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 Balzli 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
Much of the preparation for this shoot was the styling which both Nareez and I did. With Andrea Fonseka as the face of Malaysian International Week 2009, we wanted to go with a few grand, over the top outfits, and some equally as glamorous but much more wearable day to day. Just going from one designer to another took two full days with the insane KL traffic and everything. Obviously we got snap happy and recorded our days in photos.
My planner at the start of the week. The two pages were completely filled by the end of the week.
Nareez, totally stressed out coordinating all the shoots and meetings.
First stop, Sonny Sun for Eclipse.
Shoes, shoes, shoes!
Pickup from Tangoo to Jovian Mandagie.
Close-up of the shoes. <3<3<3 Only one pair created specially for the runway show.
Gallo.
Teresa, the designer for Gallo had her 18 month old daughter in the studio that day. When I first saw the adorable girl, I thought she looked like she was wearing designer baby clothes. After a while I realized that Teresa actually made her a baby version of the collection for Autumn/Winter 09! How cool is that? I doubt the baby versions are for sale though.
Our third visit to Eric Choong in a week.
The car by the end of the day.
Altogether we collected over twenty outfits but used about fifteen. The back seat was filled with so many clothes to the point of not being able to see the rear window. The total value of everything was probably more than the car itself! And this is only one of the very few things we do with much more to come…
2008 was quite a year. It was the year I decided to do photography full-time, the year I embarked on my traveling journeys, the year I got my first credit card (which is now cancelled by the bank. Whoops), the year I partied too hard, the year that started my experiences.
Here are some of my favourite portraits taken in that year including those that I have not been shown before.
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.
Suzana Abu for Ratu by Walis, Kuala Lumpur.
Mila Melissina for Syomir, Kuala Lumpur.
Iva Sakarova, Bangkok.
Kaspar Hebblewhite, Bangkok.
Brygida Naumowicz & Helena Berezina for Pretty In White, Kuala Lumpur.
Mariya Markova for PEGG, Kuala Lumpur.
Aline Thiel for Glitz & Glamour, Kuala Lumpur.
Matheus Nagel for William Liew, Kuala Lumpur.
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.
My planner at the start of the week. The two pages were completely filled by the end of the week.
Nareez, totally stressed out coordinating all the shoots and meetings.
First stop, Sonny Sun for Eclipse.
Shoes, shoes, shoes!
Pickup from Tangoo to Jovian Mandagie.
Close-up of the shoes. <3<3<3 Only one pair created specially for the runway show.
Gallo.
Our third visit to Eric Choong in a week.
The car by the end of the day.
Tim Wetzel, Kuala Lumpur
Thomas Pullar, Melbourne
Natascha Verkaik, Melbourne
David Maher, Melbourne
Rhiannon Hough, Melbourne
Elke Bonner, Brisbane
Sharon Smith, Brisbane
Annalyn King, Singapore
Vishnu Bala, Singapore
Rokshana Aitken, Melbourne
David Paris, Sydney
Brendan Maclean, Sydney