claudiahungweddings | blog

My blog is moving!

2009-03-07T01:38:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! Got some cool news: I've got a new blog address! Yah it's http://claudiahungweddings.com/blog
Not only is it a new address but it's newly designed and ready to showcase a series of images I'll be shooting in Japan next week, including an engagement session :D It's also in preparation for a full and exciting year of weddings and other projects lined up for 2009.
So go ahead and please update your bookmarks and links. Now you'll be able to see really clean, large images and experience more dynamic and fluid navigation! I figured if I spend thousands of

Thanks for dropping by and see you on the other side.

Ellen's wedding photos

2009-03-04T21:36:00.004-05:00

It's been quite a while since I've said, "Whoa" when looking at wedding photos but today I certainly did say it when I was looking at Ellen Degeneres' wedding images! The photographer was Lara Porzak whose website portfolio doesn't really represent the images I saw from Ellen's wedding but what the heck, her work is still really awesome.

Such nice soft, even lighting :) Check the images out:

Oh and also wanted to note how fantastically simple yet elegant their wedding was. Ah, inspiration for my own... hm, maybe I should get on that... :S

ch

mum, dad and growing up

2009-03-01T23:17:00.003-05:00

It seems like this year is going to a big one for my family. Both my brother and I will be married and my parents will also be new grandparents :) However nothing made me realize how much has changed, or rather, how much time is passing by as when I was touching up a bunch of photos for a book today and landed on my parents' portrait.
There's something about being able to zoom into a 12mp image and see every detail, blemish, pore, and wrinkle on someone's face and realize how much a person's face changes as they age. A lot of it is subtle as I can see the same smiles and same expressions in their faces as I did when I was a mere infant. It's the way the texture of their skin has changed, the lines that have appeared from well, laughing a lot these past years, and the way the shape of their faces are different. In all ways they are simply just... older. I have yet to wrap my mind around the idea that I'm in the stage of life that I'm in and my parents are in the stage of life that they're in. Getting married, having kids, your parents retiring -- all of those things seem like such far away events that would never happen but yet here I am in the very middle of it.

It's weird, good and bittersweet all at the same time.

I guess being in the profession that I'm in does this to you once in a while. It really hits you that life is made up of a bunch of fleeting moments. If you're lucky, you'll have some of those moments captured in a collection of photographs so that you can remember them forever.

ch

trevor + julie, proposal

2009-03-01T00:34:00.003-05:00

Trevor had such an elaborate plan for his proposal to Julie and he let me in on it from the beginning! It involved an art gallery, a painting he did himself of the sky and a diamond ring in the middle disguised as a star. The artist info had Julie's name on it, along with the words, "Will you marry me?" Julie was totally blown away and in shock :) What a great success! After the emotional moment (which I photographed and kind of stunned Julie cuz she didn't know I'd be there haha) we hopped outside to do a really quick post-proposal shoot for literally 10 minutes or less because it was so windy outside!

ch

Big car accident on Wednesday

2009-02-27T09:01:00.002-05:00

On the scene of the accident at Kennedy and Denison around 11am

I went to eat dim sum with my friend Audrey on Wednesday and it was actually at the corner of Kennedy and Denison. The intersection was blocked so we had to take a detour in order to get into the plaza where our restaurant was. I didn't realize that it was such a huge accident and Wilson was actually on scene with his crew helping to remove a guy from his car. It was pretty serious. Check out the images taken by the chief:

Car swerved on the road and then wrapped around a tree. Wife got out easily. Husband's hand and leg were trapped. His head was sliced open, brain exposed...

The chopper arrives and everyone helps lift him out of the car after they take it apart, section by section (there's Wilson holding the IV bag hehe)

Looks like a convertible now.

oooo, jose in singapore

2009-02-27T08:34:00.005-05:00

Did I post about Jose before? I swear I did when he revamped his site but I can't find it and maybe I just did it in my head or in a dream haha

Jose Villa is one of my favourite photographers. He still shoot in film -- crazy man. I have a folder on my hard drive of just his images so I can look at em and be inspired. He just posted a wedding from Singapore and it looks so phenomenal. I don't get how all of his images look like he shot on an overcast day each time. The lighting is so even. I know he pushes his film a stop so that it get it slightly overexposed but I don't think that's what it is... he's just a genius. Let's leave it at that.

Wonder what kind of images I'm going to pump out when I go on my trip in a week...

This is how we roll

2009-02-23T15:55:00.002-05:00

Yah, we do this at weddings too when no one's looking.

Wilson's Fire

2009-02-18T18:47:00.009-05:00

Wah! Check out the crazy fire Wilson and his crew put out on Monday morning (obviously whoever took the photo needs to update their time/date settings)!! They got the call at 2am and fought it until the morning crew came to relieve them (7am or so). What's crazier is that house is literally a 10 second drive from the Walnut. Down the street and around the corner. Wilson was telling me how incredibly frustrating to fight a fire when it's freezing because you start to sweat while you work but when you stop you get really cold and feel gross from your damp/wet clothing. The floor was also icing up so it was hard for him to get good footing sometimes.
We went back to the house later that morning and man, it is done. It's so sad to see how fragile our houses actually are and that they can be destroyed in a blink of an eye it seems. The family got out safely which is what's most important.
p.s. doesn't the photo look like the house smiling?!?! haha creepy.
--

Glendon & Chris from Impulse

I had a super time at Solar Crash on Sunday at the El Mocambo. What's great is that I bumped into the dynamic photo duo, Chris and Glendon who are assistants for Syl from Impulse Photo. I always joke with them that Syl scooped them up as assistants before I could and now I can only use them when they're gracious enough to lend me some of their time :P The boys helped me set up the Photobooth Portraits and we were rockin' out images from the night! There were great artists there that night and an awesome time of networking and meeting new like-minded people. I was a part of a series that documented people's response to a simple question:

My approach was to capture personality, quirkiness and fleeting moments that show people's characters (as usual with all my portraits) but also to try and convey my own answer to the question of "What must love be?". At its simplest, I see love in people. In their diversity, in their randomness and spontaneity, in their interactions with others. It sounds corny but I really can see the humanity in everyone when you strip everything away. That's why I love doing the portraits on white! It's just me and a person. They can't hide anywhere ;) Everyone has insecurities, fears, ambitions, gifts, beliefs, cares, desires to be loved and to love. Here's what I came up with:

Only thing I ever could need,
Only one good thing worth trying to be and it's love.
Only gonna get what you give away, so give love.

--
Smile! It's a short week :)

ch

Happy Family Day!

2009-02-16T15:14:00.002-05:00

Hope you guys can all spend some quality time with loved ones today. Hopefully it's a reminder that our careers, goals, money, and achievements do not define what life is but rather it's relationships, moments and memories that do.

Have an amazing week!

ch

Ah... the new line of books.

2009-02-13T17:51:00.011-05:00

In short:

Sleek and contemporary coffee table photobook. Showcases photos so nicely.
Great craftsmanship and such attention to detail -- aka high quality book that I feel comfortable offering to my clients.
Cover and slipcase stamping
115lb matte paper
Handmade end sheets, buttery vellum sheets
IRISbook made it really easy and straight forward to create and ultimately make the book
Quick and friendly service, fast turn around so I can get these books to clients faster! Plus they're made right here in Canada (Toronto actually).

Yah.

ch

Me and my pops

2009-02-15T08:52:00.005-05:00

Setting up the Photobooth at a Chinese restaurant wasn't easy but I pulled it off none the less. Good food and good times! Above is a photo of my dad and I. I seldom stand in front of a camera but now I can make it into my brother and Anna's photobook! hehe

Off to church. Lunch. Shoot some product. Off to Love Comes Down.

Have an awesome Sunday!

ch

Women's College Hospital

2009-02-13T20:27:00.001-05:00

I went to Women's College Hospital today for a shoot. I photographed an art therapist there and she was really cool and easy to talk to. I was thinking a lot today about how it is that I should go about getting the most comfortable and natural looking photos of people who I've known for about 2 minutes. I think it has a lot to do with reading body language quickly, looking your subject in the eyes and sincerely taking an interest in who they are and not just for the sake of "getting to know them" for the photo. It's about picking up on their little gestures, quirks and their limits when in front of the camera. All of this... in about 2-5 minutes (for my Wedding Photobooth Portraits it's about 10 seconds).

What still amazes me about my job is the power that a camera has not in terms of how it can freeze time but rather how it gives me this strange permission to do all sorts of stuff that is typically not socially acceptable when it comes to interacting with a stranger. Walk into their office and move stuff around, tell them where and how to stand, tell them what to do (or not do), invade their personal space-- wait, that one sounds bad! haha What I mean by that is to be able to get quite close to a stranger and not have it be creepy. All because I have a camera in my hand. It's all about trust.

I found this video from Bil Zelman and when I watched it and listened to his philosophy behind photography and people I was so amazed at the words I was hearing. He basically puts into words what I could never say but certainly believe in and share. Have a look at the two and a half minute video:

Jersey Boys

2009-02-12T16:19:00.003-05:00

I photographed Jade Elliot's wedding last November and man, what a fun wedding. Since he and his wife are both actors most of their wedding party were all actors too. If you've ever hung out with actors before you'll know that they're mostly extroverted, highly energetic, loud, talkative and approachable people. It was really really fun seeing Jade perform in Jersey Boys last night! I surprised Wilson with tickets (even though he eventually figured it out. I'm not so suave when it comes to planning surprises and coming up with decoys...) and it was such a blast. It also makes all the difference when you know someone on stage -- it really does!
The singing was just amazing and we also had pretty sweet seats... four rows from the stage and pretty much in the middle. Just out of spitting range ;) hehe
I'd totally recommend it!

ch

Lifestyle: CJ

2009-02-10T11:04:00.004-05:00

I spent yesterday afternoon photographing some lifestyle shots for CJ. CJ is um, almost everyone I know's hair stylist. My whole family goes to him, along with one of my best friends and subsequently a handful of her friends goes to him now too including my assistant's ex-girlfriend and my brother's ex-girlfriend haha A lot of 2009 brides are using him too! Ah, the connections of this world... He's really awesome because first, he's great at what he does and second, he doesn't just cut your hair. He makes sure that you're doing things for the right reason and makes suggestions along the way. Consultation and education. Very important thing when I meet with my own clients!
We started off photographing his two loveable doggies and then moved outdoors -- how awesome was the weather yesterday? Couldn't have asked for anything warmer in February :)

Church Re-Branding

2009-02-08T20:48:00.006-05:00

I was commissioned to photograph First Christian Reformed Church of Toronto today. The church is going under some rebranding so I'm really happy to be able to be a part of that. I'm a huge believer in creating and maintaining a brand that is reflective of each church's character and also making sure that it's updated and effective. After all, if your church logos, website, bulletin, pamphlets, welcome packages etc. aren't communicating effectively then it's just all wasted space (and resources). It's no different than how any major commercial company goes about branding these days (aside from the million dollar bugets they have). Churches have to realize and embrace a generation of people who actually pay attention to and care about visuals and aesthetics.

Each of us sees more ads alone in one year than people of 50 years ago saw in an entire lifetime. -- DMNews magazine

My tire blew up

2009-02-07T23:11:00.004-05:00

My plans were foiled today as I got a flat tire just as I was getting onto the highway. At first I thought maybe my car was shaking a bit from that chunk of snow that builds up between the tire and mud guard but then I thought, "It's too warm today for snow on my car!!" so I decided to exit the highway at the first opportunity I could. Not long after I exited, my car was vibrating like crazy at this point, I tried to find a safe place to park and found a school at the corner of Eglington Ave W and Martin Grove. As I was just about to turn into the school I heard a POP.
"Uh oh... that can't be good."
It even scared the two doggies in the back.

Sure enough I had a flat. Once we got it off and looked at the inside wall we realized it wasn't just flat, it was destroyed!

The whole inner wall of the tire was totally gone -- sliced out most likely from the friction. So we popped on my mini-spare tire and I was on my way ... well, sort of. Obviously I can't drive full speed with the spare tire so it basically took me 2 hours to drive from west Etobicoke to east Markham taking local roads. By that time, it was 6pm so I fed the dogs quickly and was on my way to Wilson's sister's house where I promised them I'd dropped off a cheesecake. I quickly did that, then made my way back to Toronto for a family dinner, again taking local roads and driving no faster than 60km/h.

Augh, how annoying. Well I shouldn't complain because I still have a functioning vehicle. Some people don't even own one so who am I to complain?
I've got a shoot tomorrow and Monday as well... hmmm, I wonder if I'll have to drive Wilson's car? Good time to brush up on my manual driving... ahh!!

ch

So hot yoga is pretty hot...

2009-02-05T16:45:00.003-05:00

I was assigned by Fashion to photograph Tula Yoga studio on Bloor West. It's a beautiful space and the people there are super friendly. I arrived as a class was ending and I felt so unhealthy next to the guy who was drinking a banana-spirulina shake which was such a deep green colour... yummy. I went home and promptly made a Greens+ drink myself and felt a bit better :)

So I didn't realize that the room they really wanted photos of was the hot yoga room... er. For those who've never done yoga before, it's a killer. I mean, for me it's soooo boring but when I actually do it once in a blue moon I can tell you that it's tough! I can't imagine doing it in 35C tempretures... well I can now because I had to photograph them doing it! I'm glad I actually wore a t-shirt underneath my hoodie because sometimes I just wear the hoodie and if that were the case today it would have been soooo gross wearing that while shooting.

Check out the studio if you're a West Toronto person.

Yummy book.

2009-02-04T14:03:00.003-05:00

alvin + anna, slideshow

2009-02-03T00:22:00.005-05:00

Me, breaking down on the job.

I assure my potential clients out there that this is a rare and exceptional case as it was my brother's wedding and he said some nice things to me so I think I deserved a break down while on the job hehehe :)

Well what can I say? My big brother is married and I couldn't be happier for him and his wife Anna. What a wonderful reminder (and honour) it is to be able to photograph a family member or friend's wedding. It really puts me in the "first person" seat and reminds me that at every wedding I'm commissioned to photograph, these are the very same and very real myriad of emotions that people go through.
Friends, family, relationships, moments, emotions, love... life.
I think I've said this a million times before but I don't enjoy photographing all the "wedding" stuff on the wedding day. At its simplest: I like taking pictures of people, their stories and their lives unfolding before me. It's such an amazing thing to be apart of and also document.

Check out the slideshow below for images from the day:

--
So I've been working out ~~regularly~~ more frequently since the new year and I think it's really paying off when I work. Running, weights, CrossFit. One might wonder: What the heck does photographing a wedding and working out have to do with each other? Actually, if your photographer is doing their job and working hard it has everything to do with each other! First off, most people don't realize that the photographer is the one person that stays with the bride and groom from the very start to the very end of the day. 16 hour days is pretty typical for me. These are no ordinary 16 hours though. They challenge you mentally, emotionally and physically. Creative problem solving, people skills, managing huge crowds, keeping your clients to their itinerary, engaging yourself emotionally to what's unfolding, carrying studio gear, setting up studio gear, tearing down studio gear, lugging camera equipment, running frantically... are all quite typical. Oh and don't forget that in between all of this I actually have to take a few photos here and there ;)
Throughout Saturday I felt quite good and full of energy til the end (maybe getting that massage on Friday helped too. My masseuse killeddddddddd the nest of knots in my right shoulder area. No pain, no gain). Anyhow, I'm really thankful that I have Wilson to keep me accountable. I see how dedicated he is to his physical conditioning for his job (and for me, and for our future so we can actually keep up with our kids and such) and it makes me want to have the same discipline. If you didn't already know, Wilson's a fireman *woo mama*.
Too bad, he's mine :D

--
I've got a decently smooth week ahead and will use it to catch up on all the stuff I've had to push aside prepping for Alvin's wedding. Have a great week everyone.

ch

Gettin' Ready

2009-01-31T07:39:00.000-05:00

Getting ready for a wedding! on 12seconds.tv

I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

2009-01-27T16:48:00.002-05:00

One of the more interesting shoots I did for a client today... Coconut Mail :)

My clients rock

2009-01-26T22:46:00.004-05:00

So lately I've had a handful of clients ask me for my availability before they went out to book their venue and solidify their wedding date. How amazing and flattering is that?! I mean, isn't it just an awesome feeling in general when someone considers your schedule when making plans? Yah. So to have clients book their wedding date around me, when there are a hundred other factors to consider when booking your wedding date, is quite humbling and mind-blasting. Beyond the coolness of just being considered in that way, I'm more excited about being able to work with clients who value photography (seemingly above most other things for their wedding). People who are making photography a priority and understand that if you have bad photos from your wedding, you're gonna be stuck with them for the rest of your life no matter how much you regret it. They understand that the day could have been beautiful with all the perfect details and moments but if the photos are crappy, well then everything in the photos look crappy.

--
Happy birthday Wilson!!! For his bday, I got him this Bose mp3 dock which pumps out some crazyyyyyyyyyy sound for such a tiny little thing. It better... for the kind of moolah I shelled out for it. Ack! But it's worth it because now we can work out to nice-sounding tunes instead of ghetto scratchiness from the old system. I also got him the Matrix trilogy on BluRay and we're about to watch it right now so I better peel myself away from the computer :)

--
I don't like posting without an image so here's a random image! I'm helping my friend photograph her thesis. haha So random.... hope you enjoy.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

ch

Janey's 25th Birthday

2009-01-26T15:11:00.009-05:00

We had such a blast on Saturday for Janey's private dinner which was personally "cheffed" by Mr. Earl Falco. The food was soooo good and you couldn't stop hearing people compliment it. I had some sort of chicken stuffed chicken while some others had a very tender tenderloin. The potato pave round was yumm-o!

I had a lot of fun taking photos of the decor and cool moments. As usual with my friends, they are my test subjects and so I was testing the boundries of just how close I could get to people, invade their personal space and take their photo haha Seems some people don't enjoy me in their personal space :P

A good friend of mine really challenged and changed the way I shoot one day last year when he asked me to take photos with my 35mm lens. 35mm?? That's sooo wide and far way! That means I'd have to get so close into people's faces in order for them to even fill the frame. It was pretty awkward for me since I was taught to use a zoom lens and shoot from far away. The results are pretty amazing though! When you shoot with a wider lens and get in close, you really get a more intimate feel to the images because the camera and photographer were actually that close. Also (according to Annie) 35mm is the closest perspective to human sight so it gives images a more 3D and realistic feel. It's subtle but I can definitely see it in photos now. Think of it this way: in all the photos you see in the newspaper or images from wars or that b&w documentary stuff the photographer is most definitely not hiding behind some tree with a zoom lens capturing this stuff. The images are so arresting because the photographer is actually in the middle of all the action, rubbing noses with the people around him.

Shooting closer to my subjects allows me to feed off their personalities and the little details and moments that happen. I don't get how some (wedding) photographers send their couples far far away and use a 200mm lens to take photos.

Photo not by me ;)

Doesn't it just feel so far away, like we're spying on the couple? Anyway, just my random thoughts :)

Distillery District: Boiler House, Archeo, Pure Spirits

2009-01-23T21:49:00.007-05:00

The Boiler House

What a long day of shooting today. On paper it was 5 hours but 5 hours on location is long. You've gotta absorb a lot of visual information while trying to take in the "flow" of how people work, adapting and coming up with creative solutions. A couple of the hours involved waiting around too which, as "non-working" it sounds, is very draining because you can't really rest and you're not actually doing something. Oh and let's not forget about being sociable to your hosts even though you're so mentally exhausted. Still gotta smile, be positive and do your job :)

Enough of that an onto how fun it was!

Chef Eric from all three restaurants helped me throughout the whole food shoot. As we were chatting, I let it slip that I'm a bit of a foodie and was interested in pursuing culinary arts at one point. I also had told him that I wasn't really into raw oysters either (while he was shucking them). Then I realized that it's not very "foodie-like" to dislike oysters so of course, he managed to talk me into having one.

It wasn't as bad as I remember it being. I had a Komodo oyster which he told me was sweeter than the East coast ones. It had a cucumber-y kind of taste to it.

I definitely enjoyed digging into some of the other dishes we shot more :)

What's cool is that the PR person from the restaurants told me that she had put me on their endorsed vendors list for weddings. How cool! I'm one of only three and the other two are pretty "big" (by big I just mean extremely popular and well known from all the advertising, marketing, wedding shows they do) so I feel pretty honoured that I, the person who doesn't do shows and advertising, can hang with those dudes :) *pats herself on the back*

Pure Spirits

I've shot a lot of restaurants in my time and I've gotta say that the food from all three restaurants (Boiler House, Archeo, Pure Spirits) really ranks at the top. They seriously didn't pay me to say that :) All three kitchens are managed by Chef Eric so there's a consistency to all of their food in terms of quality. I'd say I like the style of Archeo the best because it's more upscale-casual where Boiler House is more fancy fare. Pure Spirits is great too however I'm not the biggest seafood fan so my opinion is a bit bias. Whenever you're around the Distillery District in Toronto be sure to hop into one of these restaurants -- not to mention Winterlicious!

Welp, time to freaking get some sleep.
I have a friend's thesis to photograph tomorrow then off to hang out with one of my best friends for her birthday. More on that soon.

ch

Movies!

2009-01-22T12:22:00.000-05:00

I've had some time to catch up on movies this past month with Wilson both at the theater and on DVD. Here are my thoughts:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3/5
Long, long and long. One of those movies where you say, "I want those three hours of my life back." The makeup, acting and cinematography was great. I felt the story had so much potential and was so unique but went in an odd and maybe awkward direction towards the end. After all, it's just weird to see a woman cradling her at-one-time lover and father of her child in her arms ya know? Wait til it comes out on DVD.
Slumdog Millionaire
4/5
Such a one of a kind story and cool way of story telling. Wonderful imagery and a thrilling story that takes you into the lives of a young boy growing up in the slums of Mumbai and how he ends up winning the equivalent of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Burn After Reading
3.5/5
A good movie done in the signature Coen brother's style where it's so random yet somehow connected; no real "point" to the movie in the Hollywood sense but takes you deep into the lives of the most common people and gives you a glimpse into their world. Brad Pitt's acting was a bit too "try hard" if you ask me. But good effort Brad, good effort. I actually enjoyed George Clooney's acting a lot in this movie.
Gran Torino
3.5/5
I have some mixed feelings about this movie as it touches on a lot of important issues such as race/ethnicity, stereotyping and the differences between an older and younger generation but sometimes I feel like the entire movie is a bit cliche itself. Overall I still think it's a decent watch with a nice underlying message about life, acceptance and grace. Clint Eastwood is super grumpy in this movie!