Insights Archives - Mudframes PicturesMudframes Pictures

August 24, 2013

Portraits of Myanmar Refugee Children

Rentwise has recently returned to the Pasar Borong Community Centre (PBCC) at Selayang to celebrate “Children’s Day” with its Myanmar refugee children. My first visit with a representative from Rentwise was brief but truly “unsettling” to say the least.

I was present this round to cover the event and played my part in fulfilling my company’s collaboration with Rentwise’s CSR program in helping these kids. What I provided was a simple portrait session for the children, which would result in A4 prints to be given to them after the shoot.

I arrived a good 1 hour earlier to setup and began my photo shoot session. I had a black velvet backdrop clamped onto two C-stands. One bare speed lite scrapped the backdrop behind (for added texture and background interest) while another ¼ CTO on a reflected umbrella was to camera left as my kicker/accent. A third and last gridded beauty dish key light on ¼ CTO was aimed at subject’s face. This light was constantly being adjusted to go with the varying height of my subjects. It was a really simple setup.

All shots were taken in the region of 1/160 sec, f/4.5 (needed a shallow DOF to blend into background, but not too much) and ISO 100.

I’ve wanted to go with a low key all-black background to depict the rather somber experiences of these children. However, I soon realized it would be a little too drab with the subject lost in oblivion. I then decided to add the background light to give the picture a little lift. It helped. In some instances, it looked as though it was a misty smoke-filled background. However, the light meant much more. It helped painted a glimmer of hope in an otherwise “dark” existence.

The first problem I had was communication. All these children couldn’t speak a word of English or Malay. So I had a difficult time in trying to pose them. However, I soon realized the futility and later on just tell them to do whatever they wanted or get the teachers to speak with them to get their attention. When they’re distracted, I took the shot.

All the while, I was communicating with them through the Myanmar teachers whose command of the English language was very minimal at best. Hand gestures were the way to go. As time goes by, I began to take notice of their hair style, attire, body language and facial expressions. They offered some pretty interesting tell-tale signs of themselves. I thought for a moment before I directed them to assume a certain pose in accordance to a feeling evoked deep within from my observations.

For instance, a very young girl with an elaborate head band who looked so totally lost and bewildered; that meant a closed up head shot that further emphasized the emotion. A rather stiff boy whom I had trouble posing who looked equally lost and confused but with haunting eyes; that meant a closed crop just at the fore head and a depiction of his twisted body chest-up. A boy with unusually big eyes and a dyed funky hair style; that meant a side profile looking downwards with hands on waist, to emphasize the hair and thoughtful stance. All the above 3 examples, illustrated with pictures as follows:

It went on and on and it wasn’t long before I spotted a recognizable trend. It wasn’t that difficult trying to figure out a pose for them. These children came up to my make-shift studio on a dilapidated 2^nd floor shop lot, perhaps for their first time ever experience of a professional studio photo shoot; some looking confused, others, giggling and excited at all the attention and contraption. Each and every one of them came with their own story written all over their faces. It wasn’t hard to elicit those emotions and direct them according to what I felt. A pose per se wasn’t necessary. They were natural. Some undeniably thrilled and excited, while others, wary, nervous or just plain calm.

The shoot lasted about an hour and a half, before the children adjourned to a fun-filled arts and craft session with Rentwise personnel who guided them into making gift cards. The children dabbled in colouring works and played with fancy shiny stickers to be pasted onto the hand-made gift cards. Most of the children were clearly thrilled and absorbed in this creative activity.

After the gift cards making activity, all the children were treated to a sumptuous meal of nasi briyani, vegetables, rendang, fried chicken and savoury fruits. The satisfied looks of enjoyment and worriless countenance would have simply moved anyone who’s unaware of what these children have gone through. They were just living in the moment, relishing the goodness of life and a delicious meal they hardly ever get to eat. The expression of joy and contentment was in stark contrast to their heart-wrenching grueling experiences living as refugees in a foreign land.

Rentwise may have just contributed their time and physical donations of groceries, toiletries, food items and essential necessities for these children. These could have come from anyone. These items will not last a lifetime as the ongoing need of the centre knows no end. More importantly, a contribution of “hope” has been made. A dedication of time and a demonstration of empathy indicative that someone cares is all that matters to these children.

I made only 31 portraits that day, as not all children were photographed. I believe every single one of these images speak for themselves. I realized taking portraits isn’t about documenting what you can clearly see but more of eliciting a subject’s essence and interpreting your observations and evoked feelings into an identifiable expression worth capturing on camera. A seemingly definitive expression that ironically may also be open to different interpretations.

Whatever the resulting conclusion drawn from these images is, truth be told, these portraits speak of an underlying innocence and vulnerability prevailing in all children. That’s the essence of children photography.

June 8, 2013

Exploring the hidden past of Assunta Hospital

I was born in Assunta Hospital at 1.27 pm on 8 June 1981. Exactly 32 years ago, I weighed 2.975 kg, and was greeted by a Datuk Dr. R. Menon, an obstetrics and gynaecologist who happened to deliver most of the babies born then at Petaling Jaya until his retirement just back in February 2013. I missed photographing him by a couple of months. Oh well. I will definitely be meeting and photographing him one day.

The hospital has since undergone several renovations and is purportedly the only hospital in Malaysia which still harbors a number of age-old artifacts. I thought it fitting to return and photo document all the people, places and objects which have existed during the time I was born 32 years ago. Hopefully, this body of work will call into attention the need to preserve these many items that carry with them significant historical and sentimental value.

This collection of pictures also showcases a number of staffs who have worked at Assunta hospital during my birth in 1981, and are still now dedicatedly serving! One of the nurses even commented that she must have bathed me naked back then! As such, this goes to show the level of commitment and passion these staff demonstrate of their more than 3 decades employment at Assunta Hospital. It’s truly a remarkable piece of knowledge, at least to me.

Here are some pictures of the extremely old furniture found in the Physiotherapy Department of Assunta Hospital (I was also showing them to my physiotherapist in Winnipeg).

The following pictures depict the remaining original and preserved sections of the hospital.

Here are some different takes of the unique stained glass window depicting a mother cradling her child.

Here are two really old baby cots found outside the Marketing & Communications Office, currently being used to store medical records and files.

I was told that I was most likely born in this room; the old delivery ward, now a converted Nursing Office.

These are the many furniture pieces, fixtures and various rooms found in the old delivery ward, one of which is a pantry now.

Later, my guide brought me to the Milk Room next to Nursery and managed to unearth these old artifacts used to keep milk warm, quite possibly from during my birth if not much older.

I call this series of pictures “The Familiar Stranger: 32 Summers Later“, to celebrate my 32nd birthday. It invites viewers to explore their very own familiar strangers within, whether be they objects or places of significance that have existed since their birth or faint memories of long-forgotten moments that mean something to anyone. These pictures serve to remind us of the power of perseverance and the wonders of life through a journey of time.

These pictures encourage us to review things in life which are somewhat familiar but may appear as total strangers to us. They are vaguely recognisable as something of great significance but yet, totally disconnected from us. Items that may be close to heart but yet appear detached from our existence as we go about our daily lives well into the years. It’s truly amazing the level of retrospection a highly characteristic hospital such as Assunta commands in its six decades of service.

It took me 3 separate visits over 3 weeks to capture all these pictures as I needed to coincide my timing with the schedule of some of the staff. All the photographs of interior and objects were shot steadily hand held with ambient-only lighting in favour of speed and convenience, though a tripod (which was with me) would have helped but delayed my progress. However, the photographs of the long-service employees (and Ravi next to his motorcycle) were shot in a 2-speed lights setup against an off-white wall.

Assunta Hospital was founded by a group of missionaries from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) in 1954. Today, after 59 years, Assunta Hospital continues its commitment of practising good clinical governance by providing high quality and safe healthcare delivery.

The now modern 344-bed hospital has undergone numerous minor and major renovations over the years and has earned itself the reputation of being a technologically advanced specialist hospital. It is empowered with a panel of over 100 commendable specialists, covering a wide range of specialties and subspecialties such as interventional cardiology, open heart surgery, orthopaedics, general surgery for both adult and paediatrics, internal medicine, nephrology, urology, ENT, obstetrics and gynaecology.

The most interesting place has got to be the Nursery at Matsushita Ward. The real hero piece of this “treasure hunt”, besides the many old baby cots still in use, is the old Phototherapy machine dating as far back as 1979.

In comparison, this is a modern day Phototherapy machine being used at the Nursery in Assunta Hospital.

Here are the “ancient” bassinets. The one in black is a modern day piece.

Lastly, these basins have been used to bathe babies at the Nursery since my birth. I was very likely bathed in one of these. Also seen at the foreground of this basin station is a multipurpose trolley dating as far back as the late 70s.

I’ve got the really cool and helpful folks from the Marketing & Communications Department to thank for in making this project every bit as successful and smooth going for me. Without them, this wouldn’t have come to fruition. I truly am grateful for their kind understanding in seeing the value of this documentation. It’s always a great feeling to be working with creative and like-minded people.

Assunta Hospital has definitely come a long way and will continue to impress upon the lives of many for generations to come. As an iconic landmark in Petaling Jaya, its many age-old inhabitants will continue to find refuge and identity in a hospital like no other.

March 22, 2013

Shelter of Hope for Myanmar Refugees in Selayang

I never knew there is such a huge community of Myanmar refugees in Selayang alone! When I was sent by Rentwise to do a feature story on one of the learning centres in Selayang, I was both intrigued and excited at the prospect of meeting them in person. Much have been heard and spoken about the refugee community at large but I’ve never been this up close and personal. So, this is definitely an eye-opening experience!

It was very difficult to find the place as I was confused by both the old and new Pasar Borong Selayang. I thought there has only been one. GPS couldn’t register and pick out the location. So it was all stopping and asking around. This photo documentation and write up serve to further communicate the ongoing CSR program by Rentwise and most importantly, highlight the cause of the centre and the plight of the Myanmar refugees.

Rentwise Malaysia has indeed given these Myanmar refugees at the Pasar Borong Community Centre (PBCC) Learning Centre in Selayang a reason to smile. 7 units of refurbished Dell laptops were donated to the centre back in August 2011 as part of its ongoing CSR program. A Rentwise personnel and myself paid the centre a visit to see if any further assistance could be offered, in addition to checking on the conditions of the laptops. This donation is a small step towards improving the Learning Centre to be better equipped to teach and guide its students in a safe and conducive environment.

However, the PBCC Learning Centre is just one out of an estimated 50 such centres in Malaysia. More can certainly be done to improve the living, working and learning conditions of Myanmar refugees in these centres. The plight of this under-privileged but growing community in Malaysia often goes unnoticed.

As of 2011, there are more than 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Malaysia. 15,000 of them are children of school-going age. According to an UNHCR estimate, only 6,000 of these children attend schools which are set up by various Myanmar community-based groups. These schools are normally referred to as “Learning Centres” and are funded by NGOs or voluntary organisations. These numbers have definitely risen in view of the recent exodus of Rohingyas fleeing the social unrest in Myanmar.

The numbers are staggering, as Matthew Ngoh, founder of PBCC Learning Centre puts into perspective. “Along this stretch of shop lots here, there are about 10,000 Myanmar refugees alone,” says Ngoh. Parents would find work either at restaurants, while a large number of these refugees would be working at the nearby Pasar Borong as labourers.

Many of these Myanmar migrants arrived with a longing for a better country, but unfortunately, it’s never been so for them. It has not been an easy life for them as unlike Malaysians, they are at a legal, social and political disadvantage due to their “stateless” existence. They are constantly living in uncertainties and have been especially wary of their movements for fear of arrests that would see them sent to detention camps.

“Most of these Myanmar refugee children marry as early as 13 – 15 years of age! Thus, it’s easy to be deprived of a healthy school-going childhood where learning is everything at that tender age. I can’t stress enough the importance of education when I speak with their parents. Education is the only way out for these kids,” Matthew explains. Matthew recognizes the importance of education in steering young Myanmar children towards the right path in life.

“Education is undeniably a powerful means to upgrade oneself and enlighten one’s journey towards a brighter future,” he continues. “Knowledge of IT is one of the most effective tools in broadening these children’s learning experiences and accelerating their absorption of study materials. With computers, the possibilities are endless,” Matthew adds.

Realising this, Rentwise Malaysia has donated 7 units of refurbished Dell laptops to PBCC Learning Centre. These are Dell Latitude D610 CENT-1.73 and Dell Latitude D610 CENT-1.86 units that will be used to teach the children about all things information technology and a wide range of other computer skills such as typing, playing educational games, interacting with instructional CDs and internet surfing.

Unfortunately, the centre does not yet have an internet connection and will be more than glad to receive funding assistance for its monthly subscription. Located on the 2^nd floor of a shop lot, PBCC centre is constantly running on a tight monthly budget. It has 3 full time Myanmar teachers which incurs a monthly cost of RM 1,600. Rental is RM 600 monthly while utilities are at RM 100 monthly. Some of these children would bring their own home-cooked lunches to the centre while others would enjoy a simple meal of milo, crackers and bread. The centre only has a pantry without any cooking facilities.

The UNHCR-certified PBCC Learning Centre is founded by three individuals 3 years ago in recognition of the plight of this community. They are Alan Lee, Pastor Yeoh and Matthew Ngoh. Ngoh, a retiree who now serves full time at the centre has always a special place in his heart for these children. “Most centres would have Myanmar teachers teaching English, but here in PBCC, Pastor Yeoh and I personally conduct English lessons for these children. Mastering the English language is of utmost importance,” Ngoh says.

Apart from English, the PBCC Learning Centre conducts classes for Bahasa Malaysia, Science, Maths, Arts and Computer lessons for its 28 children aged between 4 to 12 years old. Art and Computer classes used to be conducted but unfortunately have to be discontinued about a year and a half ago due to lack of volunteers.

“Back then, our computer classes were during every Sunday afternoon for both children and adults. However, these classes have to be put on hold due to lack of volunteers,” Ngoh reveals with regret. “It would really be great to have volunteers help revive these classes at least twice a week to give these children a refreshing boost in their learning pace,” Ngoh hopes.

“Rentwise has been especially helpful and when some of the donated laptops were faulty, they were instantly repaired. We are grateful for their donation and hope to get more volunteers to help us train the children on how to use the computers,” Ngoh says.

Most of the learning materials including school books and stationeries are supplied by UNHCR. “Of course, we would always welcome donation from members of the public, whether be they reading materials, food items, clothing or even toiletries,” says Ngoh. “We are currently sustaining on public donations by NGOs and churches. Unfortunately, one of the churches is not able to support us financially this year. Nevertheless, we should still be able to pull through another year,” Ngoh says optimistically.

Initially when the centre was opened, admission to all Myanmar children was free. However, Ngoh soon realized the need to secure commitment from the parents and safeguard the centre from those who treated it as a free “day-care” centre for parents to leave their child before going to work. He does so by charging a monthly fee of RM 30 per child. “We do so because we hope the parents would take their children’s education seriously. This is a learning centre and no different from a school. You just can’t attend as you wish,” Ngoh says. “Even then, many of them cannot afford to pay and we just waived it or accept a lower amount. Payment is erratic and on average, we only manage to collect 50% of the fees, much of which is used to pay for the children’s transportation,” Ngoh explains.

Ngoh certainly has high aspirations for the centre’s operation. “We are looking to rent or renovate an entire unit of 2 or 3-floor shop lot so that we will have full control over accessibility, and ultimately security. Currently, we have no control over who passes our centre on their way up to neighbouring units. We have children in this centre and their safety is always first on our minds,” Ngoh says.

On that note, Ngoh also expresses his hope to provide a means for single mothers to take shelter at the centre. “A bigger place also translates to an ability to conduct multiple classes simultaneously with minimal disruptions between them,” he explains.

The PBCC Learning Centre at the helm of these 3 caring and loving Malaysians will continue to provide refuge to the Myanmar refugee community. The struggle of these Myanmar refugees is real. Every day is a constant fight for survival and recognition to be treated equal just like any other. “It’s pretty heart-wrenching at times when you witness poverty-stricken families breaking up or ill-treated by authorities for being just a refugee in a foreign land! However, nothing beats witnessing the smiles, joy and laughter of these children during their play time and classes. When that happens, everything becomes so clear, and suddenly, the entire struggle seems worthwhile,” Ngoh smiles.

I believed I was left with more questions than answers after the interview with Matthew. Things simply just don’t add up. Many of the problems faced by these underprivileged and ill-treated foreigners are undoubtedly and directly linked to an undeniably flawed system with extremely poor standards of enforcement that is meant to exploit rather than to help. The answer to that? There isn’t. Perhaps, at least not for the moment.

———-

The Pasar Borong Community Centre (PBCC) Learning Centre is located at:
Jalan 2/3a (Pasar Borong Baru),
Selayang, Selangor 68100.

The centre welcomes donation of any kind from the public, NGOs and corporate organisations. Any enquiries can be directed to Mr. Matthew Ngoh (Email: matthewnth@hotmail.com | Mobile: +6016-3804463)

July 27, 2012

Methodist College’s Midsummer Masquerade 2012

It’s summer holidays. Add to that, a rowdy, fun-seeking and care-free bunch of teens on the loose, drunk in their imbalances of fluctuating hormones and you’ll get an explosion of flavourful happenings on a Friday night out!

That was what it appeared to a thirty-something old dude happened to be roped in (unprepared) to photo document Methodist College’s Midsummer Masquerade dinner night in a week’s notice. To another teen, it was just another day at work having fun.

The event started off with the arrival of students and registration, lots of picture taking, catching up, hellos, role playing and costume-flaunting.

As the theme was “dress up in whatever you want”, masquerading has taken on a whole new level of appreciation and interpretation. Life in a way, is a masquerade of our many secrets and facades we selectively choose to shield. So, it wasn’t that difficult arriving in different skins and costumes.

The night started off with a speech by the principal of Methodist College, KL, Miss Moey Yoke Lai.

Miss Moey Yoke Lai was surprised to have a birthday celebration thrown in as well.

To top it off, a student presented her with an invaluable and amazing gift of a hand-drawn portraiture of herself.

The principal appeared to me as a respectable and honoured leadership figure that endeared herself well to the hearts of the students of Methodist College, KL.

I had expected nothing in mind the moment I arrived at 5pm. The last I remembered about college was some fuzzy recollection of straight-forward studies, getting good grades for a brighter future and the occasional extra co-curricular involvements. Nothing fancy.

Perhaps I wasn’t the coolest guy in college with the most happening weekly itinerary around, but this photo assignment really helped relived the yesteryears of vibrant youthful teenage chapters.

I do have to admit that upon witnessing some of tonight’s activities, of what teens of this age and time do, I realised times have changed so shockingly much that the word “COOL” and “FUNKY” sounds so out of place. You’re talking about dry ice and out-of-this-world phenomenal!

One very valuable takeaway observation during this night’s event was the seemingly worriless outlook of these teens. They’ve just completed their A-levels or foundation studies, all primed and ready for the next academic stage in life.

Choosing their future paths meant making decisions, both minor and major that could well shape their lives differently for decades to come. Capturing the lull in the storm of this tumultous moment in their lives is a gem.

By 10 pm, all the performances, prize giving, speeches and ceremonies were all over, thus making way for one of the most awaited moments of the night: all night partying! I grabbed a few key defining shots that spoke of the colourful and energetic atmosphere, before I passed out from the ear-busting music.

July 21, 2012

BTS: Capital FM’s new Talk of the Town

I had a rare but valuable opportunity to work alongside Adam Seow, an established and successful commercial Malaysian photographer, as an assistant for one of his recent shoots in middle of June. He has a nice and spacious studio at Damansara Perdana, with all the bells and whistles in photography equipment that any photographers, amateurs to pro, could only ever dream of!

I do assist him from time to time when I do not have any shoots on my end. This time around, it was a shoot for Capital FM 88.9 radio station for women. They just recently brought Xandria Ooi on board to the morning show from the evening edition, to be paired with her “evil twin sister”, Joanne Kam.

Here are some behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot.

The theme was, well, simply put, a contrast between heaven and earth, offering the listeners a balanced palate of sweet and sour, spicy and clear-tasting dishes.

Adam used a medium format Hasselblad H3D and broncolor packs for his strobes in this shoot that lasted from early morning till late evening. The Ad agency was on set to direct and lead the shoot while the client, to verify and okay the resulting pictures.

The lighting setup was simple and “safe”. Adam used a broncolor parabolic dish as the key light to camera right, offering a nice clean wrap around the subject, while a white reflector to camera left offered some fill.

Individual shots of Joanne Kam and Xandria Ooi were taken before they were pitted against each other on set to get the mood going, though they would eventually be post-processed separately.

Next, was the “hair shot”. The models were made to lie down flat on a white paper background on the floor, while the camera hovered high above them. A hazy light from top of subject was used as the key light, while a series of well placed gridded and gobo’d strobes added some punch to the hair texture so it pops.

Their hair were artificially extended for volume. The final resulting pic was to show both Joanne and Xandria “alive” with their hair dancing above their heads.

Finally some props (i.e. spices and candies) were shot and added in post and voila, here is the final end product.

It has been an amazing and rewarding experience having being able to witness a full scale production commercial shoot from start to finish. Not only does it quenches one’s curiosity and technical know-how, working as an assistant affords one the opportunity of getting into the head of the photographer and learn the processes along the way. Processes taken to arrive at an objective.

Why did he choose such a setup? How do you cut the light coming in low from behind? What do you need to skillfully control the volume of light hitting a particular spot? Why is it done in such a manner and not otherwise? It was undoubtedly a constantly light bulb-bursting experience throughout the day.

Often times, I’m totally blown away by the little bits and pieces of tips and knowledge I garnered from Adam’s shoots. This is especially true in the manner with which he directs the models and attempting to put them at ease. The art of photographer-subject interaction, simply priceless!

The photo shoot was a perfectly orchestrated set of steps designed to accomplish the objectives of the project, calling upon inputs from various stakeholders; the ad agency, client, photographer, make up artists, wardrobe artists and other supporting crews.

Photography it seems, was just a small component in the entire equation. An enabler, albeit a crucial one that is. It really pays to be using top functioning equipment, knowing it will fire and pop just when you needed it, as you drown yourself in a series of actions to elicit the required expressions.

In the end, it all begins with a seed. A concept.