24, January 2005
Two of the most distinguished newspapers in Malaysia, Nan Yang Shang Pao and China Press, have published the photo of my recent trip to China today in their local section. I passed my account of “the making of” the shot to them; apparently they liked the write-out as well as the photo. Click the icons below to read the report in full; it was however, written in Chinese. Click here for the actual photo.
21, Feb 2005
Thanks to Sigma User Group, the work produced by its members was published in a bi-monthly photography magazine, Fotoforum in Germany. I was honored that one of my photos was chosen. Click on the thumbs below to see the images. Ai Ling, the model in the shot, was delighted nevertheless.
09, April 2005
I have never been so prolific! Ideas sparked off like fire crackers in Chinese New Year! I have managed to create 7 images in less than two weeks! Have been really busy and occupied producing the images. It was fun nonetheless; like they say, half of the fun is getting there. Click here to see the images.
21, Apr 2005
Foveon, maker of one of the most advanced color image sensors ever built, is currently showcasing one of my photos in their gallery section. Despite the fact that I don’t do portraits that regularly, I was overjoyed by the news nevertheless! I have every reason to believe, Ai Ling, our young model would share the joy too. One behalf of the crew who helped create the shot, we would like to extend our gratitude to Foveon! It has been an honor!
11, May 2005
I was truly delighted to learn that “Shaken, not stirred” has won the first prize Austria Super Circuit 2005! It also comes with prize money of 1000euro. The category I participated was “Sports, Dynamic & Movement”. This was is second time I took part in this international competition. Austria Super Circuit is arguably the biggest if not ‘Da biggest photography salon in the world. Tens of thousands of photographers ranging from pros to serious amateurs took part in this competition every year.
18, May, 2005
Sin Chew Jit Poh, one of the most renowned Chinese newspapers in Malaysia, carried the news of my recent award at Austria Super Circuit today. I couldn’t express enough my gratitude to the newspaper for publishing the news in the prominent space at the local section. You can also read about the news on their website; click the thumbnail for the link.
23, July 2005
“Shaken, not stirred” strikes again. It won a bronze medal in bbsv-foto.at, an online international photography salon. Double delight, when the other shots in the series, namely “At Wit’s End“, “Retrieval and Despair” and “Entrapment” were also being accepted.
20, Aug 2005
I received the certificate from Photography Society Of Americal (PSA) today. In other words, I have been accepted as a member of this prestigious society. PSA, is arguably the largest photography society in the world. Its objective is to “To promote the Art & Sciences of Photography and further public education therein.” as quoted by the president of the society Mr. Richard Frieders.
23, August 2005
The “Hand & Eye” series strikes again! This time, “Enigma of the masses” won the gold medal at the 6. Internationaler Digitaler-Foto-Salon 2005 Laupheim – Germany. “Passion of Bacchanalian” did pretty well too; it got a “Honorable Mentioned”. The other 3 shots “Trajectory of Hope”, “Shaken Not Stirred” and “An Eye for An Eye ” were also selected. My models, who helped me in “Enigma of the masses” were overjoyed when they learned the news. Considering they are merely kids aged 6 to 15, I could understand how they feel.
08, September, 2005
“Enigma of the masses” won the gold medal at the 52nd Singapore International Salon of Creative Photography, organized by The Photographic Society of Singapore. The other shots, “Passion of Bacchanalian”, “Trajectory of Hope” and “Shaken Not Stirred” were accepted in the “Creative” category.
“Friends”, “First Ray At Yang Mai Yong” and “Golden Peak”, were chosen in the Travel section, respectively. According to its chairman, Steven Yee, this is the first time the Salon goes fully digital in Singapore in the Salon’s 52 years of history, and it has been a great success.
I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers for selecting my photos, but most of all I would like to thank my models for lending their hands. (pun intended)
19, September, 2005
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I have won an FIAP gold medal from the 8th. International Unconventional Photography Competition “Foto Odlot” which was organized by Provincial Culture Center in Rzeszow in Poland. As quoted by the organizer, “FOTO ODLOT” – (literally, “Freaking Out”, “High”) – is a slang expression referring to a state of mind distancing the observer from reality, social conventions, norms, and patterns of behavior. I guess my mysterious “Eye Venture” fits the theme well. The four photos submitted were: “An Eye For An Eye”, “Shaken No Stirred”, “Trajectory Of Hope ” and “Passion Of Bacchanalian.”
30, September, 2005
Go Eye Balls Go! The Adventure of the eye balls marched on! With 7 photos, namely “Shaken Not Stirred“, “At Wit’s End“, “Trajectory of Hope“, “An Eye for an Eye“, “Enigma of the Masses“, “Retrieval and Despair” and “The Path Less Taken” forming an alliance, grabbed the FIAP gold medal under “The Best Experimental Work” in the 9th. Gran Tour Delle Colline which was held in Italy. The other photos, “Pushing the Envelope” and “Passion of Bacchanalian” were also accepted in the competition.
09, November 2005
The day began with a wonderful message in my mailbox. “An Eye for an Eye” has won the FIAP silver medal in the “XXXIII Trofeo GIPUZKOA Internacional 2005 “. This was the first time that I entered this prestigious competition, which was held in Donastia, San Sebastian, Spain.
15, November, 2005
I received the results of the 1st. Sicilian Slide Circuit 2005 today. The circuit comprised of five salons, namely:
Salon 1 – 3rd. Trofeo Internazionale “Le Gru”
Salon 2 – 2nd. Trofeo Internazionale “Rotary Club Caltanissetta”
Salon 3 – 11th. Concorso Fotografico Internazionale “Naxos”
Salon 4 – 9th. Concorso Fotografico Internazionale “Imago”
Salon 5 – 10th. Concorso Fotografico Internazionale “Vanni Andreoni”
4 of my photos from the “Hand & Eye” series:
“An Eye For An Eye“, “Shaken Not Stirred“, “Passion of Bacchanalian” and “Enigma of The Masses” have done exceptionally well.”An Eye For An Eye” won PSA Best Creative in Salon 1, a Certificate of Merits in Salon 2, PSA Best Creative in Salon 4 and 1st. Prize in Salon 5
“Shaken Not Stirred“won ISF Diploma in Salon 1, PSA Best Creative in Salon 3
“Passion of Bacchanalian” won ISF Diploma in Salon 4, PSA Best Creative in Salon 5
“Enigma of The Masses” won a Certificate of Merits at Salon 4
All four photos were accepted in each individual Salon.
The other thing which I feel is worth mentioning was that there were 5 “PSA Most Creative” medals presented on the circuit; to my surprise, I have won 4 out of 5.
With the results listed above, I have won the overall Best Author award in the general section of the circuit.
17, November 2005
Photo Creator, one of the most renowned photography magazines in Malaysia, has published my photos as well as my article “Conceptual and Surrealistic Photography” in their November 2005 issue. I was truly honored to see that the publication had used one of my photos as the cover for their current edition.
31, December 2005
2005, a year in retrospective. I guess I have done not bad. I have won no less than 10 gold medals plus some silvers and prize money. I was also fortunate enough to be featured in many magazines around the world, not to mention became a contributing editor for a local photography magazine. Hopefully I could do better in 2006.