ROBIN WONG

I see too many friends and photographer peers obsessing about what other people are doing - worrying they are not doing enough or being good enough. They constantly stalk Instagram posts and stories, spy on each other's activities online, measuring how many more likes and engagements one has against another. I find this quite daunting, and honestly pointless. I have been off Instagram for more than a year, and I could not have been happier. Sure, my main IG account is still live, but I seldom post, and I follow no one, not even a single person. I think photography is about your own process of finding your stories and visual expression, it should not be about how people around you influence or dictate your actions and directions in your creative pursuit. Unfortunately, this is of course, easier said than done, and I have seen so many people being sucked into the never-ending void of depressing "why does he get more likes than me" disease. 

My friends Azul and Grace had their latest exhibition "Under The Shadows of Merdeka" at GMBB, Bukit Bintang, and I was there at the official launch event. I did not plan to do much, since I was a guest and I wanted to show my support just by being there. I brought along the Olympus PEN E-PL7, keeping things as small and minimalist as I can. I only had a few lenses, the humble kit lens Panasonic 12-32mm, Olympus 45mm F1.8 and 75mm F1.8. What started as casually snapping away had mutated into something more official - though I was never the appointed photographer, but my images were requested to be submitted to different parties at the event for social media use. I did what I can, with what I was working with, and here are the images!

I have been following the progress of Azul and Grace's photography project (Under The Shadows of Merdeka) for a while now, it took them a year to shoot the images for their book and exhibition, and the finale exhibition is finally happening now! If you are in Kuala Lumpur, you can check out the photography exhibition happening at Level 3A in GMBB building, Bukit Bintang from 9th to 18th May 2025, 11am to 8pm. Either Azul or Grace (sometimes both) will be there so if you drop by, do say hi and tell them that Robin sent you! I went to the official launch event last Saturday, I did take some images which I shall share soon in another separate coming blog entry, but for this one, I shall post images from the exhibition floor. All images shot with Olympus PEN E-PL7, Panasonic 12-32mm kit lens, Olympus 25mm and 45mm F1.8 lenses. All images are mine, unless otherwise mentioned. 

Earlier this year, I found a used Panasonic GX7 in great condition and I could not resist the temptation. Many people have suggested me trying the GX7, many have spoken very highly of the camera. I brought the camera to Kuching, Borneo for Chinese New Year holidays (3 months ago) and did some shutter therapy sessions there. I got to say, I love the look and design of the GX7, it has flat-top rangefinser styled, silver retro appeal which is quite inspiring. I also like the tilt LCD screen which was convenient for shooting street, and the built in image stabilization was a plus. To my surprise, I do like the color rendering of this camera - unlike other Panasonic cameras I have complained about. However, there are just too many dislikes with the GX7 too - the camera has poor handling and ergonomics, it has the worst EVF I have ever used in my life and I particularly hated the loud shutter sound. I can see how the GX7 has gained a cult following, why some people love it so much, but I must admit this is one camera that I don't regret not owning sooner. I shared my full shooting experience in my latest video here (click). 

Merdeka 118 is the second tallest building in the world at the moment, and it is right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was quite surreal seeing Yelena jumping off from the top of that building in the opening sequence of the latest Marvel superhero movie, Thunderbolts. Though the scenes in Malaysia were brief, there was another one involving the explosion of the old HSBC building at Masjid Jamek area, I was giggling silly in the cinema recognizing all the filming locations, and I got to say I have been doing my own street shooting at those same spots many, many times. It is sad that the Merdeka 118 building is not yet open to the public at the time of the movie screening, else it would have been more epic! I thought it would be fun to dig through some of my own pool of images and put together a short series of the Merdeka 118 images I have taken!

I love doing Live Streams. It was one of my latest projects that I got obsessed with, and I have been live streaming for more than a year consistently now. One of the feedback that I have received about my Live Streams - from people who watched it after the stream has ended - they are too long. They questioned if a topic of discussion needed 2 hours or more, and they even said these can be done in 5 minutes. I find it strange how in the world where free speech is encouraged, and everyone has an opinion, people can say all kinds of strange things.

Special thanks to OM System Malaysia, I managed to get a loan of the new OM System 100-400mm F5-6.3 Mark II for testing. I brought it along with my OM System OM-1 camera to the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park and did some bird shooting. I was particularly interested in the effectiveness of the 5-Axis Sync IS, which was the new update, or upgrade to the Mark II version of 100-400mm lens over the original Mark I version. Spoilers alert - the 5-Axis Sync IS was incredible! I can hand-hold down to 1/25 second shutter speed at 400mm full telephoto end of the lens with no issues, getting away with sharp images! I recorded my stabilization test as well as some bird shooting action in my latest video here (click). Not sure why in the video I made a mistake of confusing between yaw and pitch movements! Note to self: have enough coffee before making any talking head video in the morning.