It has always been my life goal to be constantly learning, constantly improving and constantly growing. There’s a saying, “when you are green you grow, when you are ripe you rot”. I value that phrase very dearly and keep it close to my heart as the day that I stop learning, would be the day I die. I read books, listen to audiobooks  and sermons on my iPod, spending hours on Wikipedia (yes, Wiki can be a great source of learning) and occasionally meeting up with like-minded people in the industry that I am in. I strongly believe that spending time with a group of counselors would increase your knowledge and experience by many folds.

As part of my constant desire to learn, I’ve just signed up for my third photography workshop for 2010. Photography workshops don’t come cheap and like any other good, professional, note-worthy workshops out there, it would cost most people an arm and a leg. I’ve long decided that in order for me to improve on my photography skills, I will have to invest in my education. Without a doubt, next year would be a year of learning, improving and reinventing myself.

The end result, would eventually translates to the photos you’ll see here and ultimately being passed down to my lovely clients. There would be changes to the services and products that I offer for next year. The only reason for that is because I believe that my clients deserves the best and that quality & service should always be at the top of our list in eeyern photography. I’ve set some goals for next year and hopefully I’ll be able to share them with you in time to come.

Like one of my favourite authors would say, “People only think to the level of what they are exposed to. If you want to think big expose yourself to bigger things”.

Continue to stretch. Continue to grow. Think big. Never stop learning.

Here are the great photos that Zach took during our Crazy Photobooth session. I definitely had fun from the moment I helped Zach and Jon setup the lights all the way to the crazy photos that we took.

Next time, we will do Crazy Photobooth the moment people register. I would have loved to see more participants taking some crazy shots.

Photos courtesy of Zach Chin

Lenard showing us his kungfu

Can I snip your nose hair for you?

My favourite shot that day, Fiona and Jon’s infamous kungfu shot.

Zach and his hair dryer, no, not Kaz at the background trying to kiss Zach but the shoe! The shoe!

Large coke and small fries. Andy and Grace.

Charlie’s Angels of Photography, Grace, Jenny and Fiona.

Andy giving Zach a sample of his BO, while Paul is standing in line.

Mark and Munz. The perfect couple.

Andy trying to intimidate everyone. Andy won the tallest award in ShootFest that day.

William G.’s version of High School Musical.

Is it a plane? Is it a bird?

Sometimes I wonder why people make such a big fuss over two people wearing the same tee. There were 50 people wearing the ShootFest shirt that day! Duh!

For a moment, Jon looks so tall compared to Adrian and Joshua.

Zach and Ray showing some of their magic tricks.

Somehow, when I see this picture of Ali, the song from Cadbury keeps playing in my mind, “Wouldn’t it be nice….”

I didn’t know it was humanly possible for people to do something like this! Hmm, I blame it on my “low center” of gravity!

Haha, Jenny and Maye getting ready for something to happen.

Again, how can this be possible?!!? Joshua, you are truly my hero! Please teach me how to do that without breaking a bone!

This guy owes me lunch (Ian, do you need to remind everyone each time you see a picture of Danny? YES!) *snip* *snip*

Matthew had the best spot in ShootFest. Surrounded by lovely Sylvia, Fiona and Grace.

Ali, this in Cantonese is called “Chi Pek” which means “Stick to the wall”… hmm, doesn’t sound quite right in Cantonese does it?

Even Superman has its weaknesses. Jon’s armpit hair.

I love this series. Jon is so comical sometimes yet serious. Love ya, bro!

Ok, I’ve no idea what I was doing but I guess photoshoots make me wanna pee.

Actually, Jon was standing on a chair while Andy was kneeling down….

Wedding Story team and I.

Kee Sitt and I…. videotaping our silliness again.

Lastly, like Superman, he wears his g-string on the “youtside” *wink*

I’m using Ecto as Alex from Integricity has suggested to post my blog post. Hey, it works great! I love it!

Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending my first ever unconference, ShootFest 001: The Wedding. It’s also the first time that I have been involved in the planning and execution of a photography event. One of the things about unconferences is that it is not very structured, allowing programmes to be changed or even adding new ones to it. You can even decide to skip a topic if you like and have a cup of Starbucks just to relax and chill out with friends. Leading up to the event, I was given a very important task. One that can’t be ignored. Registration!

Thanks Edwin for the photo!

Here are a few things that I’ve learnt over the past few weekend.

1. Everybody is twittering! Yes, you can catch some gems from the many twitterers who twitted about #ShootFest at twittersphere. Phew…
2. Fiona made me think about what is really in my bag. Probably a Snickers bar wrapper still left inside. Gotta start thinking about what I should be bringing for my next shoot.
3. Realised that I didn’t get to introduce myself during the session that I lead about turning pro. After Edwin Tan introduced himself, people started asking questions. Next time, introduce yourself first!
4. Dennis and Kris taught me about smart partnerships and there’s so much that we can do together!
5. Kenneth’s topic on Photojournalistic Weddings was fantastic! Love his work and I really wished there was more time for him to finished what he wanted to share. There’s so much gem there!
6. Pecha Kucha was fun. This should be part of ShootFest’s permanent programme from now on.
7. Jon Low, what can I say. You da bomb, man! Now I gotta start pestering my wife about getting an iMac with a 30″ monitor! Ok, that’s not just what I learnt, I also learnt how to organise my work better. Still trying to find the best way for myself.
8. Mun Keat, please teach me everything you know! Photoshop God! *bows down and worships*
9. Cultural Weddings by Visithra, Johan, Jon and Kaz was amazing. I think I learnt the most during this session and probably I have to start looking for more weddings of other cultures in order to learn more. Anybody would like to hire me as an assistant?? I would love to get my hands on the slides to keep as reference.
10. Danny, Danny, Danny… thanks for making me your model. You still owe me lunch
11. Asther, thanks for making time to share about contracts. I learnt a lot that day, gotta go back to my contract and make amendments now.
12. Johan’s lessons on buying second hand equipment is invaluable. I’m gonna keep all these lessons close to heart…. so that I know when I sell stuff, what I need to hide from the eyes of the buyer. Bwahahaha….
13. Zach’s work inspires me! I have been spending the whole week doing nothing but looking at fashion ads, music videos and just everything under the sky that can help me generate some nice concepts. Oh, that song from The Ting Tings is on my mind the whole week. Bought the song from iTunes. Thanks!
14. Jenny’s voice is so soothing. I have a thing for Australian accents. Hehe. Well, there’s so much to process and there’s so much to think about in regards to my own branding. Thanks for sharing your insights.
15. Lastly, I learnt a lot from all the new people that I’ve met. Thanks for adding me to Facebook and Twitter. You guys rock! Hope to meet you guys again soon!

I’ve decided that at the next ShootFest, I would want to present at least TWO sessions. Yes, TWO sessions! I think I am so fired up right now that I am already thinking about the topics. Hmm, how bout, “How to laugh your way to success”. Boy, I think I’m well known as the clown of ShootFest after the event, someone left a message saying that I brought a lot of fun to ShootFest. I hope I didn’t make you laugh til you peed in your pants! *wink*

Day 1 Participants

Day 2 Participants

Mark laughing while twittering.

Mun Keat thinking about his session later in the afternoon.

Kee Sitt’s infectious smile.

The sessions lasted till evening and I manage to catch a shot of Paul Kong listening intently to Jon Low and Mun Keat’s session.

Jason mesmerised with the beautiful pictures from the speakers. Don’t you just love his pose?

Don’t you love unconferences? Fiona was a speaker-cum-participant. She was thoroughly enjoying herself throughout the sessions.

Johan Sopiee was showing us how to inspect lenses and how to buy second hand equipment. Kenneth Hiew was busy checking out if the lens had any fungus in it.

Screenshot of a screenshot. Jon Low was one of the many speakers who  spoke on Cultural Weddings.

Zach Chin was enjoying himself after a long session.

Crazy PhotoBooth! This was da bomb! Check back later for more pictures on Crazy PhotoBooth!