This year’s Merdeka or Hari Kebangsaan and Malaysia Day celebrations have a whole new meaning for Malaysians. The events of 9 May has brought about long-desired change, and represents the coming of a new dawn for Malaysians and the country. It represents a new hope and pride. And most of all, a renewed love for Malaysia.
To immortalise the big celebration, four talented Malaysians, armed with the iPhone X, went about Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur to capture the festivities.
You may or may not already recognise these individuals, they are – Jason Goh, Khairul Amin, Ahady Rezan and Shaz Sharif.
Jason Goh @smashpop
Jason is someone I’ve personally known for yonks. Going by the moniker @smashpop, he’s been in the social media scene for over a decade. He’s currently running a boutique social media agency called Popmetive, and you’ll find him super active on Instagram. He also creates unboxing videos of gadgets and hosts them in Bahasa Malaysia, which is rather unique.
He explained about his photos at the Merdeka Parade, “…as I was trying to capture the ambience and also the crowd, I found myself switching between Portrait and wide angle as and when I found something interesting to snap.” His wide angle shots were aided by a wide angle lens attachment by Sandmarc.
He said Potrait Mode is “very useful to help audience focus on a particular subject, for example a person in the photo. Portrait mode works well even when there are 3 persons in the shot.”
Jason added that he used Photoshop, Snapseed and VSCO to edit his photos.
Khairul Amin @k_amin
Khairul is a young and talented iPhone photographer based in KL. He shoots exclusively on the iPhone X, and is his weapon of choice on his travels within Malaysia and beyond.
His photos were shot at KLCC and Merdeka Square, focusing on evening celebrations using low light photography. The iPhone X’s dual OIS and HDR in low light came in handy, delivering clean, crisp images with minimal noise, without overexposing light sources.
He said he edited all photos directly in the iPhone using native editing tools as well as VSCO to give added dramatism.
Follow him at @k_amin
Ahady Rezan @huxterized
Ahady is a creative director and self-taught photographer based in KL. He shares most of his work on his hugely popular Instagram account – @huxterized. He loves colours, lines, shapes and playing with negative spaces.
He focused on the Merdeka celebrations and parade in Putrajaya.
Shaz Sharif @moksva
Shaz previously worked as a graphic designer and started iPhone photography as a hobby in 2014 using the iPhone 5. She is drawn to minimalist photography and loves incorporating her children in her colourful photos.
She captured the festivities at the Merdeka parade, focusing on the vivid colours and overall atmosphere.
Follow Shaz at @moksva
What do you think of the photos?
