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OBSCURA is the largest photography festival in South East Asia and they run photography Masterclass by experienced industry experts. I personally know the organizing team of Obscura and also some of my photographer friends have participated in their Masterclass before. This allows me to interview these photographers and I shall be featuring them in this and following few articles, sharing their experience being in Obscura Masterclass. To find out more about  Obscura Festival of Photography, kindly go to their official site here.  How did you get into the photography world? My interest in photography started when I was a kid from my fascination with beautiful images published in magazines lying around the house. Unfortunately, my family did not own a camera but I did have a cool uncle who was always keen on taking our family pictures. My spark in photography grew when I met Tang Chun Cheuh (a common friend, also an Obscura Masterclass alumni) who was very kind to loan me a Can...

OBSCURA is the largest photography festival in South East Asia and they run photography Masterclass by experienced industry experts. I personally know the organizing team of Obscura and also some of my photographer friends have participated in their Masterclass before. This allows me to interview these photographers and I shall be featuring them in this and following few articles, sharing their experience being in Obscura Masterclass. To find out more about Obscura Festival of Photography, kindly go to their official site here.  Tang Chun Cheuh How did you get into the photography world? I’ve always had an interest in photography since I was a kid. There was a film compact camera that my dad only rarely let me use, so I’ve wanted my own camera throughout my childhood. I got myself a compact camera when I graduated from college, and was taking a lot of snaps then. But I would say my real entry into photography came when a very close friend from college handed me down his Canon 350D ...

One of my favourite things to do on the street is to shoot portraits of strangers. I have been asked too often the techniques I used to approach random people and get friendly looking shots. I have also repeatedly answered that I did not have any secrets or techniques, I just walked up to people and took their photographs. With consent? Definitely, else their facial expression would look very differently. Yet people have difficulties believing that I have no other ways to making my portrait of strangers shots. And believe it or not, even cats come to me and pose willingly for my shots. I have friends who have followed me around to testify. Photo credit:  Matti Sulanto Here is what matters: show yourself, don't hide and pretend like you are invisible and sneak around like a thief or someone suspicious. As stealthy or invisible as you would like to think you are, people can see you with your camera. Present yourself as a human being, show respect and kindness, and prove that you are ...

If you are a photographer then you will definitely want to check out the upcoming Obscura Festival of Photography in Penang, Malaysia on 25 to 31 August 2018. The festival is the place to be deeply immersed with anything and everything photography related, with highlights including print exhibitions, photo sharing sessions, photo books and mixed media presentations spanning 5 separate venues by 22 artists. All images & captions by Tang Chun Cheuh . Used with permission.  Masterclass with Maggie Steber Malaysia may seem to be a little bit off the epicenter of all photography happenings (eg, Photokina in Germany, CES in Las Vegas and CP+ in Japan) but we are not completely out of touch. Myself and Ming Thein are actively shooting, writing and sharing our passion in photography through our blogs. We also have international level photography events happening in Malaysia, and one of them is the Obscura Festival, which is running its 6th iteration this year. The founder and director ...

It was rather disappointing that there was no dedicated black and white mode utilizing the one camera that has only black and white image sensor on the earlier camera app on the Motorola G5S Plus. One of the perks of having dual camera is the advantage of a true monochrome image sensor in one of the modules. In Motorola's latest firmware update, the "True B&W" mode was added, finally, after relentless requests from their fanbase. I have just discovered this mode last night (pardon me, for I only use smartphone camera for my daily casual snaps), and can't wait to bring the new monochrome mode out for a spin. My previous experience with multiple Huawei dual camera iterations (P9, Mate 9 Pro, P10) has been positive when it comes to monochrome shooting using the dedicated black and white image sensor. I may not necessarily expect similar performance on the budget-friendly Motorola option, but I am very curious on how Motorola renders monochrome results. Lets hope the ...

Recently I conducted a new photography workshop for Olympus Malaysia, dealing with casual and lifestyle product and food shots. In that workshop I have shared several interesting tips and the one that got everyone chuckled in disbelief was this particular figurine shot in a simple plain white background with side lighting. When I revealed that the shot was nothing more than a simple, straight to the point image taken on a white chair by the window with no other tricks, I could hear some people gasped. I think improvisation is important. Of course it would have been better if there was a proper studio setup with professionally done background and wireless flash or strobes for better control of light and a more polished finish. If you are a working professional photographer you do what you have to do to get the shot. However, I was not speaking to a crowd of pro photographers. I was speaking to hobbyists, amateurs and also social media users, who were looking to improve their shots. Simp...

To all my fellow Muslim readers here and also on Ming Thein's site, I wish you Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin!  May you eat all the awesome festive food and have joyous time with family, relatives and friends in this auspicious celebration. I can't wait to feast on the ketupats and rendangs! Here is a portrait of me in a loose baju melayu to hide my ever expanding tummy. Image credit: Robert Evangelista Photo taken with Olympus PEN-F and M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8