February19th
I’m finally attempting to update the press section!
Elle A Seoul is an Elle Korea publication. It’s a really cool magazine that highlights some amazing places in Seoul, plus articles and more. I was featured in the October 2011 issue in a street style article, alongside Rei from Style From Tokyo and others.
My half page at the bottom there with some of my favourite shots!
April17th
Many of you may know that I just had my TV debut! That’s right, earlier this evening I had my very first TV appearance talking about… you guessed it, this very blog! Born out of my love of both fashion and photography, I started xssat over 2 and half years ago, it was only meant to be one of the my many side projects, but since then xssat has become my passion, almost a part time job and something much bigger. It’s taken a lot of hard work, many hours of scouting the streets, photographing, editing and thinking, but you know what, I love every single minute of it. I’m constantly thinking of how to improve my blog, how to create better content and how to engage with my readers. My belief is that if I can keep creating relevant and great content, then the rest will follow, it’s taken a while, but all that hard work is definitely paying off.
ABC first contacted me in January about appearing on the show and it took weeks of emails, phone calls, a phone interview to lead finally to the filmed interview with Fenella Kernebone. Seeing myself on TV was a little surreal, to be honest, I never thought I’d be on TV, let alone talking about street fashion on TV and being talked about alongside some street fashion and photography greats, namely Scott Schuman and one of my favourite photographers, Robert Frank. Just thinking about having my work shown alongside those of Robert Frank’s gives me goosebumps.
On the day, Fenella was lovely and put me at ease straight away, I wasn’t nervous at all. I was wired up on the day with a transmitter pack clipped to the back of my skirt and a tiny mic taped to my bra! I have a lot of friends who are photographers, so I’m used to having big cameras pointed at me, but a big video camera was still quite daunting. Repeating the same sequence for multiple takes and angles were all new to me. I love new experiences and being out of my comfort zone from time to time, so it was a very fun and enjoyable morning!
I can see the view count spiking right now and I’ve no idea what this press will bring, but wherever this blog is headed, you can be sure that I’m committed to bringing great content to you. So now without further ado, here’s my segment on ABC’s Art Nation.
Here are the shots I took at the filming of Dana Fernie and Emily of Little Black Book.
Here are some behind the scenes pics taken on the day by Dana and Emily.
Special thanks to Dana and Emily for appearing alongside me in the show :)
February20th
It’s amazing the way things just happen right after you’ve thought them up in your head sometimes. Key word, sometimes and right now my life is in that tiny bracket of sometimes.
I decided to take a little 3 months sabbatical from the beginning of this year to focus all of my energy and efforts solely on photography. I’ve poured lots more energy into xssat, I’ve shot fashion editorials, look books, a whole bunch of model tests and you know what it’s only February and there are still plenty more in the pipeline. You lot out there have no idea how much I want this and how I’m just diving straight into the deep end, but that’s how I like it, I find I learn the best this way. Just today I assisted the talented Carine Thevenau on a shoot for Frankie, beside buckets of sweat, getting clawed by a cute fluffy rabbit (Awww, poor rabbit was a bit stressed) and moving giant amounts of flowers up and down the stairs, I learnt lots just by watching the way Carine worked and the witnessing the sheer amount of organising, effort and work that goes into a quality shoot.
Some of you may have heard already that I got interviewed and filmed by Fenella Kernebone of ABC’s Art Nation for a special segment they are doing on street fashion blogging. I was over the moon to be featured for the story as I’m a regular viewer of the program and love what they do. The episode won’t air for another 2 or 3 weeks, but I’ll definitely make sure you’ll get to watch my 5 seconds of fame!
Literally just 2 days after the filming I got an email from Singapore’s Today newspaper wanting to feature me! I know! On a roll, aren’t I??!! Yay! I was even more over the moon when Lynette from Today sent the PDFs of the article over to me! Because my photos are HUGE! So happy that they chose one of my favourite shots of Emma, more of an artsy shot, rather than a straight street style shot. Featured alongside Emma are emerging fashion designer Pheonix Keating, the adorable Bruno, grandson of Zambesi’s Elisabeth Findlay and of course my mugshot!
So without further blabbering, here is the article!! Click on the pics to see them large and read the article.
The shot of Emma is from here, Phoenix is here and Bruno over here.
Featured alongside me were Luke Railings of Sydney Street Style, the lovely Jessie Bush of We The People and Hailey Hughes of On The Streets of Sydney.
PS. I’ll definitely be showing you a whole bunch of fashion photography work! Real soon I promise!
February9th
Photo by Jayna Chan
I’ve been interviewed over at Retro Sunday, because I don’t want you guys to miss out, below is an extract of the interview.
A little introduction.
I’ve been doing photography for over 5 years and have been taking it quite seriously for the last 3. I’m a self taught photographer, I studied graphic design and have been working as an art director in online advertising for over 5 years, it was through work and friends that my love for photography was ignited. I specialise in fashion and portrait photography and I hope to shoot plenty of editorial work in the future as well as further develop my personal work. I started xssat in 2008 to combine my love of fashion and photography, being a digital native, blogging is the perfect fit. When I’m out style hunting I’m constantly scanning the streets, when I see someone that catches my eye, I simply tell them it’s for my blog and ask to take their pictures. It really is the ultimate compliment to someone and their fashion sense so I rarely get turned down.
You can find my photography work at: http://xiaohan.net/photography.htm
The moment you realised you wanted to be a photographer?
The moment I saw one of my friend’s photography work I knew I had to pick up a camera and start snapping.
Describe your style.
My photography style is feminine and honest, I strive to make my pictures intriguing, to convey emotions, feeling and stories.
What inspires you creatively? Any key influences?
Films, music and the places you see and the people you meet traveling the world.
Tools of the trade.
Canon 5D mk II and a big array of film cameras including: Olympus OM2, Seagull TRL and Holga.
Describe your creative work flow from concept to completion.
For my street fashion work, I try to set aside at least half a day every week to roam the streets of Sydney. Sometimes I see no one I find interesting, other days I find 5 or 6 and that’s a lot! For my fashion work, I dream up a concept, usually inspired by a designer’s collection, a recent film I’ve seen or perhaps just something that’s been brewing in my sub-conscious. I then find the suitable models, go location scouting and put together a team of stylist, hair and makeup artist. I’m always heavily involved in every step, from deciding the clothes, to the makeup and hair. The actual photo session only takes a few hours, a day max, but the preparation can take weeks with many headaches and cancellations involved.
Your dream project?
To shoot fashion editorials for magazines like ID, V and Dazed and Confused.
Any hobbies or passions outside of fashion and photography?
I love to work with my hands, I do a bit of crafty things when I get around to it, like sewing and making props for my shoots.
Can’t live without?
Good food.
Growing up I wanted to be a…..
Creative director at a design firm.
To read the whole interview, visit Retro Sundays!
April23rd
That was way too long and way too strange a title. What I meant to say was… I now have a twitter!
http://twitter.com/xssat
Follow me!
