Lights, Camera, Action!

It's been a long time since I've supervised a photo shoot. My last was at least 2 years ago. And so, covering for R in KL was a great opportunity to work with Peter again and also to reminise the days when I had to scurry around like mad looking for props, engineering staff and doing crowd control - single-handedly!

This shoot was a breeze. Jacq from Marketing did a fab job getting the props (Wedgewood chinaware and Waterford crystal wine glasses, no less) and the staff were literally on stand-by, by our side, throughout the shoot, at every location! It was such a relaxing shoot.

Peter is one of the best photographers in the industry. His angles are seamless and he always manages to catch them at the first attempt. Check out these nice angles, considering that my amateur digi-cam is definitely nowhere near Pete's lenses.

Jacq went out of her way and got her husband Ad to pick us up almost every evening for dinner. Imbi dinners aka Zhi Char. Yummy yummy yummy! I was so engrossed with the food each time I obviously forgot all about my camera. One evening, we were brought for "Ratatouille". I was hoping it was not French food, or perhaps some exotic Rat dishes!? Ad stopped at a dark alley and parked right in front of a big old tree. We all got out apprehensively. All I saw was an old man smoking and reading the evening's gossip papers next to a crooked cupboard and flanked by 2 woks. I looked further and saw a scatter of some 5 tables and random stools. Hmm... this is going to be interesting! And that was also the exact moment I put the pieces together and realised "Ratatouille", as the place is affectionately named by Jacq and Ad, referred to the inhabitants of this dark alley - RATS! Ok ... I had to remain calm. After all, we did ask for "street food".

Tea was served together with cutlery and side plates. A "tea ceremony" followed. Jacq and Ad nonchalantly started pouring tea over the chopsticks, plates and tea cups. And then the famed Hokkien mee (udon like, unlike those yellow ones in Singapore) arrived. Y-U-M-M-Y! We cleaned out the plates of mee and the bowl of soup! BURP!

My Ratatouille moment arrived in the nick of time - just as I was wiping the slurpy remains of Hokkien mee from the corners of my mouth. Yikes! I saw one (or two, or three!?) rat dashing across the next table! Thank goodness we were already saying goodbye to the old man (still smoking) by his crooked cupboard. I began to wonder what lurked within those rickety cupboard shelves...

My greatest regret - forgetting to take pictures this adventure :-( But I'm sure to be back. Till then...