Friday, May 30, 2008

P.S. I Love You

I always felt that blogging personal emotion is like exposing your own diary to public, naked and embarrassed. My friends always said I tend to have a protective shield to push away anyone who tried to approach and understand me deeper. Ok, get the message and will try to open up my heart more…

I recently watched a movie called “P.S. I Love You” and would like to share it with you (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431308/). The movie scene started with a couple fighting for some stupid issues. Not a typical attractive opening but the director did an excellent job by selecting the beautiful couple, starred by Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. Out of curiosity, I carried on with the flow of the movie and had not left the chair since. The storyline could not be more simple but it was absolutely hilarious, emotional but yet not too dramatic. This is the movie with every element I love and possibly the best movie I have watched in this year so far. Did I cry watching the movie? Nay.... Boys Don't Cry...hehe

The movie and book. Movie is the adaption of book, shorter and tighter pace.

The movie was actually written based on a novel with same name. I am reading it now. The feeling of reading is totally ‘sky-and-ground’ different. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very good book. The book has more depth and more elaboration, equally as impressive as the movie but I felt that the book will be more suitable for the ladies, too much tears and drama.

I ever wonder if there is a guidebook to find a true soulmate. I read this book before “Men Are from Mars and Woman Are from Venus”. Closed to the purpose but some of my female friends do not agree. The book suggested that soulmate is always an extreme version in some way of yourself. If you are extrovert, your soulmate is probably introvert and so on. Hmm…. That even puzzle me more because I am an extreme entity in both! I like clubbing and I like reading. I like arts and I also love engineering. I like complicated puzzles but also enjoy simple brainless game. I like swimming and sports but I also prefer luxurious treatment. I am talkative and I like to keep silence. I like shopping and I hate shopping…. The list can go on and on. Does it mean that I will not have my soulmate? Or my soulmate is my similar type? I am certainly a very confused person now.

John Gray book series - relationship counseling.

There is one shot in the movie, Denise told her friends, “ Your soulmate must be somewhere around the corner or he/she is just stucked with the wrong person.” How true! And I love the saying. For the past years, I have seen many couples. Some of them are so lucky that they found ‘the one’ and some of them just got so lost in the process. Although I hate wedding invitation as much as I love it (Hate it because need to prepare big Ang-pow, Love because it is time for my wedding photography practice), I always share their palpable joy. They are such lucky bastards, haha… mind my language. Relationship is probably 100 times harder than getting a PhD. Some people get it right once without slightest effort, some people never get it no matter how hard they try, pretty unfair… C'est la vie! My soulmate is somewhere with wrong person or she already appeared but, somehow, I have just stupidly overlooked?

Enough for one day sharing. Why I blog this? This is non-negotiable secret, so don’t bother to ask me. But what I can tell is – my big 30th is hitting me soon. Whoa… that is something freak me out even to just think about it. So, friends, please remember to console me with piles of gifts during my big 30th . I prefer designer watch, cash is only marginally accepted…. Haha… I heard someone cursing.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Earning My Passion


My first ever wedding photo shot for my sister two years ago.

It has been a dream if I can turn my passion into earning. Well, it probably is dream of everyone in fact. I have identified some of my ‘passions’, leading to some part-time jobs which I can fantasize:

  1. Wedding Photographer
  2. Sleeping Investor of a Diving Centre
  3. Leisure Stock Broker
  4. PC Game Tester
  5. R&D Researcher to Tackle Insomniac
  6. Photography Judge

Forget about the last 5 fantasies. I am probably still quite crap and not up to the level to dream. But I do think I may have a shot with the first fantasy. I had been started photographing, mainly travel photography, since year 2000. For the past two years, I had grown interest in capturing wedding pictures for my colleagues, relatives and friends. It was the most exhaustive and time-consuming job but yet it was rewarding and exhilarating. Each laughter and emotion captured could easily melt down the tiredness.

It is amazing that my skill in photographing and photo editing are getting better each time. Ya… may be a bit too big head to commend this. Recently, I felt that I hit the bottom neck due to the limitation of my photo gear. So, it is time for me to upgrade my gear but so much pity that these sophisticated and expensive gears will cost me a fortune.

To my delight, it is from a renowned wedding photographer’s advice that if you need someone to recognize and appreciate your artwork, you should ask for monetary rewards, regardless the amount. Absolutely not a bad idea to fund my long wish list of photo gear (lens, flash, memory etc. etc.). So, friends, please help me out to advertise. Officially announced, I am ready to be a part-time freelance wedding photographer. Anyone interested to hire a wedding photographer during the actual day, please contact me via my email address yoongyow@hotmail.com For all my single friends who are going to marry in the future, sorry that I do not offer free service anymore but discount for you is guaranteed. I can only work part-time during weekends or I will get my butt fired by my current company. If you choose to have a photobook, longer period may be required for the photo editing. Also, I prefer Chinese or Church wedding as I am more familiar with their procedures.

My service fees will yield wedding photos in digital format, colour and art edited. Others are negotiable, with or without hard print/ photobook:

http://www.photobook.com.my/

The following are some of the photos that I have shot from year 2006 to 2008. Big thank you to my friends who allow me to polish my skill. If you enjoy them, please spread the words and advertise for me.





Saturday, May 10, 2008

Sharkwater - The Truth Will Surface

I just watched one of the most fantastic underwater documentary today, besides Planet Earth and Blue Ocean. This documentary was titled Sharkwater, directed by Rob Stewart. As the title implies, the documentary was about the story of himself fighting to conserve sharks, to create awareness among the public. Along his journey to reveal the truth, he was charged with attempted murder, suffered from deadly disease, manhunted by Mafia gangsters... All and all, the documentary was dramatic enough to be true but in fact it was happened right now in the other corner of Earth, Costa Rica.

Sharkwater, directed and narrated by Rob Stewart. The trailer can be viewed in the website www.sharkwater.com Go check out, lots of cool wallpaper and banner images.

I am not a big fan of sharks, well... except whale shark, but I was moved and touched by Rob's devotion and determination. His documentary will definitely shake the fundamental thinking of other people towards sharks. You will never view sharks as you thought before. Sharks are always portrayed as cold killing monster with horrified jaws and despicable meanness. However, the facts and figures show that sharks cause fatal injury to human being so much less than tiger, elephant, snakes and other wild animals. The alarming fact is that shark population has been dropped up to 90% at present!

There was one scene in the movie that broke my heart - a living shark was mercilessly hooked; its pectoral, dorsal fins and tail were slashed; and was released back to the ocean alive. It drifted down to the seabed, waiting helplessly for its death moment to come, as it could not swim and could do nothing. For this, the people who are responsible to this crime deserve to go to hell.

Many people will start asking. What could we do? We are not the poacher and fisherman. Yes, in fact, we can do many things. We can start educate our friends, parents, boss, subordinates, passengers in the plane, bus, taxi driver, tourmates, blog readers, one-night-stand lovers or whoever, that shark fins has no value to your health. It was neither tasty nor has any mythical health strengthening function. It is a shame, oriental people still believe the mythical fact that so-called royal delicacies shark fin soup can strengthen your health.

Highly recommend you to watch this documentary. The DVD was not yet released in Malaysia but you can get it from Singapore. It was scheduled to be aired internationally in Europe and other continents. Check out Rob's website and blog. www.sharkwater.com

Below are some of the photos of white-tip reef shark that I captured during my Sipadan dives, enjoy... You don't need to love them, but you don't need to kill them too.




White-tip reef shark that lurked in Midreef, Sipadan. They are shy and alert animals.