My Hobby, My Interest, My Passion.

Just a brief summary on my journey of photography...

    My family and I were members of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), so we use to join nature and scenic trips during holidays or weekends. This is where my interest in photography first started when I joined a hiking trip when I was 16 years old. When we reached the peak of the hill, I saw on one side the developed part of the area, which was filled with buildings and roads, as well as the undeveloped side of the area. The latter was amazingly stunning. It was filled with lush greens with river-filled valleys. Then I saw some older guys in the hiking team  took out their huge Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras with gigantic lenses and started snapping away. (I wondered how did they manage to carry such heavy thing up here, good training though). By the way, I saw some beautiful pictures they snapped and this made me think: if I don't take a picture of this, it will just become memories in my mind that may fade away with time - what a waste. So, I made up my mind to give photography a try. 

Waiting for Dusk

    Initially, my interest in photography was not supported by my parents. So, I have to use my whole year savings including my "angpow" money from last Chinese New Year to buy an entry-level (beginner) DSLR camera - the red Canon 1100D. (Yes, I was attracted to the red colour at that time, regretting it sometimes). Almost immediately I joined the photography team of the MNS and started shooting with them. (I was the guy with the cheapest gear with no experience back then). This team were particularly interested in wildlife photography specifically "birding". These people could tell how many birds are on a tree from a distance, while I was still figuring out were there even any birds on the tree. They could even tell the species of the birds with a glance. Photographing birds are pretty damn hard, especially when they are flying. It requires patience, which I have none, whole lot of skill. It was good training and experience for me.

Little sparrow perched on tree.

    I then attended various photography workshops such as: portraiture, product photography, modelling and landscapes. By then, I was recognised as the family photographer for many occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and parties. Besides, I was official photographer for many clubs, societies and events. This went on until eventually I won an award and some cash for some of my works. This is when I was taken seriously by my parents and started supporting me through buying some additional accessories for me to improve.

To infinity and beyond...

    I had a few friends that had the same interest as me. So, we often go out shooting together. We usually do street photography and we improve by sharing what we have learnt. As I occasionally post my works on social media like Facebook and Flickr, some people that I know started to show me support by buying my photos for their restaurant menus.

Aroma of Perfection.

    Recently, I was given the opportunity to be a wedding photographer by my ex-tuition teacher. It was my first time doing this, thus I gave my service free of charge when he ask me to quote a price. Wedding was one of the toughest genre of photography - exhausting and extremely fast-paced. I had to work whole day and not miss a single moment of the couple's grand day. I was frightened by the idea that I might screw up recording one of the most important day of their lives. Anyway, I managed through and I was unexpectedly paid a little for my job done. I am now confident that I could handle wedding photography and would definitely improve the next time I do it.

Once in a Lifetime.

    There are still many unexplored areas and genres of photography that I would like to venture into such as underwater, still life and fine art. Every click of the shutter is experience for me and I am always finding ways to improve myself. Hopefully when I come out to work, I would be able to afford all those freaking big lenses to add to my collection !

Fallen Beauty

Live. Love. Life.

Chong Hoong Liang

17968

Foundation 2nd Chemical Engineering

p.s. There is a difference between the term "photographer" and "camera-man". A camera-man is a person who is directed to take a particular shot, while a photographer is not under any orders and is free to express his/her photographs in anyway.