#klpa2018

[klphotoawards]

Download now.

You can now download a pdf of the KLPA2018 exhibition catalogue for free. Just follow the link here :

https://www.flipsnack.com/A6CC7F97C6F/klpa-2018-exhibition-catalogue.html

[klphotoawards]

KLPA2018 Exhibition Catalogue

Order your copy today!

You may now order a copy of the exhibition catalogue here. All finalists are entitled to a complimentary copy but postage & packing is payable. Please notify us when ordering.

You may now order copies of the 10th Year KLPA2018 Exhibition Catalogue here, subject to availability. The publication has 56 pages including covers and is 8.5 x 10 inches, and approximately 400g including postage and packing. All shipments will be sent by standard international mail and will take about 5 to 7 days. 

Order

Please send us an email with your name, address and number of copies. Email to [email protected]

We will send a PayPal invoice to your email.

Note : All winners and finalists get a complimentary copy but we need to invoice you for the postage since this varies from country to country.

Rates

Catalogue @ $10.00 per copy  

Postage & Packing for 1 copy

UK £6.00

EUROPE CONTINENT $10.00

USA/AUSTRALIA/REST OF WORLD $14.00

Postage & Packing for 2 copies

EU/EUROPE CONTINENT $13.00

USA/AUSTRALIA $16.00

For more copies and other destinations, please contact [email protected]

[klphotoawards]

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

[klphotoawards]

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.

Photo © Mooreyameen Mohamad

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 Mohamad

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

[klphotoawards]

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. 

Join the project on Facebook and updates at KANTA Portraits.

WHERE & WHEN?

VENUE : Whitebox, @Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur

TIME : 12 - 6pm, Sunday 9 September, 2018

PRE_BOOKING

CONTACT :  [email protected] or here

More on the KANTA instant cameras

KANTA is an instant-camera. Through a photographic process; it is an ingenious, economical way of producing a printed image. Kanta, which means lense in Malay, is the given name for this project. It was proposed for a grant in late 2013 with the Five Arts Centre and has won the support with partial seed funding through the Krishen Jit Astro Fund.

The cameras are made from waste and found materials. Apart from the interesting process of building this box camera, this project also hopes to capture a unique portrait of everyday Malaysian society. The printing process & effect of this camera juxtapose with what is recorded creates an interesting and unique insight of ourselves.

The project initially started in mid-2011 from the documentation of the Afghan Box Camera Project by Austrian artist Lukas Birk and Irish ethnographer Sean Foley. These unique "Kamra-e-faoree" were still being used in remote parts of India, Afghanistan and even Cuba, its origins from 19th-century cameras.

Four prototype kamras were made. Largely based on the fundamentals of the original design but were modified to be versatile with mobility in mind. Three of them using 'Flimsies' as the outer shell. Flimsies are the British old standard oil cans. Sourced from a restaurant, furniture maker, & biscuit seller. Building materials were sourced from recycling wood mills, scrap yards & recycling centres.

Designing and building took 3 months to complete. One kamra has been built for field use and is currently being tested. The lens was one of the most crucial parts of the camera. Most of them salvaged from old lenses, but the most unusual is the Aqua Spherical Lens, which is a circular shaped light bulb filled with water.

ARCHIVAL site with details & references http://kantaboxkamra.blogspot.com/ [email protected]

[klphotoawards]

Workshop #2 at KLPA2018

The second workshop that will take place in conjunction with KLPA2018 this September. 

Registration open now!

2. ENGAGING STREET PORTRAITS with STEVEN LEE

Saturday 15 September, 11am to 2pm : Meet in Chinatown

In conjunction with the 10th Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards 2018 exhibition in KL (8 - 17 September 2018) KLPA director Steven Lee will be hosting a 'walkabout' practice session in photographing strangers we meet on the street.

Many people find taking pictures of strangers difficult, and so they end up photographing from a distance or the backs of them. We will practice how to engage strangers and capture their portraits, with their consent mostly.

This is a totally 'free to join' session for 2 - 3 hours, where you will practice approaching strangers and making engaging portraits, and having fun at the same time.

WILL YOU JOIN ME?

Anyone who appreciates the challenges and reward of street photography and making portraits that communicate with the audience.

SKILL LEVEL

You must be well versed in using your camera and its exposure settings. This will not be a tutorial on camera settings and functions, just taking great portraits. Do not let the camera controls hinder your picture taking. Don’t get bogged down with extra gear. Carry a camera and one lens, preferably 50mm or 85mm. Avoid long zooms. It should be an enjoyable experience. We will stop for a lunch break and evaluation in one of the many cafes in China Town. 

GROUP SIZE & REGISTRATION

10 maximum. Free to join. Advance registration required.

Email : [email protected]

DATE & TIME

11.00 am to 2:00 pm  |  Saturday 15 September 2018

MEETING POINT

KL city centre - to be confirmed

Steven Lee is the founder director of Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards.

‘Photography Is Life’

He began his photographic career as a documentary, travel and fashion photographer in the late 90's when began writing travel related articles for magazines and journals. In 2000, he published his first coffee-table book titled Outside Looking In : Kuala Lumpur, which received the Asian Prize at PhotoCity Sagamihara Festival of the Image, Japan in 2007.

In 2007 he published his second coffee-table book MALAYSIANS, with 500 faces of diverse Malaysians.  In 2008, he released MUSEO, comprising a collection of black & white abstract studies of antiquities, statuary, and architecture photographed in Europe from 2001 - 2005 is now available as a print-on-demand publication. Steven released LUMINA in 2011 his fourth book.

In 2009, Steven initiated the KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL PHOTOAWARDS, an annual international portrait photography competition centred in Malaysia, focussing on the best in contemporary portrait photography and has attracted the participation of some top international photographers. Steven continues to run photography educational workshops through EXPOSURE+ Photo Mentoring platform in Kuala Lumpur with other Malaysian photographers, and has been a portfolio reviewer and judge at international photo festivals and contests.

Steven ran classes on Documentary and Lifestyle / Street photography at City Academy, London from 2014-2016 and his latest initiative was organising the first PhotoSymposium Asia in 2017 and 2018.

www.stevenleephotography.com

[klphotoawards]

Workshop #1 at KLPA2018

KLPA Events is happy to announce 2 workshops that will take place in conjunction with KLPA2018 this September. Registration open now!

© Dhani Ilani

1. CREATIVE PORTRAIT STORIES WITH NADIRAH ZAKARIYA

SESSIONS : 1,8,9 September 2018 VENUE : WHITEBOX @publika and other locations

Once again, we are fortunate to announce a fabulous ‘not to be missed’ creative portraiture workshop featuring New York trained Malaysian photographer Nadirah Zakariya and her creative insight this September, in collaboration with KLPA Events.

She will lead a group of participants to shoot freely and creatively around the concept of the deadpan aesthetic, which stretches over 2 weekends. Nadirah will explore the works of famous portrait photographers, and guide participants to think and photograph outside personal boundaries.

SCHEDULE Session 1 - September 1st (Saturday) : 11 am to 2 pm. Location TBD

First-day meet, brief and talk + discuss projects participants will shoot during the week. 

Session 2 - September 8th (Saturday) : Share selected images and narrow down for final screening on 9th (Sunday) Location : WhiteBox, Publika

Session 3 - September 9th (Sunday) : 4 pm to 6 pm : Final Slideshow presentation at WhiteBox, Publika (friends and family invited to attend)

© Nadirah Zakariya

© Liza Yaakub

© Ryan Moon

FEE

Merdeka Special rate RM400 / register till 25 August. Standard fee RM500.

This workshop is conducted optimally in a small and intimate group of around 6 to 10 photographers, limited spaces. 

Register here now! 

Send your email to : Nadirah  [email protected] or contact Munirah  [email protected]

More about Nadirah Zakariya 

Instagram @nadirahzakariya

https://www.yokentheam.com/blogs/yoke-theam/in-the-mood-for-nadirah-ytwalkoflife

[klphotoawards]

KLPA Director’s statement

Personal Space

  For the past 10 years, KLPA has stuck to its mission of promoting and creating a platform for contemporary portraiture centred in South East Asia, but with the added international flavour. What began as a personal challenge and project have now become a major event in the global contests calendar. The formalistic photographic portrait has become a vital means to humanising and giving purpose to the individual, especially so in our current world of saturated, excessive image consumption, divisions and nationalistic tendencies.

  The photographic portrait is a reflection of the sitter’s personal space. In other words, a certain amount of respect and dignity should always be given to the image, the photographer and the subject - by the viewer. In any genre, from photojournalistic styles to the considered studio setup, the depiction of the human face carries with it layers of life experience, the passage of time and it’s individual persona. The portrait photograph is truly a time machine in some sense.

  I would sincerely like to thank the five judges this year for giving up their precious time to gather in Kuala Lumpur to make their selection of finalists and winners which are all included in this catalogue, and in the accompanying exhibition at Whitebox. It is one thing to view these amazing portraits on a desktop screen but it is always a pleasure to see them enlarged, professionally printed and framed behind glass in a gallery setting. For me, the pleasure comes from seeing local visitors scrutinise the images and examine their captions up close, and then the look of their facial expressions after. A good portrait will also solicit a reaction from the viewer.

  I would like to congratulate all our prizewinners especially Lucia Herrero’s Reindeer-Man series, which was awarded the Grand Prize. This personal project is unique, innovative, full of humanity and humour so lacking in our world today and well executed. It made all of the judges laugh out loud, and that is what really counts. A series of imagined portraits, Reindeer-Man’s message cuts deep into the narrative of identity, acceptance and tolerance of ‘the other’ in a present world of building borders and walls. 

  Camillo Pasquarelli’s serenely beautiful group portrait of young men swimming on Lake Dal, Srinagar in troubled Kashmir received compliments from all the jury members. Pushing the envelope of what is or isn’t a portrait image, the panel nevertheless determined it deserved the fullest attention and gave it the top prize in the Single Image category. 

  The 2nd and 3rd places of the Single Image category are more traditional in some ways, but their production and subject matters are both exquisitely executed. Julia Fullerton-Batten’s ‘River Thames Portrait 3’ has a certain old-world charm about it and yet exudes sophistication and technical perfection of an environmental portrait study. ‘Perseus’ by Wawi Navarroza is another stunning portrait study. Her depiction of a Filipino marble worker, taken in a factory setting with machinery and tools at hand, whilst covered in fine white marble powder in a commanding pose, is reminiscent of Renaissance sculptures, narrowing the gap of Orientalism and Western European art as well as a reference to the study of the perfect male form in contemporary art history.

  The Photo Story category attracted a range of subject matters, style and format for interpretation. Ultimately, a good story requires subtle editing, consistency and strong visuals. Nora Bibel’s ‘Family Comes FIrst’ is a worthy entry at first spot. Anyone who has tried to organise a family sit-down portrait will know it’s complexities, let alone 12 joint and extended families. This series humanises the ‘family portrait’ through direct comparison of materiality, offsprings, status and class in modern Indian society. It does not exploit the typical stereotyping of Indians, usually seen from Western photographers eyes and is very well executed. Second place was awarded to Tim Franco’s Unperson project. Utilising an image transfer process from Polaroid films, the headshots of North Korean defectors living new lives in the south is metaphorically ‘re-exposed’ by their individual personal stories of new identities and ambitions. 

  Third place went to Paola Serino’s charming traditional portraits of young fencers, her portraits imbue contrasting feelings of vulnerability, determination, innocence and discipline.  

  Lastly, the judges proposed to award a Special Mention to Giulio Di Sturco’s Sophia. An increasingly appropriate subject matter to cover, A/I research and advanced robotics is closing the perception gap between what is real and artificial, and the functionality and purpose of Man, both to serve and be served by his creations.

Steven Lee KL Photoawards Founder Director

See all winning portraits at www.klphotoawards.com

Exhibition of finalist portraits will be held at WHITEBOX GALLERY, Publika in Kuala Lumpur, from 8 to 17 September, 2018. Opens daily 10:00 - 18:00