The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is one of the most beautiful mosque in this region. Built in 1958, many photographs had been created of this mosque. In my maiden trip to Brunei, I could not pass up the chance to photograph it. The weather was excellent. A dry day with clear skies gave us a colourful sunset. With Barry & Shuk Chee as our guides, I manage to find a nice vantage point to photograph it.

I also did a time lapse movie of this place which I will share in the class tomorrow. I will blog about how to create time lapse shots in another post Good night people!

It was a wedding I looked forward to eagerly. Two days after I returned from my 25-day trip in the US, I headed off to Melbourne to photograph Rebecca & Japheth’s wedding. Rebecca parents had known me since I was a kid. We kinda lost touch after they migrated to Melbourne 14 years ago. When Rebecca & Japheth got engaged and started looking for a photographer, they “rediscovered” me through the raving testimonials of another couple.

“You are the only photographer I want for my wedding,” Becky told me. It is such an honour when a bride puts so much trust in me. I was all pumped up for her big day. I recognized that Becky & J have something really special going. It is not just the love they share, it is also the love that their family, friends and church share with them that made the day so special & memorable.

Here are the highlights and I’ll let the slideshow and pictures do the talking…

I will be speaking at Photo Congress from May 4-8 in Manila. It is a huge honour to be invited to speak in a country that is brimming with creative minds and share the stage with other fantastic speakers like Mike Larsen, Charlie Lim & Jun Miranda. I will lead a MasterClass, a half-day seminar titled “Get Real”. This is a brand new lecture which I will develop to replace my existing three-day workshop “From Ordinary to Extraordinary”.

If you would like to register for Photo Congress, please write to chingphotographer (at) yahoo.com.ph

It is my long term goal to speak and teach internationally. This is one step towards that direction. I will be speaking at CM Leung’s workshop in Hong Kong (June 13-14, 2009) as well. It is exciting to venture out and challenge my own fears and limitation.

Today, I recorded my shortest trip to Penang. Got in at 10am and left at 3pm. It is taxing to jet in and out but it was all worth it. I am glad to meet up with so many enthusiastic photographers. It would be nice to be able to take a photo with everyone of you and to say hello but there were just too many people. My only hope is that the sessions I shared with you will in some ways contribute to your growth as a photographer.

I am equally please to catch up with my ex-students. Believe me, I treasure the 30-minute lunch I had with you. I would love to chat more but alas, boarding time beckoned. We must meet again because I want to catch up with your progress. Bless you!

Just wanna share this picture I shot last weekend during the workshop in Penang. We were at Khoo Kongsi, a great spot for pictures by the way, when the storm clouds gathered rapidly. Fired off camera flash on the right. I am experimenting with texture and some new processing techniques here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.