As a general rule, the wedding slide shows I produce include a few earlier engagement pictures with the bride and groom dressed in their street clothes. You’ll notice in this piece, however, that the engagement sequence actually tells a story. And this is where I get to have fun sharing the experience of a best-laid-plan proposal that nearly got “flushed down the toilet.” Too many metaphors? Here’s the story.

Ronald had a choice to make: a motorcycle or an engagement ring. Of course, he chose the ring. He purchased it, hid it in a drawer, and began drawing up his plans for the perfect proposal. The theme was going to be “Of all the fishes in the sea, I choose you.” He would fill the room with fish, retrieve his ring from hiding, invite Stella over, drop to his knee in front of all his finned decorations, and ask her the BIG question.

Well, Stella pushed up the timetable by accidentally discovering the ring. Not easily deterred, Ronald was determined to stick to his plan. He sent Stella away, and in about an hour, he bought up the fish, tossed them into bowls, scattered them around the room, and Ronald – as we now know – was a success.

 
Poor timing seemed to follow Ronald’s planning. To those of us trying to get to the ceremony, it felt as if the entire Bay Area was there, too. And they were. The streets were crowded with revelers going to the Academy of Sciences’ grand reopening at the same time! Luckily for Ronald, other than that, his plans went smoothly. The wedding, at Zion Lutheran Church on Anza and 9th Avenue in San Francisco, was beautiful. A photography technique I used for this couple with their large family was, rather than backing down the aisle and out the door with my camera trying to fit everyone into the frame, I went upwards instead, using the choir loft—which, as you see, worked out very well.

The reception was at a wonderful Chinese restaurant, Zen Peninsula on El Camino Real in Millbrae. A fantastic part of Stella and Ronald’s reception was a traditional Chinese Lion Dance. The fantastic motion and colors provided an opportunity for me to use a unique camera technique to capture this. I set the flash to high, focused on the nearby subject, then literally tossed the camera while it took the picture. This is NOT a trick to try at home!! However, when done correctly, the foreground is in focus and the background has a blurred quality. Here’s the picture for you to enjoy.

View Stella & Ronald’s Wedding Album

Zion Lutheran Church, San Francisco

September 27, 2008

My best wishes that all of Stella and Ronald’s future plans always turn out perfectly!

—Michael Soo

P.S.: Now that Ronald has his fish of choice, I wonder what he did with all those OTHER fish?

Joyce Wang of Hot Wok Cafe called me just a mere two days ago about doing a food shoot and she would like to have more info on pricing for the shoot. We decided to meet at her restaurant yesterday. I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive since most Chinese restaurant owners are less savvy with the marketing side of the business; placing a decent amount of time, energy and money on anything intangible has never been the marketing strategy of choice for them. However, Joyce seems to understand the prowess of a good photographs for her business. She was questioning the use of a food stylist, however. I reassured her that it does makes a difference. She seemed to understand immediately. I got Randy Mon on board. We did a food photoshoot (from pepperoni pizza pulls to buffalo wings) for Milano International’s 55+ chain in California, namely the Me-N-Ed’s Pizzeria. Randy is a meticulous stylist and an artist. He would spend hours at arranging beans and vegetables for a dish to be photographed. It truly simplifies my post-processing for a food photoshoot when he’s present. Plus, the client are a lot happier with the images. Can’t beat a double bonus like that!

The shoot is TODAY, just a mere 2 days after the call and a day after agreement on the shoot. And it’s New Year Eve! Haha, is that speedy service or what?! The family owned business runs as smooth as silk and possibly one of the friendlist folks I’ve ever met in the restaurant business. Always a smile. Every customer that walked into the restaurant seems to know Joyce for years. Not surprising considering that they have opened for business for over 20 years, watching over local folks growing up going to the same restaurant for decades. The funny story is that their Kung Pao shrimp is a 20 year old cooking mistake that give birth to their famous dish! You’ve got to try it, as it is entirely different than other Kung Pao Shrimp dish that you’ll ever try. It’s GREAT!

Hannah & Tener, Joyce’s only daughter and son were there to help. Hannah, a mind reader of sorts, seems to know exactly what Randy and I need, throughout the entire shoot!! May it be extra sauce for the mix, a plate or even where the misplaced chopsticks went. Brilliant woman. She is the type that will go places. Not surprising too, as she is now a branch manager for Wells Fargo Bank in mere 3 years after graduation.

We started at 10:30am, Randy and I agreed to get there 30 mins early to setup. We decided on silk linen for the table with a white background. White on white (white dishes, white props, white background, etc.) to make the food stand out like no other. The background, lighting, softbox, etc. were all setup within 45 mins. The first dish was the beef stew noodle soup. Randy used cold soup that allowed me to fiddle with the setup and take my time. The first shot out of the camera was already pretty darn good. Randy would place the food items a piece at a time on dishes like the broccoli and beef. This man has amazing patience. We ran through all 8 dishes in a little over 4 hours.

Joyce feed us a late lunch after the shoot. Both Randy and I are picky eaters but found the food (especially the kung-pao shrimp) to be just freaking amazing. Randy stated that he’s going to bring his family to this restaurant again. You guys/gals should check it out.

Hot Wok Cafe
2960 South Norfolk, San Mateo, CA 94403
650 . 573 . 1350

Here’s the gallery of images