Publications

LUMINA

I began the LUMINA series in 2009 after MUSEO was published a year earlier as I intended to work primarily in colour from then on. The transition from black and white photography has not been easy, as I found that colour completely destroyed the essence of an image when it is over-represented within the frame.

The abstraction of colour to its minimum, and focusing on subtle and minimal hues was a challenge that I did not expect would work, but, over the years and after numerous editing sessions, I have come to respect its formal representation, which are displayed in this collection.

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CUBA

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RAJASTHAN : THE BEAUTY WITHIN

A 200-page, 12in x 13in monster of a book! You’ll need a bigger coffee table!

Explorenation’s biggest book yet. Hardback and in full colour. RAJASTHAN : THE BEAUTY WITHIN is a compilation of the group’s photographic tour to the region of northern India covering Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Pushkar and Jodhpur, from 10 -21, November 2010.

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ISTANBUL EDGE

is a collection of all participants best photographs from explorenation’s Istanbul : East Meets West travel photography workshop over 5 days at the beginning of October, 2010.

[The book is available in large 13” x 12” format, hardback with dust jacket, 142 pages, full colour, on Premium Lustre paper. Preview shows a limited number of pages.]

It demonstrates that with a bit of encouragement, creativity and guidance, novice and amateur hobbyists can see beyond the usual, and come up with some spectacular images. The Istanbul ‘Edgies’ are : Bruno Couck, Steve Leroy, Jayne Taylor, Kirstin Furber, Sonia Beukes, John Gainham, Fernando Perez, Ivy Tan and Keng-Fun Loh.

Explorenation World Travel Photography Workshops is run by Andy Craggs and Steven Lee

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INDIA, FOR STARTERS

What was a 7 Day recce trip to India turned out to be an amazing journey, visiting Delhi, Jaipur and Pushkar. Andy and I are planning a 12-Day Rajasthan Photography Workshop for 2010 November. We will be back for the Main Course.

120 Pages : Large Square, 30cm x 30cm : Hardback Image wrap : 125 Photographs

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PARIS IN THE FALL World Travel Photography Workshop 2-4.10.09

Recipe : Mix together group of photo enthusiasts, a few cameras, a long week in Paris, a good pair of shoes, some great food, ADD the autumnal Parisian air and VOILA! this is what you get..Paris in the Fall : a collection of images captured by the participants of the recent photography workshop by explorenation.net, who are Steven Lee and Andy Craggs.

Places visited include Palais Royal, Le Lourve, Passages Couverts, Pere Lachaise, Bastille, Tuileries and the Seine.
This is the second book featuring the best of our workshop participants’ photographs, the first being Sarawak, Borneo earlier in May 2009. We were SO impressed with the visual skills our early adopters gained so quickly..ah..and Paris is as photogenic as ever!

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SARAWAK, BORNEO 2009 World Travel Photography Workshop 18-27.04.09

Steven Lee and Andy Cragg’s first World Photography Travel Workshop landed the group in Kuching, Sarawak on a 10-Day photo-adventure. Visiting places like Satok market in Kuching, Semengoh Wildlife Centre, Sarawak Cultural Village and then the dramatic Batang Ai Hilton. Riding on longboats on a 2 hour up-river journey, the group stayed 4 nights at Borneo Adventure’s jungle lodge at Nanga Sumpa longhouse. Amidst the flying beetles, mosquitoes, and kerosene lamps at night, slideshows of the best daily photographs were shown and critiqued. The group encountered a gentle Iban longhouse community, a departing ritual where a chicken and two wild pigs were slaughtered, and a refreshing swim at the local waterfall. The local rice wine (tuak) was free flowing also. The group’s photographic progress was simply astounding as can be seen in this album.

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MUSEO by Steven V-L Lee

Softcover 102 pages : 8 x 10 inches : Price : £19.95 + pp

MUSEO is a personal collection of fine art black & white photographs made with a 50mm lens on 35mm film, depicting abstract architectural studies, antiquities and related subjects photographed from 2001 to 2005 in Europe.

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MALAYSIANS Photographs by Steven Lee and text by Haliza Hashim-Doyle

A new coffee table book celebrating the unique and diverse ethnicity of Malaysia today : Hardback 148mm x 210mm 512 Pages : Price : RM99 : GBP19.00 + pp

“Few things amaze visitors to Malaysia, besides its incredible economic development, than the diversity of its people. Even then, if one only visits one city or two, or a beach or mountain resort, the full spectrum of the multiethnic salad we call Malaysia cannot be fully appreciated. It is only when we see photographs of all of them, side by side as in this book that we know what Malaysian diversity truly means.” Foreword by Marina Mahathir

The idea of producing another pictorial book on Malaysia came about in 2005 when I noticed that there was not a single publication in the bookstores in Malaysia and in the UK, that depicted the people of the country. There were several existing publications showing the sights of the country, its many amazing places of interests and our national monuments, but none showed the diversity of Malaysians, its fascinating mix of races, its cultural heritage and its rich traditions.

From this point of departure, I began researching into this project and gathered my resources together and now, am glad to say, the project is underway. As a portrait photographer, I am always on the look out for an interesting face. It is after all, a face that one sees first, as a visitor to a new country or place, it is also the first impression of a nation.

The book does not aim to document each and every race and creed. That would be quite impossible. However, it does represent a true cross-section of the nation as I see it during our travels across the length and breadth of the country. This glimpse of a ‘Malaysian’ identity, a vision of a Bangsa Malaysia, will be evident through the faces I portray and the stories and quotes that follow, will hopefully encompass all.

A country like Malaysia thus begins this series, because it is my Malaysia, my country and my people. SL

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OUTSIDE LOOKING IN : KUALA LUMPUR : Photographs by Steven V-L Lee

Released in 2000,‘Outside Looking In : Kuala Lumpur’, consists a black & white photo-documentary book of A4 size, with a collection of photographs of central Kuala Lumpur, capturing the daily lives and activities of the residents there, as well as documenting the rapid growth and development of the city landscape from a human perspective. (ISBN 983-99149-4-4). Order Enquiries to info@explorenation.net.

This body of work has been awarded the Asian Prize 2007 by the selection panel for the General Photography Festival at Photo City Sagamihara, Japan. Price £20.00 +pp