TAFEP was such a project. It took months of planning, back and forth discussions to get to the final product. As simple as it may seem, a project like actually took a lot of head-cracking and project management to get sorted out. But nonetheless, we are glad that it has got off the grown.

TAFEP, The Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, was in a way fun to do. The talents that I shot was previously employed to do a similar campaign, this time the photos are used in a Facebook app and marketing campaign.

The 4 talents seen in the screenshot below were shot individually and then composited together to form the final image. I am not sure if you can tell from the final output, the talents were a blast to work with.

Anyway, erm, if you like to support their Fair Work Practices campaign online, you can take a look at this Facebook app here.

~Kevin

TAFEP stock image that I shot and composited together.

The piece above was first conceived in November 2012. After a couple of months of tweaking and refining, we came to this final piece. It was a very delightful project that the folks at Natanel Gluska, Anita De Bauch and myself embarked on.

Having met Melanie, the producer and basically the marketer for Natanel, by chance at a gallery opening a couple months prior we spoke about our ideas openly over wine and whiskies. She shared how enjoyed Anita’s physique and elegance in the works I showed her that night. At the same time, she showed me a few pictures of the furniture off her phone, and I exclaimed that we should collaborate. Fortunately after all that drinking we still managed to remember to keep in touch and continued to refine our idea. To cut the story short this is how the project came to be.

Good news is that the print, almost life-sized, is going to Dubai in May for a exhibition, and of course with Natanel’s slew of furniture. I am quite chuffed about it. Can’t wait.

~Kevin

Great news for those who missed our initial workshop with Anita De Bauch; the internationally-published fetish and art nude model will be back in Singapore for two more workshops with CaKe on December 11th!

The workshop structure will be changed slightly; instead of a 3 hour session with up to 6 photographers, we will be conducting 2-hour workshops for only 2 photographers at a time. Both Kevin and I will be instructing, so it’s a 1-to-1 workshop, giving participants time with Anita as well as for us to guide you, so this will be practical even for photographers who are new to shooting art nudes. The price per person is S$400.

Workshop Schedules

Workshop 1: 8pm to 10pm
Workshop 2: 5pm to 7pm

Contact us via email at eat@mycake.sg, or call 8189 8313 (Callan) or 9695 8584 (Kevin) for bookings and more information.

All participants must pay the full fees upfront to secure their spot. You can do an Internet banking transfer with the below details. Copy the completed transaction/reference code and email it to us at eat@mycake.sg for verification. In that email, please also state which time slot you wish to book.

Standard Chartered Bank
Account Number:       0102303185
Bank Code:                   7144
Branch Code:                001

Anita De Bauch will be running workshops here in CAKE coming 11th November, Sunday. Offering you a unique opportunity to shoot the international fetish star in her signature styles of art nudes, lingerie and latex fashion. Each workshop lasting 3 hours will have a maximum of 6 photographers, giving everyone a chance to direct and shoot Anita. Each workshop will only cost S$150 per photographer.

Workshop Schedules

1. Workshop 1: 5.30pm – 8.30pm
2. Workshop 2: 1.45pm – 4.45pm

Contact us using the form below, or call 8189 8313 (Callan) or 9695 8584 (Kevin) for bookings and more information.

All participants must pay upfront in-full to secure their spot. You can do an Internet banking transfer. Copy the completed transaction/reference code and email it to us at eat@mycake.sg for verification. In that email, please also state which time slot you would like to go for.

Standard Chartered Bank
Account Number:       0102303185
Bank Code:                   7144
Branch Code:                001

*The images in the gallery remain copyright of their respective photographers. 

The 5iveFootWay collective got together in at CaKe on the very Saturday before the opening of their exhibition for one purpose: framing their works. They spent a good portion of the morning and part of the afternoon to put their works in frames they got from IKEA.

These are some of the images for that afternoon.

(On a side note: Apologies to Adam, I did not realize that I did not take a picture of him with his work until very much later. Oh well.)

Some of the fellas from 5ivefootway gathered on Tuesday morning to bring their framed works to The Pigeonhole. You think hanging pictures up on a wall is easy? We all did. Well, at least some of us did. As for myself, I was by and large a casual observer in the whole processing of putting their pictures on the walls. Here are some of the photographs. Enjoy. (Oh yeah, and more to come. )

We just completed a shoot for Rhythm magazine and Staple Design; photos are being processed and will be under embargo until published, but here’s one of DJ Dave Does (AOS) that I took that I’m particularly happy with and publishable by us. And it was no surprise to us that he’s got photography and modeling experience, given how comfortable he was in front of the camera.

DJ Dave Does (AOS) © CaKe Images LLP 2012

Dave Does (AOS) in B&W © CaKe Images LLP 2012

The results from the shoot will be featured in the September/October issue of Rhythm; keep a lookout for it!

Technical details: Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/85 ZE, wide open.

Canon EOS-M with EF-M 22mm f/2 STM lens

The CaKe boys attended the EOS-M Launch event this afternoon; as usual I’m not particularly fond of taking photographs at such events, so I’ll just share my thoughts on it given the little exposure I’ve had with the camera, from the perspective of a working photographer who is looking for a capable camera with a large-ish sensor that is smaller than my 5D Mark II. Since the EOS-M has an APS-C sensor, that seems to fit the bill.

First of all, the build. It is heavier than it looks, at 265g, and feels pretty good in the hand. The EF-M (you’d have noticed the new designation and expansion of the EOS nomenclature) lenses introduced come with metal mounts, and are built well, but not overbuilt. The EOS-M also comes with a standard Canon hotshoe, which is great for studio shooters or those with strobist inclinations. It feels chunkier than a Sony NEX-7, but not as good as an Olympus OM-D E-M5, but it does feel like a smaller cousin of the bog-standard EOS DSLRs, which it is. Canon designed this with the intention of keeping to the overall look and feel of its existing cameras, so in that sense they’ve succeeded.

Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

The 18-55mm lens introduced with the camera is also no surprise, being the typical kit lens in Canon’s entry-level cameras. This one, however has STM built-in for quiet focusing during video. Some quick hands-on tests show the AF speed to be acceptable for most uses. The 22mm f/2 lens, though, pleasantly surprised me. It looks like the smaller brother of the (pretty new) EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens. The 22mm is a fast 35mm-equivalent, which is a preferred focal length for me.

Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM

Unfortunately, the units shown to us were pre-production units, and we were not able to pull any photos taken with them. But I hope the AF speed with production units picks up, especially with the 22mm lens. The quick tests I did were not up to my expectation, given how much they’re touting the phase-detect and contrast-detect hybrid AF. Shades of the Nikon V1/J1, anyone? That’s what it reminded me of, but the AF appears sluggish, and I hope it’s purely because it is a pre-production model. It will be very disappointing if this isn’t the case.

Canon has also introduced an EF-EOS M adapter so you can fit all EF and EF-S lenses on the body, including monsters such as the EF 85mm f/1.2L or the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM lenses on the EOS-M body. It’ll probably look ridiculous, but taking care of backward compatibility and existing EOS users is a nice touch that I applaud.

So am I interested in getting one? No. I’m not even sure if I’ll use it if it were given to me. The ergonomics are ok, but doesn’t quite feel right. The lens lineup isn’t comprehensive enough, and using an adapter for existing EF or EF-S lenses doesn’t feel complete. And of course, there is the one fatal flaw in this system for me, and it’s a deal-breaker — the lack of an electronic viewfinder accessory.

Dammit, Canon, you took the time to put in a standard hotshoe, and make a small speedlight for it, and didn’t bother making a solid EVF accessory? That boggles the mind. To me, shooting at arms length looking at the back of an LCD screen is something I cannot get used to, and until the introduction of EVF accessories, Micro Four-Thirds cameras held no appeal for me. Canon is way behind the curve on this one. Panasonic and Olympus have EVFs. Sony has a whole line of DSLRs with fantastic EVFs. The NEX-7 has an outstanding (though too contrasty for my liking) EVF.

Even the Nikon V1 has an inbuilt EVF, and the by-no-means-cheap-or-particularly-modern Leica X2 has an EVF accessory. Come on, Canon, you must be having a laugh. Bring an EVF to the table, and maybe then I can take it seriously. Right now, the EOS-M is a mere placeholder in Canon’s product line. What it says is “we need a mirrorless camera, they said, so here it is”. It does not look like a statement of intent at all. I’m not sure what they’re doing with this, but they could do more, and they must, if Canon wants to compete in this segment.

If all you want is a replacement for your compact camera, and have EF lenses to play with, or like shooting peering at an LCD screen in full sun, maybe you’ll get one.

You know me, I love cats. Dogs and hamsters as well. A friend of mine, Tanya, she approached me seeking my help to take pictures for an awareness drive, and I jumped at the chance to help out. She basically went out and made T-shirts for her animal welfare group where most of the proceeds from the sales would go to the betterment of  the life of the animals around us. So the following the results of the shoot.

If you want to support Metta Cats, the T-shirts are still up for sale. And in conjunction with this, we at the studio have decided to extend a promotion to all buyers of the Tees with a portrait shoot in our studio. All you need to do is buy 1 T-shirt to qualify for the promo. The promotion ends on National Day. So get it now!

You know it’s an absolute joy and privilege when you get to shoot someone that is really connected to themselves. Such is the case of my friend Drake, who commissioned me to do his portraits. He’s an aspiring actor and he needed to capture certain characters and quirks that he able to come up with. The pictures were also meant for his portfolio and CV so to speak, so that when he does cast calls it’ll be easier to present himself.

Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.