Two weddings attended in 2011 – that’s a way better record than the recents years put together. As one gets older, your friends and peers around you get married and settle down. Yesterday was my colleague Alphonsus’ turn. It was a grand event, held at the Cathedral of the Good Shephard, Singapore’s oldest Roman Catholic church. Plus, many other colleagues joined in the celebrations, and it was good to mingle outside of the work setting.

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I was there as a guest and not an ‘official photographer’ of any kind, so my 24L lens got to get out of the house. Just as well though, as the church was somewhat dark. Most of the photos your see above are taken with the 24mm, except for the long tele shots. The thin depth-of-field is great, but sharpness and precise focusing become something to be mindful of, as they could go wrong very easily. It’s definitely something I want to improve on.

While I no longer shoot weddings as a job these days (except on special occasions), prime lenses do come in handy a lot. Unless you set up lots of room lights or strobes, those prime lenses with f1.4 or larger will provide dreamy looks under natural lighting. What I’m lacking right now is a 85mm prime, which I hope to get soon so that I can get some unique and beautiful portrait shots!

There was a time when I would slag anyone who suggested I jump ship to video rather than stay as a tried-and-true still photographer. How times have changed. I’ve seen some of the HD capabilities of the new DSLRs, from the Canon 5D MKII and now the new Canon 7D. And I am sold completely.

Perhaps that means I cheated on the love (for photography) that burgeoned about two years ago. But this is not a divorce. I’m merely embracing the new facet of video, and acknowledge that audio and motion combined with still imagery is one unstoppable force. Just look at the slide show-maker Animoto, or the Bebb Studios’ “Fusion Is Now” movement. Soon photographers will be expected to produce short video clips for their wedding couple clients.

I’ve never owned a video camera, but I’m planning to make the Canon 7D my first. Apart from being a competent video camera, the user reviews so far say the still images are impressive too. Even the specs of the 7D trump my backup 40D in almost every way. The $1699 price tag is a little intimidating, but at least still reachable compared to the 5D2‘s $2699 tag. I always believe in worthy investments and my goal would be to earn back the investment from future assignments.

The 7D’s are hard to find right now, but that only festers the itch of trying  out its video capabilities.

Meet Herman Chiu — my new partner in amassing beautiful images to make clients gleefully happy. Our plan is to bring together a small team of photographers/videographers and charge camera first into the highly competitive pool of wedding and portrait photography. We’ve got a few details worked out, including pricing and shooting arrangements, now all we need are clients to stroll right in. Currently our working name for the ‘company’ is Perfect Shutter, but since I’m all for creativity without the cheesiness on top, I’m open to any wacky suggestions.

A one-man show is tough. You’re a shooter naturally, but you also take care of marketing, administration, and finances. Photography I can do well; I’m not so sure about the rest. Having a small team or a business partner does make sense in this regard, as responsibilities can be distributed. Bear in mind that neither of us have a business degree, so we’re still in experimentation mode. But at the very least we can share gear and offer clients the luxury of two shooters.

Although another friend has asked me to join her event photography business in NY, that’s more of a part-time job for them. Since I’m here in the midwest, there doesn’t seem to be any harm in doing a little entrepreneurship. Small overheads and a close team of like-minded individuals should lessen the risks. Of course there is no guarantee of success, and that level of success is highly dependent on who comes looking for our services. My hope is they’ll come, but we also need to have a veritable marketing plan to make that happen.