Deputy president of Miri Photography Society (MPS), Anny Soo, presents a souvenir to Alex (centre) as MPS president Sylvester Wong looks on.
MIRI: As a keen photographer, you might think taking beautiful, award-winning photos would define you as a good photographer.
Dr Alex Wong Yoong Wah begs to differ.
“Everyone can take a beautiful photo. The point is how would your photo trigger people to think about the message behind? This is what I call critical thinking and conceptual photography,” Alex said in his talk at Pustaka Miri last Saturday evening.
An avid photographer and researcher of photography, Alex has over the years been actively taking photography as his hobby and is a keen observer of the photography industry.
He shared the five ‘Cs’ – Condition, Curiosity, Critical Thinking/Concept, Creativity and Conclusion – which he urged every photographer to note as they are important in photography research methodology.
“In the context of ‘Condition’, you must have good health and be financially stable to be able to travel around; Curiosity is the strong desire to capture the photo that represents the moment; Critical thinking is about the reason why you’d capture the particular photo and how you could creatively produce a photo which people have taken. After achieving all the above four Cs, you shall come to a conclusion where you could capture audience’s attention with your photo.”
Alex noticed that in Malaysia many photographers remained at the same level where they started, which he said would hold back one’s creativity and critical thinking ability.
“Staying safe means you will never attempt to try a new angle. Come out of your comfort zone, think out of the box and you shall be amazed at the outcome you could achieve,” he advised.
For conceptual photography, Alex insisted that it is important for photographers to ask themselves ‘Why’ before clicking the button.
“Why am I taking this photo at such an angle, what is the message am I trying to present to my audience, can I produce a different perception to other people through my photo etc., these are the great examples of questions that photographers should ask at all times.
“As a good photographer, you could invoke audience and their interests towards the photo.
Thus, it is important to have different varieties of work instead of concentrating on one series of photos,” he opined.
The Kuala Lumpur-born is currently a faculty member at Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, giving courses in the area of Digital Modelling, Computer Animation, Digital Video, Motion Graphics and Arts, after obtaining Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Bournemouth University, England and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia, USA.
In 2006, he was awarded the Graduating Teaching Class Honour from all faculties at Sabanci University and in 2010 he was awarded the Teaching Award at Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University.
As an avid travel photographer, Alex has travelled to more than 50 countries and has been active in photography for the past 20 years.
His works largely focuses on weather, climate change, environment and animals.
“I’ve always thought about how the world changes, how wild animals were tamed by humans and the issues about pollutions. These are the elements that trigger critical thinking and sending these messages through the lens could be very powerful because a photo speaks a thousand words.”
To date, Alex has received numerous honours such as Nikon Global Award, International Photography Award (IPA), China Photographic Society Award, PX3 Award, Black and White Spider Award, Worlds Photographic Award and the Worldwide Photography Gala Award.
In addition, Alex is also a regular editor/photographer to Photo Creator Publication and a guest speaker to Malaysia National Art Gallery for Photography seminar since 2004, giving practical photography, video and computer animation seminar and workshops at various acclaimed academic institutions such as University of Bremen, Germany; Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austria; Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore etc.
His artworks have been exhibited and showcased at various galleries across England, Brazil, France, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Turkey, and the United States.
The talk which was attended by scores of people was organised by Miri Photography Society (MPS).
Alex also explains that many a times, the photographer himself is an interesting object apart from the usual photographed objects.
One of Alex’s many works.