Allo allo and a good day, looks like I can find a few minutes to spare to blog a wee bit. Have you ever been to Sepang F1 Circuit in, erm, Sepang, The State of Selangor in the Federation of Malaysia? You know, the racetrack where people go for roundy-roundy races on two and four wheels? Lah, typically Malaysian lah you. you’ve been to London, Noo York & Paris but you never been to Sepang Circuit? Ish ish ish… I heard that most Noo Yorkers never visit the Statue of Liberty oso, nor Parisian ever visited the Eiffel Tower, nor Londoners ever visit the Big Ben, unless one is getting executed but that was before Democracy was ever introduced to the Englishmen, that’s what I read anyway. KL folks have one other thing in common with the Noo Yorker that is KL people never visited KL Tower. They might seen it on TV but they never visit the Tower. It’s always they maahhh so can always visit later what.
Only tourist visits tourist spots, locals goes elsewhere 
Makes sense actually. Who wanna visit own backyard (unless you’re Singaporean, Malaysia is their backyard no? *Apologies to Singaporeans when lah you wanna extend your island all the way to Natuna? There’s always people who eager to sell you more sands you know *winks*)
Anyway, technically, I am not a motosport shooter, my good friend Peter Lim of photodesk.com shoots there all the time. Me there as ‘tourist’ ajer, sometimes when I wanna show off my three hundred emm emm f dua titik lapan nano crystal coated Nikkors lens with vibration reduction motor built in in the lens then I am there lah. You know, “if you got it, flaunt it”. Eh, when they said that they meant a ladies ‘asset’ isn’t it? Oh…
A teh tarik toast @ Sepang F1 Circuit media room, circa 2008
Now where was I? Ah yes, usually the folks who raced two wheelers take a break from their Winter time in Europe by vacationing in Malaysia. To make it all sounded legit they bring along a motorcycle or two, some engines, maybe a few test riders and contracted riders to Malaysia (I heard even elsewhere where it is sunny, but certainly not the Solomon island lah *winks*) and go about testing the motorcycles. They even dub the whole thing as “Winter testing” some more.
Say, you don’t really believe everything you read in the Innernet, no?
I was introduced to a photographer by the name of Andrew through a mutual friend. He needed to rent some lights for a job in Sepang. I happened to have some Bowens Esprit 500 monoblocks in my Studio, which is located a mere 45 minutes drive away from the circuit. We communicate via e-mails and after firming up schedule and such my crew and I plus some equipments stuffed onto the back of the Van heads to the circuit lah.
Here’s the soft spoken Andrew, a former nightclub bouncer (as per interview here lah folks..) at work, some pictures by Bakhtiar My Assistant #1 while if you can’t see me in the picture it means I’m the one who taking them…
a film crew was filming the whole proceeding…
..another film crew was filming as well. Saaayy…. video dewds don’tch actually does any filming, no? they use tapes, so the actuall word I should’ve use is ‘a video crew is taping the whole proceedings’…
After setting up the lights as per Mr Andrew’s requirement, my task is to make sure every strobes is erm, strobing and adjust the lights as necessary. Reminded me of my days as a studio assistant myself many years ago lah *winks*
My Assistant #1, Mr Bakhtiar looks on while Mr Taufik my intern taking a sneak peek on Andrew’s work on the Mac Book Pro…
Coka-Cola is Andrew’s official sponsors for this photoshoot *laffs*
A curi-curi ‘candid’. No, I didn’t shoot HIS subject over his shoulder I only shoot behind the scene stuff ajer.
The result, straight from the camera. If you shoot hundreds or thousands of mages in an assignment, where lah got time to Photoshop one? As for me, I rather get my solid 8 hours sleep, so straight from the camera it is lah.
There’s no rental house that I know of in Malaysia who rented out studio strobes yet, but if you need to rent some lights for a photoshoot in Malaysia, give us a call lah. We got no Profoto’s (not chet anyway, bleeding expensive stuff, those Profotos!), we only have Bowens. If the ‘strobist’ way is not your thing, now you know where to rent some studio strobe while you’re in Malaysia lah.
