The end of last week was a busy one! It started with a job on Wednesday. It was for the Action Sport Market here in Taiwan. I had to hold a push up using these handles (as seen on the right), with elbows at approximately at a 90 degree angle, palms in, arms close to the body. They wanted the same shot in different shirts as well as topless. It was a pretty relaxed job in a way, except for the actual posing. Holding the position was getting harder and harder, and the slight body adjustments which made it even more physically difficult.. but we got through it. They wanted the perfect shot, perfect posture, and on top of that I personally want to get the best out of anything I do, so I was all for it. In the end, everyone was happy, I had a great time, worked with some great people and especially got a workout out of it!

Thursday, I had a photoshoot for Traveler’s new catalogue and in-store pictures. They had mostly hiking and casual clothing, and wanted to have a warm happy feel to the shots.That meant a lot of smiling! I was happy about that, because smiling is something that comes very easily and naturally to me. Also, the girls I worked with, Zoe (from PT as well) and Evelyn, also smiled easily. This made the job even more fun! It was also a relaxed job, working with nice people.

Lastly, Friday, we had a shoot for Sogo (a big mall here in Taiwan). I believe the shots will be used in a catalogue and possibly in/around the mall. I say we because I worked with my favourite roommate Marko. Things went smoothly and we were working at a really good pace, without it feeling rushed. Even though we were scheduled for only a half day (four hours), they gave us a lunch break (while providing the food of course) AND we finished early. This concluded my work for the week. I was blessed to have worked with such great people and had so much fun!

Just a few hours ago, I finished shooting the rest of the video for ATOP Precision’s new watch. I have to say, I’m starting to like these weekend shots. It was another great day of work, even if it was Sunday!

The fun started even before I got to the job. With the address of the shooting location in hand, I walked around to some bus stops, showing the written address (in Chinese) to locals, and trying to figure out which bus to take to the city I was headed to. Despite the language barrier I was able to get on the right bus, as well as get off close to the shooting location. From there it was but a fifteen minute walk to my destination. I was able to get there on time, pay but a fraction of the transportation cost of a taxi, and have twice the fun. All this was possible mainly because of the very friendly people of Taiwan!

When I got there, I saw a lot of familiar faces from the first shoot before the Chinese New Year. It was nice to see them again. We began shortly after I got changed and started off by simple shots of me adjusting the watch as well as being on the cell phone. When that was done, two other people joined me in front of the camera. Ksenija, who is also represent by PT and who I worked with on another job before, as well as Guillaume, originally from France and now living in Taiwan. We had the opportunity to chat together until the crew was ready to shoot. Once we got going, we had to act as if we were in a meeting discussing a computer product. When that was done, Guillaume and I shot a hand shaking scene outdoors, nearby the location. That concluded the shoot for the video.

Everything went very well, even better than the first time we shot.. maybe because we were already getting used to working together. Grace from ATOP was very happy with the shoot and was so nice as to actually give me the watch! I was surprised but also very appreciative and pleased! I had joked around with her about that, but didn’t think she would actually let me have it. A big thanks to her and ATOP for the great watch, which is perfect for travellers, as well as the production company for a great day. I might have worked this weekend but in the end, it hardly seemed like work.

To finish, big thanks to Marko, my friend and roommate in Taipei, for allwoing me to use his suit for the shoot!

Today, despite being a Saturday, I had to get up early for a casting. As I was about to eat breakfast, I got news that I had another photoshoot for the Peirre Balmain clothing line at noon! Talk about last minute…but I didn’t mind the short notice so much and was more so grateful for the work. Besides, it was the first day Taipei had a decent amount of sunshine in over three weeks and I think that’s why the decision was made to shoot today. Also, it was nice to start working again, now that the Chinese New Year holidays were over. So as soon as I got back from the casting, I rushed to get ready and walked (maybe jogged a bit too) over to the photographer’s studio. From there, we drove to another photographer’s place. There, we shot in his back yard (for the lack of a better word). He had a beautiful home in a very nice area.

After we were done with that spot, we shot in surrounding areas. I had a lot of fun and kept a high level of energy despite the cold weather.  Maybe despite is not the best word. I think the cold is what motivated me to be so energetic in an effort to keep warm. I was changing so fast…not only because we were shooting outdoors where it was cold and windy, but I also wanted to try and finish as soon as possible.

Well I got my wish because we finished early. Even the others were cold and they were much better dressed for the weather than I was. Really though…it wasn’t that bad. We went back to the second photographer’s house and his wife served us some great tasting and more importantly, hot tea. It had this nice subtle aftertaste which I really enjoyed. Then she brought out these big slices of fresh juicy pears… Mmmm… I loved and appreciated their hospitality! It was a pleasure to work with these people and I felt that we all worked well together.

Yesterday morning I was driven to a ceramics museum where we would shoot for ATOP Precision’s in house/in store promotional video. This was the first of two filming dates, to create a video showcasing their new watch. The section of the museum we shot in was used was to simulate the inside of an airport. Basically, we got footage of me walking down a ramp with my luggage and stopping to adjust the ATOP watch to a different time zone. Different shots were taken, with different angles and close ups. Finally we shot another sequence where I would talk on a cell phone after checking the time on the watch.

All in all it went good. Didn’t take us too long as it was relatively simple to do. I had a good time, as usual, and am looking forward to the next shoot. The production team as well as the people representing the product were great to work with. The second part of the shoot will take place after the weeklong holidays of the Chinese New Year are up. Speaking, for those celebrating: Happy Chinese New Year!

On January 29th, I headed to a production house, where I met the production manager of the Pierre Balmain photoshoot. Together, we went over to the Taiwan High Speed Rail station in Taipei. This a very fast (up to 300km/h) way to travel from the capital, which is in northern Taiwan, to the southern part of the country. After reaching the end, we got on a bus to travel the rest of the way to our hotel. The bus had a much shorter distance to travel but we spent more time on it than the THSR!

The next morning, we woke up to a beautiful day. The place we stayed at wasn’t a traditional hotel. More like a villa/resort. After breakfast, we started shooting at the hotel. Once we finished, we all hoped into the bus and got to a small dock where we took more shots. After that, we headed for lunch. Once again, I ate to my heart’s content.. and let me tell you that’s a lot! This, as it usually is, was pleasant experience, working with friendly people! Actually, the photographer was the same I had worked with on my first job.

In other news, I had been informed that some people attempted to contact me via my website’s email, with no success. Well, I looked into it and resolved the problem. You should now be able to use the address written on the Contacts page to get in touch with me.

Finally, I’d like to bring your attention to the Comments feature. At the end of every one of these posts, is a link which allows you to write comments as well as view the ones other people wrote. The link should be displayed as “No Comments” or “# Comment(s)” where # is there number of comments already written. Feel free to leave one as all feedback is appreciated!