Face2Face with a Magnum photographer
It has been one of the luckiest weekends in my life!
LensaPress photo by Jeff Ooi
Never did I dream that I would bump onto Magnum photographer Simon Wheatley, to greet him, too shoot him, and to get rewarded with an autographed large format print of his picture on display!
Magnum is the magnum opus for all photo-journalists as the co-operative was founded by non other than Henri Cartier Brasson. You need to get nominated, and adjudged, before you are accepted as a Magnum photographer.
Simon was in the region, and Schmidt Marketing Asia swiftly brought him to town to showcase his Malaysian-themed pictures shot on Leica M8. Yes, Simon uses two Leica Sixes, and he was made an ambassador for M8. (See LensaMalaysia.)
I was allowed to choose any one picture in the Gallery, and I gleefully settled for one that I thought has encased Malaysia in a nutshell, where the Makcik and her daughter interacted with a typical Chinaman handphone merchant along a Pertama Complex type of shop.
'Malaysian roots'
It was also great to know that Simon was born in Singapore to his Penang-born mother, was partly raised in Budapest and now based in London. He told us he came back to Malaysian in the mid 1990s to trace his Malaysian roots, applied to be a photo journalist with The NST but was rejected for "asking too many questions".
Simon is an expert in photo-stories about the youth sub-culture, notably those in the ghettos of UK and France.
It's heartening to know that Simon does read my blog. He knew I wasn't distracted by the defamation suit hurled at me and would continue enjoy shooting, using photography as a medium for chronicling and expression.
Comments
Hahahha...i guess small little things changes your life in a whole drastic way.....if NST were to took him in, he'll not be at all close to Magnum nominee....
Posted by: terenceg![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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February 13, 2007 02:54 PM