10 Years on deviantART

It's a little hard to believe that I'd been on the website for 10 years now. Time passes by so fast. >_<

I wrote a journal post on dA about the decade, and it's sort of like a mini journey for my photography too, since it is where I started out. You can read it here.

Along with that I completed an improvement meme as well! Here's a snapshot of my work from 2006-2012 :D

My deviantART.

Pink Hair

It was a semi-impulsive thing, but something I'd been meaning to do for a while now and just didn't really.

I was introduced to X Japan's music 10 years ago on this day. It wasn't much later that I found out that it's also hide's death day.

In a very round-about way, X was the reason I eventually ended up doing photography. So this is in his memory, RIP hide.

In Black and White

Photography: Zhang Jingna
Styling: Mildred von Hildegard
Hair/Makeup: Lindsey Rivera
Model: Natalia Bonifacci/Ford LA
Photo Assistants: Jung Kim, Xun Chi
Clothes from Mother of London

Did this the day before I left Los Angeles last December. I'm so happy the team managed to come together to photograph these new pieces from Mildred's collection, you guys are all so awesome~~ Special thanks to Charlene at Ford for being such a sweetheart! <3

Some behind the scenes photos by Jung Kim taken while we were getting ready --

Checking out the pieces with Mildred as we plan out the looks. Omg my hair used to be so long o_o

Lindsey's serious face as she gets Natalia ready~ Love her~

And last but not least some outtakes I really liked --

If you haven't figured out yet this was done outdoors with natural light. 

I've always wanted do it, carry my backdrop set and shoot with it outdoors one day. Kinda like a little kid's wish hahaha. 

And since I was packing up to move, I figured why not just do it. So on the day of shoot we lugged everything out to the little park across from my apartment complex and set up there. :D The wind got super strong at one point and it tore through the backdrop all the way across, we had to tape it back up and it was really ghetto haha. Was all good fun though, I was really happy. Thank you everyone for all the amazing memories~ 

In other news, New York has been awesome! My producer has been keeping me busy with loads of meetings and shoots. There are so many amazing talents and girls and clothes and everyone's so nice ;_;


Also also! It's Singapore Day this Saturday! FREE HAWKER FOOD. I REALLY want to go but I'll be shooting, so if you're in NY please do go on my behalf (10.30am-6pm at Prospect Park, Brooklyn) and have some awesome Singapore food! Read more about it here.

Short Film: L'Odyssée de Cartier

Last week I was invited to the press premiere of Cartier's short film: L'Odyssée de Cartier. I could hardly contain my excitement after receiving the press package with screenshots because it looked so so so so promising. The film has been launched now and you can view it on Youtube here:

Couple stills from the opening scene:

Beautiful isn't it? It's filled with so much fantasy and beauty you can't possibly feel disappointed because it's just so absolutely breathtaking beyond words. Also helps that the panther (a real one), is so so good looking.

We received a book on the project after the screening, in which each scene was explained, with its story and significance in the history of Cartier.

Each highlight had its own envelope and in it, an introduction, old photos, drawings, pamphlets, posters -- so exquisite you feel like you have a small piece of the Cartier archives with you. It's a super sweet touch.

This book is filled with so much awesome content I love it to bits. T_T

In closing, thank you Cartier for inviting me and sharing with us this beautiful cinematic work of art.

Theatres in Singapore will start showing this 3.5min short film prior to some movies at Cathay cinemas, Shaw Lido, and Golden Village Vivo. Hope you guys will enjoy seeing it on the large screen too~

New Hair

Bits and pieces of recent happenings~

Did my hair on a whim the other day. It was completely random, I was just going to the salon (Sabun Cabane in Tanglin Mall) to get my roots done but my hair stylist Delos was like heyyy you wanna put some colours in?

And when painting the pinks in she was like a kid in a candy store, said it reminded her of candy floss hahaha. Delos is awesome.

So anyway, that was cool and all, but what was more awesome was when I had to do a self portrait session for some upcoming interviews and features two days later.

I somehow managed to land a couple shots that reminded me super much of Yoshitaka Amano's work, which came as a huge surprise, like totally, totally unexpected.

If doing my hair in random colours does this for my work, I should totally do it more often.

I think I ran away from the brief (stark, sharp, non-artistic stuff) but what the heck, I like the pictures. Can't wait to share them with you but I don't think I'm allowed to yet. Soon enough though, hopefully~ I've to say I love them to the point of considering them for my next book/exhibition. So I'm really really excited~ :D

I do have camwhoring shots done after makeup tho hehe -

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Another recent highlight was Natalia Taffarel's retouching workshop last weekend. It's been a long time since I'd been to a workshop or talk of any sort, but it was extremely fun and the people were really nice. Natalia is sooooo good (and pretty).

After spending a lot of time together (including crashing together in her host's son's bed the last night, with said 12-year-old son since refusing to sleep on his bed ever again because "GIRLS SLEPT IN IT"), I'm finally considering to perhaps hold workshops myself as well. ^^

High End Retouching by Natalia Taffarel - Teaser2 from jyabes on Vimeo.

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I received an email from a lecturer at LCAD telling me that he has two students from Singapore in his class this semester, and when asked how they found out about the school, he was told that it was cuz I tweeted about giving a lecture there last year (ok I blogged about it too).

But I mean, woahhhh, I don't think I could be more flattered. I guess it's a bit like how I want to go to Yale just cuz Gregory Crewdson teaches there. Yeah.

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My SC2 team Infinity Seven recently got our shirts done! Thank you ScienceWerk for the badass design, it looks so cool~ :D

I'd been wearing it to work sometimes and it's totally not awkward haha. Also thank you dA and SteelSeries for sponsoring us, you guys are so completely awesome <3

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Planning a trip to New York next month to April, will most probably drop by Ohio for MLG Columbus, and then back to NY to shoot some and hopefully meet some ad agencies and photo reps. But before that I've so many tentative flights I'm not sure when I can actually get to NY, hate it when so many things are pending and on hold. ;_;


I'm working on processing the last of my shoots from in L.A., done before I came back. One set with Mother of London and one with Michelle Phan. Omg so many pictures I love. *3*

All in all a lot of things coming up~ publications, editorials, interviews, workshops (maybe), trips, and a group exhibition in Hong Kong~ do follow me on Facebook and Twitter for regular as-and-when updates! :D

Elle Singapore - Touch-me Tresses

Touch-me Tresses
Elle Singapore, Feb 2012

Art Direction: Ivy Lim
Photography: Zhang Jingna 

Hair: Alicia Tey/Mosche Salon
Makeup: Tinoq Russell Goh
Photo Assistants: Jet Han, Lenne Chai
Model: Magda F, Vita G/Ave

My first beauty story for Elle Singapore!

Portrait of Solitude

Portrait of Solitude

Fashion Gone Rogue

Photography: Zhang Jingna
Stylist: Sansyrae St.Martin / Plutino Group
Hair & Makeup: Vanessa Jarman / Page One Management
Model: Natasha Yaroslava / Ford
Photo Assistants: Warren Hrycum, Jeremiah Clark

Zink: It Blooms In The Night

 

It Blooms In The Night
Zink Magazine, Jan 2012

Photography & Styling: Zhang Jingna
Hair: Chloe Doan
Makeup: Angela Peralta
Model: Yuki Matsumura
Photo Assistant: Conan Thai


This was done quite a while ago in the Mojave Desert. We had to drive 4 hours each way from where I lived, it was the longest I'd travelled for a shoot done on the same day. Totally worth it though, I wanna shoot in a desert again ;_;

So thankful for having Conan too, who carried all the gear and luggage for clothes and trekked maybe 2 hours back and forth to the car, also grateful for my awesome crew for putting up with the difficult day, it was really not easy.

And omg I could hardly believe I was getting published in Zink. I remember going through their issues when I first started photography, and wondering if perhaps one day I would get good enough to be published in it too.

It's feels kind of like when my works came out in Fool's Mate and Gothic & Lolita Bible, except this time it's actually related to my work instead of just being for something that was an interest, so in a way it's kind of extra meaningful and I feel so super fortunate for the opportunity.

Some behind the scenes and photos taken along the way: