IT'S A MYSTERY .... EVEN TO ME!!

What the????

Hello Guys and Gals,

Yesterday I received a call and an email from John W. Ishii. He was so excited that even I did not know what was going on ..... so I tried to dig for more details .... well, John has asked me at Pre Wedding [dot] Info to help put together a couple for a FREE Photo Shoot. Eh? That really surprised me!!! I asked John if he had any prerequisites and all he kept telling me was that he wanted to try a "NEW TECHNIQUE" for Pre Wedding ... and he was adamant not to tell me more .... so it's a mystery, even to me!!!

Oh, for you techies out there, John W. Ishii recently upgraded his equipment to a Nikon D3X .... so what has this got to do with anything? Well, firstly, it's one of the first cameras to achieve a resolution of 24.5 Mega Pixels .... closer to real film if not more!!! Fuyoh ... it's not cheap though .. its around USD8,000 for the body only!!! If you want to read more on the nikon, please click here and here. If you would like to read more on John W. Ishii, please have a look at his web site http://www.johnwishii.com.

Ok Ok .. nuff said. Now we are on the look out for 1 couple who would like to have a Photo Opportunity with Mr. John W. Ishii;

Our Basic Terms and Conditions;

• Please provide a closeup and full length picture of yourself & partner.
• The date of the shoot will be END APRIL - EARLY MAY
• The location of the shoot is currently a MYSTERY (even to me!)
• All couples will be shortlisted and interviewed by Mr. John W. Ishii
• The couples will receive, in return, a copy of the pictures in DVD format
• The couples will have to bear costs for their own gowns, make up and other accessories

That's simple. No other pre requisites. We will only open this for a week from now, so registrations will end on 12 March 2009! If you are interested, please email us;

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your contact number
• Your photos

to : shoot@prewedding.info

GOOD LUCK AND THANKS FOR READING!!!

OUR PERSONAL CHALLENGE .....

Hello there Guys and Gals, if you have been following our works, you will know that we are trying very hard to promote our History, Arts and Culture Projects here in The Heritage Station Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Well, I have been very honoured to be working here as I was given the opportunity to meet a lot of people, including the daughter of Brig. Gen. Arthur Benison Hubback, who is the architect of this building and numerous other buildings in Malaysia (you can read more at http://blog.thehubbacks.org).

Err ... I think I will look something like this ....

Some of you know that I have been married for sometime now, and since doing pre weddding and wedding related projects, my wife and I finally decided to do our pre wedding photo shoot after 3 and a half years of marriage. (Erm, why so late? You may ask, but it was related to $ at that time). Ok we have assembled a team of people for our photoshoot, like most people do, but we decided we wanted something a little different .... we wanted a thematic shoot. And so I convinced my other half that we should do a "victorian-ish theme" where we will focus on stuff from a bygone era .... and in part as a tribute to The Old Kuala Lumpur Train Station.... (and also Jap Anime, 'Emma - a Victorian Romance.' ... hee hee hee). Mind you we are not taking pictures in the hotel nor the train station as we also wanted something a little different.

Of course, my wife and I do have our doubts and concerns; who doesn't anyway? But we are willing to do some experiments .... I will keep you Guys and Gals posted of our end results, but for now, let me introduce our team that is involved in our personal challenge;

MAIN PHOTOGRAPHER

Mr. John W. Ishii - John is our friend and has offered to take our photos. If you are familiar with his works, you will know that John is not a wedding photographer. He is a Professional Photographer specializing in Photojournalism and Commercial Shoots. However, John is very serious about his Photography and wants to delve into Editorial Style Pre Wedding Photography as a passion. He talks very passionately about his craft and I am normally swept away with his enthusiasm and passion. From his pre wedding projects from before, he is known for his edgy, intimate and no smiling shoots. Good. That's EXACTLY what my wife and me are looking for. With a dash of his editorial style, his pictures portray a story to the viewer, and my wife and I are very honoured to have him as our main photographer. More on Mr. John W. Ishii please visit http://www.johnwishii.com

PHOTOGRAPHER

Mr. Tommy Yap - Also our friend, Tommy, or more affectionately known as pan8a, is normally known for his Model, Underwater and CLS shoots. Again, he is not a wedding photographer. Pan8a told me that he always wanted to dress up in the Victorian Styled Suits, so he was kind of elated to know that we had decided to do this thematic shoot. Pan8a will be trying out new styles and techniques on us and we hope that we can perform to his expectations! Just for spice, my wife and me decided to throw in something contemporary to break the monotony of the 'victorian-ish theme'. More on Mr. Tommy Yap, please visit http://www.pan8a.com

GOWNS & SUITS

Well, I thought I would like to repay the kindness of Mr. Dennis Thean, Elaine, Veralyne and Stephanie at Pretty in White for always backing us on our projects. I took wifey to Pretty in White to see if she would like any gowns from them that could depict the 'victorian' style and her body size. True to their words; that there is a gown for everyone in Pretty in White, she found a nice gown. It does not have the bodice and stuff, but it does suit our theme, in our humble opinion. What's more, Dennis unlocked his bag of tricks and I managed to get a very unique and rare 'Coat tails' Jacket for me by Pretty In White! 3 pieces some more!! Fuyoh ... now I very kan cheong.... in the picture above, I am wearing one of their Jackets ...... More on Pretty In White, please visit http://www.prettyinwhite.com.my

MUA (MAKE UP ARTIST)

One weekend at home, my wife was bugging me about the Make Up Artist. I was not in too good a mood, so I asked my wife to, 'Go Find Online lar!'. She surfed and surfed and surfed and surfed. After a while she told me that she likes this .... this as in BODY PAINTING!!! I felt like *faint*. What's that got to do with make up??? She then went to the persons blog and she liked what she saw ... she told me that this MUA showed before and after pics and she liked it. So, ok I asked her to SMS the MUA and see if she was available .... Oh my, she was, and we confirmed her straight away and didn't even bother to ask others ... so welcome to our team Ms. Ally Choong, who is based in KL now .. but she will be following us up to Penang! All I can say is, I too like your body painting works!!! More on Ally Choong, please visit http://www.li-colors.blogspot.com

OTHER STUFF & OUR LOCATION

Fuyoh. Headache lar doing this PS .... we bought loads of stuff from ebay, domanchi, charles & keith, eve, burberry's, tangs Singapore, boutiques in Singapore (cause the choice and service here in Malaysia was so bad, we walked into a couple of high end boutiques in KL and they just ignored us, unlike Singapore! This is BAD!), talking to Hotels, transports ... enough to drive me mad!

Our location? Penang ... The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (The Blue Mansion) and around ... Our other challenges .... My wife and me are very stiff, we are not photogenic and we are like 'kayu' (wood) ..... ha ha ha ha..... we have to start practicing I guess ..... ha ha ha

Costs? Please don't ask. Many of my friends tell me, 'Wah, you so lucky, get free PS.....'. Sorry, I don't believe in that, cause it's just not my nature. You can call me crazy, but it's just not me! If you are thinking; we spent the norm of RM2 - 3 K, well, I can tell you not. I promised my wife a long time ago that I will take PS with her and so I am willing to go all out for this..... How it will turn out, lets wait and see!!! I am getting excited though .... waiting for April to arrive .....

ALVIN & SOOK FUN

Coincidentally, I realized that my fourth post coincided with the Star Wars Episode IV! Ha ha ha.... what a coincidence! So now we have been getting some pretty good responses to our venue for outdoor pre-wedding photography. Personally, I think this is a good sign, as many a time the team @THSH, informs me that not many people actually come here. It is especially hard to give directions to locals as well! And you would have thought that everyone knew KL Train Station! I have also received comments from couples that the Hotel looks old and scary! (Goodness - really?). In actual fact, I too am guilty of not appreciating our own culture and heritage .... it was only when I was posted to Siem Reap, Cambodia back in 2006 (before my task at THSH), I came to the realization of how lucky we are in Malaysia (divine intervention perhaps?). Not only that, the Cambodians were really proud of their language, heritage and culture! It was a rude awakening for me of sorts. Since coming back home and taking on this project at THSH, I began to see that I had an opportunity to do something for the community, whether it is successful or not, I won't know ... perhaps I am just a small voice in a big ocean, but I have always believed, and I quote from Lao Tzu 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step', - unquote. Nuff said .... on with the photos!

'I will always be here for you, through ups and downs'

'A moment in time, frozen forever'

'The Heavens know I will always be safe in your arms'

'Walking down the aisle, meeting destiny'

'Our Veil of Love will shelter us from harm'

Alvin & Sook Fun's story as to how they came about to my place @THSH, I was standing outside the Hotel again (doing you know what...) when all of a sudden, an entourage of 4 persons attacked me! "Sir? Can I please take some wedding photos at your hotel?" asked the photographer politely. His name was Adam and he actually came from a bridal house! After explaining to him what was required, Alvin & Sook Fun readily gave me their approval and they went clicking away happily. What really surprised me was the speed which Adam took to take the photos! All less then forty five minutes! Adam, where is my tip for carrying your photography bag ar? You still owe me!!! Oh, btw Adam, if your blog is not activated yet, please don't put it on your name card! For more photos, please refer to Adam's site.

SU & RAY

'Episode IV - A new hope. A long time ago in a Hotel far far away .... It is a period of a change for the people @THSH. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the woeful enemy who usually barred people from taking their personal photos here. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the ANTI 'LOVE' STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy all photographic equipment in the galaxy. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, the THSH Team races home aboard their starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save their people and restore free personal photography to the galaxy....'

Source : Star Wars Episode IV's Crawl
with apologies ... :)

Dramatically corny isn't it? Well, my itching fingers just won't let go of the keyboard ... been a fan of Star Wars since young ... anyway, the real story was, way before I had even cemented my ideas to allow couples into the Hotel for their personal pre-wedding photos, I was having my hands full with the daily problems in the Hotel. It felt like I was being slowly braised in a pressure cooker. So, i decided to take a break and have a brisk walk outside, taking in my nasty habit. I began toying with the idea that if I did tidy up the hotel, it would look a little nicer, wouldn't you think? Then I could get some wedding couples to come and take photos! *idea hatched* As I was busy daydreaming (oh no! not again!), I spotted a wedding couple escorted with suspicious-looking (like) photographer.... clasping my palms and rubbing them, eyes glinting ... (can't you hear my evil laughter?) ... why not try out the idea on them? (Didn't I say I was impulsive?)

'I'll always be your pillar of strength'

'Your glass will never be empty, ever again'

'Longing'

'A quiet moment, under a canopy of lights'

'Waiting'

I wish to congratulate Su & Ray on their wedding and just for your information they were actually from Australia. They were very pleasant and pretty excited about being able to shoot @THSH, and gave me their consent very fast. These pictures were taken way, way, way before I even had the notion to advertise on forums and my community project plans, photos were dated 21 April 2008, when I was still very much a newbie @THSH. From Su & Ray's photos, I proceeded to tidy up the Hotel, making small changes here and there to make it more conducive for photo shoots. I must also thank their photographer Alex, for being so helpful with my suggestions back then. Hey, Alex, where in the world are you now? For more photos from Alex, please visit www.alexmoi.net

COMMUNITY EVENT #1 (Pilot Project)

Dear All going to wed blissfully couples out there,

The Heritage Station Hotel (THSH) in partnership with Dailylifestyles.com, PrettyInWhite and renowned photojournalist Mr. John W. Ishii brings to you our FIRST COMMUNITY PROJECT - A PRE-WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY SHARING SESSION.

We are currently on the hunt for Three (03) couples who is planning to tie the knot soon, to be our gracious model couple for this event.

We are planning to invite 15 'newbie' photographers who are interested in pre-wedding photography through various forums and all photos taken will be given back directly to you via digital media (DVD/CD). Bridal Gowns are graciously supported by PrettyInWhite and the speaker of the day is Mr. John W. Ishii. Dailylifestyles.com an online photo magazine is supporting us with logistics and joint coordinators. To our partners, on behalf of THSH, A VERY BIG THANK YOU!

Guidelines & Particulars of The Event

• Open to all couples residing in Malaysia with a preferable combined income of less then RM5,000 per month.
• Date - 10 August 2008, Sunday.
• Time - 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.
• Venue - The Heritage Station Hotel, Bangunan Stesen Keretapi, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.
• Location of shooting will be (weather permitting) The Lake Gardens and Around both buildings of KTM (including THSH).
• Coffee/Tea Breaks and Lunch will be provided by THSH.
• THSH and our partners reserve the rights to use and distribute all photos taken during this event.
  

*UPDATE* Dear All, Registration for couples have now closed. Thank you very much for all your support! THSH will be contacting shortlisted candidates only! Thanks again! -21 July 2008, 9.23 am.

Thank you for reading and see you there!

AMY & TONY

The trouble with doing photos of pre-wedding couples for free is that you can't expect their photos on the spot or 'straight out of the camera'. So I had to sit patiently in my small little corner and try not to think how the photo shoot went. After joining the Hotel since a few months ago, I had wanted very much to promote THSH as I thought it would make for a lovely, charming place for photos. Feverishly and without much after thought (impulsive ain't I?), I proceeded to post on Facebook, Photokaki and even Malaysian Brides (which incidentally I got banned for not following the forum rules even though I was not offering a paid service ... ar well). This kept me busy much of the day as it was something quite new to the forums. I got loaded with lots of questions but ... no couples (sad, sad, sad .....).

Lo and behold, just as I was about to throw in the towel, one fine morning in my half daze, I received a call .... a very sweet female voice asking me if we were offering our venue for a pre-wedding shoot ... my heart pounded and my spirits soared ... and the rest as they say, is history. Thanks to Amy & Tony, they were my first contact with the actual couple (not photographer) and had their shoots @THSH. Dated 7 May 2008 ..... Now as always, on with the pics;

'We'll weather the storm together'

'Feeling like flying'

'Both Gracious - The Old and New'

'A Romantic Interlude'

'Silhouette'

A personal thank you to Amy & Tony, a very nice and bubbly couple, for making my day as I started off with this project. I am surprised that they had used a Singapore based photographer (?) called Bridal Concepts. I wish you all the best and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

DAPHNE & ZHEN

Considered our first 'official' wedding shoot (despite actually having 3 others before this), we were approached by Mr. John W. Ishii, a renowned photojournalist who wanted to do a pre-wedding shoot in our hotel. At first I was like 'what?', but after talking to John, I realized we shared something in common; the challenge of taking on something new and giving back to the community ... in this time and age when I would have sworn that passion has died and commercialization has taken over, meeting John was definitely a breath of fresh air, and I must say, very motivating for me to continue with my plans and projects @THSH. (The Heritage Station Hotel lar ... too long to type). Anyway, he came on 27 May 2008 to shoot his 'free pre-wedding couple' which, coincidentally, John was offering for free! Less talk and lets get to the pictures @THSH!

'A Walk Down the Stairs, Hand in Hand'

'Forlorn'

'A Prelude To A Kiss'

I actually never thought THSH could look so good in photos and I honestly think that John's eye for photography with his composition is really great! To me, it really captures the mood of the couples. For more photos from John W. Ishii, please visit his blog entitled "F8 AND BE THERE". I am providing you the link below, oh John, btw, if you are reading this, I really love this 'self portrait of yourself' and please excuse me for posting it here 'without your permission!' :)

'Ladies & Gentlemen, presenting .... Mr. John W. Ishii'

Looks like a frame within a frame ....

http://johnwishii.blogspot.com