HONG KONG - where East meets West

2 months later, and you finally get to read about our unforgettable trip. This trip was  undertaken by the 2 'members' of GFP. As a business venture to purchase new equipment, and as a travel adventure, to explore and shoot images for ourselves and our new and progressing business.

Although we have put some of these images up in various places (facebook, flickr), what we have decided to do is showcase some of the more personal images from the most exciting 2 weeks in 2012 so far.

We had been planning this trip for 18 months, and with a 6 month delay, the time finally arrived. 15th March 2012, and we were off on the 17:00 SAA  flight to Hong Kong!

A flight is a flight is a flight, and with a fair amount of airmiles under our belts, we took it all in our stride, Rob sleeping most of the way, and Gen catching up on all the Twilight movies she had missed. See, flights are good for SOMETHING ;)

Land in Hong Kong, and you are in a different world. Harsh to say... but everything works, everything is clean and everything s pretty much automated... heck, even the toilets flush by themselves! A quick Burger King lunch ( not yet brave enough to try the Asian cuisine) and off we went. We were staying with a friend (Claire :)) who has lived in Hong Kong for a long time, and had to make way to Discovery Bay, wherever that was. "Following you!" would soon become a familiar phrase, as I had absolutely no idea which way was up and which way was down, so had to trust my ever patient tour guide... Tour Guide Rob :)

Arrive in Discovery Bay, and once again, you feel like you are in a completely different place, definitely not Hong Kong. Discovery Bay I would liken to some sort of Wisteria Lane, no cars allowed, only the public tansport buses, and  golf carts. Yip, thats right... the folk of Discovery Bay all drive golf carts. Interesting place indeed.

Our first weekend in Hong Kong was a bit of a whirlwind... dinner at the best Thai restaurant in DB, breakfast at the Jumbo floating restaurant, which lasted till 3pm, drinks and adventures at the Hong Kong cricket club... Stanley Market, Lunch at The Boat House, sundowners at The Boat House... ferries, taxis, buses and the MTR... this was most certainly going to be adventurous 2 weeks!

As I sit here today, the next 2 weeks I cant remember in the exact order that it all happened, but what I do remember, is that the Monday after the first hectic weekend, was CAMERA BUYING DAY! *happy dance*. This was the day we had waited for for quite a while. After making the 30 min ferry ride from DB to Central,  then catching the next baby ferry (two dollar!) across the harbour  to Kowloon side, walking the streets of Kowloon, with every second person asking if we wanted/needed a tailor... not too sure what this may have said about our choice of clothing... but we just 'politely' declined and carried on walking, only to be targeted by the next one. Relentless I tell you! Map in hand, its pretty easy to get around, and we eventually found the shop we were looking for, the camera we were looking for, and most importantly,  the price we were looking for. After signing my life away ( wink wink) I was the proud new owner of .. da da... a Canon 7D. *big smiles an handshakes all round* not really, but you know what I mean :)

Im not too sure what  happened after that, its all much of a blur really... I think it goes something like this... Rob buying a new baby camera, walking back down to Nathan Road, and snap snap snap away. The sound of the new camera is just so different to my baby one.. I could have snapped away all day.

Here a few of the 1st lot of snaps, hustle and bustle of Kowloon and Centrals streets.

Over the next 2 weeks, from more bus rides to eventful taxi drives, more walking and ferry catching to more MTR-ing and definitely more picture taking, we experienced this city for all it was worth. We took on viewing the Pink Dolphins, braved a few local bus rides up to the Tian Tan Buddah and across to Tia O Fishing village where you get to experience the more local and quiet part of Lantau Island. We strolled around for hours just taking in the life these folk have... so simple and uncomplicated is our perception of it all, however, they may look at us and think we have the best of lives... i dont think anyone is really and truely ever satisfied with what they have.

Anyway, the travels and adventures continued... The Hong Kong Botanical Gardens and Zoo - nothing like you have ever seen before... I mean a zoo in the middle of a concrete jungle??? A trip up the Peak Tram to see  the light show down below - but were sadly  greeted by nothing but a beautiful white sheet of cloud... lucky there was a Burger King up top which served as our dinner for the evening. Eventually the clouds did clear and we managed to see the view from the Peak - pretty darn stunning if you ask me!

Next up was what most people live for in Hong Kong.. the  Rugby 7's. We hadnt planned it that we were there at the same time, it just happened and we went along with fate, purchasing tickets *cough cough* in SA before we left then crossed all fingers, toes and eyelashes the 3 of us could muster  that we hadnt been duped and would in fact get these elusive tickets. Which, luckily we did, after walking Wan Chai for almost 2 days to meet the guy, we finally got them... and off we went.... to THE MOST debauturous party ever! What a fabulous time we had, and its definitely a MUST for anyone visiting Hong Kong at towards the end of March.

Off  to Kennedy Town where Claire works and off to meet the kiddies... the 'travellers' as we were branded would come and visit them and tell them about the journey they were on... and even coach a spot of hockey. Can never quite get away from it.. its in the blood!

Hong Kong at night is a very different place... the lights come on and the town dresses up for you. What a beauty. Temple Street Night Market with its very different and unique stalls, was followed by watching the lightshow from Kowloon side, which, incedently, would include a wonderful jumping shot taken by  the locals... we have yet to publish this little one ;)

Monastaries and Nunneries are also a definite must when visiting these parts of the world. They are so serene, so peaceful and so into another world, you almost forget that you are in the 21st century surrounded by concrete. We found these to be a wonderful place to soul search and and just be.

Our last evening saw us having a little spoil... well, Rob actually spoilt Gen, but we both had a magnificent time. Up on the ICC, looking down over Kowloon and Central, watching yet another light show and sipping cocktails... what more could a girl want?! Such a treat that will be remembered forEVER!

 

So, thats about it in a nutshell.. what an incredible time and cant wait for the next one! There are, I have no doubt, some bits that have been left out.. either intentionally *wink wink* or unintentionally... lets meet for a cuppa....... :)
Thank you thank you to our beautiful friend Claire... most amazing person ever and thanks for having us 'round'. :)

Live...Love...Remember

Picture from the weekend 9

As we move through life, so the weeks get faster and faster, and the weekends are just about invisible. Luckily, we still manage to find a picture or two from the weekend to share with you all.

The picture(s) from this past weekend, has to be my gorgeous little niece - semi complicated, but that's what I'm calling her and that's how it is :)
This precious little girl was born on the 19 April 2012 and has brought nothing but love and happiness to all those around her. As her life is moving forward, I have seen both grown men and women (young and old alike) swoon over this little beauty and the children stare at her is awe... looking at these few pictures, its not hard to see why.

So, here she is... introducing to you, MIA KATHERINE FRANK

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that she is going to be one of the most photographed little girls out there, we have even started building the conveyor belt for her to lie on so we can each get a chance to snap away at this precious munchkin. ;)

Welcome to the world Mia!

Thank you to Jason and Janey for letting me take these for you.. I feel so honoured :)

Live...Love...Remember

Lee Family Shoot

This beautiful little family shoot sprung out of nowhere, but what fun we had on this Tuesday morning! :)

We were contacted by Yvette, a referral from one of our earlier GFP Family shoots, who wanted to have a baby shoot done with her husband and gorgeous baby girl of 4.5 months.

As always, we are eager, willing and most certainly able to fit shoots into our schedules, and we had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful family on the public holiday last week.

What a fun loving, easy-going and down to earth couple Antonio and Yvette are, with the cutest most beautifully adorable baby daughter. Eager to try all sorts of things to capture those special moments, not being too camera shy and ever so tender when soothing baby Lisa when she had had enough of that horrible big lens being stuck in her face for over an hour, we managed to get these beautiful images of a wonderful family together.

Thank you Antonio and Yvette for letting us in your home to capture these memories with you.

Live...Love...Remember

Week 7: Romance

This weeks theme was Romance... should have all seen it coming after the big V-day that was celebrated on Tuesday, 14th February. The much anticipated day of the year, and even more so on leap years! Guys, hope all your beautiful ladies spoilt you rotten, and perhaps even one or 2 of them popped you the BIG question for a change... ;)

Having said all of that, you would think that this weeks theme would be a relatively easy theme to produce, but on the other hand... not so. (for us anyway)
Yes, with all the heart shaped goodies still about, the love teddy bears and the almost dead and barely alive flowers could have made this a little easier, but again, we were looking for something a little different.

In the end, we did end up using a V-day prop to get these photos, and we threw in a nice little silhouette just to break all the cooey-ness.
We had fun doing these pictures, as its something that hasnt been ventured down before on our side - with much oooh-ing and aaah-ing going on. Although you could say we were playing with the light, which is completely true, the ROMANCE for us in these images is more about the mood and ambiance created than the actual objects and subjects involved.

Week 7 : Romance

Hope you like these emotive romance images... thoughts and comments welcome!

Live...Love...Remember

Happy Wellingtons Day

Ahhh... how I miss Raj 1 and Raj 2...

14th of February on yet another year, the day we all declare it bigger and louder how much we love our boyfriends, girlfriends, partners, husbands, wives, dogs, cats and parrots.

Happy Valentines Day to you all - may all your stars shine that much brighter today.

"What I need to live has been given to me by the earth. Why I need to live has been given to me by you." ~ Author Unknown

Picture from the weekend - 4

The image I have chosen for this weeks picture from the weekend, comes from our long suffering shoot with our 9 year old model, the one who claims he will become famous... which is now probably true. This gorgeous boy is my nephew and belongs to my sister and brother-in-law, and all throughout his life, has been used by default for photo shoots, tea making, dish-taking to the kitchen etc etc, you catch my drift.

The idea for this part of the shoot, was to try and get him coming out of the water, and catching the photograph just at the right point where there is still a layer of water film around him. Penny Haynes type of style...

This is roughly what the shoot sounded like:
"ok, now i want you to go under the water, and come up slowly"
*Garion goes under the water and comes up slowly... only problem is, only his forehead and half his eyes are out the water*
See Exhibit A:

Ok, so that didnt work out so well....

"no, not like that, i want you to go under the water and come up a little quicker and in one motion (photographer motions with hands on how to go under and back up)               

*Garion goes under the water and SHOOTS up causing massive splashes, ripples and the photographer to cut half his head off*

See Exhibit B:

                           

Right, so then we have to adjust our thinking.... and decide to go with the continuous shooting option and just hope and pray that we get the shot. Not always ideal for someone wanting to call themselves a photographer, but as the novelty for our youngster model was wearing off, we had to do something drastic to get the shot.

Here is the final shot below, not 100% my vision, but I definitely think it came out well and is pretty awesome!

Thoughts and comments welcome!

Love you my little monster and thank you!

Live...Love...Remember

Picture from the weekend - 1

So lately we have been inspired to do a bit more shooting, and every weekend, when we dont have any shoots booked, we just take to taking pictures. Seeing the world for what it is and living in the moment. Im not sure if its the 52 Project that has brought this inspiration on, or if it just caused by the hustle and bustle of life in the week... I dont know, but what i do know is that its definitely going to produce some wonderfully interesting images :)

Here is last weekends picture:

A simple message, but yet said so well... we hope that in seeing and reading this, that one does not forget to LIVE... to LOVE... and to REMEMBER...our little recipe for a fulfilled life.

Comments and thoughts welcome :)