More than meets the eye

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CAREFUL planning is the key in creating the three shots that won Abdul Hafiz Abdul Hamid the fifth Canon Photomarathon Malaysia 2011 Best of Show grand prize.

Abdul Hafiz won an all-expense trip to Tasmania, Australia and an eight-day photo clinic.

“It is overwhelming and I cannot believe I actually won!” he said.

Looking closely: The special charity photography exhibition at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur also featured many of the shots by the participants of the fifth Canon Photomarathon Malaysia 2011.

The 29-year-old, who hails from Penang, said careful planning went into each shot.

“I thought about the shot I wanted for about half an hour to one hour after we were given a theme. Then I headed out to shoot what I envisioned,” he said.

Abdul Hafiz said among the three photos for the three themes — The Earth Guardian, City of Colours and Extraordinary of the Ordinary— his least favourite shot was for the second theme.

“Some colours did not turn out quite as I had imagined it,” he said, adding that he was looking forward to the photo clinic with acclaimed photographer Triston Yeo.

He also received RM10,000 in cash, a Canon Pixma MG8170 inkjet printer and Think Tank Rotation 360 camera backpack.

We did it!: (From left) Abdul Ramdzhani, Abdul Hafiz, Chan Tek Mun and Asmady Ahmad ecstatic with their wins.

First prize went to Asmady Ahmad while Akmall Hakim Rusly and Abdul Ramdzhani Abdul Rahman took second and third place, respectively.

Abdul Hafiz also walked away with a Canon Powershot G12, Canon Pixma iP3680 inkjet printer and a Think Tank Digital Holster professional camera bag as the winner of The Earth Guardian category.

The same prizes also went to winners of the other categories — Chan Tek Mun for City of Colours and Davie Gan Say Hong for Extraordinary of the Ordinary.

Canon Marketing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd imaging communication product division director Simon Wong said this year’s participation was very good.

“We had 1,600 participants this year and many of the entries were creative and professional,” he said.

Nicely framed: Abdul Hafiz’s shot of a diligient cleaner in the park with the Petronas Twin Towers in the background won him the ‘The Earth Guardian’ category and is one of the three that was judged as the Best of Show grand prize.

Wong said the first theme was in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives while the second was a tribute to the lively capital city the event was held in and the third was to challenge each photographer’s skill and creativity.

“In addition, our efforts have helped raised RM32,915 for the National Breast Cancer Research Foundation. We are also offering prints of certain photographs, including from one of our judges, Zainal Abdul Halim. The money from the sales will also go to charity,” he said.

The photographs are also available for online purchase at www.eosworld.com.my

He also said for the first time this year, they have organised a People’s Choice category on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/canoncameramsia

All three entries from each participant who has met all competition requirements have been uploaded onto the page for the public to rank.

The 10 entries with the highest overall ranking at the end of the voting period from now until Nov 12 will receive RM1,000 in cash.