I am on Her World Brides December issue. I am excited when I saw the latest copy at the petrol kiosk. Why so excited…you might be wondering? That’s because Scintilla Studio is being featured! Wohoo…since we are on this topic, I should blog a little about myself.
For many who knows me…I am not your usual full time photographer. I am like a full time weekend photographer coz most of my jobs are taken over the weekends and thats also because I hold a full time job. :-) Photography came as a chance. It was my current boss (Sebastian Tan) who had an influence over me when he showed me a really bulky canon camera back then in 2007. I saved enough money and got my first camera…a Nikon D80.
It was just a hobby for me then…I practically shot everything I saw…spent a lot of my weekends attending classes and made many new friends. My sis-in-law got married and I volunteered to be her photographer. I was lucky then as the main photographer (Kwang from Lightbox Productions) didn’t mind my presence and I thought I blocked some of his angles but he was professional. Anyway, the shots I did was awful..hahaha… That assignment got me hooked and I started posted on forums and shot for free (yes…I shot for free!). Response wasn’t that great as I told them that I am still learning but yet…some couples gave me the chance which I am grateful. I shot for almost a year before I started charging. That was also when I first met Audrey and Woo Yee…who gave me the first paid assignment. They also recommended few of their friends to me which I covered their weddings as well.
Back then, I did not have a proper website, meet customers at Macdonalds without a proper album and a crappy laptop. Well…at least now I meet clients at the comfort of my home office…allow couples to run through albums and looked through images through my computer. :-)
I couldn’t have come so far without your support and I will continue to strive for better picture quality while maintaining a reasonable fee for the effort made. For all that granted me an opportunity…let me take this chance to say a really big “Thank you!”.
It’s Day 2 since returning from Perth and I am working on the remaining albums when I suddenly had the urge to browse through images which I took from the recent Perth trip. Though the trip was short, we had many memorable moments and I kept complaining that I had too much to eat…too much to drink..all thanks to the warm hospitality of Aunty Grace & Uncle Johari (if I spelled it correctly).
As I was telling Ronny, this trip was full of anxiety. Prior to this, I have never been to Perth. I wasn’t sure of the lighting conditions, it was an unfamiliar environment and I was having cold feet the night before departure, worried that I may not have enough images for them to choose but as Ronny said, “There’s no pressure on us, no pressure on you and we let you do whatever you like!” Kind of an assurance for me. :-) Seriously, without our F1 driver Uncle Johari, a picture like this wouldn’t be possible. He practically chased the light for us, squeezing through the traffic and ensuring that we reached our destination on time to catch the light and at times, the last bit of light available. Aunty Grace played her part too by holding on to the tail of the gown to ensure that it remained spotless. She played the role of an assistant, helping the bride change, getting Huiwen’s hair sprayed, adjusted the veil and also ensured that I have my regular coffee and toast. She is just so wonderful.
This picture is for everyone who made this trip extraordinary. This shot was done at Cottesloe Beach. Independent, poise and confident, my intention of shooting this is a reflection of how I have viewed the characteristics of Huiwen during the trip.
Hello hello…I am heading to Perth from 10 October to 16 October 2010. Anyone keen to have a shoot there can contact me at amostay@scintillastudio.com
You will save on my airfare and accomodation since it’s being taken care of. Mail me for more details. :-)
Haha…kind of subjective header. It is actually someone who can print a wedding book to my preference and with awesome quality. My couples appreciate the book that I layout for them and the fact that they are light and can be carried out easily for their families/ friends to view those memories when they bring out. If you have read my earlier post on wedding albums, you would have understand that I used primarily 2 vendors in the earlier days. One from Singapore and the other one from Japan. Now, with this vendor from the States, I will no longer be offering the local prints to all my new clients. There is nothing bad about local prints, just that production time takes too long, almost double the time for those I ordered from Japan and States.
This new book is awesome, simply because its light weight, comes with dust cover and can be spread out. That literally means I can lay my picture within 2 pages. That’s a wider perspective and my client loves it! Some samples of the book as below:
For those who are keen to view actual book, do make an appointment with me. You can drop me a mail at amostay@scintillastudio.com
A city of dream as what I call it. Probably it was for the reason that I was there…providing an opportunity for the people to get out of poverty. A chance to change their lives and their fortune. A dream that they have always been longing for.
To me, this place is way behind where we live and as their country progress, more people fall behind the harsh pace of globalization. To people who knows, I am not the usual photographer…I hold a day job where we indirectly can affect the life of an individual. We make tough decisions but rationale ones so that it benefits the best of the business and the individual. Our job talks about integrity, fairness and principals…
Desmond (my local agent from SIngapore) asked me about the first picture which I showed him. The first picture that you see right below, “What’s the title of this picture?” I replied, “My future…” It was an instant reply from me as the look from the eyes of this young boy seems to tell me so. This place, where he lives is his future, he would one day…also take over from his family of being a fisherman, trying to earn a living for survival. This little boy was tailing me as I walked through the busiest beach of Chennai, the Marina beach. The sight was nowhere near any beaches near our neighboring Bali, Phuket or even Langkawi but to him, this is Hawaii. He ran across the trash, toss around the sand and attempted a somersault. He was in a world of his own. he may not have seen the best but this is the best to him…
I wanted to see St Mary’s Church but only realized that this isn’t the one only when I am back in Singapore…but hey…who cares…its a nice church anyway…all thanks to our agent Raj from India.
My poor agent from Singapore…we were in the train and I needed a model badly so he became one…wasn’t the best model you can get but hey…he didn’t charge me royalty for that.
This is my 2nd year as an official oiler (I doubt if there is a better term for this). My role, as an oiler is to ensure that the competitor gets an even color tone when they are on stage. I am helping my youngest brother as part of his annual competition routine, in this event “Muscle and Fitness War”.
Gym became an event where the 3 of us are knitted together. We meet each other almost everyday to work out and that became a routine. As I no longer stays with them, I guess this became important for us to catch up and not lose touch in each other’s life (as well as to gather the latest gossip at home).
It just seems like yesterday where we were still playing hide and seek in our old Hougang residence, a place where it holds a lot of memories for me and I believe to my brothers as well.
They were a sunshine kid then. I remembered how I accompanied them to their annual school performance event over at Macpherson Library. Looking at them then and looking at them now provides me with the same pride and joy. Perhaps that was why I felt a sense of joy when Benson’s name was called and he walked up on stage with his head held high. I was proud of his achievement, never mind the fact that he came in 5th overall in his category. To me, that moment of making everyone in the family proud was priceless and he tried his very best.
Being able to be there, to share those special moments is a bliss. Something that you cannot ask for more and I am glad to be a part of it. Thank you brothers…for always being there…in a way or another.
