I was ecstatic to receive the news from WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) that one of my favourite pictures received an “Excellent” score at the 16x20 print competition, which also won an Accolade of Excellence in the Wedding Photojournalism category. “Anticipation” was taken at Candi and Jamey’s wedding a couple of years ago, showing the bride’s mother and nieces observing the outside preparations from the 2nd floor window at the Hart House in Burnaby. It was an unposed, spontaneous moment, and I knew even when I took the picture that the lighting had a special quality to it. If you’ve ever witnessed the judging process at WPPI, the submissions are judged by a panel of judges who consider all aspects of the submission, from the artistic merit of the image to the print quality.

I have to credit London Drugs, who printed the print within a few hours of my web order, and did an amazing job with the black and white print, delivering great tonal details from the deep shadows to the highlights. Considering that I didn’t identify this as a contest entry or ask for any special treatment on the print, this quality should be reflective of what anybody else can get. It matches perfectly what my monitor displayed and delivered my vision of the print. I’ve written previously about LD’s quality in great detail, so while I knew I was going to get a good print, I was still impressed.

I also have to credit Jerry Ghionis, who encouraged me to enter that specific image into a competition when he saw it at one of his workshops.

* * *

The official news release is as follows:

Martin Chung Wins Accolade of Excellence
in the 2011 Awards of Excellence 16x20 Print Competition

Martin Chung of Richmond, BC, has received special honors in the WEDDING & PORTRAIT
PHOTOGRAPHERS INTERNATIONAL 2011 Awards of Excellence 16x20 Print Competition. Designed
to recognize outstanding photographers, the judging was held in Las Vegas, NV on February 19 and 20,
2011.

"Anticipation" received an Accolade of Excellence in the Wedding Photojournalism category.

Chung competed against an international field of photographers to win such honors.

The Awards of Excellence 16x20 Print Competition awards are presented each year at the largest trade
show, educational platform and convention in the United States for professional photographers. The
2011 competition included 2171 prints in 18 different categories submitted by photographers from all
over the world.

For more information please visit www.wppionline.com/competition.aspx

Here are a few pictures from Amy and Michael’s wedding. These are the final edits and barring some minor white balance corrections and some selective retouching, they usually don’t need much work. Get it right the first time! Mouseover the pictures below to see the description.

Ceremony: Wedding Pavilion at Queen Elizabeth Park

Reception: Dragon View Restaurant, Richmond

I love Chinese weddings.  Yes, there’s always lots of good food available and people pushing it on you, but mainly because it’s a full day of celebrations and traditions.  There’s always so much stuff going on making it a rich opportunity for photographs.  From the getting ready, tea ceremony, significant items like fans, umbrellas, and oranges, the challenges the groom must undergo to prove his worth to his future bride, dinner games, and tons of pictures of family, it’s always a lot of fun.  Amy and Michael took on the challenge of combining Western and Chinese traditions a couple of weeks ago, and the results were spectacular.

Here’s a quick slideshow of the highlights from the day with very little processing.  With the help of Amy’s badminton friends taking care of the audio/video setup at the restaurant, I also did a same-day slideshow at the wedding itself, which turned out amazingly well, so I think I’m going to be doing do a lot more of them!  Also many thanks to my brother Simon, who helped second shoot in order to get everything in!

More pictures to come in the future…

Ceremony: Queen Elizabeth Park Celebration Pavilion, Vancouver

Reception: Dragon View Restaurant, Richmond

I received my studio sample albums last Friday and have been busy admiring them over the weekend.  I am simply delighted with them -- beautifully hand-crafted in Italy, they are a perfect complement to the level of dedication I put into creating the images that go into them.

The giant 16x20 showcase album I designed has an leather cover with a clear front cover to show off the underlying image, thick photographic paper pages, and a seamless lay-flat design.  It dwarfs the round table I put it on when it is opened up and it is impressive beyond words.  Leafing through it is like leafing through a museum or art gallery showpiece.  This is the one to aspire to, folks!

I also received some 8x12 sized versions of the primary album that would be perfect as parent albums.  As well, 4x5 albums are perfect gifts for grandparents or friends or to keep in the purse for bragging rights.

I challenge anybody to not want one of these for their weddings.  :)

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.  Such a busy, yet wonderful festive time to be in Vancouver.  In between attending some of the Olympic events, Helena and Michael held a small and intimate wedding celebration at his parents' house near Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver with about 18 of their closest friends and family in attendance.

And what a beautiful setting it was!  The house is built into the side of the cliff and amidst the multiple levels of balconies and access to the waterfront we had a most memorable and enjoyable celebration.  The couple live in Geneva, and held the wedding back in Vancouver for the benefit of the friends and family that couldn't make it out to Ravello, Italy, where their white-dress wedding is going to be held.  So this was also a reunion of sorts for friends and family.

In a show of perfect timing, the sun decided to burn off the February rain and fog that day and gave everything a nice summery feel.  What I really liked about the wedding was the relaxed pace.  It wasn't rushed, and they took the time to enjoy the whole experience and catch up with friends and family.  Oh, plus the Thomas Haas (one of Vancouver's premier chocolatiers) chocolate cake as well -- a beautiful piece of work that was, and a different take on a wedding cake – delicious!

They're now back in their home in Geneva planning their Italian wedding for June -- too bad I already had a prior commitment for that date...arrgh! :(  All the best, guys!

Highlights video slideshow: 

(note: Flash 9 or greater needed.  Get it here)

Facebook Photo Album Link

Michael popped in during the makeup to steal a quick kiss:

Helena had to make a tough choice on what to wear as her wedding dress wasn't going to be ready in time for Vancouver, but she made a great choice!

Gorgeous setting overlooking the water.  Shades in February?  Only in Vancouver of course!

A shot showing the house:

Yet another different balcony: