Kevin Chin's Blog » Travel

WPPI 2013 | Las Vegas | Photographer’s Convention

Kevin Chin — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:04:22 +0000

Every spring, throngs of photographers from all over the globe descend on Las Vegas for the annual Wedding Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) convention. This year’s event attracted over 14,000 attendees that included students, newbies and old timers like myself. Parties, instructional classes, parties, trade show, and parties are the week’s activities. Whether novice or seasoned pro, there is something here for everyone to learn and be inspired. Like most of my colleagues, I came home from this year’s convention with a checklist of ideas and can’t wait to implement some of the things that I learned into my business.

One of my new favorite finds are these artsy press printed books by Artifact Uprising.

The most interesting new product this year is a wardrobe styling service for your portraits clients by Pina Fore.

Film enthusiasts (myself included) gathered at the booth of Richard’s Photo Lab.

The “momtographer” movement is on the rise.

hII love the handmade quality of these albums from Priscilla Foster Handmade.

The Canon booth is by far the busiest booth every year. I feel like a kid in a candy store every time I approach their booth.

Thank you Canon CPS for cleaning and checking my cameras. A must have service for every photographer.

Only in Vegas… a pop up wedding chapel.

Every year, my good friends and fellow colleagues Augie and Maria host a dinner to kick off the week’s activities in Vegas.

And did I mention the parties? Every year, the vendor sponsored parties get bigger and better.

Wendy’s Bachelorette Party | Cancun

Kevin Chin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:52:38 +0000

I never take my job for grated and with great clients like Wendy & Ewin, I am reminded how blessed I am to work with such amazing people! Wendy hired me to come to Cancun with 11 of her girlfriends to film their bachelorette weekend. Together with good friend and fellow photographer Augie Chang and the wifey Nancy, we spent the day documenting their catamaran boat ride from Cancun to Isla Mujeres. We had amazing seafood lunch on the island followed by a photo session with Augie and a video interview session with me. I interviewed just the girls without Wendy so everything will be a surprise to our bride Wendy when I premiere the video at their wedding reception in July. Nancy and I stayed in Mexico for the rest of the week for a little vacation with included some zip lining, repelling, and snorkeling in underground caves. Thanks again Wendy for inviting us to share and document your amazing weekend!

Thanks to Augie & Nancy for helping take “behind the scene” shots of our catamaran ride.

Color Holga | Paris

Kevin Chin — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:36:25 +0000

As many of you may know, my passion is film photography and my favorite camera is my $40 plastic Holga camera. When I travel, I always bring along 2 Holgas, one loaded with b&w film and the other with color film. I love the simplicity of this camera. No worries about camera settings. Just load up the camera with some film and do an approximate focus based on distance and shoot. I couldn’t live without digital technology but there is something very liberating about shooting with a cheap $40 plastic camera void of any technology. The color palette of film is gorgeous and is the main reason why I will never give up shooting film.

See B&W Holga Paris post here.

All photos taken with Holga camera and Kodak Portra 800 color film.

Black & White Holga | Paris

Kevin Chin — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 01:29:20 +0000

My friends are always puzzled that I don’t bring along my professional gear for my travel photos. My favorite camera has always been my $40, plastic Holga camera. It shoots real film which is my passion. Because the Holga is made of plastic, the quality of the images are not the best and the results are very unpredictable. These imperfections are what gives the photos it’s character and unique look.

All photos taken with Holga camera and Kodak Tri-X 120 black and white film.

India | Bengal Tiger Safari | Part 4

Kevin Chin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:06:05 +0000

As a city boy, I go to the zoo if I want to see animals and experience wildlife. Never did I imagine the thrilling experience of seeing a wild Bengal tiger roaming in a forest. Traveling in open-air jeeps and on elephants, we would track the Bengal tigers into the jungle to observe and photograph them. We visited 2 tiger camps in India, Bandhavgarh National Park and Kanha National Park located in central India. Both of these tiger camps are world renowned for the preservation of the Bengal tiger.

On this trip I had the pleasure of meeting and traveling with Allan Gold whom I am pictured with here. As you can see, it was a blend of old school film cameras using my Holgas and Allen’s professional digital camera with long range telephoto lenses.

Since the jeeps are not allowed to travel off the roads in these protected jungles, we transfer to elephants when a Bengal tiger is spotted. Here we are tracking a Bengal tiger back into the forest. The hunt is on and the adrenaline rush has kicked in.

Amazingly, this photo of this lounging Bengal tiger was captured with my Canon G12 point & shoot from atop the elephant. We were only about 15 feet away when this Bengal tiger glared up at me as I was taking his picture. As those eyes peered back at me thru my lens, I prayed to God this was not going to be the last photo that I ever take in my lifetime. I suddenly realize my vulnerability of being in this jungle atop of an elephant with a ranger / guide that doesn’t carry any weapons. Needless to say, this was an experience I will never forget.

This is a photo I captured of Allan as he was photographing a young Bengal tiger strolling down the road heading straight towards us. As you can see, we are sitting ducks in these open-air jeeps. The following 2 images are what Allan captured. Thank you for sharing those wonderful photos with us Allan.

The next five images were taken with my Holga camera. I concentrated more on taking landscape photos while Allan was capturing the amazing close-up wildlife shots.

This last series of photos are of the luxury accommodations that we stayed at for both the Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge and Kanha Tented Camp. As you can see, we were not roughing it.

My entire India trip was captured using Canon G12 point & shoot and 2 Holga cameras. One Holga was loaded with Kodak Tri-X film and the other with Kodak Portra 400 NC film.

See India, part 2 here.

Taj Mahal | India | Part 3

Kevin Chin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 06:21:55 +0000

All photos taken with a Holga carera, using Kodak 400 NC color film, and Kodak b&w film

See India Holga photos , Part 2 here.

India | Holga Photos | Part 2

Kevin Chin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 07:00:53 +0000

Upon arriving in New Delhi, India, my senses were instantly working on overload. The crowds of people, the constant honking of car horns, the spices in the air, the busyness of everything and everybody was all in front of me and all happening all at once. I decided to embrace it all and soak up this incredible experience. It became a thrill to me, a complete adrenaline rush. This organized chaos was probably the most favorite part of the trip for me.

All photos taken with a Holga camera and Kodak Tri-X b&w film and Kodak Portra 400 color film.

See India Holga photos, part 1 here.

India | Holga Photos | Part 1

Kevin Chin — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:30:45 +0000

On our recent trip to India, I immediately fell in love with the country’s beautiful architecture and design. The temples and mosques we visited were adorned with hand etched marble interiors and exteriors and inlaid with hand cut precious gems. Photo #8 is a classic example of this fine craftsmenship.

All photos taken with a Holga camera and Kodak Tri-X b&w film and Kodak Portra 400 color film.

Sneak Peak, India Trip

Kevin Chin — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 03:17:04 +0000

Here is a sneak peak from our recent trip to India. I am sorting thru 40 rolls of film that I shot with my Holga cameras and will share them with you soon.

anguilla, holga photos:

Kevin Chin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:17:09 +0000