I thought I’d post up some links to some great photos I saw this week. These pictures inspired me and I am definitely looking at bringing my photography skills to the next level.

• NYT Damon Winter’s “A Vision of Photography” which won him the Pulitzer Price 2009 for Feature Photography.
• It was Earth Day a few days ago and here are some inspiring pictures of our lil’ planet. It really makes you feel so small and how awesome God’s creation is.
• Wow, all these happened when I was in Bangladesh during Easter Week. And not forgetting Good Friday.
• Scenes from a zoo. I love #6, reminds me of Po from Kungfu Panda.
• MSNBC’s Year in Picture 2008. This is slightly older than the rest but it serves as a constant reminder of what goes around in our world.
• Lastly, what I want for Christmas. No, not those biceps.

Do you have any inspiring photos to share?

(Photos taken with the iPhone)

Finally, I am back in Singapore! It’s been a hectic week since I’ve been back, catching up on piles of emails and meeting up with family and friends. Explains why I am late with my final update of our Bangladesh trip! Anyway, I was going through the photos on my iPhone and realised that I didn’t take any photos on the last few days when I was in Chittagong!

Mainly, our adventures during the wedding night and the Walima night. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t remember to document that part of the journey on my trusty iPhone. Anyways, you can read ALL about it on the Wedding Story blog. Grace has done a great job uploading some of our highlights from those nights. Since I’m only recording our journey and adventures in Bangladesh, best you pop over to the Wedding Story blog if you want to browse through our amazing trip to Bangladesh and the wonderful pictures we took of Ali and Farhat.

Looks like I have to start with the day that we left Chittagong for Dhaka. We just finished our final day of shoot at Ali’s place around 3.30am but by the time we got back to the Club and download all the photos and pack, we only had an hour of sleep. Our flight for Dhaka leaves at 8.05pm, so we had to be there by 7pm. Knowing how unpredictable Bangladesh traffic is like, we had to leave by 6am-ish. I said, 6am-ish because we only made it out like 6.30am.

The journey to the airport was a beautiful journey. The sun was just rising and I gotta say, if I get a chance to go back to Bangladesh, I want to be by the beach when the sun is rising! It was one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen but unfortunately, with only 1 hour of rest, my brain was not fully functioning and I totally forgot to pull out my camera to take a few shots. Well, part of the time I had my eyes closed, but the moments when my eyes were open, I can only remember the beautiful sights. It was truly breathtaking.

You can’t really blame me, look at me… with just 1-hour of sleep. I can’t possibly function properly.

As usual, on our flight back to Dhaka from Chittagong, we were served like royalty. We had the best in-flight breakfast.

This has got to be the longest wait that I have ever had in transit. We arrived at Dhaka Airport at 9am and our flight out to KL was at 5pm. What do you think we did during that 8 hours of wait?

We slept!

And after we’ve slept. We slept summore!

Finally! After a loooooooooooong 8 hours wait, checked in over-sized baggages and waited for the announcement for us to board our plane back to Malaysia.

Kee Sitt was so hilarious, he was so excited that he bought his first Malaysian meal on board the plane. A hot dog! Look at his grin!

Finally, I have achieved one of my goals for the year. To shoot a wedding internationally. It’s probably one of the highlights for this year and I’m glad that my passport is proof that I was there in Bangladesh.

Leaving Bangladesh, it felt like I left a part of me behind. I made new friends and it was hard to say goodbye. I felt at home when I was there, especially with the great hospitality that Ali and Farhat showered upon us. Another reason is the fact that I had really great mutton briyani! I would love to be back one day and hopefully as a guest!

Alright, looking forward to my next international assignment! woot!

All photos taken with the iPhone.

Day 1: Joint Mehndi/Holudh

After arriving in Chittagong, we had an early start to the first day. Nothing better than to start the day right with a glass of yellow papaya juice and a few slices of prata. The Chicken Bhuna was yummy! I have also grown a taste for their Bangladeshi-styled omelettes, which they include chili padis! Declious!

Bangladesh’s version of a socket plug. Guess what is connected to?

A gigantic fan! We turned it on and Grace almost flew away!

We hung around the hall downstairs by the lobby because the Internet was better there. The speed is horrendous as compared to what I get in Singapore, so if I have yet to reply your emails and stuff, I’m so sorry, I will get back to you as soon as I can!

In the evening, Ali came by to give us the final details before the first night. I am really amazed because it was like 6pm and the groom was spending time with us right before the event. I would be freaking out by then.

The event ended about 2am that night. I really enjoyed myself and if I am invited here again the next time, I would wanna be a guest here. They really know how to celebrate a wedding!

Check out the Day 1 Preview at the Wedding Story blog right here.
Day 2: Bride’s Mehndi

On day 2, Ali brought us over to his house, and showed us around his new place. It was still under construction but trust me, they sure know how to do up the place to make it look like a wedding reception and you won’t even notice it.

At night, we arrived at Farhat’s place. Again, I’m just so amazed by how calm and collected they were because it was 9.30pm and the decos were still being put up.

They sure know how to turn things around real fast because the wedding was another blast. We ended up shooting til 2.30am. We were invited to the dance floor and partied.

Check out the Day 2 Preview here.

Day 3: Beach photoshoot at the Bay of Bengal

By now, our internal body clock is all whacked. We sleep at 4-5am, and wake up at 12pm. The sun is only up for like a few hours from the time we wake up. It feels like the nights are longer. Like Kee Sitt says, “feels like we are working night shifts”.

There was a local pastry shop just down the place we were staying. Grace and I went to check it out. Bangladesh is well know for their sweets (and briyani). So we bought some to try.

In the later part of the afternoon, we were chauffeured to the beach for a photoshoot session with Ali and Farhat. The picture below is actually where the ships come in to dock and ferry goods to the inland. Chittagong is Bangladesh’s port city. It really reminds me of Singapore because the sight just looks exactly like what I see in Singapore! Further down is where the beach was.

Kee Sitt and Sharon sharing a romantic time by the sea.

I didn’t take any photos of the photoshoot using my iPhone because I was busy running around. But right after the shoot, Ali brought us to try some fried crabs or what is known as “bhaja kraka”. It was delicious! (Just don’t ask where they got the crabs from). Grace was licking her fingers when she was done.

Day 4: Groom’s Mehndi

Waiting for the driver to come pick us up to the groom’s place. Kee Sitt showed me this picture of Bangladeshi food garnishing in a magazine. I almost laughed my head off when I saw it. Bangladesh is a Muslim country. Suffice to say, I miss my pork and char siew. *sniff*

All the gear you need to shoot a Bangladeshi Wedding.

We ended up shooting till 2.30am again. Just look at our tired faces! Haha.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that after every shoot, we were treated to some delicious local food. Talking about late night supper, we’ve been fed real well by our hosts. I can’t stress enough the amount of hospitality the locals have given us. We were treated like VIPs and I will never forget this friendly gesture.

The picture below is their local mutton briyani. It’s probably one of my favourite dishes so far (besides the bhaja kraka!). They cooked it so well that you don’t get that funny mutton smell. Definitely one of my highlights this trip.

I guess adrenaline is still pumping in me because I only slept for 4 hours last night. Can’t wait for the wedding reception tonight! It would be really grand!

Greetings from Chittagong, Bangladesh! We’ve reached our venue safely and are gearing up for the upcoming shoot tonight. Here is the first update of our adventures here so far.

All photos are taken with my iPhone.

Pre-Bangladesh Departure

Preparing for a trip like this was no easy feat. Firstly, we were flying on a budget airline and weight is always an issue. I am only giving 7kg allowance for my hand carry and 15kg for my check-in luggage. First lesson that I’ve learnt is never to pack your bags on the last minute. I had to pack and repack my bags again to make sure that I do not have overweight baggages.

First attempt
- Hand carry 15kg
- Check-in luggage 17kg

I called Grace from Wedding Story to find out how to travel light with all those equipments. And I also called Kee Sitt and he said, “Oh, you better reduce the weight, they won’t let you on the plane!” Ok, time to repack.

Second attempt
- Hand carry 13kg
- Check-in luggage 16kg

Oh dear, still can’t fit everything into two bags! It’s practically impossible to get both my camera gear and notebook under 7kg! So, repack again! This time got my wife to help me. She’s really good at these kinda stuff. For the next 5 mins, you’ll see shoes flying, clothes flying as she rummages through my luggage. “You don’t need this!”, “Don’t bring that!”, “Why do you need this?”, “Forget this one!”

Final attempt
- Hand carry 10kg
- Check-in luggage 15kg

OK, I guess that will have to do. If they stop me, I’ll just have to swim to Bangladesh!

Next morning, I had to wake up at 5.30am to catch the morning flight to KL to meet up with the Wedding Story team. To my amazement, I brought the least stuff! Look at our total baggage for the 4 of us.

The flight to Dhaka left at 2pm. You can check out our little video on the Wedding Story blog.

Arriving in Dhaka

The airplane ride took us about 4 hours to reach Dhaka. We met Ali (the groom) and Rubab, his good friend at the airport. Ali brought us to Movenpick to have ice cream. How cool is that? I took a picture of my double scoop Swiss Chocolate ice cream with Ali using my iPhone. Ali is an avid photographer himself, with TWO 5D Mark IIs! Yes, TWO 5D Mark IIs!

During our session at Movenpick, Ali gave us the low down of the whole Bangladeshi culture and wedding scene. I was shocked that the wedding would be attended by some where around 6,000 people! Yes, we will go down in history for covering such a ginormous wedding! Woot!

Proof that the ground staff don’t handle bags with care.

Ali and Rubab brought us back to the hotel to spend the night in Dhaka before flying to Chittagong on next day. The next morning, we did a little bit of exploring on the streets of Dhaka.

Dhaka is filled with these 3-wheeled taxis.

A photo to remind myself that I have stepped on Bangladeshi soil.

The streets were filled with people buying flowers. I think it has to do with the up and coming Bengali New Year (which happens to be the day after we leave, arghhh!). I heard that it is a truly colourful event. How I wished that we could stay for another day or two to experience the culture here.

While we were walking down the streets, people were just following us around and we really stuck out like a sore thumb. I caught a picture of this kid who was chewing a bubble gum.

An old school postal box.

We were recording our little journey for the Wedding Story blog. Be sure to check the blog often as we might update it from time to time. I really regretted not bringing my SLR along. I missed out on so many good shots.

There’s a Citibank in Bangladesh!

From Dhaka to Chittagong

At 3pm, we boarded our plane to Chittagong. I must admit that when I heard that we were flying to Chittagong, my mind was thinking that it would be a jetplane like a Boeing 737. Turns out it was a bi-propeller plane. Haha!

But what really beats all those airlines with first class service is that on this little plane, we can get to choose all those nice and lovely tidbits! Look at what each of us got! Talk about being kiasu!

The ride took us 45 minutes. What a lovely experience it was.

Ali’s cousin picked us up from the airport and we took a scenic route to the place where the wedding would be held. It is also the same place that we would be staying through out the course of the wedding. On our way, I saw this man carrying loooooooooooong bamboo shoots while crossing the road. When I mean looooooooong, I really meant, looooooooong!

That’s all for now and I hope to update more when I get the chance. The Internet here is rather flaky but do check out my Twitter for periodic updates.

In less than 24 hours, I will be flying to Bangladesh for a 9-day shooting assignment with my dear friends from Wedding Story. Grace, Kee Sitt, Sharon and myself will there to cover a week long wedding. This would be one of the highlights for me for 2009. Finally, I get to strike off one of my goals for 2009, that is to have a destination/international wedding.

It is my dream to one day be an International Wedding Photographer, to have international clients around the world and travel across the globe for destination weddings. That would just be perfect!

During this time, I might not be able to update my blog. I hope I can tweet a little (follow me on Twitter) but it all depends on the Internet connectivity over at Bangladesh.

Image courtesy of Google Maps

Hmm…. come to think of it, I’m already an International Wedding Photographer because I live in Singapore but I have many assignments in Malaysia! So, I am an International Wedding Photographer after all!