Blog | Blogging to Unblock

Above is a file picture taken in December 2008, during book signing session titled “Blogging to Unblock”, by Malaysian Former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad at MPH Bookstore. I choose to focus on the book and leaving Mahathir behind blur, out of focus but I guess everyone here in Malaysia will recognize him even though the image is blur.

In my line of duty I really have a lot to share about my work but I find it difficult to put my thought in my blog. Maybe I was too lazy or maybe I was too busy with something else but the truth is I really have a lot to share. Being as a working photographer myself means that I have witnessed and record many historical moment with my camera and most of the times people doesn’t know what actually happen to get the image that people seen printed on the paper or in the books. Most people will see a “clean shot”, it’s like it was very easy to get a particular picture, it’s like anyone can get the shot if they are happen to be there.

Sometimes, I have to admit that it is true but most of the times, it isn’t. Sometimes you need an experience to get the shot, what I mean by experience is that, we as a photojournalist must be able to anticipate what will be going next in order to get that shot. This simple signing ceremony shot may look easy but the truth is I have to struggle with a lot of photographers to get this shot. This area is cramped with people, very hard to move around and very difficult to change position.

Even though Mahathir is no longer our Prime Minister but he is still popular as ever and many people wants to shake hands and taking picture of him, I have to get to that position as early as possible in order to get the shot that I want, I have a sharp picture of him but I choose to share with you guys this picture. I have to be here, in this angle right before Mahathir sit on the chair, and I’ve visualize the shot that I want to get beforehand.

Back to blogging world, I think it is good thing for photographers to share their thought and maybe a little bit about behind the scene story about how they get that shot, so people will know that, it is not always easy to get that particular shot, it may look easy but without telling the whole story, nobody will know about it. Nowadays everyone can take pictures and the price of DSLR camera are becoming more and more affordable but I think sometimes experience does matters.