TWO pieces of news today..

First, some of you may know that I was born and grew up in Malaysia. Being the only one in my family to live here in the US is difficult sometimes, because I miss out on family connections. I only see my mom, dad, brothers and all my aunts and uncles once a year. In the last year, I missed my brother’s wedding, and am missing Chinese New Year celebrations right now. So as you can imagine, I’m feeling a little homesick. So as of right this very moment, I am announcing that I will be going to Malaysia in December this year – December 2010. sshhh..my husband doesn’t know about this yet.. =p

Second, while I’m back there, I’d love to be be able to fit in one or two wedding photography assignments. Why? Because I LOVE Asian weddings. Having grown up in Malaysian, and knowing the culture, I know how much FUN a wedding in a cultural wedding can be. As someone with Chinese descendant, I value and appreciate the strong emphasis on family, culture, religion and our ancestors. I value all the little rituals, practices, prayers and ceremonies and it would be a privilege for me to have the opportunity to capture these moments during my short visit to Asia this December.

SO, if anyone reading this is planning a wedding or has a friend who’s having their wedding anywhere in Malaysia or South East Asia, and are looking for a wedding photographer, please give me a call! I would love to shoot your wedding! I want to shoot it so much, that I’m willing to offer my photography services at a deep discount. Contact me for more info!!

*hugs*
Wen

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I’m excited about Valentine’s this year, and its unlike me to be excited over a holiday. Except, this year we will be spending the weekend in Lake Geneva, IL, which is where Paul and I spent the weekend after he proposed to me back in May 2007. He surprised me with a *very* makeshift candlelight dinner, which secretly he set up in my backyard before I came home from work. After he proposed (and of course, I said yes), I just HAD to take pictures of the ring and the table. Yeah, how unromantic, right? I know, I know. I just can’t get away from my habit – had to capture everything in an image.

So off we go, back to Lake Geneva this weekend. It will be nice to reconnect with my best friend again. Being married has its disadvantages – you forget to appreciate each other because you’re now permanently part of each others lives. And like everything else, the grass looks less green when its in your backyard!

And here’s a little something for cupid day – Paul and I had a dumb argument, and didn’t talk for 2 days. He came home with this on the 3rd day and apologized. Not that he was in the wrong in the first place. That’s it — he IS the bigger person in this relationship! So lesson to self this week – life is too short to sweat the small stuff and appreciate what you have, and learn to apologize. *hugs*

Contact me (wen@wenphotos.com / 312.436.2221) | View My Portfolio

Well, the early months of the year tend to be vacation time for wedding photographers in the midwest, because few people get married in the bitterly cold winters here, and equally few people want to take on my suggestion to do winter engagement sessions =).

So it gives me a whole lot of time to do things I HAVE to do, but don’t WANT to do – taxes, accounting, paperwork, boohoo. I was buried in WI and IL taxes paperwork..and I can’t get out! Anyway, thought I’d distract myself by posting some recent images of our love in life – our pets and babies (no, not my babies!). Here’s what’s been happening:

Kiwi is sick. She has what looks and sounds like human cold – her meows have a lower pitch – nasal meows..that makes sense? She’s sneezing and coughing, and has HEAVY snot. Its really strange seeing this happen to a cat! Her sneezes are soo soo cute *pppppzzzht!pphhhhszzzzsst!* and since she doesn’t have hands to hold a kleenex to wipe off her snot, she sometimes end up with snot all over her face. Like this one:

Occasionally, friends will ask me to take photos of their pets, or kids, and I LOVE requests like these. Just no pressure, fun, casual, and easy excuse for me to pull out my camera for some practice. Here is Ranger. He’s about twice my weight, and stands taller than me when on his hind legs. He’s VERY strong, VERY active, and can be intimidating (his nose is the size of my fist!) but he’s just one big baby =)

Oh, since this is about love and life, here’s Paul, my <3 =) Taken while we were having lunch on a boat in Cambodia last year. =)

Now back to QuickBooks… =(

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ok..ok.. maybe they are not famous YET..they will be if they keep on being so cute!! Introducing Navya and Nayan to the world! These two cute chickadees are fraternal twins, but I’ll be surprised if you can tell them apart! I have actually never photographed newborns before, but after this shoot, I think I might do it more often! It takes alot of patience and time to photograph babies — I never know if they’re going to cooperate, or choose be awake and crying when their “regular baby schedule” says that they’re supposed to be asleep. I have to be very gentle with them, and provide a warm, comfortable environment for them as they “model” for me =) Most importantly, and also something I am most grateful for, is the trust that their mother have on me, allowing me to be close them, carry and position them, and photograph them. When I’m engrossed on the job, its sometimes easy to forget that my subjects are tiny, fragile little human beings, and I must be careful around them (e.g., I reminded myself to carry my camera around my neck and hold tight when photographing over the babies!)

Post processing newborn photos are SUPER fulfilling. Nothing is better than staring are their cute faces all day! I caught myself unconsciously smiling at the screen several times while editing =) It is extremely satisfying to be able to take these already beautiful baby photos and turn them into gorgeous, perfect, work of art! Enjoy!

Wen – Contact me (wen@wenphotos.com / 312.436.2221)

Raj and Preeti are one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met..so I was very honored to be able to take photos at their baby shower extravaganza. This is baby shower indian style =)..and actually, I like this version better than the typical baby shower, which is normally about showering baby and mom with gifts. This shower, on the other hand, seemed more about connecting with friends and families, prayers and giving our blessings to the mom-to-be, which makes perfect sense!

I took a number of group photos that day, and if you’re looking for your specific photo, you can find it in the full gallery (caution, there are 250 images in the gallery!): http://clients.wenphotos.com/gallery/9242298_49bdd

Wen – Contact me (wen@wenphotos.com / 312.436.2221)