I fell in love with Corinne Bailey Rae, her songs and her voice, ever since I saw her performed with John Legend and John Mayer at the Grammy awards show in 2007. Her debut album was a huge success with big hits such as  “Like a star“, “Put your records on”, and she went on to win the Grammy awards for best album in 2008. Although the singer songwriter prefers to still record her music in small studios with small producers and performing at smaller venues, I’m pretty sure she can command a Madison Square Garden size crowd with her fan base. Corinne is rare, in the music world, being so stubbornly grounded and untainted by the fame and fortune she had acquired since her debut album. It’s definitely great for fans like myself.

Corinne’s soulful lyrics, catchy/goosebumps raising music, soothing/haunting/soul-baring voice never failed to get me. Her second album “The Sea” was released after a two year of hiatus, as you might have heard, her husband, Scottish musician Jason Rae passed away due to drug overdosed in 2008. You can definitely hear her heartbreak and sorrow through some of the songs she produced in her second album, possibly after Jason’s death. At one point during her performance in NYC Webster Hall, Corinne actually got too emotional and had to turn around her wipe off her tears.  We can only imagine how difficult it has been for Corinne, but I hope her bravery, strength and her music will help her get through this. Hang in there, the fans love you, Corinne Bailey Rae! And thanks for sharing your amazing music!

Justin coming out from the backstage – nice tattoo

Performing with his Band – JNB

I was standing at the left side of the stage near the keyboard so I got a close up view of Justin when he came and play the keyboard

Justin Nozuka in black & white

Recently I have “cravings” for taking portrait photos of people, and I was very fortunate to have my adorable girlfriends volunteering and sacrificing their Sunday afternoon to be my lovely models. The setting was casual (one day I would love to shoot in a studio!), on the cobble street of Soho/the Village and around Washington Square Park. The girls were wonderful, and extremely comfortable in front of the camera so I couldn’t asked for better models than them. So thank you Nan, Wan Yin, Shaw Yean and Dahlia for your help. I hope you guys had as much fun as I did, and you’ll like the photos I’ve taken of you!

Foursome

Threesome

Fantastic Ms. Nan!

Ms Talented, Ms Dahlia

Shaw Yean and her multiple personalities =)

The fabulous Ms.Wan Yin

….with a guest appearance by Sabrina, Little Miss Sunshine. Adorable, adorable, adorable!

Mono was formed in 1999 by Four Japanese musicians from Tokyo, Kanto and Honshu region. Apparently, the group had been touring around the world since 1999 and has quite a cult following. Compared to Mogwai, there’s definitely more of an infusion of traditional Japanese music into Mono’s songs; but just like Mogwai, their music is very “in your face” and loud most of the time. I liked it but I don’t think I can listen to their music too long without going deaf.

There were a few cover bands for Mono’s performance at Bowery hall when I went and the surprise hit for me was definitely a post rock band call Maserati from Athens, Georgia. The drummer Jerry Fuchs was absolutely amazing! You have to check out his performance on my flickr site as I’m too cheap to subscribe to Videopress!

(Far right) Takaakira Goto – Lead guitar

Yoda – rhythm guitar

(Left) Yasunori Takada – Drum kit, synthesiser, glockenspiel. Tamaki Kunishi – bass guitar, piano, glockenspiel

My trip to Ann Arbor was ten years in the making. I first visited Ann Arbor when my husband Gan was still a student there. This recent trip definitely brought back memories, especially for Gan. It was my first time visiting the Big House, aka Michigan football stadium. The atmosphere in the stadium was just electrifying, nothing beats being in the crowd and cheering for our team. We really had a good time in Ann Arbor. No wonder it’s been called one of the best town to live in and people who used to live there (like Gan) can’t help but make a trip back once in a while.

OLD beer depot in Ann Arbor, serving beer since 1941

This photo was taken at Zingerman’s Roadhouse Restaurant. Zingerman’s is an institution in Ann Arbor; there’s Zingerman’s bakery, Zingerman’s Deli, Zingerman’s Roadhouse and even Zingerman’s mail order. The trailer is actually a take out window for the restaurant, and the full service dining roon is just right behind.

Michigan kids all dressed up and ready for the game against Notre Dame!

This was the crowd before the game started. It got so crowded later on that I hardly have space to sit. but it was worth it!

I found out about singer songwriter, Diane Birch when I was checking out concert schedules for the summer. I immediately fell in love with her voice and her blues/gospels/soul music after listening to songs like “Nothing but a Miracle“, “Fire Escape” and “Valentino” in her first album named Bible Belt. Diane performed at Le Poisson Rouge on Tuesday night and the lounge was packed with people, everyone was there to see her. Diane definitely did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and it was blissful (well until I got a ticket for running the red light on the way home, great).

Diane and the band – I decided to squat down in front of the stage towards the end of the performance to capture more close up images of Diane Birch. I’ll remember to bring my 70-200mm lens to the next performance.

Diane actually began her music career as a pianist. She played beautifully at Le Poisson Rouge.

Diane rocking the stage!

– Diane Birch –

Ida Maria‘s performance at Maxwell’s in Hoboken was nothing short of incredible, she was freaking awesome. She got the crowd pumping and singing with her charismatic, punk rock, drunk, 1000% kick ass performances for one whole hour. Appearing in a shinning gold dress and a rugged black booties, Ida Maria shines on stage with her throaty voice, slightly morbid but catchy songs and quirky dark jokes.

After 4 songs and 2 drinks later (on stage), the singer got crazier, rowdier and even better when she performed her hit songs, “I like you when you are naked” and “Oh My God”. You can definitely expect to have a great time at Ida Maria’s concert; at one point, she came down from the stage and started dancing with the crowd, asking the bartender for a glass of grey goose vodka straight up in between songs, and hugging a fan and ending the show by disappearing without any thank yous and goodbyes. You rock, Ida Maria!

Stefan Törnby – lead guitarist. This photo was taken before the performance started when Stefan came up to the stage to tune his guitar. 

Ida Maria performing before grey goose vodka.

Ida Maria performing with her glass of grey goose vodka straight up.  This Norwegian girl knows how to drink (and sing awesomely at the same time)!

Johannes Lindberg – base guitarist. Uber photogenic. I was standing right below the stage where he stood so I was able to take tons of photos of him. This is for you, ladies!

Ida going back to the stage after dancing briefly with the audience.

Amazing Ida…..did you know that she has synesthesia? she envisions colors when she hears music!

Dana (Left) with Val-Inc (Right), the turntablist — I like the dramatic effect of this picture, with Dana being in the spot light and Val-Inc blended into the background. I had lots of fun shooting photos while the band was playing, so I thought I will create a band series (of photos, of course) since I have already signed up for 10 more concerts/mini concerts this month and next. I’m going to see Ida Maria tonight at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, so stay tune for more photos, and maybe videos!

Max Pollak, Rumba Tap creater. At this Life After Dark performance, Dana incorporated Max’s tap dancing and body percussion sound effects into the music. Pretty amazing.

Photography has alot to do with lighting.  I find it a constant challenge to take good photos without proper lighting in dark areas/rooms, especially when I don’t really like to use flash. Normally, I would manipulate exposure to capture images, and having a fast lens does help. So here is a collection of my favorite photos taken under dark conditions that turned out ok. 3 out of the 5 photos below were actually taken using my Canon Rebel XT and Sigma Zoom lens, with only 2 photos captured using the Canon 5D Mark II.

HUDSON RIVER — We went to the park next to Hudson River after our lunch at Blue Hill Stone Barns during Winter.  The view was amazing and the sunset was so captivating.  I realized then that I have an obsession with tree branches, especially the wicked looking ones. They remind of the trees in Sleepy Hollow movie.

FIREWORKS — it was the first time Macy’s Fireworks display returned to Hudson River since 2001. I was so excited because I knew I could finally get a front row seat without the crowd. It was the best view ever.

SAGRADA FAMILIA — I absolutely love Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. It takes a genious to envision something so ahead its time and so out there. I really love this photo because the whole structure looked so unreal.  It was magnificent.

AMAZING BAND — This was taken at my friend Chris’s band performance sometime last year. The band’s name is “Without You I’m Everything“. The lead singer was a true performer,  he knew how to get the audience and photographer’s attention. The female vocal was a little shy, but she looked absolutely stunning under those lighting.

BLUE HILL AT STONE BARNS — This was at Blue Hill at Stone Barns restaurant in Tarrytown, New York.  It was already dark when arrived so photography session was kind of limited. This is a photo of my good friends Sue Mei and Nan walking towards the restaurant at the Stone Barns, with a single dim light and dark blue sky as the backdrop. Nice Ambience!

PUZZLED EMMA — I think she just woke up not long ago, and having a stranger (yes Gan, YOU) carrying her and a crazy woman taking photos of her non stop can be puzzling and even annoying. Her facial expression is just priceless!

CURIOUS EMMA — Here’s a photo of Emma trying to grab my camera! We were at The Smith for KC, Julian and Emma’s farewell party. They were leaving the next day for Malaysia and I spent most of my time taking photos of baby Emma!

HAPPY EMMA — This photo was taken at Japan Day in Central Park in June. It was a beautiful day and Emma was the perfect model. Just look at that smile!

SMILING EMMA – one word, CUTE!