Grant Corban Photography Sdn Bhd
(666138-V) Professional Studio, Wedding, Event & Commercial Photography
Mac and Kevin approached me to be their wedding photographer earlier this year. it was a two day event with their Roman Catholic wedding at Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang, followed by lunch and their tea ceremony. It turned out to be one of the most fun tea ceremonies to date, possibly because lunch was so much fun.
A few weeks later we were down at Cyberview Lodge to cover the official wedding banquet dinner. As you can see it was a lot of fun!
Melissa and Donovan called me from Kota Kinabalu to ask whether I would be interested to fly over to be their wedding photographer for their big day in Sabah. Melissa is Kadazan which is an instant draw card for me. I have been the wedding photographer for a number of Sabahan’s in Kuala Lumpur and I have always enjoyed the traditional Sumazau dance which seems to get everyone up onto the dance floor regardless of race or religion. The church service was in Sacred Heart Cathedral. Melissa’s sister sang beautifully in the church and later the following day at the wedding banquet which was held in the Hyatt hotel. The interesting drink in the bamboo cups is the local rice spirit, akin to Japanese Sake I believe.
Points of interest for wedding photographers reading this are that for this wedding I used FujiFilm’s new X-Pro1 camera which was on loan to me, and for the super wide photos I used Sigma’s new 12-24mm. Both performed admirably. The other thing I hope you notice is how far back we stand from the action. Whilst wedding photographers cannot be invisible (which would be ideal!) we do try to be as unobtrusive as possible. A good longer lens like a 70-200 zoom really helps to achieve this.
Kota Kinabalu, beautiful location, lovely people. I first met FanJean when I was the wedding photographer at City Harvest Church (CHC) in Subang Jaya several years ago, and when she contacted me to be her wedding photographer back in her home town of Kota Kinabalu I leapt at the chance. Her family were very welcoming and showed me where to get the freshest seafood in KK the night before the wedding.
Next day I headed to Jean’s house whilst Selvam, one of several professional photographers I work with, headed over to Lee’s house. The plan was to meet up at Jean’s for the bargaining and then out into the garden for the wedding ceremony. Garden weddings work well in Malaysia but can sometimes be tricky to photograph as our sun is a bit merciless. For the keen photographers out there who are faced with the challenges outdoor shoots hold, make sure you shoot in RAW as the contrast range is well beyond the capabilities of jpeg processing in current cameras.
From the photos you will see there was very much an England theme, and I think you will agree the boys look striking in their Union Jack aprons! After a fairly fun bargaining session, where we learned all about chickens and eggs, it was on into the garden for a small and intimate Christian wedding ceremony performed by their pastor. A quick change and then the tea ceremony followed.
During the early evening we headed down to the beach and were lucky enough to catch the last rays of sunset for some portraits and then on into the Shangrila Tanjung Aru for the wedding dinner. I have included a photo of how Jean and Lee helped their guests find their tables. I hope you get some ideas from it. The end of the evening featured the Sumazou a traditional dance in East Malaysia which I happen to like quite a bit.
All in all a great wedding in East Malaysia.
Special thanks to my colleague, photographer Selvam Shanmugam for accompanying me on this trip. work review
Keep Calm and Carry On! Words I wish every bride I met would take to heat, and very much the theme for Mark and May. Two of the loveliest people I know.
Johnny, Hock Seng and I were their wedding photographers when they were married back here in Malaysia. After the wedding the migrated down to Australia but when ever they were back in KL they would give me a buzz to remind me they wanted me to be up in Winford for their UK wedding celebration, so finally I got the call and invite to head up to England yet again.The wedding was planned to be in the small town of Winford, just outside of Bristol at the small historic parish church of St. Mary and St. Peter.
The first day we headed into Bristol itself to do some portraits, then back to the church for some shots around it. Next day we started at about 10am with makeup and hair and then the service at 1pm. Mark’s uncle supplied his classic Austin A40 as the awesome wedding car. Don’t you agree it looks sweet!
Once the traditional ceremony was finished there was a confetti toss as the couple left the church. It got everywhere and I still find confetti from the wedding in my camera bag up until today.
After the ceremony it was all back to the Winford pub, and easy 5 minute walk and then the wedding breakfast (we call it a wedding reception back in Malaysia). The three tiered cake represented the three main countries Mark and May have shared their lives together in, Malaysia, Australia, and the UK
Tech Specs: Camera Nikon D3s. No flash allowed in church.
Words to live by
Portraits in the Church Grounds
Mark deserved a nice portrait. Nikon 85mm F1.4G
It’s not bigger on the inside
Traditional Touch
Stunning flowers for the wedding bouquet
The worlds cutest wedding car
The cutest driver of the worlds cutest wedding car
Comes up smelling of roses
A wee bit of a squeeze
The cutest Wedding car in the world
Leisurely walk in to church.
The grooms parents
Cheeky 🙂
Mum and Dad
The three stages of their courtship was spread across three nations, each represented on the cake
Malaysia, Sydney, and the UK.
Time for a pint and relax.
Too early to comment too much on the Fuji X-Pro1 for now but I brought one along with the 35mm lens to a wedding at Passion Road in Ampang to use along side our pro-cameras. I will let the images speak for themselves, but I think I like it.
Bride’s sister photographed with the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F1.4, ISO1250
Bride’s shoes photographed with the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F1.4, ISO640
Champagne bottle photographed with the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/40sec, F2.8, ISO3200
Testing the out of focus effect with the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F2.8, ISO3200
Testing the shallow depth of field with the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F2.2, ISO1250
Testing the speed of focus on the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F2.2, ISO640
Bride getting ready. Shot with the Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F2.2, ISO3200
Getting arty. Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/220sec, F2.2, ISO400
Dapper groom. Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/60sec, F1.4, ISO400. Nice bokeh.
Wedding Lamborghini detail shots: Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/120sec, F1.4, ISO400.
Table detail shot: Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/150sec, F1.4, ISO400.
Wedding cake: Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F1.4, ISO400.
Flower girl: Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F1.4, ISO800.
Bride and Grooms portrait: Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F1.4, ISO3200. It was twilight!
Dinner candid: Fuji X-Pro1 and XF35mm F1.4 lens shot at 1/50sec, F1.4, ISO1600.