+ Less Talk, Do More Work! +

A friend of mine, Fauzee of Manggis recently wrote his status on facebook : "Less Talk, Do More Work Plz!"

Hehehe..

Totally agreed!

Why? Simply put, you can talk a thousand things about your services or about your company, but if your work is nowhere close to what you're talking about, then you only talk cock. It’s contrary to work. Even if you don't say anything about yourself to anyone, your work will do all the talking for you. 2 in 1! Neat huh? And the best thing about work more talk less, you could convince more people easier on your capability as the proof is already there in front of their eyes! :-)

And yesterday we @ Pretty Peektures were surprised to get a prompt testimonial from our latest client, Chef Wan. Alhamdulillah, it is a great motivation for Pretty Peektures to drive onwards in 2010. Congratulations & million thanks to all staff and crew of Pretty Peektures! :-) You guys make me proud. Cewah. Also not to forget, mrs Min who never stops encouraging me and the two A.Z.mins, thank you for being papa's motivation.. hehehe...

OK. Less talk! More work! :-) Walk the talk! Hahaha...

+ Peektures - peektures and more peektures +

Muka-muka kelegaan, as soon as the final reception was over. terselit disitu ialah bapa pengantin ;-D -- peek by azlee. tq!

+ Many would be wondering ( hopefully 'many'...hahaha )" when can we see Serina & Gavin's peeks ?! "


InsyaAllah, we are working to fulfill all the requests. Now, the back end people are having the biggest headaches of their lives. Keh keh keh. But, we do still have other clients whom we never neglect. Their albums are also important. Their edited photos are also important. Their montage videos are also important. Thus, if we're a bit late displaying some of the interesting shots from five events of Serina & Gavin's, please bear with us ya. 


Last weekend I was told almost every newspaper carried the news and pictures from Serina & Gavin's wedding, apart from Sheikh Muszaphar's engagement ( our Angkasawan ) which was covered by Candid Syndrome. So for those who can't wait to see pictures from the event, you can look in the newspapers first ye.


But of course, if you would like to view it from a wedding photographer's perspective, just wait for the appearance here! :-)






Majulah Wedding Photography Untuk Negara :-)


Min
Pretty Peektures

+ When the mountain you can climb.. +

+ Alhamdulillah, after the grueling week had passed, I could finally afford to have a good night's sleep! Yeay! Yesterday, was the biggest and final event from all five events for Chef Wan's only daughter, Serina and Gavin. Yesterday as the couple walked to the entrance to bid farewell to the guests, I could feel a huuuge burden has been lifted off my shoulders. The feeling was indescribable. Relief. Satisfied. Anxious. Eager. Relief everything is over. Satisfied that Pretty Peektures were able to cover all the events without a drop in quality, given the tight schedule. Anxious for feedback from the family of Gavin's and Serina's. And eager, just can't wait, to go through 20k images captured throughout all the events. 


It feels like as if you have climbed a huge mountain and conquered the top. Given any hill next time around, no problem! :-)


At the end of the day, the experience is priceless. Even though we have done lots of celebrity weddings before, each one presented us a different challenge, and last weekend's was no difference. Million thanks to all the team and crew of Pretty Peektures & Motion Peektures for tirelessly working round the clock. They even had to camped at a hotel nearby Royale Chulan ( nearby aje, company can't afford to book RC. hahaha ) for several days, just to be near, and close, to the events. The hotel room was a super combo - hotel room, meeting room plus video editing room. :-)


To Serina & Gavin, thank you for all your cooperation. Million thanks and congrats!!!


Hmm.. just wondering, if there is another mountain coming up next, who will it be? Lots of 'candidates' judging by the guests yesterday! hehehe...

+ YEAR END SALE by Pretty Peektures +

+ Come one, Come all! part 1 +

+ Click Couture is in support of this event. Please feel free to come and shop, in aid of underprivileged single mothers & orphans! 

+ The More, The Merrier! :-) +

+ In a few days' time, it will be the showdown for all of us who have prepared day & night for this weekend. 2 events initially planned has become four. Then five. Huhu.. berpeloh beb!! Lucky the number had stopped growing from there! :-)


Yesterday, again, things planned, changed, to something else. From briefing of this weekend's events, had changed, to an interview session instead. Aiyoh. Pictured above is me, all sweaty, waiting nervously for my turn. Thanks to Wan, for the peek! The interviews along with the prep shots of the wedding will be aired on AFC, under a slot specially allocated for Chef Wan. I heard they will also cover the wedding events, along with TV3. Just knew about TV3. Hm, as expected, more and more media, on the actual day! :-P


But we're professionals. And we have no problems working with other professionals, be it one, two, twenty or even hundreds. Yeps, hundreds! Hehehe, just look at the media frenzy when we did Ashraf Sinclair & BCL's wedding last year! As they say, the more the merrier! :-) 


Merrier, merrier jugak. kecut perut, ada jugak! Hahahaha!

+ Mencampakkan Satu Lagi Cabaran +

As if the work pressure is not enough, I have given myself yet another challenge.


Sila layari (but not perahu layar, LOL) www.azmin365.com .


It's my pet project. To show that photography does play important role in our lives. Daily lives. Not just something that you only need during special occasions. Bila ada function penting, barulah nak mencari kamera. I want the readers of my azmin365.com blog to be excited. To witness the changes of my two a.z.mins throughout the whole year. Azril Zafri azMIN and Adiff Zahri azMIN that is. :-) Unfolding slowly in front of their very eyes. Perhaps when this project ended, my viewers could realize the importance of photo-documenting their loved ones, and start to apply them in their daily lives.


Moments should not be confined to certain events only. Weddings. Graduation. Giving birth. How about First Walk, First Shoes, First Day on this earth? Aren't they certified to be moments too? and worth to be filmed? Er.. should I say digitized? Hehehe..


The challenge for me is to update the blog everyday, with something about Yel & Adiff. Huh. Boleh ke? Really hope i can. Wish me luck! And it's not just updating, it also has to be accompanied by a peekture or two, of them, on that very day! :-) 


Hmmm... 


Seriously, wish me luck! Hahaha...

+ Welcome to the world, Muhammad Hudhaifah +

Haaa... Nope! Please read this to the end. Don't stop by just reading the title. I could sense that many will call Min Jr II after this, Hudhaifah. Hahaha... "alaaa.. kan ko yang tulis dalam blog haritu" or "eh, bukan hudhaifah ke? kat mana aku ada baca yg ko tulis nama anak ko hudhaifah eh?". He he he.  Nopes. Min Jr II's name will follow suit. But for today, Muhammad Hudhaifah is the name for Noorkhiriah & Azfaidzul's cute little prince, who came to this world exactly 2 weeks earlier than Min Jr II. 


These are some of his exclusive " me @ 1 week old " peektures... Taken by uncle Min. hehehe... Could really see the relief and happiness on the faces of the two new parents. Congrats guys!


And last weekend was the Bercukur Jambul ceremony of the cute Hudhaifah. Uncle Min couldn't make it as he got assignments in KL. Oh, as I was told, the ceremony took place at Noor's hometown in Raub, Pahang. Hope everything went well :-)


Congrats again to Noor & Faidzul! :-)

+ Ambil Kesempatan.. dan Tahun Baru +

+ A few days ago i received a text message from Chef Wan. He explains the reasons why he avoided Serina & Salehudin's wedding come this January to be heavily sponsored. If i'm not mistaken, to date,  all the preparations' expenses came from his very own pocket. The amount? Huh. Dahsyat. I like one of his reasons, which he texted me.

" I tak mahu ambil kesempatan atas orang itu, orang ini. Mana yang I can afford, I will do it, out of my very own pocket money. "

That's how humble Malaysia's or right now, world's number 1 chef. He doesn't want to take advantage out of his reputation on others. So he pays just like anyone else. And that makes the playing field level. No one could get the job by 'paying' him. If your work or your services are no good, not up to the mark, then forget it. Takdalah nak kata our work is thaaaat outstanding, but perhaps, our style suits him best.

Alhamdulillah :-)

A few weeks ago, a friend from my schooldays tied the wedding knot. In fact, not just one, but two. But one is 2 years my junior in MCKK. One is my batch mate. In the true spirit of Chef Wan maybe, hehehe, they too had my services at my normal prices, without any discounts. Even though they could ask for discounts for 'budak koleq' or " MCKK-old-boys' " discounts, but they didn't. Perhaps they know how to separate business and friendship. Perhaps they are not the type who likes to ambil kesempatan, at any reasons. Millions thanks from the bottom of my heart, guys! 

Today is the first day of the new year, Islamic calendar that is. 1 Muharram. I heard someone commented in the radio yesterday that you don't need to wait for new year to 'hijrah', or transform, or improve, from worst to better. But hey, since it's already new year, and it constantly reminds us that it is a start of a whole year long, what do you reckon to change? Of course, for the better.. and for me, I would be aiming high the coming year to improve my services to all clients. Even though i have never practiced things like double standard and such, people still accuses us of doing that. Perhaps there were reasons why people are accusing us of that, and my mission this new year is to improve, all the weaknesses that Pretty Peektures might have. InsyaAllah.

Wish us luck! :-)

+ Five. Two Hundred. Two. Oh.. Thirty Too! hahaha +

FIVE


+ This month marked 5 years i'm in the wedding photography scene. Nothing to be proud of, but it's such a nice feeling knowing the roots and when everything started five years ago. Started off like many others, by shooting family weddings and in my case my sister's, i have been shooting for almost a thousand wedding events ever since, from solemnizations to receptions, garden weddings to wedding-in-the-sky ( yeap! in the 'sky' hehehe ), civil registrations, yam chars to temple weddings and church weddings, Alhamdulillah I've been there and done all that. 


Of course, I could not achieve all that without my supportive clients and suppliers, my ever hardworking staffs and photographers, the people who are always on my back encouraging, my parents and family, and the one who is very important to me, who is struggling in confinement ( keh keh keh ) right now, who else but Mrs Min. :-). I wouldn't be standing here five years on, without all your blessings. Thanks everyone!


To mark this special milestone, from now onwards all my photographers or 'peektugraphers' will wear special limited edition working tees with '05' emblazoned on the right arm of the shirts. It's not for boasting. It's not for eksyen-ing (hehehe). but just as a gentle reminder, for both our clients and us. for clients, to remind them, that, they're in good experienced and reliable hands. to us, 'hoi, dah 5 tahun, buat la keja elok2!'. hahaha...


May Allah bless us with many years to come.




TWO HUNDRED


+ This will be my 200th posting in this blog. Hahaha.. Coming from a no-writing-preferred background, it also caught my surprise that tup-tup, i have been putting up posts for 200 times! For me, kira dahsyat lah tu. hahaha. Back in school, i dislike writing. And counting ( hehehe ). Drawing? Ha, that is alright! hehehe


And this 200th entry on my blog is given an extra special treatment by having something, that brings me to the number below :-)




TWO


+ Alhamdulillah, i have been blessed with two cute little boys ( NO! I'm not talking about two wives! hahaha ) And in this 200th post, I am attaching my second boy's peek, snapped in between Papa's hectic schedule, juggling in between shooting assignments, office work, editing and family matters. Editing pun ala kadar aje. InsyaAllah when Papa got the time, Papa will edit elok-elok lagi. hehehe


Welcome to the family Min Jr II! 


( at the time of this entry, Min Jr II has yet to be named and registered with JPN. ;-)  )  




THIRTY


+ And oh, this one is quite a sensitive issue for me. Hahaha. Turning thirty. There's no more '2' in front of my age's number. Wow. Three series beb next year. Well, I don't mind turning thirty, in fact, I have to be grateful that I have been given the chance to breathe till this very day. Grateful i have so many friends and family who are supporting me. Grateful Pretty Peektures still going strong, despite initially some of my friends ridiculed me, saying my budget back then was nothing bigger than enough to open a 'goreng pisang' stall. I have to be grateful. 




THREE


+ Ahaaa. InsyaAllah there will be a 'THREE' next year. What is it? Aha.. You will find out soon enough... Perhaps within the first three months of 2010! jeng  jeng! Hehehee...