This set of photos have been sitting inside “MUST BLOG” folder on my desktop for six months! Just going through the pictures brought back so much memories of being at Kerry & Ben’s wedding. There are several reasons this was unforgettable to me.

First, on Jan 1, iPhone’s alarm clock decided not to work, sparking global chaos! Remember the Y2K problem? Yeah, it hit iPhone 11 years later! Thank God for my backup alarm clock, also know as my wife, I jumped up from bed and got to the shoot in time. One of the groomsmen wasn’t so lucky. He barely made it to the wedding.

The second thing was Kerry’s gown…it was the most amazing one I had ever seen. Kid you not…I have been shooting weddings for 5.5 years. It was also the heaviest I had never carried. When Kerry put it on, it made sense why she carried it back all the way from Australia. She was stunning in it.

The third most memorable thing was at the wedding ceremony when Kerry’s dad, who had been perfectly calm the whole morning, broke down in tears. Kerry probably didn’t notice it as she was looking keenly at Ben who was a nervous wreck. One frame. Three distinct emotions. Just so blessed to be at this wedding.

Did I tell you how much I enjoy the black tie reception? Well that would be the fourth thing I love about this wedding.

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upcoming photography workshops: Two-Day Guerrilla Lighting Workshop in KK (August 12-13) & KL (September 16-17)

Adam Alex and I are happy to announce that we will bring the Fusion Workshop to Kuala Lumpur, 22-24 August. We had a sold out London Fusion Workshop where everyone raved about how much they’ve learned and enjoyed themselves. The letters, emails, and FB messages Adam and I got were huge encouragement to us. We’ve received a lot of requests to bring the fusion workshop to South East Asia. So after finally sorting our crazy schedules, we are please to announce the KL Fusion Workshop. It is the ultimate workshop for wedding photographers or anyone aspiring to be a wedding photographer.

Adam and I are as different as we are similar. That’s the basis for this unique workshop. We come together to bring two approaches and perspectives into a single workshop. We have taken two distinct paths that had brought us success & accolades. Participants of the London Fusion Workshop loved the different angles and strengths Adam and I brought to the class.

I want to tell you more about Adam. Averaging £9,000 per booking, Adam is one of UK’s premier wedding shooter. He is as sharp & creative as a photographer as he is a business owner. He won first place in MPA’s Open Category which attracted entries from UK’s top wedding shooters and then first place at WPPI’s Fashion category. It’s a rare achievement to win at both side of the pond. He is as articulate and passionate talking about Photoshop’s blending modes as he is with search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing.

It will be a real treat to have Adam in South East Asia. I am honor to be able to teach alongside such an esteemed colleague and friend. It’s incredible that Adam finds the time to head to the Far East.

For full details, please download the brochure of the workshop.

August 22-24 | Kuala Lumpur RM3900 (super early bird before 6 July RM3300) REGISTER NOW

Thanks for the nudging and ‘forceful’ reminders via emails, Facebook & Twitter. The Guerrilla Lighting Workshop 2011 is finally here. I would love to announce this earlier but we are working like mad at the studio plus balancing a lot of traveling. Since there is never a convenient time, it might as well be today.

Guerrilla Lighting will make stops in KK and KL. Scheduling and timing permitting in several other countries as well. Thanks for invitation to your country…I really want to say yes to all the invitations but time is finite. Between shoots, family & church, there isn’t much time left in 2011. I’ll do my best. That’s a promise.

Everything about small flashes for two days. The Guerrilla Lighting Workshop replaces the popular the one-day “Shoot Like A Pro” workshop. After teaching for several years, I felt that a one-day workshop is just too short to have a meaningful learning experience. As a teacher it is far more enjoyable to have the time and space to forge theories into solid understanding. Sign up during the early bird period to save RM300 (U$100)!

August 12-13 | Kota Kinabalu RM1500 (early bird before 6 July RM1200) REGISTER NOW
September 16-17 | Kuala Lumpur RM1800 (early bird before 20 July RM1500) REGISTER NOW

Download the workshop brochure, and if you have more questions, write to us at info (at) louispang.com

Cheers!

A great printmaker is a fine art photographer’s best friend. They are not easy to find especially in Malaysia. So it is such a joy to meet Chung, a young, hip, passionate and most of all, knowledgeable printmaker in Kota Kinabalu.

I got Chung to make four prints for the Australian Institute of Professional Photography annual print competition two weeks ago. I thought I was the pickiest guy on earth until I worked with Chung. Everything has to be perfect with Chung. I was pulling my hair and biting my nails but Chung was just cool, calm and patient.

Many assume that you just press the print button and prints would just turn out perfect. Yet there is printer driver, paper profile, monitor calibration, spectrometers that cost as much as a high end DSLR, software with more buttons than a 747 cockpit, proper lighting and viewing conditions. All it takes to wreck a print is a speck of dusk or a strain of fiber.

Thanks to Chung’s expertise, all our prints made it to AIPP on time. Hopefully we will better last year’s result of three silvers. Chung is also helping us create a custom paper profile and camera profile. I’m glad we can get such level of professionalism at our doorstep in KK.

Part of Chung’s working studio is a dedicated gallery. Now that’s a real bonus for photographers and anyone who appreciate arts in Kota Kinabalu. He curates and collaborates with artists here and abroad to have their artwork exhibited.

Very happy to photograph Chung in his print studio and gallery. You should check it out!

Ryan Ong, a young photographer from KK, just completed a month of exhibition at ProArt.

I never have enough time on a wedding day. It’s not the planner or the couple’s fault, it’s just the nature of a wedding day. There are a million things to do: make-up, hair-do, wardrobe, getting the bridal parties, family & friends ready, ceremony, reception, music, videos, coordinating the timing of everything and photography, of course. Somewhere along the line, something got delayed and we ended up with less time that we planned for. If you think time pressure is scary, read on…

“What do you want us to do now?” Elaine and Owen asked as soon as we got the formals done. It is a question that would have sent shivers down my spine if I didn’t come prepared. It’s a question that stares you right in the eye. Can you deliver or not? Are you going to make something happen? The answer for a photographer is always “Yes” regardless of how I feel. We had 40 minutes before reception start and we lose all daylight. With a client, I cannot afford to run out of ideas or not knowing what to do next. Never mind it was my first shoot in this resort. The buck stops with me. That’s why I am here. On the roof top of a resort that’s built on top of a hill in the southern tip of Phuket Island, Thailand. Wind howled mercilessly. Lightning flashed at the end of the horizon. Storm clouds gathered. The clock ticked real fast. “What do you want us to do now?” Took a deep breathe and committed to a series of pictures 500 feet above sea level, right on the roof top.

I’ve learned not to run or be scared when storm clouds gather rapidly. They can offer great photography opportunities by giving texture, contrast and mood to the sky. At the end, the wind died, lightning faded, the imminent storm that threatened to wreck this wedding just went away. We got with quite a few frames of great pictures. Here are two I wanna share with you. Just glad Radiopoppers came through for me again…shooting 30 feet away without line of sight is just impossible without these amazing tiny radio triggers.

Jumping on a flight for home now…