Month: March 2015

Received this fantastic news a few days ago, but obviously it has been embargoed till 00:01 GMT! Congratulations to both Malaysian photographers, and good luck in competing against the other category winners vying for the Main prize. I have been following the Sony World Photography Awards for some years now, and the Malaysian presence is definitely on the increase.

Both images are stunning examples of photographers being totally dedicated to the art, having good observational and sound technical skills, and might I add, waking up early and sleeping late to catch the unique moments.

Really well done and a fantastic experience and exposure!

Will try to attend the Gala Opening in London on 23 April.

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE (From SWPA)

31 March, 2015 : Two Malaysian photographers are today announced as category winners in the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s biggest photography competitions.

The two photographers are:

• Nick Ng Yeow Kee, winner, Low Light category, Open Competition

• Yong Lin Tan, winner, Environment category, Youth Competition

Ng and Tan’s achievement is extraordinary as they were selected from over 86,000 entries from across the world and yet neither is a professional photographer. The winning images were chosen by a panel of experts from the World Photography Organisation which was chaired by Sam Barzilay, Creative Director of United Photo Industries (USA). In both the Open and Youth competitions the judges were looking for the single best shot in each category.

Ng, who lives in Kuala Lumpur where he works as Dental Implantologist and is Chapter Organizer of The Royal Photographic Society, won the Low Light category with an image titled “Early Dawn”. The image was taken in Old Kolkata, India Malaysia, and captures a group of people getting ready for the day.

With the same image, Nick was selected 2nd place for the Malaysia National Award earlier this month, a competition to find the single best shot taken by a Malaysian photographer. Talking about his winning photograph Ng comments: “The image was taken while I was walking along Old Kolkata. Seeing the locals entering an old abandoned shop-house along a row of old buildings, I decided to venture in, knowing that they were probably preparing themselves for the day. The shop house was an amazing spectacle, with streams of people taking their turns washing themselves as well as their clothes. After mingling for around five minutes, they accepted me as part of them, and that was when I started to photograph their morning activities.”

He continues: “I am still in shock after being selected the Low Light Category winner – it is one of the best moments of my life. This is definitely a high point in my photography journey, and will encourage me further in my passion as a photographer. I dedicate this to the people that have allowed me a glimpse of their life, and I am privileged to have listened to them silently.”

Tan, aged 19 from Penang Island, won the Environment category with an image titled “Back alley” taken in Kedah. The Youth Competition was open to all photographers aged 19 and under. Talking about his winning image, Tan comments: “This is the back alley of my grandmother’s house in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia. I shot this during Chinese New Year last year when the sky is the clearest and brightest with stars. A flower plant can also be seen flourishing with limited resources and space, there is a lot of cats wandering around the back alley usually after dinner time, waiting to be fed by the good people around here.”

For their award, both Ng and Tan will receive a Sony ILCE-7M2K camera with 28-70mm kit lens and a Xperia™ smartphone. Ng will now compete against the winners of the other nine Open categories for the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards Open Photographer of the Year title and $5,000 (USD) prize.

The overall winning Open and over all Youth photographer will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on 23 April and this photographer will be flown to London to collect his/her prize. In addition Ng and Tan’s winning images will be exhibited at Somerset House, London from 24 April – 10 May and published in the 2015 edition of the annual Sony World Photography Awards book.

The winners of all ten Open categories, plus the Youth and Mobile Phone competitions which were also announced today, can be viewed at http://www.worldphoto.org.