How’s your reflection for 2011? It’s been a fantastic year for you as well? Mine is superb.
This blog is going to be a long one. So be prepared, but I promised you, it’s worth it to read 
- 2011 is the year of believing.
This is also the birthday of this blog. it’s been one year from my first post featuring my pick of the wedding of the year in 2010. It’s a same day edit of Ken + Celine in Bali. Probably it’s a worth to watch to see what I am talking about below.
I still remember the great feeling and proud of shooting this video. It was the wedding that I involved deeply as their friends. As a wedding artist, when you produce the creations that are truly reflecting with your true belief of what wedding story should be, it’s a rewarding. It’s never easy to please clients and your passion at the same time. It’s even harder if you want to create a memory for the couple to treasure, at the same time you would like to remember for your own sake. For me, that’s the new “professional” term for me.
It’s the promise that I made to myself for all couples in 2011, there was always something that is uniquely yours.
In order to that, I must treat the couple who knocked on my doorsteps as if they were all my close friends. It’s no surprise most couples confessed that they felt a bit weird of how much I wanted to know about them a lot in the first meeting. What I needed to do to have a little faith from you guys. Thank youuuuu so much for having faith on me in 2011. It’s the year of believing myself that I can still do what I believe in, not just to make couple happy.
I am sure all of you agree that weddings are pretty much to have the same routine over and over again as the others. How can you remember the story if it is the same as others. I still remember how my first date with Ilona (aka my wife). It was one night to remember. It’s an unique one. Please don’t ask how it was. It’s a secret But the point was that I would remember that event forever. That memory stayed forever and glued us together because of that one unique memory. Every time we were feeling down, we will be fighting to have that memory alive right? That’s why it’s important to have an unique story for the couple to live for it. I truly mean that.
It’s not like that I don’t believe in the beauty of how gorgeous the couple are on their wedding photos anymore, but I believe that the story is way more important. Well, this is just me.
Wedding memory should be evaluated not for 5-10 years but more it’s 30-40 years. It’s an investment that I wish to convince all couples to do. Let’s make your priority right.
Here is some of proud works that I think it’s uniquely theirs.
Thank you to Andrew and Eva who believed in me to do the wedding fusion video into a musical wedding storytelling video. Check out the blog post
Even though it’s unlike any other prewedding films that’s full of positive vibes, but this films itself is an art for me. It’s because it’s valuable for them to cherish. High five to Khemara and Maria. Check out the blog post.
Desgi + Ngan’s street prewedding is definitely one of the kind. I don’t count how many people admitted to me this session was one of their favorite of my works. But definitely it’s a lot. Thanks guys, you are awesome. Check out my blog post about it.
Last but not least it’s the prewedding/portrait films of Richard and Virginia. It’s my favourite work in prewedding films. They had no clue of what I was doing for them until it was presented at their reception. The true storytelling work told the story from the beginning of how Richard fell in love with Virginia at his high school time to the day they finally tied the knot in backward check out their blog post.
- 2011 is the year of learning.
It’s such a blessing year that I can still learn and grow.
I swallowed my own words a few times that I admitted I didn’t see that coming. But I was wrong for good
For example, after the wedding of Ken + Celine in Bali, I said that the perfect wedding video had to be personal, I didn’t believe that having cinematic/movie-like could bring the personal feeling about it. It’d be fake and unnatural. Then I went to Mayad Academy back in last July, I learned if I can make the soundtrack of every wedding video can be truly theirs, the film can also reach the personal level.
Check out my three same day edit video that I was with the BIG films team.
Same day edit of Matt + Jennie featuring a opera house reception that includes the lion dance and also some prewedding footages on the beach
Same day edit video of Phim + Jarina featuring Laos culture
Same day edit video of Haison + Hannah
Besides the new brand in the BIG films, this year I also founded a photo booth company Foto Xpress this late year. This new brand is to leverage our studio lighting skills to produce some memory for the guest to bring home. It’s a photo booth because it produce an instant print but it’s not a photo booth because there is still a photographer who poses and directs creatively on the spot and the quality is absolutely stunningly a photo studio quality. Just watch out this baby to go crazy at your nearest wedding 
In 2011, I took a 3 months sabbatical off between May and July so that I could spend valuable time of planning for my pet project Wiki School Pedia. The fruit of the project was the event in Jakarta, Indonesia back in last July. It was a success.
On that event, I taught “Client Education” and “Basic branding” in the 4 days event. I never thought that I actually learned a lot by preparing and listening what I said for the workshop. As a result, I went back with the new idea of re-branding Foto Expression. So thank you more than 70 people who attended the Wiki School Pedia workshop and seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia that I still believe that I still have so much to learn.
Another note that “2011 is the year of learning” is that at the beginning of last year I spoke out being original was important when it comes to arts. I always believe whatever it came to my idea was original. But somehow I lately realised that it was a plain incorrect assumption. It could be no such thing a pure original anymore. It’s because what we produce is always affected by what we see, think and like. The late Steve Job said on his autobiography book that we shouldn’t feel bad to steal others’ idea if you truly believe it’s good. Like what Picasso stated “Good artists copy, great artists steal”. I am still against the word “copy”, but I steal or am inspired. If Steve can do it perfectly, why can i not do it?
- 2011 is the year of inspiring.
It’s my 7th year in the wedding industry. I am so blessed with what I have achieved. I make sure that I always spare time to give away to community as much as I can.
At the beginning of 2011, I said to myself that I wanted to inspire strangers. Well, I was fortunate to receive a call to mentor a high school student who wished to see what photography was. Check out this blog entry.
This year, I was also fortunate to be able to spare my time to join my church’s mission trip to Ternate and Halmahera island in Indonesia. It’s definitely a mind-blowing experience. Check out the blog entry about it.
- 2011 is the year of achievement.
I can finally call myself an awards winning photographer now. This year, I won two fearless photographers awards (one of them was picked as the best of show) As the person who lost faith in the competition, I finally encouraged myself to try on. I reckon this was the toughest wedding photography competition in the world, I am so glad that I still manage to steal two pieces.
Here are two award winning photos:
Honestly, there was another new years’ resolution from 2011 that I missed it. I wanted to be a wedding artist recognised in photography and videography. Well, I didn’t manage to receive anything from my videography career yet. I think I was just being naive. It’s definitely a long way to learn to master in photography and videography. I believe that I was on the right track that I could say more than 60% booking I receive in 2011 was fusion (Still + motion pictures). I am not sure where there are not many people crazy enough like me who takes the challenge to shoot photography and videography by myself. Please note this is not like that I simply add an extra videographer. But I am responsible to lead my team to be storytellers to shoot both media in the same time at the wedding. The couples booked me as a storyteller, not as a photographer or a videographer. Check out my latest fusion works in Bali, Indonesia.
Desgi and Ngan’s wedding is my best wedding in 2011. I love every bit of their wedding. I still haven’t blogged their wedding properly, there are too many breath-taking photos that I took. But in the mean time, just check out their same day edit slideshow presented at their reception. Check out the blog post please!
I don’t think I had a good year in 2011, but I had a fantastic and blessing year in 2011. It’s definitely full of excitement to look back into. It is such a proud moment to look back the whole year to reflect of what I have achieved. It’s not bad at all for a guy who is in the industry of almost 7 years and still fired up
I can sense 2012 will be another challenging year. My team and I are so looking forward facing 2012. I will blog it later about the new years resolution and target. The title will be “2012 is the year of the revolution”. Watch this space, OK!
Once again thank you for everyone who supported me and my team. I can’t name one by one obviously and I believe you know who you are.
