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Awards weekend at ILHAM Gallery

Here are some images from a fantastic KLPA2019 awards weekend held at the prestigious ILHAM Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. We had a great crowd to greet the 3 international prizewinners, local photographers, followers and visitors. Julia Durkin, director of Auckland Festival of Photography was in KL to hand over the award certificates and trophies.

#klpa #klphotoawards #kualalumpur #ilhamgallery #portraitphotographer #portraiture #photoaward

Join our judges as an observer

Just as in 2018, we are inviting ONE follower of KLPA, to sit-in on the judging process for KLPA2019 which will take place on the weekend of the 11/12 May 2019 at The KL Journal Hotel, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

The lucky person will be selected by a draw on Saturday 4 May 2019.

Interested..?

Read on..!

CRITERIA

1. You must be available for both days, Saturday and Sunday, 11 and 12, May 2019 from 10:30 to 18:00.

2. You must make your own way to the venue, be on time and you will not be paid any travel expenses etc.

3. You will be provided with coffee, drinks, snacks and also join the team and judges for lunch.

4. You cannot participate in the judging process, but only be an observer.

5. You can blog, Instagram or tweet about your experience, please tag #klpa @klphotoawards

6. You cannot divulge the selections, finalists and winners until the official announcements are made in mid-June, 2019.

7. You must be a LOVER of photography, especially Portraiture.

SELECTION

1. Join our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/klphotoawards if you have not already done so.

2. Put your name down in this same post under the comments section, from today.

3. Message us with your mobile number and email, you must be contactable by phone and email, or email [email protected]

4. The posting of names will close at midnight Malaysian time, on 30 April 2019.

5. A Facebook Live broadcast will be made from the Facebook page by the KLPA media team, at 3.00pm, Saturday 4 May 2019 where they will draw a lucky winner from the list of names gathered then. Tune in to see if you will be the Fly on the Wall!

WHY?

We have often been asked about the judging process for KLPA and since many people are interested to know the decision-making process, perhaps this could be educational to them in evaluating their own photography. Logistically, we are unable to record the entire process, unfortunately.

At KLPA, we are selective of our judges and over the 10 years, we try to cast a fairly wide net, although, they are by and large in the arts industries, and mainly photographers, curators, educators, artists and editors.

[Read last year’s report by Raja Indra Putra - observer here ]

Many contests hold online judging, where jurors from across the world make their selections on their own, online, but for KLPA, we truly value the face-to-face live discussions and interactions, where ideas and thoughts are often exchanged, sometimes heated (but always for the sake of the art form, and calmed by gallons of coffee).

When judging photography contests, objectivity matters a lot, and the visual knowledge and depth of a juror is therefore important, in being able to defend one’s selection. However, it is also important to lend credence and value to a wide range of subjective emotive responses and broad audiences, so as not to be ‘industry blinkered’. Ultimately, a good portrait will always be valued and acknowledged.

This is a fantastic opportunity and an invaluable experience for one lucky person from the general public to participate as an observer in the selection process, and to listen in on the discussions and exchanges that the public isn’t so often privy to, since most if not all judgings events are closed sessions.

KLPA would like to thank all our past jurors for 10 years from 2009 :

Beverly Yong - arts consultant

Pang Khee Teik - arts program director

Majidah Hashim - travel writer, photographer, entrepreneur

Lim Chee Wah - writer, editor

Gwen Lee - SIPF festival director, gallerist

Soraya Yusof Talismail - photographer

Stephanie Fong - gallerist

Khairul Azrul Ismail - photographer, educator, researcher

Eva McGovern - curator, gallerist, arts consultant

Gilles Massot - lecturer, photographer

Nirmala Karrupiah - photographer

Yumi Goto - curator, photo editor and researcher

Kevin W Y Lee - photographer, curator

Poh Si Teng - video journalist, filmmaker

Halim Berbar - photojournalist

Bernice Chauly - writer, photographer, actor, filmmaker

Eiffel Chong - photographer, educator

Zarina Holmes - photographer, graphic designer, journalist

Salina Christmas - digital anthropologist

Syahrin Abdul Aziz - photojournalist

Zhuang Wubin - photographer, researcher, educator

Rachel Jena - arts editor, writer

Adeline Ooi - curator, arts writer

Snow Ng - gallerist, curator

She Fah Szetu - journalist, writer

Tay Kay Chin - photographer, educator

Ashraf Saharuddin - photographer, editor

Kong Wai Yeng - writer, editor

Takeki Sugiyama - festival director, educator

Suzanne Lee - photojournalist, filmmaker

Che Ahmad Azhar - photographer, lecturer

Azharr Rudin - filmmaker

Vignes Balasingam - festival director, photographer

Elin O’Hara Slavick - educator, photographer

Cheryl Hoffmann - photographer

Dr. Oh Soon Hwa - lecturer, photographer

Amber Terranova - photo editor, curator

J Redza - photographer, multi-disciplinary artist

Nadirah Zakariya - photographer

Nick Ng - photographer

Andreas Muller-Pohle - editor or European Photography, photographer

Lee Kuen - photography writer and researcher

Azrul Kevin Abdullah - photographer and educator

Laura Valenti - photographer, educator, OutReach director at Photo Lucida

Julia Durkin - Auckland Festival of Photography Public Participation director

Ihiro Hayami - T3 Photography Festival director

Fadhil Kamarudin - photographer and lecturer

Gwen Lee - Singapore International Photography Festival director

Silke Schmikl - National Gallery of Singapore curator

#klpa #klphotoawards #photocontest #portraiture

JOIN KLPA2019 JUDGES ENRICO STEFANELLI AND CHARMAINE POH FOR A ‘SHARE & DISCOVER’ SESSION, FREE ENTRY WITH REGISTRATION

TIME : 6.30PM TO 8.00PM

DATE : SATURDAY 11 MAY, 2019, THE KL JOURNAL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR

KLPA EVENTS presents a ‘Share & Discover’ session with Founder Director of Photolux Festival, one of Italy’s most respected international photography festivals, situated in the beautiful city of Lucca. Enrico Stefanelli will present the works of influential Italian photographers and also promote the forthcoming Photolux 2019 in November. Photolux also hosts a wide variety of photography events like the World Press Photo, Leica Oskar Barnack Award, and its own Photolux Photobook Award.

KLPA also present Singapore’s leading portrait and social commentary photographer Charmaine Poh to talk about her recent projects. Charmaine is part of the community of photographers with Women Photograph.com

There will be a brief Q&A following the presentations.

PHOTOGRAPHY : Discover More

Event hosted by Steven Lee, KLPA Director and The KL JOURNAL hotel

Enrico Stefanelli is a photographer, journalist, curator and teaches photography workshops.

He is the founder and artistic director of Photolux Festival the biennial of photography in Lucca, Italy. He has curated several exhibitions and the exhibition “Cadets” of Paolo Verzone for “Les Rencontres de la Photographie” in Arles.

He has been appointed as an expert for portfolio reviews for Les Rencontres d'Arles, Santa Fe Photo Festival, Kaunas Festival, Eyes in Progress, Fotofestiwal, 16e China International Photographic Art Festival, Fotografia Europea, Backlight Photo Festival, FotoFest – Houston, Auckland Festival of Photography, Festival de la Luz – Buenos Aires.

Charmaine Poh is a Chinese-Singaporean artist. Her practice combines photography with research, text, video, and installation, focusing on issues of memory, gender, youth, and solitude in the Asian context. Often working with the form of narrative portraiture, she considers the performance of self and the layers of identity we build. She works with communities in a collaborative process that holds space for introspection, intimacy, and sharing. She is interested in the stories that make us who we are.

She graduated from Tufts University with a BA in International Relations and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Visual and Media Anthropology at the Freie Universität Berlin.

www.charmainepoh.com

ENTER KLPHOTOAWARDS 2019 NOW. CLOSING 30.04.2019

www.klphotoawards.com

#klpa #klphotoawards #photography #photographer #Kuala Lumpur #thekljournal #enrico stefanelli #charmaine poh

CELEBRATING THE WORK OF PHOTOJOURNALISTS

KLPA are proud to launch our 2019 Call with two categories for submission available to photographers of all levels around the globe - Theme and Open single-image categories.

Everyday, countless images are made of events, spot news, and photo stories by dedicated journalists and documentary photographers from all over the world. Due to the selective and transient nature of reported news, many important, worthy stories and images do not see publication. In recognising the dedication and skill of photojournalists and documentary photographers, this year we seek the best 'stand-alone' portraits made in the pursuit of unfolding events or significant human stories in our Theme category UNYIELDING GAZE. As photojournalism-inspired portraits, a meaningful title and a caption are to accompany the portrait image, detailing the photographer's standpoint and the back-story behind the photograph.

The Open category invites all creative portrait photographers to define their own styles and originality unbound by theme, styles or genres.

WHY ENTER?

First prize winners from each category will receive cash prizes of $3,000 as well as a newly commissioned trophy to cherish. In addition, all 50 finalists will have their entries exhibited at the ILHAM Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September 2019. To further elevate exposure by increasing visibility and be seen by audiences from new and emerging regions, KLPA is teaming up with several international photography organisations to present the 2019 finalists at the following festivals :

2019

June - Auckland Festival of Photography, New Zealand

August - Mt.Rokko International Photography Festival, Kobe, Japan

November - Photolux, Lucca, Italy

2020

November - Yakushima Photography Festival, Japan

#klpa #klphotoawards #portraits #portraitphotographer #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #Kuala Lumpur #photography

A Personal Observation

How The Winning Portraits Were Selected for KLPA – Fly-on-the-wall Feedback

The Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards (KLPA) exhibition for 2018 is currently open from 8th to 17th September at White Box, Publika. For those of you who are going to visit the exhibition, you may be wondering how the winners and finalists portraits were chosen by the judges. You may be curious to know perhaps because you may find that some of the photos are not generally what would be considered ‘beautiful’. Or you may be interested in submitting your photos for next year’s contest (which is typically around February to April). Knowing something about the judging process and what the judges are looking for would be advantageous if you intend to join the contest.

A few months ago, I was fortunate to be chosen to be the only independent observer at the judging session for this year’s contest by being selected via a lucky draw. As a fly-on-the-wall attending the judging session held over two days over the weekend of 19-20 May, I had the opportunity to see how the judges came to their decision in selecting the finalists and winners that are now being exhibited.

This is the tenth year of the KLPA and every year there are five judges. These were Silke Schmickl from Germany who is a curator at the National Gallery Singapore; Julia Durkin who is a photo festival director for the Auckland Festival of Photography in New Zealand; Ihiro Hayami, director of Tokyo Institute of Photography in Japan; Gwen Lee, co-founder of the Singapore International Photography Festival, and Fadhil Kamarudin, a lecturer at the Faculty of Art & Design, UiTM Malaysia. As in past years, the judges were a mix of local and foreign nationals but all with strong credentials.

It was an enlightening experience to spend two full days at KL Journal Hotel listening to the discussions and sometimes enthusiastic exchanges as the judges defended their favorite photos. Apart from the five judges gathered around a table with a 27-inch iMac monitor in the darkened meeting room, there were also three KLPA organisers including founder Steven Lee and Nurul Munira ‘Moon’ Rohaizan who I must thank for giving me this unique opportunity.

For the KLPA contest submissions, in previous years there were occasionally theme-specific categories, such as Stillness and Distance for 2016 and Defining Family for 2017, together with an Open category but this being the tenth anniversary, there was no specific theme this year so the scope was wide open. There was no chief judge so every judge had equal say although of course as in any group discussion there were a few who are more vocal than others but ultimately consensus prevailed.

There were 925 single photo submissions. Initial judging was by a process of elimination with the photos being projected and tagged in Lightroom as Yes, No or Maybe. The single images were quite quickly reduced to around 100 images as the judges were unanimous in rejecting the obvious ones that did not make the grade. After that began the more serious discussions about the quality of the selected images to whittle it down to 30 images. The description of the images was also delved into if an image was interesting enough to warrant further study but the first impression of an image in terms of subject and technical quality was of paramount importance. There were times an image was interesting enough but the judges quickly lost interest if the image didn’t say anything beyond being a good portrait.

A similar process was conducted for judging the photo stories of which there were 120 submissions. A photo story for KLPA submission should be between 5 to 12 images. The difference in judging was that the titles and descriptions were much more critical compared to judging the single images. The stories behind the photos had to add real meaning to the photos. This was where a well-written description made a significant difference in getting the attention of the judges. Who, what, when, where, why and how should be sufficiently described the photo. A catchy or insightful title also helps instead of one that only describes what the viewer can already see. After the first round of elimination, about 40 photo stories made the cut.

Then on the second day, the finalists and winners were chosen. After deciding on the finalists, there were more heated debates as judges first came up with their own short list of at least 5 images. A few strong images readily stood out as contenders by being the common choice among many of the judges. Finally, the most difficult part was for the judges to defend their choices and find a common ground to arrive at the winners as well for the ranking for both the singles images and photo stories.

I understand that many photographers who have seen the photos of the KLPA finalists and winners over the years would immediately be struck by what seems like odd choices being selected and may be puzzled why some of the photos were chosen. I would say that this could be primarily due to the fact that salon photography, which has been widely practiced in Malaysia for a long time, tends to promote the beautiful as well as compositionally and technically excellent images as the main benchmark for what makes for a great image and the main criteria for selection for local contests and exhibitions. However, the photos selected for KLPA tends toward photography that is more representative of what is being exhibited in photo exhibitions in art galleries internationally. The background of the judges, who are familiar with curation for international exhibitions, is an indication of the type of images that they tend to favor. These are not photos that are merely eye candy, beautiful for the sake for showing beauty, but photos that represent something deeper, making a personal statement, highlight something newsworthy or depicting a different angle to a common subject.

In the first elimination round, images would be reviewed quickly so it is the impactful, unusual or quirky images that tended to attract attention but then again images that were too weird to the point of not making sense were also rejected. Striking the right balance means that images should be intriguing enough to pique the judges curiosity so that they want to know more about the subject.

Judges were also quick to discard images that were considered glamorous or too commercial, looking like fashion shots or staged purely for its aesthetics. Wedding photos and studio shots, especially with plain backgrounds, were also quickly out of contention. Of course, compositionally weak images, not correctly framed, with distracting backgrounds would be dismissed even if the actual portrait itself was good.

Processing of the images that was overdone was another feature that the judges were quite opposed to. However, it is not that post-processing was not allowed but it should suit the images and not be too obvious that it overshadows the subject. That being said, the judges can sometimes excuse a slight lack of technical quality in preferring a powerful and meaningful image over one that is purely technically excellent.

Photos that are too clichéd or have recurring themes also tend to be rejected as being too repetitive. An observation was made that there were many submissions of photos of hair as a prominent subject. Just because photos of people with unique hair featured in previous winners’ photos, submitting similar photos isn’t always the best strategy when others are thinking the same. Being unique stands a much better chance of being selected.

Lighting and posing the subject well is very important and slight nuances of facial expression conveying emotion can make or break an image. In terms of the presentation of the facial expression, the tendency has been toward the deadpan aesthetic which seems to be popular internationally. I suppose smiling for no apparent reason makes it look like a holiday shot. Staging is not frowned upon as long as there is a purpose to it and relates to the backstory of the photograph and not merely to compose a beautiful image purely for that in mind.

KLPA is a portraiture photo contest but the definition of portraiture accepted by the judges is quite wide and is open to interpretation so it is not just the classic close-up or three-quarter shot of a person facing the camera. More often it would be an environmental portrait shot which creates a story together with the accompanying title and description. In terms of definition, the images could overlap with what would be considered photojournalistic, travel, street, conceptual or even landscape photography as long as there is an element conveying a sense of people in the images with the environment playing a supporting role and does not overwhelm the portrait of the person depicted in the photo.

However, for the photo stories category, there is some liberty as to how the photos can qualify as a portraiture series since although not every single photo needs to have a prominent portrait of a person, the photos overall should give the viewer a deeper sense about the person, their situation and the place they inhabit. It’s a fine balance because including too few portraits in the series will also get the photo story rejected.

Submission for the photo stories is more difficult than the single images since it is not just the selection of photos that are important but sequencing of the images is key. A simple linear sequence would not usually be the best choice. A strong establishing image, pacing the sequence by giving the stronger images a break and a suitable concluding image makes for a more interesting story. Alternatively, a typological sequence, for example, something supposedly as simple as passport photographs, is another type of photo story that the judges liked but it must be accompanied with a really strong backstory.

Although the maximum number of photos for the photo story is 12, sometimes fewer images can make for a stronger story. A series sometimes failed to be selected just because it included photos which were not as compelling or did not tie in well with the overall story. Had the story been 7 images instead of 10, the judges would have liked it better. In this case, less is more.

Please note that the above comments are merely my personal observations and what I gathered as I witnessed the judging process this year with these particular judges. It obviously would be somewhat different from year to year with different judges but having followed KLPA since its inception 10 years ago and seen the photos of the finalists and winners over the years, I hope the points I have noted would be beneficially for all of us in seeking to tailor our photography towards the types of photos suitable for submission for KLPA. For those who are keen on submitting your photos next year, you would well be advised to download and study the past years’ exhibition catalogues which are all available online at https://www.klphotoawards.com/past-winners. Good luck!

Raja Indra Putra

7 September 2018

KLPA2018 WINNERS & FINALISTS EXHIBITION

8 to 17 September 2018, Whitebox @Publika Kuala Lumpur

Daily 10am - 7pm

#klpa #klpa2018 #photography #portraiture #kualalumpur #photocontests #judging #flyonthewall

Talk : Mooreyameen Mohamad

[Date Change to 17 September 2018, 2pm to 4pm. Public Holiday]

KLPA Events have specially invited Malaysian portrait photographer Mooreyameen Mohamad to speak about his portraiture project ‘Stripes and Strokes’ currently on display at the Georgetown Festival in Penang and about developing a brand and visual signature for his photography in Malaysia.

VENUE : White Box, PUBLIKA, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

DATE & TIME : Monday 17 September 2018, 2:00pm to 4:00pm PUBLIC HOLIDAY

FREE ENTRY

Accomplished Malaysian portrait photographer Mooreyameen Mohamad has recently been in the media spotlight for having two of his portraits censured and removed from a public exhibition in Penang by the organisers on order from the federal government. The controversy surrounding the images have been reported internationally and have spawned extensive social media discussions about the ramifications of making socially directed artworks in Malaysia.

Mooreyameen will present a talk about his photographic journey on becoming a portrait photographer in Malaysia, and the relevance of the art in today’s culture of oversaturated imagery.

He will share his concept of the ‘BEER’ of photography - Beauty, Emotion, Excitement and Relevance; the journey of his project ‘Stripes and Strokes’ and the ‘Photo of Eternity’.

Mooreyameen Mohamad was born in Kuching. He graduated from University of Edinburgh with a B.Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and from the New York Institute of Photography.

He joined Shell Malaysia in 1998 and his first major assignment was to be the Area Engineer for the Northern Territory, based in Butterworth, Penang. Since then he has worked in Kuala Lumpur, The Hague, and Jakarta. In 2011, Yameen produced the Evening Edition for BFM radio, culminating in a nomination for the International Visitor Leadership Program. In 2012, he joined Petronas Lubricants International and spoke at industry conferences in Singapore and London. In 2015, he joined Petra Group and is now the Chief of Staff.

Mooreyameen specialises in portraiture and ‘Stripes and Strokes’ is his first major photographic project.

www.mooreyameen.format.com

@mooreyameen

#klpa #klpa2018 #portraitphotographer #portraiture #photographer #photography #mooreyameen mohamad #kualalumpur #whitebox #mapkl_publika #Publika

Your very own instant KANTA portrait by Jeffrey Lim

KANTA Portraits is a photography project by Jeffrey Lim exploring the ideas of identity. Travelling to remote fringes of Malaysia and the region, the project makes and gives, in return, printed portraits. Using the silver print process as a method, the project is an entry point into understanding the social structures of communities, beyond the nationally-constructed identity.

Fund-raising September For the month of September, the project is fund-raising for much needed equipment and field trips. Exclusively for KLPA, Kanta Portraits will be setting up an instant portrait booth on 9th September, 2018 at Whitebox, Publika.

Two cameras formats will be readied, one to produce prints at 3.5 x 5.5" (RM50) and the second at 8 x 10" (RM100).

Pre-booking is available, please contact Jeffrey JC Lim to book your slot according to hour (5 slots per hour). Each picture is best suited for one individual, at most two sitters. Portraits taken will be added to the project. Each session takes about 10 to 15 minutes.