So I have reached the end of my fabulous life in Kuala Lumpur and am currently living out of my suitcase at my parents’ home back in Kota Kinabalu, but with exactly one month to Paris I don’t really mind… much.
Living with the family again is an interesting experience. You miss them so much when you’re away, but once you live with them you can’t seem to get away fast enough! It’s a good thing I still have to travel in and out of the city this month to make it a little more bearable. Ah, how I miss my spacious, gorgeous, minimalist studio apartment. We seem to have a LOT of things at my parents’ place that I half-joked to my mother saying that my old room feels like a storage area now.
It’s quite funny how my last two months in Malaysia seems to be the busiest for my work and social calendar. Why is everybody asking for me only when I’m about to leave the country? I had months of moping around the house watching TV for countless days and constantly just feeding myself, attributing to some very obvious weight gain. Gloom.
Anyway, I shouldn’t complain too much. I’m sure this weight will start shedding off once I’m on the starving artist’s diet when I’m in Paris very soon.
I’m very excited and a little nervous about the big move. On one hand, I’d be living in the city that I feel so at home in even with all the annoying and frustrating quirks about it. On another hand, I’d have to start all over again.
It hasn’t been that long since I moved to Kuala Lumpur exactly one year ago, with just the hope of making a name for myself in the fashion industry and getting out of my small hometown. I did not have anybody worth knowing and had to support myself by waiting on tables for a few months (which some people might find as a surprise).
Eventually I got pretty lucky and landed myself a pretty big job for the Malaysia International Fashion Week. Because of that, I was able to meet a lot of people who I ended up working with even months after.
I’m nervous because I don’t think I will get lucky so quickly in Paris. I don’t have the contacts, familiarity, understanding and very little friends. Many people have shown their support saying that they know I will do well in Paris which is great, but the question is how much time should I anticipate it for? I don’t want to put my hopes of making something out of nothing in an unrealistic amount of time and feel like such a failure if I don’t succeed.
I didn’t expect this post to go on for so long but what I mean to say is I wish for a miracle and hope that I don’t fall flat on my face in Paris. I need to make something out of nothing in a foreign country, foreign language and foreign culture. It’s a huge risk to take but what is life without risk, right?
If any of you have words of advice, do share them with me!
After a while, I’ve decided to just skip all my blog posts that I’ve missed and catch up with whichever is more current. Anything else I’ve not talked about can be seen on my Facebook anyway.
Anyway this was a test shoot that I did rather on a whim with two very gorgeous guys, Coen Koch and Karel Struhacek, styled by Henry Gan who helped me as a very last minute favour. Since the shoot was not really planned, naturally it was shot in my apartment. Talk about convenience! These are some of my favourite shots.
Stay tuned for another very revealing shoot featuring them both! xx
A lot of things happened for me in 2009. I travelled a lot between Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, published some of my work with Breeze (a local magazine), relocated to the big city, discovered Europe for the first time, became the official photographer for Malaysia International Fashion Week 2009. In a way a lot of it happened quite unexpectedly. I decided staying in Kota Kinabalu would not be the best idea so I packed up and left for Kuala Lumpur in less than 3 weeks. Arriving in KL I was jobless for a few months until I landed the biggest job I’ve had so far for Fashion Week. Going to Europe had always been a distant dream of mine but one day I saw the opportunity and decided, why not? It’s all about grabbing life by its horns and going with it.
These are some of my favourite works from 2009. It was quite hard for me to narrow it down to 10, so I decided on 25 instead (I’m really bad at cutting down numbers!). Some of them you may have seen, but some not. I went through my library of photos and found hidden gems that I overlooked and decided to show them here.
Hope you like them!
Karin Balzli for Catherine Lian, Kuala Lumpur.
Nataliya Zapolina, Singapore.
Andrea Fonseka, Kuala Lumpur.
Grace Kho for Breeze, Kota Kinabalu.
Charlene Decena for Breeze, Kota Kinabalu.
Mariann Vella for Villiam Ooi, Kuala Lumpur.
Patricia Silk, Singapore.
Suzana Abu for Ratu by Walis, Kuala Lumpur.
Mila Melissina for Syomir, Kuala Lumpur.
Wang Ying, Bangkok.
Iva Sakarova, Bangkok.
Kaspar Hebblewhite, Bangkok.
Brygida Naumowicz & Helena Berezina for Pretty In White, Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia Interntional Fashion Week 2009 is finally over so I’m hoping to update my blog more often now (unlike once a month before!). It was a crazy, hectic few months trying to squeeze in so many shoots on such a tight schedule like 6 shoots in 3 days. I’ve never experienced anything so high pressured and draining but surprisingly I made it out alive and a lot better than expected.
Obviously I had to ‘pretend’ to do some hard work for the cameras, right?
This was my first job as the official photographer for Fashion Week, first time working with a Malaysian designer, first time working with a studio setup, first time shooting with a TV crew documenting us, first time for a lot of things actually.
With the amazing Katerina. Girl can strike a fierce pose and speak Malay!
The designer was Karina Ng who people in the industry know as the shoemaker for Malaysia’s leading fashion designers including Bernard Chandran. She now has her own shoes and accessories label Ling-N and sets herself apart from others because all her shoes are handmade. These are some of my favourite shots.
Designer: Ling-N by Karina Ng | Styling: Nareez Zabidi | Hair & makeup: Kelly @ XpressionMaster | Photography assistant: Jay Lai | Models: Linda Markova and Katerina Davidova @ Andrew’s Models
A few weeks after the shoot, Karina gave me one of the best gifts ever–a pair of custom-made stiletto ankle boots which I wear very often even at shoots because they are so comfortable. They are so amazingly hot and I’m going to show them to you
Since moving to KL I did not have the chance to do a shoot for months, until Karin wrote to me suggesting a test shoot together. It was perfect timing because I have always wanted to work with Catherine Lian who is currently based in Paris and also long time college mate who went into fashion design. This was her first shoot and I’m debuting her right here so when she makes it big remember the name Catherine Lian!
The shoot was simple and done in the comfort of my own apartment. We had lots of fun and it was fantastic working with such great friends. If only all shoots could be like this.
<3 my polaroid wall. Are you on it yet?
I am also introducing a slightly different style to my photos so I hope you like them
Karin Balzli for Catherine Lian, Kuala Lumpur.
Nataliya Zapolina, Singapore.
Andrea Fonseka, Kuala Lumpur.
Charlene Decena for Breeze, Kota Kinabalu.
Mila Melissina for Syomir, Kuala Lumpur.
Iva Sakarova, Bangkok.
Obviously I had to ‘pretend’ to do some hard work for the cameras, right?
With the amazing Katerina. Girl can strike a fierce pose and speak Malay!
5 inches of leathery goodness <3!!!!
<3 my polaroid wall. Are you on it yet?
Me, Karin and Catherine.