Vietnam | Thailand | Bali | Wedding Photographers » engagement

Lee & Trung: Bangkok Engagement Shoot

doctor447 — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:50:26 +0000

It wasn’t long after the floods had subsided that I headed into central Bangkok with Lee and Trung for their pre wedding shoot. Fortunately there were no problems moving around the city and we had a great day going around the attractions.

Taking a boat up the Chao Phraya River to the incredibly ornate Wat Arun and then onto Wat Po before heading to MR Kukrit Pramoj Teak House and endeding up high above the city in Vertigo Bar, Banyan Tree Hotel’s sky high bar. I hope Lee and Trung had a great wedding back in their hometown of Hanoi and I look forward to seeing them next time in Bangkok!

Aidan

Viv & Billy: Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai, Thailand

doctor447 — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:36:10 +0000

The Four Seasons Tented Camp ”it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.” and was voted as the best place to stay in the world by Condé Nast Traveler. So when Billy and Viv asked me if I was able to do a photoshoot with them in The Golden Triangle I jumped at the opportunity. Add to that, they are great friends with MinhChau and Peter whos wedding I photographed earlier this year and I knew it was going to be a special shoot.

We took a boat from the resort through the rolling countryside to ‘The Golden Triangle’ before carrying on to Chiang Saen to visit the local market and temple. The afternoon was spent at the resort elephant trekking through their picturesque grounds before ending the day at ‘Sundowners’ bar.

The Four Seasons Tented Camp lived up to their high expectations and the staff were superb. Billy and Viv had a very memorable experience and thank you for inviting me to be part of it!

Aidan

Fei & Leon : Bali pre-wedding photography

Jules — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 06:52:15 +0000

Julian: Lovely Fei and Leon from Sydney, Australia. Actuaries by day, florists by night.

We met in Bali for a portrait session, which gave me an opportunity to explore some great places with them that I’d never been to, including Tanah Lot and Taman Ayun temples. Even with the crowds, Tanah Lot was impressive. Fei and Leon were game to get close to the great big waves pounding the rocks around the temple, and we all had a great time making pictures and getting wet.

Danna & Brian : Ubud, Bali honeymoon photoshoot

Jules — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 08:21:04 +0000

Julian: This is not a pre-wedding shoot. Engagement shoot? Nope. This is a honeymoon shoot, and my very first. A big, big, BIG thank you goes out to Danna and Brian for asking me to join them on an amazing day out around Bali, visiting the morning market in Ubud, a little chitchat with the denizens of the Monkey Forest, followed by a holy water purification ceremony at Tampaksiring temple and a visit to a traditional Balinese healer on the outskirts of Ubud. And we finished the day with Dallas, Texas-approved ribs at Naughty Nuri’s. Really, just an amazing day.

Kelsey & Travis : Koh Samui, Thailand engagement shoot

Jules — Mon, 16 May 2011 01:09:45 +0000

Julian: Kelsey and Travis just spent the last six months living in Mumbai, India, where Travis was working as a tennis pro. I’m a huge tennis fan, and I’ve shot the Australian Open a few times, so once we started chatting online about photography and tennis, we knew we were a great fit for a photoshoot together.

They had a holiday coming up in Thailand, I was working in Koh Samui at the time, so the stars aligned and we met in Chewang for an early morning stroll along what is, I have to admit, a pretty tired looking main drag. But we were on the hunt for images that were a little bit different, so backing off the beach and into the rundown parts of town actually worked really well for us.

We had big plans for the afternoon session, which were completely derailed by an epic car ride getting lost in the mountains (roads had been washed out by severe flooding the week before), and then a hike up a waterfall that severely tested my ability to breathe. Both Kelsey and Travis are, shall we say, just a tad fitter than me. I had to stop and catch my breath a few times as they bounded up the sheer slopes.

So, we decided to make up for the lost afternoon by having another late afternoon shoot at a great secluded beach area on the north side of the island the next day. And it couldn’t have worked out better. Plus, we got to hang out for an extra day, which was pretty awesome. Hopefully they’re moving to Phuket this fall, and it would be great to be able to see them from time to time. Maybe Travis can help me with my backhand.

Nicole and Jon : Koh Samui wedding at The Cove

Jules — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:12:19 +0000

Julian: Nicole and Jon and their two amazing families flew from Australia to Koh Samui for a destination wedding last week. We’ve had a lot of unseasonal heavy rains in southern Thailand this year, and I was worried their affair at The Cove would be a wet one. But we lucked out with the weather, got sun all day long and only lost the outdoor dinner due to a brief downpour. I think at that point no one really minded. Spirits were being quaffed, and spirits were high. There was a stunning venue perched on a hilltop overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, there was one of the most hilarious and heartfelt father-of-the-bride speeches I’ll ever hear, and there was a young couple whose marriage was bringing together two families who already had an obvious and honest affection for eachother.

SIUSIN & DANIEL : SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA PRE-WEDDING SHOOT – DAY TWO

Jules — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:33:44 +0000

Julian: More goodness from the Angkor engagement shoot earlier this month. What you can see in the first few images is the sunrise in front of Angkor Wat. Not much of a sunrise at this time of year unfortunately. What you can’t see are the hordes of tourists making it practically impossible to line up a decent frame. We were actually the first to arrive at 5AM, But by 6AM there were about 600 people crowding the famous spot where you can snap a picture with the wat reflected in a pool. It wasn’t worth the aggravation with the army of guys setting up tripods in the same space, so we gave up our position and moved away from the crowds. Its not what I had envisioned, but I like it nonetheless. It’s got more character than the usual Angkor image.

As usual, its the images that you least expect that you end up happiest with.

Siusin & Daniel : Siem Reap, Cambodia pre-wedding shoot – Day One

Jules — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:50:03 +0000

Julian: Angkor. There are no superlatives that can diminish its wonder. And even though we were there during Chinese New Year, with about 9 billion tour buses buzzing around the temple grounds, it’s still a place of magic – but not an easy place to make magic images. You want to make pictures at a certain time of day when the light is best, but so does everyone else. So you go to another temple, one of the less-visited temples, at a different time of day…. and there are still a ton of people there. So you try to be creative. Tight compositions. Tilt/shift to obscure messy backgrounds. Shoot into the sun when everyone else is looking in the opposite direction for that magic morning light that falls on the ancient stones. Get up at 4:30 to beat the people who think they are getting up early at 5:30. Be very, very patient, but shoot very, very quickly. And work with a wonderful couple who are game to try anything and shoot for two very long, but very fun days.

This was my first shoot back in Southeast Asia after a five-month hiatus in Canada. Thank you Siusin and Daniel for making it so special.

Hieu & An: Go Cong, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

doctor447 — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:37:01 +0000

Aidan: This was not our usual engagement photoshoot, but then Hieu and An were not your usual couple! Outrageously fun and infectiously funny, An and Hieu led the way around Go Cong, An’s family home in The Mekong Delta. We went to the pagoda in the morning and the coast in the afternoon; the last shots are from the family ice factory which turns out 5,000 slabs a day!

Thanks to Kerry, who will be shooting their wedding in Tay Ninh, and came along for the day. We had a great day with a really great couple.

Nha & Lee: Ho Chi Minh City Engagement

doctor447 — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:10:48 +0000

Aidan: A couple of weeks back I had a Super Sunday in Saigon with Nha and Lee. Unless I’m still out, it’s not often I see the city at 6am on the weekend, but it’s well was worth the early rise! The markets are buzzing, badminton and other sports are in full swing and its still quite cool!

From Nha Tho Duc Ba we made our way down to Cho Lon temples and markets before heading back to District 1 for the afternoon.

Huge thank you’s to Steve and Josh at Vietnam Vespa Adventures and to Jap at the La Cafeteria de L’Usine for helping us out with the shoot.

Very much looking forward to Nha and Lee’s wedding at The Park Hyatt in a few weeks…