Merdeka Self-Portrait

In the spirit of celebrating the coming Malaysian Independence Day on the 31st August, I thought it would be fitting to do an out of the usual portrait shot of myself than what I normally would do. I bought myself a spanking new Malaysian flag and initially wanted to use it as a cape, you know, with all the superhero hype everywhere now. That did not come out right so the next best thing I did was to wrapped it around myself like a sarung. I shot this in the living room of the apartment I am staying at, with the aid of two wireless flash being fired off camera. I intended for this shot to be in full color glory but due to excessive sun exposure I have developed uneven skin tone, my head and lower arms were significantly darker in tone than my other body parts which were usually covered by the T-shirts that I wore. Black and white made it easier for me to fix that in post.

I shot a series of photographs and I was only happy with this particular one. It clearly shows how I feel about my country.

Image shot on Olympus PEN E-P5 with M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 with two FL600R wireless flash.

Happy 61st independence day to all Malaysians who celebrate. The country is still young, we have a lot to do and there is work to be done. Through the recent change of government, we are moving to a new era, but the country will only go as far as the people are willing to go. For Malaysia to change, the people in general have to change too. I cannot say or wish everyone else to do anything or change, but I can play my role as a citizen and be a better Malaysian. I will do in whatever small ways I can to contribute to this growing nation. I am a proud Malaysian and I will always be.

Malaysia boleh!