Official News Release from Master Photographers Association

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Release Date: 30 August 2011

Local photographer into finals of major Photo Awards

Singapore based photographer, Raymond Phang has won 10 merit prizes in a major international photography awards.
Raymond Phang’s image is now in the finals of the forthcoming Master Photographer of the Year Awards 2011. The Awards are run by The Master Photographers Association (MPA), the UK’s most respected organisation for professional photographers.
Raymond Phang now goes forward to the final judging and faces a nervous few weeks while he waits until the Awards Ceremony in October when the overall winners will be announced. The Master Photography Awards 2011 presentations ceremony will be held at the Gateshead Hilton in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne on Sunday 9 October.

MPA Chief executive, Colin Buck made this comment on Raymond Phang’s achievement: “It is exciting to reach the Merit award stage of judging as Raymond Phang was in competition with the very best photographers in the world. There were over 2,500 images submitted this year so to be awarded a Merit prize is a real success, well done to Raymond Phang, and good luck in the final!”

For further information on Raymond Phang’s photography, visit his blogsite at http://www.raymondphang.com/blog or facebook at http://www.facebook.com/raymondphangphotography. To find out more about the MPA go to www.thempa.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Issued on behalf of:
Master Photographers Association
Jubilee House, 1 Chancery Lane, Darlington DL1 5QP
Tel: 0845 130 9700
E-mail: enquiries@mpauk.com
http://www.thempa.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We actually got news of the Merit achievement (score of 80 points and above) in August, but was too caught up with photoshoots and editing to share it with you guys.  The 10 merits goes to categories such as the Overseas Classical Wedding, Overseas Contemporary Wedding, Open Licentiate, Landscape & Travel, David Facey Award (most original image), and the Dennis Hylander Wedding Award, and they all made it to the final round of judging which will be taking place in October.

.

.

We also recently gotten news that we have achieved 10^th, 12^th and 13^th place for the AG | WPJA Q2 2011 contest with the following images;

Judges Comment: I really like the lighting and color in this image. It’s bizarre enough to be interesting. It’s technically strong enough to be attractive. It’s composition is inviting. All in all, it’s a fun portrait with a lot of photographic and informational strengths.

Image & comment source: http://www.agwpja.com/photography-contests/44-raymond-phang/05-portrait-of-the-bridal-party/10th.html

Judges Comment: What an ironic contrast. Those lovely warm pink pastels are offset by the bride’s threatening posture – her bow at the ready – as punishment seems to draw near. And then, add to this crazy mix the lighting and filtering used to make the image.  It’s harsh enough to create hard shadows on those soft curtains but soft enough to subdue some of the details. Overall, it’s an interesting image that makes us want to know more.

Image & Comment source: http://www.agwpja.com/photography-contests/44-raymond-phang/05-portrait-of-the-bridal-party/12th.html

Judges Comment: The HDR style of this image was a great choice for the industrial props and backdrop. What’s not to like about an image that is beautifully lit and visually rich in tone, color and detail?

Image & Comment source: http://www.agwpja.com/photography-contests/44-raymond-phang/05-portrait-of-the-bridal-party/13th.html

.

.

2^nd, 6^th and 10^th place in the WPJA Q2 2011 contest with the following images;

Judges Comment: This images goes beyond use of technique for its own sake. There is real content and a connection with the people at the center of this event.

Image & Comment source: http://www.wpja.com/contests/50-raymond-phang/05-silhouettes-and-shadows/2nd.html

Judges Comment: A very odd setup (not to mention the rather unusual jacket the groom is wearing). The parking lot is a striking and stimulating contrast to the bride’s formal gown, as are the outfits of the others in the photo, but everyone seems to be enjoying their participation in the picture, which in turn invites us to smile along with them.

Image & Comment source: http://www.wpja.com/contests/50-raymond-phang/08-portrait-of-the-bridal-party/6th.html

Image Source: http://www.wpja.com/contests/50-raymond-phang/08-portrait-of-the-bridal-party/10th.html

.

.

And finally 2^nd and 3^rd place in the Seeing The Light photo contest.

Second Place in the available light category.

Image Source:  http://seeingthelightcontest.com/gallery/gallery_winners_2011.shtml

Third Place in the Small Flash Category.

Image source: http://seeingthelightcontest.com/gallery/gallery_winners_2011.shtml

.

.

All these achievement doesn’t come with monetary gain, but the achievement far outweigh any monetary benefits. Cos it’s more of a personal motivation for the team at Raymond Phang Photography, a pat on the back for the effort and a job well done. A big thank you to all our couples, friends and family for believing in us.

Now, who is interested in doing a shoot in Las Vegas next year February?? Email us at contactme@raymondphang.com nowwwwwwww!

Love,
Angeline

We just received another piece of good news, Raymond Phang has achieved more awards in the Quarter 2 Year 2010  AG|WPJA contest. First place in the Dancing category and 14th place in the Portrait of Bride and Groom alone. The following are the two images and comments from judges.
 

 
 .
.
 

 
 .
.
 
Once again thank you guys for the support, and to everyone who contributed their efforts to help make this happen, especially Eddie & Aileen the couple in the 2 images, Dominic (VIP Person without which the shots will never be possible)+Joy+Majella and Susu for assisting. Also to Dusty (the name of our cutsey Honda Airwave) for this interesting shot, and Ziqian without whom we’ll never be able to reach back home in one piece cos the car battery actually died!! The aircon was on, headlights was on, radio was on for quite some time during the shoot. Ziqian had to rush down and buy us pipping dinner+helped us jump start the car. We love you all! Muacks muacks!!

 
 
Lots of ♥,
- Angeline

Actually I feel really blessed to have known them, especially couples like Guan Lim & Jeslin, Jack & Grace, Michelle & Sam, Desmond & Jolene, Jonald & Yutong, Andrew & Clarice, Richard & Wendy, Eddie & Aileen, Max & Mui Hui, Kok Meng & Cassie, Edwin & Eunice and a whoooooooooooooooooooolesome lotssssssssssssssssss moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! In fact we love them all for inviting us to be part of the special team for their biggest day, and also very appreciative that they engaged us because they genuinely love our works and not because we’re “spares”. Much more than that, we’re really really happy that we get to take the relationship further from being just clients, to friends and very good friends! So looking forward to Year 2010, and hopefully meet more interesting characters!!

Year 2009 was pretty fruitful with the achievements Raymond bagged from the [AG]WPJA – Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, the MPA – Masters Photographer Association, establishment of the Wedding Photographers Guild, collaboration with the preservation of monument board and CDL in producing the book – Resonance Songs of our Forefathers, addition of Susulini the DI artist to our family, and lots lots more! Learnt a lot of things, widened our horizons a bit with the travellings and attending the Schembri workshops in Sydney, plucking enough courage to drive overnight from Sydney to Gold Coast within a day etc!

Come to think of it, even though Year 2009 has been 365 days of work for us, it’s actually still pretty colourful!

Now for my Year 2010 resolution: Stop work at 12 midnight, start work at 7am, find one activity to do together with Raymond (we’re pretty lifeless cos of work!), spend more time with family & friends, eat more fruits! That’s all for now! Maybe i’ll get susulini and Raymond to share some day!

Okie now, here’s some images from my personal snap snaps collection. Hehe.

I actually fed the machine with 2 dollars and out came this love struck looking froggie… I got this because Raymond was mad at me for some reason which I cannot remember. So next morning I went over to his place, outlined the shape of my hands and fingers, cut and folded them in such a way that the middle finger is pointing out, stuck it to the body of the frog and pinned the whole thing to his mirror!

I find it funny cos the whole idea of it is funny to me, and at the same time it gets to express my anger and frustration too… Oh well, things I do to “spice up” our relationship. :p

Bought this during our furniture hunting at IKEA few months back. Raymond likes it a lot.

Sometimes he’s really sweet cos he actually bothers to take time off work and divert his attention to me by doing little things like sewing my buttons back for me when it dropped off.

Interesting things we spotted together..

Having late night supper… it’s actually lunch + dinner combined in the middle of the night after 12 midnight!

Sharing a biiiiig mug of hot chocolate..

Yesterday I spent half the day accompanying my friend Shahidah. I call her Shark He Duck, or Duck for short.

I know I have a lot of emails to reply, but Duck is having some personal problems and she needed someone to talk to…

Raymond and I puts relationship above everything else, so instead of sitting down replying emails while she talk and share her problems, I felt that someone who needs a listening ear deserves all the attention…

Tried to cheer her up so I suggested snapping pictures!

Glad it made her smile…

SUCH AN OBSCENE PICTURE!

Duck and I knew each other since 1997, and she’s like one of my best friend… such a coincidence we’re both wearing checkered top!

Then I suggested playing with faces!

A picture of the naked face…

A picture of the painted face!

Duck has a big eyering, floral murals, bird (which I cannot tell!), stitched up wound, sun, and a Mr Pringles look alike face.

I had two uneven eyebrows, some wrinkles on top, double eyelid, arrow love, whiskers, pink nose, mustache, moles and eyebags.

This image is damn cool! Looked like I had fake teeth!!

That’s duck’s frontal view!

.

.

.

.

And here’s two images to share from our piles of backlogs of wedding images!!

Taken on 3 November 2009 for Scott & Wee-Li for their outdoor pre-wedding. Susulini came with us on that day and assisted. Very happy that the images turned out to be pretty nice! Sweet and cheery, bright and pretty!!

Taken on 10 November 2009 for Qi Wei & Hsiao Hui’s outdoor pre-wedding. Susulini joined us too, and we had a yummy dinner of Botak Jones right after! Love this series as well, and we really think Hsiao Hui looks like Zhang Zi Yi from certain angles!

We have a whole lot of other backlogs to share, some of which are already completed long ago. Do keep a lookout for more updates ya? Back to emails! Merry Christmas to all!!

Lots of ♥,

- Angeline

Besides being recently accredited the title of a Licentiate Master Photographer by the prestigious Master Photographers Association, we’re humbled yet delighted to be placed in the 7th position amongst the Top 30 artistic wedding photojournalists following the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association Q3 2009 contest! We would also like to congratulate one of our WPG member – Tsen Ho – for his achievement in clinching the 7th position for the Groom category! Very well done, and we hope to strive and excel together to produce even better wedding images for all couples who appreciate our works and effort!

Special thanks to Wee-Li & Scott, Ho Wei & Eileen, Stephan & Gam for giving us the honour to be part of their special day, here’s the winning images from their respective category.

Groom: We were doing a pre-wedding photo shoot for the couple, and Scott decided to show us his juggling skills! Very spontaneous couple, we’re glad the couple was so patient and accommodating during the shoot! Will share some of their images soon on a seperate entry!

Off camera flash / strobe: Took this at Ho Wei & Eileen’s wedding. Here’s a URL for those who wish to review the collection of images from their wedding day!

Ho Wei & Eileen’s Actual Day Wedding

Emotion: From Stephan and Gam’s wedding. I think we haven’t share the images for this series. Stephan and Gam had a really intimate wedding dinner,with loads and loads of mingling time. It’s one of the weddings which is pretty much stressed free without the need to stick to the strict timing, no pretense and smiling for the sake of smiling for the traditional table to table shots etc.

Once again, a big thank you to the couples, and to all our friends who have been really supportive and encouraging throughout our journey as a wedding photographer!

Lots of ♥,

- Angeline

Anyway, here’s a piece of good news to share! Raymond took part in The Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association’s Q1 2009 contest, and he managed to get into the Top 20 Photographers!

We have a lot of thank yous to give away to the couple for helping us produce such a wonderful image. Of course the biggest one goes to the couple themselves – Chye Tuan and Siang Yin, for being so patient and understanding with us on that day! Chye Tuan actually jumped a few times, and Siang Yin’s fringe kept getting blown messy by the wind. Thank God for not raining, but the sun was really naughty that day. It refused to show us it’s big round orange tummy! So we couldn’t do a lot of shots which we wanted to try out, which was quite a pity. But it’s ok, cos we managed to grab other nice images without the sun too!

Raymond and I had a lot of fun shooting their pre-wedding, and we have quite a few images to share from that day’s shoot! Not forgetting a picture of my wrinkled mimosa face with a badly squashed weirdo bug on my finger. That darn Raymond had to take his handphone to snap a picture instead of helping me grab tissues for me to wipe off first, cos the process matters most, not the results. The bug was reeeeeeeeally disgusting, and it really freaked me out!  =_=”

We’ll share on Chye Tuan and Siang Yin’s wedding images once it’s ready! Not forgetting Richard and Wendy’s! Raymond is almost done tidying up Janet and Herman’s wedding, so I’ll be sharing some snippets from their wedding tomorrow in the late night. Hehe.

Tata!

Lots of ♥,

- Angeline

Raymond Phang was one of them!! We got into the Top Thirty Photographers from the Q3’08 Contest!!! And our images got in for top 10 placing for two of the categories – Ceremony, and Emotion!

Emotion

Gotta thank Guan and Jes for this! It was taken during their wedding last year! Hahaha! I sooooooooo wanted to SMS them when I saw the image, but then I thought better not, since they are all away in Taiwan with their family for a holiday. Share with them when they’re back then!

Thanks Wei Seng and Jaclyn! This one was shot during their wedding last year too! A lot of our couples love the bubbles effect and find it very enchanting. I even remember Ivan commenting about this picture that it’s very impactful & touching until it could make him cry. Ah, this is also the very image we used for our advertorial on the December issue of the HerWorld Brides Magazine. 

That’s finally a one good news after a string of unhappy events and unlucky encounters. We accumulated at least 6 parking summons with 3 demerit points. Then someone with an itchy hand used a sharp tool to poke and dig Raymond’s car tyre. Still drivable at tortoise speed but anything faster, the whole car will fly and cause accident. We honestly don’t have time to send it in for repair. It’s extremely risky we know, but… we’ll try and squeeze time.

That aside, last night Raymond had an accident when he was parking the car because the caterer actually painted the poles and pillars with black paint! How to see when it’s so dark at night right?

Nevermind, we hope things will only get better for every one of us. Cheers!

Lots of ♥,

- Angeline