Nikon-PMPE presents “Shundur Bangladesh” Photo Exhibition from 1st May to 30th June 2011
We are pleased to announce that there will be a Photo Exhibition to be held in Nikon Centre, Berjaya Times Square from 1st of May to 30th of June during opening hours. Admission is free. All are welcomed.
A special thanks to our Sponsors who have supported us in this project:-
1. Nikon Centre
2. Nikon
3. Epson
4. Sandisk
An Opening Reception will be held at 4.30pm on the 8th of May 2011.
Opening Reception
Date: 8th May 2011
Time: 4.30pm
Place: Nikon Centre, Berjaya Times Square
Program
4.30 pm – Welcoming speech by Maxby
4.45pm – Speech by Mr Alex Moh, Curator of the Exhibition
5.00pm – Walking through the Exhibition by participants
5.30pm – Light refreshments
6.30pm – Slide show presentation of PMPE by Maxby
We have lined up some exciting prizes for this exhibition
For Visitors and members of PhotoMalaysia.
1. There will be a lucky draw for all those who attend the opening reception.
2. Participate in the online poll that will be set up in PhotoMalaysia and have a chance to be included in a lucky draw if you have chosen the winning photo of the Exhibition.
For the Exhibition Participants
1. We will set up an online poll and the photo that has the highest votes will receive a prize (to be announced later)
Some of the photos that will be exhibited. More than 200 pictures will be screened.
What is this Photo Exhibition all about?
This Photo Exhibition is about the works of 15 participants in the PMPE5, Bangladesh from 1st to 8th August 2010. Fifteen members of PhotoMalaysia made a photography trip to Bangladesh. Members of the team were introduced to a wide variety of activities and photo opportunities in Bangladesh. In addition to the usual morning market and jetty shoots, members were introduced to a farming community in Panchuria (specializing in jute planting), rice processing factory, small town’s life and a variety of street life in Dhaka.
The group spent two days in this beautiful village, Panchuria, mixing and making friends with the local community and photographing their daily activities.
The group also made a trip to Sylhet, a north eastern town that is near the India-Bangladesh Border. There the team visited north eastern boundary and an aboriginal village that was involved in making traditional weaving craft.
This exhibition shows the diversity and beauty of the enchanting land, Bangladesh as experience by the PMPE participants.
What is PMPE?
PMPE stands for PhotoMalaysia PhotoSafari Experience. It is a joint project between PhotoMalaysia – the “First and Largest Online Forum in Malaysia” and PhotoSafari.com.my
Why PMPE?
When PhotoMalaysia first started, it was also the start of the new digital age…..the digital camera. I still remembered at that time the forum members were discussing the merits of Nikon’s CP995 vs Canon’s G1. DSLR was not invented then…or rather the pricing was prohibitive. However, as the years go by the prices of DSLRs were dropping by the day until it is quite affordable now. The market experiences an unprecedented boom in the number of people entering the photography arena. Flickr, Fotopages and other photo hosting websites played an important role in stimulating the growth of members of the public to join the band wagon. Lately, Facebook and Youtube played a very important part in promoting social interaction.
The growth of the digital camera era has brought about inherent opportunities and confusion. In the pre-digital camera era it will take a Photo Enthusiast about 3 to 4 years to grasped the fundamental workings of the camera, composition and darkroom techniques. However, with the new age, anyone who has the money to buy a digital camera is able to have all these facilities with just a click of the shutter button.
A group of members who had cut their teeth in the old methods of photography before the digital age were exasperated and appalled at the quality of pictures posted on the forum. I remembered that there were lots of discussions at the The Tarik sessions we had a few years ago.
Finally two members of PhotoMalaysia, Yusuf aka digitalartist and I decided that we will try to make a difference. We have decided, after many consultations with renowned photographers and those who have been involved in the photography industry, to concentrate on a small core group of photographers and build them up from ground up.
We have designed and tailored a comprehensive package targeted for beginners to photography. It consists of 2 stages:-
Stage 1
Stage 1 is a two days intensive photography workshop to impart the fundamental knowledge of good photography from using the camera, composition, frame dynamics, understanding exposure, how to shoot compelling pictures, colour harmony and the biggest secret of all good photographers.
It also introduces the different genres of photography to the participants like travel, landscape, black and white, street, studio portraiture and tricks and tips on how professionals shoot different situations.
Participants are introduced to digital post processing, the merits of shooting RAW vs jpeg and the good habits of successful photographers.
Stage 1 is also a preparation of the participants for the photosafari trip to an exotic location.
Stage 2
Stage 2 is a photosafari to an exotic location. like Siem Reap, Cambodia; Ho Chih Min city, Vietnam; Bangladesh, Silk Road of Xinjiang, China, Annapurna trekking in Nepal and Bull Run in Padang.
The Photosafari usually starts off with a calibration of the light meters of the cameras and DIY on sensor cleaning. It is a full day of shooting at chosen locations under the guidance of experienced photographers. In some of the evenings after dinner, there will be a photo sharing session where the works of the participants will be shared and recommendations will be made on how to improve their photos.
The feedback we get from participants was that it is a very good therapy for the daily work stress they have accumulated. One of the participants said that “It was a wonderful experience. I cannot imagine before I join the photosafari trips on how one can get involved 24 hours a day doing nothing but photography. It really takes my mind off my work and after the trip I was waiting for the next photosafari trip.”
The Results
Yusuf and I are very happy that our little project to make a difference in the photography world has achieved commendable results. These results have encouraged us to try to do more for the photography community.
Some of the milestones of this project:-
1. More than 200 participants have benefitted from the Stage 1 photography workshop.
2. More than 100 participants have joined our Stage 2 Photosafari trips.
3. We have published 4 coffee table photography books of our trips.
4. Two of our participants were chosen as “Canon Lady Ambassadors”
5. One of our participants has joined the on-going Photography Ladies Challenge.
6. Two of our participants have held their solo photography exhibitions.
7. A few of our participants have published their own coffee table books.
8. More than 70% of the pictures chosen for the 3rd Annual PhotoMalaysia Photo Exhibition were from the members of Photosafari tours.
9. Some of our participants have won numerous prizes from various photo competitions.
10. “Shundur Bangladesh” is the first Photo Exhibition showcasing the works of the participants of PhotoSafari.
11. PMPE has established a charity community project named..Wishing Wells
Our future
We have organised this 2 stage photography program for about 2 years and about 10 photosafari trips. So where do we go from here?
I must say that both Yusuf and I have learned a lot from the participants of photosafari. Teaching is always a two way process. When one parts his knowledge freely one also receives knowledge. Our photography skills have also improved in the process. In fact, with each trip our participants’ photography skills have improved by leaps and bounds. We have been trying to push ourselves to stay ahead of the competition.
We are now reflecting on how to improve our delivery as we already have foreign photographers joining and enquiring about our photography programs. We also welcome suggestions if you any on how to improve this program.
Meanwhile, for the remainder of the year we intend to hold another 2 photography workshops in July and September.
We will be holding a few more photosafari trips, some of which are confirmed and some in the planning stage:-
1. PMPE 10 – Komodo Island, Indonesia from 8th to 12th June 2011
2. PMPE 11 – A 2 weeks trip from Caspian Sea to Almaty, Kazakhstan – August/Sept. 2011
3. PMPE 12 – Autumn Silk Road, Xinjiang China from 15th to 31st October 2011
4. Crossing Bridges 8 – Vietnam – November 2011.
5. PMPE 13 – 1 week trip – Winter landscape in Heilongjiang Province – February 2012
6. PMPE 14 – 2 weeks trekking to Manang, the desert of Nepal – March 2012
7. PMPE 15 – 2 weeks Africa Photosafari – May 2012
If you have queries do email me or digitalartist. We will be glad to answer your queries.
Some of the photos that will be exhibited:-
1.
2.
3.
4.
