Inspiring the next generation of photographers worldwide!
Talk Photography #01 November 2017 www.talkphotographymag.com
Fashion In Color Shooting with Color Gels with Izzy Scrieber
City & Landscapes Long Exposure
Interview with Izzy Schrieber
An Interview with Jason Tiliikainen
History of Talk Photography
Insights into his Fashion Photography
Cover: Urban Exploration
The Art of Photographing Abandoned Spaces. Featuring Roman Robroek
Review of some of our past projects and interviews
Contents November 2017
p.16
Roman Robroek
Cover: Urban Exploration
Roman Robroek hunted for and photographed abandoned spaces throughout Europe for the past 6 years. He talks history, research, safety, tips and the urban explorer's code of ethics. He shares with us some of his own scary experiences in the genre of photography.
Editor's Letter p.4 History of Talk Photography
p.6
Talk Photography first began at the end of August 2016, a little over a year ago. The goal was simple, to inspire the next generation of photographers around the world. Talk Photography interviewed some 20 aspiring photographers from over 10 different countries. Genres of photography included Street photography, portrait photography, conceptual portraits, composites, and much more. Learn and read about the history and idea behind Talk Photography, and the goals it has had over the past year.
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Izzy Schrieber Presents Conceptual Fashion p.34 Interview with Izzy Schreiber: Izzy explains his views on photography and share some of his work and experiences with us.
Fashion in Color
p.48
Izzy Schreiber shares with us his conceptual project of shooting with color Gels in the studio. Including his insights into his setup and advice into shooting these kind
Jason Tiliikainen Presents City & Landscapes with Long Exposure
Interivew into the work and passion that Jason holds for long exposure photography with Cityscapes and Landscapes. He presents his work through some European countires.
p.56
Maia Assan - 'Malaysia's Top Female Street Photographer'
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'Life in Malaysia' - Street Photography Challenge
p.84
First introduced as 'Malaysia's Top Female Street Photographer' by many on the streets in her country, we interviewed Maia about her work and projects.
Results from the challenge we posted for street photographers in Malaysia. We selected 5 photographers to be featured in our issue.
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Talk Photography
Inspiring the Next Generation of Photographers Worldwide Editor and Publisher: Don MacDonell www.talkphotographymag.com Š Intellectual property of Don MacDonell Dongheon-ro 258-12, Deokyang-gu Goyang-shi, Gyeonggi-do South Korea 10282
General inquiries/press: don@talkphotographymag.com Advertisement: info@talkphotographymag.com
Editor's Letter to Readers, This is Don MacDonell, the creator of Talk Photography. It's of great pleasure to me to have you as a reader of our photography magazine. The idea of Talk Photography is to inspire the next generation of photographers around the world in their aspiring genres of photography. We hope that the information included in out issues will give you insight, provide you technical information, and give you needed motivation to create beautiful imagery through suggestions and others' works of art. As of now, Talk Photography is provided free of charge online. No version of this magazine is permitted to be printed, uploaded, sold or used in any other way other than personal use. To help support Talk Photography you may contribute through Patreon at Patreon.com/ talkphotography/ We hope you enjoy this magazine. Corresponding video series and articles are also available on our YouTube Channel and on our website, talkphotographymag.com. To be featured in Talk Photography or to pitch your own photography projects reach out to us through email, don@talkphotographymag.com at your earliest convenience and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
@talkphotomag @talkphotographymag talkphotographymag.com don@talkphotographymag.com 4 Talk Photography November 2017
Don MacDonell
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Talk Photography started as a humble website blog with a big aspirations. The idea and goal behind the site from the beginning until today has remained the same, to inspire the next generation of photographers all around the world. The site and articles have been slowly growing to achieve that goal. Focusing more so on reaching those getting started in various genres of photography we interviewed some 20 aspiring creators from over 10 different countries in genres such as street photography, fine art, portrait, composites, newborn and birth photography and much more. We continue to reach out to more interesting artists doing fascinating projects and photography. Most of these artists have started and are doing amazing work after only a few years of pursuing their love of photography. This further showcases that with effort and hard work it's possible to create amazing work. We hope these can motivate and inspire you to further 6 Talk Photography November 2017
pursue, test, re-test, and put forth continuous effort into perfecting your craft. For now let's take a look at some of the past articles and interviews conducted by Talk Photography. Tejal Mewar: Tejal is an aspiring photographer who leans toward documenting life on the streets in India. We conducted an interview with her about her work and her gorgeous series based on the laborers in a brick kiln. The difficult work carried out by many women impressed upon Tejal the hard circumstances in which they live in. She documented them going about their routines as pictured above. IG @tejalmewar Another interview we'd like to highlight is the work of Japan based street photographer Takanori Tomimatsu. Takanori was born in 1955, when he was young he took some pictures of friends, family and scenery, but finished school went to the workforce and eventually resigned. 40
History of Talk Photography years had past without taking any pictures. In addition to that Takanori never attempted street photography, taking candid photographs of people going about their business in the busy streets in Tokyo. Nonetheless with some practice he began producing some gorgeous results. IG: @takanori_tomimatsu (Photo's Right, below)
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Antonio Borzillo is a portrait photographer from Italy who has used stories from his youth and his imagination to create stunning images in nature. His interview and insights are online. @antonio_borzillo
The Future of Talk Photography Talk Photography looks to the forward with much anticipation and plans. Continuing to reach out to remarkable creatives around the globe we hope to bring forth even more talented work that will inspire our readers. Our magazine will zone in and focus mostly on portrait, fashion, fine art, conceptual, street and travel photography among other genres. We will focus and bring forth projects with detailed steps from the setup, to the execution and final results. For the benefit of learners and beginners 8 Talk Photography November 2017
Video series documenting projects in collaboration with photographers will be brought to you online on our website and on our YouTube channel. This is something that has just been started. You can look forward to it's expansion and follow along as we delve into those series in 2018. Send us your own projects via the contact form on our website, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to possibly be invited to be featured in our articles or to collaborate on a video series. We also value your suggestions, and feedback on our work.
(Above, Top Right, and bottom right images photographed by Antonio Borzillo. He poses models in scenes he recalls from childhood.
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Marvin Buhian is a young street photographer based in Malaysia. New and excited in the world of street photography he was creating superb work in the streets of Kuala Lumpur when we invited him for an interview on our website. He was happy sharing with us his photography and stories with us and continues capturing the world around him through his camera. He told us his story about being a 'street boy' in his teenage years, saying for 2 or 3 days he would stay out on the street without returning home. Meeting new friends and other street boys who did similarly. He would sleep anywhere that he could find that might be comfortable. Now as a street photographer he captures that old feeling he had from those times. You'll enjoy the full interview online. IG: @marvinbuhian
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Daniel Anhut We interviewed Daniel on his high contrast black and white photography. Some are silhouettes Others are abandoned places, even including models in his Fine art type photographs IG @daniel.anhut
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Dr. Amit Dutta Amit shared his photographic project on the Khumb Mela in his homeland, in India. An interview truly intriguing. IG: @pixel.engraver
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Sinsee Ho (above): Sinsee, from Malaysia travelled all over Asia chasing after amazing scenery and cultures to document and photograph. You'll enjoy reading about her favourite places. IG: sinseeho Agoes Alwie (Left): The Malaysian based street photographer shots in the streets and captures the life of the people from where he's from. IG: @agoesalwie
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URBAN EXPLORATION
with Roman Robroek
Cover Article:
An interview with the urban-obsessed photographer from the Netherlands. Roman Robroek has spent the past 6 years, exploring and hunting for Europe's forgotten history in the ruins of abandoned places. He brings Talk Photography along for the ride and shares his techniques and tips for locating, getting into and photographing some of the worlds most unique places. 16 Talk Photography November 2017
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oman could you tell us a bit about youself? "My name is Roman, a 30-yearold urban-obsessed and awardwinning photographer, born and raised in the enchanting South of the Netherlands. I shoot unique photos of undisclosed abandoned places. It’s the area of ‘Urban’ Photography. I have a full-time job working as an ICT Service Manager and all of my spare time goes into photography."
How did you first get started in photography, what got you interested in urban exploration and chasing after abandoned places to photography? "I’ve always been photographing but on a completely different level. I loved taking my camera on my holidays and capture memories during my trips. About six years ago I became fascinated by an abandoned building I saw online and I started researching it's history, which got me even more fascinated. During that search, I ran into a community of urban photographers and figured there was a complete and ‘hidden’ world of people sharing the same hobby; photographing abandoned buildings. This community was the start of my journey."
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Roman Robroek
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It’s not a simple thing to do to discover such places especially when they are in other areas, and countries. Most of these buildings are not exactly on the map~ Could you explain the process you take to research these places, and discover them before you can even go or even see the front gate? "To be completely honest, I don’t do a lot of research anymore nowadays. When I first started I had to find all the places myself. Looking for clues in photos other photographers took, for example, newspapers, calendars or outside shots. With the information I found in photos I started my research on Google and tried to pin down the area. Sometimes I simply used Streetview to find matching windows or doors that I saw on photos.
Nowadays I’m lucky to have a really good and close group of friends and we basically help each other out with locations that we are looking for. We know where we are heading off to and grant each other a nice visit. On rare occasions, I go back to my earliest method."
What are some of the most challenging places that you’ve gone to, to photograph? Could you tell us a little about those cases? "In my opinion, there are three factors that can make a location challenging:
3. Entry point. I remember a castle that I’ve visited a couple of time a few years ago that was known to have caretakers that regularly checked the place, and a very challenging entry point. After a few attempts (revisits) I finally got in in the middle of the night. Waited till sunrise, started shooting and around 9am the caretakers found out someone was inside. They entered the place and came looking for me and my friends. Checking every room, I could hear them come closer and they finally found us. That was very awkward and scary as well since one of them was rather aggressive.
Another place I visited was an 1. Getting there, i.e. the quality abandoned hospital in Italy where I of the road; had to find my way through pitch black tunnels in the ground to a staircase 2. Potential guards or a that lead upwards to the actual caretaker; building I wanted to shoot. I could easily get lost there."
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"One of the basic principles you get ‘taught’ is - 'Leave Nothing but Footprints, Take Nothing but Pictures.' -"
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"What you’ll never see me do is force my entry." Talk Photography November 2017 27
Have you had some disappointments sometimes when trying to get into a place? (perhaps not being to get in. not finding it.etc) "Definitely, when a location is closed its closed. It’s often mistaken that to enter an abandoned building you have to break in and force your way into it. You’d be surprised how many of the buildings I visit simply have an open door or window that allows me to enter. I have never forced myself into a place and that sometimes leads to disappointments. That’s part of it." When entering in to abandoned buildings we run the risk of getting into trouble. How often (if you do) do you acquire necessary permission to enter the building? How often have you been caught doing this type of work? How do you deal with that, in that case? What typical consequence have you faced? (in those circumstances) "In all honesty, if I can get permission to enter a building I prefer getting permission. It’s slightly more relaxed shooting a place when there is nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, it’s often quite hard to trace the owner or caretaker to acquire such permission, especially in a country where you don’t understand the language. I have been caught about 10-15 times and never faced any consequences, except for once. I’ve had to pay $2800,- because I had published photos of an abandoned hotel on Flickr I visited 4 years before the claim, without When entering into abandoned, deteriorating places permission of the owner, which also there are certain safety risks. How do you prepare to happened to be a lawyer." enter and do the work without getting hurt? Have you had any experiences of things going wrong while on site? 28 Talk Photography November 2017
"There is one rule that I always follow; never go alone. You’re often away from civilization or in places where no one expects you to be. If something would happen to you it could take days, weeks or months before you’d be found. I simply never visit an abandoned place without taking a friend with me. Once inside it’s always risky because it’s sometimes hard to tell the quality of the floor you’re walking on. I haven’t had an accident happen to myself before, yet, but I’ve seen friends falling down a wooden floor because it was so badly rotten."
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When doing urban photography there is often an unsaid, and sometimes even said, etiquette of how to work in the space in a proper manner. Could you inform us what are your goals when working in the space, aside from the photography? "One of the basic principles you get ‘taught’ when you start with this hobby is: leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures. Every urban explorer will say they live up to that principle. But in reality, a lot really don’t. It’s insane how fast an abandoned place gets staged. One day a couch is standing against the left wall and the next day it’ll be moved to the right wall and there’ll be tons of dolls placed on it, or whatever. I find it important to try and capture an image of the moment how I encounter the scene. I try not to move or touch any objects. It has happened before that I accidentally broke something because I stepped on it for example. I have also moved for example a trash bag out of the picture because it either wasn’t there before or didn’t make any sense. What you’ll never see me do is force my entry."
Many people may not think highly of such a place, perhaps teenagers drinking, or graffiti artists and the like. Why is it necessary to show respect for the place even in it’s current state? "That’s quite simple; it isn’t yours! You’re probably raised with having respect for someone else’s property. A building isn’t any different. It most likely still belongs to someone, even though it isn’t being lived in. The stuff inside isn’t yours either. Next to that these places often have unique architecture and are packed with history."
Such places sometimes have some pretty scary back story to them, why they’ve been abandoned, what happened to the people that may have lived there etc., Tales of the area~ Are there any such places that spooked you out in such a way? "The place that immediately pops into my mind is an abandoned hospital I visited. The staff of the hospital used to experiment with electroshock therapy on the brain to try and cure psychiatric patients. The objects I found inside made me picture what 32 Talk Photography November 2017
happened there exactly, that certainly spooked me out. Other than that, I can often feel the emotion that’s still hanging in a place. After stepping inside, I simply leave again after a few minutes. It just doesn’t feel good or right and I want to be outside again. I’ve been to places and been inside rooms where someone has been murdered, committed suicide or died in another way. I don’t like that and when I know that in advance I might decide to not visit this place."
If you could only pick 3 places, that for you were the most extraordinary places that you’ve photographed. What would they be? The first one is an abandoned castle in Italy that’s extremely huge. This place has the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen. And each room is different. It’s hard to imagine how awesome this place is without seeing it with your own eyes. The surrounding park is immense. Located on top of a hill you have the perfect view of the area. Another would be the abandoned casino in Romania. It was such an important part of history of the area and I felt so privileged to be allowed access inside to shoot a photo report. The last one would be the hospital I mentioned earlier. The amount of decay is amazing. The place is packed with history. Objects that were still left inside contributed to the story and the actual part of entering it was unique through the dark tunnel system."
Say for example, we’re all going to Spain, we've heard word of an abandoned place that might be interesting to check out. We need to plan out and go there. Could you share the steps that you would take in planning out the trip, heading to the destination, finding and photographing in the place and then anything that’s involved afterward? "I’d first collect the coordinates of the place or places that I would like to visit. After that I’d be researching the current state of the building. Is it likely that there is still an entry point? Are there any recent pictures? Is it guarded? Etc. I’d probably check with friends if anyone has been there and can help me with any current information. When the chance is
high I’d be able to get in, I’d search for a flight to get there and get a rental car (booked on advance), or if it’s drivable (depending on the time to get there, and if there is anything on the road to visit) simply drive there. I always book my hotels on advance through booking.com and I’d have a schedule ready on which location to visit in what order, what the distance between the locations is and how much time it takes me to travel from one location to another. That’s basically it for the preparation.
What advice would you give to other photographers hoping and trying to get into photographing abandoned buildings?
"Start simple, there must be something abandoned nearby that you can try to see if you like it. As mentioned before, don’t go alone. Take someone with you or at least tell someone where you’re heading off to. Also attempt to research the history of the building that you’re about to photograph. It might bring up some interesting details. Last Once I get to the place I want to shoot I scout for a fairly safe but not least wear proper shoes (and bring gloves). There’s parking spot, meaning my car doesn’t draw attention to it. often a lot of glass or other stuff lying all over the floor that Then I’d walk around the place and see if the information to could potentially hurt you." enter I’ve gathered is still accurate and just go for it. I don’t want to take too long to attempt to enter because that draws @romanrobroek attention to me anyway, which I don’t want. I want it to www.romanrobroek.nl look as normal as possible and that I’m supposed to be there."
"Abandoned hospital used to experiment with electoshock therapy on the brain... That certainly spooked me out!"
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Izzy Schreiber
on Conceptual Fashion Photography
"Fashion is a mutation of the human body... the Body, the Cadaver, the Textile, the Soul - "
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Izzy could you first tell us about your background and your start in photography? "I was born outside of Boston. I first started developing film in high school. A few years later I went digital and began focusing on portraiture photography. I moved to Japan and lived in Okinawa for almost 4 years where I found the love for fashion photography. In May I moved to Seoul where I have continued to work on projects and collaborations."
What draws you to Fashion Photography over other genres? "Fashion is about how the clothes make the viewer feel, how the clothes make the model feel. The model is an extension of the clothes, and the clothes bring life to that model. To me, I see fashion as a way to bring life to something that is not living. The genre fashion on the surface is so basic, but to me it is all about animism."
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What has been inspiring to you as an artist and an aspiring fashion photographer? "The idea of bringing something to life that is not real fascinates me. I feel that clothing is an artistic way of expressing who that person is. I find that fashion photography brings that to light. In terms of inspiration; paintings, drawings, photographs, anything in the realm of art I find a large portion of my drive. The other part of it comes from a process of picking an object, whether it is a piece of clothing, a candle, or any other random thing I see on the street. I go through a process where I break the object down into its basic parts. I guess you could say I make a scrambled list in my head of what that object means. Sometimes it leads to nothing, other times it guides me to a great concept."
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Could you give us an example of how you would break down an object that you've seen and come away with a concept to shoot? "I will give you an answer to this question for a concept I will shoot next week. I was walking and saw a gold table statue of a woman. I broke the statue down in to basic concepts. It all started out with what is gold. Gold, in my first impression has always been seen as a symbol of status. Throughout history gold has been used to show elegance, and wealth. Personally I saw that simple table decoration as much more. I saw it as message. A message that the gold on the women’s body was screaming that the human itself was the wealth, the elegance. I came up with the idea of covering a model in gold glitter to reflect the idea of the human body being the most valuable status symbol. I find in today's society there is a desire to show status. There is a loss of worth based on what that person is wearing. I wanted to bring back the idea that the human body, the form, the figure and the emotion it creates is that of the utmost significance."
Are there other fashion photographers that look you up to, who are they and why? "There is one fashion photographer, Clinton Lubbe, I thoroughly enjoy his work but more importantly I respect his mind. He has a very level-headed artistic approach to photography that I found is quite similar to mine. I wouldn’t say though that I get inspiration from other fashion photographers, although I enjoy their work I really love critiquing and diving into the meaning of art. Paintings, drawings, photographs, anything in the realm of art I find I get most of my inspiration. I find a lot of inspiration from within too."
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What are some of the projects that you’ve done that you have been most proud of? Tell us bit about them. "The first project I really love is called “Molded Cloth”. This was a concept based on the idea that a sheet of cloth is simply clothing that has yet to be formed and stitched to the body. I bought a 4x4 meter section of dark blue cotton and shot this concept a few weeks ago. I really love this project because the idea is so simple yet is so complex. By using an unorganized length of cloth, the images reflected on the idea that clothing is manipulated by society. This very concept is a social reflection of human exploit."
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"By using an unorganized length of cloth, the images reflected on the idea that clothing is manipulated by society. This very concept is a social reflection of human exploit."
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"Another project I did was a two part movement series. This was a fashion shoot I collaborated on shot with two different outfits. The series of photos was shot to show movement in the clothes. Especially the second part of the series, which was shot in black and white, featured a flowing black dress with lace. The dress was made by a local designer in Seoul and I just love the emotion that came out of the photos. It was a very fun shoot with lots of movement and energy."
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What projects are you currently working on, and or will be working on in the near future? "For next month I really have two things going on. I have a shoot with a model from Kenya. We are actually painting her in full gold glitter, which should be a fun mess of a day! The biggest thing this month is Seoul Fashion week. I will be shooting the runways in the art hall for a few publications here in Seoul."
What are your aspirations in the field of fashion photography over the next few years, Where do you see yourself? "I would love to get my work into a few exhibitions over the next few years. In terms of fashion photography I see myself going in the direction of medium format black and whites. I hope within 5 years I have my own studio to continue my artistic pursuit."
What advice would you give to others getting started in fashion photography? Either beginners getting started or others more advanced trying to break into the difficult industry? "Fashion photography has so many different subgenres. Personally I think it all comes down to self-reflection. There are so many genres of photography out there and I think fashion gets an elitist vibe about it. Honestly I recommend that you just develop your style. Not someone else’s, develop what is true to you. I find so many people come to me with other photographers work asking to shoot just like that. Although the concept might be very intriguing, drop it. Let your energy do the work. It takes time, find something you're passionate about and incorporate it into your style. Make your style and stay true to it. Let your work do the talking, for it will, once your style is developed. Fashion is a mutation of the human body. The body, the cadaver; the textile, the soul.� -Izzy Schreiber IG: @easy_izzy_photography easyizzyphotography.com 46 Talk Photography November 2017
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Fashionwith inIzzyColor Schrieber Heading into the world of fashion there are numerous intriguing concepts to see. Beautiful coloured light hitting the model from various angles creates something truly awesome looking. Tell us about your colour series concept. When did you first consider the concept? "This is one of those concepts I’ve seen done many times. It’s used in cinematography quite often along with advertising and various fashion concepts. Sometimes its more obvious and other times its very subtle. I was interested in color gels for quite some time, maybe a year or so. I really wanted to do a series that used dramatic saturated colors that would be in your face and really take over the models skin."
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How was the work with colors executed, and the final results achieved? Tell us a bit about the setup and equipment needed for the project and how the shoot went. "Basically it consisted of using a few strobes with taped color gels around the dishes to shoot color onto the model. I set up this concept pretty much on the spot. I used a blue backlight to fill color into the background, and shot green and red onto Jane’s face and body at different strengths to bring out certain colors more. I used a gridded soft box to direct the light only onto certain parts of her body that way everything stayed very controlled."
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What were your final impressions on the results? Was there anything you would have tried differently in the future shooting a similar concept? "I really like the results of the photos, especially the one where Jane Is lying on the floor. I really enjoyed shooting color gels and the second part of the series was definitely easier to do. I changed a few things during the second part. I bought bigger color gels to cover all the dishes completely. I found any spot where white light can get through would mess up the color in the shot. I also found that positioning the light so it shines down on the subject brings in harder colored shadows. I found I really like that look so I used it a lot. In the second series I also matched the colors to the outfit being worn. This brought in a much more dramatic look by adding blue where there was red and vise versa."
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Jason Tiliikainen
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Long Exposure City & Landscape Photography Thank you for joining us for an interview Jason, we appreciate the time that you took to speak with us. First could you tell about yourself, your background, where you currently are in the world and how you got started in Photography? "My pleasure. I was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but moved to Finland around 5 years ago. In South Africa, I studied to become a graphic designer and also did music production as a hobby. Photography has always played a big part in my work as a graphic designer, but I only started to take it more seriously about 5 or 6 years ago."
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Where do you draw your inspiration from? What is it about capturing these images that is so special to you? "I like to explore and mostly draw inspiration from my surroundings. Taking a good photograph always seems to reward patience and commitment at the end of the day. It also leaves you with something nice to look at and a moment to remember."
What types of photography do you most enjoy and why? "Definitely landscape photography. There is something special about being outdoors and just living in the moment. Cityscapes as you mention are also a favourite. Especially at blue hour once the city lights have turned on. I’m addicted to long exposures, love them."
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You’ve spent a great deal of time in other places, and countries, could you tell us where you’ve gone traveling for you photography?
Could you share with us some of your most memorable experiences in your photography? Please share the images with us and the stories that go with them.
"I have mostly never travelled abroad purely for photography, but I would love to do so more in the future. I usually have just end up researching the places that I visit and find photographic "Well, I’ll just go with my most recent one. Last month I opportunities while I’m in the area. I have been to a few was in Cologne, Germany just spending the day there countries though, mainly in Europe." exploring and taking photos. I was visiting a friend in the
Are there some specific places that are really special to, what are the places and why? "South Africa and Finland are special to me for personal reasons, but for landscape photography I would highly recommend Norway. The mountains are amazing. I’ve been there once and would like to go again with my updated knowledge of photography (I don’t think I did it justice the first time around)."
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Netherlands and thought I’d visit Cologne since it was so close-by. I decided that my main shot for the trip was going to be of the bridge and cathedral. I wanted to get a
shot at the right time, meaning that I would have to wait for blue hour when the city lights would be on. A couple hours before I took the shot, I was just hanging around the bridge, looking for a good composition etc. I finally found the right place, and then just stood there and waited for the lights to come on. While I was waiting, another photographer (an older German lady) also set up their tripod around 10 meters away from me, but as time went on, she kept on slowly moving closer to my position to change her composition and eventually ended up pretty close to me. We didn’t
speak the same language, but we were both there to capture the same moment. We both stood there and waited, even when it started raining. We had a good angle and didn’t want to lose it. Finally the lights came on, I took some shots, and ran back to the train station, just having enough time to catch my train back to the Netherlands. Not the most exciting story, but it’s just one of those moments that you remember."
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What advice would you give to fellow photographers out there trying to get into this type of photography? "I would just say that it’s all about getting out there and just putting in the practice. A decent camera that allows you to take long exposures along with a nice lens are a good bonus to have. A steady tripod is good to have too. Just read up online about things and you will learn a step at a time."
jasontiilikainen.com IG: @jasontiilikainen_dslr
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Malaysia's Best Female Street Photographer
Maia Assan
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Welcome Maia, we're happy to have you with us for an interview and to share your work and experiences. Could you first tell us about yourself? "I'll introduce myself as Maia Assan (‘Sumandak’ On The Street) Sumandak means Lady in Sabah, Malaysia. I was born in Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia. Graduated as a Dental Technologist and now working with dental health government services as dental technologist in Kota Kinabalu. I've loved art since my teenage years and always had the dream to be an artist. I love drawing, painting and making crafts, but my passion stopped after I completed my studies. After I got this job, I bought my first DSLR camera with my salary. My first DSLR camera was a Nikon D3200 and I started going out taking my camera for photography making it one of my hobbies. I met some friends on social media platforms like Facebook, who helped me so much to understand photography and I had opportunities to go on outings with them to shoot landscapes. After a few months, I realized that I have to learn more about photography and joined some workshops to improve my skills and knowledge. About two years after, I was encouraged from a friend (I call him ‘Dato’) to try street photography. I continue to post my street photos in social media and makes friends around the world while I try to learn more about street through them and their photographs. After my street photography journey started I feel very exited with my new life." 72 Talk Photography November 2017
What difficulties do you face when doing your photography? And how do you overcome those challenges? "Most of the time, I'm going out and traveling alone, I'm usually worried about my safety during shooting in sensitive locations, perhaps people might mistake me as a reporter instead of a photographer. I get to understand the environment and people’s living, especially on the first visit before shooting. But, every time before I shoot, I will explain my purpose being there and normally they understand but sometimes they certainly don’t. If I travel to other place like Kuala Lumpur, or even in other countries I’ll contact my friends, usually other street photographers, I call them mas-mas ganteng, and they will bring me to the site. I’m very lucky to have them as my friends, and my 2nd family. I'm very thankful to them and love them all."
Are there any specific project that you have worked on in the past, and are there some projects that you’re working on now? "I don’t have any specific project but I got my collection album ‘Sumandak On The Street’ it’s still continues, I've also joined several photography exhibitions in Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi. My latest exhibition with a friend is about ‘Street Photography In Petaling Street’ at E.T.C Cafe, Jalan Tun H.S Lee, Kuala Lumpur, organized by the Funky Street Group based in Kuala Lumpur. Now, I continue with compiling my personal collections to make a photobook about street photography in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and limited edition photobook of my Black and white photography."
Can you tell us what typical day of shooting is like? Take us with you and explain the ins outs. "I normally go shooting during weekend, called “Tamu” in Sabah language. In the morning we’ll see beautiful lighting, and moments from traders and buyers. I also go to the beach at sunset time, there we see many locals and tourists coming to the beach with their family and friends. Of course I'll also go out on holidays or festival seasons, to capture many lovely moments."
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Can you share with us a few of your favourite photograph and tell us about the story behind them? Face In The Train "I shot this photo with my Sony a6000 with f/5, 1/1600sec, ISO-100. I only used my kit lens 16-50mm. I love this photo very much. I was traveling with the train from Kota Kinabalu to Beaufort, one of the districts in Sabah, Malaysia and I realized the reflection from windows are very attractive and I saw a boy in front of me. I had to stand while the train moving and I felt not so stable. I waited and shot when the child looked at me. I love the emotion from the innocence face."
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"For my friends out there… “Smile, keep walking and shoot with your soul.”
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78 Talk Photography November 2017
Life In Gaya Street "While I walking and taking photographs on Gaya Street, Kota Kinabalu, I was attracted to this moment. I saw an old man just reading a newspaper in front of a shop while people walked around him. I shot this photo with my Sony a6000, at f/7.1, 1/80sec, ISO-125. I used my kit lens 16-50mm."
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Up "This photo I captured in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur with my Leica D-Lux6, f/5.6, ISO-800. I had to wait for a time to get a beautiful shot. I love very much with the background and the mood at that time. I was looking for the perfect subject to pass by and I got it. This photo looked very classic for me."
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Reflection "While the sun sets I love to walk on the beach, and this photo I got after a rainy day in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. I shot this photo with my Leica D-Lux6, f/8, 1/400sec, ISO-200. I had to get low and shoot this from a low angle and I waited for a long time to get this shot at the perfect time." Maia Assan: IG Sw8Maia 82 Talk Photography November 2017
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'Life in Malaysia' Street Photography Challenge We set a challenge for our Street Photography friends based in Malaysia to present up to five photographs of life on the streets of their country. Four submissions were to be presented in this issue of Talk Photography. And so we present our top picks from the challenge.
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Photographer: Nor Razi Misran "The woman in the picture is Husni Munir, our friend from Jakarta. While the rest of us quenched our thirst at the café, Husni decided to smoke outside the café. We decided to let her all alone as she is so immersed with something that we probably understand. She just lost her elder brother from heart attack three days before her visit to Kuala Lumpur and the reflection of a man in her head depict her brother. Location: Café Etc. Jalan Tun HS Lee RX100 Mk2 ISO160 F8 1/50s"
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Photographer: Nor Razi Misran "By the beach on a wheelchair This man can only watch from some distance as some of his family members were having some funs by the beach. Deep in his heart, I can feel he is crying for not being able to join the rest of family members and having some funs and maybe he just feels that he is a nuisance to the rest of the family members. Location: Port Dickson RX100 Mk2 ISO 1600 F8 1/200s"
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Photographer: Nor Razi Misran "Ayam Fared A hippie man resting in the demonstration during a labour day demonstration in front of National Mosque. They made some plights, amongst other that government make a Laid Of Fund, aim to look after the welfare of the people who have just lost their job. This picture is amongst the winner from the SONY RX Moment Contest From April to June 2017. Some netizen, who happen to know this hippie man said that I shall share the winning prize with him. Sometimes on September 2017, I bumped into him and said that I have won the contest and he just said that as long as people knows their plight, it is sufficed. He wants to be called Ayam Fared. Location: National Mosque RX100 Mk2 ISO800 F8 1/200s"
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90 Talk Photography November 2017
Photographer: Kok Chai Kooi - Series The life of the Old Generation
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Photographer: Affendi Alias "I love to find subjects that have a sense of mystery in it which requires my audience to think deeply about each of the photos and come up with their own narrative on what the story in the photo is all about. All the photos are taken on the Malaysia streets from Penang to Johor Bahru."
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Photographer: Hafizul Talib "Life and culture of Kuala Lumpur’s street in black and white."
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