Justin Lim Photography / The Official
Blog
Sloika: Times Square!
It takes a bit to surprise me after two decades taking photographs but seeing my photography headlining in Times Square, NYC on Friday night takes some beating!
Thanks again to Sloika for their vision, graft and innovation. So glad to be a part of that community and grateful for the success we’ve had via my sold out collection, “Girl and Camera” - a landmark first for a Hong Kong NFT photographer on that platform.
To see how it all went down check it out on twitter here.
On "Retiring" and Moving On - 2022 Begins...
Happy New Year! A little personal news! In 2022, I will take the first steps in becoming a "photographer who has shot professionally" rather than a "professional photographer".
What this means is that I will be scaling back on large scale events such as full day weddings and corporate event shoots in Hong Kong. It does not mean that I have relinquished the photographic chain completely - I will still be available for interesting projects and editorial commissions, not to mention my continued love of family portraiture and the like.
For those who have already been in touch with me about their weddings prior to today, rest assured that existing and confirmed bookings for 2022 remain unaffected by this decision. I will also be taking a limited number of bridal reservations going forward. In many ways, I feel I am shooting as well as I ever have, but now is the right time to step away in terms of making a choice about my lifestyle. COVID presented interesting challenges for the business - strangely I am as busy as ever - but I think it is finally the time to find some time for my own projects, perhaps even refocusing my attention on the business side of the industry. Shooting large scale events in HK during the era of distancing and masking (yet with the same demands from luxury clients vis-a-vis high-level event work) was certainly a very unexpected and challenging experience, but one I'm pleased we met head on.
I know I have also been lucky that - as I have risen through the ranks - I have worked with a kinder, more generous calibre of wedding couple. Thank you so much to the graciousness of the couples, especially those in these last few year. It was evident that - finally - I was able to cross that final barrier, that where the wedding couple is not simply a client, but a friend.
It has been a tremendous ride. I first started with cameras in the late 90s and shot my first paid event in Hong Kong in 2006 - making this my 15th year as a professional shooter of some kind here. Every time I went out there to shoot as a “professional”, I thought how lucky I was to be able to tell your stories.
Suffice it to say a big thank you to the hundreds of clients, couples, families, brands and vendors I've worked with, especially those who went out of their way for me (many did). So many things I saw, so many places I went - if you had told me that when I started I would not have believed a word. A big thank you to Jane, Oliver and Cole as well, for every time they stepped up to the wedding plate with me.
Those moments! The first wedding in 2006. Opening my own studio The Kandid in 2013. Waking up at dawn to capture a sunrise at Yosemite on someone's wedding day. Wolfing down ramen with the directors of a world-famous diamond brand in Tokyo. Capturing first looks in the vineyards of Burgundy and Bordeaux. A wintry week in Copenhagen shooting Nordic café culture courtesy of RAINS. My first ever North American magazine cover for American Airlines. 8 days in Bali shooting hotels with the Lifestyle Resorts crew. 48 hours with Prada in Tai Kwun. 2 months in Singapore for my first ever solo exhibition. Shooting MR PORTER's first ever own-brand menswear campaign. Every single Instagrammer I met, broke bread with (even the nasty ones, the bad actors, who did more for my commitment to this industry than they will ever know). All the laughter, tears, joy and even the tequila shots at the afterparties of every single wedding I was hired to shoot (I still hate tequila).
Every single click added gloss to my entire photographic journey, gave an extra sheen to my life.
I recently passed a cumulative 100k followers on social media, which was a strange feeling of something that should have been a watershed moment but also felt a little hollow and underwhelming - like I had something more to give but perhaps not to that world, which if anything seems more distant than at any point in my online life. In the end, as much as I have loved so many things about this side of the photographic industry, I can't wait to embrace another side of it - it is all very exciting. COVID has changed the world and the way we see it - but I'm on tenterhooks waiting on what comes next, knowing I will always be a creator of some kind.
This is the end of this chapter, but not the end of the story. If you were there, thanks for being a part of it. There’s still so much to do…
Yours,
Justin
@hurtingbombz
Ho Ho Hong Kong - Justin Lim
I recently appeared on the Ho Ho Hong Kong comedy podcast, discussing my two decade long affair with photography, the future of weddings and more. A kind of sideways look at my career and how it has developed here.
To tune in, visit Ho Ho Hong Kong.
Sloika - "Girl and Camera" - Sold Out
I’m so delighted to have been asked to be the third ever photographer ever - and first from Asia - to mint a series on Sloika, the new global NFT Marketplace brought to you from the founders of 500px.
The series, a 20 1/1 photo set, is the first portraiture work ever to be sold on the platform, and I am delighted to be representing Asian photographers in this regard.
The works are now sold out, but if you are interested in acquiring them on the secondary market you may wish to view them here:
app.sloika.xyz/hurtingbombz.eth
In a sense I feel very humbled to be asked to create a series like this, inspired by Hong Kong’s neon hues, when so much of the local attention of NFTs from finance, galleries and auction houses has been focused on international trading with little or no relationship to the Hong Kong creator communities. Hopefully these works inspire others to take command of their own imaging assets as photography remains a relatively untapped source of NFT gold.
"Hong Kong Stories" by Justin Lim - NFTs
I’ve just released my first collection of NFTs, a collection of Hong Kong images minted after taking some advice from a very good friend of mine!
Having just made my first sale, I’m also excited by this Brave New World of photographic delivery.
Check out the full collection at OpenSea: opensea.io/collection/hongkongstories
On Vaccinations in the Hong Kong Event Industry
Recently, I’ve been asked several times on the low rate of vaccinations amongst vendors such as photographers, makeup artists and florists in the Hong Kong event industry.
At a recent wedding I worked at (not pictured), I was the only vaccinated vendor of close to a dozen vendors there.
Whilst this isn’t the space to pontificate or speculate as to why people involved the event industry here - who see more unmasked people than virtually anyone save the restaurant industry - still profess to not want to be vaccinated, clients of Justin Lim Photography have generally rested easy knowing that I was one of the first to put my hand up back in April when they became available.
That seemed to be the very least I could do, knowing the immense strains and pressures we have all been under working in high-end events in the last 18 months, with very little effective regulation or protection for external or third party vendors who do not work at the venue itself. Working 18-20 hour days in events totalling thousands of people, shooting dozens of Covid weddings from the early days of the virus onwards, has been one of the great challenges of my photographic career. However, in a sense the jab has at least provided a single plate of armour now.
Cryptocurrency Payments For Photo Packages
I am delighted to announce that of 1st May 2021, Justin Lim Photography and The Kandid will accept payment in BTC and ETH for any shoot of 3 hour duration or less, such as family packages and registry weddings.
This makes me, in all likelihood, the first notable commercial and wedding photographer in Hong Kong to accept this form of payment. However, I feel it is incumbent upon me to decide to move into this form of payment as an extra benefit to my clients, given Hong Kong businesses have been so sluggish at embracing it.
Conversion will be calculated 24 hours before the proposed booking date and shoot. A 5% discount will be offered if this form of settlement is made rather than HKD.
Upper House: Your Wedding Journey
I'm thrilled to be a bespoke partner at the upcoming Upper House Wedding Showcase for 2020, where I will be giving a special workshop and consultation for couples, giving the benefit of my years of wedding photography experience in Hong Kong. To make your appointment at this exclusive event on 20-21 June 2020, please reserve your place via the following link.
upperhouse.com/en/offers-gifts/offers/yourweddingjourney-2020
With the current world health crisis having disrupted weddings across the globe, the value of trusted partners in planning your wedding cannot be underestimated, even as Hong Kong starts to slowly emerge into event season.
I’m also excited to share photos from my recent shoot with Cindy at The Upper House, below - a really elegant storyboard which hopefully reveals why I love shooting there. It’s certainly a venue that I feel always pairs well with my own aesthetics and sensibilities.
Portraits & Peat
It has been a long time since I've done a drinks and photojamming sesh but this time we're taking it outside The Kandid! This is a little thank you event for the many clients, vendors and friends who have made the last few years special. We'll have some whisky to try and a photo corner set up if you fancy getting some off-the-cuff monochrome portraits done!
Venue is the fab Teapigs Pop Up Space (old Aluminium space) in Central. We’ve teamed up with Teapigs who have kindly allowed us use of the space during their month-long event there!
Come along on 29th January 2020 7-9pm and let's unwind!
justlimphoto.com | thekandid.com
Best Wedding Photographers in Hong Kong
Many thanks to The Loop HK for naming me one of their Best Wedding Photographers in Hong Kong. I’m so happy with the way 2019 has unfolded and I’m already looking forward to shooting for all the couples who’ve booked for 2020.
Full article here.
American Way - Cover Story
This commission marks my first major North American cover photo, which I think is a landmark that I never really thought possible when I started many years ago. This 16 page feature for American Airlines’ in-flight magazine was a real trial with the Hong Kong weather being as unhelpful as ever, but we made it through in the end!
Photography has now taken me all over the world for work, but sometimes there’s no place quite like home. Pictured are five incredible local talents, Thierry Chow (cover), Justin Sweeting, Fanny Moritz, Antonio Lai of Quinary and Chef Vicky Lau of Tate Dining Room.
Working with people of this calibre, with a client who allows the flexibility to create something special from Hong Kong’s unique urban terrain, makes for the kind of job I love.
10 Hong Kong Photographers to Follow Now - Instagram
Although I’ve been rather less engaging on Instagram the last year, thank you to Prestige HK for naming me one of “10 Hong Kong Photographers to Follow Now”. Wedding and child photography will always form the core of my services but I’m delighted that my social media continues to command accolades like this.
The full article can be found here.
Shinta Mani Wild, Cambodia
I recently had the pleasure of spending several nights in Cambodia, hosted by the wonderful people at Shinta Mani. The jewel in the crown of their Cambodian properties is most certainly Shinta Mani Wild, a Bill Bensley-curated property nested in the verdant jungle lands in the Cambodian south. After a visit to Siem Reap, and their amazing Shinta Mani Angkor property, we were whisked to the wondrous lands of Wild, the week before their soft opening in December 2018. Here are some photos which I took as part of that journey, which really reinvigorated my passion to create exceptional lifestyle and hospitality imagery.
A spectacular homage to the untouched beauty of Cambodia’s most fertile jungles, this tribute to sustainability made every moment there feel like breathing air for the first time. The shackles of urban life, melted away at this ode to glamping at its most opulent. I found myself thinking how much of this world can still amaze and tantalise. This was never more clear than when we trekked into the surrounding lands with Wildlife Alliance, on the trail of dangerous poachers and their crude traps. That juxtaposition really opened my eyes.
Shinta Mani Wild, captured exclusively by Justin Lim, December 2018
Thank you to Amanda Ho, Editor-in-Chief of Electrify Magazine, for organising this retreat into Wild, and for being the perfect travel companion. Amanda is someone whose experience in terms of how to approach ethical lifestyle travelling is beyond reproach, and I believe she always beneficially informs my own experience as a lifestyle and wedding photographer.
For details as to travel and luxury commissions, contact me at justin [at] thekandid.com.
CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year 2018
Justin Lim
Winner, Hourly Category, CBRE UPOTY 2018
Delighted to announce that my photo of the Stockholm subway system has been declared a winner in the "Hourly" category of CBRE UPOTY 2018.
To see the full list of winners, visit this link.
Hashtag Legend Interview
Posting about this somewhat belatedly, but here is an interview I did with Yi Li Dawson of Hashtag Legend late 2017.
A little insight into what's been happening recently.
#ElectrifyGetaways X #LifestyleRetreats
This summer I was indulged once more by a travel experience courtesy of #ElectrifyGetaways and #LifestyleRetreats. Although I have often travelled to Bali in my spare time, on this occasion I saw the island from a very different perspective. Delighted to share these candids from my week-long adventure with you - a real privilege to collaborate with influencers and creatives of this calibre.
From the intimate, wellness-driven privacy of The Samata, to the sprawling natural reserve that was The Menjangan, this was an ode to Bali's diversity. After 7 days of gorgeous, sun-drenched vistas, it finished with a day at The Bale Nusa Dua, the jewel in the Lifestyle Retreats crown.
Having now been entertained by Lifestyle Retreats on two occasions this year, I can only marvel at their commitment to Bali's unique terra firma and the people who build their lives and families around the resorts. This was particularly true of The Menjangan, where the resort makes active efforts to improve the lives of the indigenous West Bali people, through education and infrastructure.
I consider myself fortunate that my photography continues to take me around the globe in such memorable ways.
