Sweet Surrender

Her cold stare pierced through the frigid wind. Mild condensed air from her lungs released briefly into the darkness as she stood atop the rooftop, draped in absolutely nothing but a flimsy but fashionable couture black dress, showing her bare back. Soft light carressed every contour of her smooth silky skin. Her black stiletto scratches the ground as she stood, turning her head. She shivered and steadied her pose, warmth from her body slowly drained by the wind. There stood Charisse, conquering nature with her elegance and beauty.

This was supposed to be a ballet-on-the-rooftop shoot to begin but with fog rolling into the city, causing flat lighting, the severe cold and lack of time caused the whole shoot to be drastically change. The photographer's (ahem!) brain went into hyperdrive, simulating scenarios and creating last minute (more like last second) improvisations to rectify this extremely difficult shooting condition, somewhat reminded him of his extremely difficult photography challenge he faced over a year ago in New York. The same scenario, given to another, can cause a serious panic-attack and extreme nausea. Adding insult to injury, he had to carry over 100lbs of gear up small doorways, elevators, stairs and locked rooftop doors AND wiring 50 feet of cables for the lights. It was an interesting experience, to say the least.

Charisse quickly then swap places quickly with Krystal, scurrying into the deep layers of coats, blankets and jackets that lies on the ground. She's now happy and warm. That's a good thing! ;-) After a few more shots, everyone adjourned to Susanne's apartment. Thanks to Susanne, our fantastic host who helped secured the rooftop for this shoot is an extremely bright and charming woman and also the CEO of Point Arcadia. Both Laura (Susanne's sister who also lives in the same building) and Susanne has got to be two of the sweetest people I've gotten the pleasure to know. She was more than accommodating. Hot tea was served throughout the entire shoot. What a sweetheart!

As you can tell here, Charisse is all happy within the warm confines of the apartment. LOL. We were all tired at the time, so we did a few more snaps before we ended the session. It was fun but also a lot of work to put that together. However, the results are freaking outstanding.

- MS

Modeling Portfolio

Paul and I decided to do a 2nd mega photoshoot, this time with 4 models, 3 photographers (Paul, myself and a guest photographer) and 1 videographer (Bryan Chang). We were graced by the presence of 4 models from across the bay, Nicole, Celeste, Melina and Angelina. Each bring a very different and unique set of talents into the shoot. It's really amazing because most Art Directors will think of a particular concepts and there will only be ONE model out of hundreds that can fit that role. Same case in this shoot as I have concepts rolled up in my head weeks before the shoot. Along with the concepts, ideas on who can fit the roles has already been stamped and cleared. In effect, I was the Art Director, the Photographer and at some point, a really bad stylist and awful make-up artist, all rolled into one. For a larger shoot, this will not be ideal, obviously. Wearing multiple hats will help ensure that I can jump into a role when the need arises.

One of my objective of this shoot is to help "pave a pathway", if you will, for these new models-to-be, into the world of commercial modeling. I'm hoping to help create a starting point with at least 1 out of 5 shots that they can use for their comp card, should they choose to do so. The other part of this shoot, done most gracefully by Paul are glamour shots for the girls. Paul has a style in photography that few has managed to achieve, much less, duplicate. It is no secret that many photographers tried to have him divulge his techniques. However, it's my belief that if it isn't their style to begin with, it will never be their style to end with. Paul, if you're reading this, you can share your techniques with me. I'll keep it a secret. ;-)

We also had Bryan videotape an hour worth of fun. The video footage is amazingly well done (thanks to Paul and...me, haha!) and if you have not watched it, it can be found in youtube as well as MySpace. Do NOT miss it. It's good clean fun and if Nicole can have her way, she'll dance her way through the entire shoot. ;-)

Nicole on the right was fooling around when I shot this. What she does not realize, most of the time is that she has the innate ability to extend her character across the room when she is relaxed. That's her personality and her great selling point in a portfolio. Nicole rocks. I keep telling her that and it may diluted the effects. Bah, who cares. Nicole Rocks!

I do have to admit that the best shot that I did that day is actually a ultra hot glamour shot for Celeste. If you want to see that image, you'll have to talk to Celeste. ;-) But let's push glamour aside for a minute and talk about modeling portfolio. What do the commercial agencies really want? Modeling is really about acting and if you send them a comp card with 5 images of identical expression, it'll get them uninterested really fast. You need to prove that you have the ability to be an actor(ess) in a different scene, different products and different use case.

I first took Celeste to the fireplace for my first session of the day. Celeste took a bit of time to warm up but when she did, she really glowed with her full ability to showcase herself. She is also a bit more seasoned as a model as she has done work with a few other photographers. I really wanted to showcase her "wild side" and she has the body to show off. We did my best glamour shot that day and right after, this shot on the left. Her hair flying sideways looked incredibly dynamic. In addition to that, Jorge's wonderful makeup on her just spiced it up a big notch. The hardest makeups are the ones that you can't tell there's a makeup but makes the model look incredible at the same time. That's a fact! Keep that in mind for your search for the best makeup artists out there. Jorge did a phenomenal job here. I also found the perfect crop for this hot image. Yup, I'm the Crop King!

Melina coyly admitted that she's not the typical glamour girl. However, that's not really an issue here. As I stated earlier, it's really about personalities and how a model can fit into a role and, not the other way round. Her gorgeous blue eyes is the main attraction and rightfully so. I had Bryan and Ken hold her arms while she gave me an intense stare. What came out from it is perfectly slated for this mock ad, Delirium on the right.

Angelina has one of the most perfect skin and beautiful face one can lay eyes on. She's a cutie. If there is a commercial for skin products, she is the perfect choice. She only had red lipsticks on at the time. Of course, I could just shoot her plain and she would look incredible. But to give it a unique twist, I had her hold two torn pieces of translum and got the shot on the left. The additional make-up was done by yours truly. ;-) As you can tell, I only smooth out skin when necessary and skin texture can be a great friend and gives an image a real feel to it.

For a model to jump into the modeling business, he/she needs to start with CRS (Critically High Standard). What does that mean? You need to be able to impressed the agent with just one glance. One look is all it takes for you to get in. You folks have it easier than actors. Actors sends in one headshot and that's their one chance. Models have a comp card that shows 5 shots. You are as strong as your weakest link and it's true. Your worse + worst image will be branded into the minds of Art Directors, agencies and photographers. This really is a First Impression business.

- Michael Soo

Camera of the Year 2006

Sorting through my mail today, the December issue of Popular Photography & Imaging magazine is here! Opening to page 84, I'm aweing the wonder of the Camera of the Year 2006. The Sony Alpha, sitting proudly on the damp wet moss in the mystic Muir Woods, its bright red emblem eminating from the dark recesses of the rotting trunk of a falling redwood. Golden rays from the sun carressing the foliage of the forest, giving shape to the fog that flows gently above the forest floor. The air is crisp, the wood silent. The shutter is released and flashes of light from the multiple flash units bathe the Alpha and the memory is captured in time, into the 2 pages spread of the magazine before me.

It all started in early September when John Owens, the Editor-in-Chief of Popular Photography and Imaging magazine called me on my cell phone asking me to do the 2 pages spread of the "Camera of the Year 2006". I'm all excited since this is the second year I'm helping them shoot a 2-pages spread for the "Camera of the Year" article. Both, very different style than anything they have ever done before. The previous one was shot by the beach, almost submerging the prototype of the Canon EOS 5D in saltwater, literary!! What an adrenaline rush!

I came up with 4 concepts for them to choose.

1. Two beautiful girls holding the Sony (easiest to do, just need to call up cute girls) ;-)
   
   
2. Sony sitting on the railings beneath the iconic Golden Gate Bridge (slightly harder since it required me to drive near to 2 hours during the golden hour)
   
   
3. The Sony sitting above the rocks by a gorgeous waterfall (quite difficult to drive near to 3 hours to the site of waterfalls. As it was summer at that time, most waterfalls were dry)
   
   
4. The Sony in a redwood forest (most painful and difficult. Had to drive 4 hours as most redwood forest in the area are sparse and finding the perfect spot for the camera can be daunting. Timing for the sunlight has to be perfect too).
   

Without hesitation, the devious editors and Art Director had to pick, you-know-what....sigh
I'm thinking that I should limit their choices next time. LOL

I spent a day or two mapping out different redwood forests in the area. There are a few such as the Big Basin, one by San Mateo, one in Oakland and obviously, the furthest from me, the Muir Woods. Known to have the most mystical look, I picked Muir Woods. I packed up my gear and ready to head out, checking to see if the super-dad of the two Super Mario siblings are interested to join me. Bryan Chang was indeed interested. Thank God too as I ended up with 5 bags of heavy loads, each weighing 30+ lbs easily. If not for Bryan, I woulda died in the woods with the wolves chewing on my delicious femur and the Sony Alpha, fallen to the hands of a thief, or worse, a lawyer.

We dragged the whole 100+ lbs of equipment from the car to the woods, searching desperately for a spot to shoot. We ran down cliffs of torn branches, restricted do-not-enter areas and muddy spots. No fun at all. Finding the right spot require a level placement for the camera, a perfect background with the right number of redwoods, good lighting in the background, correct amount of open space for light to pour through, sufficient working area. God. The list goes on. It was near impossible and definitely extremely frustrating. One really have to be both logical AND artistic to have the eye to find the perfect spot. After searching for a good hour, by sheer luck, I found it. Setting up lights around the area isn't easy either but Bryan definitely made it simple. Thank you, Bryan for the great help!! The rest is history.

- Michael Soo

Ophthalmologist Shoot

I started seeing my new Ophthalmologist, Dr. Fung about a year or less ago. The first time I saw him, he asked the usual questions and about what I do. I told him that I am a photographer, showed him my business card, asked him to visit my website, etc. He seemed impressed with what I had to tell him. Yadda, yadda, the usual doctor/patient small talk you'd encounter when you visit your doctor. That's what I thought at the time.

About a month ago, I received a phone call from Dr. Fung himself. Not his receptionist. I was worried for a minute. No, it wasn't to schedule an appointment nor telling me that I'll go blind in 3 days. He's interested for me to help design his website and have a photoshoot of his 3 offices around the Silicon Valley and headshot of him and his wife. Hi s wife, Dr. Lien Nguyen is also a Ophthalmologist, graduated from Harvard School of Medicine, no less.

We scheduled it for Oct 29th, 2006 but it got postponed a week later, due to time conflict to Nov 5th. I met Dr. Fung and Dr. Nguyen in Dynasty for lunch. They bought me lunch. It was good dim sum! We then adjourned to their offices in San Jose off King Rd. Ran through various shooting condition, mix lightings, headshots, office shots, gosh, you name it. Almost did the unthinkable of putting them next to the optometry equipment. I was lectured to differenciate Ophthalmologists from Optometrists. So, instead of shooting them next to the popular lens testing device, I shot them in their Operating Room with operating lights shining directly at the camera. Really cool, no?

Check out their images here!

- Michael Soo

Muay Thai - Kick Boxing

Full Gallery of Muay Thai can be viewed here.

May 19th, 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand. The weather was hot and humid, like every other day of the year in Bangkok. My friend of over 25+ years, Chor Siong was with me. We share similar interest (such as Photography) and hence, we decided that we should head out, buy tickets to see the real Muay Thai in the fighting Stadium of Lumpini...with our camera. The stadium was within walking distance of Sukhothai, a grand hotel we stayed in. The only things we were worried about were the expensive gears, our dear lives and sweaty bodies near our precious cameras. hahaha.

Muay Thai is a true phenomenal sport. Make boxers like Mike Tyson looks like childplay. BRUTAL!!! Absolute bloodthirst sport with fury built in as well as skills.

Full Gallery of Muay Thai can be viewed here.

- Michael Soo