Kota Kinabalu is fast becoming a favourite spot for e-session or pre-wedding shoots. I am certainly promoting it with all that I can. You can argue that I am biased, but I LOVE KK. Wrote a short article about that recently and it’s coming out in a national magazine. Now, let’s save that story for another day.

Today, we are here to celebrate Heng Ewe and Han Liang’s shoot. “We don’t have any fixed ideas. We are just leaving everything up to you,” they said. That’s music to my ears! They were surprised that how straight forward it is to organize a shoot with us. Just three simple steps:

1. Book a date for the shoot
2. Pick up a gown from Pretty in White
3. Jet into KK for the shoot & holiday

Heng Ewe and Han Liang did just that. We organized the location, shoot and make-up. They stayed on a few extra days to enjoy our great seafood (with out list of highly recommended restaurants) and beaches. I had a lot of fun with them. As you can see from the picture, they had fun too!

The closest I got to being on TV was hanging out with Drew Gurian at the NTV7’s visitors lounge while the Breakfast Show interviewed Joe McNally last February. I remembered cheering on for Joe when he went on air. Not that he could hear us, but it was just so great to see him inspiring the viewers with his stories & journey while we watched the whole thing live. It was like seeing a family or close friend on TV…and I get to brag, “Hey that’s my pal on TV!” I did made a little wish while watching Joe on air.

That wish came true on 30 June 2010.

NTV7’s Breakfast Show invited me to talk about winning the International Portrait Print of the Year at WPPI, Las Vegas. I was very honored by the invitation. Being the only guest that morning, the hosts, Aisha and Joanne, spent nearly 19 minutes chatting with me on air. If you had missed that, I’ve got it on YouTube. Big thank you to NTV7 for the opportunity. What an honor that you find wedding photography newsworthy.

“Hey mum, I was on TV!”

Oh man! I am so stoked to receive this package from AIPP yesterday. Took part in the recent Australia Professional Photography Awards (APPA) and I was anxious to find out the results. Slit the envelop and out came three silver corners and a letter. I was awarded two Silver Awards and a Silver Distinction. According to my Aussie pal & Master Photographer II, David Williams that’s a “damn fine effort, great score and great recognition.” What an amazing year it has been for us at Louis Pang Studio! We were so excited about it than we put our upcoming Inspire+ seminar on sale for RM99 for 3 hours! Hope you didn’t miss it!

I love this print. Thought I would do well but it scored 75. I am really curious to find out how I can improve here.

“Peace” scored 80 here, Silver Award. View it on APPA gallery.

“Vineyard” scored 80 here as well, Silver Award. It scored 85 in WPPI. View it on APPA gallery.

“Gorgeous” scored 85 and earned a Silver Distinction which according to AIPP means “Superior Execution. Very high standard of professional practice with superior visual communication, interpretation or emotion.” View it on APPA gallery.

The APPA is slightly different from the WPPI print competition. Each member is allowed to submit up to four prints. We sent in four. This is how AIPP rank the prints:

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about print competitions lately. I am by no means an expert in this field…just sharing my experience judging at WPPI Accolades of Excellence Print Competition & talking to several reputable judges. Print competitions motivate me to excel as an artist and craftsman. I compete regularly at WPPI and recently at AIPP for several reasons.

#1 It’s not about my clients/fans
It’s solely for my artistry and development. I could stop at “As long as my clients love my work, I don’t care what other people say.” It’s not about how many “Very Cool!” or “AWESOME” shout outs we get on flickr or Facebook. That is not enough for me. A great print competition sets us up against our industry harshest critics and trying to impress them. I want to know what my fellow professional colleagues around the world think about my work. If it sucked, tell me how I can improve. If it was good, I want to be better.

#2 It’s about benchmarking
Yes, art is subjective. One man’s poison is another man’s food. I had same prints scored 10 points apart by different set of judges. It is easy to discount the judging process just because it is subjective. Remember, the same judging process have recognized masters like Jerry Ghionis, Yervant, Marcus Bell, Jennifer Hudson, Bambi Cantrell. When we submit ourselves to the same process, we are benchmarking ourselves against these masters.

#3 It’s about who you wanna emulate
Why WPPI & AIPP only, Louis? There are several other professional bodies out there. I have limited amount of time and resources for print competitions so I have to pick and choose. That makes my decision easy. I want to compete with the best. I admire the work of Australian and American photographers (probably with slight bias for the Aussies). If you are a football player, you want to play in the biggest tournaments like World Cup or Champions League because the best players play there! So it’s WPPI and AIPP for me.

Your path & preference can be different. Regardless, don’t shy away from a good challenge. It can only make us better. I am going to work hard to earn AIPP’s Master of Photography accreditation.

CSI TV series fascinate me. I have been chasing CSI Las Vegas and NY since their pilot! Never thought that I would be called upon for the role of Archie, the tech specialist.

This afternoon, I was called upon for a “Royal Inquiry” into an allegedly doctored image involved Queen of England. Jeffery Wong from Kota Kinabalu claimed the Queen conferred him with the Knight Grand Cross (GBE) during her recent birthday. It’s a conferment that carries the title “Sir”. Congratulatory ads flooded the local press. Some however question the authenticity of Wong’s claim.

A reporter from Sin Chew Jit Poh sent me some images and asked for my professional input.

The image on the right was provided by Wong to support his award claim. Some claimed it was doctored from the image on the left. The man on the left is Ross Brawn, principal of Mercedes F1 racing team, receiving the Order of British Empire from the Queen on March 10, 2010. Which is real? Which is fake? Here is my reply to Sin Chew. Verbatim, in bold:

The picture on the left and right is EXACTLY the same, except for the picture of the recipient. The gestures of the Queen, the angle of which she bended her wrist, tilted her head, the position of her fingers, posture and creases on the Queen’s dress are EXACTLY the same in both photo. The distance of the Queen from the wall and background is also EXACTLY the same in both photos. In my professional opinion, it is impossible that a photographer could capture two separate images with so many elements of “sameness”, especially in a live award event. While the background is also EXACTY the same in both photo, it could be explained by the use of a tripod.

I prove my point by super imposing the photographs on top of each other. You can see the “sameness” clearly.

There are two logical explanations to these two photos. One, the Queen depicted here was a wax statue. Or two, one of the two pictures was doctored. Unless given the high resolution files of the two images, it is hard to tell which is original and which is fake.

New evidence surfaced an hour after I received the first images. Above is a higher resolution picture of Ross Brown on the Mercedes F1 blog. After reviewing Brawn’s image, I conclude that Jeffery’s image was doctored from that of the Mercedes supremo’s.

This event made an interesting Saturday afternoon for me. I’ve seen doctorate degrees bought from some banana republic and photographers lying about their credentials. One claimed to be a multiple WPPI award winner when he has only garnered two Accolades of Excellence, not any first, second or third place award. Big difference between earning an AE and winning an award don’t you think? Another said he was a judge for international photography competitions. But which competition, sir? No reply. A few years ago, a chap in KL claimed be on assignment for National Geographic. When a fellow photog called up NG, the magazine said they didn’t know him let alone commissioning him. As photographer, it is upsetting because one bad egg can stink up a whole basket of eggs.

It is a scary world out there. Can’t believe everything you read or see anymore. Truth however always prevail. Just take a closer look

This is hilarious. You MUST read right to the end to enjoy this.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi, 
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.

Thanks Shan.


**********************************************************************************

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news.
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.

Regards, David.

**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

**********************************************************************************

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

I never said I don’t like cats. Attached poster as requested.

Regards, David.

**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

**********************************************************************************

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It’s a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.


Regards, David.

**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

**********************************************************************************

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,


Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don’t come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.


Regards, David.


**********************************************************************************


From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

**********************************************************************************


From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

**********************************************************************************


From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,


I don’t have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend’s cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter. I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.


Regards, David. 


**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

**********************************************************************************

From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says “I haven’t seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?” you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.


Regards, David. 


**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

**********************************************************************************
















From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww







**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

**********************************************************************************


From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww







**********************************************************************************

From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

**********************************************************************************




From: David Thorne

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm

To: Shannon Walkley

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

**********************************************************************************







From: Shannon Walkley

Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm

To: David Thorne

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

This is taken from 27b/6, a very humorous British blogsite.