I have to confess, I’ve been swept away lately with the news of Michael Jackson’s death.. I’ve been staying up every night going online to read articles, news stories and clips of the news surrounding his death. One of my favourite websites is www.tmz.com where they provide the latest updates and inside details, they were the first to break the news of MJ’s death by cardiac arrest even before any news publication or agency dared to confirm it.
At this moment, the latest news is that he has a will and he wants his mother Katherine to be the guardian of his children and if his mom is unable to be the legal guardian, he has nominated Diana Ross as guardian. The reports also state that his body will be taken to his Neverland ranch for a memorial service on Friday and Saturday. Where his body will be buried is still unclear as no decision has been made yet. They initially wanted to bury him in Neverland but the laws in California do not permit anyone burying a dead body in a private property so he has to be buried elsewhere.
I’ve been so occupied following this story, and I guess I have been mourning his loss too. I surprised myself when I broke down in tears the day after his death while reading a news artice online. What hit me was actually a picture of the front page of a the New York Post in the US laid out with a head shot of MJ that filled the whole page and had the text “Michael Jackson: King of Pop - DEAD”.
It was after seeing this picture that his death really sank in.. I couldn’t help myself, it felt like a family member had died. The feeling was similar to when my grandfather and my dad died. I just broke down in tears. Even though I never personally knew the man, Michael Jackson was an inspiration to me. The way he expressed himself through his dance moves, his music and lyrics, and his messages of unity and peace has touched the lives of millions, if not billions of people all over the world including me. Even though he had been accused of child molesting, he was never found guilty and was acquitted on all charges against him.
The truth is, in my opinion, it is because of Michael Jackson that the entertainment industry in the US has evolved to what it is today. His impact on the music industry is so great that many big stars today have attributed him as one of their biggest influences while growing up. To me, Michael Jackson is an example of the greatness that a human being can achieve.
I’ve been to his Dangerous world tour concert in Singapore. While working for Reuters, I’ve covered his History concert in KL, and I’ve waited for hours for him at the 1 Utama shopping mall for his arrival. I saw how people went berserk when he arrived, rushing and running from one corner of the complex to another just to get a glimpse of the star. I had to fight through not just his bodyguards but also crazy screaming fans to get near him to take his picture. Bottom line is I’ve seen how this one man can make people go crazy all around the world. I was inspired by his magnitude.
Michael Jackson has changed the world we live in today. What inspires me most is that he chooses to express himself simply. He was just being himself throughout his entire life. He didn’t try to conform to society, he didn’t try to fit in. He didn’t just live an average life. He chose to be extraordinary. And he shared his talents with the world. He broke racial barriers in the entertainment world. Before MJ, black artists had a tough time making it big. He has contributed so much to the world and he did it from the bottom of his heart. Just listen to the lyrics of his songs and you will understand this man stood for something a lot bigger.
Michael is now no longer with us, but his legacy will last forever. I will always remember him as the catalyst that inspired me to become better, to achieve greatness, to pursue my dreams and to be a contribution to others.
I love you Michael. May you rest in peace.
I’ve often wondered.. how many people in Malaysia are interested in Photojournalism? We all know there are hundreds if not thousands of people interested in wedding photography and portraiture but what is the percentage of people here that are interested in Photojournalism?
I think the photography scene in Malaysia needs to be more balanced out with various forms of photography and not just mainly focused on weddings and portraits. I really would like to see more people interested in telling stories of people’s lives, of a community, religion, culture, etc..
We need to bring up the level and increase the penetration of photojournalism in our market.
But really.. do people know and understand what photojournalism is about? Here’s my definition: “Photojournalism is the art of telling stories with photographs.” It’s all about telling the story.. of people’s lives, places,.. of humanity and the world we live in. There are many, many stories out there, even in your own back yard, or your own little neighborhood.
The reason I got attracted to photojournalism was because of the incredibly deep and interesting stories that can be told with photographs that are impactful, that stay in the viewers minds for a long, long time. People always remember a photograph that is impactful, dramatic, that tells an incredible story. Remember LIFE Magazine? (If you’re old enough, you’d remember) Remember National Geographic? (Somehow I feel the images back then were better than the ones published now, or maybe it’s because i’ve grown in my own level of photography that they are not as impactful to me now than it was back then.)
I would like to see unforgettable images of our country, our people, our own stories.. taken by our own photographers. Everyone out there who has an interest in Photojournalism, please make a comment below as a sign to show that you support Photojournalism and would like to see it grow in Malaysia. And maybe I’ll organize more photojournalism events and get togethers.. 
I will be participating and speaking in the above photography conference. If you are serious about photography, I advise you to also participate. It will be worth every single penny of your investment. You will learn more than you can imagine. There will be 10 pros sharing their knowledge and experience. Make sure you book your place asap. For more information, click on http://www.treasuresoftherainforests.com
I’m doing a new project for a website and one of the shots I need to do is the usual Petronas Twin Towers shot. I’ve noticed lately that the sun has been setting quite late nowadays and it only gets dark close to 8pm.
I’ve also noticed that if it doesn’t rain, sun has been casting a nice warm glow as gets low in the horizon. This is something rare in the Klang Valley. Our sky is so polluted that we don’t usually get the golden light in the evenings. But it has been happening lately and I’ve been wanting to get my camera out and shoot some photos.
So on the day that I was going to shoot the KLCC, I drove to KL early to avoid the jam. I parked my car in the open air car park at 5.30pm. I figured the light was best around 7pm so I should get ready by 6.45pm. I took a walk around the shopping mall to past the time, went up to Kinokuniya to look for Joe McNally’s latest book, The Moment It Clicks, but they were out of stock. I checked the price and it costs an exhorbitant RM219. I figured it was cheaper to buy online RM100++.
Checked my watch, it was 6 something, felt a little hungry so I went to 1901 and grabbed a hotdog. Soon after that I thought I should get going and standy at the spot for the picture. I stepped outside the building and the sky was dark! Then it started to drizzle! I thought this is just my luck.. The sky remained dark and gloomy, it was already 7pm. I’d already set up my tripod, put my 20mm lens on, and sat down on the curb while getting tiny drops of rain falling on me.
At 7pm the sun started to shine on the towers, there was a little bit of golden light but unfortunately the sky was still grey and gloomy, I shot a few frames anyway:
At around 7.25pm, something special happened. The sun was almost going down, the KLCC lights turned on, and the sky was still cloudy. I started to shoot frame after frame, bracketing 0.3 to 0.7 of a stop. I couldn’t really see what was happening to the light as I was busy shooting and focusing on the exposures. I continued shooting for 10 minutes or so. I was quite happy with what I got:
I didn’t manage to get the warm golden light shot, but I got something totally different but nice. It’s amazing how the light transforms all of a sudden and surprises you. I felt something special when I was there. The towers are such magnificent structures, they come alive like magic when the lights are turned on. And I was lucky to get a nice sky in the background.
This was one instant when photography totally amazed me. The light changed so fast, in 10 minutes it went from boring gloomy, overcast and grey, to magical and beautiful. While I was there, I started thinking about shooting the “golden hour” in western countries. I was thinking how lucky the western photographers were because the sun sets very slowly in those countries, they actually got a full hour of magnificent light to shoot! Here in KL, we only get a few minutes!
So imagine when they come here and find out that they planned a whole hour of shooting but only get 10 minutes, how sad they will be. And how happy I will be if I was shooting in their country!! Cheerio!
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