cars in Malaysia. Here are some links for you to drool over this roadster.

BMW Z4 official site & download a bunch of wallpapers

A great video review.

It is a book that has set photographers in this region abuzz since I twitted about it 3 weeks ago. If you are practicing photography full time or part time, or perhaps thinking of doing so soon, please read Fast Track Photographers by Dane Sanders. IMO, it is like the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” or “E-Myth” equivalent for photographers.

I picked up the book while I was at WPPI, Las Vegas but I didn’t read it until 2-3 weeks ago. I was so captivated that I finished it in 12 hours! I should re-read this book at a slower pace so soak it all in. This is not a technical how-to book. There isn’t anything about shutter speed, aperture, photoshop. Rather it talks about the most important element in your photography business–YOU!

Think about it. Isn’t your photography career dependent on your decisions, attitude & directions? There are plenty of examples that Dane draws from his vast network of friends like Mike Colon, David Jay, Jasmine Stars, Becker. Dane shares openly the mistakes and successes he made in his career with the hope that by sharing it, we will enjoy success much faster and avoid fatal errors.

Dane’s honesty moved me. Like him, I once thought that to be successful, I must imitate the great ones. “I couldn’t be successful because I am not great like Jerry or Yervant or Buissink,” so I thought. However what made these photographers great is who they are. We love them because they are so distinct and special…because they focus on being who they are & what they do best. This book is not a philosophical mumbo jumbo…Dane packs it with plenty of practical help. The book comes with an online personality test, pDNA (photographers DNA) that Dane had designed.

What I see happening a lot in the industry is copying. “He has multiple photographers in his business. Let us do that too.” “He is using Totally Rad actions. Let’s use that too.” “He is dropping his prices. Let’s follow suit.” “She is advertising in this magazine. We must do it too!” There is nothing wrong with learning from each other and keeping tabs of the latest trend in the industry. When we copy the actions without understanding the principle behind them or understanding ourselves, we’ll run into trouble. What works for one photographer might not work for another. We end up pursuing our competitions, not our dreams. Before we knew it, the exciting & passionate photographer in us was long gone and we become grumpy, bitter & very likely, broke.

This book helps me rediscover who I am and refocuses my primary purpose. At a deeper level, I have always known what I do best but I forgot and lost track, thinking that perhaps I must be like someone else to “make it”. After finishing this book, I cleared the “wannabe” virus from my system and focused on being the best I can be. I am set free & reinvigorated. IMO, this is a must read for all photographers, certainly for those who are attending my 3-day workshops. It’ll be the best U$25 you had ever spent.

The first edition of Fast Track Photographer will run out pretty soon. It is not available in bookstores in this region. The only way to get it is via Fast Track Photographer online store or Amazon. Get yours today.

This was my first trip to Ipoh. Together with my assistant Danny, we did all the touristy stuff. We ate bean sprout chicken, herbal chicken (just across the street from Lou Wong), “Dao Fu Fa” (further down the road), the original Old Town Coffee, and the early morning dim sum. We surprised ourselves how much we ate within a 4-hour period.

The next morning, we started working at 6am as the wedding took place in Ipoh and Teluk Intan (about 2hrs away). We took some portrait shots at the old train station and a stretch of pre-war buildings. Love the locations. Yun Qi & Sunny, thank you very much for the famous TI “chee cheong fun”. Truly it was the best I had tasted.

Here are some of my personal favourites…

This is definitely a new shot/angle for me

The dramatic morning sky was begging to be photographed. Video light on Sunny + WB set to tungsten = yummy shot

Since leaving WPJA earlier this year, I’ve been asked many times the rationale behind my decision. I thought it is good to clear this on the blog. Not that I cared what people thought of my decision, but more to satisfy curious brides & grooms and to save myself from repeating the same story to my friends in the industry.

In 2005/06 I was accepted into WPJA. I was over the moon with the acceptance because WPJA provided me two opportunities:
1. exclusive membership to a club where only the bests are accepted (that’s what it claims). There were only two of us from Malaysia then.
2. listing on WPJA directory which can bring traffic to my website

In early 2009, I decided to not to renew the WPJA membership because what had served me well three years ago, are no longer helpful to me. First of all, while WPJA paints itself as a exclusive club for top wedding photographers, there are, in my view, many sub-standard photographers that are accepted into WPJA. Looking at the membership list, I was honestly a bit embarrassed to be a member.

At the same time, many highly acclaimed professionals left the organization. Huy Nguyen (WPJA photographer of 2005) & David Beckstead (WPJA photographer of 2002) left WPJA. In fact, Huy was booted out from WPJA. This debacle kicked up a hell of a debate in various forums (DWF & Open Source). To me, WPJA loses credibility.

There are many world class photographers who are not WPJA members: Yervant, Ghionis, David Williams, Cliff Mautner, Joe Buissink, Denis Reggie (father wedding photojournalism), Jessica Claire, Becker, Mike Colon…the list goes on. My point is that being a member does not automatically cements one as the top 5% of wedding photographers in the world. It is sad to see that so many photographers who believe this hype. I have great respect for certain members in WPJA, Kelvin Koh, Patrick Low, Greg Gibson, Dino Lara, Stephen Loh but the respect stems from the quality of their work rather than their WPJA membership.

I am all for image/print competitions because they push us (photographers) to work hard. Personally, I want to compete against photographers I admire (see the names listed in the previous paragraph). If I am a race driver, I want to race in the F1 Grand Prix against the likes of Hamilton, Raikkonen, Massa, Schumacher. Won’t it be sweet to be able to compete against these illustrious line up of talents?

As for web traffic from WPJA directory listing, I am not missing much. According to Google Analytics, referring traffic from WPJA ranked 39th.

Joining a professional body is not about slapping a logo on my website, though that’s what most photographers in my area like doing. How does the logo add any value to our clients and us as professionals? Does having some logos on our website make us a better photographer over night? Shouldn’t we allow our work do the talking instead of bragging about memberships? You don’t find a single logo on my website except that of my own. I join professional bodies like WPPI and AIPP because I want to network with other photographers, learn from the best minds in the industry and compete against the most talented wedding photographers of our time. That is why I attend the conventions. I walk away each year a better photographer, entrepreneur and person.

So why should I pay U$300 to WPJA brings me little web traffic, prestige and professional help? I rest my case.

This is my take of WPJA. Your experience with it may differ vastly from that of mine. If it serves your needs and makes you happy, there is no reason why you shouldn’t continue with it. There are no perfect organization. I just stick with the ones that serve my needs.

I don’t remember having more gourmet coffee at a wedding than this one. It was a blessing that Tze Thean’s mum makes fantastic coffee. She made me three cups throughout the day!

It was great fun photographing this wedding. I could not forget the moment Patt walked down the aisle with her dad. They exchanged a glance and they cuddled a little. In four years of photographing weddings, that cuddle and touching of foreheads as the father and daughter walked down the aisle was something I had never witnessed! I remembered the warm gush that went through my heart as I saw that moment. What a privilege to witness such an intimate moment.

Thank you Patt & Tze Thean for the having me at your wedding. Two pictures from this wedding had won Accolades of Excellence at WPPI 2009.