Melbourne here I come! I’m almost all packed and ready to go! I’ll be in Melbourne for work and play and I’m looking forward to some r&r although I also plan to catch up on some work! One goal I’ve set for myself is to take travel photos. The assignment photos from FIFOTO 101 has inspired me to take more photos for my own pleasure and what better opportunity than this trip!

The feedback we’ve been getting from our inaugural FIFOTO 101 class has been very positive. During our graduation party, Chris & Anderson came up with a tag line for FIFOTO 101 - “More than photography”, which I think, truly captures the essence of the course. And I cannot let on why it is more than photography coz that will just spoil the fun & surprise - you will just have to trust us on this one! (Or, you can speak with any of our new graduates and they will tell you why!)

Due to the many requests and interest for this class, we are now open for registration for next year’s class! Seats are limited so sign up early!

Today was our last class for FIFOTO 101 and we were all very pleasantly surprise when Anderson walked into class today with a tray of SUSHI from Sango!!! It was super yummy and we finished more than half of it even before class started!

THANK YOU ANDERSON for the lovely gesture!!!

(By the way, Sango is his new Japanese restaurant located at the Crystal Crown Hotel in PJ. I’ve been there once and the yakitori selection is amazing! Plus… cherry blossom ice cream!!!!)

After class, we handed the fresh grads their certificates and then… crazy booth portraits!!!

We ran out of Mango ones, which are a hit with everyone!

We have to ration these gummy/sweets with Ernest…

Ernest, the wannabe porn photographer

We headed to Twentyone to celebrate!

(I don’t usually take photos “for fun” but I’m so inspired by their work I thought I’d make an exception!)

All of us had a lot of fun, getting to know each other and sharing our photography stories. It’s really great to see how everyone gets along so well and so effortlessly! It’s been a fun and exciting month for me, as you raise the bar each week on the assignment photos! Again, I’m truly blown away by your creativity and technical improvements over the last couple of weeks! I’m so proud of all of you!! But more importantly, we’ve made new friends and I’d like to thank y’all for your undying support to FIFOTO!

Prior to the first class, students were asked to submit their best photo. The last assignment involved a reshoot of the same subject, and the objective of the assignment was to demonstrate their understanding of all the theories, tips and techniques learned in the past 3 weeks and incorporating them into the photo.

A month has come and gone and every week, everyone blows me away with their photos! It’s so gratifying to see the progress of everyone’s works and I hope I managed to not only provide them with the basics of photography, but instilled inspiration and creativity.

To the inaugural class of FIFOTO 101, 2009: I hope you guys had as much fun learning and shooting as I did teaching. It was great meeting and getting to know you and I hope I’ve inspired you to discover the world of photography! Your photos truly inspire me and going through my old collection of travel/macro photos in preparation for the class slides have re-kindled my passion and I’m motivated to take some photos for my personal pleasure!!!

Here are the shots! (Pls note: no editing was allowed, these shots are straight out of camera!)

Please vote for the photo you think has improved the most!!! Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Poll closes tomorrow (Sunday Oct 25) at 12pm!

Photo #1 - Before

Photo #1 - After

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Photo #8 - Before

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October was supposed to be a relatively quiet month, with event shoots and FIFOTO 101 classes every weekend. I was looking forward to catching up on all my TV series but it has turned out to be shoot frenzy! The team and I have been shooting almost every other day this month and apart from my Nike-inspired jogs in the park, I haven’t had any time to myself and honestly, I’m starting to miss my alone nights with Hank! Having said that, I’m totally happy immersing myself with work coz that means more shopping money for my upcoming Melbourne trip! =)

Last Sunday’s class was on LIGHT. We talked about soft vs hard light and its different characteristics. We talked about the different light sources and how we can manipulate them. We also had a practical session within the studio and everyone got to play with various lights and color gels!

The objective of this assignment was for students to demonstrate their understanding of light, its characteristics and how to use it creatively. If you thought last week’s assignment photos were good, you are going to be blown away by this set! Needless to say, I was blown away by each and every submission I received throughout the week. I am in AWE!!! Amazed by their lighting technique, mesmerized by their creativity! I feel inspired by their photos and now I understand the joy of teaching!!!

Here are the shots! (Pls note: no editing was allowed, these shots are straight out of camera!)

Please vote for your favorite photo, leave a comment and tell us why you like it!!!

Poll closes tomorrow (Sunday Oct 18) at 12pm!

Photo #1

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Photo #08