Light Me Up

We were somewhere around Bukit Bintang, opposite the Bentley's music store, when the rain began to trickle.




Davina had been feeling lethargic for quite some time and Mien was doing her best to keep her energy up with constant pokes. The photography session had been going ok so far, but I still wasn't finished with Davina and hadn't even started on Mien yet. We decided to wait it out for a while, as well as give Davina a chance to catch a few winks before continuing.

This was to be a long night indeed.

A while back the Dorian gave me a buzz, asking if I'd like to have some of my photographs put up for an exhibition Candid Photography and SparkyDawgz were doing to promote the upcoming play 'A Light in KL City' by EMP. Now, I never really considered myself a photographer, but the Dorian was insistent and I thought, "why not?"

So, with my new/second-hand Sigma 24-70 at hand, I went off with Shirin to recce some places. My idea was to take portraits of different girls in the city illuminated by their own light source - a laptop, a phone, whatever.

Strangely, I ended up not using any of these locations because it was only after I shot Mien and Davina that I realized the exhibition theme wasn't "A Light in KL City" but "Portraits of Light". Bugger. Regardless, the rest of the pics have also been taken outdoors but not as far out into the city as Mien and Davina's. For Nazneen and Shirin I went a lot closer to home - Taman Tun.

So yeah. If you're curious to see what kind of photographs I'd do on assignment, pop on down to the exhibition, which will also feature pics by Candid Photography and SparkyDawgz.

And you know what? Whilst you're at it you might as well get tickets for the play, too.

Synopsis: In downtown Kuala Lumpur, in an old hotel on the corner, a light is being snuffed out. When the day comes to a close and dawn rises, the hotel will be closed and the jack-hammers will come down. Now, the many characters who live there must find a way to break out, because when the hotel comes down, they can either go down with it and be lost as well or find the light within themselves to guide them.


A Light in KL City tells the story of the things we throw away- old buildings, history… people; this is the story of those who have been cast out and left behind in the city, forgotten by the future. People we shouldn’t throw away.

The play and exhibition runs from 22nd to 27th of December at KLPac. Come on down.