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.
Ok, so I really suck at this consistent blog update thing but since I have nothing better to do these tries I should do something about it. Photo overload!
Matthias is a model I photographed before when I was in Sydney. Originally from Belgium, he was in Paris over the weekend with Laurent and we met up for coffee. Being the model that he is, he insisted I brought along my camera to take photos and we found ourselves doing an impromptu photoshoot in the Tuileries which I really liked. The photos turned out really well and remains to be one of my favourite sets.
Ah, Paris is so beautiful! After that, it was my turn to get photos taken with Matthias, courtesy of Laurent. They’re kinda silly but then that says a lot about us. I like. After a while it started to look as if we were having a dance off in the middle of the park. Hmmm…
The things I have to put up with…
I rest my case.
Michael Jackson or a member of some Eurotrash boyband?
The tango, FAIL.
I actually really like this photo.
It was a great afternoon with the guys, they’re lots of fun especially when Matthias is so hyper and Laurent is the cool and collected one. We just walked around the park a bit more, stopped at this merry-go-round at the park and Matthias took some photos of me before they left to Belgium right after. I’ll see you in Antwerp next!
Don’t you think it looks like part of a Korean drama?
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
Iva Sakarova, the gorgeous girl from Bulgaria of Fame Management was my last shoot in Bangkok. Only 16 and an intelligent budding philosopher, she is the total opposite of what you’d expect of a model. With big doe eyes and flawless skin, easy to work with and extremely accommodating, we hit the challenging, bustling streets of Khao San. Doing a shoot in middle of a backpacker’s district is tough with so many people around, insane heat and lack of ‘amenities’ but we managed to get through it.
We were so drained after the shoot that we could barely speak. All we wanted to do was have a shower and rehydrate!
Getting hair and makeup done at one of the street-side watering holes.
We did get a lot of curious spectators (as usual) trying to pose with Iva, asking us about the shoot, what it was for. It was amusing but also a little annoying at the same time because the heat was starting to get to us. Either way, we still came out alive and got some pretty good shots.
Gotta love Bangkok for it’s colourful nightlife and insanely fun times!
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.
Getting hair and makeup done at one of the street-side watering holes.
A very sweaty me and Iva.