Little feet, swoon-worthy eyes and expressions of blurry innocence are the essences of a baby. It’d be kinda hard to find a newborn who didn’t possess such qualities. Even Barney must have looked cute and adorable when he was still a baby dinosaur!

My best friend’s elder sister recently got married, and Esther is their first child. My best friend is now an uncle! Pretty wild. I was asked to shoot this bundle of joy, right after she had a nice afternoon nap. I’ve not handled many babies in my lifetime (duh) so it was a little tough getting her interested at first. Good thing my best friend was there to help with that!

I’d packed light for this shoot and didn’t bring any flashes. I relied solely on some blessed  natural light from a huge window next to the bed. Natural light makes the image look really …natural, though flashes can also look that way as long as you control it properly.

I realized little toys are very important for the babies and for the photos themselves. They lend a lot to the scene. Next time, I’m gonna bring a few props of my own!

Often people leave Thanksgiving weekend reserved for family, but what about your new additions? Jocelyn and Tiroca took this holiday period to celebrate two big occasions. First, the Thanksgiving itself, and the day after — their joyous wedding held in St. Claires Shores, Detroit, Michigan.

The chilly winds that day put a little damper on our outdoor shooting plans, but everything else from the preparation to the reception was exceptionally blissful. At the end of the day, I was glad to be an instrument in preserving those memories.

Hope you enjoy the photos, and feedback most welcome!

It’s that time again. A time for change. Change is usually good, even if it can be unpleasant.

Three weeks since I’ve been back in Singapore, and I’ve caught up with old friends, made new ones through Twitter, and even received kind e-mails from people whom I’d never met. Life certainly is surprising.

I may be on the verge of securing a photo-related job so if it does happen, it’d be thank heaven for that. But regardless, it would still be a good venture to further develop this business, even if it’s just insurance against the poor employment prospects out there.

My goal now is to specialize. If you remember, this website had links to many different styles of my works — from portraits and events, to news and sports. As you can see now, that is about to change. I’m channeling my efforts to portraiture now, as I believe it’s the best fit for me. Shooting fewer people (compared to a wedding or big event) will mean I can give even more of my creativity and effort to those clients. Sure it’s not as ‘lucrative’ as the wedding scene out there, but dramatic outdoor portraiture will allow me to discern myself from many other shooters.

The first major change will be to streamline the categories bar just below the head banner. Hopefully this will make navigation easier, especially since the website is already sufficiently packed with words and images.

Once I’ve created all the necessary extra pages (which is quite a few), I’ll then modify the less-important details like the color scheme (do you love the red and white?), head banner, and also a little change to my original logo above. I’ve resisted the urge to go completely Flash as I feel doing so would spoil the mobile experience. Sure it won’t be as slick as other portfolio websites, but this magazine-style does get the point across.

Well, if it doesn’t, you must let me know!

So please bear with me for the next few days as I make the live changes. Some content may go offline or become less accessible but all will be well in due time. I’ll also keep updating my blog – that won’t change!

Back in Ann Arbor I had developed a liking for Japanese food, though it could have very well been the evil doing of American-concocted sushi. Those ‘california rolls’ and large servings of teriyaki sauces laid the foundation for a corrupted sampling of food from the nation of fish.

Restaurants such as “Sadako,” “Miki,” and “Nagomi Sushi & Noodles” were satisfiable substitutes for Japanese food in Ann Arbor. Now that I’m back in Singapore, I was curious to see what this island offered, since I wasn’t a big fan of the cuisine in all my years growing up here. My Dad recommended the Ministry of Food – a chain of restaurants – in which My Izakaya served Japanese meals and dessert.

Now that you’ve looked at the photos, here’s what okay, what’s awesome and what’s uh-uh. The good news is that, every dish passed. I can’t comment on the outright authenticity of the food (having never been to Japan), but it was indeed flavorful and unlike other cuisines. The salad was just okay, and the prawn tempura was fresh and crunchy but not much different from similar offerings in the U.S.

The best parts were the sashimi and the desserts. I’m more a fan of sushi than sashimi but this night probably turned the tables around. There’s something sexy about eating raw fish, and fresh, raw fish certainly made it a night to remember. It was like biting through warm butter.

But reports have it that My Izakaya’s reputation was built on their desserts. So we ordered both their Imo (a hot and cold dessert) and strawberry Hokkaido ice-cream. There’s a distinction between Hokkaido ice cream and regular soft-serve. Not only is the flavor somewhat packed in Hokkaido ice-cream, the texture is firmer and doesn’t melt as fast on your tongue. Thumbs up for quality but you pay almost S$6 for a rather puny scope (no American serving sizes here). The Imo is especially delectable when you combine the hot and cold powers of the dessert. Probably another unique characteristic of Japanese desserts.

Right beside my table were a group of young working adults who had come in solely for the desserts. That says a lot about what this restaurant is truly good for.

Don’t let the eyes fool you. Pete Plotchev may not be able to walk, but he works his arms hard in the gym. This was one of my last shoots in U.S. (possibly forever) and the goal was to highlight his interest in hitting the workstations while also showing that even people in wheelchairs can do some muscle-building for their upper bodies.

There were two machines in particular that I had to shoot — a all-purpose weight-lifting station and a NuStep T5 cross trainer — both adapted for people who don’t have the use of their legs. Because the machines were fixed and immovable, it really limited the kind of angles I could shoot from. Because of that I played with colored lighting, while shifting from traditional, long, portrait lenses to some wider shots.

Pete is an extremely easy-going guy and always packing a smile. He never once complained about my directing (sometimes I feel I might be too commanding) and he always tried to make his weightlifting look as natural as possible (which I had told him to do too). Below are the selected best shots. Comment if you like!

This sunrise the day after my return swamped my room with golden light. In the horizon, dozens of container ships anchor off Singapore south-east coast, waiting to port. Singapore serves as one of the world’s busiest transit hubs for cargo ships.

I’ve been back for slightly more than a week now, and I didn’t post this up earlier because Chrome was giving me problems with the image upload. Finally it’s working now! This unrestricted view — a great ball of fire — was something I’d missed and almost forgotten from memory. Being able to stare blankly at the big body of water is also a wonderful privilege.

My hope is that this beautiful sunrise will be remembered as a watershed moment, for a new future, one that is bright, beautiful, and absolutely golden

I’d wanted this bag for a long time. For those who don’t know much about the ThinkTank Shapeshifter, it’s a transformable backpack that can expand/contract to suit the presence/absence of camera equipment. As you can see above, the shrunk backpack makes a very nice low profile, which is great for shooting in the field.

The Shapeshifter is my fourth camera bag. Those that came before were the Lowepro Slingshot 200, Lowepro Fastpack 350 and a no-name shoulder bag that was originally meant to hold a video camcorder. So why weren’t they all good enough?

The Slingshot and shoulder bag are good for simple photo walks where you’d only need one body and a couple of lenses, while allowing quick draw-and-shoot action. But neither carries a laptop (essential for photojournalists and traveling photographers), and they put considerable strain on one side of the shoulders.

Then came the Fastpack. It’s a great concept. Half is dedicated to compartments to store a body and lenses, and the other half offers general storage. To top it off, you can slip a laptop in the back, and it even offers quick-draw capability like the Slingshot. It’s almost perfect.. except it’s too big. If on assignment out on the streets, it sticks out like a turtle shall on your back. Jostling with people means it might be tough to maneuver through them.

So, enter the Shapeshifter. It keeps a laptop, 2 bodies, 3 lenses and enough accessories, and it shrinks once you take the equipment out. One downside (in comparison to the other bags I’ve had) is the inability to quick draw anytime you want (unless you already had the cameras out around your neck). Oh, and it also doesn’t hold as much gear as the Fastpack.

Despite that, I find the Shapeshifter’s lean feature a very important asset to have. Last Saturday I brought it with me to cover an indoor business event (those photos will appear on the website soon). Everything I needed was in the Shapeshifter. I arrived early, took out the gear and minimized the bag. With the Shapeshifter on my back, it didn’t feel like an obstruction at all. Rather than leave the bag in an unprotected area and leave any accessories inaccessible, why not have it with you at all times?

Another small hurray — the Shapeshifter doesn’t look like a camera bag, and with its streamlined version, you can use it as a very general purpose backpack that can hold a laptop.

It’s absolutely wonderful that I finally get to own and use this bag, for it doesn’t come cheap. But I look forward to many more times of good use. If I have any more new observations or discoveries, I’ll be sure to be update it here!

“Highly doubtful” would be my response, in contrast to this blogger who believes iPad and photojournalism are synonymous. Now we all know the iPad isn’t out yet, but by looking at the specs, and by drawing some of my imagination and experience as a photojournalist, I’m hardly convinced anyone in this line of work would want to use the iPad in the field, transmitting images of breaking news. Here’s three reasons why:

1. BACKING UP. With only one 30-pin port available to convert to USB, how can photojournalists backup their work on external hard disks? 16GB and even 64 GB is too little to take to the field when they can be out for days at a time.
2. UPLOADING. Sending images to the newsroom needs to be in the field, not late at night at the comfort of your own home. Plus, 3G and wireless mean nothing to reporters and photojournalists who travel to areas without such coverage. Deserts, seas, mountains and even still-developing countries don’t have such luxuries. A satellite uplink is required, and while this could be possible for the iPad, netbooks and notebooks have already proven themselves in this aspect.
3. EDITING. Once again, editing needs to be done in the field, not on your sofa with a glass of iced tea. Some photo editing apps are out there, but I believe none of them can process RAW files and give the full flexibility of a dedicated RAW editor.

While the iPad is a gorgeous fit for showcasing your portfolio or crunching up in a Starbucks chair reading digital magazines, it’s not for me if I were a globe-trotting photojournalist. But there is hope for the future. Apple always improves its products over time. Who knows, there may be more USB ports in the future, and maybe the ability to run more complete programs (and not mere apps). In the meantime, I’ll stick to my notebook and smart phone.

Breezy Boston Christmas (with Canon 7D) from Ted Chen on Vimeo.

Yet another one that was almost lost in the void. Last Christmas, I traveled to Boston for the second time. During the first visit, I hadn’t even gotten my first DSLR. Now I’m on my 4th and diving into the world of video.

Boston was really chilly but with lots of rain instead of snow. We hardly saw anyone on the streets because of the festive period. But once in awhile we saw the occasional couple and they reminded us what Christmas was all about – love and giving.

I tried to highlight both experiences in this video, starting off with a sobbing take on the cold, deserted Boston streets, followed by a lift of mood. It was what I genuinely felt on this three-day trip as I attempted to soak in the small details rather than look at the regular sights for the second time.

Once again, the video was shot hand-held with one lens mostly (Canon’s 24-105 f4). While I do a pretty good job, I still hope to get some kind of stabilizer in the future, and hopefully improve my perspectives on story-telling. Right now I feel I don’t experiment enough, relying on my photojournalistic eyes rather than incorporate more cinematic styles of shooting. Food for thought.

Comments most welcomed.

Couple strolling along a Boston wharf

The live bidding begins on charity gala night!

This was shot back in 2009, but I had to wait for the release of Access magazine in December before I could post photos, and when the time finally did come, I had completely forgotten to do it. Now the best selects are up, and they give a good, brief recap of what happened that day.

Every year the Ann Arbor CIL hosts a charity auction for items donated by various supporters of the non-profit. Their aim is to raise money for future projects and also to keep assisting people cope with their disabilities. The cause is noble and the event is always a grandiose blast.

With hanging lights and the help of the caterers, they converted the warehouse into a large banquet hall. Almost 300 turned up for a wide selection of food, while taking part in a silent auction held in the adjacent two conference rooms. But the live bidding was the big event. Everyone cheered with every bid, and I was even floored by how willing some people were to shell out good money for a good cause.

Photographically, I found the warehouse tough to shoot because of the dim lights and the weird mixture of lighting types. My 40D (now gone) was also struggling with noise in the image but we work if what we have. Thankfully,  post-production came to the rescue. Next time, I might set up some wireless room lights to solve the noise issue, and use more primes (if money permits)!