ROBIN WONG

This is a continuation from the previous blog entry about shooting low light stage photography using the Olympus E-M1 Original from 2013. I did share some tips on managing low light environment using Micro Four Thirds in my latest video (click). I use mainly prime lenses, Olympus 25mm F1.8, 45mm F1.8 and 75mm F1.8 to maximize the amount of light gathered, hence enabling faster shutter speeds without increasing ISO numbers unnecessarily. I shot mostly ISO1600 and below in this session, which was perfectly fine for the E-M1 original to handle, and some dimmer shots I used ISO3200. I also relied on the powerful 5-Axis Image Stabilization for scenes with little or no movement, slowing down the shutter speeds to 1/30 or 1/15, still getting tack sharp images while getting away with much lower ISO numbers. In fast action sequences, I would not hesitate to ramp up my ISO numbers to achieve fast enough shutter speeds to freeze action, and I emphasized the importance of capturing the moments over anything else. Moments matter more than technical perfection. High ISO noise is not the end of the world! Also, I talked about how moving around as much as you can will get you better, more dynamic framing and composition opportunities than being lazy staying still at one spot. Stage photography is fun, sometimes a bit more difficult than usual due to low light but still super exciting to shoot!

I shot a recent show at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center (KLPAC), and a friend who happens to be a full frame shooter commented on how daring I was for using Micro Four Thirds to shoot in such a challenging environment. In fact, I have been shooting many times in similarly difficult conditions for KLPAC over the years, and my Micro Four Thirds gear delivered each and every time without fail. I intentionally chose to use the Olympus E-M1 Original from 2013 to prove my point further, if such a dinosaur camera can shoot good enough images, I am sure newer and more capable Micro Four Thirds cameras that came after can do a better job. I brought along my prime lenses Olympus 25mm F1.8, 45mm F1.8 and 75mm F1.8 for this session, most images were taken with either 45mm or 25mm F1.8. I also made a video to share some tips on shooting low light stage photography here (click). 

I attended quite an unusual theater play at KLPAC (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center) recently - the show was called "Being Carried". The casts include a diverse group of disabled, deaf, mute and neurodivergent people, bringing together series of heartfelt, painful and hopeful stories in the form of performing arts, mainly story-telling and dance. It was one of the best shows I have watched and I was glad I brought my camera to document the scenes from the stage. I was a seated audience so I had no freedom to move, I shot everything with the Olympus 14-150mm F4-5.6 Mark II on my Olympus E-M1 original for this entire show. 

When you hear ISO25600, most people would cringe in fear, but I think that is not the end of the world. I found myself in a position where I had no choice but to shoot with crazy high ISO numbers up to 25600 recently. I attended a play at Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center (KLPAC) as an audience and I was shooting from a fixed seat. Since this was not a job, I brought a simpler setup, a small camera, Olympus E-PL6 and a small telephoto zoom lens, the Olympus 40-150mm F4-5.6 R. The compounding effects of smaller lens aperture with dimmer than usual stage lighting and constantly moving actors on stage left me no choice but to shoot with uncomfortably high ISO numbers. You know what? The images come out perfectly fine. Yes, of course there is noise, there is obvious image degradation, but if you don't pixel peep, and if you look beyond the technical flaws, I believe what matters more are the stories, emotions and the moments of the show. I hope I have successfully captured them! Obsessing about high ISO noise won't get you anywhere, if you need to bump up the ISO, bump it up!

This is a continuation from the previous blog entry, I am dumping more images from the same series here in this post. I have come to love shooting theatre or stage photography. This was a mini concert, with singers and dancers on stage, accompanied by 6-piece band, the magic happened when all the chaotic mess came together to form such a wonderful sound and visual for the audience to immerse in. It was no easy feat shooting this event - everything was constantly moving, and I had no idea what was doing to happen where and when, if I was standing at the wrong spot, I would miss something that was happening away from me, and I cannot possibly cover everything. So, I did my best, and boy oh boy it was such a magical show to shoot! 

When I was tasked to shoot the dress rehearsal of Yesterday Once More: Boggie Nights for Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center (KLPAC), I thought it would be a great opportunity to revisit an old friend - the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Original. After all, the camera has been my workhorse for so many years before I upgraded to my current E-M1 Mark II, and if E-M1 original can deliver great results all those years ago, it can still perform really well today. I was not wrong, and the show was super amazing! Shout out to my friend Bihzhu who was one of the headliners of the show. I also made a video to talk about why the E-M1 is still so awesome today (click here), and if you can't shoot good images with your old or current gear, maybe it is not time yet for you to upgrade! 

The last day of the Tekka festival was especially fun, even after 2 full days of shooting, I was surprisingly not too exhausted and was still running around at good energy levels. I guess I have slipped into shooting routine and can pace myself, prepare myself mentally for the shoot, compared the days prior. I particularly appreciate the powerful 5-Axis Image Stabilization built into the Olympus E-M1 Mark II's camera body. For shots that I do not need to freeze movement, I can intentionally slow down the shutter speeds to dangerously slow numbers, like half a second, or longer to gather more light, consequently getting clean images with lower ISO numbers used. This also applied to use of longer lenses, though I need to be more conservative, for example, the 75mm F1.8 lens, I went down to 1/15-1/25 second shutter speed, all done hand-held. Instead of using impossible numbers like ISO12800, I can get away with ISO1600 or lower, and to me, that is a lifesaver! I just cannot shoot with another camera for a job without similar or better image stabilization, it just makes things so much better. 

This is a continuation from previous post, sharing more images from my recent shoot for KLPAC (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre), the Tekka audio visual festival 2025. Basically, the festival ran for 3 consecutive days, and I was shooting nonstop for almost 3 full days. Despite the challenging low light situation, I managed to get some really good shots with my Micro Four Thirds setup. I brought along the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and prime lenses, Panasonic 9 and 15mm F1.7, and Olympus 25mm, 45mm and 75mm F1.8 lenses. I just find it so much easier to handle smaller lenses, allowing me to change them around quickly and more efficiently, and of course, all that (camera + 5 lenses) being fitted in my shoulder bag, they weighed less than 1.4kg only! If I were to use any other systems, no matter how minimal and lightweight the setup, it could easily double or triple that! I really appreciate how I don't have to suffer all kinds of discomfort or aches after long hours of shooting, handling Micro Four Thirds super light gear! These images I am sharing here in this blog entry were from the Day 2 of Tekka!

I was shooting an event for Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPAC) recently, it was an audio-visual festival called Tekka, and boy oh boy was it a challenging shoot! Not only was the light so dim most of the times, but there were also times when all lights were turned off, and to get some images I need to balance the overly bright projector against pitch dark audience! While this seems like a nightmare and most people would prefer to shoot with full frame cameras and ramp up the ISO to impossibly high numbers, I'd like to argue that Micro Four Thirds is actually more suitable in this particular shoot. I talked about all my reasons in my latest video, which I am not going to repeat here, as these reasons have been said several times before already, and honestly all I want to do is just to share the images from that job here. Images were shot with Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and Panasonic 9mm F1.7, Panasonic 15mm F1.7, Olympus 25mm F1.8, Olympus 45mm F1.8 and Olympus 75mm F1.8. 

I attended my friend Bihzhu's latest mini concert about a month ago, going as an audience with a fixed seated position, so I thought I'd bring a minimal setup to grab some quick shots. I had with me the humble Olympus E-M10 original and 40-150mm F4-5.6 R, and I thought this combo performed incredibly well. We often think that we need the latest and greatest and most expensive gear to achieve great results, the truth is, knowing how to use your gear, shooting discipline and understanding the game are far more important than having the best gear. I got some shots from this session that I am quite happy with. I made a video to talk more about this (click). I am sharing the shots from that mini concert here. 

I attended a KLPAC (Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center) show several months ago titled RWD/FWD as an audience, with a fixed seating, but I still wanted to work the camera to grab some shots. I figured the best solution would be a superzoom, the wide focal length coverage from wide angle to telephoto allowed me to do more with just one lens. And let's face it, this was not a job, I could not be bothered with the hassle of changing lenses to get the optimized results, I was shooting for myself, so what if I needed to bump up the ISO because the aperture was not F1.8? There was no consequence, I was shooting for myself, so I used the Panasonic 14-140mm F4-5.8 on my old Olympus OM-D E-M1 (the OG), and I thought I got some really cool shots! I talked about using the superzoom in my latest video here (click). I share the images from this KLPAC show in this entry. 

The year started with a flurry of shoots, and this particular session was my friend Bihzhu performing at a rather interesting setup - a restaurant lit only by table lamps. I have been following Bihzhu for many of her live shows and performance, and I have to say this was by far the most challenging one I have ever faced. It was dim, and the available light was not easy to work with. I brought along my usual workhorse, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and a plethora of bright, prime lenses for this particular shoot. I found myself shooting at ISO6400 on average, and at times needing to go higher. They say you can't shoot low light with Micro Four Thirds. I say, screw you, here are some shots! Special thanks to Bihzhu for allowing me to share these images. 

My friend Bihzhu has just launched a new song recently, "Jiwa Perkasa" and I was engaged as the offical photographer for the event. I am very proud to be involved in this project because I was there at the very beginning while the song was being recorded in studio! I was also there to witness the music video in production, so in a way, I was very involved in the making of Jiwa Perkasa almost every step along the way. I am super thankful and happy to be included and I thank Bihzhu for giving me this awesome opportunity. An important part of making impactful images is knowing what you are shooting well enough, and I cannot ask for more in this regard. I am sharing fresh images taken from the event coverage of  the launch. 

It has been 3 years since I last saw Nadir performing live, no thanks to the pandemic and now finally I had a chance to see them again. I went to Riuh! Nao Malacca to catch them live and I shot them with my Olympus OM-D gear. I have captured a live music performance and published the video here (click). I also have shared my shooting experience using the M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 and I talked about why I love that lens so much, that it was one of the reasons that kept me from jumping ship to full frame! Yeap, there was no other lens like the Olympus 75mm F1.8, truly unique, having super sharp optics, with 150mm equivalent reach, super bright at F1.8 yet being so small and light!

All images were taken with Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III and lenses M.Zuiko 75mm F1.8 or 12mm F2. 

I was shooting my friend Bihzhu performing live at Bobo, KL and I thought I can share my experience from that night with you guys here. The last time Bihzhu performed to a live audience was two years ago which I also shot, and was reviewing the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV. No thanks to the pandemic and multiple lockdowns in Malaysia, the local musicians have been deprived from the opportunity to perform live on stage, and I am so glad to finally catch Bihzhu live again after all this time. It was a Friday night and I could not have asked for a better evening with awesome music and some shutter clicking action. 

I also recorded some of the songs Bihzhu performed live and compiled into a vlog, updated on my second channel, you can find the vlog here (click). 

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