Madame Mina – Bali Portrait Photographer

Madame Mina had never had her photos professionally and properly taken. This hardworking mother of three recently thought she should award herself with one photo session. And so I took her to Echo beach in Canggu, Bali to have the photo session. A lot of people do not know that through photos they can actually get many advantages; one of which being a boost of self confidence. There will be the time when they see the result of their photos, see how beautiful they can be, and start appreciating and respecting themselves even more. This point of thought goes a long way…. positively.

I hope she is happy with this sneakpeek.


 

Princess Michelle, 6 years old, Surabaya Children Photographer

If I came back to Surabaya and Michelle did not ask me to take photos of her, I would be surprised. This time was no different. She kept nagging and nagging and nagging me until I took my camera and had this photo session with her. She was lucky she was cute!

She said she wanted to be like the Sleeping Beauty so I asked her to pretend to sleep. It was really hard the first five minutes because she kept giggling even when her eyes were closed. But I am telling you, this kid is a great model to be. I told her to stop laughing and get serious. And see what she did.

Look how expressive she was.

And such a little princess she is....

Shierly and Iki Kondo – Surabaya Family Photographer

Shierly has been my model for a very long time. A very good friend of mine, we used to be inseparable in the past. She now lives in Tokyo with her only son, Iki, and hubby Hiro until he is assigned in another country. Last week she happened to be in Surabaya for the weddings of our mutual friends. So we took some time during our “busy” schedule to do a photo session. Here are the sneak peeks.

Iki is normally a shy little guy. But in this photoshoot he was so cooperative, thanks to the excessive amount of chocolate fed to him before. LOL

Isn't he sweet???

Iki and Shierly Kondo

With a balloon

Can you believe that she is thirty?

And do I have to state that she is thirty?

It is by all means a compliment.

:)

It was so fun to photograph this pair of mother and son. After hearing that Iki kisses like his father, why wouldn't any one think it was fun? I enjoyed every moment spent with you two, Shierly and Iki! Until next time!

Winners Announcement – Carla’s Annual Contest 2010

As promised, today I am announcing the two winners who will get a free photo session with me this year.

The photo contest winner is Ayu Maharani Setiawan with her baby boy Adi. Their photo gained 9 votes in total beating the other contestants.

The winning photo

The other winner from the voters is Yokhebed Santoso from Surabaya. The method I was using was just to write down the names of all voters and generate the number at random.org. Number 22 came out as the winner and Yokhebed is the lucky one.

Number 20 is the winner.

And it is Yokhebed Santoso!

Congratulations for both winners!!! Here is what you are entitled for:

• A free photo session with me. Output will be 20 high-res images and one mounted canvas print.
• The free session can be used by the winners themselves or given to somebody else they like.
• The session is only valid to use until 31 December 2010.
• By having this session, you are also entitled to join the next year’s annual contest.
• The winners also need to sign a paper that Carla can use their photos for promotional material, if she wants.

For everyone else, why not book your own beautiful session with me this year to enter the chance to win another session next year?

Komang Sumiati

Komang, whose French boss calls her Koko (I am guessing so that it sounds more artistically Frenchy like Coco Chanel hihi), is my classmate at Alliance Francaise. She is originally a Balinese but married to a Javanese lad. The sweet 30-year old woman enjoys posing for me and for herself and we had such a good time at the villa belonging to her Indo Dutch friend. Komang is also a good jewellery designer and hopes to be a successful one someday. Here are some of the photos.

She has got a perfect tropical skin colour.

And taste on colours and fashion.

Komang Sumiati

Komang Sumiati

Looks sweet even in such a simple photo like this

And this one is my favourite of all. The colour of the water in the background suits her personality and look.

Also a favourite

Worth displaying in a magazine

Komang and her gypsy style.

Her husband is definitely such a lucky guy.

Buyan Lake Camping Ground – Bali Travel/Landscape Photographer

I went camping with my classmates and teacher last weekend. We’ve been studying French together for a little while and the boys, mostly, would like to do this camping activity once we finished the test of Niveau 3. My teacher, Monsieur Putu, happens to love traveling and camping in this matter and he was the one guide we counted on. Actually we counted on him for almost everything since he was the one preparing the portable gas stove, frying pan, bread for breakfast, instant noodle etc. and he was also the one dealing with the camping ground management. These were some shots I took when I was there by Danau Buyan (Buyan Lake), Baturiti, Bali.

It is also a good spot for fishing.

Our tents were behind me as I shot this. This little watery space is where some people drop off boat passengers.

It is beautiful as the sun is going sideways, either almost sunset or after sunrise. The light illuminating the water and the trees is just amazing.

However, I spent too much time sunbathing (though it was cold there, but when the sun was shining, it’d burn). A lesson learned is that I need to pack a sunscreen with me the next time I ever go camping again.

Michelle Anastasia at the Kartini Parade – Surabaya Children Photography

Michelle, my niece, has always been fond of posing. She realises that she is beautiful and she enjoys every celebration moment where she can stand out. Last week, her kindergarten school held a small parade to celebrate Kartini’s day. Kartini was the first Indonesian female hero who fought for women’s rights at her time. To honour her, Indonesians celebrate her birthday (21st of April) as the national women’s day. Normally kindergartens and elementary schools would hold a competition that almost always includes the pupils to wear different types of traditional clothes.

The beautiful little girl

Before the parade with her bestfriend at the kindergarten.

Before the parade with friends around her in colourful clothes

With the neighbour boy who was wearing Javanese wedding traditional clothes. Aren't they cute?

Love the colours!

A moment before an open car took the children for a tour around the neighbouring blocks.

After the parade, Michelle was super happy to win the second place at the fashion show.

But it's no wonder. She shines wherever she goes.

Almost Sitting Malena – Bali Children Photographer

It is crazy how quickly babies/children grow. Last year I was still wondering how she would look like when she was still in Mother Inga’s womb. And just 6 months ago I saw Malena Soleil Scarpello for the first time after she was born and she was still so tiny with lots of cute baby wrinkles and already expressive eyes. But last week when I visited her again, I was amazed at how fast she has grown! I mean look at her smile and her cute comical blond hair, if they do not melt you right away, there is obviously something wrong with you. Anyway, these are the newest shots of my dearest loveliest baby niece.

Malena, almost sitting.

With her second mother (nanny), Putu. The photo on the left did not experience major editing. It was a result of Malena's toy I put in front of my lens when shooting her.

Annual Contest – 2009 Most Favourite Model

I have decided to make an annual contest, starting this year, by selecting one photo I made of EVERY one of my clients the year before; in this case 2009. There will be two winners; i.e. one of the last year’s clients who gets the most votes and one random VOTER. Prize for the winners of this contest? A free session with me this year entitling the winner to run the next year’s contest again with it + 20 hi-res digital files + 1 canvas print (mounted).

HOW IT WORKS:

• Check my facebook fan page for the candidates’ photos.
• Vote your favourite photo(s) by clicking the thumb-up (like) button. Of course to do this, you will need to be the fan of the page.
• You will be given a month to vote starting from today so ask as many of your friends to vote for you if you are one of the candidates.
• The contest ends on May 12, 2010.
• The winners of the contest (2009 candidate + 1 voter) will be announced on May 18, 2010.\
• For winners outside Surabaya and Bali, travel and accommodation fee of the photographer is to be paid by the winners.

This contest is ANNUAL. So to reserve your place as a candidate in 2011, book your session with me this year ASAP.

108 Fashion Forward, Bali Fashion Photography

I attended the opening party of one of the newest shops in Bali, 108 Fashion Forward on 19 March 2010.  It was filled with beautiful, well-dressed men and women and the clothes both worn by the models at the fashion show and hung on the racks were incredibly awesome! Check out some of the photos I made at the party.