SONY NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST IN MALAYSIA

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Features <http://star-techcentral.com/intech/features/> Tuesday August 29,

2006

 

 

 

Loving nature digitally

 

Photography is a truly wonderful hobby. Some say it's an art – others, a

science. But at its very core, the whole idea of photography is to capture

the beauty of a subject.

 

And what better subject is there than nature itself?

 

For the longest time throughout history, photography and nature have been

intrinsically linked. Which is why I was standing in a forest, busy

photographing an army of ants carrying bits and pieces of wood up a tree.

 

And not far from me, about 38 secondary school students, 13 teachers and

about eight volunteers were also snapping photos of trees, mushrooms and

other little critters in the jungles of Temenggor.

 

The shoot was one of the highlights of the Sony Nature Photography Project

2006 held in the 130 million-year-old, 300,000-hectare Belum-Temenggor

Forest reserve in Perak.

 

The whole point of the trip, of course, was to educate participants (mostly

secondary school kids) on photography whilst instilling an appreciation for

nature.

 

The project was jointly-organised by Ministry of Education and Sony

Malaysia, with additional support from the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS)

and *Click!* magazine.

 

 

 

*To the jungles *

 

Although officially a three-day event, all of the photography-related work

was done solely on the second day of the trip. There were brief workshops

held on the night before but the bulk of the learning took place during the

photography outing itself.

 

In the morning, the students were separated into 10 groups and led into the

jungles to snap away.

 

A scorpion - shot taken by a student, pix courtesy of Sony

Those who were expecting to catch a glimpse of the fabled Malayan tiger,

Sumatran rhinoceros or even a common Indian elephant (me included) were in

for a bitter disappointment.

 

While all of these grandiose animals (and more) are indeed inhabitants of

this forest, we were actually marooned on Pulau Pendidikan – one of the

hundred or so islands that were formed when 152,000 hectares of forest were

submerged after the building of a hydroelectric dam in the late 1970s.

 

The island of Pulau Pendidikan itself isn't inhabited by any animals – save

for a small family of gibbons, some fairly harmless snakes, at least one

flying fox and the occasional birds from the mainland.

 

In fact, the whole island is almost bereft of exotic flowering plants too –

save for the few that were planted around the living quarters.

 

It's not to say that Temenggor forest is barren. Rather, it's predominantly

covered by thin but really tall trees stretching into the sky with little in

the way of vegetation on the ground, which is mostly comprised of bare soil,

fallen leaves and nasty looking insects.

 

Photographic subjects were hard to come by, but when they did show up, the

students descended upon them with a vengeance.

 

For instance, there was a metallic green-coloured beetle which was no doubt

taken aback (and permanently blinded) by the sudden torrent of camera

flashes that it had to endure for a good 10 minutes. The poor fella

should've stayed indoors that morning.

 

And to compound the problem, most of the students were armed with very basic

compact digital cameras – basic enough to the point of limiting the

students' options.

 

By noon, the students and instructors had returned to the main hall and

proceeded to transfer their photos onto some spanking new Sony Vaio laptops

(were you expecting anything less?).

 

After picking out the best photos with their instructors, each group was

given a brief look into the world of digital photo editing (i.e. *Photoshop*)

 

 

The students' then showed their works of art during a group-by-group

presentation later that night.

 

 

 

*The end result*

 

 

 

So, was it a total washout? Surprisingly, no.

 

The judges seemed to be impressed with the quality of the photographs taken

by some of the students, who managed to make some fantastic shots out of

mundane subjects – such as leaves, tree barks and various insects.

 

" At first I was a bit let down by the results from students, " said Ho Teon

Hau, publication director of *Click!*, who was also the chief photographic

instructor during the event.

 

" But when I thought about it, they actually did a good job. Given the time

restriction and the conditions – the lack of subjects – the fact that they

could still come out with some interesting shots is marvellous. "

 

" Yes, I believe the students learnt something from the trip. After all, they

had a chance to spend a whole day with experienced photographers who could

teach them some new techniques. "

 

" While you can read books and find out more information on the Internet,

nothing can replace the experience of snapping photos on a trip with

professional photographers and reviewing their photos together. "

 

When I interviewed the students the next morning, they seem to share the

same opinions as Ho.

 

For 16-year-old Snokee Chong from KL, it was her first time on a photography

trip.

 

" The instructors taught me well, " she said.

 

" I learnt many new techniques and got to know my equipment better – how to

use a tripod, how to choose a subject. I think that I'm a better

photographer now. "

 

Apart from photography, most of the students claimed that their love for

Mother Nature has grown as well.

 

A giant milipede, shot taken by a student (pix courtesy of Sony)

" I've always liked nature, but this trip has enhanced my appreciation for

it, " says Roshunraj Rajendran, 17, from Penang.

 

" It was an interesting camp. It was short but I've managed to learn new ways

to take various types of photos. "

 

Fellow Penangite Mohammad Afiq Rabani, 16, seemed to be bursting at the

seams with excitement throughout the event.

 

" I've been to jungles before with my Scout troop, but never before for a

photography trip, " he says.

 

So there you have it. Photography is an effective way to get closer to

nature. And surely that's a good thing.

 

 

 

*The digital equation *

 

Technically, a three-day photographic workshop such as this would've been

impossible about 10 years ago.

 

Thanks to the now widespread use of digital cameras, instructors can now

teach students the proper photographic techniques, view results instantly on

the camera and display them in presentations via digital video projectors.

 

Using film, the organisers would have to cart over a lot of processing

equipment and it would've taken about a week to do the carry out the same

tasks.

 

 

 

*(Note: Sony Malaysia is also holding a nationwide competition called the

Sony Nature Photography Contest.For more details, go to

www.sony.com.my/press/Nature2006.asp.)*