06, January, 2006
The Year of the Dog began with flying colors! I received the notification card from the organizing chairman of the “15th. Annual Georgia Slide Circuit 2006”. I have won a whooping 7 medals in the competition. All of the images have been accepted in the salons including 9 “Honarable Mentioned” and a “Best of Show”. I however, have not received the details of the result yet. Details will be posted as soon as I get them, so stay tuned!
10, February, 2006
Sin Chew Jit Poh, one of the most widely read Chinese Daily in Malaysia, has given me almost a full page coverage on my recent achievements. You can read the news in full by clicking on the thumbnails.
05, March, 2006
I received the report card today from the “42nd. Salon Mondial 2006” which was held in Luxembourg, to my amazement, all four photos I sent, namely “Enigma of the Masses“, “An Eye For An Eye“, “The Path Less Taken” and “Shaken Not Stirred” have won an FIAP Gold medal each under the “Experimental Print” section. That made it 4 gold medals in a single section. You can check out the results on the organizer’s website.
15, March, 2006
“Knot On Blue Wooden Wall” has won an Honorable Award in the 30th. Greater Lyn International Slide Salon 2006. This is the very first time that “Knot” has actually won an award. The shot was one of my many earlier still life works. I am so happy to see the shot finally win an award in the international arena. “Enigma of the Masses” has done pretty well, too. It has also won the same award.
17, May 2006
I won two gold medals in the 15th. Trierenberg Super Circuit today. “I Need You” and “An Unholy Pact ” won in the “Tree” section and “Innovation” section respectively. Last year, I won 1,000 Euros; this time round, two gold medals, two are certainly better than one. Austria Super Circuit is arguably the largest photography salon in the world, much like the Olympic games in sports. This year, the salon has attracted participants from 105 countries and more than 50,000 works have been submitted. Do click on the link below to see the larger versions.
20, May, 2006
Marco van Hylckama Vlieg conducted an interview with me last week. He has been a great admirer of my humble work and a good friend. According to him, he has always wanted to do an interview with me. The time couldn’t have been more appropriate when he learned that I had just won two more gold medals.
26, May, 2006
The Star, one of the most widely-read English newspapers in Malaysia, has carried my recent triumphs in 15th. Trierenberg Super Circuit today. It has more than a million readers in its daily circulation. The interview was held on the 20 March, 2006. You can click on the thumbnail to find out more about the coverage.
26, May, 2006
I received two results today, from the “Euro Picamera & Golden Spurs 2006” which was held in Belgium, and the “1st. Salon International De Fotografia Digital Illes Balears 2006” which took place in Spain, respectively. ‘Shaken Not Stirred’ won an “Honorable Mentioned” in the former event, and, ‘Omnipotence”, one of my latest creations, grabbed an FIAP ribbon in the latter competition. Considering it is making its debut in the international arena, the victory of ‘Omnipotence’ was rather significant. I will post the image when the time comes. Enjoy the thumbnail for the time being.
07, July, 2006
I was pleasantly surprised today to see I have won another PSA Creative Gold Medal. The gold came from “Enigma of the Masses” which I sent to the “32nd. Algarve Photo Salon”, the international salon, was held in Portugal on 26, June 2006. According to the statistic, there were 1891 photographers from 60 countries, who submitted a total of 7193 photos at this year’s salon. With that victory, I have 6 PSA Creative Gold Medals under my belt so far. My other work, “The Path Less Taken” got selected.
01, August, 2006
A renowned photography magazine in Romania PhotoMagazine, has published the interview about me in their August 2006 issue. You can find out more about the interview here . With no disrespect to the beautiful Romanian language, I only wish my command of the language was only half as good as my English.
07, August, 2006
I was honored to be invited to give a talk on conceptual photography at KLPF 2006 (Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival) yesterday. The response has been very encouraging. KLPF is arguably one of the biggest, if not ‘the’ biggest photography event in Malaysia. The exhibition has attracted hundreds of thousands of photography enthusiasts, art lovers, equipment dealers, and even bargain hunters every year. The event was jointly organized by “Photo Creator” and “Advanced Images” the two most widely read local photography magazines.
12, September, 2006
Power to the 90++ young lady! Omnipotence, strikes again! It won a PSA Gold Medel in a recent international photography exhibition which was held in Germany. 1st. International Digital Photosalon Camera 66 Bad Cannstatt 2006.
The award was extra sweet, as it arrived on my 41st. birthday! I wish to thank all the people who have been supporting me all this while, you know who you are, but most of all I am indebted to this 90++ young lady!
18, September, 2006
I received the result from “Foto Odlot 9th. International Unconventional Photography Competition” today, the 96 year-young lady’s hands did it again! Yes, “Omnipotence” has won an FIAP Honorable Mention, plus 1000zl (app. 300USD)! Seems to me that the idea of a wrinkly hand, worn by time, teasing the liquid has captured the heart of the jury yet again. Time to reward the sweet old lady!
20, September, 2006
Went to pay my sweet old model a visit, awarded her with an “Ang Pau” (Red packet filled with money). When I told her that her hand had become famous, she smiled, as though she had expected it. You can read more about the news on “Nan Yang Shang Pau”.
16, October, 2006
I was honored to get a sponsorship to go to Linz, Austria to receive my awards, which I won in 15th. Trierenberg Super Circuit. I will take the opportunity to visit other parts of Europe, namely Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic and of course Austria. So I will be back 21 days later!
19, October, 2006
While checking my email in the hotel, I was pleasantly surprised to see my submission for the 10th. Gran Trou Delle Colline in Italy won third prize under 4rd. Colline del Chianti Trophy. I entered to the portfolio section a series from my “Hand & Eyes” creations.
25, October, 2006
One good news followed another. I won 3 FIAP Honorable Mentioned in the “6th. Malmo International Exhibition of Photographic Art 2006 ” which was held in Sweden. “Omnipotence“, “An Eye For An Eye” and “Enigma of the Masses” grabbed an award each! That’s my highest record of number of FIAP HM in any international salon so far!
29, October, 2006
Finally, I am in Linz for the moment I have been waiting for. Yes, to accept the awards I won on the 15th. Trierenberg Super Circuit. It was really great to be present at the gala; the event was held in the Design Center of Linz, much more grand than I had anticipated. I was honored to be interviewed on stage. Dr. Chris, the host had asked me two questions:
“Steve Chong is Malaysia’s renowned photographer. Despite the usual exotic Asian style he prefers a very modern photography, full of creativity and ideas. After a press conference in Malaysia, where the press was informed about his success, he got a sponsorship to cover his travel expenses to Austria. So you are here Steve. What is the standing of photography in modern Malaysia and why do you deal so intensively with movement, gravity and things in suspense?”
and here are my answers:
“First of all I felt really honored to be here. To answer your questions, well, the standard of photography in Malaysia is very high but since this year they are busy preparing for “Visit Malaysia Year 2007″; to participate, they sent me instead. so, here I am accepting the awards!
To answer your second question, if you believe in ‘Karma’ or reincarnation, I had a feeling that my previous life was born during the Wright Brothers era, where these scientists and physicians devoted their entire lives to one mission, that is to defy gravity. I think I was born in this life, carrying on with the mission, but this time with the camera.” My answers, surprisingly, had attracted a round of applause from the audience, who were made up by top photographers from all over the world.
It has been a great experience! Given the chance, I shall return.
8, November, 2006
I am back in action after more than 20 days in Europe. It was really exciting and adventurous! The trip had not only broadened my photographic vision, so to speak. But had also left, and impact on my philosophy of life, like the Chinese saying goes, “Travel tens of thousand of miles is better than reading tens of thousand of books”, literally translated. I had gained much!
14, November 2006
I won an FIAP Ribbon and two “PSA Honorable Mentioned” in the “7th. Virtual Imaging International Exhibitions Foto Club Buenos Aires 2006 “. It was “Omnipotence” once again, the other shot was “The Path Less Taken”. The awards were particularly sweet because this is the very first time that I have won awards in Latin America.
30, November 2006
“Nan Yang Shang Pau”, one of the most widely read Chinese newspapers in Malaysia, had given me almost two full pages of coverage today. The news covered ranged from my recent trip to Europe as well as how I discovered my passion for photography back in 2001. I felt extremely honored and grateful to the media for giving me such a privilege.
Click on the thumbnail to read the pages in full. (1MB)
6, December, 2006
The results of the “53rd Singapore International Photography Award” have been announced. I was delighted to learn that “Omnipotence” has once again proved her power; she won an “FIAP Honour Mention” in the ‘Digital Experimental Colour’ section. With this victory, “Omnipotence” has won 1 PSA Most Creative Gold Medal and 5 FIAP Honor Mentions this year. I guess never in her wildest dreams that my beloved 90++ young lady would have thought that her hand could extend this deep into the photography world.