Before the crack of dawn on the 5th of March 2011, Ellen and Joel woke to get ready for their big day.

Unlike other Singaporean couples, there was no mad-flurry of activity at the bride’s hotel. Yes the bride, mother of the bride and bridesmaids all had to have their hair and makeup done… but there was no crazy plotting of embarrassing antics, concocting nasty potions (where  wasabi, lemon juice and ikan bilis sauce make frequent appearances), or listing of marriage promises – to subject the groom and his entourage to.

There was a wonderfully low-stress vibe in the hotel as the ladies gathered themselves for Ellen’s big day.

Because we had the luxury of time on our hands, we managed to get a few photos of the bride in her (gorgeous) understated dress before the groom arrived.

It was fitting that we had a breath-taking sunrise to herald the start of their day.

Here are a handful of highlights from before the wedding ceremony:

And we arrive at Trinity Methodist Church – which was decked out in an elegantly playful style which matched Ellen’s and Joel’s personalities perfectly.

As Joel is an officer in the Army, he prepares in his dress uniform – along with a group of his best mates, all perfectly turned out for the day.

One of my favourite photos… the guests all wrote in this scrapbook when they registered, and some of the comments were hilarious!

Stay tuned for the wedding ceremony and also the best photos from their wedding dinner!

I’m going to plagiarise from the comment pictured above… Ellen and Joel, you guys are the perfect couple!

Congratulations again!

In Noel’s bag:

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It’s not often that I think that when photographing the bride getting ready for her wedding.

Typically the flow of events includes waking up, showering, getting into the dress, make-up, hair, etc.

Dancing in general, is atypical – let alone a well-choreographed ‘work-it-work-it-hands-in-the-air-hip-hip-fling-the-hair-strut-strut-pose-Pussycat-Doll’ style dance routine.

But that indeed was what Jessica and her bridesmaids were doing at 6am on the day of her wedding. At one point, dressed in full wedding dress, plate of dim sum (her breakfast) in one hand, I believe she even accomplished what I believe is a pop-and-lock.

As you can imagine, this was one insanely fun wedding to photograph. Here is a behind the scenes look at the bride’s preparations. Oh keep a lookout for sneaky bridesmaids hiding out from under the bride’s train.

One of my favourite shots titled “The money-grubbing pose” – idea originated from the bride and her lovely bridesmaids!

Next up on byNoelYeo.com, the gatecrashing groom.

In Noel’s bag:

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Having seen some of my bridal and maternity images, Emilia and Cyril contacted me for a maternity shoot. Emilia was about 7 months along and wanted some nice family/maternity photos. Despite Cyril being a good photographer in his own right (and pretty good at PhotoShop), they wanted photos of them as a family – which meant that he couldn’t be behind the camera.

I also had the pleasure of meeting and photographing their son Guillaume – who seemed to have boundless energy. It helped that we had a secret weapon to keep him engaged in the photo shoot – a very specific kind of cookie that he absolutely loves.

Here are some of the images from that eventful shoot!

All in all it was a  lovely shoot with a really lovely family. Think it’s awesome that Guillaume will be getting a new brother or sister too.

Before we wrapped the shoot, I spotted this street sign and thought it would make a funny photo. Am glad that Emilia was sporting enough to pose in front of it!

Thanks for a great shoot you guys… can’t wait to meet the new addition to the family!

Noel

In Noel’s bag:

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Designed to be part hotel, part serviced apartment, at the time of the photo shoot, all units had already sold out – testament to the attractiveness of the design and its perfect location. I was approached by the design team to capture the lovely architecture model before it was taken away.

Here are the images of the architectural model:

I was also engaged to photograph the interior of the Dorsett Residences showflat – which I will share in a separate post.

Thanks to Derrick Tan and the whole team for the opportunity to work on this exciting project.

In Noel’s bag:

- Canon EOS 5D Mark II

- EF 16-35mm F/2.8L

- Manfroto Tripod + Ball Head

- Canon wireless remote shutter release

- Black velvet backdrop and portable backdrop stand

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I recently had the opportunity to style and photograph a series of refreshed (and brand new) products by Sun Lim Garden – a local producer of really tasty dried snacks.

From spicy cashews to salted almonds, healthy mixes (or wolfberries and baby almonds) to milk pistachio nuts, this shoot was incredibly fun (and rather tasty to boot – hey one does have to understand the product before being able to showcase it in its best form)!

Here is a sample of the images that we created on the day. These will be used for their new product packaging and in their PR efforts over the next few years.

And this my personal favourite shot of the shoot… for one thing, the colours really pop, and I also like the garlic coated peanuts.

Special thanks to Shumin for tips on where to source the props from! )

In Noel’s bag:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L
• Canon EF 500D Closeup Filter
• 5 in 1 Reflector (168cm x 102cm)
• Wireless shutter release (5D Mark II)

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Given the sheer scale of the assignment and the fact that Hotel Novotel operates at approx 80% occupancy (when it’s quiet!), it was decided that the best approach would be to split the shoot over a period of 5 days. This enabled us to avoid the times when the hotel was at its busiest and also allowed me to capture each facility in the best light.

These are the results from shoot #1.

Front Desk and Reception:

The Executive Lounge (on the 27th Floor):

Function Room: Paprika

… and one of my personal favourites… the Brand new iMac Stations!

Next, we’ll check out the Novotel’s new Le Bar Rouge, their fabulous signature cocktails and new dishes from The Square restaurant.

In Noel’s bag:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon EF 16-35mm F/2.8L
• Canon Speedlite 580EX II
• Canon Speedlite 430 EX II
• Wireless Speedlite triggers/receivers
• Home-made Speedlite snoot (fashioned out of black art card paper)
• 2x medium light stands

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On Christmas Eve 2009… this Red-Bellied Poicephalus Parrot half-flew, half-tottered into our lives.

Okay so I brought him home from Goodwill Birds Trading as a Christmas present… and I can’t think of a better present.

When I saw him at the bird shop, he was ultra-affectionate – practically begging for attention. Now my friends know that I’ve never been a ‘bird-person’ ever, but this little thing was just too cute to pass on.

After toiling with a name for long time, we ultimately came to the decision to name him ‘Pigeon van der Beak‘.

Yes I know he’s a parrot. Yes I realise he’s not a pigeon. Yes it’s meant to be ironic – a name that is as quirky as he is…

Here are some photos that I took of him in the first few weeks of life as part of the family – predominantly with the exceptional Canon EF 50mm F/1.2L lens.

This is the first time I tried to get him to ‘Step Up’ onto my finger… okay so he was a little nippy and nervous at first, but he’s not quite used to it. Even though I got a semi-bloody nail (he got a little too enthusiastic chewing on my fingernail), I am exhilarated about how comfortable he is with me.

Pigeon started doing this strange ‘aeroplane’ position with his wings low and wide. Think it might be something to do with mating behaviours. Should I be worried… nah, it’s actually quite cute.

My two favourite images:

Shower Time                                                                  Dr. Evil

Pigeon van der Beak (age: 2) – December 2009

Now truly part of the family, Pigeon gives me one more thing to look forward to at the end of the work day. Now all I have to do is get over the separation anxiety I feel when I have to leave him at home all day!

I’ll be charting his growth and development as the über-pet-parrot on byNoelYeo – so stay tuned.

The following kit was used to create these photos:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• EF 50mm F/1.2L USM
• EF 70-200 F/2.8L IS USM (only for the 3 photos that I was in – thanks for taking the photos Mark)

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So a few weeks ago, I was revving up for ZoukOut ’09 – eagerly anticipating Armin Van Buuren’s set… until that is, I was struck down by one of the worst cases of food poisoning I’ve ever had in my life.

To cheer myself up, I set up this shoot the evening-after the party with the intention to deconstruct fashion and beauty images with water droplets.

Initially, the images I was aiming for was the splash of water after a droplet hit the surface.

~ Dove Clear ~                                                                         ~ Flawless Skincare ~

~ Cover Models ~

~ Shoulder Duster ~

~ Jolly Rogers ~

~ Tear Droplet ~

I then progressed to freezing the moment the ‘rebound-water-droplets’ were suspended in the air – just for that split second. It was an exercise in  patience, perseverance  and luck (in equal parts).

~ Water Crystal ~

~ Jolly Rogers II ~

~Christmas Catalogue ~

~ Grace Jones ~

~ Hugo ~

~ Harpers Bizarre ~

and my personal pavourite:

~ Hermes Picasso ~

Feel free to write to me if you have any questions about how I achieved these images in camera (Lightroom was used for contrast and cropping only).

Coming up tomorrow, a close encounter with a Red-breasted Poicephalus!

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Conducted shoot for five local bloggers as part of Soy Joy’s GI Challenge (April 2009)

The microsite with final images:

Nadia aka Nadnut

Ivy + Eunice

Pamela + Rayner

Behind the scenes at the Soy Joy Shoot:

Thanks to @patlaw (yet again!) for the lead!

I owe ya!

April 2009 byNoelYeo

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As much as I love my Canon EOS 5D Mark II, sometimes I just want to travel without the weight of a DSLR on my shoulders.

Goes to show that you can create interesting imagery with almost any device.

Value-Adding Bangkok Cabby

Weaving through Gridlock

Result of traffic-jam boredom. Might as well try out new ShakeItPhoto iPhone App

Still stuck in a cab. Contrast-y, but not too shabby

Sight for sore eyes: The Metropolitan Bangkok

Beauty in Bath(tub)

Siam Discovery splashes

Sunset at Siam (BTS Station)

Changing face of Bangkok Cityscape

Sneaking a nap on the side of Bangkok’s cityscape. Hopefully where your boss won’t find you. Yes, that is a man on the ledge.

Emergency signs with a twist @ Aldo, restaurant at the Ascott Sathorn

Breakfast Part 1 (left to right: pre, post)

Breakfast Part 2

Lunch Part 1 @ Sacha’s, Hotel Uno Sukhumvit

Lunch Part 2 (are you detecting a trend here). A friend once said “Noel is happiest… when sitting in front of 2 dinners.”

Dinner at Curries & More, Lumphini

Also having a meal, puppies at their err… restaurant

BTS Baby. Unnervingly knowing eyes

And that was my BKK trip in a nutshell.

Next stop, KUL for my brother’s wedding. That’ll be a barrel of laughs I’m sure!

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