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18 October 2013

// all would envy lookbook i

Model: Andrea Chong
Wardrobe: All Would Envy
Photographer: Amanda Wong
Equipment: 5DMII + 85mm f/1.2L
Flickr: all would envy lookbook i

After returning from Bangkok and Andrea from Tasmania in early August, we both headed abroad again, this time to collaborate with All Would Envy, The Tinsel Rack and Lollyrouge on their August lookbooks in Bali, Indonesia. This post will feature my shoot for the exclusive Dreachong x All Would Envy collection around the very beautiful villa we had the privilege to stay in for the night at Mahagiri Villas Sanur.

We experienced the most beautiful sunrise by the beach the next morning and everyone knows how much I love my golden light so I was clicking away non-stop! We also forged a wonderful sisterhood with Charlotte from All Would Envy (AWE) during this trip and now we're kinda inseparable, haha. ;) I'm still in love with this set today, and I attribute our success to the great chemistry Drea & I share and how we constantly push ourselves to achieve more. We always try to bring new ideas to the table for my photography, her blog and the clients that we work with together. It's been such a great journey and joy. For those who do look out for the photos I take on her blog, sadly you will not see them much anymore and I'll explain why briefly below!

***

Although I haven't publicly announced this yet, most of my clients and friends would have known by now that I have recently stopped shooting for the blogshop industry to explore other genres of photography. I'll be honest; it has been stifling my creativity and I feel like I could risk losing my passion if I were to continue and suffer a burn out in the end. I could continue with how important I think it is for artists to learn to say no and to take actions that would be healthier for them but I'll leave that for next time.

I'm deeply thankful to everyone who has ever given me the opportunity to work with them in my two years (has it been that long?!) in the industry. Having said that, I will be opening up limited slots in December but may not continue again in the new year. You are still welcome to send in enquiries (enquiries@beautifuladieu.com) though! :)

With all the free time I have now, I have been focusing my energy on university work and my relationships with my (very awesome) boyfriend, family and friends. It has made me much happier and healthier emotionally. Despite that, I'm going through a state I can't express - like being stuck in limbo - before I find my direction in photography again. I've recently tried my hands at conceptual self portraiture as well as food styling and photography and I must say I love the feeling of being challenged.

I'll post photos of the food-stuff I took on the blog soon, but before that, I know I have been lagging behind on my iphoneography diaries. It takes me a couple of days to curate a month's worth of iPhone photos with the text and handwritten notes but I promise to get down to July's after my workload in school has lessened!

Ok, enough text for this post. I'll see you guys in the next! xx

Labels: fashion, travel

all would envy lookbook i

5 dream notes

08 October 2013

// penang buffet

So I'm back! This time with an set of yummy pictures I took a few weeks ago when Copthorne King's so kindly invited Drea & I over to try out their renowned Penang Buffet at Princess Terrace! Chef Lim prepared many of their popular Penang delights for us that day and the dishes kept coming one after another until our table was so full. Having been to Penang several times when I was younger, I sure miss the authentic and delicious food I had when I was there. Lucky for me, I got to taste many Penang favourites again!

Princess Terrace has been serving this Penang Buffet since 1970, and is still popular even today. The restaurant was full-house even on a weekday noon when we were there! Here are some of the yummy food we got to try:

Nasi Lemak

Curry Noodles "Penang Style"

Penang Laksa

Crayfish with Chilli; Grilled Hard Tail stuffed with Chilli

Penang Char Kway Teow

Cuttlefish with Kang Kong

Assorted Nyonya Kueh

Bang Chang Kueh (Pancake with Roasted Peanuts and Sesame Seeds); Hokkien Prawn Mee Soup

Apom Berkuah (Pancake with Banana Sauce)

We were also served some of their famous Penang desserts and we were already so full before we could even finish. Thankfully I go to the gym often so I don't have to worry about a sinful afternoon (thank you Copthorne King's!). :)

This month, King's is celebrating their 43rd birthday so you get to enjoy a 43% discount at Princess Terrace when you dine with two other paying adults. If you haven't already tried their Penang Buffet (named Top 3 Best Buffet Restaurant this year by the way), you should!

For reservations, you can call 6318 3168 or email princessterrace@millenniumhotels.com. :)

P/S: Today's exactly a year since I first met dreachong and we've come so far since! I'm so glad I have her to call a sister and a friend - someone who's always been around for me regardless of my bullsh*t. :') thank you for growing together with me and for taking both of us on adventures we never thought would be possible. You and I, we have such chemistry and we make the perfect combination in many ways... and now I sound like your boyfriend. Imran please don't get too jealous, she still loves you most! Love you bb, I treasure you the most! xo

Labels: food

penang buffet

1 dream notes

about: amandawxr / beautifuladieu

beautiful•adieu:

writing has never been my forte, and words just flow so much easier through photographs.
maybe i don't want to be called a photographer. i want to be a storyteller.

in 2010, i shared a tumblr account with a dear friend and we were inspired by all the images we saw. then we took tumblr-inspired images and were really active on the site, but everything came to a standstill after a few months. it's hard to explain how i ended up here, but photography was the only thing that was there for me when no one else was. in the summer of 2011, i picked up my camera again after 4 horribly uninspiring months. i started off with self portraits because i missed the familiarity of photographing what i used to, but found myself being really awkward in front of the camera. i later signed up for an account on modelmayhem and surprisingly got a few requests and emails which helped me kickstart my "photography career". while i thought my journey with photography ended after some personal problems in my life, it had really only just begun. i started a facebook page and in the next few months, i met so many great and supportive people whom i can now call friends. i was also blessed with a new camera, and i cannot be more thankful.

this year, i found myself in a close-knitted community of like-minded young artists and it makes me feel warm, and at home. it serves as a constant reminder to myself that there is nothing else i wish to do than to take photos. i shoot fashion and faces, and i want to capture all the beauty there is while we're all young and wild and free.

read more about me and my photography in a feature at obscured.sg

amanda•wxr:

i'd like to think i'm a bundle of personalities. i am a business student from smu, a watercolor painter, lover of siri, tiesto and thumper (pet birds and bunny) and all their other friends. i collect vintage working film cameras and my favorite is my canon ae-1 program (you will see some film photos on my blog every now and then!). people often describe me as a quirky and strange person, but i'd like to be known as the clown bringing smiles to people's faces.

you can always find me on my personal facebook, and if you wish to follow regular happenings in my life, please don't hesitate to send a request!

i am a dreamer. i wish we all would stay young and wild and free.

other accolades:

Workshop Instructor for the Photographic Society of NUS Photographic Event Montage 2013
Photography Exhibition at Noise Singapore 2012
Hidden Gem Finalist for Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blogger Awards 2011
Lost Freedom Issue #3
ObscuRed

frequently asked questions

What camera and lenses do you use?

I use a Canon 5DMII, his name is Chase :) I usually use my EF 50mm f/1.4, and sometimes the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L. I also have a EF 100mm f/2.8 but I seldom ever use that. Most of my old shoots (up till the unfading summerdays series last October) were shot with my old camera, Canon 450D.

Do you use any lighting equipment?

Other than in the studio of course! I'm a strong lover of natural light and not a big fan of all the fancy light equipment (or artificial light for that matter), especially when I do more outdoor shoots. Although I recognise that this may reduce the "professionalism" of my photos to the eyes of 'techies', I'm determined to stick to my style for now. :)

How long have you been shooting?

Well, I had my first DSLR in 2008, but I never really took a lot of photos, till I got my EF 50mm f/1.8 and starting taking tumblr-inspired photos. I later stopped shooting anything for 4 months, and picked myself up after several issues in my personal life. So I think it's safe to say I started shooting "professionally" or knew that I wanted to shoot fashion and portraiture in May 2011. That's about 1 year now! You can read more about this in the "About Me" section among the navigation links above.

Which camera should I buy?

I'll help you with whatever I know, but honestly, I'm not up to date with the new cameras that are available in the market. Usually when people ask me, I'll just google, and compare the specifications (which I'm sure you can do as well) and give my judgement. But ultimately, I'll like to emphasize that it doesn't matter what camera you use - whether a simple point and shoot or an ultra-pro DSLR - what matters is your eye for photography, and your passion. It's always about the artist and not the camera. Unless your equipment is faulty of course, haha!

I love your curves, will you have more curves giveaway?

Haha thank you! I'll love to come up with more curves, but I think I may start selling them in future! For now, I think I'll hold curves giveaways when my Facebook page hits certain "likes milestones"! I'm also thinking of prints giveaway and some other things. I'm having a giveaway of two 4GB thumbdrives for beautifuladieu's first anniversary this 28 June!

Which program do you use to edit your photos with and what is your editing workflow?

I use Photoshop CS5. I'm still trying to get the hang of using Lightroom and Adobe Bridge. My editing workflow is simple: I flag photos which I think I may edit, then rate them accordingly. Ultimately I choose the top 20 photos or so that I'm happy with. I don't manipulate my images that much, I usually just do simple retouching, use a couple of layer adjustments and apply curves.

Who are you inspired by?

Oh wow, there's a whole list I can't even begin! But mainly artists around my age or younger than me who also shoot and believe in natural light: Nirrimi Hakanson and Ann He. There's also Wendy Liu, Caitlin Worthington, Claire Alice, Emily Tebbets, Alexandra Sophie, Kitty Gallannaugh... Seriously, the list is endless! They all take really beautiful photos and you should check out their works too!

Where do you take your photos? They don't look like they were taken in Singapore!

Haha! But they're mostly in Singapore, I just don't like to capture recognisable landmarks. Sometimes I travel abroad and arrange for shoots on my vacations. So far I've done shoots in Hong Kong and Taipei. If you have to ask for specific locations where I take my photos, I'll appreciate if you would come off being anonymous. Being in a small country with limited places to shoot, I think everyone should make the effort to do a bit of their own research. I know it's a sensitive topic to talk about, but I don't think it should be taken for granted.

Do you take requests? How much do you charge?

At the moment, I take limited requests. I may open up to more in future or completely stop, I've no idea yet! I prefer not to state my charges online, so please do drop me a mail if you're really keen. Please note that my charges for lookbooks, model's portfolio and requests are different, so it's best to send me an email!

I've compiled a list of questions people usually ask me, whether by email or in person, and I hope it clears up some of your doubts! If you want to submit an FAQ or ask a question, don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me at enquiries@beautifuladieu.com.