One of the coolest aspects of our 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography competition is the way it can connect photographers from different parts of the world, at times with creatives they didn’t know existed before getting designated for that year’s list.

One of the 30 Rising Stars for 2019, photographer Ameirfikri, would say that is partially true in the case of this story: He was able to connect with photo duo and fellow honorees Ben and Sirjana of Tinted Photography, but he certainly knew they existed before the list was announced last month. Ameirfikri had been following Tinted’s work for months, though as the list remains secret at Rangefinder prior to its release on November 1, he didn’t know the duo had also been chosen until he opened up the issue at his home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A few weeks after the 30 photographers were announced, Ben and Sirjana traveled from New Zealand to Kuala Lumpur to shoot a photo session, and they met up with Ameirfikri for impromptu portraits of their own. “At first, we were screaming out loud while meeting each other,” he recalls. “We had so much fun talking about weddings, photography and stuff like that. Connecting with beautiful and kind souls is a good thing, where we can share things together or exchange some ideas.”

Ameirfikri didn’t have a ton of time to photograph them before they flew back to New Zealand. He wandered around Thien Hau Temple with them, just a 10-minute drive from the city center, he says. “It meant a lot to me. I hope we will meet again in the future! They’re so kind, I can say no more.”

(Shot on a Sony a7 III and a 35mm f/1.8 lens.)

Check out more Photos of the Day, and email submissions to rangefinder@emeraldexpo.com.