A photography challenge becomes more interesting through a new reality show, writes Izwan Ismail
PHOTOGRAPHY has always been one of the most celebrated ways to capture history and people, and the History Channel is making a difference with the ways photographs can be taken. It is gathering one photographer each from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and letting them compete on assignments against a professional photographer in the reality show, Photo Face-Off.
Starting tomorrow at 10.30pm (Channel 555), and every Tuesday for the next six weeks, photography enthusiasts will be able to see the contestants compete against Justin Mott, who has worked for The New York Times, Time, Newsweek and Forbes.
The winner will get an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to shoot some of the world’s biggest stars as well as a trip to the Canon Photo Clinic in Japan.
However, to prove their worth, they must first pass a screening process: A three-round battle with Mott to show how far they will go to get the perfect shot.
DIFFERENT KIND OF PHOTOGRAPHY
For Mott, a Vietnam-based photographer, the Photo Face-Off reality show presents a different kind of challenge from his usual assignments.
“I shoot assignment photos for publications, weddings and commercials but I’ve never had to compete with anybody. In Photo Face-Off, I’m competing with different photographers and it will be a new kind of challenge for me,” says the 36-year-old photographer from San Francisco, US.
“It’s a lot more challenging than I first thought, but at the same time it’s unbelievably awesome and fun.”
What Mott and the contestants find challenging is the race against time.
“We’re given only 10 minutes or 30-40 minutes to get the most creative shots in a given task,” he says.
To add to the challenge, the photographers are in the dark about what they’re supposed to shoot, the kind of camera they will be using and when the competition actually begins.
“We could guess the subject from the places that we go to and see, but sometimes we get it wrong,” he adds.
Another challenge is that only in-camera editing is allowed.
“We can’t do post processing on the PC, except for using the camera’s built-in tools like filters, white balance, etc,” says Mott.
MALAYSIAN LEG
In Malaysia, Mott faces 28-year-old relief worker Singyuin Christy Yeoh from Perak for three photo challenges.
“The competition has taught me to value things we always take for granted. These are things that are common in our country,” says Yeoh.
Her first challenge was to photograph free-range chickens. Round two took them to Suria KLCC, where a blend of concrete and greenery makes for endless choices in the theme challenge. Finally, the two squared off in a honey farm, surrounded by a swarm of bees and one of them was stung — four times.
Being an amateur photographer, Yeoh learnt a lot of new techniques.
“It changed my style in photography. I learnt to incorporate more things into my photos and to think for a while before pressing the shutter,” she says.
Yeoh, who has been taking photographs after doing charity work in Cambodia, says she would one day like to go to conflict zones to take photographs or do documentary-style photography.
But for Mott, his ultimate dream assignment is to document the US president for a year.