We’re going to be in San Francisco!

Having recently received an invitation to do a bridal shoot in San Francisco, Wendy & I will be embarking on a return trip to the very beginning of our relationship, and boy do I have a deal for all you folks looking to do overseas bridals with me. For those not in the know, Wendy and I met in San Francisco back in 1996, and we spent the next 7 years of our lives together before returning to Singapore in 2003. We literally had to travel halfway round the world to find each other, and were married on 11th November 2005.

After much discussion with my dear wife, we couldn’t think of a better way to make this trip to San Francisco a more memorable one for us, than to share the experience with you!

As always, my road trips with clients entail more than just taking pictures in beautiful places. We’ll be bringing you around our memories and sharing our stories, in an attempt to create your very own. By the time you’re done with the shoot, you’ll be wishing you didn’t have to leave! Fret not, ’cause you’ll have a wedding album that others can only dream of.

As part of our 5th wedding anniversary celebrations,couples who sign up for shoots in San Francisco during this period will not be charged airfare and accomodation costs! Shoots will take place between October 17th – 31st, 2010.

Do drop me an email at sfo@reflection.sg or amosleong@reflection.sg, should you like to embark on this epic journey with us!

I’ll be outta here from the 20th – 25th of January 2010, doing a shoot in Ko Samui! WOOOHOO! I’ll still be available via email during this time. Appointments may be scheduled from the 26th of January onwards. SEE YA!

A story about an old Bendix washing machine helped one man get through the valley of loss.

His parents acquired the washer when John Claypool was a small boy.  It happened during World War II. His family owned no washing machine and, since gasoline was rationed, they could ill afford trips to the laundry several miles away. Keeping clothes clean became a problem for young John’s household.


A family friend was drafted into the service, and his wife prepared to go with him. John’s family offered to store their furniture while they were away. To the family’s surprise, the friends suggested they
use their Bendix while they were gone. “It would be better for it to be running,” they said, “than sitting up rusting.” So this is how they acquired the washer.


Young John helped with the washing, and across the years he developed an affection for the old, green Bendix. But eventually the war ended. Their friends returned. In the meantime he had forgotten how the machine came to be in their basement in the first place.  When the friends came to take it away, John grew terribly upset –and let his feelings be known. His wise mother sat him down and said, “Wait a minute, Son. You must remember, that machine never belonged to us in the first place. That we ever got to use it at all was a gift. So, instead of being mad at
it being taken away, let’s use this occasion to be grateful that we had it at all.”


The lesson proved invaluable. Years later, John watched his eight-year-old daughter die a slow and painful death of leukemia.  Though he struggled for months with her death, John could not really begin healing from the loss until he remembered the old Bendix. “I am here to testify,” he said, “that this is the only way down the mountain of loss…when I remember that Laura Lou was a gift, pure and simple, something I neither earned nor deserved nor had a right to. And when I remember that the appropriate response to a gift, even when it is taken away, is gratitude, then I am better able to try and thank God that I was ever given her in the first place.”


His daughter was given to him to love and nurture. She never belonged to him, but he had the awesome privilege of sharing her life for a while. When he realized that simple fact, everything changed. He could now begin healing from the tragedy of her loss by focusing instead on the wonder of her life. He started to see Laura Lou as a marvelous gift that he was fortunate enough to enjoy for a time. He felt grateful. He found strength and healing. He finally knew he could get through the valley of loss.


We all experience loss — loss of people, loss of jobs, loss of relationships, loss of independence, loss of esteem, loss of things.  What if you view that which is lost as a gift you were given for a time? Perhaps that simple choice of trying to reframe your loss will change sad memories into thankful ones. And perhaps it will get you unstuck and back on the road to healing and wholeness.

* Story from TRACKS OF A FELLOW STRUGGLER, by John Claypool

I feel compelled to warn others of my horrific experience at RedDot Brewhouse, which I now regret going to for my wedding anniversary dinner!

1955hrs – order was placed for Frito Misto appetizer, Pan fried scallop pasta and grilled ribeye. Was told that food would take a little longer since it was crowded. Fine, I’m a patient person. 

2020hrs – Ribeye arrives. My wife tells me to eat first since beef sucks when it’s cold. 

2030hrs – We alert the staff about our remaining orders.

2040hrs – Staff comes by to check what hasn’t arrived – we tell her “EVERYTHING!” 

2045hrs – I’m LONG done with my steak.  In fact, I felt so bad eating alone that I gave Wendy part of it.  

2046hrs – Staff arrives with Wendy’s pasta, but I refuse to accept it.  So it’s now my turn to watch my wife eat or what??!! Besides! Where the hell did my appetizer go??!!  We cancelled the rest of our orders and left. VERY bad restaurant management.

Passing by the kitchen, I see only 2 cooks in the kitchen! TWO! I’m going to call up the owner tomorrow and tell him that he’s got some SERIOUS issues at his restaurant.

Yesterday was one of the proudest moments of my life.  I was awarded a Licentiate grade for my Master Photographer grading, along with about 20 other photographers of various fields including wedding photography.  The work starts now, as I’m aim to get my Associate grade next year….possibly even a Fellow grade if I manage to find the right switches to flick.

Les Brown once said, ” Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

That’s right folks! I’m headed off to Tokyo this evening, and won’t be back in Singapore till the 16th of October 2009. Should you have any lingering questions about what I can do for your photography needs, send me an email, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Ok. So you decide to bring your favorite, out of production Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f1.7 lens out for kicks, when you realize that the section before the focusing ring to the front lens element is shaky ask hell!? I hear “WTF!” coming from some parts of Singapore right about that time. Fret not. Here’s the fix, which takes only 20mins or less. Applying nail clear coat is optional, but doing so will lower the chance of that repeat “What The F***” telecast earlier.











Now put everything back together and you’re done! Happy camper. From the looks of it, I’ll have to perform this operation on my Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f1.5 soon.

Yesterday was one of those days. Ever wake up in the morning wondering if you were doing the right thing? Or maybe you just don’t know what’s wrong, but the heart feels heavy and all seems like a lost cause.

So I decided to drop everything for a few hours, and called my buddy Chris up to just go out and take pictures of anything we wanted, anytime we wanted. The drive took us from Woodlands Road to Sungei Kadut Industrial Area, on to Lim Chu Kang and we finally popped out onto KJE at Jalan Bahar.

The drive through that route was truly an interesting one, and certainly fruitful as some of my clients will probably find out in the weeks to come. The highlight of the drive was discovering a spa/resort right smack in the middle of Lim Chu Kang! That’s right folks, for S$330/night, you can stay in your own air-conditioned mini-villa complete with your own car porch and outdoor shower with a rain dome shower head. Then we saw the condition of the UV light mosquito zapper, and I must say a lot of mosquitoes had already checked in…hehe…or did they check out.

So. I’ve finally decided on what my end-game solution will be, and this is it. Time to stop escaping, and start doing something about it. Anybody interested in a limited edition fine-art print of the image below?

Let’s face it. I’m a wedding photographer that doesn’t believe in the kind of 100% true bliss many aspire to believe in – there, I’ve said it. I love this clip produced by the MCYS in Singapore for two reasons:
A) Public messages that project such an impact and activate emotions like this are few and far between.
B) This particular clip is totally representative of what I believe in, where marriage is concerned.

True happiness in marriage, is born from the trials and tribulations that our relationships emerge from, for better or worse. Take pride in those that you have crossed paths with, and you’ll finally understand how you got to where you are today. It doesn’t matter how long you take to get there, as long as you figure out why, and by the time you do, you’ll dive in like a fish out of water.

7 years ago, I expressed my views to a bunch of ladies in their 20s, and all they could do was express their shock at my melancholic view of marriage. Interestingly enough, NON of them are married as I write this. Nothing comes in a perfect package, but it gets as beautiful as you want it to be.


A good buddy of mine posed a question yesterday.
He said,” Amos. Why did you get married? Did you think it was necessary to get married, just to be together?”
I replied,” If you weren’t planning on getting married…why get together in the first place?”
My retort doesn’t represent the natural progression of any relationship, and those of you who know a certain side of me also know that I don’t believe in the cycle of life as some see it.

Feel the need to do it, and go…live long and prosper.
Thank you for your kind attention. We now return to regular programming.

I’ll be in Melbourne from March 23rd to 29th 2009.  Should you have a sudden desire to hear my voice, feel free to email me; I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. Hehe.