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!

Our spot had views of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour, with a tiny bit of the Opera House. It was a great spot considering I live about just 10 minutes away, not having to brush shoulders with strangers all night and having worry about our camera equipment We were just next to the spot we were at last year but I think the fireworks this year was better. There was something different about it and it felt more ’special’. Either that or I’m just getting old and content The fireworks lasted for about 14 minutes and I managed to cut the footage down to about 8 minutes to include the best parts. This will by my first all video production and I must say I really enjoyed it! I will definitely be doing more video in the future but for now, here’s the clip. If you want to watch a larger and higher quality version click on Vimeo.

Sydney has never looked this beautiful. 2010 marks the 7th year living here and after editing the footage and watching the final product, I couldn’t help but feel slightly nostalgic. Watching the Sydney skies exploding with bright colors somehow just brought back many memories. It was also a great reminder for me to never take anything for granted.

This is the aftermath of the fireworks. The wind cleared the smoke from the fireworks rather quickly.

For the technically inclined, video was shot using the Canon 5D Mark II in Full HD and also using the onboard mic. I used a regular tripod head so the movements are a little jerky. Time to invest in a dedicated video tripod head and external mic perhaps? The final product was put together using iMovie 09 on my MBP.

Thanks so much for watching! Feel free to share and pass this link on to anyone else you know who might enjoy this This one is for all my dear readers out there so I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did producing this piece!

Take care and all the best in 2010!

Best regards,
Justin Oh
justin-oh.com
justin-oh.com/blog

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

Winning a WPPI award has been a major goal for me since I got into the wedding photography business. As a newcomer to the industry and only a year (almost exactly) since I officially launched my services, I am absolutely ecstatic to say the least!

For those not familiar with WPPI and its competitions, it is often referred to as the Oscars or Grammys of wedding photography! WPPI’s print competitions are perhaps the most highly coveted photography competitions and certainly so in the wedding industry.

I have to admit I was both very nervous and excited before the results were sent out. It was a mad rush job as I decided to give it a go less than a week before the due date. There wasn’t enough time to further touch up the selected photos as I had to send them off to the lab to print and also the matting workmanship was sub par. I was very worried about this and thought going ahead with the submission might have been a mistake… so much so I actually had a bad dream this morning that I didn’t win anything! Apparently judging took longer than expected this time around with over 1900 prints submitted from around the world – which obviously didn’t help with the nerves

On to the image which won me the Accolade of Excellence (Honorable Mention) award:)

Title: Band of Brothers

Category: Wedding Photojournalism

It really must be a day for Firsts as this shot was actually taken at the first wedding I shot!  Thank you Grace & Keiichi for trusting me to photograph your very special day, especially when I had no prior experience whatsoever then!  Thank you for the opportunity and ongoing support. Who knows what I’d be doing now if I didn’t have that opportunity to shoot your wedding?

Also, I have to thank all my friends, both old and new ones! Thanks for all the support, encouragement, inspiration and more importantly, your friendship. You guys know who you are Not to forget, I have to thank Alex for being my loyal friend and assistant since I started this adventure.  It has been one hell of a ride man!

There are so many things on my mind now but I’ll just end this post before it gets too long with the most important one. Having just spent a week with my family when they flew in to Melbourne last week, I’m really missing them a lot after I returned to Sydney. Prior to this it has been over a year since I last I saw them and 1 1/2 years since I last went back to Malaysia. I owe everything to my family and they are the reason where I am today. This first win is dedicated to them! Love you guys!

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!

Jasmin + Chiang – Wedding Day from Justin Oh on Vimeo.

It was a packed day as we were between several different locations starting with the Star City Apartment, their new home in Alexandria, a stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens before boarding the Sydney Glass Island via Man O War Wharf. We also allocated some time to prepare a slideshow as Jasmin wanted to display some photos taken earlier in the day at the reception. I think it is also safe to say that the Hen’s Day Out vidshow was a hit If you missed it earlier here’s the link to watch it: http://www.vimeo.com/6941364

The weather forecasted for that day was an evening thunderstorm. It was threatening us the whole day but when we were at the Gardens, we had some very nice dramatic light – although we had some drizzle on and off which cut our outdoor portrait session short. Everyone was a little worried and on edge since the ceremony was on the top deck of the glass boat. We went on with the ceremony as the storm brew. Amazingly enough, it only started pouring when we were just about to make our way down!! The celebration went on as hard as ever as the thunder and lightning was seen and heard from every corner Checkout the wedding day video in the next post above.

Thank you Jasmin and Chiang for your trust in me to be your photographer on your wedding day, for asking me non-stop throughout the day if I had anything to eat or drink, for your warmth and kindness and of course, your friendship! I haven’t had so much fun shooting a wedding! Although it was 18 hours, it just went like a blink of an eye! Thank you!

Here are the highlights of the day. Hope you guys enjoy looking!

Chinese Tea Ceremony for the Bride’s side of the family

And the groom’s side

Jewelry as gifts for the bride

Got it!

Jasmin’s sisters. Sorry guys, they’re all taken

Love the lighting here!

One of my favourite shots – pure photojournalism

Another favourite one here

Oops!?

Speech reaction

Love this shot taken by my friend/2nd shooter/assistant Alex

Yaaaaaaaaaaaammmm Sennggg!!! The Malaysian/Singaporean equivalent to Cheers!

And a whole lot of partying too!

The fantastic glass boat with a 360 degree view

If you like the hair and makeup you see in the photos you need to contact these guys! Their work is amazing!

Hair Stylist: Vicki McFarlane vmcfarlane@aapt.net.au 0414 261 033

Makeup Artist: Rosetta Ripepi rosetta_ripepi@hotmail.com 0423 210 441

Let the games begin!

The boys looking worried?

No idea what was in the can – it looked like giant cockles and smelled funky!

Blended with a mix of biscuits topped with wasabi, bitter gourd, aubergine and a whole lot of other stuff I don’t even know!

Which turned into a lethal concoction…

Luckily for Chiang, it was finished before it got to him

Smelly socks anyone?

The goal: to snatch a candy with your mouth

Q&A time

Clearly, Chiang got one wrong and the brothers had to pay!

Dancing and singing too! Here, Chiang is demonstrating the moves

More bribes?

Pretty please!

Honnneeyyyyyyyy!!!

Yeayyyy!!

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.