Andrew & Akushla were one of the first few couples to book me as a wedding photographer. Andrew first saw my work on the Overclockers forums and contacted me about shooting their wedding. I was a newbie in the industry then so when they got back to me saying they wanted to book me I was over the moon! Also, if I remember correctly it was over 18 months from the first point of contact till their wedding day.

The wedding day started at Milford Meadows where the ladies were getting ready while the guys had a later start at the Plum Tree Cottage. It was raining that morning on the way to Bowral but when we got there we had clear blue skies. The ceremony was held at the Anglican Church of St. Simon and St. Jude and reception at Centennial Vineyards.

Thank you Andrew and Akushla for putting your trust and confidence in my work so early on in my career. I have very fond memories right from the first time we met till the very end when we made our way back to the car. I looked up to the sky and there were billions of stars lighting up the night sky. It was beautiful, just like your wedding day was. Thanks guys

One of the many views at Milford Meadows

The girls reading the well wishes on Facebook

Starting with the hair

Hair done while going through last minute stuff

The well wishes keep coming in!

Mum fixing one of the bridesmaid’s dress while the bride waits anxiously for her hair to be done

Three things going on at once!

Off to the boy’s side for a bit

Then it was back to the girls

First look at the bride

Then it’s off to the church

Andrew and the boys waiting anxiously

At first I thought they were trying to steal some grapes! They were actually trying to free a trapped bird

Centennial Vineyards at sunset

These flowers were arranged by the bride’s mum. Better than some ordered from a florist!

Homemade souvenirs

Love the flower arrangements for the cake too!

Where was this taken? Took awhile for Andrew to guess it right

Speech reactions

The first dance

It proved to be a bit of a challenge at first as Sean Minn had trouble with her veil. We were all afraid that it may fly off with the wind! In the end, I think we made the best of it and I’ve also always wanted to do ‘veil shots’. We got a few of them and I was happy with the way it turned out.

Here are the photos from their session. Thank you Sean Minn and Eugene! It was a really fun day out

These 2 photos have some different post processing compared to what I usually do. I couldn’t resist with the texture of the bricks

This is something more typical of my work

Making the most of the strong wind

I love this shot! If you see the larger version you can see the streaks of light!

We even got to use the veil as a diffuser, softening the light!

Both of them being funny

Love the movement of the veil here!

This has to be one of my favourite shots

The sunset was beautiful that day too!

I’ve known both Sonia and Dennis for a good couple of years now when we were all still in university. We all connected through the Malaysian student societies back then and since we were all committee members, we actually worked together organising events too!

Having known them for some time before they got engaged (and now married!), naturally we had tons of fun during the shoot. Here are some of my favourite photos but stay tuned for the slideshow with lots more in my next post!

I like the attitude in the next few here

We wanted something more edgy but those guys being jokers, it was a tough task refraining from bursting out in laughter!

Yes, I love brick walls with interesting textures and colors

Haven’t been back to this spot in 2 years. It was nice to shoot here again

Always wanted to shoot at Luna Park!

The ferris wheel shot!

These guys glow with passion

Don’t forget to check back again for the slideshow!! It’s in HD so you don’t want to miss it

I have two to share from separate shoots we did with Sonia and Dennis over two weekends. They actually wanted to keep all the photos as a surprise until their wedding later this year back in Malaysia. ‘Negotiations’ were made and they agreed to let me ‘release’ this one first

All I can say is this is only a minor indication of the ‘awesome-ness’ of the other photos to come so hang on guys!

Meanwhile, here’s the slideshow that was displayed at the dinner reception. This time you get to watch it as many times as you want! Don’t forget to turn HD on for a better quality and sharper video

Jasmin’s Hen’s Day Out from Justin Oh on Vimeo.

Very briefly, the camera used was a Hasselblad XPan II, panoramic and standard 35mm film camera loaded with Kodak E100VS slide film. What’s so special about this camera is that it takes a shot which is almost twice the length of a standard camera. I was initially writing a post to show the pictures here but then soon after I realized I had gone totally off topic. I started writing more about why I still shoot in film and why I love it so much.  I have separated that post to another one so I’ll post that soon after I put this one up so stay tuned!

Let’s get on with the pictures first shall we? CLICK for larger photos!

I absolutely love the warm tones here!

I’ve always been a fan of panoramics and here are some examples why!

Erm, what wide angle lens?

This will be my all time favourite panoramic portrait shot on film. Notice how panoramic, portrait and film don’t usually go together at all!

My 2nd favourite..

and 3rd favourite

Hope you guys enjoyed this! Somehow I’m feeling extra sentimental just looking at these photos and reminiscing Vanessa and Marcus’ wedding day. Thanks guys for having me there, and also Gemma for asking me to come along and shoot with her

Damn, I really love my job!

The day started out in the morning at Vanessa’s parents beautiful home followed by the ceremony at the Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church. Built between 1886 and 1889, this church was the tallest in NSW for over 100 years until the twin spires of St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney were completed in 2000. Bridal party photos was next so we headed out to The Rocks and then Observatory Hill where we had the most amazing light and a beautiful couple to work with

Later that evening we took a stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens to the Botanic Gardens Restaurant where the reception was held. It was a great end to a wonderful and well planned wedding. I have to thank Vanessa and Marcus for having me there alongside Gemma Clarke to photograph their union. We had such great weather with sunny blue skies and slightly cool weather which is great for us photographers to work with

Here are some of my favourites and highlights of the day! Don’t forget to CLICK the photos to view a larger version!

Hair and make-up artists working their magic

Bec (Vanessa’s sister) helping Mum out with a necklace

Mum and Bec video conferencing while getting ready!

I love the following 2 shots and couldn’t decide which I like better

Applying final touches

The end result – Perfection

The majestic Hunter Baillie Memorial Church

Equally majestic organ at the rear of the church

Dad and Daughter

A moment of prayer

Mr and Mrs Pereira

A sneaky moment together?

Thanks guys! It was super fun hanging out with you all!

This is the amazing light I was talking about earlier!

Here too!

Natural flare here! No Photoshop gimmicks, I only had to desaturate it slightly and this is the result!

Congratulations guys! I hope you’re enjoying your honeymoon abroad

After the shoot was done we had a great dinner together at Kansai for some all you can eat japanese dinner in the CBD. We also played tour guides for awhile showing them around Sydney and recommending places to eat and visit. Thanks for also buying us dinner guys!

Being a Malaysian myself, we had a lot of fun during the shoot and catching up on things going on back home. Naturally we had a lot in common and I can tell that we’ll be keeping in touch in the future. I hope we made your trip to Australia a much more memorable one!

Here are the pics from their session, don’t forget to CLICK the images for a larger version!

Florence and Ka Yoong braving the cold!

Sydney! Yeay!

Opera House done, can’t leave out the Harbour Bridge can we?

Florence and Ka Yoong under a tree… K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

Ka Yoong, I hope you appreciate all the kissing I got you to do! This would be my favourite outdoor shot

I will follow you…

Now for some dancing too

The following three black and white shots are my favourite indoor ones

Both of them were simply amazing! I ran the idea of this shot past them and instantly they replied, “OK, no problem!”

It was a cold night, I think they were warming themselves by running a little 

Thank you Florence and Ka Yoong! Hope you guys have a safe flight back to Malaysia!

I’ll be uploading more tomorrow when I finish processing the whole batch. Stay tuned guys, hope you enjoyed the teaser! Don’t forget you can click to view a larger version!