Latest Published Work….and a rant

My rather large body of work from Malaysia's Georgetown on the West coast Island of Penang got some attention in the form of a double spread in ANA's inflight magazine Wingspan this month. I have been doing articles and essays for them for quite some years now, either alone or co working with a writer.  This city is one of my favorite in South East Asia even if Malaysia in itself doesn't really interest me that much. I have been traveling and living in S.E.A since the beginning of days as an 18 year old backpacking Able body seaman. Lived out of a backpack for over 10 years more or less and got to respect and appreciate this part of the world hugely. Still do. Anyways, these images are just a fraction of what I have been working on and always a surprise to see what the editorial pool select as the final result of the images I provide them with. Well, It's their magazine, not mine. I am just a contributor that for an amount of hard cash sell off his work to anyone interested in it. Eat or be eaten, it is what it is.

Ok, here we go. This may come as a surprise to many aspiring upcoming or already established freelance photographers and photo journalist. I just have to get this off my chest to be able to go on in life and continuing doing my thing, which boils down to the philosophy of "Live Till You Die", oretty simple. For you good people that have seen or even followed my blog on a regular basis might have noticed that there isn't much of my published work on here anymore. I used to post any little how trivial gig to share and get feedback on. I liked it, made sense and put shit in a perspective I could relate to. That was then. I have more or less stopped spreading any of my published work due to the fact that I just loose out on it. How many of you will now try to find out who and where ANA's inflight magazine is published and by whom? Common, admit it, if you are a freelance photographer, writer or something like it you need these types of gigs to be able to maintain your lifestyle and way of life you are now google the crap out of any key words you can imagine. No one has the monopoly on these connections. It's a free world and hey, "dog eat dog" rules out any other thoughts and common sense if you need to eat and put food on the table for your loved ones. Fine, having said that…I just got tired of (after more than a decade) battling and constantly having to compete with often less talented but more ruthless wannabes out there in the world. I just can't compete when it comes to something so close to me as photography, it's not a job for me anymore, I don't want it to be only a job and I have lost the ability to shoot GOOD stuff if it has no interest for me what so ever. The other week I was asked to shoot for a magazine because, quote, -"We like your style and for you to do your thing with our pages".  Funny, because I have been here many times by now and it always ends up with me shooting what the editor, director or who ever ask me to when it comes down to basics. My style, my way… my ass, thanks for asking and putting it that way since it always sounds really cool and wild, but.... thanks for nothing guys. Still, I do it because of what ever money I can squeeze out of it and can't fight these all ready set standards. Don't feel like fighting if there is no spirit backing it up in the first place. It will be good enough, when it could have been AWESOME, AWESOME…I mean AWESOME. Again, not my magazine, publication or where ever the images will show up at the end. Im just the photographer.

To prove another point that can and should be considered by most of my "peers" out there. I shot this entire essay above with my little harmless G9 Canon point and shoot camera. Not the first time I conducted this "stunt"either. So there you go. Looking mighty and all with tons of gear (I have it all, just so you know) showing up at the editors office, when it can be done with what fits in your shorts pocket. But you show him/her that and you will probably not get the gig. SO, to really confuse you all, I will start focusing more on shooting medium format film in the near future. Back to basics, getting back the old school feel of photography and making it a challenge for myself not to slack down in that bottomless pit of creative down spiraling and a lost vision, just shooting for money and not for myself. And you won't see many more of these "jobs done" posts either. I will be as egocentric and self centered as possible, not sharing because I know it will not make any difference. Have I ever got any jobs due to a nice portfolio…not so far. I don't even think I have one at the moment. Who cares….Well I know I do, but this I have to keep to myself so don't tell anyone.

Motoyan

I should do a story on this guy. He is one of my favorite Japanese photographers, a guy that does what he does and don't seem to think to much of it, a natural so to speak and that's rare these days. Something tells me that he doesn't like the attention and publicity (like me making a blog post…), but I can't stop mentioning the guys name whenever people ask me about the local Tokyo photo scene. Anyways, did a nice and long night ride with Motoyan and his CPW crew last night through a very cold Tokyo. Loved it!

This V.S That

Did a little test with my by now 2 "only" cameras while in Thailand. Not too sure where next living/working location will be so I left my 5D and Mamiya in Tokyo meanwhile.

GX1 and G9, can you tell which is what? Both shot on highest ISO and clarity maxed-out!

Hungry V.S Done

George Town Noodle in thick gravy with mystery meat, shiitake and egg half. Condense-milk laden luke warm coffee to wash it all down…not bad! To know, learn and understand is to eat is to know, learn and understand. Would food critic be a career you think? World wide Blue-collar menus on a shoestring for people off the beaten track...

Koh Lipe

Got a couple of days away from my blue-collar life. Stayed at Castaway Dive resort which was just great. The island must have been just sublime before the tourist hoards made it their "special hideaway". Counted 6 tattoo shops just between the 2 main sides of this smallish island, 10 minutes apart. Now is ofcourse low season (rain every afternoon) so I kinda enjoyed being one of the few visitors here. Plenty of cool cats and dogs to hang out with during my short morning and evening strolls. Read Annie Proulx "Accordion Crimes", just fantastic!

  

Beelzebubs lair in the tropics.

Cats & Dogs...

…at my feet.

Gulf Wave Breaker

Water and straight lines is the bomb.

Nocturnal

Like that Pink Floyd album cover of rain drops ( on car window in my eyes) at night. This being the Changmai cityscape from above. This the local Love birds dark fumbling hangout I realized.

So close but so far away...

3 of a kind

Blood Brothers

Caged Lord

Silkie and commoner

Outshined

The Divine Falsehood

Lazy in G Town

Old school asian grit. Pre millennium standards all over the place, guys probably way younger than me looks and behaves like little uncles and/or pimps straight out from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s B-movies. A motley crew of Chinese, Indians, Malay dominates the streets, few westerners. Sorry if offending you people from Penang city/Georgetown who reads this, but the standard action movie Cut-throat "look" lingers in my mind when I will describe my first (!) impression of my fellow street minglers here. Second look and I can say that I had nothing but friendliness and politeness in my way as the days rolled on. Dress code-wise I see people (men) over here having the same taste as my dad did (memories imprinted from the burned family album…long story) when back in the mid 70's. Pretty funky, I saw a pair of heavily permed Chinese ladies in tight leopard dresses dancing some kind of synchronized Mao-ballet to a guy on synthesizer doing country&western hits (Kenny Rodgers is big here, he even have restaurant chain here), all while some western backpackers and Indian families were cheering them on…on a Tuesday night, where else do you see that kind of stuff nowadays…in a restaurant serving noodle soup!?

Dirty, worn, unkempt and just plain old are the words that comes to mind after a long day tramping the streets in this multi-cultural, history-ridden island in North western Malaysia, not far from the Thai border. I Love It! What a nice break from life in Southern Thailand.

The view most Malaysian want the rest of the world to have of the nation with it’s F1 pride and oil money bringing in style and “western” standard couldn’t be further from it here in Georgetown. Change seems to be a thing that is not welcome with the same open arms you see in many other South East Asian cities in the region. You still have the old barefoot rickshaw guys pulling their load, the old ladies swapping gossip on the streets in front of their family business/homes, most adult men just doing the good old kafe hang-out all day and it doesn’t look to me like they have the need or will to bother with anything else either. Should menation it is a UNESCO world heritage site.

The images below is from the 5 days I recently spent in the city. It has been a while since I traveled like this and as always, the camera just makes it worthwhile and for me gives the whole idea of exploring a purpose…I need a purpose. I have never been a people person in photography (many of you might not know this, but people in general kinda bothers me in a way) and the street photography I was drawn towards was just the plain details and building/architecture that carries so much history and culture within, just scenes from the street that caught my attention. I can not describe why I in photography rather keep “people” out of the picture. Some people are cool, but never as cool as a forgotten, well balanced, well lit concrete wall in need of whitewash.

I just read a book where one of the characters mention that a city as well as a person can and should be described with one word. The word for Penang is “Past” (as opposite to future), and I hope it stays that way. The word I would like for me is still “Curious” with a giant Q, I hope it stays that way too.    

About 20 years ago I traveled trough S.E.A with a buddy for the first time. I remember all the bedbug ridden little shitholes we stayed in as well as my friends on-the-wrong-side-of-the-road near death encounter on a rented moped just outside the city of Georgetown. Now being able to explore the place once again with older but even more open eyes I can see a place I have somewhat erase from my memory. Just like a ghost sliding through the everyday, with a small camera you will go on unnoticed and with a steady phase no one has the time to pay you any attention, smooth. You could argue that places change and they do, but I have the feeling/hope that Georgetown is not one of those. 

P.S All shot with Canon G9