New Portfolio cards

I have compiled some of my work that I have done in the past year in a card layout.

The diverse style ranging from portraits to events and property.

New home for NCS88J

Today marks the end of almost 6 beautiful years of owning my gorgeous Audi A4 Convertible. The black beauty which I like to called it has been a wonderful car to drive, always realiable and joy to own.

It has maintained its great condition and has now found a new home to a nice family who I know will continue to look after and enjoy the great car. I'm gonna miss you NCS88J.

End of a chapter

Life can be like a book full of chapters of the experiences and journey that we have embark on.

This weekend marks the end of another chapter in my life...of living in Australia for the last ten years. I first stepped foot in Canberra in 1998 working on some projects for the government and in 1999 until 2000 I was seconded there. During those time I developed my interest in darkroom development and printing of photographs. I also started shooting black & while portrait using the first Bowen studio flash that I purchased.

In late 2000 I went to worked at the Sydney 2000 Olympics where I had to stopped doing studio shoots for a while. In January 2001 I was offered a permanent job in Sydney where I have stayed until now.

It has been a fantastic journey for me living in Sydney, the many friends I have made and many deep friendship that I will treasure for a very long time. I will never forget you.

Here are some photos of my home taken last month a week before I started selling some of my furniture and packing the stuff to ship back to Singapore. There have been many happy parties held over the years from regular dinner parties to celebrating Christmas, New Year, birthday, world cup to even a party to celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic.

I must say the special area that I loved most was my favorite couch facing my plasma TV where there had been many dvd nights that I had with friends. Of course there were also many special moment that has occurred on the couch that I will certainly remember very fondly of.

Thanks for the memories.

Quote by Paula Rego

Every change is a form of liberation. My mother used to say a change is always good even if it's for the worse.

- Paula Rego

Relocation

If any of you who has moved house before then you certainly can understand what I am going through to organise and plan the whole thing.

The past year I have contemplated relocating back to Singapore to spend more time with my family and my dad who isn't well. I was brought up with a very loving and caring family; and being away from them and not living in the same country can make it quite difficult.

I have spent almost ten years living in Australia first in Canberra and then Sydney. During those time I have worked in two jobs and have made many wonderful and thoughtful friends who have filled my life with fun and laughter. That has made my stay in Sydney memorable and the friendship I certainly will treasure for a very long time.

Planning and coordinating a move, selling personal belongings, packing and shipping of stuff can be quite daunting. The past weeks I have finally have enough courage to make all this happen.

To begin the process, I had to identify every items in my house that I like to get rid of and those that I like to ship back to Singapore. Quite a few items especially large furniture I was tossing between whether to sell them or ship them. Some I finally decided to keep due to its excellent quality and the money that has gone into it. Otherwise if I sell them, it will not fetch much value. For that reason it is better to keep them.

I have also created a website with the items that I wished to sell. Over the last few days I have been slowly taking pictures and cataloging them which was very time consuming. The buyers I will be targeting are friends and other online auction websites like ebay.

Wish me luck in clearing all the items on time as I have only three weeks to do so before I have to vacate my place.

Stan

Goodbye Michael

1958 - 2009

The world today mourn the death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop of 1980s-1990s.

I remember back in the 1990s I was a big fan of Michael. Together with thousands of fans, we have gathered at the National Stadium in Singapore to watch him perform. It was at the height of the MJ fever. Then suddenly through the P.A. an announcement was made that Michael was ill and wouldn't be able to perform. I was so close to watching one of the greatest performer performed but with sadness I will never ever again.

There will never be another Michael. The King of Pop legend leaves on in his music.

Michael, R.I.P.

Photo of the day

Drive to Tidbinbilla

I have spent the past two weeks visiting a beautiful national park south of Canberra called the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. I was there to implement a new tourist systems for their visitor centre.

The word 'Tidbinbilla' is Aboriginal in origin and is derived from the word Jedbinbilla – a place where boys become men.

I drove from Sydney to Canberra which is about 300km south. There it will be another 40km drive through through stunning valleys and mountains.

Close by the park is the Canberra Deep Space communication complex where I go to have my lunch. The complex is operated by NASA that listens to signals from outer space. The giant dish is a sight to behold.


Wikipedia on Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve - read
Canberra Deep Space communication complex - read

Visual Art Photography

Creating a piece of visual art is something really challenging and fulfilling. Instead of shooting the conventional images that we see everyday, I try to seek out perspective that is unique, different and at times visually stunning.

Some of you may notice the familiarity of these images as they are used in my photography website - www.dragonshutter.com

Quote by Petar Kürschner

Photography is the air I breath, the water I drink, the fire I step through, the rock I'm standing on. ~ Petar Kürschner

Streets of Bangkok

Bangkok city is a kaleidoscope of amazing sights. From very posh modern malls to traditional shops and street side hawkers. The sight is always changing and walking down the streets you can experience the Thai cultures from temples to amazing food. Thailand is a land of smile and I can say it is one of my favourite country to visit. People are friendly and always smiling.

There are over 8 million people living in Bangkok and indeed very crowded everywhere you walk. Add to that, the traffic isn't better and if you are caught in a traffic jam it can be unpleasant. I find the best way to see Bangkok is to use it's BTS skytrain which is clean and runs on time.


In the last photo above, it is one of the best thai food I ever had. It was at a hawker stall at a side street at the popular Silom street. It was a muslim dish with yellow coloured rich and chicken curry. The spicy soup is a clear version of the famous Tom Yum soup. The food was delicious and cheap.

Streets of Paris

Paris is considered by many as the most beautiful and romantic city in the world. The beauty in Paris is walking down its streets enjoying the magnificent architecture, a city oozing with art and rich culture. A city where you can enjoy a wonderful afternoon in a cafe sipping coffee and watching people walk by while music can be heard playing in the streets.

As Ella Fitzgerald sings the song "I Love Paris", in spring time, in fall, in winter and in summer, it's a timeless song that when you listen takes you back to that romantic city.

Quote by Ansel Adams

Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs.
~Ansel Adams

Children Birthday Party

I have attended many kid's birthday parties. Birthday parties are usually where close friends of the family are invited and you would see a handful of little toddlers and children running around. There are of course the exceptional large birthday parties where almost every kids in the block are invited. It's like as if whole school football team has been invited.

One such birthday party was held at a park at Lane Cove. The birthday girl, Isabelle was was celebrating her 4th birthday. I was invited to shoot her birthday party. It was a well organised party where there were abundant food and games to keep the parents and kids occupied. Shooting a kid's party requires bit of stamina and fast reflexes as the kids could be running everywhere. Trying to snap children in motion can be quite challenging.

Read blogs on other photoshoot, family shoot

Bride photoshoot

I recently did a few hours of photoshoot for a bride-to-be at her amazing waterfront house in Sydney. It was a Hen's party where she invited all her girlfriends to celebrate her last remaining days as a single woman before the wedding day.

The shoot was quite fun as all the girls were dressed up. I was told they wanted to shoot 'Vogue' style and later to create the photos as Vogue magazine covers.

The shoot started at the jetty which is located at the front of the house just a few metres away. It has an amazing water view. Nina the bride-to-be was fun to shoot giving me lots of different poses. The main picture here is my favourite showing grace and elegant.

Next location for the shoot was the swimming pool upstairs above the house. The last location was indoor where we did formal shoot with studio lighting.

Portrait Photo Shoot

As a portrait photographer in Sydney, I get the opportunity to shoot many different portrait shoots from family shoot to couple shoot and of course individual portrait shoot.

Here are a selection of some of my favourite portrait shoot. The photos have been photoshop and retouched. When I photoshop an image, I would usually perform a contrast correction, polarize and bring out the colour. Retouching work can sometimes be time consuming especially when I have to remove blemishes, wrinkles and spots. One diffcult task is to perform a 'skin tuck'. Finally I perform skin softening and give the skin a glow.

Australia's First Lighthouse

The Macquarie Lighthouse is Australia's First Lighthouse is located close to pictureque Watsons Bay.

It began operating on 30th November 1818. The original lighthouse built on this site was designed by Francis Greenway by order of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. This memorial was erected to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the establishment of the light.


Wikipedia - Macquarie Lighthouse


View Larger Map
Street view - click and drag on the picture above.


View Larger Map

Sydney City Skyline

Here are some panoromic photographs of the Sydney City Skyline. They were taken for a client of mine who are in the property business. The panoramic photograph is shot in a series of images which are then stitched together and colour and contrast corrected.

The photos are later used to merge as background pictures into yet undeveloped showroom apartments for marketing purpose. I will blog those photos in future blogs.

These photos and other photos in my blog will be available at a later stage as stock images.

Male Model Shoot

On my recent trip to Singapore, I shot a male model portfolio. We wanted to choose a location that is rugged and likely some ruin or dilapidated buildings. Having searched the internet and read up on forums, I decided on a very old large house known as Istana Woodneuk also known as Tyersall House.

It was built in the 1854 by William Napier and subsequently taken over by the Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor who had the house re-built in 1892. The house has since been abundanted and a fire that broke out in 2006 destroyed the roof. Having seen the many photos of the Istana on the internet with its stunning architecture I decided to use it as a location shoot.

I know it is going to be quite difficult to find the place as it is located deep in private estate with large overgrown trees and forest. The model and I had to climb over some barriers, walked through a long dirt road surrounded what looks like jungle to me. Before long we came over an old interesting house. Initially I thought it is the house I was looking for but it wasn't. Looking around it, I see freshly laid dirt road with construction equipments. I realised we are on construction ground and the Istana I was looking for was no way in sight.

We decided to do the shoot at the house for the time being. Before long we started to see trucks after trucks passing us and kicking up dirt and smoke. It was quite a challenge to shoot with all the dust flying everywhere. We had a good an hour's shoot before a construction worker walked to me and told us to leave because we were on private property. I had a chat with him and managed to convinced him to let us shoot for just a little while. He told me the Istana house is up at the hill.

I do hope the house will still be around the next time I am in Singapore as I would love to do a shoot there. After the Istana ground we moved on to the old Army office blocks at Tanglin to finished the shoot.

Photos of Istana Woodneuk by Daniel Cheong

See all blogs on - model shoots

National Park Trekking

The state of New South Wales has many national parks that are popular with bush walkers. One bush walk which I did was the toughest I have ever embarked on. It has many different terrains, wet and dry; and hills to climb and descent. A friend suggested we do the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park bush walk which is North of Sydney. He said the hiking should just takes about 2-3 hours. We agreed to go with the plan as he was usually right from past experience. He was way off the mark.

There were five of us including his little boy Vincent who is 4 years old. The day started with us convening at his house and travelling in one car to Cowan train station. The weather on the weekend of October morning last year didn't look good. It was a little chilly and the sky looked overcast. We crossed the railway tracks into the bushland to begin our walk which started with us descending down the hill which is littered with large rocks. By this time it has started to drizzle and poured briefly. It certainly wasn't a very optimistic start to our walk. Half way done the hill with creeks and water flowing, and having to climb over large stones I think we did briefly looked at each other's face and wondered if we should continue with the hike. I guess we pushed ahead as we have been talking about the hike for sometime now and we just wanted to do it.

The trek took us through some significant vegetation change passing through bush to rainforest vegetation. After about 2 hrs hike and walking along side the river we arrived at the Jerusalem Bay at the bottom of the hill. It was quite rewarding as the view of the bay is amazing with palm trees and a few leisure boats anchored by the side. The water was calm and it was a good time for us to take a break.

After a short break, we began with a very steep climb up the hill. I think there were about 2-3 big hills that we had to climb. At the peak of one of the hill, the view across the plain was spectacular with rich green vegetation and hills. Along the way, we saw numerous water views and diversity of fauna. We also cross a small little dam which marked the beginning of our final descent. At the last hill, we could see from the distance the Brooklyn bridge which was picturesque. By that time we were exhausted and we started to break out into groups.

Vincent has been amazing so far and hasn't really complained about tiredness. Only towards the end of the hike did his dad has to briefly piggy-back him. Vincent reminded me of the Energizer battery ad that you see on TV. That cute tiny bunny that keeps running and running without stopping. Vincent is just unbelievable.

Towards the last kilometre, there was a big down pour of rain and I had to take shelter under a tree which barely protected me from the rain. By that time I have been disengaged from the group and was soaking wet. I did for a moment felt trapped and wondered how long the rain is going to go for. Thankfully it was brief.

By the time we descended down the last hill to Brooklyn station and see 'life', it had been over 6 hours since we started the trek. The sun was setting and we were exhausted, dehydrated and starving. We were glad the trek was finally over. We found a nice seafood restaurant, ate and drink to our heart's content.

It had been an amazing day. It's the story of this little boy Vincent, who regardless of his age shows us his determination and strength to go through the long trek and complete it. What a champion.

Bushwalking website - Cowan to Brooklyn Station
History of the Great North Walk - wikipedia

View Larger Map