Engagement: Albert + Faye l Petaling Jaya l Malaysia

Hello there!

Today’s post is going to be a little different. Once a while, I get the chance to capture some romantic portraits for those love-birds out there. The typical go-to-the-park or romantic settings of a restaurant, etc.

I’ve been searching inside & outside for a new approach for engagement and wedding portraits, praying constantly for guidance from HIM. Finally! This couple was brought to me with an interesting & amazing idea. An underwater pre-wedding style portrait session! I mean… WOW! Alas this has got to do with an element which I am oh so familiar with for sooo many years!

Due to budget and time constraint, we decided to have this session done in a swimming pool. Preparation was done with a check-list, having in mind both technical and safety issues during the photo session. I had some friends over to help me during the session and it all went soooo well! I’m stoked!

Meet Albert and Faye from Hong Kong!

Lucky guy caught a mermaid!

 Initially, Faye was all jittery and nervous about holding her breath and being underwater. I took my time, re-assuring her that she’ll do very fine. Half and hour later, she forgot all her nervousness and all smiles throughout the day!

Dream Love

Sensous

It drizzled for the first hour but hey… we’re wet already anyway! Hahaha…

Fly with Me

Then the sun re-appeared! Below is a little different kind of feel.

Ivory

The wrap-up shot.

Embrace

We also had the typical garden session few days later. The sun was soooo yummy-licious!

I so love these happy faces!

Albert adores Faye like candy sweetness!

My ALL time Favorite!

Albert and Faye. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate your willingness to be infront of my lenses. You have become friends to me which I’ll treasure forever in my heart. Thank you! And YES we will discover Malaysia again when you next come visit!

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Sneak Peak: Albert + Faye l Petaling Jaya l Malaysia

Today I had the privilege to capture some wonderful images of this cute couple ala underwater style. Am soooo excited that the session went pretty well even though it rained almost throughout the morning. Here’s a sneak peak!

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Published on X-Ray Magazine – Issue #25:2008

Just want to share with you one of my achievement in my underwater photography. The photos I took from Pulau Weh were published on an international online magazine, X-Ray Online Dive Magazine, last year. These photos were also published by AirAsia in their inflight magazine for the month of August 2009. One of my Turtle Photo was also made as the cover page for Action Asia‘s special dive edition. I was stoked!

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Slideshow – Asther Lau Photography Portfolio: You Are Beautiful

My simple yet “done with much love” portfolio is finally completed! I’ve uploaded it onto my NEW WEBSITE under “GALLERY” but for those with very low internet bandwidth, you’ll find it a little frustrating to load the page. I can’t seem to be able to embed the slideshow in this wordpress blog, so click the photo-link below to get to the (faster loading) HTML page.

Portfolio

 

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Welcome!

Photo (c) Jenny Sun

 Welcome to my photography blog!

I am a Malaysian female photographer based in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor that loves any kind of photography listing from nature to skyscrapers, weddings & events, and especially portraitures for pregnant families, newborn babies, couples & families.

I am also an avid scuba diver which enables me to capture amazing underwater images from all around the world.

This blog follows both my professional life (as well as) some of my personal life, featuring “MOMENTS” from the maternity & newborn sessions, weddings & beautiful people I managed to capture with my lens, the places I travel and the friends and family members that mean so much to me.

It also contains random information source for my current and potential clients as I’ll (from time to time) provide some useful links of wedding tips & what-nots for your ”surfing” pleasures. I hope this blog will also be a source of inspiration and education for other photographers.

This site is a little more informal and I just want to give everyone a sense of who I am, and what I am all about.

Do feel absolutely free to leave comments or post questions. You can also contact me further at enquiry@astherlau.com for other booking enquiries.

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Underwater Portraiture: Environmental Portraits l Layang-Layang Island l Malaysia

I came upon this wonderful article from Digital Photography School Blog recently. I find it to be very well-written as well as educational not only for photographers but also to the general public. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“By ‘on location’ or ‘environmental’ portraits I mean portraits taken of people in a situation where they live in (work, rest or play) and/or a place that says something about who they are.” Read more…

In my work, I always aim to bring out the best of people while in their natural environment so that means I’m pretty much pro environmental portraits more than anything else. Heck… I’m such an outdoor person myself & I love nature for sure! So that explains a lot, rite? I’m not saying that studio portraits are artificial or limited, mind you. Hey… there are people who are naturals in studio too!

I hope this article will be as educational to you as much as it was for me. Share with us what you think… Environmental or Studio portraits? Looking forward to hear from you!

In the mean time, here are a few underwater portraits I took of a few new friends we made during our honeymoon in Layang-Layang this year.

Mr & Mrs Philippe Monnet

Laura Manuel

Reg Bateup

Wayne & Carla. They just got engaged! Congrates you two!!!

James Beattie

Amanda La Broy – Our giggly divemaster

Joni – our faithful boat captain

One of our group photo

I have more photos but I’m falling asleep as I’m completing this blog. So, check out my Flickr album for more later. Good nite all!

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Travel: Pulau Weh Underwater (Day 1) l Banda Aceh l Indonesia

Upon arriving at Sabang Gapang Beach in one piece albeit a little pissed off with the logistic screw-ups, we decided to grab whatever sunlight remaining for the day to do a shore dive.

Although the house reef was just right infront of the dive center, we had to walk carefully into the sea because of the low tide level which exposed us to a lot of rocks & corals and other unseen dangers such as a stonefish!

Upon descending, I was kinda disappointed with the bad visibility. Heck… wat was I expecting during a low tide?

Right… here are some photos taken from our check-out dive at the house reef infront of Lumba-Lumba Diving Resort.

The first thing that caught my eyes were the healthy corals at the house reef. Lucky thing the tsunami didn’t destroy everything.

We came upon a green turtle resting in a small crevice on a big boulder. I think it was getting ready to sleep.

This bright yellow feather-star looked like it’s glowing in the darkening surrounding.

The divemaster brought us to this artificial reef ball made of metal where he believed a ghost pipefish is currently staying.

And walah! Here’s the little critter. It’s a male from the look of it. It was well protected, hiding among the rubbles of rocks and what-nots.

I was also very impressed with the swarms of razorfishes in this shore dive. Each fish is huge in size compared to the many I’ve seen from other places. Amazing display of a healthy school here.

The house reef also plays an important role as a breeding & growing ground for this beautiful school of snappers.

I emerged from the water feeling a lot more better and boy… was I starting to get really hungry! More photos in my Flickr Album. Will blog more about Bandar Aceh & Pulau Weh later with more photos, so stay tuned.

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Mandarin Fish (Synchiropus splendidus)

Just found this article on National Geographic Website recently.

Tiny Mandarin Fish Reveal Surprisingly Complex Spawning Ritual

“Mandarin fish are one of the tiniest species among ocean spawners, which reproduce by depositing thousands of eggs into the water. Wide-ranging species such as tuna, whitefish, and sardines all belong to the same group, but are much harder to track and study than the tiny mandarin fish, which are only one to two inches (20 to 55 millimeters) long and live close to shore in the shallow waters of coral reefs. More…“

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Travel: Lembeh Straits l Manado l Indonesia

Sorry for the long silence. There are just too many things in my life that need sorting out. Just got back from a diving trip in Lembeh Island, Manado.

Resort was nice (lots nicer than the previous one we stayed at) with a very cosy set-up (altho we did miss the familiar warm hospitality & endless cooling breeze from the previous one). Diving was surprisingly a bit towards the disappointing end cos visibility was really bad & water temperature seemed a lot lower too.

And we realised a depletion of marine lives, especially the common critters such as solefish, nudibranchs & helmut gurnards which used to be so much of a common sight that we got really sick & tired of them on the last trip. Not sure if it was due to the visibility or because of other elements.

 All in all I’d say it’s another wonderful trip. Good food, great company & nothing beats being underwater, breathing compressed air again!

Meanwhile, here are some photos I took from there.

Notice the new logo? *wink* What d’ya think? For more photos (the rhinophias, hair frogfish, etc.) go to my flickr in a couple of days’ time. I’ll try to upload them as soon as I settle-down at home.  That’s all for now.

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I’m Thankful

Just caught in the moment… suddenly I’m having this overwhelming feeling of being thankful. For everything in my life…

• A dotting father (God bless his soul) who’s loved & given so so much to keep his family well provided. He taught me about life & how to survive in this world full of challenges.
• A strong-willed mother who’s sacrificed so much & even fought death itself to be with us, ensuring that Tim & I will not grow up without a mother’s love.
• A loving husband who constantly keeps me feeling safe & contented. Yup… I’ve been waiting for him throughout my whole life & God brought him to me finally!
• An only brother who constantly puts my patience on trial but at the same time gave me the chance to learn how to be a better sister. I’ll love him unconditionally, no matter what happened.
• A wonderful father & mother in-laws whom so far I’ve managed to get along pretty good.
• All the opportunities I’ve gotten to learn & gain priceless knowledge & experiences. It feels good to be acknowledged as a capable person in the society.

Well… many more that I’m thankful of… just that my eyes are finding it hard to stay open at the moment. Heck… it’s nearly 3 a.m.! One more thing I’m thankful of… the chance to see this rare & wonderful creature called the Thorny Tiger Shrimp from Bali. Thanx to Nyoman, a divemaster at Scuba Seraya Resort in Tulamben for showing me this rare finding.

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