documentary photography
The time has come!
I took many years but finally I’m releasing my first Chinatown Book “I Was Lured Into A Tea Shop”, encompassing the early parts of my Documenting Chinatown Project. Life changes, busy schedules and something called a pandemic had me put this on the backburner for a bit but it was always my intention to document Chinatown for the sake of making a book.
2 years ago, I documented Cee when he was just a fresh new baby and Eee was taking down schedules of poops. I recall Cee was only a week or so old and so everything was new for everyone.
(You can see the first session here)
So then it was really cool to be able to come back again a few years later and see how this little boy had grown up. What a difference a year or two makes.
Read More“Last year, I had the pleasure of helping to celebrate the incredible life of a student who lost his life to Cancer. We gave the family the idea to display artwork on easels, brought in bright balloons, and decided the soundtrack of the day would be from his personal Spotify playlist. My all-time favourite memory is when one of his brothers requested to play some Nicki Minaj after the ceremony was over. These small personalized touches are part of what I love so much…”
Read MoreFIRST: Huge thanks to Jumi Story for having me on as a secondary photographer for this wedding.
I won’t say much about this wedding other than I learned a little bit more about Cambodian and Vietnamese customs for weddings. The early morning tea ceremony was a bit different from the usual with the way it was done and there was an aspect of red string being tied to the bride and groom. I’ll let the photographs do the talking :)
Read MoreCapturing life as it happens is such a joy to see. It’s pure smiles and true interaction. A lot of it happens spontaneously and moments go by so quick but people, like Wendy, hire me for these types of photos and they love them.
Read MoreHow do you even begin to encapsulate a year? It’s 365 days of living and being and breathing and it all goes by so fast. As a photographer, the photos I take are not only momentos of the little moments that went by but also memory place holders that let me look back and recall a time in my life: the smells, the sights and even the sounds.
Read MoreIt’s been a while since I blogged about Chinatown… or blogged at all for that matter. Life keeps getting busy and taking the time to sit down and write stuff to a general internet audience sometimes (in all honesty) ranks a little lower on my list of priorities. Lately, I’ve taken to exercise more and stay in shape, I’ve attempted to learn to dance a bit, I’ve been catching up on personal film work from the last year and a bit and I’m trying to finally put together that Chinatown book I’ve been meaning to do.
Read MoreRecently I was telling a group of photographers at the ARC Conference that “you are not a ‘photographer’, you are more than that.” I really believe this to be true. While we are passionate about our photography work (weddings, family photographs, long-term projects), we are so much more than just a camera person who takes these photos. We are human beings: artists who create with our cameras. And sometimes, this creating leads us to explore other areas other than those that we would normally do in our line of work.
Read MoreWelid and Savannah's wedding was one of the first backyard weddings I had photographed. While I thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere and the revelry of larger weddings, I also love the intimacy that comes with small weddings as well. It was a bright sunny day and lended itself to a great day followed by a reception in a hall in the evening.
Read MoreI really enjoy photographing at Brix and Mortar and around the Yaletown area. So when John Bello called me up to be his second shooter, I was very much inclined to join the party.
Regardless of whether I'm a primary photographer or second photographer, I always go into a wedding with the same determination to create true and authentic moments and beautiful photographs that the couple will remember.
Thanks again to John Bello for giving me the opportunity to second shoot!
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