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OUR GROUP
was small, but size
didn’t matter as we
made our way through the
arrival hall of Kuala Lumpur’s
LCCT airport. We were all excited;
this was only the first hour of our
Malaysian PhotoTrek and already
the gang felt like family. A number of
them were veterans of our previous
tours. Coming back from
PhotoTreks:
Hanoi
was musician Joey Alaiza, while
photographers Dariel Quiogue and
Maricel Flores Barnes, along with IT
consultant Joanne Halili, were making
a second appearance from
PhotoTreks:
Angkor
.
And then there were the
newcomers, such as photographer
Cathy Quiogue, who hails from
Davao, and account manager Norman
Barrientos, a Singapore resident.
We were all in Malaysia to do what
hardcore, camera-crazy photographers
like to do most: capture the most
telling, picturesque angles of this corner
of the country, all in four days.
Unlike previous PhotoTreks where
I gave the photography workshops
by myself, I had company this time.
Veteran photojournalist Luis Liwanag
was on hand to show our participants
his unique style of street photography.
The old neighborhoods of Kuala
Lumpur and Malacca, with their busy
lanes and heritage buildings brimming
with traditional enterprise, would be our
playground for the weekend.
From the
airport we drove
off to spend the next
two nights in Malacca, a
UNESCO World Heritage City
that has long been regarded as
“
the birthplace of Malaysia”. It was
here that our PhotoTrekkers got their
first immersion in the country’s sights,
sounds and smells. From sunup to
sundown we roamed its storied streets,
documenting the vivid local colors
that make Malacca one of Southeast
Asia’s best-preserved traditional
neighborhoods.
“
I love this place!” Luis exclaimed.
“
The moment we stepped outside the
hotel, we’re greeted by all this culture
around us!” He was no doubt referring
to the centuries-old shophouses
standing beside the massive Hindu,
Taoist and Muslim temples on every
other street. Quirky little trishaws
zipped past alleyways that hosted
craftsmen of every conceivable trade,
from woodcarvers to painters to
even ironsmiths. We took it all in
our cameras, of course, and in the
evenings we reviewed each others’
photographs and discussed ways to
improve our work.
By the time we moved to Kuala
Lumpur, our shutterbugs had their
shooting styles polished. Maricel was
taking character portraits left and right,
while Joey was gleefully creating
nightscapes with the stunning Petronas
Lester V. Ledesma and seven other
photographers roamed the old
neighborhoods of Kuala
Lumpur and Malacca, and
captured what the
country is all
about
The
heart of
Malaysia
T H E S M I L E P H O T O T R E K S
