I started the day of November 4, 2010, very early. After making a stop at McDonald’s to pick up some breakfast, I was over at Michel’s place to pick him up before making our way to Serene’s place. We reached at 6.00am. Sending a sms to Elwyn to greet him a good morning, his reply to me was, “Morning! It’s going to be a long day. Hahaha!” And indeed it was.
The day was very eventful and there were many auspicious timings to meet. It all started with Elwyn’s wedding gate-crash, followed by a tea ceremony and a stopover at the couple’s new residence before another tea ceremony back at Serene’s place in the morning. There was a buffet lunch before everyone gathered at Goodwood Park Hotel for the couple’s matrimony solemnization. Thereafter was a break in the mid-afternoon before the dinner banquet later in the evening.
Michel and I took the opportunity before the dinner to head home for a breather. When it was time to pick him up again to head back to the hotel, I realized something and said this to him, “You know what’s funny? 12 hours ago I was here at exactly 5:30 to pick you up and here we are again at 5:30.” He looked at me and said, “Yes, I know. It’s scary. The day hasn’t end.” It was irony and we both laughed.
Michel and I took quite a lot of pictures throughout the day. Whenever possible, I’ll remind him and myself not to take too many and look out only for those that count. In this digital age it’s quite easy to get carried away. “Less is more,” I’ll say.
Of course there will be some moments that you’ll need to squeeze a few more frames to ensure you get the shot. A photojournalist in the film age would term such an occasion as “letting it rip!” Sometimes there just isn’t time to frame and wait. A roll of good old 36 would fire away just like a magazine from a machine gun in seconds and it’s time to reload. Isn’t it a blessing that an 8GB CF card can store more than 200 RAW on a Canon 5D Mark II without much of a worry these days? I’m grateful to digital photography.
To be honest, it took a few frames to get this shot of Elwyn and Serene. I anticipated the laughter but there were still elements out of my control. It usually do not look too flattering when we laugh too heartily and I have some shots of those. They are the ones I’ll never show! Elwyn’s sister and brother-in-law were the ones in the background. In some shots they were expressionless. This one here though is just right. I’m glad that I persisted and waited for the magic to happen. In the words of a National Geographic photographer, “You cannot force the magic.”
It was a long day but magic happened. Here is one on November 4, 2010 at 9:40pm. Keep those happy smiles, Elwyn and Serene, let magic happen again and again. Your life together has only just begun. Bless the two of you.
Photography Andy Post-Process Andy Words Andy
