Dominique Kee Photography: November 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

B & F: Happily Ever After

I had the great honor of shooting the wedding of a lovely, warm couple, B & F, in late October 2010. Introduced by a mutual friend, both B & F were looking at a low-key, private ceremony to mark their special day. The first stage was to be held in Kuala Lumpur, a church wedding, followed by a private dinner. The second stage was to be in the island of Penang, where a traditional Parsi blessings ceremony was to take place, along with another dinner.

For privacy, B & F sought to keep their wedding photos anonymous but nevertheless allowed me to post several photos of the joyous occasion.

Going to the chapel and we're, gonna get maaarried...

I thought the church wedding was decorated in a very classy manner. Simple, minimalist, and yet, elegant.

More generic church wedding shots

The Parsi Tree Planting Ceremony.

The actual Parsi maritial blessing ceremony. I've never seen or attended one before this. An eye-opener definitely.

The Father of the Bride, making a speech at the formal dinner.

For those of you who like statistics:

Vital Stats for November: 5 posts 155 pics

Vital Stats So Far: 30 posts 1,110 pics

Monday, November 15, 2010

Malaysia-International Fashion Week 2010

The date is 6^th November 2010, on a scorching Saturday afternoon, and I find myself inconspicuously tucked within the recesses of the Hoi-Poloi consisting of Kuala Lumpur’s most unfairly advantaged individuals in the magnificent phallus which is Pavilion. I was invited as one of the guests of Designer Extraordinaire, Ms. Micky Tan, to witness a showcase of talents by 9 of the local fashion industry’s more luminous talents at the Malaysia-Internaitonal Fashion Week 2010 (M-IFW 2010). I have the absolute honor of being associated with Micky Tan and I thank her for the opportunity to immortalize a slice of this orgy of colours, celebrities and ridiculously high heels, with a side helping of lipstick and hairspray.

I’ll refrain from commenting too much on the event since I have always been more of a photographer rather than a commentator (better to be seen, not heard, is what I always say), and further, my knowledge on the fashion world is sorely lacking save for my hideous mug and my bad taste in clothing. Go check out the Malaysian International Fashion Alliance (MIFA) website for the information I can't provide to you.

I was rather pleased to see the very entertaining Edwin Sumun as the host for that Saturday afternoon. Witty as always, I drew a smirk as he stepped on stage and announced that he was ready to get his picture taken, proceeded to gracefully glide down the catwalk and struck a pose in front of the media cameras. Charming.

Other celebrities include Chelsia Ng (who looked ridiculously, mind-bogglingly, incredibubbly amazing in a green dress - see picture later) and one over-made-up Amber Chia. Oh, and there was this unnamed guest with the most jaw-dropping simple plain black dress with cleavage that will instantly pump hot blood through all parts of your body, man or woman.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy viewing these skinny women as much I did photographing them.

If you must know, I was sporting a Canon EOS 50D (w/battery grip attached) with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L glass and a Canon 580 EXII flash gun. Lighting was reasonably good although I don't really know why a number of the pics are blurry...

For those of you who like statistics:

Vital Stats for November: 4 posts 149 pics

Vital Stats So Far: 29 posts 1,104 pics

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Nostalgia Mania Part 3: Introducing The Lovely Azzura

After having a successful runaround with the Canon EOS 1000D, I started to scour around for a little more. In-line my general idea about upgrading the glass before the body, the 1000D has since seen the likes of a Tamron SP 28-75mm f/2.8, a Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II and the kit Canon EF 18-55mm. Eventually, I decided to upgrade the body. With camera prices plummeting, I settled on a 2nd-hand Canon EOS 40D with a low-shutter count. Strangely enough, several weeks later (during the week of the release of the 60D!), I changed it again to an available 2nd-hand Canon EOS 50D as I found one with a great price and really low shutter count. I traded in the 40D and topped up the balance.

I have no regrets about that one and I absolutely love the 50D. It is definitely one of the better crop-sensor cameras + value for money. In comparison, the Canon EOS 7D is a fine piece of equipment, but at the end of the day, it is just too expensive. Before the price drop, the 50D (body) was retailing at RM 3,650.00. The 7D (body) retailed at RM 5,500.00. Beside the HD Video recording capability being the most revolutionary change, it just didn't justify paying almost RM 2K more. The new 60D (body) retails at about RM 3K. You don't get the magnesium body of the 50D, but that's another can of worms to be opened some other time.

Anyways, of all my earlier photos, it gives me so much pleasure to re-release this photo-set. Definitely one of the better ones, this entire set was taken in May 2010 with the golden oldie 1000D with the Tamron SP 28-75mm f/2.8. Most of the lighting was handled by the studio strobes and the poses were ALL AZZURA.

It started when she asked on Facebook, if anyone knew a photog to shoot portraiture for some promotional material she was planning to develop. I asked her if I could give that a whirl. She said yes, and the rest is history. This shoot took place at her brother's office (if I remember correctly). It helped loads that her brother does webcasts, so there was a dedicated room + studio strobes + (green) backdrop. Wonderful.

I haven't really shot studio models before this, focusing primarily on a photojournalistic style, so I was forgiven for being apprehensive. Nevertheless, the lovely Azzura made it all work, with her natural good looks, playful attitude and ridiculously limber... err... limbs.