A lone man who walked by the beach in Bali Canggu during the sunset everyday.

I visited Bali once or twice every year (this year is an exception for obvious covidic reason). He’s a complete stranger to me, but I saw him three times in two years. During the last time i saw him, i asked him in bahasa if i could take a picture of him.

And he didn’t say a thing, but gladly looked at me and smiled.

I guessed, his teeth were pretty much gone. I didn’t laugh, because i just found him a comforting figure to be…

I was once one of the Nikon School Singapore’s instructors. I taught and shared about my skills in a number of workshops and smaller thematic classes.

Here’s one of the younger participants who joined my class teaching about urban portraiture which emphasized on how to use environment and given light to create equally powerful portraits, without the use of studio strobe lights.

The most useful tool in photography is your observation of your surroundings, including the ambiance, objects and light.

Steve. A stranger that i met in London. He told me that he’s from Sydney, and he guessed that my origin was Hong Kong.

I got to admit that my English is probably mixed a bit with Cantonese accent, probably because my mother is a Cantonese, and i had made some Hong Kong friends when i was studying in University of Melbourne.

I conveyed another small Nikon School class about urban portraits in the evening time. Walking with a group of participants on the streets usually brought a lot of attention on us.

But here was a foreign worker who gently smiled at me when i approached him. He’s unassuming and friendly.

Photography is a mirror. It’s rewarding to calm yourself before photographing others.

Uliana. It was a collaboration photo session with Amanda Lee Weddings, Flour, Marie Soh, for a unique private collection of Amanda.

It simply was one of the most enjoyable collaborations that i had the opportunity to be a part of. And Uliana made the shoot effortless.

Here’s Ling Yun tearing after i got her a moment of her and her mother. It was a family photo session before Ling Yun went to further her studies in Shanghai. And her mother was telling her about how proud she was with her daughter, and reminded Ling Yun to always feel free to come back to them if she needs someone to speak to.

I lost my way in touring around Paris by myself. This gentleman directed me the way back to my place and told me that, his son worked in Singapore too.

When Nikon D850 was launched, i was invited to a camera testing and introduction session. There, i photographed Gina with the new camera and was impressed by it at that time.

Gina is a fitness pro and trainer, who is also a friend of Cassandra — a ex-NikonSG friend that i was privileged to have a friendship with.

Abby. I photographed her when she was three years old in Melbourne. You might think this is a posed picture but it wasn’t. The session was so easy and heartening because the family and the kids were fabulous people that made me felt so welcomed.

Abby has beautiful curly hair and blue eyes. Lying on the grass, she looked more mature than she should be. But the curiosity was filling her eyes.

I was later thanked by her mother that i made them felt really comfortable and thus her kids appeared genuine and spontaneous in front of my camera.

Daniel. Abby’s brother. And inherited the same eyes from his father.

I couldn’t remember what did i say to them. It was 6+ years ago. Something for sure, the siblings were lying on grass comfortably and having some imagination.

Here is a tip for people with kids, shoot from kid’s eye level as a start to make them feel comfortable, and then work with different angles after you have gained trust. The key is to be there as a friend.

Victoria. I saw her walking by with a style of rhythm at an alley of Paris. Puzzled by my own curiosity, i turned back and asked if she’s ok with a picture.

She told me that she’s a ballerina. I thanked her for spending a quick moment for this conversation.

And i told myself

— always trust your gut feeling.

Makcik in Bali. She was actually laughing but she’s too shy to show her teeth.

This shot was taken in a small van, which i randomly got up to. And i did some simple chat with her in my limited bahasa.

It’s noticable that her hands seem to be quite rough and proportionally big. I guessed her works might be very labour-intensive.

Bunny Gwen. I totally adore how children are fearless and always keen to portray themselves in any imaginative way.

Dear all parents, keep them this way!

Uliana is too beautiful and elegant. I just wanted her to bring out a different quality of her. So i asked her about fierceness and determination. And this became one of my favorite shots of her.

This little girl’s the youngest in her family and she’s very quiet.

Here’s a moment of her and her parents leaning on a huge tree. I love the analogy of family structure as a tree.

Christina. She’s such a great person to work with, as she believed in me in our creating process together.

Photography doesn’t clap with just one hand.