(L-R: Melissa, Anna & Leigh) The Entity Dance Collective dancers @ the Studio, Newtown.

The best things in life..
are the ones that help you procrastinate doing the worst things in life :)

I had to toss up between washing the toilet or flickr-ing so i went for flickr-ing. Finished up the short set i did for the Entity Dance Collective practice session. It was a really rushed shoot and i went home feeling like i coulda shoulda woulda have done better at it and worrying that once on the larger comp screen, nothing would turn out right but i have to say that all that praying for it to work out must've helped. Ended up quite happy with some of the shots, got to meet some lovely people and learned the value of instinct over intellect in the process.

It's wonderful when you realise that wonderful things can come out of less than perfect circumstances. It makes possibilities seem possible once more... if only we could just believe.

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One a different note. Time for some geekery! These are some really cool links i've come across recently for online flickr related stuff. If you're not on flickr - get with the program! hehe...

Geekery #1:
wallpapr

what: Beta version of cool search tool that lets you enter keywords and search for a random selection of large sized/high resolution images on flickr that are (averagely) computer wallpaper sized. As far as i checked, all the images that the engine shows up are under creative commons licenses so as far as i can tell it doesn't help people rip off copyrighted or protected works - which is great :)
link: wallpapr


Geekery #2:
groupr

what: With the tagline "A bird's eye view of your flickr groups" this tool gives you a new way of browsing flickr through flickr group pools. Just type in your (or someone else's) flickr nickname, hit search, and a page comes up with a random selection of photos from a number of groups that that flickr person belongs to. Simple customisable functions let you choose the number of groups to be included in the search.
link: groupr

Now go ye thereforth and waste time on flickr! :D

*p/s: no, this isn't a paid post and yes, i wish it was.

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More from the Entity Dance Collective rehearsal series:
(hit the thumbnails to get to the larger version and to got to the photostream )

Labels: Australia, conceptual, dancer, geekery, photography, Sydney, theatre

The lovely Leigh from Entity Dance Collective - Click on the pic, full-view is a must!

The slowest minutes and the fastest days
collide and meet in the strangest ways..

At times, it makes sense for the situation to not make sense. Sometimes, i think the best thing one can do is to just sit back and let life just happen. After all, it seems our lives are too coincidental to be coincidences, too random to really be random. Times like these i'm grateful that i believe in God, in divine intervention, in destiny, in hope and that ultimately, regardless of what i decide or do, whatever will be will surely still be.

Que sera sera
Reasoning won't get you very far
Best look life in the eye
and watch it go by
while reveling in a soliloquy
knowing that whatever will be will be..

Labels: dancer, emo, photography, self-reflection, theatre

"Fallen Leaves is a dreamscape where lives and stories swept to the fringes
are collected gently as one. Their sounds chime with the stories of lives lived less ordinary."

Fallen Leaves was first staged@Actor's Studio Bangsar and i had the pleasure of shooting their first performance as well as shooting their recent pratice session for the re-staging of this wonderfully honest and moving piece.

Initiated by Cloudbreak Creative Developement Centre (run by my aunt Jade and Brian Jones), this project consists of 4 real-life stories written as short plays and told by HIV/Aids patients who themselves have experienced first hand many of the emotions and conflicts brought up in the layered themes of the pieces. If the first staging was anything to go by, audience members can expect a very human story told on a very human level - one that will ensure that you leave the theatre space questioning your own prejudices, preconceptions and understanding regarding this topic of drugs, aids and HIV. Forget holier-than-thou service messages, this is the real thing.

All proceeds from these performances will support ongoing Art Therapy Projects at Welcome Community Home.

As it is a mobile performance experience (yeap, this means the actors and the audience move among each other during the play..it's kinda cool, trust me ;) ) it is limited to only 50 participants per show. You can get your tickets at the following venues:

Food Foundry: Block B Happy Mansion Jalan 17/13 PJ - Siew Ling @ 012 330 5805
Cloudbreak Studio: P2-2 Plaza Damas Jalan Sri Hartamas 1 KL - Jade @ 012 330 2600

Time/Date:
29 June 07, Fri / 8pm
30 June 07, Sat / 3pm, 8pm
1 July 07, Sun / 3pm, 8pm

Tickets by donation:
RM30 (Adults) & RM10 (Students, senior citizens)

Beyond the hype - Past the prejudice - Through the fear

Some shots from the practice run... yes, b/w again.. and do excuse the excessive amount of 'hand' photos.. it's a recent obsession (As Ray puts it they are "..hand picked hand pics" *hee*). Hands are such fascinating tools of expression...


Abdul Manap in action in "Panah Beracun/The Poison Arrow"


Brian J. and Harjit discussing the play with the actors


Actors and audience members will move among each other as each story literally 'weaves' through the place..


Azahar takes over the lead in "Bakar" from the original actor who has since passed on :(


Azahar's hands tell as much of the story as does his actual narrative


Azahar again :)


Tet Fook taking time out to give some thoughts about his experience of being involved in this project


I love Harjit's face.. his eyes are quiet, strong, weathered and lead on to an old soul - one who looks out on life with deep knowing eyes...


Laura and Abdul Manap watching the play unfold..


Paul Gobi in "A Shaded Life"

Labels: black and white, cloudbreak, fallen leaves, photography, theatre

Have dinner at ARIA, go watch Chick Corea, Sydney Symphonic Orchestra & Gary Burton perform at the Opera House then finish off with drinks at Opera Bar...
..now that's what you do when you're in Sydney :D

*happiness*

The performance was utter magic.. just magic. We knew it, they knew it - i really hope they make the recordings into a record.. as it is Chick hardly ever records with an orchestra and the orchestration under the spunky guidance of the conductor Johnathan Stockhammer was just amazing... at times in the first half Gary Burton (vibraphone/marimba) more or less stole the show. He's such an enigmatic guy to watch live and the fact that this complex jazz sound was coming out of what essentially looks like a glorified xylophone was quite bewildering - in a good sort of way.

We had these great seat smack in the middle of the row in the centre of the stalls.. close enough to see everything, far enough to get balanced sound *lovely*... the second half was where it got really interesting with some Corea favourites getting a revamp and remix with Gary coming in and the orchestra just making everything sound amazingly lush. The orchestra set a thick tapestry as a background and Corea and Burton just wove their way through it so beautifully - at times playing together as one instrument and at times going off on their own melodies. It really makes you wonder why they don't do more recordings with orchestras... *happy sigh*

It' been a while since i've been for a live performance that was this moving. One of my favorites of the nights was when the whole orchestra, Corea and Burton did this reinterpreted rendition of"La Fiesta".. WOW... i've never really liked the original recording of it but the one i heard tonight was really..wow... there was a point in it where i just closed my eyes and i could see it all - the little children running about, the dancers in their colourful dresses, the fanfare, the spirit, the confetti even *hahaha*.. What did it for me though was the encore when both Corea and Burton duetted on the vibraphones with a spontaneous version of Corea's "Spain"...

*standing ovation*

Listen to some tracks here and imagine them done live with an orchestra...






*happiness happiness happiness*


Now, i must return to my little hole in uni to live out the rest of the semester *bleurgh*

Labels: Australia, bar, jazz, music, Sydney, theatre

Love hate relationships.. Christine Ellis as Claire Standish & Kelvin Wong as John Bender (The Breakfast Club, A.L.M.S. Productions, 2006)

Love hate relationships..
are the most intriguing yet the most perplexing..

I love seeing results, but hate the hours of blood, sweat and tears I have to put in to get it. Love the new pair of Red by Marc Ecko sneakers that i bought (my first pair of sneakers - EVER!), hate the fact that they gave me blisters today. Similarly, i love the fact that i'm going to Sydney in about a month's time to study, but at the same time, i also really hate the fact that I'm going to miss so many people and so many things - partly thrilled, mostly terrified.. in a good way i think *heh* ai...

Some of you guys really liked the last song by Donna Burke that i put into one of my previous posts, so here another one of her tracks.. a sexier number than the last, has something to do with the title of me post too ;) *enjoy*



Anyways, as promised, more photos from THE BREAKFAST CLUB. It's still going on now so check out my previous post for more details. Here are some shots i took on my first night there. Stoopid me, i left my camera battery in the charger outside the hall so no shots from the 1st half of the play. Posting shots i took during the second part of the play after the intermission. It's a little like skipping the first few chapters of a book and heading right for the ending so if you're not the kind who like spoilers.. this is a warning - PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!


The Breakfast Club 5 (Krystle's hiding behind Brana *eep*) baring their souls..


Sharing secrets after smoking up some 'happy herbs' :D *whee*


Kelvin's John Bender voicing his cynical views on life..


Krystle as Allison Reynolds & Brana as Brian Johnson. The funny thing is that during there really is a guy named Brian Johnson who's acting in this play as the janitor - i found that highly amusing ;)


John Bender: Why do you have so much shit in your bag?
Claire: Why do you have so many girlfriends? I guess i just never throw stuff away.
John Bender: Me too..


Andrew Clarke: What's wrong?
Allison Reynolds: Nothing...just go away!


Andrew Clarke: *smooch smooch*
Allison Reynolds: *eep* Eeeeewww!!!!!!!
Hehehe.. ok ok so i made up those lines ;) *hee*


"Brian Johnson: Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...
Andrew Clarke: ...and an athlete...
Allison Reynolds: ...and a basket case...
Claire Standish: ...a princess...
John Bender: ...and a criminal...
Brian Johnson: Does that answer your question?... Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club. "

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Since i've had to do ton loads o shooting lately, i joined a couple of photography website and forums to try to learn some new stuff. One of the photography sites a chanced upon was Photography Corner. I got some tutorials from there that i posted up in my previous post (remember that yummy sounding 'Orton Slide Sandwich' technique?).

Anyways, they're having a PhotographyCorner.com 2006 Photograph of the Year Contest and guess what? It's open to participants from most countries - including MALAYSIA!! I rarely come across web contests open to Malaysian as well let alone photography web contest open to Malaysian.. *yays!*

The prizes seem pretty cool too with up to USD14k in cash and prizes to be given away.. key term there "USD" as in if you convert it to our Malaysian "RM", you get almost 4 times more..

O_o"

Aside from the cash, there's also gift certificates (online photo/photography equipment retailers so you can still use it from outside the US of A - ProPics Express) , image software (Image Align pro), Lensbabies lens kits (omg, Albert, you HAVE to check out the lensbabies site.. it's the coolest little lens modification thingy! It lets you BEND your SLR Lens!!!), Lowepro gear, istockphotos gear, subscriptions, and other stuffs.

I've been going through their rules for the contest and so far the only catch i can find is that before you're allowed to enter the contest, you have to:

1. Register with the site (it's free anyways and pretty hassle-free) and..

2. Be a 'member of good standing' (meaning you need to have made at least 5 posts in the site forum - which is no big deal considering that upon joining the forums, you'd probably rack up those 5 psots in about 5 mins..)

Each person's only allowed to enter one photo so i'm having a tough time trying to decide which to submit.. ;p *choices, choices, choices...*

Anyways, the contest started in December 2006 and the closing date is end of January 2007 so we've still got time..

Going shooting with Albert, Asyraf, Pinkfrog, SmashpOp and crew tomorrow (hopefully) so i'm now a photog with a mission! It's harder cause there's no set category or type of photo that you can submit.. it can be anything under the sun *bleurgh* Wish me luck and have a go at it yourself. (P/s: if you read about this contest here and you enter and win, i hereby claim half of your total winnings for myself *muahahaha* ... hehe joking lar [not really] *blek* ;p).

This post was sponsored by PhotographyCorner.

Labels: black and white, photography, The Breakfast Club, the oral stage, theatre

The Breakfast Club, A.L.M.S. Productions, 2006: (Feat. The Oral Stage - L-R: Reuben W.J Kang, Krystle W., Branavan Aruljothi, Christine Ellis & Kelvin Wong)

"They only met once,
but it changed their lives forever.."

-from 'The Breakfast Club'

It's true though.. sometimes we remember the strangest people for the strangest reasons.. People come and go, paths cross, lives touch. I believe that everyone comes into our life for a reason. No matter how brief the encounter, every path we cross is meant to lead us on and to teach us more about ourselves and what we're capable of. Each person we meet opens up new possibilities, the smallest choices we make can have the biggest impact. Same can be said for me i suppose. Thanks to Reubens's recommendation, i got my first actual freelance photography gig (yeah, no more free freelancing this time *yay!*).

It's for this play entitled THE BREAKFAST CLUB happening now till the 7th of January, 2007 at the KR SOMA Auditorium, K.L.

I did the photography and design for them for their publicity material (postcards, posters, tickets, promo shots, etc.) and event stuff as well.. was quite nervous about it at first - had to learn to use Illustrator and finish the ton load o editting/design work while still busy with Chritmas, New Year and going off to Aussie land- but i'm glad i took it on. Was quite the learning experience i have to say and a HUGE thank you to Kok Keong who helped me in this gig. *hugs*

Anyways, i've been shooting at the venue for 2 nights now and I can see the show improving with each night. Got Albert the Camera Pornster , Asyraf Lee and Fazri some free tics to go see it and pimp it on the preview night. Do check it out if you're free the next few days and show some love to The Oral Stage guys acting in it. Details are as follows:


Postcard front..


Postcard back..

I'll be going again to shoot during the 3pm show on 7th Jan. '07. Drop a hi if you're going during that show - I'll be the girl with the camera bouncing along the aisles :)

Some promo shots i did for them before the play.. If you're gonna rip some pics from my blog to use for personal reason or to post on your blog/website, PLEASE leave a comment and/or link in this post or drop me an email. Please also respect the copyright of this work by not removing the watermark, thanks ;)

Here goes..


Andrew 'Sporto' Clarke (Reuben W.J Kang) & Allison 'The Basketcase' Reynolds (Krystle W.)


Claire 'The Princess' Standish (Christine W.) & John 'The Criminal' Bender (Kelvin Wong)


Richard 'Dick' Vernon (Andre D. D'Cruz) & Carl 'The Janitor' (Brian D. Johnson)


"..something wicked this way comes!"


TBC - The boys (Kelvin, Branavan, Reuben)


'Dick' & 'Carl'..


More shots of 'The Making of: TBC - Practice Session' and the actual production in my next post!

*cheers*

P/s: Sorry i can't turn off Auto-play of the song from my previous post - can't access the song source website since the cables are down. you can manually pause the music by clicking the pause button (duh ;p) on the player embedded in my previous post.) Also, I can't log into Photobucket so i can't change my header!! *grr* Still Christmas for me till the internet is up and running well again..

Labels: photography, The Breakfast Club, theatre