So exhilarating is the experience of getting to know two people in love. We felt very blessed photographing Jed & Becca’s engagement session in San Francisco and San Jose. The photos are possibly one of our best so far. We strive for unique photos every time and it makes us super delighted.

Oh, about the best shot, here it is. Thoughts?

And here are the others shot in San Jose’s HIstorical Park, beach, Palace of Fine Art, etc. So MUCH fun! At the end of it all, Jed, Becca and I had a blast. They also decided that they also wanted us to be their wedding videographer. It’ll be fun doing photography and videography / cinematography in the Stanford Memorial Church in Palo Alto and the San Mateo County History Museum. Can’t wait!!!

The most fun in a party is or event is capturing and blasting it back with music !!!

A Bat Mitzvah or a Bar Mitzvah is no different. Beyond excellent reading of the Torah, giving her personal bima speech, Kimmie, daughter of our most fearless director in Sun Microsystems, is resplendent in her white dress (and later apple green). She is the embodiment of the party itself !! Her ceremonious Bat Mitzvah was held in Temple Beth El of San Mateo, an elaborate temple with an Ark-like architecture.

The evening fun took place in San Mateo Marriott in the evening and boy, was it a party. Every detail of the party was planned 8 months well in advance and you can see how well the themes work together in the movie above.

Mazel Tov, Kimmie!!

- Michael Soo

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