Images taken with Lensbaby Sweet 35

This little spirit that came from the stars had kept us up all night for 3 weeks. I was pushed to the limit of my sanity. It was basic training for my other full time job as a stay at home Dad. Yes, I became a Mr. Mom for my little one and she has totally consumed every waking hour of my life for the past 6 months. But don’t worry I’m still available to capture your life stories and blissful moments, just contact me.

I know that this time is short and if I don’t pay attention; it will be gone in the blink of an eye! I enjoy carrying her in my arms, tossing her up in the air and catch her landing softly into my arms; these and many other things I will not be able to do with her if I had waited.

These photos from the slide-show were taken mostly on impulse inspired by her angelic spirit as I was taking care of her during the day and when Mommy wanted to dress her up, we made a photo session out of it. She has been an incredible subject, natural, willing to play along, and always never cease to please her Daddy’s trigger happy finger.

I will leave you to enjoy these blissful moments from my life as a first time Dad.

• Hold your ceremony and reception at the same location
• Ask your guests to carpool
• Find a caterer who uses organic, locally grown food
• Use flowers that are in season, wildflowers or locally grown flowers
• Chose a gown that could be worn again at parties
• Recycle the packaging from your wedding gifts
• Look for a photographer that offers eco-friendly wedding packages

How can a (wedding) photographer be green?

The easiest way for a photographer to be green is to shoot in digital instead of film, which avoids many chemicals used in the film developing process.

We here at Willi Wong Photography strive to run an eco-friendly office.  We operate in a paperless environment as much as possible.  We believe in a greener lifestyle.

We offer  Go Green wedding photography packages that are eco-friendly.  Please contact us for details on our Go Green photography coverages.

Time has no promises and that’s why we keep our memories alive with photographs. Tamar, a young woman whose aspiration is to become a family doctor, contacted me the day before for a family portrait session. She resides in New Orleans and came back to visit her family in Brooklyn. Tamar will be going to Cuba to study family medicine, so she can come back to New Orleans to help the people in needs. Tamar told me she will be getting a free education there; therefore she can afford to study as a general practitioner without having to worry about paying back expensive loans.

I am touched by her idealism and honesty.

Before we drove to meet up with Tamar and her family, we stopped by Dosa Hutt in Flushing to clench our thirst with the most delicious mango lassi. Yim is a food fanatic. I have never seen anyone read every menu like it was on the New York Times best sellers list, but she does and there’s no doubt that she is a foodie. I’m the kind of guy that can eat the same dish over and over again. Yim loves variety and she has really broadened my horizon when it comes to food. And her father’s cooking was the best.

I love tropical fruits and on the day Yim introduced me to mango lassi, I died and went to heaven, but I have to come back to earth for more. Like a kid I drank all mine and part of Yim’s lassi while waiting for our lunch at the Hindu Temple around the corner.

I thought, “Nothing can top today’s mango lassi from Dosa Hutt.” Well, I was wrong! After lunch Yim introduced me to mango kulfi, and the only thing I can say is that I felt like squatting on the sidewalk and eat that ice cream like a real native. Hey, we Asians can squat and it makes us happy; there’s one exception, Yim can’t squat for the life of her. She really needs to learn how to squat before she gives birth to our baby.

The only thing I can dream of that can top the mango kulfi is to dip it in the mango lassi. Now that’s ecstasy! Can’t wait to try that soon one day.

Can this day get any better? Yes, it can!

While waiting for Tamar and family in Dumbo, we sauntered into a bookstore, powerHouse Books, at the corner of Main and Water Street.

To be inspired by photographers of the past is one thing. Time has the ability to add weight to event and people from the past. Nostalgia is an important and powerful factor in influencing us to fall in love with things and people from the past; e.g., our heroes are most of the time dead and our legends are from the past. My dead heroes and legends in photography are Eugene Smith, Dorothy Lange, Henri-Cartier Bresson, and David Douglas Duncan (oops, he’s 94 and still kicking!) just to name a few.

Recently, I have been touched by the works of living breathing photographers of the present and just yesterday, I found two! Kristen Ashburn and another photographer named Boogie. I bought Kristen Ashburn’s book, “I Am Because We Are”.   Her images of the orphans from Malawi are truly an in depth study of human character. You have to love people to capture their spirit and to turn a snapshot into an image that speaks to people for generations to come.

Boogie’s work is hauntingly beautiful and breaks all rules. In an interview Boogie reaffirms a belief of mine; he said, “…inspiration and good shots are all around. It’s up to you to see all that. You can make great shots right here. It’s not about where you are. It’s not about going to crazy, f*cked up places,  it’s everywhere”.

You don’t have to go to special places to make great photos. You can make great photos where you are. Don’t wait for beautiful things to happen, the moment and place you are in has all the beauty you need. Go shoot and be one with your camera, place and time.

Tamar tried very hard to get everyone (14 people) to show up on time in Dumbo. It was not an easy task. We were half an hour late from our appointed time, but no big deal. We cope with what we have at that moment in time. And what we had was a wonderful mix of 3 generations (toddlers, parents, and grandma). Tamar’s Dad was called away on an emergency and couldn’t join us.

We shot quickly and furiously before the sun sets. Only available natural light was used for this family portrait session. Nothing captures the soul naturally like nature’s own light.

To reward Yim and our little bun for being such a great help, we went to one of Yim’s favorite Taiwanese restaurant in Elmhurst. We ordered dried radish omelet and a very spicy shrimp dish (I felt the effect this morning).

We ended the day with 3 scoops of home made mango and green tea ice cream from a street vendor we stumbled upon after the delicious dinner. I was walking with 50 pounds of camera gear, but it was so worth it and most importantly, Yim was no longer cranky, but totally happy. You don’t want to cross a pregnant lady when she’s hungry after all; she has 2 mouths to feed.

I thought my readers will realize that the post was a tongue and cheek writing about personal preferences and why you should not have one as professional photographer. That’s why I intentionally did not give a long list of the best locations for engagement photos in NYC, because the best locations are where you end up at the moment. The best “landscapes” are the human faces. Without that there’s no meaning to the best locations.

I’m certain that I’ll write more future blog posts on the best locations for photography sessions. Hopefully, soon you’ll be able to see some incredible images taken in ordinary everyday locations.

I would like to  end this post and leave with you a thought about focus…if you focus on the finger pointing to the moon; you will miss all that heavenly glory. And if you focus on getting to that beautiful location, you will miss those gorgeous moments on the way. Seize the moment, which is here and now and right in front of you! Carpe diem!

Amanda & Jordan thank you for letting us know that your wedding story is featured in the Spring 2010 issue of Contemporary Bride magazine.  Thank you for the copy of the magazine, and most importantly, thank you for submitting your wedding story to Contemporary Bride.

After going through the magazine, I understand why Contemporary Bride registered the phrase, “The Engaged Girl’s Survival Guide“.  They just know what every engaged girl needs to know.  They cut down to the chase and list every wedding vendor and detail of the bride and groom, even how many buttons are on a groom’s tuxedo.  In this New Jersey issue of the magazine they have 17 couples share their wedding stories.  The following is 1 of the 17 stories.  It is the wedding story of Amanda & Jordan.

2,190,363 couples were wedded in the U.S. in 2008.

The world’s longest-married living couple, Zelmyra & Herbert Fisher of North Carolina, were, at press time, preparing to celebrate their 85th anniversary.

$707,051,028 worth of wedding cake and fondant frosting (more than 16 tons) was consumed last year in the U.S.

The average American wedding costs $28,704.

In frugal Mississippi the average drops to $18,562.

In spendthrift New Jersey that jumps to $36,113.

Behemoth David’s Bridal claims roughly 30% of the wedding-gown market, with dresses that start at $99.

Steel tycon Lakshmi Mittal spent an estimated $60 million on a five-day French wedding for his daughter, Vanisha, which included a 1,000 person engagement party at Versailles.

The discount chain Filene’s Basement has held its Running of the Brides event at dozens of stores each year since 1947.

At one store, shoppers cleared the racks of 3,000 marked-down dresses in a record 37 seconds.

In 1960, an American bride was typically 20 years old and a groom was 23. Today, they’re 27 and 29, respectively.

Six countries currently allow same-sex marriage: Belgium, Canada, Holland, Norway, South Africa, and Spain.

December is the most popular month to pop the question, accounting for one in five engagements.

pescatarian or pescetarian: one whose diet includes fish but no meat

Etymology: probably from Italian pesce fish (from Latin piscis) + English vegetarian

What do pescetarians eat on Thanksgiving? Tofurkey? No, not this year, this Thanksgiving it’ll be curry fish head for us.

Have many of you wonder how Willi capture his images?  He  shoots high, he shoots low and don’t forget the Asian squat!  Don’t believe me!? Scroll down to see Willi, theStoryteller, in action during a recent pre-wedding photo shoot.

The images were captured by the future bride, groom, a friend of ours and yours truly using a smart phone, iphone, Canon G11 and Canon Powershot SD40.

I used carry my professional camera with me whenever I walk out the door. It lasted only couple weeks before I stop, because it’s really heavy. One day when I went out during the middle of the day; I saw a construction worker cutting up the road with a huge radial saw. The sparks were flying, this huge saw was cutting away right in the middle of the road with cars backed up all the way. I reached for my camera and then realized that I didn’t bring it! What a missed opportunity for a great shot!

On a wedding day I carry 3 fully loaded cameras for over 10 hours without a complain, but on a off day, I somehow cannot even carry one professional camera.

Recently, I purchased a Canon G11, a portable point and shoot semi-pro camera and it goes with me whenever I go out. I love it! Now, I can record the changing of the season and all the nuisances of the day as I travel through time and places that are easily forgotten.

I’ve decided to share with you some images straight from my new carry around camera without any editing or processing whatsoever. The pros call these images SOOC  (straight out of camera). Here’s a collage of light and color of fall 2009 as I wandered through and captured it with my point and shoot camera.

]]> http://williwongportraits.com/blog/2009/11/24/new-york-city-fall-autumn-foliage/feed/ 0 http://williwongportraits.com/blog/2009/11/05/modern-lifestyle-family-portrait-photographer/ http://williwongportraits.com/blog/2009/11/05/modern-lifestyle-family-portrait-photographer/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:09:27 +0000 theAssistant http://williwongportraits.com/blog/?p=2506

A few of weekends ago; we met a little girl while shooting a Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session.  By the end of the session Willi and the preschooler became buddies. 

Children are very observant and it’s amazing to see a child’s reaction to the new things and new events happening around them.  We told her to carry on as usual as if we were not in her home.  She was not at all shy with us nor was she shy in front of our cameras.

At the end of the session while we were putting away our cameras and equipment she quickly drew a picture of Willi.  She insisted on walking us out to the elevator.  When the elevator came she surprised us with the picture.

She drew a very handsome Willi with his camera on his hand.  She even noticed the way Willi has to wink his eye when he looks through the viewfinder.

I am very touched by the little girl and her drawing. It brings tears to my eyes each time I look at the beautiful hand-crafted Thank You note.  This is by far one of the best Thank You notes that Willi have received.

We want to take this opportunity to thank this little preschooler for making the Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session so special for us.   We were there to capture the moments in her life, but in the end she captured our hearts.  I am sure that she made a greater impression on us than we had on her.  

Click here for expert advice from a modern lifestyle portrait photographer on getting the best photos from your family portrait session.