This is a series of black and white pictures I shot in Kuala Lumpur. I don’t usually shoot this kind of people pictures (I’m not sure if I want to call them portraits), but here in Malaysia it’s very easy. People don’t question your motives like they often do in western countries and if you go away from the tourist areas, some people even want to photographed. Even in a big city like Kuala Lumpur there are areas where a tourist evokes curiosity and people may ask to be photographed, if they see a camera. However, it’s still very important to respect everybody’s privacy and act accordingly. If somebody doesn’t want to be photographed, I never push it and I always try to ask for a permission before I shoot. Sometimes, though, the situation is too good to be missed and I just shoot, but even then, if I get a negative reaction I’ll stop right there.
Black and white was the norm when I started, because it was so much more affordable than color and making prints was relatively easy. Today we have the luxury of choosing, even afterwards, what we want. For this set I chose grayscale, because these days I do it all too seldom.
I’d like to thank my friend Robin Wong for taking me to these great locations.
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