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Model: Regina Pericolosa 

MUA/Hair: http://jewelleface.com/

Assistant: Ricky Vazquez http://www.robertovazquez.ca/

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Happy Birthday Trudy!

Today is the birthday of my almost 3 year girlfriend. I didn't want to have a big 'get her drunk' kind of party so I decided to just throw a small surprise for her. This was at Nome Izakaya, our second home. I usually don't take event pictures anymore but I pretty sure wanted to just capture a bunch of pictures for this night. Thanks to Denis for reserving me a table last minute. Sorry for smoking up the place with a dozen sparklers! lol.. Big thanks for the ones that have came to celebrate, it won't be the last! 

Also happy birthday Chi!!

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Skeleton Boy. A rendition of Rick Genest . I had the idea of just making some creepy shit walking through the forest. My main layout was to have the model in a river floating up, but everything was too cold and the damn winter was still going on. Thanks to Tee Y Make Up and Barrett Lucak for being a sport in the cold weather. 

About 3 hours we had to endure for the make up to finish, while there were no washrooms or buildings or any warm place to set up the make up, the whole thing was set up in my car. Started my tethering within the trees and noticed I needed something around 2.8 with a fill. Unfortunately I didn't have any ND filters on me and basically the speedo flashes were useless. It started snowing so I whipped out my Mamiya 645 AFD and loaded Kodak Portra. The results are fantastic and I loved the finished look. It took more than a while to get these up but I'm glad I can show these to people! After we wrapped up, I ended up falling in a ditch in which I pulled my back pretty hard. 

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Winson Tsai Chinese Gangster Series. After a few weeks of planning, I've accomplished another addition to the gangster series. This time, Winson takes the seat to become the Chinese gangster. Winson is a full time tattoo artist currently working with Chronic Ink Tattoos . You can view his work at www.winsontsai.com . I wanted to make this shot more realistic to him so he brought his client on the right, (other client couldn't make it =[ ) as well as his girlfriend, Katrina. I'd also like to thank Roberto for being the extra and giving some help, as well as my girlfriend. Without both of them, I don't think the shoot would have happened! You can view Roberto's work at www.robertovazquez.ca    .

You can view the rest of my work at www.leenguyen.ca 

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Shot this last minute with Anthony who is a great guy to work with. No boring shots as we always crack jokes! Thanks Johnny for the assist and Roberto Vasquez for the background!

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Composite shot of Steven. Siam no.1 gym

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DAJANA RADOVANOVIC

Friend and agency model, Dajana Rads was in my book for awhile now. I've worked with her previously a couple of times and is one of my favourites I work with. She's a down cool chick and willing to work. I remember the last time we travelled up north north then south south and hiked to the bluffs, climbed a big-ass hill lugging bags. One of my favourites is the banner of my website as well as my business card. Dajana represented by Lang Models and featured on Brave New Girls on E! Sundays. 

Make Up by DessiDeb; Dessimakeup[at]gmail.com

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THE MEET

Inspired by the film, Robin and the Seven Hoods starring  Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Bing Crosby. These were supposed to be done but 2 weeks of bad digestive problems ruined me. This project of mine is part of the gangster series and a huge addition. There was supposed to be 7 men but I'm lucky with 5 as the studio space wasn't big enough. Anyway, thanks to Big It Up Hats for providing the hats for props! Big thanks to Brooklyn, Spotty, Edres, Maurice, and Nick Walker for taking time to work with me and dress perfectly. This is a huge addition to my book, and an accomplished challenge of lighting multiple people. Initially, I was supposed to find a banquet hall with a textured wall, where a nice looking table could be provided along with the amount of space. Unfortunately, I'd have no way of getting a permit as well as insurance to cover everyone since this project was out of my pocket.

This shoot was planned over a month ago, with e-mails exchanged back and forth, and countless hours of scouting, grabbing props, taking the TTC (didn't expect the amount of trips needed!). It paid off after all. I would like to thank Ricky Vasquez  for the big help needed, as I wouldn't be able to set up and carry a bunch of equipment in time. Having extra hands can really cut down time by half!

Since this won't be the last gangster series, I'm hoping to do more as I have plenty and plenty of ideas. Stay tuned.

www.leenguyen.ca

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Here, I was itching for some natural light. This shoot was supposed to be done weeks ago but due to some complications, I've been on a search for another face. Thanks to my girlfriend, she recommended me blue-eyed Isabella. Isabella was a great sport for her first shoot, and it wasn't quick for the window to light her fabulously. I usually shoot tethered and this time I was using my friend's Canon 5D Mark 3, which I couldn't get the damn thing to tether a while back so I just shot on camera. Let me tell you, her eyes blew up the screen and I knew this was going to be fantastic. I was able to squeeze half an hour of her time before she went to a semi-formal. 

Visit me at www.leenguyen.ca

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This shoot was just for me to practice outdoor lighting and get into the environment. Good friend of mine Winston and my brother Lanny agreed to trek up a hill and pose for me. A little mishap that costed me 30 minutes of hiking up and down, we got the shoot wrapped up in time. I hope to do more of these! 

Visit me at www.leenguyen.ca

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MORE PICS BELOW! From my first post, I concluded that I'd post some more work. I'm excited to say I've finished my first shoot of the new year with a good bang! Lots of great news from getting to work with Big It Up Hats to having some casting finished for the next few shoots.

I'd like to give a shout out to Johnny Tang for making my shoot easier for renting out an extra set of lights for me (since the school limits one set...) .

Spotty  for being a good contribution as well as Brooklyn and DMR Hair & Tattoo Studio for the main part and space.

Now this is just an environmental portrait I wanted to be on location rather than just studio work. Brooklyn as barber and Spotty as the client. Something nice for promotional work.

Shooting notes: I'm going to start with the biggest tip I can lay out for everyone; PLAN YOUR SHOOTS! Though it gives itinerary / outline of the shoot, it makes shooting a breeze. It additionally gives me motivation to keep planning ideas. Get your brain working! 

It was my first time using my Mamiya 645AFD to the shoot. I've got some great polaroids as well as some good shots on film. The non black and white barber shot is Portra scanned with V500. 

Only improvement I'd like to give myself on is to shoot more F22 so I can get better detail on the digital end and film end.

Stay tuned for my biggest shoot yet on February 11th!

Visit me at www.leenguyen.ca

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Here is a shot of Van, owner of T DOT INK without the smoke. Thanks for working with me Van!

https://www.facebook.com/vantattmontana

https://www.facebook.com/pages/T-DOT-INK/382323240198

Visit me at www.leenguyen.ca

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2014

I've written this pretty late but I told myself I was getting to it so here I am!

This year, I've found the direction I wanted to take my photography to. Not a lot of girls but more commercial and advertising! I'm going with a bigger bang if I might add.. This semester of school we take on the production of our own projects and the stuff I have planned for the first few months of 2014 will be stellar.

2013 has been up and downs for me, I didn't shoot a lot. I didn't have much motivation due to school and lack of time. I've found motivation through planning ideas and what I can bring up with them rather than toss them away. What completely had me excited for this new year is the hope of working with the photographer I look up to most. It's a maybe.. just not too sure yet but if so, it may be a dream come true!

In addition to recap my 2013, my gangster portrait series came out the way I liked. It was a very successful addition to my book. If I could change anything within the photographs, I would totally use a digi medium format rather than a dslr (Mind you I'm still on my kit lens!). 

www.leenguyen.ca

Visit me at www.leenguyen.ca